The autumn sea is nice.
Of course, the summer sea isn’t bad either. Taking a splash in the water to cool off under the hot sunshine is quite fun.
Going with close friends to splash around and throw each other into the water is a blast. Of course, your clothes get all sandy and you might end up getting soaked in the car if you’re not careful.
As I grow older, I’ve come to dislike that whole process of getting in the water. Being submerged makes your body tired, and most importantly, having to change clothes or take a shower again is quite bothersome.
Even though my body feels young like this, it doesn’t mean it’s waterproof. If this were the summer sea, there’d barely be any time to sit back and ‘heal’ like this.
Would Claire just sit around doing nothing?
Since the sea is cold this season, this is how it is—
Thump—!
“Eek!?”
I screamed instinctively at the sudden sound above my head.
What was that noise? Oh, it was a beach ball bouncing off my head.
“Sis, what are you doing over there?”
It seems a beach ball that kids were playing with on the beach hit my head and bounced off.
“What do you mean…?”
“Since we have so much time until dinner, and we just stuffed ourselves at the rest area, we should skip lunch and save room for dinner!”
“Ugh… I just want to sit here and relax like Sylvia did a while ago.”
“You can’t come all the way to the sea and not enjoy the sandy beach, can you?”
Mia, who advocated for relaxation, was looked at like she was weird by Claire.
“Speaking of four people here including Mia, how about we split into teams and play a game? I’ll be the referee here.”
“Sis, what are you talking about?”
Claire looked bewildered by my suggestion.
“That’s right! You just want to sit out and have fun by yourself!”
I probably pushed in there with too much energy and the extroverted teen girls made their objections clear—Mia rarely raised her voice like that.
“Right, Mia, good point. Sis, it won’t be good if you sit out. Mia isn’t a power player for this game. And from what I can see, you wouldn’t catch up with Alice or Charlotte over there.”
“Exactly! So—huh?”
Mia was agreeing with Claire’s merciless evaluation, turning her head to Claire with a slightly dazed expression.
“So, sis, if you join, it makes Mia and the other two people equal one whole, right?”
“……”
Claire.
Even though I call you ‘sis’ with a friendly tone, your evaluations are starkly cold.
“……Understood.”
While those words were painfully accurate coming from Claire, I couldn’t just let them slide.
Even though I’m not blood-related, I’ve grown up as a ‘Fanggriffon’ for quite some time. I can’t just let such provocation go.
“Your opponents are Alice and Charlotte, huh? I’ll gladly inform you that the number of three heads is not something to be underestimated.”
I stood up with that declaration.
*
“Don’t worry, sis. It’s not like I thought we’d definitely win. It’s just for fun!”
“……”
Hearing those words from the only score holder of our team made me feel even more unjust.
“Three heads is not something to overlook, huh? Who said that?”
Alice kept poking at my pride from the side.
“Don’t be so mean, Alice. Sylvia is a pro with firearms. Of course, her close combat skills are bound to be lacking.”
Yet Charlotte’s eyes saying that were clearly mocking me.
I felt furious.
Really furious.
“Charlotte, do you have a lot of built-up tension against me or something?”
“Are you not going to ask Alice if she has anything against you?”
Well, Alice must have quite a lot against me, considering I’ve hardly ever decisively beaten her since childhood.
Of course, that was because I tweaked time several times to yield only the optimal results. It wasn’t because I was just good at it.
Damn, if only there were a shooting range nearby, I’d be confident I could get first place.
If I ever get the chance to visit the bustling district, I must definitely seek out an air gun range. I’ll show off my marksmanship skills, honed through countless repetitions.
“……There’s really no need to get so upset. Mia seems quite refreshed, doesn’t she?”
That’s not refreshment; she’s just out of juice.
Mia was languidly draped over a folding chair with the backrest leaned back, looking like a half-dried squid.
If that expression could be seen as someone that’s let everything out, sure, but to be precise, it was more of a look of resignation before the brink of death, having let go of everything.
“You two definitely need to raise the intensity of your workouts.”
“I think I’m already exercising plenty. Even with all this eating with you guys, my weight hasn’t budged!”
“That’s the problem. It means what you’ve eaten hasn’t turned into muscle.”
No, I really don’t want to become a gym rat.
Half-listening to Claire’s comments, I rubbed my tummy.
Hmm, it does feel like jogging around was a good choice.
If I had done such intense exercise right after eating, I would have thrown up what I just ate, but having stuffed myself after stopping by the rest area and riding in the car for a while allowed my stomach enough time to settle. Given that, I really worked hard to run around, so I’m feeling quite light.
It’s the perfect time to shove something else into my body.
“Ah, wait a second.”
Claire said that and picked up the camera we had temporarily placed on the table.
She positioned herself for a selfie and included all of us in the shot. Thanks to the rotating LCD of the camera, we could see ourselves on the screen, albeit on a much smaller display than a smartphone.
“……”
We all looked at the screen and struck our poses.
“……”
“……Oh, it was a video.”
Claire said that as if she just realized.
Alice made an incredulous expression.
“What, does it matter? A video will surely be a memory. Of course, I might not be able to keep it for long…”
Still, I had thought of a few things. Even if going all the way to solar generators is too much, is there a way to get a manual charger and figure out how to run a steam engine over there?
The primary goal is to watch videos for a long time, but I also thought I might get some hints during the research process. After all, modern power production is ultimately just boiling water to turn turbines.
“There were people asking for a video to be uploaded anyway.”
Claire finished the recording and said.
“Okay, then!”
And then she spun around and said,
“Let’s get ready for the barbecue party now!”
“Barbecue!”
At that, Mia, who had been lounging around, suddenly sprang up.
“Already? It’s not even dark yet.”
As Alice asked, Claire shook her finger.
“What are you talking about? A barbecue party is not just a meal. It’s about leisurely grilling meat for hours, and once the meat is all gone we gather around the embers and chat for a while; that’s a party! Plus, the pictures taken at sunset come out the prettiest.”
Wow, Claire really has read a lot.
Even Alice, who had been searching for ‘emotional tents’ since before buying the tent, seemed captivated by those words.
“Really? Should we start preparing then?”
Seeing the two decide that, Charlotte, Mia, and I exchanged wry smiles.
Well, good is good.
*
Sizzle, sizzle, the pork was grilling perfectly over the charcoal.
Actually, there were items available from the tent site, but we deliberately bought a separate barbecue grill. Generally, the stuff borrowed from these places tends not to produce pretty pictures.
To be honest, part of it was that I had the money, and it felt a bit bad to tell Claire and Alice, who were so excited about picking out items, that we didn’t need to buy everything.
We unfolded the grill we had loaded into the car and placed in the burning charcoal. Then one by one, we laid the meat on the grill.
When Claire flipped over a steaming strip of meat,
“Wow!”
Everyone gathered around couldn’t help but gasp at the perfectly cooked surface of the meat.
The meat, cooked to a delicious brown, had those diamond-shaped grill marks on the parts that were touched by the grill. It really appealed to the appetite.
“Was it samgyeopsal (pork belly)? I feel like I’ll be thinking about this even later.”
“Is that so? Should we ask the butchers later?”
Alice and Claire started that conversation.
“Even though I still think the food from my homeland suits my taste better, sometimes it’s not bad to eat grilled meat this way.”
Charlotte smiled as she spoke.
While we breathed in the delectable sizzle of the meat, we chatted excitedly under the vividly red sunset.
In this moment, we were no longer a crown princess, a second princess, or a noble lady, but just teenage girls.
…Wait, does that mean I’m not one?
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