"I'm first~!"
Lucre shouted as she dashed toward the water's edge.
"Ah! Lucre-oneechan, that's cheating! I'm going too~!"
Carol chased after her.
Lucre reached the shoreline first and kept running until the water reached her knees, then turned around and splashed seawater at Carol, who arrived a moment later.
"Uwaah, it's salty~!" Carol exclaimed, even as she immediately retaliated with her own splash.
I hadn't heard any stories about Carol and Lucre having prior connections, so this was probably their first real interaction.
Yet the water fight they were having was completely merciless.
Well, the two of them seemed to have similar wavelengths from the start, so it made sense they'd get along quickly.
The others were also heading toward the water, so I started walking to join them when—
"All right, Orun—first up, a match."
Will spoke with a fearless grin.
"A match? What kind?"
"Long-distance swim. No other tourists around, so no one's gonna get in the way."
I had no experience playing at the sea. In fact, this was my first time playing in any kind of water—rivers and lakes included.
But I wasn't unable to swim.
Not just me—most explorers could swim.
Some labyrinths contained rivers or lakes inside.
When materials from those water areas were needed, you had to dive in yourself. And if an accident caused you to fall into the water, being unable to swim could mean death. So swimming was effectively a required skill for explorers.
Moreover, it was preferable to be able to swim even while wearing equipment.
Even in Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky, swimming practice was part of rookie training.
"Sounds fun. I'm in."
I had no experience with long-distance swimming, but I figured I'd be fine.
This was just for fun, after all.
"Great, it's on. Anyone else joining?"
Will called out to the others.
In the end, the long-distance swim participants were me, Will, and Rex-san—the ace of the A-rank party—three people total.
"So, what are the rules?"
Rex-san asked Will for confirmation.
"Hmm…"
Will pretended to think for a moment, then casually raised his right hand toward the sea.
A magic circle appeared in the air above the water, and from it, long, thin stone rods rained down.
The rods stuck vertically into the sea, with parts protruding above the surface.
"First one to touch that rod wins. How's that?"
The distance from here to the rod was about a hundred meters.
"No problem."
"Fine by me."
"All right—let's get started."
We had Rogue handle the starting signal. The three of us lined up side by side on the sand, ready.
"Oh, right—Orun, no magic allowed."
"I know. I wouldn't do something that lame."
"Then—here we go!"
Once we were ready, Rogue raised his right arm and called out.
"Ready… GO!"
At Rogue's shout, we all sprinted across the sand toward the rod sticking out in the distance.
I was careful not to let my feet sink into the sand as I ran.
As my feet hit the water, it gradually rose to my knees, then thighs.
I timed my transition into swimming strokes.
It was my first time swimming in seawater, and compared to freshwater in rivers or lakes, there was a slight resistance.
But it was still far easier than swimming in clothes, and I had no trouble reaching the target.
I kicked with flutter kicks while pulling the water backward with both arms.
During breaths, I checked the positions of Will and Rex-san swimming beside me—they didn't seem to have pulled far ahead.
I kept swimming at full strength until the rod was right in front of me.
The result—
"Yes! My win!"
Will and Rex-san had touched the rod before I did.
"Lost, huh…"
"You rely too much on buffs, don't you?"
Will shot me a triumphant look.
"That stings a little."
It was just an excuse, but among high-ranking explorers, my base physical ability was on the lower end.
I compensated for that gap with support magic—and now ki—so I knew without buffs I was inferior to the two of them.
Still, I'd managed to compete until the very end, moving my body freely without holding back.
Of course I was disappointed to lose, but my heart felt clear and refreshed.
◇
After the swimming match ended, we all played beach volleyball—the latest trend in the Reglif territory.
Pairs were decided by lottery, and my partner ended up being Sophia.
When comparing pure base physical ability without buffs, surprisingly Carol ranked highest among everyone here.
Considering gender and build, it wouldn't have been strange for Will or Rex-san to be at the top—but Carol was clearly far ahead of even them.
I believed the reason lay in her unique ability.
Her ability was [Self-Healing].
It instantly healed any injuries she sustained.
But watching Carol, it seemed to go beyond just that.
Even in everyday actions like walking or speaking, humans accumulate tiny amounts of fatigue without realizing it.
In other words, it's impossible for a human to perform at their absolute peak at all times.
