Kirschwasser sheathed his Knight Sword and shrugged. “Regardless, I will keep you safe all day, so go and enjoy yourselves in the ocean. You have those new swimsuits, after all. I will do everything in my power so that you may frolic, free from worry about the gazes of the rabble.”

“But knowing there are people like that around...” Felicia said, squirming.

“I guess it’s pretty selfish to put on swimsuits like this and then say we don’t want our pictures taken, huh?” Iris mused.

“That’s not true,” Sir Kirschwasser said. “You wish to wear lovely clothing, but you don’t wish to have people leering at you. Both are signs of an innocent girl’s heart. I fully understand.”

Always the adult, Iris thought. A noble man who both understood and respected the female heart. So different from the young heir. Of course, in the young heir’s case, it wasn’t that he didn’t understand how women felt. He understood it, but he didn’t respect it, which made it feel even meaner.

But enough thinking about him. He wasn’t here, for once. So...

“Okay, Felicia! Let’s swim!” Iris raised a fist into the air and shouted.

“Iris, are you a good swimmer?” Felicia asked.

“I took swimming lessons in elementary school. What about you?”

“I’m an all-around sports girl!”

“Then let’s do it!” Iris cried.

Iris and Felicia ran across the sandy beach, side by side. The elaborate processes of the Miraive Gear used quantum information to project the feeling of running through breakers into their brains. But they didn’t care about the scientific aspect of it. It was summer, they were in swimsuits, and they were at the beach. Who wouldn’t want to enjoy every second of it?

The red-haired girl and the white-haired girl both dove into the sea, kicking up a splash that sucked in the sunlight and glittered like thousands of jewels in the air.

They didn’t come up.

“What were those devs thinking?!”

They had been pulled out of the water a few minutes later, and were now taking a breather in the cabana set up near the shore. Iris was ranting angrily.

“They set up this whole big beach, then make it so you can’t swim right unless you have the ‘Swimming’ Skill?!”

“I suppose it’s a boon to the otherwise useless Swimming skill, but it really does seem rather backwards,” Kirschwasser said as he drank his tea with a sigh. Bringing his tea set into the cabana did feel like an infringement on their business, but since it seemed like the tables and chairs were just set up for people to relax, nobody said anything in particular.

“Why have swimsuits if we can’t swim?” Felicia plunged her straw into her iced tea and began to blow furious bubbles.

“Seriously,” Iris fumed. “Now that I look, it seems like only a few people really came to swim...”

“It seems there are rare monsters and items in the water, and some take the Swimming Skill to go on treasure hunts... but well, I don’t think you’d be much interested in that,” said Sir Kirschwasser.

They were in a game, after all. But it was a hard world they lived in, if they needed a Skill just to do basic beachgoing.

Iris wasn’t pouting openly, but she did throw herself forward onto the table to show that her interest in the whole affair was waning. “Now I don’t know what to do.”

“At times like these, I believe beach volleyball is the usual choice,” said Kirschwasser.

“I can play beach volleyball pretty well, too!” The self-proclaimed all-around sports girl Felicia puffed out her (lack of) chest proudly.

If they came to the beach and ended up just hanging around and drinking tea, it would be just like what they always did. It was a total waste. What was she even paying the 980-yen monthly fee for?

“Is that Sir Kirschwasser I see?” someone addressed their group as they were resting in the cabana.

“Well, if it isn’t Lord Stroganoff,” Kirschwasser replied with a tone of surprise. “Good to see you again.”

Felicia spoke up, too. “Oh, um, from the Knights!”

Standing before them was a giant of a man, about two meters tall, with glorious red hair and beard and an imposing aura, who was wearing nothing but a pair of swim trunks. Narrow Fantasy Online’s exquisite lighting engine rendered the man’s burly musculature with tremendous authenticity. The trunks didn’t have a pattern, but the color scheme suggested a setting sun over the water. There was also an inner tube hanging off his shoulder.

“You know each other?” Iris asked.

Kirschwasser and Felicia nodded in response.

“We met him during the period when you couldn’t log in because of tests,” said Kirschwasser. “He’s the leader of the Red Sunset Knights, the game’s strongest guild.”

