Re: Starting Life in an Endless Summer from Zero

Chapter 1

“It’s summer! It’s the sea! It’s sunshine!”

Seeing the superb vista spread out before him, Subaru Natsuki shouted that without thinking.

Right in front of his eyes, welcoming him with a flourish, was a vast quantity of clear blue water. Before this beautiful view that nature had brought forth, what a very small thing a person was, is what he couldn’t help but think as he was swept into a poetic state of mind.

“Say, Subaru.”

The one calling to Subaru as he waxed poetic was a silver-haired girl viewing the same scenery he was. With her beautiful amethyst eyes open wide, she tilted her head and asked:

“What’s ‘summer’?”

“Also, I don’t really get what ‘sea’ refers to, either…”

“Ah, well you see, that’s……”

The silver-haired girl’s inquiry was followed by an additional question from another girl. On hearing that, Subaru turned around with an excessively extravagant gesture, prepared to give a grand response, and came to a sudden stop.

The cause couldn’t be simpler, or easier to understand.

When Subaru turned around, what he entered his view was two girls whose attire was way too different from what they normally wore.

Shoulders and waists, backs and stomachs; white, bare skin that was normally hidden underneath lovely outfits was now shown without reservation…… To put it in less shameful terms, they were wearing what could be called swimsuits.

Two beautiful girls – Emilia and Rem – had been standing behind Subaru wearing swimsuits.

“I’m so~ glad I was born on Earth!”

Taking a victory pose, Subaru thanked his good fortune. Strictly speaking, this was another world and not Earth, but that sort of thing was unimportant.

Regardless, while Subaru felt a firm resolve in his heart to burn this scene into his memory…

“You shouldn’t look at my daughter like that.”

“Don’t stare lewdly at Ram’s little sister. That’s filthy.”

“Burning summer!?”

There was a soft impact of a paw on his face, and as he tilted backwards, he was struck by a sudden wind and pushed away. Unable to support himself, Subaru’s body was blown backwards.

“Ah, Subaru!”

“Subaru-kun!?”

Seen off at the end by the two girls’ voices, Subaru’s form was smashed into the surface of the water with a great splash.

Chapter 2

The Roswaal manor project, “Getting-out-of-the-heat Tour of the Lakes in the Territory”, has begun!

That, indeed, was the tour name that directly expressed the content of this swimsuit event. Further, exactly as you’d grasp from the plan’s name, this tour was something made real by Subaru’s planning and suggestions.

Recently, there had been ongoing record high temperatures in Lugunica.

At this rate, there was a danger of a drop in morale in regards to the Royal Selection, and the unity of the camp could begin to crumble – would be an exaggeration, but as a result of letting off steam like that, the getting-out-of-the-heat tour at local lakes became a reality.

Not only was it a private beach, it was even a private lake, and it truly was a significant vacation.

“It really never hurts to try asking……”

Squatting at the water’s edge, Subaru looked back over what had happened.

Perhaps one should say that it was no surprise that mansion’s master Roswaal, who loved festivals, readily accepted Subaru’s appeal, and brought it to pass in an entirely unexpected form.

It was not summer, but fire season, and since there was no sea, they used a lake, but nevertheless, this was a perfectly good “Summertime Swim in the Sea”.

“And what matters most is that the part about girls in swimsuits playing on the beach in today’s perfect swimming weather really came true, after all.”

“Well he~llo, Subaru-kun. Are you enjoying the lake swim, perha~ps?”

“Oh, Ros-chi. I was just thinking again about how I need to thank you……”

As he was speaking, Subaru looked up at the silhouette of the tall man standing next to him, and was left speechless. That was because Roswaal was standing there majestically with his hands on his hips, wearing a black, daringly cut boomerang swimsuit on his unexpectedly well-toned body.

“The first detailed portrayal of a swimsuit is Roswaal; who wanted that!?”

“Now, now, don’t be like that. A~lso, I’ll be quietly devoting myself to the role of pleasantly watching over you as all of you frolic in the wa~ter. Relax, and go have a goo~d time.”