Yet Carol's ability seemed to make that possible.
When I first started training her, she would get out of breath sometimes, but lately that almost never happened.
Her body recovered faster than fatigue could accumulate, keeping her in a constant state of "perfect condition."
Whether my theory was correct or not, the fact remained: Carol's physical ability was off the charts.
Which meant—
In beach volleyball, she was unmatched.
And now we were up against her.
"Fufu~n! Right now I'm the strongest~! I'm gonna beat Master too~!"
Carol stood on the other side of the net and boldly declared war.
"Sophia—let's crush that overconfident nose of Carol's."
I spoke to Sophia beside me after hearing Carol's proclamation.
"Y-Yes! I'll win this for us, Carol!"
The match began with Sophia's serve.
The ball Sophia hit landed in the enemy court. Carol quickly moved to the landing spot and returned it without issue.
Then someone on Carol's side set a low, fast toss near the net—Carol was already in spiking position.
A classic quick attack.
Carol swung her right arm down hard to smash the ball.
And I blocked it cleanly.
The ball she'd slammed toward our court bounced back into hers.
"Ehhh!? You weren't even there a second ago! How are you suddenly right in front of me!?"
Carol couldn't hide her shock at having her spike blocked by me.
"Your intentions were written all over your face. You were going for the quick point."
"Eh!? No way!?"
Taking my words at face value, Carol patted her own cheeks.
Of course it was a lie.
She had looked like she was planning something, but I hadn't known exactly what.
Still, through training her, I'd grown very familiar with Carol's movements.
No matter how amazing her plays were, on this small court I could react even after seeing them.
Of course, it wouldn't always go this perfectly.
The match against Carol and her partner ended in our victory after a back-and-forth point battle.
◇
After that, we played matches against other pairs, swam in the sea, and enjoyed various other activities—everyone spending the day however they pleased.
As evening approached, I relaxed at the rest area, watching everyone still playing.
(It's nice to have days like this once in a while.)
"Um, Orun-san… are you feeling unwell?"
While I was idly watching the others, Sophia's voice came from beside me.
"No, I'm fine. Just taking a little break. What about you, Sophia—did you get tired?"
"No, I'm okay too. Um… may I sit next to you?"
Sophia asked while slightly lowering her gaze.
"Of course. Go ahead."
I made space beside me as I answered.
"E-Excuse me."
Sophia sat down neatly next to me.
A quiet moment passed.
I personally liked this kind of peaceful silence, but right now Sophia kept glancing at me, making it a little awkward.
It felt like she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
"…Sophia."
"Y-Yes!"
The moment I spoke, Sophia let out a startled voice.
"Did you have fun today?"
"Um, yes. It was really fun. Being paired with you for beach volleyball is a wonderful memory!"
"I'm glad. I had fun too. It's been a really long time since I played so freely without worrying about anything."
"When you were in the hero party… did you ever go out to play somewhere with your party members?"
"Not never, but we never spent an entire day just having fun."
Ever since becoming an explorer, Oliver and I had prioritized getting stronger and conquering the great labyrinth above all else.
Spending a whole day playing at the beach like this had been unthinkable back then.
But I didn't regret that life. Those days were what led to who I am now.
"So… you have to be that serious to reach the deep layers of the great labyrinth?"
"You need to be serious, but you don't have to be that extreme. I think times like this are necessary too. It's not about going all-out every single moment. And the situation back then for me and Oliver was completely different from yours now."
"Different… situation?"
"Yeah. You know Oliver and I aren't from Tsutorail, right? We came from a tiny, remote village that isn't even on maps. When we arrived in Tsutorail and became explorers, we had no connections, no idea what to do. Everything was trial and error. That's why—so long as you have the clan's support—the way we struggled as rookies isn't something you need to reference."
"Trial and error… to conquer the great labyrinth… I'd be too scared to do that."
"Haha, that feeling is exactly right. You have ways to gather information. You don't need to retrace the exact path we took. Just move forward in your own way—Sophia's way."
"Our own way…"
"That's right. There's no single correct answer, so there's no need to rush. You're all definitely growing and moving forward."
"…Thank you. Hearing you say that gives me confidence."
"I'm glad. Let's keep doing our best together starting tomorrow."
"Yes—!"