To watch the beach volleyball tournament, we headed down to the shore—and immediately drew the students’ attention."Huh, it’s Loen.""He’s with Elena."It was because the main character of all the recent rumors—me—had finally come out after a few days of hiding.They sneaked glances at me and Elena and whispered among themselves."Hey, I told you, right? Loen beat Elena and took first place. And the two of them commanded the battle against the fishmen together.""For real?""Yeah~ and I’m telling you, Loen jumped right into the middle of the enemy line to save his maid.""Cut it out with the nonsense. Do I look stupid to you?""I’m serious! Hey, over a thousand people besides me saw it!""Yeah, I don’t buy it. I only believe what I see with my own eyes."I listened to the murmurs here and there and gave a faint laugh.'Well, it makes sense they wouldn’t believe it, since they didn’t see it themselves.'The fact that I beat Elena’s team was clearly recorded in the Cube.They could still swallow that somehow.But everything after that was a little different.Not only had fishmen straight out of legend suddenly attacked, but Loen had successfully commanded the defensive battle against them? And then he’d jumped off the wall with his bare body to save his maid Ciel?Even if the students who saw it firsthand all said the same thing, it would still be hard to accept at face value.This world didn’t have smartphone videos like reality; without any proof, it was hard to believe just from words alone.The example was a bit off, but say you heard a rumor that Garfield had beaten Beatrice and taken first place, then held off a fishman army, too.'I wouldn’t believe it either.'Not a chance.Walking beside me, Elena must have heard the murmurs too, because she jabbed me in the side with her elbow."Everyone’s talking about you, Loen. I’m jealous. Aren’t you getting popular?""Popular, my ass. It’s just gossip that’ll die down soon enough.""Don’t be shy. Isn’t it a good thing if your approval rating goes up? Think of it as a good opportunity.""That much is true."At the very least, this whole thing was guaranteed to have a positive effect on my reputation and approval rating."Uooooh!"As we walked on under all the stares, a roar went up from farther ahead.We’d reached the beach arena where the beach volleyball tournament was in full swing.The arena on the sand was already packed with spectators.Beep-.With a crisp whistle, cheers and applause exploded from all sides.Unlike other matches, this particular beach volleyball event was being played as mixed teams.It seemed to be more of a fun, event-style match."It’s hard to see from here. Let’s go up."We passed through the crowd swarming the arena and headed up to the VIP section, where we could comfortably watch from a slightly higher vantage point.When we reached the VIP seats and checked who was playing, it turned out to be Freya and Kiriel.Taking in the two of them in swimsuits, I had to admit it."No wonder the crowd’s so big."Famous academy figures you could barely even make eye contact with normally were playing beach volleyball in cute swimsuits?There was no way the reaction wouldn’t be explosive."Seriously, the reaction’s wild. Both the match itself and the outfits. Maybe it’s because this is their prime age?""Aren’t you the same age as them?"Elena spoke like she wasn’t their peer. She smiled lightly and replied,"I’m a saintess candidate, you know? I don’t get swayed by what I see.""…"Only at times like this did she remember she was a saintess candidate.I shrugged and sat back comfortably in the VIP seat to watch the match.'If I don’t watch now, when will I?'In Mirellin Saga, I’d obtained most of the limited skins and seen them there, but seeing something in-game and seeing it in person were two different things.Nice things were nice, simple as that.While I watched the match in silence, Elena narrowed her eyes at me and asked,"Loen, your eyes look a little suspicious."Ciel joined in and gave me a doubtful look."…"Borrowing the power of my Thick Skin trait, I answered without changing expression."What are you talking about. Don’t jump to conclusions. I’m just focused on the match."I was watching the beach volleyball game with a completely pure heart. No ulterior motives at all."Are you looking at Freya?""I said I’m watching the match."Of course, it wasn’t like I hadn’t looked at Freya in her swimsuit.Freya was wearing a blue swimsuit with a decent amount of coverage, and thanks to the fluttery cardigan and chiffon skirt, her figure wasn’t overly emphasized.Even so, she was fundamentally tall and slender, with excellent proportions.Not too covered up, but not overly revealing, either.It was very Freya-like—pleasant to look at.Beside her, Teon was backing her up, showing off impressive upper-body muscles.Beach volleyball was two-on-two, after all.Teon seemed to have gotten a tan in the meantime; his bronzed, gleaming skin looked very healthy. The textbook image of a muscleman.I’d put on a fair amount of muscle myself from training, but I couldn’t compare to him.'…Good thing I wore an aloha shirt.'The comparison was a bit embarrassing, but honestly, comparing someone who’d trained with the sword his whole life to my body after only a few months of working out was nonsense.On the other side, Kiriel wore a green frilled swimsuit that matched her hair color, with elegant leaf patterns that showed she’d put real thought into it.It felt like she’d torn her hair out over what to wear and ended up going with something her aides recommended.Next to her was Silphiette, who’d taken the exam with me.Anyway.The important thing wasn’t the outfits, but the game.Even if it was just an event match, the way they were playing was incredibly intense.World-class, maybe even beyond that level of play.Given that Freya and Teon were superhumans «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» who surpassed normal humans, and their opponents weren’t even human but elves—Whap-.Boom-.The ball flew back and forth as they hurled themselves around in a fierce exchange.The current score was 14:14.I didn’t know the detailed rules, but it seemed to be deuce. They’d need two consecutive points to win.As the tense rally continued—"Huh? Look, it’s Loen!""Elena’s there too!"One of the spectators spotted me and Elena in the VIP seats and shouted.Gathering their focus all at once, the spectators started buzzing as they looked our way."Where, where?"Maybe because the hottest topic of the moment had appeared in person.Stories about the battle with the fishmen had spread all throughout the hotel, so this was only natural.As the crowd’s attention shifted and the atmosphere changed, Kiriel and Freya, who had been deep in the match, also looked over at me."Uh."Kiriel still seemed a bit uncomfortable with me; she flinched slightly, and Freya also stiffened when she saw me."