Chapter 13:
A First-Time Swimming Trip
OVER DINNER, Noela excitedly explained how she’d enjoyed herself at Vivi’s lake. “Went to swim!”
“Cool,” I replied. “Man, you’re pretty athletic, huh?”
“Groo! Compliment!”
She’d apparently swam a lot with Vivi. Since Noela was a werewolf, I figured she might’ve been instinctively able to swim without learning from anyone. After all, she also picked up archery pretty easily.
Mina seemed concerned. “I know Vivi was with you, Noela, but you need to be careful not to drown.”
“Won’t drown.”
“Really?”
“Groo!” she nodded confidently.
“If you did, it’d be absolutely awful.”
Why is Mina assuming that’s going to happen? “Er, since Noela can swim, I don’t see that being an issue,” I interjected.
Mina just cocked her head at me. “People can’t swim like animals or fish, Mr. Reiji,” she said, as if it were the most obvious thing imaginable.
“Er…wait. Can you swim, Mina?”
“Of course not.” She looked befuddled by the question.
Did I ask something strange? I’d learned to swim in school, but without those classes, I never would’ve been able to.
“Ah, I get it now,” I mumbled. In this world, I figured people just didn’t learn to swim. Maybe that wasn’t the case if they grew up near a body of water, or they were a fisherman. But no one else would likely need to swim, so why would they learn? Heck, I barely remembered the last time I’d gone swimming.
“You can’t swim either, can you?” Mina asked me.
“Yeah, I totally can.”
“My goodness! How astounding!”
Why?! Oh…right. In Mina’s mind, people who weren’t born near water wouldn’t know how to.
“I didn’t know you were a man of the sea!” she added.
“I’m not, really. But, Mina, what would you do if you accidentally fell in a river or something?”
“Drown.”
She said it so matter-of-factly. Wouldn’t you try struggling a little?!
“Most people would drown,” she added.
“Mina drowning, Noela save!”
“Thank you, Noela!” Mina hugged her tightly.
“I’d save you too,” I assured her. “Wouldn’t it be best to learn how to swim yourself, though?”
“Mr. Reiji, do you plan for me to fall in a river or ocean anytime soon?” Mina asked, as if I intended to pull some practical joke on her.
“No! Not at all. But if nobody else was around, you’d die.”
“I’m already dead.”
“Oh—right.” In that sense, Mina’s kind of invincible. So, I guess she doesn’t need to learn to swim. It’s not like I ever saved myself by swimming away from danger or anything either…
Plus, if Mina were ever drowning in front of Noela or me, I knew we’d dive in after her— regardless of whether she was “already dead.”
“Do you think anyone in Kalta can swim?” I asked. “You know…Annabelle, or Paula, or Elaine?”
“Annabelle’s a mercenary, so I couldn’t say for sure. I doubt Paula or Elaine know how.”
Yup, I guess most folks are non-swimmers. Since Vivi was a lake spirit, I figured she probably only made friends with people who could swim, but I didn’t know. I had no idea what her background actually was.
“I’m telling you, Mina, you should learn.”
“You really think so?” Mina seemed dubious.
What’re the upsides of being able to swim? There’s got to be something enticing…
“Swam all around lake,” Noela interjected. “Very tired.”
Ah, there we go! “Mina?”
“Yes?”
“Did you know you have to use your limbs a ton to swim? It’s a full-body exercise.”
“Er…”
“If you’re dieting, it’s perfect.”
Mina fell silent, putting down her spoon. I waited for her response, and she shot me a serious look. “It’s time for me to learn to swim.”
I planned to teach her the old-fashioned way, but according to my medicine-making skill, we could take a quicker path. “Looks like I can create a product to help you learn.”
“Huh? Really?!”
“Yeah. I’ll make it when I get a chance.”
“All right, then. I’m relying on you!” the calorie counter told me politely.
✦ ✦ ✦
Mina, Noela, and I rode Griffy to Vivi’s lake, landing right in the woods. Mina held a bottle of the brand-new product I’d made; her face was uncertain.
Swimmerly: Contains ingredients that simulate an aquatic animal’s instincts. Consumption grants basic swimming skills.
“I’ll really be able to swim if I drink this?” Mina inquired.
“That’s the idea. I could test it first, but I’m not sure how useful that’d be, since I can already swim.” The same went for Noela.
“Garoorroooo!”
Noela was wearing her bathing suit underneath her clothes. She quickly undressed, then dipped her hands in the lake and splashed herself with water.
