Inside an indoor eatery at the Marine Park, Yutsuki and Shido sat across from each other at a table with hamburgers and iced drinks.
"Honestly, doesn't this an we didn't practice at all?"
Ryougi Yutsuki complained in dissatisfaction while sipping her iced juice.
"Well... we had a lot of fun anyway, isn't that a good thing too?"
"Although that is true..."
Even though Shido wasn't wrong, Yutsuki still couldn't quite accept it, mumbling softly while chewing on her straw.
Originally, Yutsuki had persevered through the swimming practice purely on a stubborn refusal to give up. So, exactly as she herself expected, once she played once, even she couldn't stop.
After that water slide, Yutsuki and Shido went on the lazy river, the rapid rapids, and a series of other water rides several tis. By the ti Yutsuki ca back to her senses, they had long passed lunchti.
"Ugh... I purposely only brought you, Shido, to avoid accidentally getting caught up in playing... and after spending the whole day, I still haven't learned how to swim."
"Haha... I'm really sorry about that!"
Shido replied with a sowhat helpless, bitter smile. Actually, during that ti, he had secretly contacted Reine to ask for advice on swimming training. However, incredibly, after observing Yutsuki's swimming training, everyone on the Fraxinus unanimously agreed that Yutsuki should be able to learn how to swim. They even used the airship's computers to analyze and simulate Yutsuki's physical data, movent posture, water movent, and other variables. The unanimous conclusion was that after two hours of training, Ryougi Yutsuki's technique was proficient enough that she could even participate in professional competitions without any problems. Failing was completely unusual... It felt as if Yutsuki was cursed.
The original plan was for Shido to accompany Yutsuki to play for a bit to shift her mood, while stalling for ti for the Fraxinus to analyze the problem. But after reaching this inexplicably abnormal conclusion that they couldn't solve, everyone imdiately decided to have Shido play with Yutsuki until it was ti to go ho, making her forget about the swimming training.
"Seriously... this just makes it seem like a normal date, doesn't it?"
Taking a deep breath, Yutsuki said with a slightly dejected tone.
"Well... I feel really sorry about it..."
Even though he was invited to supervise Yutsuki's swimming training, he ended up being an obstacle. Shido apologized, feeling sowhat ashad.
"Ugh... It's not your fault, Shido... It's my own fault for accidentally getting addicted to playing. Besides... I'm not saying this is a bad thing."
Holding her drink cup, Yutsuki tilted her head slightly. A faint cherry blossom pink blush appeared on her stunningly beautiful cheeks.
Struck by the girl's words, Shido felt his own face heat up for a mont.
"Ugh, I'm so jealous... I want to go over there and eat with Shido too."
"N-No... Tohka-san... today is Yutsuki-san and Shido-san's date... you have to endure it..."
"Yo~ Even though you say that, Yoshino really wants to go over and act spoiled with Shido-kun too~"
"Y-Yoshinon..."
"What's going on, why does the atmosphere between those two look so ambiguous? I thought Shido was pretty smooth."
Suddenly, familiar voices rang in their ears. Yutsuki looked towards the source of the sound.
A red ribbon, rabbit puppet ears, and a black hairband peeked out from behind a railing. Seemingly noticing Yutsuki's gaze, they deliberately pulled their heads back, but obviously, they were bad at hiding.
Well... aside from Kaguya and Yuzuru, who were probably back at the Spirit apartnt engrossed in the shounen manga she recomnded, basically everyone is here.
"? Um... is that Tohka and the others?"
Following Yutsuki's gaze, Shido also noticed Tohka and the others hiding poorly not far away.
"Looks like there's no doubt about it." Sighing helplessly while rubbing her forehead, after thinking for a mont, Yutsuki said to Shido, "Shido, I'm going to go get used to the water by myself for a bit. Why don't you go keep Tohka and the others company."
"Eh? Are you going to be okay by yourself, Yutsuki..."
Keep in mind, the number of tis Yutsuki sank to the bottom of the pool earlier was so high Shido lost count.
"I'll be fine... Don't look at like a worried mother thinking 'I'm afraid she'll get into danger by herself, it's better if soone is with her'."
Yutsuki glared at Shido in dissatisfaction.
Just what kind of expression am I making...
"Don't worry. I've mastered most of the steps anyway. Even if I haven't learned how to swim, I won't drown in the shallow end. I can't concentrate at all when I'm with you."
Waving her hand sowhat impatiently, Yutsuki shooed Shido away.
"Well... be careful by yourself, Yutsuki..."
Although a bit uneasy, seeing that Yutsuki didn't seem to be forcing herself, Shido hesitated for a mont before following Yutsuki's wishes and walking towards Tohka and the others.
