Chapter 262: Bustling Beach
「Well then, shall we head to the training place?」
「Huh? We’re not going to do it in the courtyard?」
I pick up something out of place after hearing Eric’s line while we’re in the courtyard.
As I look around me, there is a courtyard that is wider than the one in our mansion spread out.
Perhaps it was used for practice since the soft soil is spread out and it’s a good enough place as a training ground.
We don’t need to find another place to train as it’s close, so it’s fine to use this place, isn’t it?
「Today is a rare occasion, after all, so we are going to train on the beach. The sand on the beach is a good place to train your lower body!」
Egar-san says behind me when I was having that kind of question in my mind.
「I see. I guess you’re right」
「Didn’t I tell you last night? That we are going to train on the beach today」
「Yeah」
Nord-tousan, I’m troubled when you told me something trivial when I was spacing out and relaxing
I mean, I don’t remember the details of what you told me when I was spacing out.
「And so, we are going to the same beach as yesterday now」
「Okay」
Accepting that the training ground is going to be on the beach, I follow Eric and Luna-san - who are walking on the road in front of me.
As we follow the road heading out from the mansion to head to the beach like yesterday, we pass a random person who seems to be a villager.
「Hm? There are strangely a lot of people today. It seems like people who have nothing to do with fishermen or harpoonist are heading to the beach but, I wonder if there is flotsam or something?」
「Were there occasional things that got washed away to the shore?」
Nord-tousan ask Egar-san as he tilted his head in confusion.
「Yeah, it was extremely rare but there was luggage from a merchant ship or a huge monster corpse that got washed up. If it was a monster corpse, then we can dismantle the corpse and collect the material from the monster. If it was a huge monster corpse then it would be the village’s fortune and blessing for everyone, if it was fish then everyone can eat the meat and depend on the thing washed up to the shore, it can become a festival」
「I see. It’s a pleasure, special to a village near the sea, huh」
「Yes, and if it was this noisy then quite a big fish might have drifted ashore!」
Maybe he can guess it after seeing the activity from the people that Egar-san cheerfully laughs.
However, for us who played on the beach yesterday, we guess something different from him.
……could it be, the sand Misphilt castle I made with Eric is drawing the villagers’ attention?
I feel it’s like that.
Eleonora-neesan and Luna-san are staring at us in silence, I guess they also guessed it.
Your gaze hurts.
As I look the other way, Eric asks me in a whisper.
「Oi, Alfried. The sand castle you made yesterday will crumble in half a day, right?」
「Ha? I told you that I compressed my magic power to make the sand turns solid so a little bit of impact won’t break it. If no one tries to break it then it can maintain its shape for around three months, you know?」
「Oii! Don’t joke around! I haven’t heard anything about such a huge thing that can maintain its shape for three months!」
Eric is at his wit’s end when I clearly answer his question.
I wish you told me I can’t build that from the start if it’s not allowed.
If you did that then it could crumble at the right timing after Tornell showed it to his friends.
「But, it’s fine, isn’t it?」
「What is?」
「For the villagers who live near the beach, all of them - somehow or other - should have played with sand and made something before. So to speak, the villagers here are all artists who grew up making things with sand. That sort of thing is common, right?」
「……did you think like that when you see these people gather?」
「Sorry, I knew it was indeed the wrong impression. I was just escaping from reality」
Looking at the villagers walking to the beach, I realized that it is indeed an unusual scene. I knew, but I wanted to think like that even though there was just a small likelihood of that happening.
「Oh well, there’s no real harm done so it’s fine, right? And it’s located near the rest area so it just makes it into a little nuisance」
That’s right. It’s not like we did something especially bad or something.
We were just too passionate about playing in the sand. So Egar-san and Nord-tousan would also just laugh it off and forgive us, treating it as something like children’s play as they smile heartwarmingly.
「Rather than that, that sand castle might just become a new resting area」
「Don’t be stupid」
As my mood turns for the better, we gradually arrived at the side of the beach while exchanging jokes with each other.
