As noon approached, Shichen and Momo headed back to the island together.
"Momo, why are you only coming over now?" Nana came wading out of the sea, walking up to them.
Sea water dripped from her body, tracing every inch of skin before sinking into the sand.
"I slept a little longer. Is that not allowed?" Momo shot back with some attitude.
"You slept too long though, didn't you?"
"Like it's not thanks to certain someones..."
"Alright, alright! Sleep as long as you like, okay?" Nana hurriedly raised her voice to cover Momo's words.
She absolutely did not want Shichen finding out about her attempted night raid. Way too embarrassing.
"Hmph~" Momo smirked triumphantly.
Tsunderes were really easy to handle.
"Speaking of which..." Nana suddenly looked Momo up and down, staring at her intently.
"What are you doing?"
"I feel like... you look even prettier than before," Nana said uncertainly.
"Do I? Thanks for the compliment." Momo proudly puffed out her chest.
After being "nourished" by brother-in-law, of course she'd look prettier!
"What did you do?"
"I slept a lot, so I'm well-rested. When you're well-rested, your skin naturally improves," Momo made up casually.
"Is that so..." Nana didn't fully buy it.
"Why are you so hung up on me? Is there anything in it for you?"
"Wh–who's hung up on you!"
"Now that sounds more like the usual you. Anyway, I'm going swimming with brother-in-law. Let's go, brother-in-law."
Momo openly took Shichen's arm, her bikini showing a large stretch of pale skin pressed against him.
"Nana, are you two hungry?" Shichen let Momo drag him away, but still turned back to ask.
"I'm okay, not that hungry."
"Then I'll cook later."
"Alright..."
Nana stood there watching their retreating backs, feeling something was off but not quite able to name it.
Like she'd brushed up against the edge of some knowledge she didn't have.
"Nana, what's wrong?" Mea came ashore and walked over, her scorpion-braid curled around her abdomen instead of hanging loose.
"Mea, can you see anything off about Momo?" Nana asked.
"Off? I don't see it," Mea replied.
"I see..."
"But I do have a way to find out," Mea said with a grin.
"What way?"
"You'll see soon enough."
"Why so mysterious..."
"Come with me."
Mea pulled Nana back into the sea to catch up with Shichen and the others.
Lala and Yami were already with them, and they'd decided to play a water-fight game.
Shichen and Momo formed one team.
Lala and Kotegawa Yui another.
Yami and Murasame Shizu a third.
Mea and Nana the fourth.
Once the teams were set, the sea exploded into motion. Waves crashed, water splashed everywhere, and bodies vanished in foaming spray.
None of them were ordinary people, so there was no real danger, though Shichen still watched out for everyone's safety.
On the sea: chaos and crashing waves.
On the island: calm and quiet.
Frieren and Ryoko Mikado lounged on deck chairs, sipping juice and enjoying the sun.
"Frieren, aren't you going to join them?" Ryoko asked.
After spending these days together, she'd realized Frieren was oddly lazy, totally unlike what her appearance suggested.
So this was a real elf, huh?
Rumor had it she'd lived for decades, even centuries, and still looked like a normal student.
"No," Frieren answered, straw in her mouth, expression flat as she shook her head.
"Why not?"
"That battlefield isn't one I need to be on."
"You've been bitten by Shichen too, right? Are you really still worried about that kind of situation?"
"I just don't want to join in. I get tired just watching them. Isn't lying here better? Aren't you lying here too?"
"I'm different. I can't really keep up with those girls."
"What's there to keep up with? You're all girls, aren't you?"
"No, no, there's a generation gap," Ryoko sighed.
Even though she now had a long, long lifespan ahead, mentally speaking, she definitely wasn't a kid.
"A generation gap? You don't even match a fraction of my age," Frieren said blankly.
"Well... true," Ryoko conceded.
"My age already counts as young. Among Shichen's women, there's one who's tens of thousands of years old."
She was, of course, talking about Tohru.
"Tens of thousands of years? Seriously?" Ryoko stared at her.
"I have no reason to lie."
"So... how long has Shichen lived?"
"No idea. Probably younger than me."
"Then how did he manage to win over someone who's lived tens of thousands of years?"
