I Have A Damn Family Again - Chapter 239

Chapter 239: School Trip (2)

So, I was trapped. Unable to leave the beach.

I had lost the wager against Arsienne, a wager I never thought I could lose.

And as Harnie had pointed out, I had to maintain the charade of being her lover, lest we attract unwanted attention.

‘Speaking of which… is Harnie not wearing a swimsuit?’

She had insisted on dragging me to the beach, her arm linked through mine, but unlike everyone else, she was still wearing her dress.

As we walked along the shore…

Harnie took off her shoes, dipped her toes in the water, and let out a delighted gasp.

“Wow! It’s so cold!”

“Is this your first time at the beach, Harnie?”

“N-no! I’ve been here plenty of times!”

Harnie’s flustered response was… predictable.

‘Right. She’s never been here. Not once.’

She was so easy to read.

It was surprising, yet somehow… not unexpected.

Preoccupied with her trading company, constantly scheming to escape her family, she wouldn’t have had time for leisurely trips to the beach.

…Which, I suppose, was the same for me.

If I hadn’t retained memories of my previous life, that is.

Anyway.

I could just let it slide, but…

I decided to tease her a little.

“Of course. There’s no way you’ve never been to the beach.”

“Hmph. Of course I have! What do you take me for…?”

“Right, right. You wouldn’t just dip your toes in the water and leave, like a beginner.”

“…!”

“People who truly love the ocean go in. Like those people over there.”

Harnie hesitated for a moment, then, as if compelled by some unseen force, unlinked her arm from mine and walked towards the deeper water.

“Wh-who said I would just dip my toes in?! Hmph. I love the ocean!”

Heh. She was adorable.

Perhaps I should stop teasing her.

“Let’s go back.”

“What?!”

I scooped her up into my arms.

“H-hey! I was about to go in…”

“It seems there’s a small game going on over there. I think it might be more fun.”

“…What?”

Harnie turned to look in the direction I indicated.

“I heard there’s a prize for the winner. I’d like to participate.”

“…Then put me down.”

Harnie pouted.

“I can’t. Since you want to play that game… it seems we’ll have to postpone our swim.”

“Right. Thank you.”

“L-let’s go.”

She quickly relinked her arm through mine and urged me forward. It was less of an urging and more of a forceful push, but…

-W-well, it can’t be helped! We’ll swim later, let’s go play that game!

Once again, I was reminded of her.

“Ten players remaining!”

“Oh, it’s first come, first served! Carsein, hurry!”

“Yes, let’s go.”

Just like Jieun, Harnie seemed apprehensive about the water. Perhaps I should give her some swimming lessons later.

▶ You can participate in the Emergency Mission. ◀

▶ Will you participate? ◀

‘I would normally avoid this…’

But I couldn’t leave now.

Might as well.

▶ Participating in the Emergency Mission. ◀

▶ Earn as many points as possible. ◀

It couldn’t hurt.

“Alright. We have enough people. Let’s begin.”

…Hmm? Begin?

-Toss!

Arsienne threw a ball into the air.

“I’ve observed you all enjoying yourselves. Splashing each other with water, throwing balls… and it seems many of you are particularly fond of dodgeball. So I’ve prepared something special.”

The princess grinned as she activated a magical device.

-Flicker.

“…?”

-Poof!

“W-wait! That could kill someone!”

“Melons are falling from the sky!”

“Haha. Don’t worry. It’s just an illusion.”

“An illusion…?”

Arsienne chuckled at the nobles’ bewildered expressions, then explained.

“The rules are simple. Various objects will be thrown at you, and you must dodge them. If you sustain serious injuries, or are unable to move, you’ll be automatically removed from the playing field. Simple enough, isn't it?”

…Of course it was simple. In theory.

-Crash!

“Whoa!”

“Aaah!”

This wasn’t just dodgeball!

“You’ll earn points based on how long you survive. We’ll be playing several rounds, so enjoy yourselves. Oh, and here’s a tip: you can use your hands and feet to deflect the objects.”

-Thud!

“How are we supposed to deflect those with our hands and feet?!”

“No time to talk! Run!”

▶ Emergency Mission I: Obstacle Dodge has begun. ◀

▶ Survive as long as possible to earn points. ◀

***

“Aaah!”

“Ugh!”

All sorts of objects began flying around the designated playing field.

The nobles, who had been so eager just moments before, were now frantically dodging.

“Try harder! Hahahaha!”

Seriously? How cruel.

While everyone else was struggling to avoid being hit, she was leisurely fanning herself, enjoying the chaos.

‘…Should I just give up and leave?’

I considered it, but…

“H-hey! Don’t push!”

Here…

“Aaah! Why me, why meeee!”

And there…

“Eek!”

…It was the same everywhere.

I could sense faint traces of mana emanating from the nobles.

Or rather, from their clothes.

The swimsuits were enchanted with a waterproofing spell. But after the recent incident, the Imperial Family had insisted on inspecting every single garment.

I had been forced to submit my own swimsuit for inspection as well.

That’s when I had noticed something off.

While the swimsuits were waterproofed, there was a faint… foreign element within the mana.

It had likely been added during the Imperial Family’s inspection.