“Well now, I’m glad to hear you say that, but……”

The unclouded smile made it all the more suspicious, but Subaru slid his view to the side in response to Roswaal’s words. Doing so, his sight was now directed at Ram, who was holding up an umbrella for protection from the sunlight. She was supporting a rather large parasol, creating shade for Roswaal and herself.

Naturally, Ram, too, was wearing a swimsuit – the peach-colored swimsuit offered little defense against viewing, and her long, slim arms and legs were extravagantly exposed. While certainly delicate, they gave an impression not of weakness, but of solidity. Her chest was only slightly filled out, but womanliness could not be measured by the shape of the body alone……

“Barusu!”

“Gaaah! My eyes! My e~yes!!”

“Do not direct your beastly eyes towards Ram. She’ll crush them.”

“Dundundundun…… The, the same damage that happened in the story that my nickname’s from…”

Engaging with her head-on backfired, and the sand that Ram kicked up hit him right in the eyes. As Subaru rolled around on the ground in pain, Ram snorted a derisive ‘Ha’ at him.

“But Roswaal-sama is enjoying himself, and Rem is cute when she’s having fun like this, so I’ll praise you for that.”

“With things going like this!? Couldn’t you have said that before wrecking my eyes!?”

“We don’t have the kind of relationship where I can look you in the eye and openly express thanks. Figure it out.”

“I can’t see, but I know you don’t have a serious look on your face! I know it!”

“If you rub at them too much, the sand will injure your eyes. Look, go wash them out with water. You’re so much trouble.”

“Yeah, thanks…… wait, you did it in the first place! Stop that! Stay out of my heart!”

Just like the saying goes, Subaru rejected the kindness he couldn’t see, and rolled over towards the water.

Watching Subaru go as he fled at a furious pace, Ram sighed sadly.

“It would be alright for you to be kind to Subaru a little more openly, wou~ldn’t it?”

“……Roswaal-sama, you’ll get sunburned. Let’s find a place to set up the umbrella.”

“Of course.”

Without responding to her master’s words, Ram began walking briskly, still carrying the parasol. Softening his smile at Ram’s bearing, Roswaal held his peace and followed her.

Chapter 3

“Aw man, that was awful. I can’t believe, before I even got a good look at Emilia-tan’s swimsuit, I suddenly got saddled with a handicap like losing most of my vision……”

Splashing water on his eyes to wash them, Subaru had settled down and let out a long, deep sigh.

Fortunately, unlike seawater, the lake’s water wasn’t salty. There were no worries about further damaging his eyes by washing them, and he was able to safely reclaim his eyesight. Now, without further distractions…

“Swimsuit viewing… no, art appreciation.”

“…No matter where you go, you really are a noisy fellow, I suppose. If it was going to turn out like this, Betty would have been better off spending time quietly in the Forbidden Library, you know.”

“Hm… that voice and abusive language; Beako, is it?”

Slicking back his dampened hair, Subaru’s head turned right and left, searching for the owner of that voice. Then, he discovered a little girl’s form bobbing on the surface of the water, comfortably relaxed into a swim tube. A little girl wearing a polka-dot swimsuit.

“Beako, you look like you’re having a super-good time there…… it makes what you just said entirely unconvincing.”

“Betty has been dragged against her will under this burning sky, on a hot day like this, I suppose. If she doesn’t take back at least a tiny bit of the peace of mind she should have been able to gain, it will have been a waste of time, you know.”

“That way of thinking doesn’t suit a little girl enjoying a swim tube at the beach, though.”

When Subaru retorted with an astonished look, Beatrice’s face, as she made waves in the water, suggested she hadn’t a clue what he was talking about. Having said that, her expression was completely relaxed, so surely there was no need to take her statement at face value.

That was made all the more clear by the presence of the kitten atop her stomach that was playing with the water.

“You’re having the time of your life there, in your own way. Where did we have a swimsuit in that size?”

When Subaru pointed him out, Puck murmured a ‘Hmm?’ as he floated in the water above Beatrice’s stomach. His appearance wasn’t what it normally was, clad instead in a swimsuit with red and white horizontal stripes.

“You see, this is the same as when I take on physical form. I’m making clothing from mana. Isn’t it cute?”

