The ambiance around us continued to feel awkward for a while after Meru's indiscreet question, but we all headed to the sea while to trying to forget about it .
"So what are we going to do?"
Right before she stepped into sea water, Saya stopped in her place and asked . Luckily, I brought many stuff with me which we can use for having fun . I think we can play anything we want . While everyone stopped to think of something to do, Meru suggested with a loud voice .
"I have a suggestion, Desu!"
She then disappeared from the phone screen and took form in the real world as a three-dimensional holograph . I was slightly surprised since I didn't expect that she can reflect her image anywhere she wanted .
"You can still do that?"
"The ruin has collapsed, but the island is still functioning well . "
Is that so?
It looks like she can make her reflection only on the island . After answering my question with an innocent smile on her face, Meru continued to explain her suggestion .
"About the suggestion, there is actually a device installed in this island . "
"Device?"
Lina tilted her head as surprised by Meru's words .
What kind of device is she talking about?
The moment I started wondering, Meru screamed with a loud voice again .
"Here it is!!"
Following that shout, the ground and the trees around us began to faintly shake . The waves in the sea became a bit stronger and the sand started fluttering . All of us, except Meru, was confused at first, but the next thing that happened made us all stand in a daze . A few seconds after the faint earthquake, a giant magic circle emerged above the sea and shined splendidly until it summoned a building on its position . That building had many bends and curves while its height exceeded 50 meters . I realized that it was water slide immediately after witnessing it .
"What is that..."
"It's a water slide, Desu!"
"Well, I knew that just by seeing it . What I'm asking is why a water slide?"
"My former master used to obnoxiously babble about having made the best water slide, so I thought it is the time to make use of it, Desu!"
He even made a water slide just because he felt like doing so! That kid!
I couldn't stop the sign of admiration from leaving my mouth while I was gazing at this unnecessarily giant water slide . I also felt that Meru's way of speaking of Metron became a bit too mean, but that didn't really matter in front of the new water slide . Lina, Saya and Karen were also stiffened in their place while fixing their gaze on it .
"Wasn't it impossible for you to activate magic circles without Metron's magic?"
"Most of the magic circles in this island are fully charged with his magic . Activating them doesn't cause any problem, Desu . Of course, I can use your magic to keep the circle function after activating it, Desu . "
Listening to Meru's explanation, I turned to look at the water slide once again . It was immense, not only in regard to its size . It had a few slides in both sides, sharp curves, whirlpool slides and all the required components to have all the fun you need . Something feels wrong in using a water slide on the beach, but no one cares about that now . What we were going to do was obvious .
"Waa..."
"Oooh..."
"Amazing..."
Saya, Lina and Karen who were taken aback until now, changed their expressions as they looked incredibly excited .
"Let's go give it a try . "
"You're right!"
"I can't wait!"
"Let's hurry up!"
Overwhelmed by the feeling of thrill, we all rushed to the water slide .
—————————————————————————-
In front of the entrance of the water slide .
"Well then, who's gonna go first?"
I asked the girls while looking at the entrance gate . After climbing our way up to the gate of a random water slide, we could see the entire island from the height in which we were standing .
"Should I go first?"
"No, I will be sliding first . "
"No, it's me . "
Each one of them tried to take the first slide . Because of that, they couldn't choose an order no matter how much time had passed . I feel that the next moment I suggest to go first, they will all agree and kindly and open up the way . As I was contemplating a solution for this problem, Meru appeared out of nowhere and proposed a bright idea .
"Then how about you go two by two slide . There's a slide for two people to use at the same time right over there . "
Hearing that proposal, the three girls all looked the slide that Meru pointed at and immediately agreed .
"I-I think that's better . "
"Y-Yeah . "
"Right!"
They readily changed their attitude after looking at that slide . Especially Lina and Saya who were blushing as they agreed . Very suspicious . I couldn't help but feel that way from their sudden change of mind, thus, I turned to look at the double slide as well .
『❤! The chance to get closer to the person you like!! Double slide corner!!』
"Let's not do that!"
I refused on the spot after reading the signboard suspended near the entrance .
"Let's decide the order by rock, paper, scissors . "
"Yes! That's for the best . "
"Fair enough . "
Despite my firm refusal, they ignored my comment and continued on deciding who's going to use it first .
