“O mighty sea—”

“I was going to shout that, but I already did it once on the beach by the castle, so I’ll pass.”

Standing on the beach beneath the blazing sun, Miss Tiran waved her hand and said, sounding rather regretful.

“You were pretending last time too, weren’t you?”

Aya shrugged. “Miss Tiran really does love disappointing people, huh?”

“Last time, it was more like, ‘I’m actually thrilled inside, but to maintain my dignified image, I’ll deliberately claim it was fake.’ I really did want to come play by the sea with you, Aya.”

Tiran wagged a finger.

As you can see, on the morning of the second day, the group arrived at Alakushko, a seaside town at the foot of Mount Goldcoast.

The Goldcoast region had an extremely long coastline, and almost every stretch featured beautiful white-sand beaches. Every year, once the weather turned warm enough for swimming, visitors flocked here in droves. Naturally, the flourishing tourism industry had given rise to quite a few seaside towns like this one.

The temperature changed dramatically after they came down from the mountain. Last night, they’d needed to wrap themselves in blankets to sleep comfortably at the villa up there. Down here, even shorts and a shirt felt too hot.

“Ugh… I want to just wear my swimsuit…”

Tiran tugged at her short-sleeved shirt and hot pants, already marked with sweat. Since they hadn’t reached the beach proper yet, she restrained herself. Instead, she tied up the hem of her shirt, exposing her slender waist and the faintly defined abs she’d gained from all her training. A wave of passing gazes immediately turned her way.

Liking pretty things was human nature, after all. Besides, an outfit like that wasn’t out of place at the seaside, so it was only natural that she’d attract some attention.

But she was so eye-catching that some of those looks were a little too blatantly obvious!

A powerful wave of irritation surged through Aya. She hooked an arm around Tiran and firmly blocked those gazes with her body.

…Though it didn’t seem to help much?

“Whoa! Is that her girlfriend?”

“But isn’t she already gorgeous?”

“…Could they be yuri? Like, lesbians?”

All right, Aya swore by the Dragon God that if she hadn’t been worried about getting arrested for beating up random pedestrians in broad daylight and ruining the vacation, she would’ve marched over there and let them taste her furious iron fists.

“Um, Aya…” The princess in her arms tugged at Aya’s sleeve.

“Ignore them. Let’s just head to the beach.”

“Don’t hold me so tightly. It’s hot.”

Tiran looked thoroughly put out and shoved Aya to the side with all her strength. Aya nearly coughed up a mouthful of old blood from sheer frustration.

“Where are Little Fei and Chirp?”

Aya turned her gaze elsewhere and suddenly realized that the little Angel and Chirp, who had been following behind them, were nowhere to be seen. She finally spotted the two little ones at several teppanyaki and barbecue stalls not far away.

“Boss, I’ll have two skewers of grilled prawns, two skewers of grilled eel, and a box of charcoal-grilled oysters!”

“Chirp… Smells so good (｡0﹃0｡)”

“See? Follow Big Sis and you’ll definitely find something tasty.” The little Angel patted her chest with supreme confidence. After receiving her travel allowance—or, more accurately, pocket money—from Tiran that morning, she’d already begun planning her grand culinary journey.

Hmm. If they let the little Angel keep this up, Chirp might end up becoming Little Angel, Model Two.

“Don’t fill up too much right now. There’ll be even fresher food when we go out to sea later.”

Aya came over to the stall and lightly tapped the little Angel on the head.

“Senior Aya, you need to have faith in my appetite! As long as it’s delicious, I can eat as much of it as there is!”

That was what she said, but after being reminded, the little Angel clearly reined herself in. At least by the time they reached the beach, all she had left in her hands was a bowl of watermelon shaved ice.

“So this is what a tourist destination is like? I can really feel it…”

Aya ran a hand over the rented beach umbrella and the lounge chair beneath it before sitting down. Mm. Comfortable.

The proper beach was far livelier than the reef-strewn shore they’d walked along earlier. Even though it was already nearly the start of autumn and the weather was beginning to cool, around seventy to eighty percent of the umbrellas and lounge chairs were still occupied.

On the beach, couples held hands as they strolled through the shallow water, while families had come to spend their vacation. Some children built sandcastles and sand walls just below the highest point the waves could reach, defending them against the tide. Others charged into wave after wave, only to be carried back toward shore by the current, repeating the process without ever growing tired of it.

Farther from shore was the domain of the somewhat older youths: beach volleyball, swimming, surfing, or simply tossing a float into the calm water, lying on it, and enjoying the easy pleasure of drifting with the waves.

Tiran had always thought she hated crowded places. But with her feet soaking in the cool seawater, the moist, salt-laced breeze brushing across her skin, and the sounds of waves and vacationers playing filling her ears, the atmosphere didn’t seem so bad.

“Mmm~~~ It’s not any worse than the beach back home.”

Tiran stretched lazily, then glanced behind her. The little Angel had pulled Chirp into a group of children building sandcastles by the sea. Aya was happily watching from the side—and secretly polishing off the shaved ice the little Angel had eaten halfway through.

“…Wow, that person’s bullying Little Fei again.”

The little Angel’s attention, however, had completely left the shaved ice behind.

She’d failed to notice a wave washing over and destroying the beginnings of her sandcastle. When the children nearby laughed at her, it instead awakened a strange competitive spirit.

With Chirp assisting by calculating the materials and load-bearing structure, the little Angel built a super-luxurious sandcastle as tall as a person in one go. Its shape and the intricate details of its decorative patterns were refined enough to call it a work of art—a crushing display against the children playing in the sand nearby. Those with weaker emotional resilience simply puckered their little mouths, burst into tears, and ran to find their mothers.

“Hahaha! As expected, Chirp and I are the strongest combo! Who else wants some?!”

The little Angel planted both hands on her hips, striking a domineering pose as if she ruled the world. For a moment, Aya was reminded of how she’d looked right after being summoned—but there was also a hint of the sly, pleased-with-herself look Miss Tiran wore whenever one of her schemes succeeded.

…The Angel who had once been impossible for Aya and Tiran to face head-on was now dragging Chirp around and throwing her weight around against a bunch of children. For some reason, Aya suddenly felt a little sad.

Aya also wondered what Her Divine Majesty the Goddess would think if she saw her own Seraphim reduced to this state beside Tiran. She’d probably regret it terribly, right?

“Miss Tiran, look what you’ve turned Little Fei into…” Aya muttered quietly through the contract.

“Is this really my fault? I’d say I merely brought out her true nature.” Tiran firmly refused to accept the blame. “Anyway, I’m going swimming for a while too. We’ll meet back up at noon, then head to the port and go out to sea.”

Tiran waved toward Aya on the beach, then retrieved her swimsuit from the storage bracelet clasped around her wrist and headed for the changing room.

Stare—

“Hm?”

Tiran had only taken a few steps when she suddenly stopped and cautiously swept her gaze around.

Strange. That feeling just now… Was someone watching her?

After experiencing countless dangerous battles, Tiran’s senses had grown sharp beyond what an ordinary person could comprehend. She could clearly tell that the gaze from moments ago was different from the other looks drawn purely by her appearance.

It was focused, purposeful—and tinged with hostility?