Episode 1: A Summer Disappearance
As planned, the members of Gourmet Palace went on the "Charming Southern Island Tour," enjoying themselves fully by the seaside from the very first day.
After they had tired themselves out fully, they retired to their arranged bungalow to rest and relax.
Since the "Charming Southern Island Tour" was four days and three nights long, there should have been still more fun times to come. So everyone thought, but come the next morning, something strange was happening...
Kyaru
(Ahh, man... All my muscles are throbbing with soreness.)
Kyaru
(We were all totally gleeful yesterday. I think I pulled muscles that I don't even use normally, getting carried away swimming around in the ocean.)
Kyaru
(On top of that, Pecorine wouldn't let me go to bed for a long time, and I didn't end up getting very much rest at all... It's a four day vacation, but I'm already feeling totally exhausted on day two.)
Kyaru
(Ahh, I wonder if I could restore my stamina with magic. But I ended up using more magic than I'd thought I would, yesterday, so... I'm even feeling tapped out in that respect.)
Kyaru
(Both physical and magical energy are limited, and I spent way too much of both on the first day.)
Kyaru
(Well, it's a good kind of exhaustion, though... I wouldn't take back any of the time I spent having fun with my friends.)
Kyaru
(Honestly, I feel super happy. Hee hee...)
Kokkoro
Here I go, Master!
Yuuki
1. Run after her.
2. "Wait up a bit."
Option 1.
Kokkoro
Okay. Now, the beach ball... Huh?
Option 2.
Kokkoro
Hmm? What is it... Huh?
End of branches.
Kokkoro
Lady Kyaru! Good morning!
Kyaru
Good morning to you, too. You two sure are lively, prancing around at this hour, aren't you?
Kokkoro
Yes. We slept soundly last night, so we're both brimming with energy.
Kokkoro
Today is a new day... We were thinking of going to play in the water, and the excitement was too much to bear.
Kokkoro
Master and I went for a walk to shake off the morning drowsiness, and it ended up being enjoyable... Before I knew it, we were throwing around this beach ball that we'd brought with us.
Kokkoro
We've been having a very nice time. Lady Kyaru, would you like to join us?
Kyaru
Thanks, but maybe next time... I'm totally worn out right now, and I should probably lie down. If I ran around that much, I'd probably end up fainting.
Kokkoro
Ha ha. Poor Lady Kyaru -- perhaps you should train some more?
Kyaru
C'mon, give it a rest, a magician like me can't be expected to have that much stamina... Honestly, you two are completely radiant right now. You really slept that well last night, huh?
Kyaru
Hey, good for you guys. I wound up sharing a room with Pecorine, and you two wound up in the other room.
Kyaru
You two are basically like family, but still, having a boy and a girl of your ages in the same room feels like... it could lead to some misunderstandings. But I guess I'm worrying about nothing, huh?
Kokkoro
Huh. What misunderstandings...?
Kokkoro
Regardless. Lady Kyaru, you look like you didn't get enough sleep, judging by the bags under your eyes.
Kyaru
Ah, you can tell? Yeah, so, I'm not sure what it was, but I guess Pecorine was having kind of nightmare in the middle of the night... When I finally thought I'd be able to get to sleep, she woke me up again.
Kyaru
After that, she came over to my side and started talking to me. She kept asking me to let her into my bed, like a toddler after a bad dream.
Kokkoro
Ha ha... I don't fully understand, but wouldn't sleeping in the same bed have been fine?
Kyaru
No way. With her crazy strength, she might accidentally choke me out while she was still half-awake.
Kyaru
Huh? But actually, her strength comes from wearing the Royal Armament, doesn't it... So maybe she wouldn't have been wearing it with her pajamas?
Kyaru
I was also sleepy, so I wasn't really thinking that clearly.
Kokkoro
The Royal Armament... That's the transparent, crown-like tiara that Pecorine always carries with her. It's kind of her signature, along with that shoulderpad of hers, right?
Kokkoro
Thanks to that, Pecorine can bring a practically unlimited amount of fighting strength to bear. ... But considering that she was in her swimsuit for all of yesterday, she might well have been weaker than usual.
Kokkoro
It seemed that she wasn't wearing the Royal Armament with her swimsuit. When I think about it, she did seem more sluggish than usual, and she tired out quickly, didn't she?
Kokkoro
I cannot say that her behavior was lively as it usually is.
Kyaru
Ah, now that you mention it... Since the Royal Armament is basically her lifeline, I wonder how she was planning to spend this vacation more or less without it.
Kyaru
... She's really let her guard down because of this vacation. If someone were to go after her life now, she'd be in serious trouble.
Kokkoro
Ha ha. That may be true, but I doubt that any life-threatening situation would arise here.
A noise in the water.
Kokkoro
... Eh?
Kyaru
W-What is it, Koro?
Kokkoro
No... Perhaps I was just imagining it, but did you notice anything strange in the water just now? Um, or might I still just be drowsy?
Kokkoro
At a glance, the water looks just as peaceful today as it did yesterday. The Marjen Coast... And especially this sand bar, is considered a safe place where monsters rarely are seen, I've heard.
Kyaru
Hmm... If you're worried, should I try checking the water using my scouting magic?
Kokkoro
No, I won't ask that of you... You said you expended much of your magical power yesterday, didn't you, Lady Kyaru? Please, rest your powers without pushing yourself for today.
Kyaru
All right. But magic doesn't replenish if you don't eat or sleep, so I'd like to have some breakfast to help with that.
Kyaru
You two... If it's not too much trouble, would you mind going to my bungalow and waking up Pecorine?
Kyaru
I'm going to take my own early-morning walk around here, and look for some places to eat while I'm at it.
Kyaru
The seaside shops look like they still haven't opened yet, so in the worst case, we might have to go to the town to find something.
Kyaru
Ahhh, in that case, we'd have to carry the food back. I'd thought this would be a luxurious sort of vacation where they'd wait on us and bring us our meals, but I guess that wasn't part of the package.
Kyaru
... Huh?
Kyaru
Nobody's saying anything back... Koro? Yuuki? Where'd you go?
Kyaru
Huh...? What's going on? I took my eyes off them for a moment, and they've disappeared?