“I was betting you’d just dive in, Noela.” I was surprised; I’d pictured her splashing all over.
Noela wagged her index finger at me. “That no good, Master.”
Would it freak out the fish or something?
“Scare body. Tighten heart!”
Seems like Noela’s pretty cautious when it comes to swimming.
Vivi poked her head from beneath the water’s surface. “Welcome, everyone! I was really, really looking forward to you all visiting today!”
“We’re just here to swim,” I warned her, “not fool around.”
“Why do you always have to be such a party pooper?” she cried.
All right, enough teasing Vivi.
“I’m ready, Mr. Reiji.” Mina stepped from the shadows, wearing her swimsuit.
“Mina, you’ve got such a fair complexion! It’s pretty near to mine,” Vivi noted. I did my best not to look.
“Bottoms up!” Mina downed the Swimmerly medicine. “So, this’ll help me lose weight, Mr. Reiji?”
“No, not quite. Swimming will.” Drinking that new product wouldn’t make Mina lighter. Man, she always tries to take the easy way out.
Mina started stretching. “It would’ve been tricky to have anyone besides me test this ‘Swimmerly’ stuff, wouldn’t it?”
I decided not to ask why.
“How come?” Vivi inquired instead.
“Well, most people would drown if the new product didn’t work. I’d be fine, though!”
“Why would you be fine?” The lake spirit seemed confused.
“Don’t ask,” I interjected.
“I mean, I’ll be all right if I drown, since I’m already dead.” Mina cheerfully gave the explanation I’d expected.
Vivi’s face was blank. “Huh?”
Oh…she didn’t know?
“Er…what?” she continued. “What do you mean, ‘dead’?!”
“Now, Vivi, don’t get worked up about my personal details,” Mina said placidly.
“You call being dead a detail?!”
Noela swam toward Vivi and patted her on the shoulder. “Just a detail.”
A lot of people would’ve considered it a big deal that Mina was dead. To most of the staff, though, it didn’t mean much. There’s a ghost, a demon king, and even a lake spirit working at Kirio Drugs, aren’t there? On top of that, instead of a cat or a dog, we’ve got a pet griffin.
Noela’s comment was the last straw, however. A nail in the proverbial coffin. Looking as if she’d seen a ghost (ha), Vivi sank into the lake water.
“That is why I’m so pale, Vivi,” Mina pointed out. Vivi didn’t respond.
Just pretending this was all a dream, huh?
“Time to get in, I suppose,” said Mina. At first, she only immersed her feet in the lake, but soon she slid off the grass she was sitting on and was gliding peacefully across the water’s surface. “Ooh! I’m moving! Is this swimming, Mr. Reiji?!”
“It sure is!”
I’d wondered what that “aquatic animal instinct” thing my medicine-making skill had mentioned was, and I figured I had my answer now. It was a fish’s fundamental, inborn ability to swim the second it hatched, just like how most animals could stand upright soon after being born.
“Race, Mina!”
“Um… I’m not quite used to swimming yet!”
“Race, Master!”
“Hold your horses!”
I hadn’t been sure how well this medicine would work, so I brought my bathing suit as well, just in case I had to teach Mina. After walking out of sight and changing into it, I noticed Griffy staring at me. “What’s up?”
“Kyuu…” Griffy looked away, as if embarrassed.
Meanwhile, in the lake, Mina sounded thrilled. “So, this is what swimming’s like! It feels amazing!”
When I came back in my swimsuit, Noela hurried me toward the water.
“Hey, hold on! I need to get ready.”
“Noela win!”
“You probably will.” Man, how many years has it been since I went swimming?
“Groo. Master no compete. Wet blanket.”
“C’mon, don’t pressure me.”
Mina swam peacefully across the lake’s surface. “I’ll lose weight doing this, right?”
She’s sure got tunnel vision about that.
With a pained grin, I prepared to race Noela. I’d already tried an easy stroke; much to my own surprise, I hadn’t lost the ability to swim at all.
“Groo! Master fast?!” Watching me, Noela suddenly seemed eager to race again.
Mina, who was floating by the edge of the lake, signaled us to go, and our race began. In terms of swimming ability, Noela was way beyond me. I just barely stayed competitive thanks to my longer limbs. We wound up hitting the finish line simultaneously.
“Not bad, Master!”
“Thanks. I surprised myself,” I replied. Ugh…I already feel like a ton of bricks. My body’s gonna be killing me tomorrow…