Everyone was surrendering their bodies to the swaying carriage.
’Ah!’
Hearing Mika’s sudden exclamation, everyone raised their heads.
’It’s the sea!’
’It’s probably just another lake.’
Rin replied flatly.
Because of Mika, who shouted ’it’s the sea’ at even the slightest glimpse of water, they had already made a fuss together several tis by now.
’It’s real this ti! It makes no sense if that’s not the sea!’
’That’s the third ti you’ve said that.’
Rin didn’t believe her at all and closed her eyes again.
But this ti, another person’s voice followed, confirming Mika’s words.
’We’ve almost arrived. I can see the sea.’
’Really!?’
’I told you it was real!’
At the coachman’s words, everyone finally sprang up and looked outside.
’The sea!’
When Ian also took a peek outside, the blue sea stretched out wide in the distance.
A sea breeze thick with salt blew in.
’Is that all water?’
’It’s so huge...’
Everyone poked their heads out, chattering like people seeing the sea for the first ti.
Well, they were indeed people seeing the sea for the first ti.
There were no things like photographs. Paintings were an expensive hobby for the upper class.
Unless soone had been to the sea in person, it was natural that a few words read in a book couldn’t help them imagine what the sea was like at all.
At the sight of the sea for the first ti, everyone stared outside with their mouths agape.
’We’ll arrive shortly.’
The coachman, who had likely dealt with many such people before, drove the carriage with a small smile.
＊ ＊ ＊
The carriage procession arrived in the city.
Ian and the mbers stepped off the carriage after finishing their few days of escort duty.
The coastal city, Altria.
Even if they had never been there, it was a famous tourist city near Labyrinth that everyone had heard the na of at least once.
’Good work.’
Since they had entered the city, the escort contract ended here.
Normally, they would have to rest for a day and imdiately look for a return carriage, but since they ca for a vacation, they planned to spend a few days here.
The man who was the client for this escort looked at Ian and spoke.
’You ca for a vacation, didn’t you?’
’That’s right.’
’Haha, I haven’t seen a single person who just turns back after coming all the way here. Everyone takes requests for this direction to double as a vacation.’
Ian didn’t explicitly say it was for vacation, but they looked like tourists to anyone who saw them.
In the first place, most rcenaries who took escorts in this direction did so for that purpose.
Ian had also accepted the request at a reasonably low price for that reason.
’If you haven’t decided on a place to stay yet, shall I introduce you to sowhere I know?’
’Well, I’d appreciate that.’
An offer to introduce accommodation.
Naturally, he would introduce a place where he gets a referral fee.
But since it was their first ti here and it wasn’t a town where they could look up reviews in advance.
No matter who they asked, they would be taken to a place that pays a referral fee, so Ian simply decided to go to the accommodation introduced by the rchant who had been their companion.
’It’s a quiet place, so you’ll like it.’
The rchant spoke with a aningful smile.
Of course, introducing accommodation to rcenaries and receiving a fee from the owner was a decent side job.
However, a rchant with long experience prepared two things in such cases.
A place where they get a referral fee, and a place where they instead pay money and ask the owner to take care of the guests.
This ti, it was the latter.
Generally, a rcenary group’s evaluation seed to be determined by rank or request performance.
But sotis, the evaluations circulating among rchants are faster and more accurate.
The Ian rcenary Group of the ’Plaza Street Guild House’.
There was no rchant trading in that area who didn’t know them.
’If you ever need to order new furniture, I will get you the best goods from anywhere as quickly as possible.’
After being guided to the location of the lodging, Ian received the rchant’s business card for his shop.
...To a man, they never say they’ll give a discount.
In Ian’s room, there were already two pouches full of business cards received from rchants like this.
Ian walked along the path toward the introduced lodging.
Guests from out of town and shops catering to them lined the long street.
Befitting its status as a tourist city, the whole town was full of things to enjoy.
As they walked further, the bustling scenery began to fade.
The place they arrived at was exactly as described: a quiet location.
It was a quiet, villa-like lodging, slightly away from the crowded beach where tourists sward.
Being a bit off from the center where markets and shops gathered, there were few people and it was peaceful.
While it wasn’t as flashily decorated as the central beach, it sat right against the sandy shore, allowing them to enter the sea imdiately.
’The sea!’
The mbers, who ca outside after leaving their luggage at the lodging, imdiately ran to the beach.
’So this is the sea...’
’It really is incredibly wide.’
Seeing the sea right in front of them, the mbers looked at it with faces overwheld by its sheer scale.
But looking with their eyes only lasted a mont.
They all made eye contact, nodded, and plunged into the sea all at once.
’Yahoo!’
-Splash!
