Kiana's POV
A blue. That's what she saw, an endless blue.
She listened to the sound of the waves as she leaned her back against the ship's railing and tried to hum a tune but gave up because it was a bit difficult.
"Haha, I can feel the ocean calling me."
She muttered something while enjoying the sea breeze, turning her face to look out at the ocean, while using her hand to support her long hair that was blowing in the wind.
"But, this cruise ship is really amazing, it runs so smoothly."
After a few comments, she looked over at Himeko-sensei, who was standing looking out to sea with a serious expression.
"Well, she doesn't know how to enjoy anything."
The class president, who was in the same situation, was standing over there, looking at her smartwatch while keeping a vigilant eye on her surroundings.
The two of them didn't seem to have any intention of enjoying this trip. Although she knew the mission was important, she should give herself some time to relax.
Some might say it was because she had a careless personality, but she thought, aren't people who are too serious just torturing themselves, what's the fun in living like that. She couldn't bear to carry that kind of stiff, robot-like face every day.
Averting her eyes, after looking at the two of them for a while, she turned her gaze to the ship's cockpit, where the author Homu was happily holding the steering wheel to control the ship.
Hmm, it was strange to talk to strangers, so she looked away after looking for a while. But it was boring, it would be almost an hour before they reached the designated location, standing around like an autistic idiot like this wasn't her style.
Just as she thought that, a figure caught her eye, that annoying classmate, that unapproachable neighbor, sometimes silly, funny, sometimes trustworthy or annoying, that person she couldn't stand before, but after going through many things, she and that guy were now like friends, although not that close...
If anyone asked her what her relationship with that guy was like, she would answer that it was very complicated, she both hated and liked him, both envied and respected him.
Seeing that guy sullenly looking down while leaning his arms on the edge of the boat, she couldn't hide her curiosity and went over to pat him on the back, partly because what happened last month still bothered her.
Thinking about his state back then, made her a little uneasy. She had seen his strange strength many times, but that time was completely different. She didn't pry because she respected everyone's privacy, but if she said she didn't care, it would definitely be a lie. If possible, she wanted to take this free time to ask him a little.
"Hey, hey, why are you looking so drooping, general?"
Hearing that, he slightly raised his head to look at her and said.
"Don't talk to me...."
Look at that, that arrogant attitude again.
"Humph, I was bored so I came to ask you a little....Oh, wait! Why is your face so pale, are you sick!?"
She stared in shock, because his face was now as pale as a leaf. After hearing her, he replied in a low voice
"Not sick...I have...Ugh!"
In the middle of speaking, he immediately covered his mouth with both hands, then because he couldn't hold it in, he put both hands on the ship's wall, turned his face towards the sea and vomited.
"Ugh!!!"
After holding her breath and wiping her mouth with a handkerchief, he continued speaking
"I'm seasick...."
Hearing his answer, she tried to show a look of pity, while concentrating on her stomach, tightening her hips, and tensing her buttock muscles to keep her laughter from escaping her mouth. He stared at her and said.
"You really want to laugh, right?"
"No."
She shook her head, actually she did, but saying that was a bit impolite, right?
"Bullshit....with cheeks puffed up like a squirrel, no matter how much you deny it, I won't believe it."
She touched her face, then finally gave up and burst out laughing.
"Ahahaha, sorry~ but it's so funny~~ You really get seasick, you're three years old~ And I thought only drunk uncles would get like that~ Ahahaha! Well, don't blame yourself, you may be handsome, good at cooking, good at studying but that doesn't mean you don't have any weaknesses right? Now I wouldn't be surprised even if you said you can't swim~~Ahahaha"
"....."
Forget about asking, for this guy, she just needs to treat him like usual and everything will be fine.
With that thought in her heart, she continued to hold her stomach and laugh even though she could clearly see Yumeji's face darkening as she looked at her with an annoyed gaze.
______________________
I kept quiet in the face of Kiana's laughter. I was still feeling nauseous and my face must have been pale and unsightly. But even so, it didn't help me hide the fact that I was frowning at Kiana in annoyance.