“Heh...” The red-haired macho man perked up a little bit at the description.

Now that she looked, it seemed many of the players visiting the beach were gazing from afar at this man named Stroganoff and the “Red Sunset Knights” he had brought, and were whispering.

Was he really that famous? Iris wondered. She didn’t have much interest in the Achievement side of the game, so she really had little knowledge about such things.

He was the Human Fighter, Stroganoff the Monstrous, and he had brought along his four sub-commanders: “Baron” Gazpacho, “Saint” Tiramisu, “Demon” Gorgonzola, and “Shooting Star” Parmigiano-Reggiano. Just hearing their names was enough to make her hungry.

They were all in swimsuits, as well.

Naturally, as the strongest guild, the Knights were full of dedicated gamers, and most of them were male. Tiramisu stood out quite a bit, in fact: the “Saint”’s swimsuit was a midriff-bearing monokini woven with contrasting white and indigo threads. The provocative, revealing lines belied her holy title and made it hard to know where it was safe to rest your eyes. Tiramisu, the woman in question, was smiling awkwardly, perhaps a little bit embarrassed.

“Where’s Tsuwabuki today?” Stroganoff asked.

“He is not yet on,” said Kirschwasser.

“I see...” Stroganoff let out a noise of faint relief.

“Did you come to enjoy the beach?” Felicia asked. Perhaps her question was improper to ask the game’s strongest guild, but with the way they were dressed, they really did look like they had come to enjoy the beach.

“We came to beat a boss monster that’s been appearing offshore,” Stroganoff said as he stuck out his defined pectorals.

“To defeat boss monsters everywhere is the Knights’ sole desire,” one of the four sub-commanders announced.

“Mr. Tsuwabuki got the kill-steal on us the other day, but he won’t have it so easy this time,” another added.

“This time, it is the Red Sunset Knights who will kill the boss first!” a third declared.

“We’ve prepared a banana boat with enough seats for all,” a fourth supplemented.

Despite being a little confused, Iris asked hesitantly, “But, um... in those swimsuits?”

“These are not mere swimsuits,” Stroganoff said proudly. “These were made-to-order by the Akihabara Forging Guild, produced with care by Sakata the Stupid himself. Their defense modifier is +2,800, and they increase water magic resistance. Excellent armor for fighting water monsters.”

“Sakata the Stupid” referred to the leader of the Akihabara Forging Guild, the greatest crafting guild in the game. His actual name was I’m With Stupid →. From the way he talked, he and Stroganoff must have gone back a long way. She seemed to recall that the young heir had said something like that once before, too.

“Um, well, ah... do your best,” Iris said.

At first looking uncertain of how to respond, Stroganoff eventually seemed to take her words as well-meant encouragement. “Thank you. We shall. Give our regards to Tsuwabuki, as well.”

He cast a glance to the others around him, and at last, the game’s most skilled achievement guild, the Red Sunset Knights, got on board their banana boat and headed out to sea.

“I guess that’s the ‘proper’ way of enjoying the game...” said Iris.

“Well, it’s certainly the method the designers planned for,” said Kirschwasser. “They did offer the swimsuits, after all.”

“I felt sorry for them getting mixed up in the fight between Itchy and Kiryuhito, so I hope they can get their proper fight this time,” Felicia whispered idly as she watched them sail away.

“My, my. Is that Sir Kirschwasser I see?”

The next thing they heard was a sticky, clingy, unpleasant voice. Iris noticed the previously-relaxing Felicia grimace at the sound of it.

When they looked up, they saw an attractive Elf man standing there alone. He was wearing chainmail underneath a coat, which was about as stuffy-looking as Kirschwasser’s outfit. Unlike the Red Sunset Knights, he didn’t look like he was here to enjoy the beach and the swimsuits in the ways the developers intended.

“...Who is this, now?” Iris asked in a whisper.

“...Mr. Matsunaga,” Felicia responded with a scowl.

It seemed he wasn’t someone she liked, but Kirschwasser didn’t seem to mind the man, and responded to him just as he had with Stroganoff before. “Well, well. Mr. Matsunaga. Thank you for your help before.”

