The arrival of Vice Admiral Tsuru gave the tavern's customers quite the spectacle. They left with new stories to tell, and sales went up a little thanks to the excitement, so Zhang Da Ye was more or less satisfied.
Tom, however, was not happy. He had pulled out his trusty iron, yet failed to iron any clothes or clobber anyone with it.
Sulking, Tom wanted to go surfing. Then he wanted to go fishing.
Zhang Da Ye waved his hand generously. "Fine. This afternoon, we'll go to the seaside. Anyone who wants to surf can surf, anyone who wants to fish can fish, and anyone who wants to swim can swim."
This decision was met with unanimous approval from everyone in the tavern.
As for their daily training? Swimming could count as endurance practice. After all, Zhang himself had once been a master of the dog paddle.
In less than three seconds, Tom had changed into a swimsuit, produced a surfboard from who-knows-where, and even prepared a full set of fishing gear.
"Don't rush," Zhang Da Ye chuckled, patting Tom's head. He couldn't help but wonder where Tom managed to tuck his tail when he put on clothes.
Tom tilted his head, a big question mark practically floating above him. What was there to prepare? He was already ready!
"For one thing, I don't even have swim trunks. Need to buy some," Zhang Da Ye replied, turning to the others. "What about you two? Do you have swimsuits?"
Artoria and Rui Mengmeng both shook their heads. Back when they bought clothes, swimsuits hadn't crossed their minds.
"Then we'll buy them together," Zhang Da Ye said, counting on his fingers. "We should also bring a grill, some drinks, fruit, ice… Hmm. The fridge isn't storing my 'frozen assets' right now, so it can still function as, well, a fridge."
Artoria raised her hand a little hesitantly. "Um… Da Ye, actually, I can't swim."
"What? But don't you have the 'Blessing of the Lady of the Lake'? You can run on water, right?" Rui Mengmeng asked in surprise.
Artoria explained calmly, "Precisely because I have that blessing, I never needed to learn swimming to fight on water. So I never did."
Rui Mengmeng's eyes widened as if spotting a loophole. "Wait… does that mean you can't even take a bath?"
"I can," Artoria nodded. "If I wish it, I can enter water. The blessing isn't absolute."
Zhang Da Ye thought to himself: so the blessing isn't a passive aura, but an active skill—on when she wants, off when she wants.
"In that case, this is a good chance to learn. Hmm… I'll just buy you a swim ring."
Artoria agreed with a small nod. Even if she didn't learn to swim, she still found the idea of going to the beach interesting. It just wasn't the sort of thing she would ever request on her own.
…
After making their plans, they packed up and set out on their bubble bikes.
There were rumors of a new model that didn't need pedaling—basically like a hover scooter. Zhang made a note to check it out another day.
When it came time to pick swimsuits, Zhang Da Ye chose casually, grabbing a simple set and a pair of goggles—he was the kind of person who couldn't open his eyes underwater.
"Tom, want a new one?" he asked.
Tom shook his head. He still liked his bright red swimsuit.
Still, he wandered the shop, and eventually came back hugging a water gun with a pleading grin.
Of course Zhang Da Ye bought it for him, and then went ahead and picked up three more.
A little later, Rui Mengmeng and Artoria finally emerged from the changing rooms.
Rui Mengmeng had chosen a modest black one-piece, and even then her cheeks were red. She clearly wasn't used to showing off her figure.
Artoria, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned—or perhaps indifferent. She had picked a white two-piece swimsuit. Zhang Da Ye didn't know the exact style, but he looked her over and thought mischievously: surprised she didn't pick a child's swimsuit instead…
"What's wrong?" Artoria noticed his stare.
"Ah, nothing," Zhang Da Ye stammered, feeling caught out. "Looks good."
"Thank you," Artoria said with a small, serene smile.
With everything prepared, everyone but Tom threw on jackets, hopped on their bikes, and headed for the shore.
Thanks to his daily jogs, Zhang Da Ye already knew the island's layout well, so finding a good spot was easy—even if the beaches around Sabaody were more coral and rock than sand.
Tom clutched his surfboard, scanning the horizon. No big waves. A little disappointed, he set the board down and began warming up, preparing for a swim instead.
Even Tom knew: warm up before swimming, or risk a cramp.
Zhang Da Ye stayed back to park the bikes and set things up, letting Rui Mengmeng and Artoria warm up first.
He spread out a picnic cloth, pulled a large fridge from his inventory, arranged food and drinks, and set up chairs and umbrellas. Even without a sandy beach, the atmosphere had to be right.
By the time he finished, Tom had already leapt into the sea with a splash, moving smoothly in a perfect breaststroke.
Rui Mengmeng tested the water with her toes before easing herself in.
Artoria strapped on her swim ring, then stepped onto the water. "Waaah—ohhh…"
Her startled cry was a rare sound indeed, and then she promptly sank, bobbing back up only thanks to the swim ring.
Her ahoge drooped as she leaned limply over the float, looking oddly soft and adorable.
Zhang Da Ye stretched, then dove in with a splash of his own. Compared side by side, his dive was like something from the Philippine dive team, while Tom's was the stuff of the Dream Team.
The Dream Team's Tom lounged on his back, arms folded behind his head, legs kicking lazily as he floated beside Zhang, ready to spectate.
Zhang showed off his dog paddle proudly. Thanks to his strengthened body, his speed and stamina were excellent—he felt like he could dog paddle his way to a world championship.
After a lap, he turned to Artoria with a grin. "Want me to teach you?"
But Artoria, who looked adorably helpless in her float, shook her head so vigorously that even her ahoge nearly flew off. "I think I'd rather learn proper freestyle from Mengmeng, or breaststroke from Tom."
In other words: rejection.
The blow struck hard. Zhang Da Ye slumped in defeat. Tom's mocking laugh came sharp and clear:
"Hohoho! Hahahaha!"
But Tom's joy didn't last long. Suddenly he let out a shriek and leapt straight out of the water, clutching his backside.
"Aaahhh! Hooooww!" He pulled a crab off his rear and glared at it furiously.
The crab, unimpressed, reached out and clamped his nose instead.
"Waaahh! Owwwwooo!"
Zhang Da Ye burst out laughing, his earlier gloom forgotten. With Tom around, there was never any shortage of comedy.