…"Seeing them suddenly tense up at the sight of me, I felt like I was distracting people who’d been playing well.As the focus gathered on us, Elena said,"Wave once. Toward the team you’re cheering for.""No thanks, I don’t want to draw any more attention."It wasn’t an official event like the Sports Festival or anything.Beep-.After a brief commotion, the whistle blew and the set continued.Thump-.The ball was bouncing back and forth, but it felt like one player’s movements had dulled compared to before.Maybe she’d gotten too nervous to focus; Freya began making small mistakes here and there.And then, finally—Thwack-."Urgh."Even though she’d been playing so well before, she just stood there blankly and took the ball full in the face, dropping to the sand.Freya’s face was stamped with a red mark in the shape of the ball’s pattern.'What’s with her all of a sudden?'Because of Freya’s sudden poor performance, the beach volleyball event ended with Kiriel’s team taking the victory.***Even after the beach volleyball tournament, a variety of event matches continued.They were all meant to soothe the bodies and minds of the students, worn out from the Faction War and the unexpected battle.Swimming contests, sandcastle competitions, watermelon-smashing—events perfect for enjoying at a resort were held.When the prepared schedule finally wrapped up, the sun dipped low and painted a beautiful sunset.The sun dyed the sky and sea in a faint red.As the color of the afterglow shifted moment by moment, the palm trees along the beach cast long shadows.Even someone like me, who wasn’t particularly sentimental, had to admit it was a romantic scene.In the middle of it all, a campfire burned on the beach.A lavish barbecue party had been set up as both dinner and celebration.Whole pig barbecues were skewered around the campfire, roasting deliciously.And not just any pigs—these were top-quality pigs raised on acorns.The crackle of the campfire was pleasant to listen to, and the fragrant smoked scent of the meat was wonderful.On top of that, maybe to smooth over student sentiment, they’d even brought out various alcoholic drinks that hadn’t been available on the floating ship.We each gathered meat and vegetables and sat down at a table in the beachside restaurant area.Nearby, traditional songs of a southern people drifted through the air, adding to the mood.In a festival-like atmosphere—Familiar faces gathered along the long wooden table to eat together.Beatrice, who hadn’t been around earlier, the presidents of the Four Great Academies, Teon and Yulina and their attendants.Hildegard, Tepes, Bell, and the other key members of my team.And even Garfield, who hadn’t shown his nose in ages.Everyone tucked into melt-in-your-mouth barbecue with beer, caught up in conversation.Stories about this Faction War, about the battle with the fishmen, and then more personal topics.The sound of waves on the beach, dishes and cutlery clinking, traditional folk songs, and everyone’s voices all mingled together into a loud, cheerful din.'Peaceful.'Feeling the cool sea breeze, I enjoyed the pleasant atmosphere.As the mood hit its peak, Elena lifted her glass of juice and said,"Since we’re all here, let’s toast.""Who’s giving the toast?"At Kiriel’s question, Elena looked at me and said,"Obviously, it should be Loen. We only got through this incident this well because of him."At that, the students who had gone through the jungle island ordeal with us, including Ciel, nodded in agreement."Mmm. All right. Then Loen it is."Kiriel and the others who had fought their Faction War on different islands also more or less understood what had happened, so no one objected."Hoo."With the stage set this nicely, backing out would be poor form.I sighed, stood up, and raised my glass.Then I looked around at the familiar faces seated all along the table and began to speak."Everyone, you all worked hard. Thank you to those who fought with me, and to those who stayed here and worried on our behalf. I’m glad everyone is safe."Honestly, I was a little grateful that everyone had managed to survive that chaos.Well, if we’re nitpicking, I’d suffered the most—but that was the fate of the player, wasn’t it.And I was also grateful to those outside, who’d waited anxiously for news of us, cut off by the fog.According to the Director, while the students and I were isolated on the jungle island, everyone outside had been praying for our safe return.I didn’t know if that was just lip service or the truth, but they were all kind-hearted people, so I chose to believe it was true.I continued,"Summer vacation is coming soon. Once the group training is over and we return to Union, you’ll all be heading back to your hometowns. I hope no one gets hurt and that we can all see each other again safe and sound afterward.""Isn’t your toast a little long?"At Elena’s playful comment, I chuckled and brought it to a close."All right then, to everyone’s safe return.""Cheers!"Clink-.The refreshing sound of beer glasses clinking together.Just like that, the last night of the summer training camp deepened.

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