“That’s my line,” said Matsunaga. “Did you receive my gift?”

“Yes, Tsuwabuki and I quite enjoyed it together.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Matsunaga, with little deference, sat down at their table. Felicia’s expression grew more uncomfortable, and she scooted in Iris’s direction.

Thinking it was a familiar-sounding name, Iris searched back in her memory, and then remembered it was the name of the moderator of that aggregate blog which had come up several times in the past. She recalled that it had run an article about the Edward incident from the other day, and the content had not been favorable towards Iris... Well, more accurately, it had not been favorable towards the young heir. It was clear that Felicia openly disliked him, as well.

“Ah, so you’re Iris, eh?” Matsunaga broached the subject before she could properly figure out how to respond.

“Yes, um... hello.” Iris wasn’t the type to hold a grudge, but it was hard to be openly friendly to the person who had written an article like that.

Matsunaga’s face was attractive, and his roundabout way of speaking — not even trying to hide the unpleasantness in his voice — made her nervous. But when he sat, he left a space between him and Iris, and he didn’t look at them like he was undressing them with his eyes or anything like that. Either he was surprisingly gentlemanly, or he was simply not accustomed to being around women.

“This is our first time meeting in person... Ah, now I see...” He cast a glance at Iris.

“If you have something to say, could you please just come out and say it?” Iris snapped. Iris had a tendency to employ a needled tone in response to someone speaking in an insinuating fashion. She knew it was a bad habit, but she didn’t try to stop herself.

“No, nothing at this very moment,” Matsunaga said. “I was just wondering why it was that Mr. Tsuwabuki liked you so much.”

“I couldn’t really tell you. It’s just the kind of person he is,” she snapped back.

Although he wasn’t exactly looking at her body, there was still something disquieting in his gaze, which had Iris feeling more and more sour.

“Mr. Matsunaga, was it?” she asked. “Do you have some grudge against the young heir?”

“Nothing in particular,” said Matsunaga. “Writing interesting articles gets me more hits, that’s all. It’s a matter of life or death, you know. The affiliate blog is my livelihood.”

“Hmm...” Iris was reminded of another article about the young heir on Matsunaga’s blog the other day. It had described an event during the Grand Quest that had taken place while she was taking exams: a clash between the game’s two greatest players — the young heir and the young man in black, King Kirihito, whom she had met briefly the other day. That article must have earned him a lot of hits, too.

“And, well,” Matsunaga continued with a lurid smile, “your guild leader does create such fine material.”

“I’m not as interesting as he is,” Iris said defensively.

“I’m not sure about that,” he smiled. “I believe you have potential. My hopes are quite high... but, never mind that for now.”

Every word the man said was drenched with innuendo. Iris, who liked people to say things outright, found conversing with him very uncomfortable.

“So, what are you doing here, Lord Matsunaga?” Perhaps recognizing Iris’s growing discomfort, Kirschwasser stepped in.

“Looking for material,” said Matsunaga. “I had a feeling something interesting might happen here today.”

There was meaning hidden behind his words. He must have had more than just a feeling. He had some kind of lead. Something was going to happen on this beach today. Iris wondered if she could avoid getting wrapped up in it.

“Well, okay, but...” Iris narrowed her eyes, sipped her tea, and asked Matsunaga a question. “Why do you say everything in such a loaded... villainous kind of way?”

“That’s our guild’s philosophy,” Matsunaga said airily, as if he had been waiting for just that question.

“Ah, hey! If it isn’t Miss Felicia!”

The interrupter likely wasn’t trying to cut off the conversation, but that was still the result, as Matsunaga and the rest of the group turned their attention to the new arrival.

It was a party of six or seven Fighters in short black swim trunks, all holding inner tubes and walking along the sand. They all had similar black haircuts, and they all were similarly handsome. In fact, they more or less seemed to have the same face, which made it a little eerie.

Iris looked at Felicia again, wondering if she knew them, too, but Felicia’s expression was extremely awkward.

“U-Um... have we met?” Iris asked uneasily.