"Yo~ Tohka, Kotori, Yoshino, Yoshinon, did you guys co here to play too?"
"Eh? Y-You've got the wrong person. I'm not Yatogami Tohka, I'm just a normal tourist, Toka."
"Shido-san..."
"Say, Shido, when did you get the guts to leave your date aside and hit on other girls during a date?"
"No... there's a reason for this..."
While Shido was talking with Kotori's group, Yutsuki quietly left the restaurant.
Ah... do I really have to do this?
With a hint of a bitter smile in her heart, Yutsuki walked into a shop.
"Hello, what can I help you with?"
Seeing Yutsuki, a part-ti worker who looked like a high schooler quickly ca out from behind the counter, putting on a professional business smile and asking Yutsuki.
"...Excuse , I'd like to rent that..."
After an intense ntal struggle, Yutsuki accepted her fate, reached out, and pointed at a colorful ring shaped object on the counter—a swimming ring.
"Okay, thank you for your patronage."
Honestly, Yutsuki had already vaguely realized that she seed unable to learn how to swim due to so unknown reason. It wasn't a matter of "where there's a will, there's a way",it was almost like a predetermined karma conclusion.
However, precisely because she realized this, Yutsuki wanted to experience the feeling of swimming alone even more.
The reason she sent Shido to accompany Tohka and the others wasn't just for their sake; it was also partly for personal reasons.
—If anyone I know sees swimming with a swimming ring looking so ridiculous, I'll be too ashad to show my face!
Fortunately, since it was only an hour or two before closing ti, there weren't many visitors in the indoor pool. Yutsuki specifically went back to the regular sloped pool from before. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, she put the swimming ring around her waist and entered the pool.
"Mhm... no problem."
Confirming the sense of security brought by the steady buoyancy, Yutsuki nodded, holding onto the swimming ring with both hands. Her legs started kicking according to the mory of her previous practice.
As expected, this ti Yutsuki didn't sink. Her body moved forward smoothly on the surface of the water, propelled by the thrust.
Mhm... if I knew there was such a convenient tool, I would have used it from the start. With this god-tier item, there's absolutely no need for humans to learn how to swim!
"Eh? Look, that older sister is swimming with a swimming ring!"
"Ah, really. She's already an adult, but she still can't swim."
"It's so embarrassing to still use a swimming ring at that age!"
"Let's race to see who's faster!"
"Yo! You're on!"
Just as Yutsuki was leisurely swimming towards the deep end, suddenly, two elentary schoolers swimming nearby looked at her and discussed her with a mix of mockery and surprise.
"..."
In silence, Yutsuki turned around and double her swimming speed. The mont she reached the shore, she imdiately took off the swimming ring and deflated it.
That was close... I was almost seduced by the devil's temptation.
Yutsuki thought, still feeling a lingering fear.
As expected, if you want to learn how to swim, you must cast aside all temptations and restraints.You must decisively burn your boats and cross the river to have any hope of success.
Clenching her fists slightly, Yutsuki hardened her resolve once again.
"Then... let's rethink what to do..."
Just as Yutsuki was about to calm down and think, suddenly, she noticed unnatural splashing at the far end of the pool.
"...Soone help! Help !"
Soone is drowning!
Yutsuki looked closely and found that the ones struggling desperately in the water were the two elentary schoolers who had mocked her earlier. One seed to have sprained his ankle halfway, while the other was dragging him, trying hard to float upwards. However, due to the weak physique of an elentary schooler, it was impossible to swim while carrying another person. Plus, the water depth there was two ters, so it was impossible to stand.
Damn it, why are brats nowadays so good at seeking death?
The lifeguards had already noticed the situation and were rushing over. But because there weren't many visitors here to begin with, the lifeguards were stationed quite far away. From the looks of it, those two kids probably wouldn't last until the lifeguards arrived.
What do I do?
In a split second, countless ideas flashed through Ryougi Yutsuki's mind.
Swim over and rescue them myself? Yeah right, I'd probably just increase the number of people needing rescue.
Look for sothing useful to throw. Great, I just deflated that swimming ring. Why the hell did I try to 'burn my boats'!
If all else fails? Deploy my Angel, use static electricity to burn water molecules like Misaka Mikoto, and use wings of water? Right, putting aside the fact that my electrical output while sealed doesn't et the minimum requirents, even if it did, those two brats would be electrocuted to death before they drowned.
Plan after plan was instantly rejected. Yutsuki felt unparalleled frustration and regret.
If only I had learned how to swim...
No! I can't just give up like this!