Imdiately after everyone entered the sea, creating spray.
Painful screams broke out.
’Ugh...’
’Ack.’
The mbers who were splashing around all rolled back out.
Looking at the mbers lying face down on the sandy beach, Ian, who only then rembered a point of caution, spoke.
’Ah. Seawater is salty, so you shouldn’t drink it.’
’Why... are you only saying that now...’
It was because he had completely forgotten that he needed to give a warning that seawater is salty to soone seeing the sea for the first ti.
Everyone had jumped into the sea with the sa mories of swimming in streams or lakes, only to end up collapsing on the sand after swallowing a mouthful of salt water.
’Ugh... why is seawater salty anyway?’
Mika, who was limp after spitting out seawater and drinking fresh water, asked.
Well... there are various reasons.
Pondering that question quietly, Ian decided to explain it in the simplest and easiest-to-understand way.
’A long ti ago...’
As Ian began a story, the mbers lying on the sand raised their heads and focused on him.
....
’And so, that artifact that sank into the sea is still producing salt deep in the ocean...’
’Oh...’
The mbers listening to Ian’s story nodded with serious faces.
It was a perfect and clean explanation.
It could have been a slightly difficult story, but everyone looked like they understood perfectly.
Everyone was very satisfied with gaining new knowledge.
Having learned the lesson that seawater is salty, everyone cautiously dipped their feet into the water this ti.
In a place a bit shallower than before, they gradually adapted to their first experience of playing in the sea with light splashing.
’Wait, but...’
Rin’s group, who had been distracted by the sea, belatedly realized that one person was missing.
’Where did Lia go?’
’Huh? She was here when we ca out...’
Ria, who had been with them until they reached the beach, was nowhere to be seen now.
Mika spoke with a grin.
’Maybe she can’t swim and snuck away? Let’s throw her in the water when she cos.’
Maybe she was embarrassed because she couldn’t swim well.
While they were laughing and planning a prank on Ria, Lia suddenly surged up from inside the sea.
-Splash!
’?!’
Ria, holding several harpoons carved from wood—who knows when she made them—set down the fish she had just caught on the beach.
’You were all here. What are you doing not coming in?’
Ria, who had erged from the sea, asked with a puzzled face.
’Ri, Ria. Where were you?’
’Underneath...’
Pointing toward the sea, Lia realized that everyone else but her was just playing lightly on the shore.
’Ah... you were just playing in the water.’
eting everyone’s gazes staring intently at her, Lia realized sothing and her face flushed slightly.
’Well, in my village, catching fish is how we play...’
Ria... was from the coast.
＊ ＊ ＊
The sun set in an instant, and night arrived.
Just as Ian expected.
The mbers, who had spent the day swimming and playing in the sea to their heart’s content, were all exhausted and fell asleep by the ti night fell.
They saw the sea for the first ti; there was no way they could have held back.
After confirming everyone was asleep, Ian ca out to the living room.
Ria, the only one among the mbers who was awake, raised her head and looked at Ian.
’Ria. What are you doing?’
’Just, I couldn’t sleep...’
’This must not be very fun for you. Sorry.’
’No. It’s been a while, so it was nice.’
To Ria, whose hotown was by the sea, this probably wasn’t a particularly fascinating place.
It would have been a nice change of pace to see the sea after a long ti, but she wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much as the other mbers.
Since he finally had so free ti, Ian, thinking he should spend a little ti for Ria, made a suggestion.
’Ria. Then, shall we go for a walk?’
’A walk?’
Ian nodded.
...A strange thought crossed her mind at the word ’walk’, but Lia also knew by now.
The fact that this rcenary group was not the kind of place she had initially thought it was.
Of course, she had no complaints about this rcenary group.
There was only the minor issue of occasionally rembering the day she first joined and feeling too embarrassed to sleep at night.
A simple walk around the lodging.
Both left the lodging in light attire.
It was night and the sky was dark, but the downtown area a short distance away was still brightly lit.
The noise of the bustling city could be heard from afar.
It was a quiet and secluded place, slightly removed from that loud commotion.
A path illuminated by bright moonlight.
Ian, stopping for a mont, looked back at Lia and said.
’How is it here?’
’...It seems like a nice place?’
At Ian’s sudden question, Lia replied with a puzzled expression.
Was he planning to rest for a bit? It was a reasonably suitable spot.
Lia nodded without much thought.
’What are you doing?’
’Huh?’
Ian, who plopped down on a bench, spoke as he saw Lia approaching the seat next to him.
Ria, who was about to sit next to Ian, felt a chilling sensation and hesitated.
’Take it off.’
’Heh?’
Lia stared blankly at Ian with a bewildered face.
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