The wind roared against her ears, blurring Goddess Hestia's cheers into an indistinct haze.
Lili looked at the scene before her and could not help thinking:
This was a battle.
What they were facing was no water park. It was a giant monster, one they absolutely could not afford to slip against.
"Please let Lili go first. The rest of you observe for now!"
Lili volunteered herself, deciding to preserve their fighting strength by testing the monster's capabilities first.
As the weakest supporter, this was all she could do.
"We'll remember your sacrifice and keep moving forward."
Daphne nodded firmly.
"Lili-dono..."
"Ugh..."
Mikoto and Cassandra were both moved by her self-sacrificing spirit, and for a moment, their voices caught.
With the girls' blessings behind her, Lili stepped onto the course alone.
"For Bell-sama, this is what Lili must do!"
Lili encouraged herself with those words, casting aside her fear and embarrassment as she took her first steps.
"As the weakest supporter, she has chosen to sacrifice herself! Truly, this is moving... Huh?!"
Shakti, swept up in the camaraderie between them, began her commentary.
But she had barely started before her words came to an abrupt stop.
"Huh?!!"
Hestia, watching from the side, could not help crying out in surprise as well.
In her line of sight, Lili had only managed to run a few steps before she reached the horizontal bar suspended in the air.
Lili leaped with all her might, failed to reach it, and crashed into the pool with an enormous splash.
"Well... her spirit is certainly worth praising. Let's look forward to the next challenger's performance..."
Shakti spoke awkwardly.
"Gurgle... Lili protests! At that height, no Pallum could possibly reach it! This is discrimination!"
With the help of the female members of Ganesha Familia, Lili surfaced from the life ring.
"I'm sorry... We really did overlook that."
Shakti apologized.
"Ugh..."
Lili wanted to argue a little more, but the moment she noticed Bell's gaze, all her nerve disappeared.
More than the embarrassment, Lili was concerned about the state she was in. Her long white dress was soaked through, completely exposing her petite figure. With the small life ring added in, she looked just like a child playing in the water.
"This is my victory."
Hestia puffed out her chest, a winner's smile on her face.
"What exactly were you competing over? Your Familia member just dove in quite spectacularly."
Shakti could not help retorting.
"Ugh..."
Lili naturally understood what the goddess meant.
"You look really cute like that, Lili."
By the time Bell finished speaking, Lili had already plunged into the changing room without looking back.
A moment later, an even greater splash burst across the water.
"Sigh... I keep telling you not to eat so many sweets..."
Daphne watched Cassandra fall into the water and let out a long sigh.
"Why would you suddenly say something so mean? I haven't gained weight!"
Cassandra surfaced from the water, her robe clinging to her skin and revealing the outline of the impressive curves hidden underneath.
"Bell, don't look at that!"
Hestia hurriedly stood up and blocked the young man's view.
"Goddess-sama, don't underestimate a man's dynamic vision. Also, if Lili hears you say that, she'll definitely start an argument."
Bell replied calmly.
"Hestia-sama, I believe what you're doing right now is the real violation of chastity."
Shakti watched their interaction and offered a reminder.
In order to block the young man's view, the goddess had chosen to use her own body as a wall. Because of their height difference, her chest was positioned right in front of Bell's face, and it was even touching him slightly.
"Wh-what?!"
Hestia's face instantly turned bright red.
Behind her, Cassandra had already rushed away from the pool.
"Hestia-sama, your Familia member has already left, you know? You sound surprised, but you haven't moved at all. Could you be doing that on purpose?"
Influenced by the cheerful mood, Shakti voiced her honest confusion.
"N-no, of course not! It's Bell's fault for being a pervert and not stopping me!"
Hestia shoved the blame onto the young man.
"..."
Bell silently accepted it.
After all, he had enjoyed a lovely view, and from a certain perspective, the goddess was not entirely wrong...
"Is that Magic for strengthening Endurance and Agility?"
Shakti's commentary brought the topic back to the challenge.
Daphne had learned from Cassandra's failure. She judged that she could not completely avoid the giant pendulum, so she began chanting Magic at once and decided to charge straight through.
Pale green Magic Power enveloped Daphne's body. She easily grabbed the horizontal bar, crossed the pool, and pressed forward with fierce momentum.
"Oooh?! Maybe this will actually work?"
Hestia's eyes shone, as if she could already see the prize in her hands.
But in the very next second, the pendulum smashed that hope into foam.
"Only the Captain could take something like that head-on..."
Daphne surfaced from the water and sighed as she swam toward the edge.
The farther one went, the stronger the pendulum's impact became. The ground was also slippery, making it difficult to stand firm and resist it. Even with her Magic, Daphne could not force her way to the end.
In the blink of an eye, Mikoto was the only challenger left.
"..."
Mikoto took a samurai stance and closed her eyes.
She could not lose focus.
She could not hit any of the obstacles.
She had to use her speed to avoid every trap.
The instant she opened her eyes, the warrior from the Far East descended onto the battlefield.
She leaped over the pool, avoided the pendulum, and landed on the spinning disc.
Every shifting obstacle was perfectly clear in Mikoto's eyes.
She had to see everything, just like [him].
Mikoto did not want to betray her companions' trust. More than that, she wanted to proudly tell that person that she had remembered everything she had learned so far and was trying to bring it all together.
"Oooh!!!"
Hestia cheered loudly.
Mikoto became a gale, sweeping through everything.
However, just as she was about to reach the finish line, something unexpected happened.
Mikoto's kimono had never been suited for exercise to begin with, and amid such intense movement, the sash inevitably came loose. The kimono loosened and began sliding down.
"Ugh?!"
Mikoto hurriedly grabbed it.
That lapse brought an irreversible mistake. In the next instant, the pendulum blasted Mikoto into the pool.
Her kimono scattered, exposing her fair skin to the young man's view.
As the chest binding became soaked, the kimono outlined the beautiful figure Mikoto had always kept restrained beneath it.
"I-I'm sorry!!!"
Whether Mikoto was apologizing out of embarrassment or because she had failed the challenge was unclear.
She clutched the kimono with both hands, held it tightly against her chest, and rushed toward the changing room where Lili and the others were.
"They all got wiped out..."
Hestia found it hard to accept reality and lowered her head in dejection.
Shakti glanced at the goddess, looking as though she had expected this.
"Hestia-sama, we actually prepared a second chance for those who fail."
Shakti turned her gaze to Bell, then continued.
"Little Rookie, would you be willing to have a mock battle with a Tamer from our Familia?"
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