Yutsuki gritted her teeth, casting aside her negative emotions.
That guy Shido, although he's the protagonist of a harem ani, no matter what predicant he faces, he never chooses to give up until the very last mont. Even facing a near-despairing situation, he will think of every possible way to break through.
There must be, there must be so thod I haven't noticed.
The brats in the pool looked like they were reaching their physical limits. They probably wouldn't last five more seconds. Yet Yutsuki took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
Maybe... I can try this thod.
Honestly, when this idea surfaced in her mind, even Yutsuki thought it was too absurd. It was safe to say without hesitation that this was absolutely impossible to achieve in reality.
But right now, she was in an ani world.
This was one of the main reasons Yutsuki liked ani in her past life. The protagonists inside could always make the impossible in the real world possible.
"Ratziel."
A dark blue longbow materialized in Yutsuki's right hand. Ignoring the stares of the crowd, Yutsuki deployed her partial Astral Dress.
"Ratziel, complete the task in two seconds."
[Understood. Comncing formula construction to achieve the target. Pool disinfectant density, liquid resilience, payload gravity, surface tension, reaction force, speed calculation... Formula construction complete.]
It didn't take two seconds. In just an instant, the "tangible miracle" in Yutsuki's hand—Ratziel—perfectly answered Yutsuki's prayer.
Maintaining a steady heart rate and breathing, Yutsuki leaped fiercely into the pool.
Fierce waves surged, but these weren't waves caused by Yutsuki jumping into the water.
However, today, the tourists and lifeguards nearby witnessed the birth of a miracle.
A stunningly beautiful girl with long brown hair, taking swift and agile steps, was running on the surface of the water.
A human running on water—this was a plot point that would only appear in wuxia novels.
But actually, according to Bernoulli's principle, as long as the speed is fast enough, the feet dragging the water on the surface to flow rapidly causes the pressure of that water to drop, becoming lower than the still water beneath the surface. The pressure difference generated can balance human gravity, allowing a person to float on water.
But how fast is this speed? Studies show it requires a speed of at least 108 kiloters per hour. However, the fastest human sprinting speed is only 44 kiloters per hour. This undoubtedly makes humans running on water empty talk.
However, for a Spirit possessing physical capabilities far exceeding human limits, as long as they grasp the correct thod, this isn't an impossible feat.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh—!"
In almost the blink of an eye, Yutsuki grabbed the two brats from the water's surface. Imdiately after, with a fierce leap from the water's surface, she landed on the shore.
Oh crap, the floor is too slippery!
Because the splashing water had flooded the floor earlier, the large amount of water drastically reduced the floor's friction coefficient, making it impossible to stop her overly fierce montum. Yutsuki could only maintain her standing posture while sliding forward.
"Eh? Yutsuki, what are you doing?"
"Astral Dress? Yutsuki, what happened?"
Suddenly, Shido and the others appeared in front of Yutsuki.
"Perfect timing! Tohka! Kotori! Catch!"
"Wah!"
"Uya!"
She tossed the two already fainted brats she was holding to the two girls. Fortunately, since they were also Spirits and their physical constitutions far exceeded ordinary people's, they were able to catch them safely without any trouble.
"Shido, I can't brake, hurry up and catch !"
"Wait... ehhh?!!"
Before Shido could react, Yutsuki crashed into him at high speed like a cannonball. Under the powerful impact, the two lost their balance and rolled on the ground several tis before stopping.
"Ugh... As expected, the first attempt was too reckless. Shido... are you okay?"
Yutsuki struggled to sit up and said sowhat apologetically.
"Mhm... I should be fine."
Feeling dizzy and disoriented from the intense rolling, Shido answered groggily. He waved his arms, trying to find a pivot point to stand up.
However, halfway there, it felt like he accidentally grabbed a piece of fabric.
Grey green... why does this shape look a bit familiar...
Then, his vision gradually cleared. He saw Ryougi Yutsuki straddling his waist, and the soft, pinkish white curves of her chest...
Wait! Pinkish white?!
"Ah... uh... um..."
Seemingly realizing her situation, Yutsuki hurriedly covered her chest with her arms, stuttering incomprehensible syllables, her cheeks turning bright red at a visible rate.
In an instant, Shido felt cold sweat cover his back.
"Wait! Yutsuki, listen to my explanation!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh—!"
Blue-white lightning covered the entire swimming pool.
On that day, Ryougi Yutsuki comprehended the highest realm of swimming pursued by all swimrs—Qinggong Water Sprinting.
However, from that day on, for the rest of the sumr vacation, Yutsuki never stepped out of her room again.
User Comments
0 comments from readers