Yuusha no furi
36: The sea, cleaning and swimming!
It is noon and the sunlight pours down directly from above.
Four more days until the last day of the festival.
In the sweaty heat, I went to the bay near the port town because the permission arrived today in the morning.

It was a C-shaped bay surrounded by cliffs, and in the south was a narrow opening leading to the ocean. It has approximately the width of a ship. But the inside is very spacious with a sandy beach drawing an arc of 100 meters.
A white sandy beach and the blue sea. Because it was in a bay, the waves were quiet and the bottom of the sea was visible.


However, along with sharp gleaming light, red and blue blood is blown upwards.
I sit in a boat wearing swimming trunks and swing my Tachi while I look at the demons with "Clairvoyance". The blood splashes are dancing.
Celica was also on board in a swimming suit. She wore a red bikini and a pareo made of cloth around her hips.
She had a slender sword and I had to be careful not to be hit.

She swung the sword like a ventilator with a momentum changing the color of the sea.
The cut down demons look like frogs, like snakes or have horns.
*Guiiish"* *Shaba* *Gopoosh*


While doing so, someone looking like a hybrid between a lizard and a human appeared at a remote place. He stands on the water and holds a spear in his hands.
His eyes were wide open and looking shocked.
"Wh-What is this. You...!"
"Even if you asked me what I'm doing. I'm the manager of this place and ordered a forced removal."
"Don't joke around! As if I'd let some human! I'll kill yo--waaah!"
With a simple blade of wind, the lizard-man's head is sent flying.

"You're annoying"

Then lizard people came one after another. They surrounded the boat.
"How dare you kill big brothe--gyaaa!" "You're fucking kiddin--ngaa!" "Wait, let's talk about thi--ua!"
They spoke to me, but I didn't listen to them.
They had their chance, but came at me with the intent to kill after all.
Because I can listen to their conversations held under water with "Attentive Ears".


After that we went ahead with the demon slaying.
The demons' screams continued to echo through the cove.

Simultaneously, I activated "Truth Sight" and occasionally threw demons with expensive meat or materials on land.
Then Lapisia caught them and handed them over to Minya who was waiting nearby.
She guts them with her two kitchen knives while moving her cat ears and tail.
Lapisia looks cute, wearing something similar to a white school swimsuit.
Minya wears a black bikini. Paired with the cute cat ears, it has an unbalanced sex appeal.


We knocked down all the demons in the bay in about two hours.
As expected, it was quite tiring and I wipe the sweat from my forehead.
"Fuu. That's it I guess."
"A-Amazing, Keika-sama... You easily killed all these demons"
"It helped that there was only small fry"
"No,...there should have been even Gold Vipers and Sea Lizardmen..."
"Is that so? I don't remember. --ah, damn!"
I flicked my tongue.
When I noticed, the "Proof of Hero" hanging on the chain around my neck was flashing.

While I verify it, characters are emerging.
"Member (Celica) has risen a level"
"Member (Celica) has risen a level"
"Member (Celica) has risen a level"
"Acquired a new skill"
Celica's Lv rose by three to 26.
[Skills]
"Gale Sting": A thrust with violent wind. Long range attack.

Celica tilts her head.
"What happened?"
"Because we got lots of experience points, I should have assigned Minya's job beforehand. Your level rose by three and you learned 'Gale Sting'."
"Oh! -- Like this?"
Celica puts her slender sword at her waist and pours magic power into it. Then she stretches out her arm and releases a strong thrust.
*Buun!*
A violent wind was released from the sword.
The wind of magical power became a mass, flew about 20 meters and disappeared.
So that's it... it's like a wave fist.

Celica rejoices and puts her hand on her chest.
"It's a wonderful power, thank you very much, Keika-sama"


I also noticed.
"Acquired a new skill"
"Acquired a new skill"
"Acquired a new hero skill"
[Skills]
Cure: Let's you recover allies.
Blurred: It makes your body blurry and more difficult to hit.
[Hero Skills]
Magnus wave: Flies with a light-wave movement and cancels effects. When used against an enemy, it cancels status-up effects. When used against an ally, it cancels status-down effects.

"I also learned a skill. This feels nice. Shall we head back?"
"Yes, Keika-sama"
"--Heeey, Ieturia, come heeere"
With a *splashsplash*, Ieturia comes swimming from the ocean's opening while wriggling her white limb.

