Finally, the captain of the ship came ashore. Her covered black swimsuit, with two white stripes in the color scheme, suspiciously resembled the armor of imperial guards. At the same time, the girl did not take off her gloves, which hid crossbows.
"Ahem, Aileen, don't you think your gloves stand out a bit?" I asked.
"Hm?" The girl adjusted her gloves and pondered for a moment. "Well, in principle, I could take them off, but I don't like being defenseless. However, this outfit is indeed convenient to move in. I'll have to advise the emperor to purchase several batches of similar clothing. We can even include it in the uniform for soldiers during maritime operations."
"You always think too pragmatically. Take a little break, put your weapons aside for a day," I suggested.
"Alright, alright," the engineer removed her gloves and carefully placed them next to one of the loungers. She lay on top of it, keeping her weapons within arm's reach.
"And still, someone is missing..."
"I'll show you how to have an active rest," Aileen said as she took out a leather ball from her bag and tossed it with one hand. "If we have a spare moment, it's better to spend it wisely."
The girl jumped up and forcefully hit the ball towards Grain.
"Hey," Grain raised his hands and involuntarily created a wall of sand in front of him. The ball hit it and fell to the ground.
"No, that won't do. You were supposed to hit it back!" Aileen picked up the ball and chose a new target. "Algo!"
Shouting the name, she threw the ball with force at the head of her new target. The swordsman didn't have time to react, but at the last moment, his fist blocked the ball back towards its owner.
"Heh-heh, I think I'm starting to get the hang of it," Vivien rubbed her fists contentedly.
The girls chuckled wickedly, looking at each other, and the battle began. They started tossing the ball back and forth, trying to hit their opponents as hard as possible, and the score of accidental victims kept increasing. Aileen dodged, and the ball knocked out Seleria. Vivien jumped to the side, and her sister became the next victim. If this continues, there will soon be a real melee here.
A hand with black claws deftly intercepted the ball in mid-air.
"Even children want to play," Ragni looked disapprovingly at the exuberant girls and tossed the ball to the little dragons. "Maybe it's better to play more gently?"
"Alright," Aileen shrugged. "We can slow down."
Aileen and Vivien joined the dragons in a circle and started tossing the ball more calmly.
Meanwhile, I decided to take a rest and lay down on a lounger in the shade not far from Katrina. The princess blushed slightly, trying to avoid my gaze, but it seemed like she wanted to say something.
"Um... Krito... you know, these outfits, it was all Seleria's idea... and, well..."
"Yes, I know. She wanted to test them on you. If you could overcome your embarrassment in them, she could promote them in our markets," I briefly glanced at her figure, slightly exposed in the swimsuit. "But it suits you, very beautiful swimsuit."
"Thank you."
"Wow," Seleria suddenly plopped down between us, "you really hit me in the head with that ball."
The girl pressed a wet towel against her head.
"Well, what can you do, they prefer an active rest," I awkwardly averted my gaze.
"Heh-heh, what's with the embarrassment... or did I interrupt some important conversation?" Seleria quickly grasped the situation. "By the way, Krito, you haven't told me if my swimsuit suits me?"
The girl deliberately reclined on the lounger, putting her hands behind her head, conspicuously emphasizing her ample bosom.
"Yes, it suits you too," I replied.
"Sigh, now it doesn't sound as convincing," she said, looking over her shoulder at her neighbor. Katrina, with a displeased face, glanced at her own chest, then at Seleria... and with a snort, turned away: "Oh, it seems I upset someone."
The girl smirked, and someone tapped me gently on the shoulder from behind. I turned around and saw a blushing, slender girl in a white swimsuit with frills at the bottom.
"Do I look strange?" Kurone didn't raise her eyes and nervously played with her fingers.
"Hoo, I thought you disappeared somewhere," Seleria playfully ran her eyes over the treasurer's figure, and she began to dissolve into the air, quite literally.
"A beautiful swimsuit. I should have worn something like this too," Katrina sighed, biting her nail. "It's all because she provoked me, saying that I couldn't be more attractive than her."
The princess's malicious gaze pierced her friend's back, but the latter just shrugged.
"Oh, come on, admit it, Kurone looks better in that outfit. A modest, sweet girl against your feisty character – she wins in any case."
"Hmph," Kat pouted discontentedly. "Krito, why are you so silent?"
"Huh? Well, I think it looks cute," I involuntarily blushed, and Kurone blushed even more.
"It seems they're gaining more people," Seleria looked at the group with the ball. Werner and Grain had already joined them, and Miriam, after pushing her sister, also joined the game. "And Algo is trying to convince Liri."
"But she's in no hurry to agree."
"Well, it's going to be fun," Algo was pulling his girl towards the others.
"You know I don't really like active games," Liri blushed, but still followed her knight.
"Oh, new participants," Aileen tossed the ball and sent it straight at Leira.
"Yikes!" The girl covered her face with her hands, and the hit knocked her to the ground. "Ugh, I told you I didn't want to!"
She stomped off to the sea in a fit of anger.
"But, Liri..."
"I'll go for a swim instead. Do whatever you want," she walked towards the sea, rubbing her reddening hands.
"I..." Algo wanted to follow her, but she stopped him. "Do whatever you want, just don't bother me!"
The girl walked into the sea, and Algo plunged into despair.
