Episode 58: Summer Begins

A clear blue sky without a single cloud.

The blazing sun reigned supreme, pouring its light down upon the earth, and the surface of the sea receiving it sparkled sparsely like a starry sky.

The season was summer.

An appropriate landscape spread out before us.

“Arcs, look! The sea, there’s such a beautiful sea!”

“There was no sea in Egenhardt or around the academy. It certainly is very beautiful.”

Eleanore gazed at the view beyond the train window with sparkling eyes.

While finding it endearing, I similarly turned my gaze toward the jewel-like blue sea spreading in the distance.

Currently, we were inside a train.

Although horse-drawn carriages were the main mode of transportation in this world, railways like this had been laid in localized areas.

Most of the time they were near large cities, so you didn’t get to see them very often.

However, once you actually rode one, it didn’t seem much different from the trains of my previous life.

I had thought it would be much shakier, but was this also thanks to magic?

Now, as for why we were riding a train… well, that was probably an easy guess.

We were heading to the summer training camp location.

After tests ended, we went through the closing ceremony, and Royal Lytisia Academy had gloriously entered summer vacation.

And what came for the Knight Department was the grueling summer training camp.

An event said to be even more difficult than the already harsh daily routine of this department.

However, in my case, I would be participating in this training camp in a rather exceptional manner.

It wasn’t exactly special treatment for honor students, but I was permitted considerable freedom.

From morning to night, I wouldn’t be restricted throughout the entire day.

At most, I only had to attend on days when specific drills were conducted, but otherwise I basically had no obligations.

That’s why, while everyone else was working hard to reach the destination by carriage… or even on foot, I could leisurely ride the train.

Well, it would be a lie to say I didn’t feel somewhat apologetic, but I had also been assigned an important duty, so it was even, you could say.

“Arcs! A whale just surfaced!”

“They apparently inhabit these waters frequently. As expected, quite dynamic.”

Eleanore spoke with a bright face and bright voice.

Usually mysterious and model-student-like, at this moment she felt like a young child.

It had been a while since I’d seen her like this.

Since I had asked Eleanore to come with me, I wanted her to enjoy herself as much as possible.

Fortunately, the training camp location was also famous as a tourist destination.

I had assignments too, but I needed to make sure she didn’t get too bored.

“Arcs, what are those people on that beach doing?”

“Ah, those are probably people who came for vacation. They’re likely enjoying sea bathing or something.”

“Sea bathing… is it? I’ve heard about it, but I wonder what kind of sensation it is.”

The concept of sea bathing existed in this world, and there was a culture of enjoying the sea as leisure.

That said, Eleanore had rarely left home since childhood, and hadn’t gone out since coming to the academy either, so she had never experienced entering the sea.

“It’s surprisingly cold and feels good. Being swayed by the flow of the vast sea, and swimming in it has a sense of liberation… or, um, that’s what I hear anyway.”

I had spoken from my previous life’s experience, but in this life, like Eleanore, I hadn’t visited the sea.

I had vaguely glossed over it, but she didn’t seem to pay it much mind and was looking at the people happily sea bathing beyond the window.

“If you’d like, shall we go to the sea at some point?”

When I made that suggestion, she suddenly turned toward me with a snap.

Her eyes widened slightly.

“I-Is that alright?”

“Yes, since we’ve come all this way. Once we return, the sea will be distant again.”

Eleanore opened her mouth as if wanting to say something while her cheeks turned slightly red, but she didn’t say anything.

“Yes, let’s definitely go!”

In the end, she said that energetically.

I thought she might be scared, but apparently she also had some longing for the sea.

“Ehehe… that’s one more thing to look forward to.”

She smiled with the corners of her mouth lifting.

If he were in butler mode, she would probably say “That’s undignified,” but this time I only smiled wryly and cherished the current situation.