Chapter 81

Chapter 81: Peeping gaze in the distance

Excitement in the heart, trembling hands.

Tom shakily picked up a drink and gulped it down, burping contentedly, lying on the ground with a satisfied smile.

He had once again overindulged, to the point where his waistline far exceeded his height.

If it were just a pot of crabs, it wouldn't have led to this, but Tom felt that today's sea beast meat suited his taste perfectly, and he unintentionally ate too much.

"Wow, impressive, you managed to eat so much." Camie poked Tom's side with a stick she found somewhere.

"Ehehe, ohoho..." Probably tickled by the prod, Tom emitted an amusing laugh, which amused the others as well.

Seeing him like this, the plan to compete with Camie in swimming could probably be postponed.

Since Tom couldn't move for now, he didn't participate in the next water fight.

Adrian lifted Tom onto a beach chair, letting him lie down and watch them play – a rather cruel move.

Struggling, Tom raised his small hands and could only manage a helpless burp, giving up on moving altogether.

As for the water gun he had specifically chosen, Adrian handed it over to Camie, who was currently having a great time with Rui Mengmeng and Artoria.

Artoria was still floating on a swimming ring on the water, reverting to her clumsy demeanor. At the moment, her combat prowess was at its lowest.

So, at the beginning, Artoria was the one getting doused by the others until her bangs were accidentally wet by a shot from Adrian's water gun.

It was strange, really. Every day, whether she just finished showering or had just gotten out of bed, Artoria's bangs stood firmly and slightly curled up. Even when she learned to swim earlier, accidentally getting wet didn't change a thing.

However, after getting soaked by Adrian's water gun, that small bunch of hair instantly drooped down limply.

In that instant, Artoria's aura changed completely. Her gaze became sharper, but the others hadn't noticed it yet, because at that moment, her head was lowered:

"Water fight? A fight? War! If it's a war, I will definitely emerge victorious! Watch this!" she declared.

"Uh oh, Artoria's competitive spirit has been ignited!" Adrian realized things weren't looking good and immediately got hit in the forehead by a water gun.

Though it was just a thin stream of water, it made him feel like his head had been hit with a hammer. He ended up being flipped over onto the water's surface.

Rui Mengmeng and Camie, ignorant of the magnitude of the situation, continued aiming their water guns at Artoria. But she agilely dodged their attacks.

Artoria waved her water gun around, firing off two shots, both of which hit Rui Mengmeng and Camie, although with less intensity than when she shot Adrian.

"Ouch, that hurts!" Camie rubbed her forehead.

"Why does Artoria's water gun hurt so much?" Rui Mengmeng rubbed her forehead, turned to Adrian, and shouted, "Boss, are you okay?"

"It hurts a bit, but I'm fine. Luckily, my physique has improved quite a bit. If it were the old me, I might have fainted for a while," Adrian adjusted himself and sensed something off with Artoria. He shouted, "Artoria, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I feel better than ever. Let's go together!" Artoria waved her water gun and cried, "Is this all you've got? Show some spirit! Hyah~"

Adrian immediately saw a faint magical radiance on the water gun: "This state is definitely not right!"

"I agree!" Rui Mengmeng chimed in, avoiding attacks in haste.

"Artoria sis, you're really scary right now!" Camie submerged herself, not daring to stick her head out.

For the next few minutes, Artoria reigned supreme on the battlefield. Only her lackluster swimming skills constrained her.

Fortunately, her heightened competitiveness wasn't an indication of a real transformation. After Adrian's trio acknowledged defeat with embarrassment, the battlefield demon king quieted down.

The sun shone on her dazzling golden hair, a gentle sea breeze blew by, and the stray strand of hair on Artoria's head playfully bounced up and down. She seemed to be immersed in the joy of victory.

Adrian lay back on the water's surface, drifting by Artoria, complaining, "That was just too much, Artoria. We're not really at war, you know."

Sitting by the shore, Rui Mengmeng tidied her disheveled hair, complaining as well, "Yeah, it feels like the spots where I was hit still hurt."

"Artoria sis' appearance just now was really scary." Camie, who used to be so gentle and elegant, had turned so fierce in a moment.

"I'm sorry, I got carried away." Artoria thought about her actions just now, chanting words like "let's go" and "is this all you've got?" She blushed a bit; it was really... too embarrassing.

No one blamed her, but they all resolved not to play any games with intense competition with Artoria in the future. This was only a water fight. If it were beach volleyball or something like that, they'd probably have to crawl back home.

Adrian mischievously thought that if Artoria really wanted to play, she could just accompany Tom. After all, this time they had eaten so much, and he had unfortunately not taken Tom along. It was indeed a tactical mistake.

As the day grew late, Camie suggested they say goodbye: "Thank you all for today. It's the first time I've had so much fun in the water."

Adrian smiled and said, "Us too. It's been a pleasure getting to know you."

"If you all decide to visit Fish-Man Island, please let me take good care of you!" Camie waved to them from the water. "Goodbye!"

"We'll definitely visit Fish-Man Island if we get the chance!" Adrian was indeed interested in Fish-Man Island, but he wouldn't take the risk without any safety guarantees.

"We'll be counting on you then." Artoria was quite interested in Fish-Man Island's desserts.

Rui Mengmeng pondered and advised, "When you go back, stay alert. Don't get eaten by sea beasts again."

The group waved their goodbyes to Camie.

Only Tom, now back to his normal size, was waving a white handkerchief. His presence didn't fit the atmosphere at all.

Before leaving, Adrian gave Camie a small Den Den Mushi, so that she could call him if she came again. After all, they were friends now, and he did worry about the naive mermaid possibly being abducted by slave traders.

Of course, to prevent the Den Den Mushi from being submerged, Adrian wrapped it in a small bubble.

It was at this time that Adrian suddenly realized his diving goggles were probably a wasted purchase. He could just wrap himself in a bubble to dive...

...

Far away, a figure held a monocular telescope, fixing their gaze on Tom for a few seconds, then shifting to focus on Camie's tail. "A mermaid, interesting. This time, there might be additional gains..."

P@treon.com /NewComer714 for advanced 40 chapters.

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If we reached 300 power stones today, I'll release more 2 chapters.

If we reached 500 power stones today, I'll release 3 chapters.

If we reach 1,000 power stones, I'll release 7 chapters all at once.