“In other words, normally you’re completely naked on purpose, then. You see mascot characters like that now and then, but am I the only one that feels like it’s odd to see a character that never wears anything suddenly wearing just a swimsuit……?”

Hearing Subaru run out of steam, Puck let out a laughing ‘Hohoho” and winked deftly.

“It’s a rare shot that I hardly ever show. Doesn’t that make you feel fortunate?”

“It does, I suppose! Bubby in a swimsuit, playing in the water, it’s just too much, you know.”

“It’s not that hard to satisfy the demands of your core fanbase, though.”

“She’s not the core, you know. Lia saw my swimsuit too, and was happy with it.”

“Damn it! I can’t put up a fight when you’ve already captured the king!”

Puck’s attitude was ‘To the victor go the spoils’ as he placed his paws on his hips, proudly sticking out his chest as he stood atop Beatrice. To go along with that, Beatrice gloated as she rested on her swim tube.

It’s not like anything had actually been won or lost, but Subaru ended up feeling the misery of defeat. However, as though to save Subaru from that…

“Mya~!! Ee~k, I suppose!! Woah?!”

A round object flew in with incredible force, and scored an amazing clean hit on Beatrice as she floated on the water’s surface – the impact capsized the swim tube, and Beatrice and Puck were thrown into the water.

“I don’t believe it, is this… divine punishment!?”

“Wha, wha, what do you mean, divine punishment, you know!? What on earth did Betty and Bubby do……”

Entirely soaked, and clinging to the swim tube, Beatrice snapped at him while looking aghast. Directly in front of her, the cause of the shipwreck – a round ball filled with air – bobbed merrily as it floated by.

Plainly put, it was a beach ball. It’s construction was somewhat slipshod, but it was a decent approximation of the summertime beach friend that Subaru remembered – it had come flying in from a short distance away.

“Ah, I’m sorry, are you alright? It didn’t hit anyone, did it?”

“Hey, hey, please be careful with that…. Um, Emilia-tan?”

Running over while looking flustered, the one who had come to apologize was Emilia, with her silver hair dancing. Subaru blinked, and then took a good look at her outfit from top to bottom.

“…? What’s the matter?”

Entirely uncaring about her own charms, Emilia looked mystified at Subaru’s gaze.

Emilia’s swimsuit look not only put her well-proportioned physical beauty on display, but also had a sense of style that lightly wrapped her bare skin in a shirt – some might feel it was a signal that she was reluctant to show more, but Emilia’s charm, with the unpretentious impression it gave, was improved explosively.

“Professor Puck……!”

“Do you understand it now, Subaru? I’m not thoughtlessly keeping Lia’s skin exposure low for nothing, you know. This is exactly what I was aiming for.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not really sure what the two of you are saying.”

Emilia herself was left behind by the hot-blooded handshake between Subaru and Puck over their shared understanding.

“……Emilia-sama, Rem’s apologies! It would seem she put a little too much power into that.”

Saying that, rushing in late to the scene was a beautiful girl with her blue hair bobbing, Rem. Slightly short of breath, she widened her eyes at the gathering.

“Ah, Subaru-kun! Were you able to play as much as you wanted with nee-sama and Beatrice-sama?”

“Wait a minute I suppose, younger of the sisters! I have something to say about your idea of him having been able to play, you know! When are you trying to say that Betty was playing with this man, I suppose!”

“Yeah, we were having a great time. Hey, your swimsuit is cute too, Rem. It looks good on you.”

“Oh that… makes me blush…”

“Don’t ignore me, you know!”

Rem, acting bashful with her cheeks reddening, was wearing a simple, captivating blue bikini. Compared to her older sister, her body had more bountiful feminine curves, and her white skin was exposed to the rays of the fire season’s sun. Healthy, and enchanting.

Ignored during the Subaru and Rem’s exchange, Beatrice indignantly made her way to the beach. Gripped in the little girl’s hands was the beach ball that had been the root cause of her shipwreck. 

Seeing that, Emilia’s face lit up immediately.

“Ah, Beatrice, you picked that up for us. Thank you. I was playing, um, ‘beach volley?’ with Rem, and we got really worked up.”