"H-Hey, let's just use the one person slide . "
"Yato-kun! Stay there and watch!" ⇐ Saya
"It's none of your business!" ⇐ Lina
"Shut up . " ⇐ Karen
The three of them got mad at me for expressing my views . Looks like I won't be able to change their mind . Seeing the excited expressions on their face, I gave up on trying to resist . I could tell that it was already too late to convince them at this point . All that I could do is prepare myself for what was about to happen next . Watching Saya, Karen and Lina deciding with a serious face, I wondered about how I ended up in this situation while letting out a deep sigh .
"Master, which one do you prefer?"
As I kept trying to come up with a way to avoid my mighty enemies, Meru asked me with an excited voice tone . She was enjoying the situation .
"What do you mean by that?"
"Among the three girls, who do you prefer to slide with?"
Listening to her explanation, I finally recalled the mastermind behind my distress . Meru was the first one who brought up this topic now that I think of it . Remembering that, I pressed my question on her .
"Why did you bring the topic of the two-people slide?"
"I read on the internet that most boys long for that kind of situations, Desu . "
Meru answered me with sparkling eyes . So she's saying that she did it purely for my sake .
What an unwelcome favor!
"Meru, please! Stop learning weird things from the internet . "
I shrugged from Meru's abundant internet knowledge . I even became worried about her getting tricked by some fake information . I guess I need to teach her the correct way of using the internet in a near future . As I made that resolve with myself, Meru gave me a strange gaze .
"Master, could it perhaps be that you don't like it, Desu?"
"It's not about me liking it or not . I just want everyone here to enjoy their time without needless troubles . "
"But you don't hate it that way either, right, Desu?"
"That's... not wrong . "
I couldn't deny it at the end . She was pretty straightforward with that question . I turned my gaze to Lina and the other two girls who were still arguing . Lina was wearing a yellow swimsuit, while Karen wore a red one . Both of them looked lovely on what they were wearing . They had right curves at the right place, enough for them to be called beauties . But talking about beauty, Saya was included as well . I always thought that she looked pretty, however, today, I realized that she is beyond that words after wearing her current bikini . She took first place regarding her chest and she had a slender waist . The three of them all had their unique charms, so I couldn't choose one easily .
No no no, what are you talking about?
Leaving aside their appearances, I will eventually have a slide with one of them . If by any unforeseen accident, my hand slid in a different direction I don't think that I'd be able to get myself out safe from any possible mess with ease . My only wish was to use the normal slide on my own, but that a choice was already denied by them .
Well, things will turn out as they want...
I couldn't change anything by just thinking about it like this . When I lost all my hopes and optimism, Saya who was concentrating until now declared to Karen and Lina .
"I-I will be using scissors!"
She shouted while making scissors shape with her hand .
Psychological warfare in this type of battles . Seriously?
I couldn't hide my astonished face after seeing Saya desperately trying to win . She had probably come up with this obvious approach just because she had no idea about anything else to do . That's what her face was saying at that time .
"Well then, I will use a paper . "
"I take a rock . "
To my surprise, Lina and Karen went along with her approach too .
Not you too!
I complained to myself as I watched the three of them taking out their hands with confident expressions . For what reason did you spend all this time thinking?
When the three of them made sure that they declared what they're supposed to use in the game, the rock, paper, scissors game had finally started .
"Okay, let's go! The winner gets to slide together with Yato-kun . "
"Yeah . "
"Fine by me . "
Glancing at each other, the three of them nodded and at long last, raised their fists under the blazing sun .
"""Rock! Paper—!!"""
And then, they released them! .
"""Scissors!!!"""
"Wan!"
The moment they let down their hands, a different voice mixed with their shouts .
"Eh? R-Rouga-chan?"
Saya widened her eyes from seeing Rouga, the one who interrupted their game . But taking a close look, it appeared that even Rouga took a part in the game . Not only that; Saya, Karen and Lina all used scissors . As for Rouga, all she could use was a rock because of the shape of her forefoot . In other words, the winner of the game was Rouga .
"I want to swing with chief too~!"
Winning her first game of rock-paper-and-scissors, Rouga drew close to me while wagging her tail . It seems like she was observing us from the beginning while aiming at the best timing to show up . Rouga could be the best tactician among us all . Without any further delay, I took chance of this awkward situation .
"Okay then, let's go Rouga!"
"Wan!"
I carried Rouga in my arms and headed to the two people slide .
"Eh? Wait a second . That's not fair!"