She speaks while pulling the boat.
"As expected of you, Keika-sama. I thought that it would take several days"
"Because we don't have much time, we had to finish quickly. Now please wait and watch whether new demons will come into the bay through the opening."
"That's a simple task"


We stepped onto the white sandy beach, put on shirts and set up a large umbrella, that was looking like a beach parasol.
We then put the gutted demons onto a loading platform, that was brought by a subordinate of Driad.

Celica drinks tea from a water bottle that she brought. Whenever her throat moved up and down, the red bikini hidden under her clothes shook.
Because I stared at her too intensely, Celica hides her chest with her hands with a red face after she finished drinking.
"What are we going to do now?"
"Of course, we'll swim."
"Eh?--Here in the sea?"
The beautiful blue sea is still speckled with the blue and red blood from the demons.

I drink some water from my gourd and stand up.
"I'll just do this-- undulating water oh, return to the ocean. 'Wave explosion'"
With a *gooooo*, the water is gathering in the bay and flowing towards the entrance.
Clean water is flowing inside instead.
Immediately the cove regained its beautiful blue color.
Celica and Ieturia were at a loss for words and simply looked astonished.


I talked to Lapisia in her white school swimsuit.
"Now then, Lapisia, it's time for swimming practice--everyone can go swimming!"
"Yeehaaa, sea!"
Lapisia ran off to the water. Her blue twin tails are fluttering behind her. She jumps around at the edge of the water.

I take her hand and accompany her to a deeper place.
Lapisia's short legs don't reach and her face distorts with anxiety while she tightly holds my hands.
"Sca-scary"
"Put your body sideways and you'll float. You'll feel how your hips are raised."
"L-Like this?"
Because her face seemed to sink while she lets her small butt float, I released one hand and put it under Lapisia's stomach.
After I lifted her several times, she floats on the water surface.

"Try to paddle with your feet"
"Like this?"
With a *splash splash*, water sprays upwards.
While I hold her with my hand, her body gets lighter.
"Oh, that's good..."
Lapisia brightens up for a moment, but as soon as she began to move, the brightness disappeared.
"Sca-scary"
Hmm, is this too sudden?

"Stop. Hold onto me"
"Understood"
Her small hands and feet are tightly holding onto my body. Even in the water, her high body temperature is transmitted to me.
I was hugged all over, so it was difficult to move while going back on land.
"I'll think about it a little bit. Please go play with Minya"
"Yeees. Minya, let's play!"
She ran towards the coast where Minya was.

Hmm, it's kinda difficult to explain.


I approached Celica who was sitting in the shadow of the beach parasol.
She wears a shirt and sits with her legs crossed. Her legs are slender and beautiful.

I sat down next to her and talked to her while sighing.
"It's hard to teach swimming."
"I was watching, how about letting her first get used to the water?"
"Letting her get used to the water?"
"When I learned swimming in the river, I practiced by first bringing my head to the water, made bubbles and then tried to open my eyes underwater."
Celica made the gestures of bringing her head to the water and opening her eyes. Her childish acting looks cute. Her long blond hair was spreading.

"I see. People who are afraid of water first have to come to that point I guess."
"Because you like water, you probably skipped the accustoming process."
"Heh. Then, could you please teach Lapisia a little?"
"Yes... I'll do it..., that's what I'd like to say but... can I do that a little later?"
Celica covered her body uneasily. Her large breasts are squeezed by her arms and it looks like they would be pushed out of her red bikini at any moment.

I became worried and put my hand on her delicate shoulder while looking into her face.
"Are you alright? Are you tired?"
"No...this is..."
"Please tell me if you're feeling unwell without hiding anything because I'd be worried if you collapsed. I want you to stay by my side after all."
I drew closer and closer to her and finally hugged her tightly.

*Fuann*, Celica groaned in my arms.
Her pale face blushed and she pressed her graceful face against my chest.
"I'm sorry, Keika-sama. I know that I am selfish. Even though you mean to do it for a greater cause, I feel so embaressed being seen and I shouldn't say something so spoilt."
"Being seen?"
"Yes...I don't know where, but some people from the town are already here and are... peeping."
"Wow! They already came!? I thought it would take several days for the word to spread!"


I immediately activate "Clairvoyance" and look around. About ten men and women are in the nearby grove and next to the street. And their ages were even ranged from young to old.
-- It was a pleasant miscalculation.

