...
The slide down wasn't exactly pleasant.
Especially the middle section—a tube-like tunnel that had been baking under the sun for hours. The air inside was stiflingly hot; Lucian nearly couldn't breathe.
From the outside the slide looked tame, but the actual incline was steep—his heart felt like it was chasing after his body.
After sliding down, they were supposed to wait for the lifeguard to pull the float to the shore—but Ines Fujin seemed to forget that part and jumped off on her own.
The water was still fairly deep. Ines Fujin apparently couldn't find footing and tilted sideways into the water.
After choking on a few mouthfuls, she quickly surfaced again—but the next second the current caught her legs and dragged her under once more.
Lucian immediately jumped in after seeing it. Once steady, he waded toward Ines Fujin.
"Cough cough cough..." Ines Fujin choked badly. Wet strands of hair clung to her face as she instinctively grabbed his shoulders.
"Better now?"
"Mm, I lost balance for a second and swallowed more water. Got a bit panicked." Ines Fujin explained.
Tracen Academy had mandatory swimming classes—she could swim, of course.
"Good that you're okay." Lucian let out a relieved breath. At first he'd been surprised that Ines Fujin might not know how to swim.
Fortunately, his sense of responsibility kicked in and he acted right away.
Ines's gaze slid calmly over the water droplets on his collarbone this time. "I cramped up a little... seems like I can't walk for now."
This time she was faking it.
While Lucian was debating whether to carry Ines Fujin out, the lifeguard swam over with a life ring. "Guests, are you alright?"
"We're fine." Lucian took the life ring and slipped it over Ines Fujin.
"That's good." The lifeguard nodded and swam toward the next group that had just come down.
Ines Fujin mentally cursed the interruption. Pretending her leg was still cramped, she slowly swam back to shore.
"Ines-senpai, are you okay?" The "Dream" members immediately asked with concern.
"I'm fine, just a cramp. I'll sit for a bit and be good."
...
On the way to the next attraction, Lucian's group ran into the "Rigil" team.
Surprisingly, even Toujou Hana was wearing a swimsuit today.
But the most eye-catching was Taiki Shuttle.
"Hana-nee." Lucian greeted her.
Toujou Hana nodded in return.
She'd overheard Nishizaki Ryo and Lucian's body talk during the hot spring training camp and thought it was a joke back then.
Taiki Shuttle: "Hello~ Trainer Lucian!"
"Tree-chan." Lucian smiled and greeted her, then gave quick hellos to the other "Rigil" members.
But when his eyes reached Grass Wonder, they paused almost imperceptibly—attracted by the small camera hanging around her neck.
"Little Lu, have you seen that guy Nishizaki Ryo anywhere?"
"Haven't run into him. We just finished our first ride." Lucian looked in the direction they'd come from. "Were you guys just playing that 'Big Swing' one?"
Toujou Hana nodded. "Yeah."
"It's so scary! Up there it felt like the world was spinning." Taiki Shuttle said, still shaken.
"That scary? Then I'll have to think twice about whether to try it." Lucian replied.
He admitted he'd underestimated these attractions at first—now he was ready to back out at any moment.
"Trainer Lucian is so tall and strong, and you still get scared?" Taiki Shuttle's gaze boldly swept over Lucian's muscles—far less subtle than the others. "Trainer Lucian, your muscles are so beautiful. Can I touch them?"
"Emmmm..." Lucian hadn't expected Taiki Shuttle to be so direct.
Before he could give a proper answer, Silence Suzuka already spoke up. "Lucian-kun, aren't we supposed to head to the next ride?"
"Right." Lucian used Silence Suzuka's words to politely decline Taiki Shuttle. "Maybe not—feels kinda embarrassing."
"Oh oh... so sorry, I was too forward." Taiki Shuttle realized and apologized—she really hadn't been thinking too deeply just now.
"Trainer Lucian, I bought a new camera." Grass Wonder lifted the camera hanging at her chest, the lens glinting with tiny silver flecks as she aimed it at Lucian—in front of everyone—and made her invitation. "Wanna be my model?"
"Maybe next time when I have time."
Grass Wonder acted like she hadn't caught the polite refusal and pressed closer. "But you have time right now, don't you?"
"Grass, next time~ We're dying to get to the next ride already!" Haru Urara said, standing beside Lucian.
Rice Shower smiled and agreed: "Actually... photos can wait until the end."
"True." Grass Wonder nodded. "Then I'll just wish you all have fun~"
...
"That 'Big Swing' looks super thrilling. My Queen, let's go play that one next." After hearing about it, Tokai Teio whispered beside Mejiro McQueen.
She was determined to drag Mejiro McQueen through every thrilling ride—no mild ones allowed.
The earlier "Cloud Expressway" had only been agreed to after Tokai Teio's relentless coaxing.
"We'll see." Mejiro McQueen answered absentmindedly, her pupils subtly contracting into almond shapes.
Right now her attention was entirely on the conversation between Taiki Shuttle and Lucian just now.
As the eldest daughter of the Mejiro family, having a bit of a cleanliness obsession was normal, right? For example, she absolutely hated sharing the desserts on her own plate with anyone else.
Desserts of the same type outside her plate could be enjoyed freely—but the forbidden ones on her plate were untouchable. Otherwise her usual elegance would shatter like thin ice, anger seeping through the cracks.
Perhaps Mejiro McQueen herself hadn't yet realized she was feeling exactly that way right now.
...
After saying goodbye to the "Rigil" group, Lucian and the horse girls headed to the next ride.
The one just mentioned—"Big Swing."
This time the vehicle was a large inflatable ring that could hold five people at once.
Once seated, tourists would be flushed out through a narrow channel, then carried by the water flow and momentum, rocking wildly left and right inside a giant trumpet-shaped space.
No wonder Taiki Shuttle said it felt like the world was spinning—this was basically another version of a giant pendulum.
After this ride, Lucian felt completely wrecked.
The horse girls each started having their own ideas about what to play next, so after this attraction, "Dream" temporarily disbanded.
The lively crowd dispersed, leaving him standing alone.
Silence Suzuka had said she'd watch over him—but in the end she still got dragged away by Seiun Sky and Special Week to fill game quotas.
Ptooey, slag girl, heartless!
...