“They’re right over there. See?”
“What you paying?” Marie asked as she scurried over to the blanket, followed closely by Anima and Luina. The girls welcomed them with proud smirks.
“We’re building sandcastles!”
“Myuke wanted to see who can build a better castle! She was too hung up on losing our swimming contest, m’kay?”
“Say what?! I didn’t lose anything, thank you very much! I was a million times better than she was!”
“Oh, really? Then tell me why you said we should go back to the beach right after our contest, m’kay?”
“That’s because... It was because you started sneezing. I figured you were getting cold.”
Bram immediately hugged Myuke with a wide smile on her face after hearing her bashful admission. “You’re super nice, m’kay?!”
“I told you to warn me before hugs!”
“I’m hugging you, m’kay?”
“I hug too!”
Marie clung to Myuke as well. Myuke’s delighted smile told everyone just how happy she was to get so much love from her little sisters.
“When cattle done?” Marie asked, looking curiously at the pile of sand beside her.
“I’ll be done before lunch. I’ll make you the cutest, most adorable castle you’ve ever seen, so get excited!”
“We’ll see about that! I’ll make a much better castle than you ever could, m’kay?!”
“Goo’ wuck!”
“I don’t need luck to beat her!”
“You’ve already lost, m’kay?”
They started building their castles while Marie cheered them on. She watched them work from up close, a huge smile on her face.
“Daddy, potty!”
Marie suddenly squeezed her legs together and tugged at Anima’s sleeve. Anima quickly picked her up.
“Do you remember where the closest bathroom is?” he asked Luina.
“Sorry, I have no idea...”
“All right, then I’ll take her back to the inn.”
“That should be faster than just searching the beach. I’ll keep an eye on these two in the meantime.”
“Thanks.”
He left the girls behind and took Marie back to the inn. She seemed hungry, so he got her some dried fruit after she’d finished in the bathroom, and they made their way back to the castles that were under construction.
“They done cattling?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m excited to see what they’ve made.”
“Uh-huh! Me too!”
They arrived back at the beach after only a couple of minutes, and headed directly toward their blanket.
“Apologize to Myuke right now, m’kay?!”
Bram’s angry roar shot through the beach. She was arguing with a young, tanned, well-built man. The man looked down at her with an annoyed gaze, while Luina was comforting Myuke as she sulked next to them.
“What’s going on?”
The moment Anima arrived, Bram aggressively pointed at the man. “He hit on Mommy! Then he stomped on Myuke’s castle after he got rejected, m’kay?!”
“I told you, it was an accident!”
“No, it wasn’t, m’kay?! You even ground your feet into it after trampling on it! No wonder Mommy turned you down! She knew right away that you’re a spineless worm, m’kay?!”
“What did you say, brat?! C’mere and let me teach you what discipline is!” He raised a hand, ready to strike her with it, but Anima caught his arm. “Ow! What do you—”
The man turned to face Anima. In that instant, all blood drained from his face, and the light left his eyes. His entire body shook with terror as though he had just met the Reaper itself.
“Did you just attempt to hit my daughter?” Anima asked in a quiet, chilling voice.
“N-No, I just—”
“And you destroyed the sandcastle she worked so hard to build?”
“Th-That was an—”
Anima tightened his grip around the man’s arm and stared straight into his eyes with burning rage. “You will either listen to the crunch of your arm as it shatters, or you will apologize to my daughter from the bottom of your heart. Choose wisely.”
As Anima released his arm, the man fell into the sand as if someone had pulled a chair out from under him. He dragged himself forward, and pressed his forehead into the sand.
“I’m sorry for destroying your castle! And I’m sorry for threatening you!”
He looked up at Anima, begging for forgiveness, but Anima completely ignored him and turned toward Myuke.
“What do you say, Myuke? Do you forgive him?” he asked in his sweetest, gentlest voice.
Myuke slowly looked up. She wiped her tears, sniffled twice, and glared at the man with her swollen, red eyes.
“Buzz off.”
Hearing Myuke’s judgment, Anima looked down at the man.
“Don’t show yourself before my family ever again.”
The man scurried away on all fours, crawling for his life. After he had disappeared from their sight, Anima gently petted Myuke’s head.
“I’m sorry about your castle.”
“It was a really cool castle...” Myuke answered with the tiniest of nods.
“It was amazing, Myuke, m’kay?”
“You built it really well.”
Bram’s and Luina’s kind words put a tiny smile on her face. Anima clapped his hands together and addressed his family.
“How about we all build a sandcastle together?”
His cheerful voice was met with an even more cheerful nod from Marie.
“Me! I wanna!”
“Let’s work together to build the most amazing castle this beach has ever seen!”
“It’ll be the best castle ever, m’kay?!”
“I’ll make it a hundred times taller than my other one!”
With Myuke having cheered up, they started working on their brand-new castle. It didn’t take long for their voices to echo across the beach.
“It’s done!”
As the final tower received its finishing touches, the five of them celebrated their incredible creation with a cheer and a round of high fives.