Then, whether we likes it or not, Eric and I arrived at the place where can see the sand castle we made yesterday……
「……what is that? There is a……Misphilt castle made of sand on the beach…?」
Egar-san looks up at the sand castle and such words escaped his mouth.
「It was made with such detail it’s splendid. Not only was it made with sand, but it also uses materials from the sea as decorations, expressing the uniqueness of the sea」
Albeit unaware of the truth, Nord-tousan praises the works of his own son.
The people who know about it like Sylvio-niisan is smiling wryly, while Eleonora-neesan is smiling as she hides her face.
Luna-san is standing there with no expression, while Eric looks a little happy, I guess it’s because he took part in the making of the castle.
I feel like it’s been a while since I was praised by Nord-tousan for my hobbyist works like this.
Even when I made the spinning tops, table tennis, or making My Home, Nord-tousan always had a complicated expression after all.
「By any chance, this is the specialty of this village?」
「No, it’s not. When I went through here, there was no splendid building like this here yesterday」
「Eh? Is that so?」
Nord-tousan looks puzzled, then he turns his gaze to us.
At the same time, I turn my face away in a very natural manner.
However, there are Sylvio-niisan - who is smiling wryly - and Eleonora-neesan - who is trying to resist smiling - here.
And maybe Nord-tousan noticed something strange since he started to look at me and the sand castle alternately.
「……Al」
「What is it? Nord-tousan?」
Why is it that the people in our family will call only our name when they accuse someone?
From what I can remember, the two characters people use when they call me like that will result in something incredibly frightening. You should probably be able to imagine what he’s going to say after this.
「You know something about that, right?」
「That’s the Misphilt castle made of sand. I know about it since I saw it before in the royal capital」
「I’m not asking about that, you know. Al used Earth magic to make a house while we were on our way, right?」
Even when I try to feign ignorance as I answer him, Nord-tousan still wouldn’t let me go.
In spite of the gentle smile on his face, Nord-tousan is releasing a kind of pressure on me.
「Un, I made them」
「And the building here is also made by Al?」
「Un, I made it with Eric and the friends from the village」
「Oi, you! Don’t involve someone else! I only helped in decorating it!」
When I obediently confess to Nord-tousan, he sighed deeply while Eric butted in from the side.
「Whaat? We made that together, right?」
「That’s true, but your way of saying it makes it convenient for you!」
But it doesn’t change the fact that everyone made it together, right? This guy really worries about the small stuff.
「What? So you are saying Eric and Alfried-kun made ‘that’? That large sand castle?」
「Yeah, this guy made it with Earth magic」
「Well, I only made the general shape」
When Eric and I answer him honestly, Egar-san looks bewildered.
’Such a huge sand castle, you’re telling me this small kid can make that using Earth magic?’ I’m sure he’s thinking like that.
「I apologize that my son has caused you trouble. Alfried here is good at magic, so he can make something of that scale using Earth magic」
「Tha, that is still considered ‘good at magic’!? I thought he was just an absent-minded kid, but he’s still Nord-dono and Elna-dono's son……!」
I wonder how did Egar-san think of me until a while ago? I’d like to hear about what he thinks of me in detail a bit.
「I think he can also demolish it instantly……you can do it, right? Al」
「U, un」
「No no, it would be a waste to demolish such a splendid sand castle! I want to take a closer look later so please leave it as it is if possible!」
「Yes, it’s not a problem」
I reply to Egar-san’s - who is in a good mood - with a feeling of relief.
Whyー, I’m glad that Egar-san is such an open-minded person who understands art.
I thought that he’ll get mad since I made that kind of thing as I pleases, but guess he’s not angry with his reaction just now.
Un, it’s a happy ending――.
「……Al, you said that you will properly communicate it with me if you are going to make that sort of thing, right?」
「……I’m sorry」
――or not.
here
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