Well, I'm a clown who gets seasick and can't swim, so what!? I'm still better than a lot of people out there in terms of looks and intelligence, right!? And what did you say that only drunken uncles get seasick!?
Apologize to the people who get seasick all over the world! Don't compare us to those Russian drunkards! And even though it's my personal opinion, I'll still say, being a few years younger doesn't mean I'm old! 25 is still young, you idiot. And besides, not knowing how to swim and getting seasick is better than being brainless idiots, right!? I'm right!
We're humans, not fish, so what the hell are we swimming in! Not knowing how to swim is not a crime against the world. That's what I wanted to shout, but never mind.
Kiana and I chatted for a while, of course I was talking with a smile on my face while my heart was full of daggers. Humph, laughing at me is a sure way to get burned, I'm petty and immoral~ Fu~Fufufu~
That being said, with this kind of seasickness, I couldn't think of anything. My body was full of nausea, so in the end I decided to ask Fu Hua for anti-seasickness medicine.
As expected of our class president, she was so careful that she brought all sorts of things to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.
After taking the anti-seasickness medicine, I went to the back of the boat to rest, that is, until trouble struck.
About 30 minutes after I lay down on the chair to rest, the surrounding sea surface began to churn, creating whirlpools.
"It seems we're nearing the location mentioned in the ancient book. Everyone, get into position and prepare for battle!"
Following Himeko's orders, we all tensed up and raised our guard while holding our weapons in our hands.
Fortunately, we had already put on our equipment beforehand, so we skipped the tedious preparation steps.
I took out the black sword that was purple and black due to being imbued with Honkai energy and got ready to fight. If you ask me where my two Desert Eagles are. That's only for sparring, if I were to use that old toy from some era to fight, I'd probably be on top of the cupboard.
Although the greatsword in my hand was just a standard greatsword equipped for Valkyries, it was still very useful. Thanks to the hellish training with Fu Hua, I can now use a variety of weapons at an above-average level, which includes swordsmanship.
I was assigned to the left side of the ship, Kiana to the right, Fu Hua to the middle, and Himeko to the front.
Realizing that the sea was getting rougher and rougher, I couldn't help but stiffen up with tension. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this was my first battle. The other times were just sparring or simulated combat, and basically none of them posed a real threat to my life, so my nerves were as tense as a bowstring with anxiety.
Huh, what about the battle last month in the simulation world, you ask? Hey, you should know that mental and physical battles are two completely different things. What do you think, I was still completely fine after using the power that kid gave me, normally I would be bedridden or something similar and more serious.
I may seem to be strong in mental battles, but in actual combat, I'm still a chicken, so who do you think Fu Hua beat up every training session? It was me! It was me!
When I got punched, I realized that I was so weak that I even hid in the ground. What about the power from skills? If I used them, I would just get hit harder and take the hits longer.
What did she say, that my body was significantly tougher and more resilient when the red light flashed (meaning when I used Boost) so I could hit better or something. What the hell, that's so scary! So when I got stronger, it was like Fu Hua had a better punching bag, oh my god!
Besides, I don't really like the power of the system. In those manhua comics, the main characters have systems that are like "no work, no gain", they're all waiting for the fruit to fall into their mouths.
I don't know how they crave power, but every single one of them believes in the system that suddenly appears and parasitizes their bodies without the slightest doubt, I can't do that, okay.
But isn't it because of their own mouths that they cause trouble? If they didn't go looking for trouble because of this or that pretense, they would cause a billion kinds of nonsense. They always say that bullying people is too much, but the main characters are the ones who crave to oppress others the most, it's clear that the main characters' personalities are just cheap.
Hehe, enough of that nonsense, now I should focus on the battle.
My eyes focused on the sea that was raging and then.....
-R-ROOAARR!!!
A mass of seawater rose to reveal the shapes of terrifying sea monsters. Or more precisely, sea creatures mutated by Honkai energy poisoning.