"What shall we do, Keika?"
"Are you skilled at writing letters? Something beautiful?"
"Yes, more or less, I even made decorative pictures"
"Perfect. Then, please write the letters while I'll spread my shirt. The paint is in the bag."
"W-What do you want me to write?"

I laughed while answering.


"Of course 'Hero Keika Beach'!"

"Ooh"
Celica held her mouth with her hands while her blue eyes were full of admiration.


I entered the grove and cut two straight rods of wood.
Then I went back to Celica.
I combine the rods into a cross and attach the shirt with the characters on it.

--The signboard is ready.

"Oops. Under that, please write 'Peeping forbidden. Will be regarded as demons. Signed Hero'. Also 'Swimming possible with swimsuits. Swimsuits can be bought in Madam's shop in the alley'."
"Understood"
Celica wrote the letters with a brush.


I carried the sign on my back and called out to the people beginning with the closest.

Those were the man and woman in the grove.
"That's how it is. I'd like you to stop peeping"
"'Hero Keika Beach'!? No, we're really sorry for that. We heard that the hero party is swimming here."
"I'm sorry. We wanted to swim after the you left."
"Both of them apologized while they lowered their heads ."

"Ah, please read this. There are no reservations. As long as you're wearing swimsuits you can swim with everyone."
"Swimsuit? What's that?"
"Do you know Madam's shop in the back street? They are sold there. I am currently wearing one for men and the girls are wearing those for women. They are easy to swim in because they won't hinder the body's movement."

"I see. They are clothes specialized for swimming. ... Understood. We'll go buy them right away."
When the man said that, the woman's cheeks blushed a little while looking at the girls next to the sea.
"Those look, very cute. It's embarrassing though..."
"If it is you, it'll definitely suit you."
"Ahh, darling!"
Keika separated from them when they started flirting.
"Well, that's how it is. Please have fun at the Hero Keika Beach."


Next was an old woman. She was sitting at the roadside while looking at the cove.
"I'm sorry, miss. That's how it is."
I showed her the sign. The old woman nods.
"I am sorry for peeping. I used to swim here when the demons weren't there yet, so I felt very nostalgic."
"Is that so?...Can't you still at least float in the water?"
"At this age, the soaked clothes are so heavy that I can't move my body."

The old woman looks tired while she sighs and I spoke to her with a bright face.
"What are you saying? Swimsuits are exactly made for this! No matter how soaked they are, they won't interfere with the body's movements because they are made of a special fabric. They are sold by Madam's shop in the alley. They were invented by me, the hero."
That's not precisely correct, but in this world it would be easier to understand if I said that it is my invention.

The old woman's eyes are shining.
"That there was such a convenient item. That's a hero for you."
"Also, even if you'd drown here, you can have a peace of mind, because that person-- the god's messenger called Ieturia is standing guard."
"I don't really understand, but it's amazing. I guess I should give it a try."
"Yep, have fun at the Hero Keika Beach!"
I saw the old woman off.


After that, by talking to the peeping people, I was able to sell my name and swimsuits.
At the end I installed the signboard at the entrance to the bay.
The shirt with the written "Hero Keika Beach" on it is bending in the wind.
"*Sigh*"
Walking around in the hot weather and swinging fervent speeches seriously makes you sweat.
"Should I swim another round?"
While thinking about that, groups of people came in succession from the town. There were twenty people.
There are more than those who went back.

In the lead were the young man and woman.
"This is it, Hero-sama. We bought them immediately."
"I'd be too embarrassed if I'd wear it alone, but when everyone does it I can gather enough courage."
The woman slides her clothes aside and showed a yellow swimsuit. She seems to wear it already.
--Because it is close to the town, will this become the norm?
"Is that so? I'm glad."


When going back to the bay, I received many expressions of thanks.
"I can swim here again" "This swimsuit is wonderful" "Thank you for taking it back from the demons" "Hero Keika is the guardian of memories."
-- Nice nickname, guardian of memories.
I won't be defeated by the fame of the sea guardian Lazan.

That's right.
I thought about putting the fame of Lazan aside for now and spread my name elsewhere.
It could be said that my aim was successful, seeing how all these people are praising me.
It's a happy coincidence that the people of this town are so fond of swimming-- no, that's only because it's a hot day. It might only be natural to want to swim.

I responded in a cheerful mood.
"Please do some light exercises before entering so your legs won't cramp up."
"""Yes, Hero-sama"""

I return to the cove while being accompanied by many people who are praising me.