“Ah, you were playing beach volleyball!? This isn’t really a beach, but that’s fine, that’s fine! It’s a summertime classic! I want to hustle with Emilia-tan, too!”

“Truly? Then you should join us at beach volleyball, Subaru-kun. If they wouldn’t mind, perhaps Beatrice-sama and the great spirit would join as well.”

When Subaru got on board with what Emilia was saying, Rem cheerfully suggested that Beatrice and Puck join as well. Beatrice frowned at those words, and tried to decline reflexively, but…

“Hmf! Who would want to join in that kind of play, I suppose? Betty will be with Bubby…”

“Heh, that sounds like fun. It’s been a while since I gave my body a proper workout.”

“With Betty and Bubby working together, any contest is an easy victory, you know!”

“It’s really cute the way you always do that……”

Beatrice easily reversed her opinion, and at last it was time to begin beach volleyball.

Chapter 4

…At last it was time to begin beach volleyball, but it was also the beginning of a scene of carnage.

“Alright! Here we go~! Eiya!”

“Wha, wait… eek!”

Together with an adorable shout, Emilia used her open palm to strike at the ball she’d thrown overhead.

The next moment, the ball grazed Subaru’s cheek, and stabbed into the corner of the hastily-created court. Just like it said, it stabbed into the court. It didn’t bounce. It was stabbed in. It was spinning. Smoke was rising.

Stretching across any and all sports, the idea of a difference in physical ability – this was clear proof of it.

“Has there ever been a time where the term ‘one-sided game’ applied more correctly than this?”

“Don’t…don’t start feeling like we’ve lost already, I suppose. There’s still our turn to serve…”

“Right there!!”

Beatrice had sent off a relaxed serve well-suited to her appearance, but it was thwarted by a strong block by Rem that made it seem like a mountain had risen to halt it in its path. Rem leaped, brought her arms together, and smashed the ball (which was moving slow enough to be stopped by a fly) with a tremendous blow.

“Mya~o!!” “B, Bubby~~~!?”

Struck head-on by the ball after it was knocked back, Puck let out a high-pitched wail and sank into the sand. Beatrice hurriedly crouched down, desperately working to retrieve Puck from where he was buried. Looking at that ruthless outcome out of the corner of his eye, Subaru watched Emilia and Rem modestly clap their hands together, celebrating the point they’d gained.

At the point they’d divided up into teams by playing rock-paper-scissors, the victors had already been decided.

The ‘rock’ team was Subaru, Beatrice, and Puck, and the ‘paper’ team was Emilia and Rem. There’s no need to even mention the difference in physical ability, but even beyond that, both Emilia and Rem were of the same mind in that when it came to winning and losing, the idea of easing up or holding back would never occur to them.

Basically, since the both of them always put in their full effort, Subaru’s group never had a chance of winning.

“Somehow, it seems like they’re not hitting the ball back that often. It was amazing when I was playing against you, Rem.”

“Indeed. Between Emilia-sama and Rem, neither side was able to score a point. When the exchange of shots wouldn’t stop, the tension was incredible. But, it was fun.”

“Mhmm, I rea~lly enjoyed it. I’m rea~lly having fun now, too.”

Showered in the rays of the summer sun, girls in swimsuits with bursting smiles and beach volleyball – there’s no doubt, this is none other than the scenery that Subaru had wished for from the bottom of his heart.

“Nah, I didn’t want the kind of game where you have to desperately run away from the ball!”

“A~lright, here goes. Puck and Beatrice, you guys try and hit it back, too!”

“Subaru-kun, Rem believes in you. You can stop any sort of ball for us!”

“That might be hoping for a little too much…… degeberofu!?”

In the end, unable to fully avoid that expectation, the bullet-like serve struck him in the face. Subaru was thrown out to the water, throwing up a tremendous splash.

“They’re having fun, a~ren’t they?”

“Indeed.”

Watching Subaru and the others from a distance, Roswaal and Ram whispered to each other and smiled faintly.

This, too, was the “Endless Summer Life in Another World” that Subaru wished for.