"She's a dragon. She doesn't think like a human. Trick her a little and she's easy to sway."
"A dragon?!" Ryoko's eyes widened.
"Mm. She uses magic, can take human form, and as a blonde bombshell, she's huge..." Frieren muttered, lips turning wry.
"Ah..." Ryoko glanced at Frieren's chest and felt powerless.
Even with all her medical skill, there was nothing she could do for Frieren. As an elf who'd already lived so long, her growth had long since diverged from normal physiology.
And it wasn't like there was some miracle treatment to apply—Shichen's "methods" clearly hadn't had much effect either.
Magic or shapeshifting might work, but Frieren refused anything fake.
"Th-there might still be hope," Ryoko tried to comfort her.
"What hope?"
"I've heard of... a sort of 'second growth spurt.'"
"Second growth spurt?"
"When you get pregnant and have a child, things can grow again."
"Pregnant? I'll pass. I've never even considered that," Frieren said, shaking her head.
"Really? I don't think Shichen will spare you forever."
"At least he doesn't seem to be thinking about that yet. And look at me—do I look like someone who can safely carry a pregnancy?"
"Uh... yeah." Ryoko nodded reluctantly.
Frieren was so tiny that carrying a child seemed physically impossible. And yet with magic in the picture, normal rules might not apply.
Plus...
Ryoko studied Frieren's thoughtful expression. Was she actually considering the idea of "getting bigger via pregnancy"?
What kind of fixation was that?
Good thing she didn't have to worry about this yet.
Ryoko turned her gaze back to the water. The surface was calm now; she couldn't see anyone, except occasionally Momo's figure—safely guarded.
With her experience, she could see Momo had become a woman the night before.
No wonder she hadn't gotten up in the morning.
She'd been through it herself; she knew all too well how draining Shichen's "assaults" could be.
Even if Momo was a Devilukean, she was still a girl.
If that was the case, then Nana probably wouldn't escape either.
Taking all three sisters at once... and he wasn't worried about King Deviluke coming to cause trouble?
To be fair, he wasn't afraid of that at all.
Looked like the future ruler of the universe really might be him.
Ryoko didn't care about that. What she cared about was all the other worlds Shichen occasionally hinted at.
Magic, skills, strange races... With all that knowledge, her medicine could advance to yet another level.
"Take this!"
"Wait—Lala?!"
"Big sis!"
Boom—!
A roaring sound erupted out of nowhere as a huge wave rose on the ocean, towering high enough to cast a shadow over the whole island.
Lala had accidentally used her full strength.
"Are we... going to be okay?" Ryoko asked, eyeing the distant wall of water with concern.
"Don't worry. Shichen put up a barrier. The island will be fine," Frieren replied.
"I see..."
"But you'll want to cover your ears in a minute."
"Huh?"
"With a wave that big, someone's swimsuit is definitely going to come off..."
"Got it."
Whooosh—!
Splash—!
The wave surged in like a moving mountain, but it stopped at the shore, shattered by a transparent barrier.
Out at sea, though, Shichen and the others were completely swallowed up.
It was just water. Nobody was in mortal danger. A little seawater in the lungs wouldn't matter. Shichen wasn't worried—he just held Momo tightly and drifted with the current.
After a long moment, the wave subsided and the surface calmed.
Shichen surfaced first, still holding Momo. Momo clung to his neck with both arms, her legs wrapped around his waist, chest pressed firmly against him.
She was perfectly fine, but her expression screamed "I was so scared."
One by one, the others started popping up too. Apart from a certain girl who was currently a ghost, everyone seemed mostly okay.
However...
The surface of the sea suddenly turned very white in patches, forming an extremely eye-catching scene.
"Shichen, why are you staring at us like that?" Yui asked, noticing his gaze.
"What can I say? The view is great." Shichen grinned.
"The view... huh?" Yui suddenly realized something. She looked down—and didn't see her swimsuit.
She froze and slowly turned her head. Every other girl was in the same situation.
"Where are... your swimsuits?"
"Huh?"
Everyone looked down at themselves and saw only what they normally saw in the bath.
"Eeeek—!" Nana screamed.