"It's coward of you to take advantage of such situation . "
"Unfair . "
The three girls who couldn't take Rouga's victory honestly, started complaining . It's not like I don't understand how they are feeling, but I won't be missing this rare opportunity . That's why all what I did for them was to turn around while still carrying Rouga in my arms .
"There wasn't any rule saying only three players, and no one said that showing up at the last moment was not permitted . "
"T-That's true, but..."
"Then the winner needs to get their award . "
Leaving those words behind, I walked to the two-person slide . I could tell that the three of them were all casting their eyes down despite not turning around to see . It was a close call, I didn't expect that Rouga would save me this skillfully . I'm thankful to her . Finally feeling safe from the three of them, I revealed a faint grin . Meru seemed to have misunderstood something since she asked me if I prefer animals, so I decided to resolve that misunderstanding later .
"Alright Rouga, let's go!"
"Wanwan (I'm so excited!)"
Sitting on the edge of the slide, I slid while carrying Rouga with me .
"Ooooooohhh!!?"
"Waaoooooo!!?!"
The moment we slid, both of us let out a blaring scream as we slid down at an amazing speed . Our acceleration was too grand that I couldn't even see my surroundings anymore . The wind blew against us with unbelievable force and pressure .
Right, Left, sudden curves and whirlpools . After sliding through many courses that felt as if there won't be an end, we eventually realized that we were approaching the end of the slide .
"What!?"
"Waaan!! (we're flying!!)"
Reaching the end of the slide, we got thrown, not into the sea, but in the sky . This time around, I truly felt that I was floating in the air without using my abilities . A second after having that feeling, I felt as if time had halted for me but we immediately fell and sinked deep down the sea before we made our way to the surface again .
"Are you okay, Rouga?"
"That was amazing!!"
After confirming that Rouga was safe, I turned to look at the water slide . It was more terrific from what I imagined . I never expected such a speed from a normal waterslide . When I started doubting the safety of this ridiculous waterslide, Meru appeared before me .
"What's the matter, master?"
Gazing at Meru who looked as if she were walking on the water, I revealed an uneasy expression .
"It was indeed amazing, but... will it be okay for an ordinary person to use this slide?"
We were thrown a considerable height in the sky . I still feel my back itching until now . Listening to my question, Meru responded with a confident face .
"If you, master, feel that it's could be dangerous, then it will surely cause a bone fracture to any ordinary person . "
What is this little girl saying with a confident face? A bitter smile reached my face after hearing her explanation . Shortly after, three different screams coming from the waterslide reached my ear .
"Kyaaaaa!!?"
"Uooooooo!!??!"
"Ooooooooo!!!"
Turning around, I saw the three of them all sliding at the same time . I wonder why they used it at the same time despite it being for only two people . Watching Saya, Karen and Lina sliding with a terrific speed, I whispered to Meru .
"Say, if Saya and Karen were to get thrown in the sky like I did..."
"They will most likely get hurt... a lot . "
The three of them magnificently flew high up in the sky the moment Meru completed my words .
"Of course they will!!"
I put down Rouga from my arms and swam as fast as I could in the direction where they flew . Lina could manage to stay safe in this situation, but Karen and Saya were different . The reason I didn't use teleportation was simply that I forgot . But despite all, I managed to swim over the place where they were going to fall and caught them with my magic . After that, they didn't stop shivering from fear for a while . When I asked them to go for another slide as a joke, they shook their head faster than the speed in which they slid and refused with teary eyes .
< Property of Fantasy-Books . live |.
Looks like this slide had turned into quite the trauma for them . I couldn't stop myself from laughing while looking at their faces at the time . When we were about to leave, Meru asked them if they enjoyed their time with a bright smile . At first, they thought that she was making fun of them, but once they realized that she activated the slide for the sake of their entertainment, they couldn't get mad at her and instead did their best to make an awkward smile as a response .
At that time, I thought; maybe Meru is the most dangerous out of all of us here .
———————————————————————————————
Bonus
Fake information
"Meru, listen . On the internet, there are many fake information . "
"Fake information, Desu?"
"That's right . Not everything written on the internet is true . There are many lies included there too . "
"Is that so, Desu!?"
"Yes . For instance, advices that say if you drink Cola your bones will melt or if you drink milk you will grow taller . "
"How... come... Desu!"
"You're overreacting now..."