“Hey, don’t joke! It’s me! Kirihito!”

The man who was introducing himself in a cheerful voice looked very different from the King Kirihito they’d seen the other day, Iris thought. And yet...

“I’m Kirihito, too!”

“Of course, I am also Kirihito.”

“And I’m Kirihito.”

“Kirihito here!”

“Kirihito? That’s me!”

“As a matter of fact, I am Kirihito, as well.”

The six behind him also started mouthing off, adding another level to the confusion.

“Yes! I am... we are...!”

“That style of introduction is so worn-out, so please, refrain,” said Kirschwasser.

“Fair enough.”

Kirschwasser’s gentle recrimination caused the leader-looking man to nod, before striking a precise pose. The six behind him posed as well, and despite them all having the same face and build, their poses all showed individuality.

“I see an unfamiliar face here, too,” the leader said. “We’re The Kirihitters, a guild that exists for those who love to play as Kirihito, the protagonist of our favorite anime. We hold deep respect for the strongest Kirihito of all, King Kirihito, and for Miss Felicia, who appears to be his real-life friend.”

“Ahh, I see...” Iris breathed. She was dealing with a lot of strong personalities today, and it was starting to get quite exhausting.

“Oh, yeah. I just remembered. I didn’t recognize you in those swimsuits, that’s all...” Felicia muttered.

“That’s what we thought! But there’s an ocean here, so we have to swim. I’m curious to see how it compares to the sea at Kagoshima!” Kirihito (Leader) gave her a big thumbs-up, and smiled as bright as could be. “We’re going to enjoy the summer. Miss Felicia, if you see King, say hello to him for us!”

“Um, sure thing.” Felicia waved with a half-hearted smile, and watched the seven Kirihitos leave.

Watching them jump into the ocean one by one, Iris whispered, “It takes all types, huh?”

“That is the nature of the online game,” Matsunaga said without a moment’s pause. “If I may say, you’re a peculiar one, too, Miss Iris. Trying to design original armor and accessories and sell them... It must be a lot of wasted money and effort.”

That line hit her where it hurt. She didn’t even have to think about it; he was dead right. She had the young heir as a patron now, but before she’d met him, it had been a long period of throwing her meager allowance away on nothing. If you had asked her why she was doing it, all she could say was, “because I want to.” It was far removed from the typical playstyle, so maybe she was a bit peculiar.

“But thanks to that peculiar hobby of yours, Tsuwabuki took notice of you,” Kirschwasser added.

Iris wondered if he was trying to make her feel better.

Matsunaga just shrugged, as if to say, “Yes, I know.” He added, “But of course, that would be the case...”

Iris tilted her head as he spoke once again in the manner he had described as “my guild’s philosophy.” “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Even under the recreation of the midsummer sun of Manyfish Beach, Matsunaga’s thin smile sent a chill running through her. Perhaps that, too, was part of his guild’s philosophy.

The curry shop that Ichiro and Azami arrived at was a cramped, quiet place. The prices were relatively reasonable, which, from Ichiro’s perspective, was rather refreshing, as well. He didn’t usually have a chance to enter little shops like this unless he was traveling.

“Should I have picked a more expensive restaurant?” Azami asked hesitantly as Ichiro pored curiously over the menu.

“Nonsense. I don’t care about the price. You have taken me to a restaurant you believe is good, so I shall refrain from comment until I can taste the food and judge it for myself. Isn’t that right?”

This last question was aimed towards the chef, who also seemed to be the restaurant’s owner, standing behind the counter.

The man had masculine, deep-chiseled features. In a grave voice, he said, “Yes, I won’t make you regret it, buddy,” and gave a winning smile.

“Now then, sir. What do you recommend most? It’s a digression, but my favorite curry is that made by my home chef. Though of course, if Azami recommends this place, I suspect the flavor will be just as good.”

Liking the master’s confident attitude, Ichiro had decided to tailor his words to challenge him even more.

The chef demonstrated a big personality of his own, and headed into the kitchen with lines like, “Heh, time to show my stuff,” and, “Fine, I’ll prepare my secret weapon!”