The question was… why?

‘Why add such a meaningless amount of mana?’

It wasn’t dangerous.

It didn’t interfere with or alter any magic.

It was such a minuscule amount that it wouldn’t have any effect on a simple game like this.

This seemingly pointless action intrigued me.

‘…Let’s enhance my senses.’

▶ Enhancing senses with mana! ◀

Enhancing my hearing or smell wouldn’t be useful here. Neither would touch.

The most useful sense in this situation was sight.

I closed my eyes, focusing my mana, carefully concentrating it in my eyes.

▶ Enhancing vision. ◀

The true nature of the magically conjured objects falling from the sky became clear.

Good. I could see them now.

I carefully observed the other participants, my enhanced vision allowing me to see details I had missed before.

And…

I began to understand the reason for this strange game.

“Hah.”

“Carsein? What’s wrong…?”

I glanced at Harnie, a sudden suspicion forming in my mind.

“I’m glad you’re the same color as me.”

“What?”

So that’s why they had suddenly started this game.

Each instance of the artificially added mana had been assigned a color.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘Well… I suppose it makes sense.’

This type of game was usually played in teams.

This wasn’t just obstacle dodge.

It wasn’t just a game of survival.

The true nature of this game…

…was teamwork.

“Eek!”

A woman stumbled and fell, splashing into the shallow water.

She was immediately hit by a falling doll and ejected from the playing field.

And the fact that that was among the falling objects…

-Smirk.

“You’re next, Carsein. Heh heh.”

So they had figured it out as well.

It couldn’t be helped.

“Harnie, can you grab those objects with your mana and throw them back?”

“What? What are you talking about…?”

“This isn’t obstacle dodge. It’s mana dodgeball.”

“Mana… dodgeball?”

“It’s difficult to explain, but the men can only block. The women can grab and throw. Can you do that?”

-Smirk.

“I… I think I can.”

“Good. Then throw them back and eliminate them.”

That was the only way we could win.

***

Once both sides had figured out the true nature of the game, the playing field became a chaotic battlefield.

The red lines marked the boundaries, restricting movement.

Hidden items scattered throughout the arena could be used to hinder opponents.

It was a true dodgeball arena.

Aside from the fact that eliminated players couldn’t attack from the sidelines, it was exactly like a normal game of dodgeball, two teams throwing objects at each other.

But our team was smaller.

We had been slower to realize the true nature of the game, and we had lost a significant number of female players, reducing our offensive capabilities.

‘…This is going to be difficult.’

Even deflecting the objects had its limits.

It required mana.

And since it required a specific method of deflection, even the men would be eliminated once their mana reserves were depleted.

Without the men to act as shields, the women, who already used mana for their attacks, would have to use mana for defense as well. Being outnumbered was a significant disadvantage.

…No.

It was more than just a disadvantage. The difference in their power was overwhelming.

“Hiya!”

“Oof!”

Oh, crap.

The pink-haired demon was single-handedly decimating our team.

Claire, the second Bagrand sister, was a force of nature.

That crazy bitch had seemingly limitless mana, and no one could stand against her.

And… she wasn’t alone.

“Hah!”

“Aaah!”

There was another one.

A woman with a fiery red ponytail, expertly adding spin to her throws.

Damn it. One of them was already enough to break the game, but two Bagrand sisters? What were we supposed to do?

“Heh. This is too easy. Are there only four of you left?”

“Seriously… This team is completely unbalanced… How could those two be on the same…”

The noble sighed, then forfeited, stepping out of the playing field.

“Y-Young Master! Wait! What about me…?!”

A mana-infused dodgeball hurtled towards the young noblewoman.

She closed her eyes, unable to react.

Tsk. It couldn’t be helped.

-Thwack!

I caught the ball, the force of the impact resonating through my mana-enhanced grip.

Damn it, Claire. That was a powerful throw.

I glanced at the young noblewoman and nodded.

“You should leave. Before you get hit and eliminated for real.”

“Th-thank you…”

She stared at me for a moment, bewildered, then hurriedly left the playing field.

Right. Now it was just me and Harnie.

Just the two of us. The other team still had plenty of players.

This was hopeless. We should just forfeit.

I turned to Harnie, intending to suggest it, but…

“…Hmm…”

She seemed upset.

I gulped and asked,

“Is… something wrong?”

“That young lady seems quite pleased to have been saved by you. She’s been staring at you from the sidelines.”

“Is… that so?”

…Well, of course she was. I had saved her from being hit.

No, this wasn’t the time for this.

If I wasted any more time, Claire and Arina would bombard us with projectiles.

“Harnie, let’s just forfeit. We can’t win this.”

Harnie’s eyes narrowed.

“No.”

“…What?”

“I… want to see this through.”

Why?

Why would someone as intelligent as her insist on continuing a fight they couldn’t possibly win?

“Just block everything. Don’t let me get hit.”

She said, then launched a counterattack, throwing a projectile back at the other team with a flick of her wrist.

…There was no way I could protect both of us from those two alone.

I was starting to dread the incoming barrage of objects.

But what truly terrified me,

Was the smile on Harnie’s face.

…Had I done something wrong again?

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