"Heh, a family quarrel," Asura thoughtfully stroked her chin. "Give her some time to cool off, and buy her a gift. I read somewhere that such a tradition usually helps."
"Mmm, Algo got himself into trouble. Now he won't get away easily from Leira," Seleria chuckled cunningly. "And still, why did she fall so easily from one hit? She defended herself from the ball, unlike me."
"But she's a girl, and not as trained as Aileen or Vivien. It's quite a logical outcome," I just shrugged.
"But then again, remember her in battle. She strikes quickly and accurately, and she's no weakling," Katrina clenched her fist and hit the ground. The sand even flew into the air from the impact.
"Well, I heard that mana can sometimes replace physical strength," Kurone pondered, recalling her studies. "Mages are usually not physically strong people, but mana allows their muscles to exert much more force than they normally could."
"But then it's strange that she couldn't tap into that power now."
"It's simple, girls," Levris approached us with her basket. "Katrina, you can't constantly sustain such strength; the residual effects of lightning magic are detrimental to your nerves, and after prolonged tension, you may be paralyzed for some time."
"Hmm, well, if you put it that way, you're right."
"Take Hilda, for example, to understand that not everyone can use mana to enhance their body," Rumy interjected in our conversation. "Look, she's slimmer than other warriors, but she possesses much greater strength. And it's all because she maintains constant contact with the ice spirits, who fill her body with strength."
"Speaking of that," Seleria approached Rumy closely and examined her body. First, the princess traced her finger along the metallic part, then along the human skin. Finally, she pressed on the golem's chest to confirm her suspicions. "Your body is real, human, only the left side from the waist to the shoulder is replaced with machinery, right?"
"Yes, I suffered a serious injury in battle, and then my brother used all his knowledge to bring me back to life."
"But what a precise cut," Seleria ran her finger along the edge of the metal. "A smooth spherical cut, even the boundary between flesh and metal is blurred. Your brother was clearly a great master."
"Rather, an inventor. Before him, no one tried to breathe life into lifeless matter. Of course, he could have brought me back using necromancy, but then my body with such an injury would continue to decay. He wanted me to continue living as an ordinary human. He replaced the torn part of my body with magical metal and used a powerful magic crystal to replace my heart. If he used a slightly weaker crystal, I would have died long ago and could have been reunited with him. But with this crystal, it energizes me, and its magic fills me with strength, so I can ignore the weight of my other half and fight with superhuman strength. And at the same time, I retain all my human qualities."
Seleria narrowed her eyes and whispered something in Rumy's ear.
"Oh yes, you can do it with men too, although I probably won't have children."
The girl's last words unsettled Levris and Kurone, but I could only let out a heavy sigh.
"Speaking of physical strength. Look at our guys," Rumy pointed to Algo, Werner, Grain, and me playing with the ball, "If we judge purely by appearance, Grain is the strongest, then Werner, Algo, and Kritho. However, Kritho's striking power is much greater than the rest. He simply, like Hilda, learned to channel his mana at the right moment."
"Hmm, yes, he was able to even destroy the Emperor's armor back then, although it might have been the doing of the black flames."
"But still, since our first meeting, he has become slightly stronger," Rumy grabbed my arm unceremoniously and squeezed my bicep, "but externally, he clearly hasn't gained much strength. At the same time, Algo has become visibly more toned, and Werner has unexpectedly developed muscles."
"So, Kritho just compensates for the lack of physical strength with magical power?" Katrina pondered, "But he trains every day, and his muscles should have grown anyway."
"No, mana replaces muscle, the more Kritho tries to use magic to strengthen his body, the less chance he has of becoming physically stronger," Levris nodded towards Grain, "Before, Grain's magic was very weak; he could barely move small stones with it. And he started reinforcing it with physical strength—thank goodness the earth element is most suitable for this purpose. But notice, since he became significantly stronger at the beginning of the year, his body has been gradually deteriorating."
If you look closely at Grain, he has indeed become slightly smaller than when we first met.
"I still don't think he'll grow to our GM's size. After all, the guy pays attention to balancing physical and magical strength. I think he'll shrink to the optimal size, symbolizing the perfect combination of these qualities."
"Hey, are you saying that I'm training wrong?" I suspiciously glanced at Rumy.
"Well, nooo. You are getting stronger, of course, but you're definitely not becoming more attractive to girls. If you completely stopped using magic, then maybe there would be a chance."
"Hmm," Kurone suddenly got up from her lounger, "someone is coming our way."
I looked over the canopy and saw a hill separating us from the rest of the island. Beyond it, a girl was passing by the beach. She didn't notice us, but she looked quite familiar.
"How lucky, it's my acquaintance from the city," I climbed up the slope, waving to the girl, "Chris, it's been a while."
The girl stopped and turned towards me. For a second, she froze in surprise, not knowing what to say, but her gaze shifted to my companions frolicking on the beach.
"Get out of the water quickly!!" She rushed towards us shouting. My bad feeling didn't deceive me. Something was wrong with the city, and she wanted to warn us.
I turned around, and behind me was a quiet, calm bay. Hills covered our ship, and only Leira swam far from the shore. There was nothing special in the bay, only shadows of fish schools swam under the water... But Algo didn't catch any fish an hour ago. The shadows moved quickly and synchronously, closing in on the shore, surrounding Leira.
"Algo! Get her out of the water quickly," when I looked up, the girl had already disappeared underwater.