Black Iron Magician

Chapter 341 A Very Fun Beach Volleyball

After moving from the giant aquarium room, we arrived at a tropical paradise. The sun is shining brightly and the heat is pouring down. The sound of the waves on the beach naturally put us in the mood for a vacation. Seeing the white sandy beach reminds me of the scene at the elf resort, where we had fun on our honeymoon, but this was supposed to be indoor. In addition to that, we should have been walking along the passage in Al Nova until just now. Why is it connected to such a beach!?

「Oh? Zex-han, is this the project we talked about before?」

「Yes, that’s right! It’s a prototype of the indoor artificial beach that Alezel-dono requested! I thought this would be the most suitable place to fulfill Nell-dono’s request!」

「Eh, really? It was supposed to be a top-secret project that’s scheduled to open later, though….」

Indoor artificial beach…. Are they planning to use it for a new facility or something at the elf resort? The technology of Al Nova really can do anything, huh.

「About that, I’ve adjusted it as you requested, but since I’m a machine, I can’t judge whether this artificial object is comparable to an actual resort facility. Zeta also has never been to a tropical beach. So, I decided to ask everyone who gathered here to check it as a final test.」

「They will be the judge, huh. Hmm… well, Deris and Nell came to the elf resort not a long ago, so they probably will be able to point out anything that feels off….」

「It’s good, I like it!」

「Whoa, Nell!? Since when did you change into a swimsuit!?」

Nell, who requested this environment, has already changed into a bright red swimsuit. That’s the bikini you bought at Damaya, right? And in my hand, I have a bag containing my swimsuit that I bought together at that time. Hmm?

「If you wear a swimsuit in this gorgeous place, it will make you feel good, right? And if you train happily in such an environment, the effect should be doubled or tripled!」

「Nell, I understand what you want to say, but I don’t understand the meaning of this.」

It’s not because you just wanted to wear a swimsuit, right? It’s not a simple thought that you were envious of the appearance of the girls, right?

「Nell-san, are we going to continue the previous battle in this sea?」

「Hou? If the shape is closer to the sea, it’ll be even more advantageous to me, you know?」

「No. I told you that we’ll have a fun training, right? Since there are so many powerful people here, we’ll do it while playing. We were playing catch ball before, right? It’s something like that.」

「Nell-shishō, the name may sound like that, but that’s not a game. That’s a kind of battle filled with the feeling of tension.」

Chinatsu immediately retorted. Speaking of catch ball, it’s the one that Haru and Chinatsu did before. After that, the light version was introduced to the training of the knights, and I remember that Nell’s subordinates were crying. In the end, they were motivated for some reason, and they were able to finish it.

「So, what are we going to do? Also, this is a swimsuit, right? Do I have to change into a swimsuit too?」

「Of course. If you play beach volleyball, it’s normal to wear a swimsuit.」

Beach…. Wait, maybe it’s just my imagination, but I think there’s something wrong with the letters!

(TLn: the raw is 火血(ビーチ)バレー, 火(hi/bi) = fire, 血(chi) = blood. Nell said ‘biichi baree(beach volleyball)’, but she used kanji ‘fire’ and ‘blood’ for ‘beach’.)

「B-Bii what? What the hell is that?」

「Beach volleyball? Do you mean the volleyball that’s played on sand?」

「I have experience with ordinary volleyball, but I have never played beach volleyball! It sounds fresh and interesting!」

「Wait, is there a volleyball sport in this world? To be honest, I don’t know the details of the rules. Also, old man Hund doesn’t seem to know it either.」

「O-Old man!?」

「Ah, we have it at the elf resort. There’s a large facility that gathers all kinds of sports from around the world. Well, it was originally from the world of Haru-chan and the others. I’m the person in charge, so I more or less know the rules.」

「Come to think of it, Nell, we saw it from a distance on our honeymoon, right…?」

「Yes. It’s going to be fun, don’t you think?」

It certainly will be fun to do it normally. But my intuition, having known her for many years, tells me that Nell is planning something.

「Fuhaha! There’s a court for that at this artificial beach! You can use it!」

「No, that’s not necessary. This sport is supposed to be played two on two, right? That’s not enough for everyone, so let’s get a bigger court.」

「Everyone, let’s see―― I, Haru, Nell, Chinatsu, Touko, Alezel, Hund-kun, Zex, Zeta… nine people, an odd number, huh. We don’t have enough people to form a team.」

「Should I be the referee? I’ve already input the rules, so I can give you a fair judgment.」

「It’s unthinkable for Zex-sama to not participate! I’ll do it instead!」

Zex and Zeta quarreled to decide who will be the referee. Well, it’s just playing, so we can just make the judgment ourselves. Still, I have a bad feeling about this, so I’ll be the referee instead――

「――It seems that you’re in trouble. If you want, I can help you with that.」

Lillyvia, who was supposed to have gone to the dreamland, appeared in a very revealing swimsuit!

「Lily-shishō? Why are you here? Didn’t you say that you are going to sleep until evening?」

「Hmm. I just thought I’d do a little wake-up exercise. I have no ulterior motive. More importantly, Touko, what’s with that unsexy swimsuit?」

「Well, it’s just a functional swimsuit I borrowed from Zex-danna….」

「Good grief, that’s unacceptable. I’ve been telling you to take advantage of the opportunity, right? I have prepared swimsuits for all of you, just in case something like this happens, so you can change into these. Don’t worry, I can tell your body size just by looking at you.」

Saying so, Lily handed over a Damaya’s bag to the girls. Then, all the women except Nell were forcibly taken to the changing room. When did she go sightseeing in Damaya? Also, I’m sure she has various ulterior motives. Thus, everyone except Zex and Hund-kun will be wearing swimsuits.

「Anyway, we have ten people now. We can make it 5 to 5.」

「That’s good, but what about the court? I know some of the rules, but I don’t know the proper size of the court for multiple players, you know?」

「We’re just playing, so we can just set it accordingly. Besides, there’s too much difference in physical ability between ordinary people and the Great Eight Demons, so we can’t use the normal size. Let’s borrow a corner there.」

Nell pointed to the white sandy beach at the water’s edge. Then, she walks there and puts some stones. Is she marking the four corners of the court? I feel that it’s much wider than normal.

「Is it the range of the court?」

「That’s right ♪」

「Hmm…. It’s a little hard to tell where the court is if you just put the stones in the corners, right? Also, we need a net.」

「Judging from what you said, it seems that it’s quite difficult to make a court, huh?」

「Fuhaha, don’t worry! If it’s just that much, I can make it immediately!」

「No need. I’ll make everything.」

「「「Ha?」」」

At that moment, the artificial tropical beach was enveloped in the flames of purgatory.