A high plateau situated in the northern reaches of the Klein Kingdom, one of the Allied Kingdoms.
There lay a small hamlet called Kaina Village.
To the north, it was nestled against high mountains boasting massive glaciers; to the east sat a dense forest, and beyond that, a great mountain range stretched into the distance.
A large river wound its way from the west of the village around to the south, known as the Erme River.
Right now, cheers were echoing across the waters of the Erme.
"Onii-chaaan!"
"Hey there, Hanna!"
"It feels so goooood!"
The girl called Hanna, her sandy blonde hair glistening, was floating buoyantly inside a donut-shaped float, wearing a pink swimsuit.
The black-haired young man she had called "Onii-chan" was lounging on a rubber boat.
His name was Jin Nidou—commonly known as Jin. Although he could swim, he wasn't particularly skilled at it, so he preferred relaxing on the rubber boat like this.
Assisting the boat so it wouldn't drift away or capsize was a girl of about ten with black hair.
Her name was Reiko. She was the world's finest automata, a masterpiece created by Jin.
"Be careful now!"
"I will!"
"Jin-nii, I'm watching her, so it'll be fine."
"Yeah, Elsa, I'm counting on you."
Elsa, a girl with platinum blonde hair in a short cut, was an excellent swimmer. She grabbed Hanna's float and guided her toward a deeper pool in the river.
"Hanna-chan, shall we try going a little further out?"
"Yeah, Big Sister Elsa!"
It was mid-July. The midsummer sun beat down mercilessly, and even in the highlands of Kaina Village, the daytime temperature rose to nearly thirty degrees Celsius.
Led by the children, it was customary for the villagers to flock to the Erme River in search of relief from the heat.
"Fufu, swimming in a river is quite nice, isn't it?"
"Yes, indeed. Quiet lakes have their charms, but a river with a current is much more interesting."
Atop a large boulder on the shore, two women were sunbathing, lying on their stomachs to warm their backs. Since the Erme River’s water was somewhat chilly, their bodies would grow too cold if they didn't bask in the sunlight like this every so often.
One might worry about sunburn, but at this latitude, perhaps due to lower ultraviolet levels, severe burns were rare. Furthermore, the women limited their sunbathing to short intervals.
"Bell, you've been quite busy lately, haven't you?"
"Yes, quite. But by a stroke of luck, we found Adberg and managed to make him my secretary; that has made things significantly easier."
"Adberg... Ah, right, the one who was Elsa's Jii-ya."
"So you knew of him as well, Saki?...Yes. After he was dismissed, he apparently returned to his hometown of Ekishi in despair to live in retirement."
＊ ＊ ＊
Adberg had been the butler assigned to Elsa, and as her Jii-ya, he cherished her above all else. He was a master of martial arts and possessed exceptional administrative skills.
Reinhard was well aware of this and had personally asked Adberg to enter his service, but having lost his spirit, the man had refused to say yes.
Realizing it was a lost cause for the moment, Reinhard withdrew, but he soon devised a plan and went to recruit him again—this time accompanied by Elsa.
The expression on the old man's face at that moment was unlike anything seen before.
"M-Miladyyyyyyyyy!!"
The sight of him clutching Elsa's hand, tears streaming down his face as he cried out in joy at their reunion, might have appeared bizarre to anyone unaware of the circumstances.
Since returning to his hometown, he had been a complete recluse, unaware of the excitement surrounding the Technology Expo and thus oblivious to Elsa's return to the country.
"Jii....I'm sorry for making you worry."
"No, just knowing you are well is enough! This Adberg feels that life was worth living just for this moment!"
"...Thank you."
Though he had joined her service later than Mine, he was the Jii-ya who had been by Elsa’s side since she was barely five years old.
When Elsa told him it would be a great help if he worked for Reinhard, he accepted without a second thought.
"...Still, I never imagined that the Master's situation had become so dire."
Saying so, he prepared himself and moved to Kalts Village. Now, he was working vigorously as Reinhard's right-hand man.
＊ ＊ ＊
"But because of that, poor Rai is working all by himself today."
"Kufufu, being a lord isn't all it's cracked up to be, is it?"
"Yes. Although there is one exception."
Laughing, the two turned their gaze toward the water. There was Jin, lounging atop his rubber boat.
"Honestly. One never gets bored when Jin is around."
"A 'rubber boat,' was it? That truly is a fascinating invention."
"Yeah. To think such a boat even existed."
Even in the Shouro Empire, where maritime technology was highly developed, rubber boats were unheard of. Since rubber itself was unknown, it was only natural.
"Shall we go for a swim ourselves? Our bodies are perfectly warmed up now."
"I suppose so."
The two stood up. Saki stood 158 centimeters tall and was slender, wearing an orange one-piece swimsuit. Bell was 150 centimeters tall with an excellent figure, wearing a white one-piece. They were a study in contrasts.
"I felt a little resistance to wearing this swimsuit at first, but once you get used to it, it’s quite wonderful."
"Yeah, it’s easy to move in and comfortable. I heard Jin designed this and debuted it in Port Rock in the Kingdom of Elias."
"Yes, Lord Reinhard told me as much. I expect these swimsuits will become quite the fashion from now on."
The suits were made from a knitted fabric using ground spider silk. Magisilk was used for the lining, making them feel exquisite against the skin.
For the sake of clarity, it should be noted that the swimsuits starting to circulate among the general public were by no means made from ground spider silk.
"Ah, Bell-san and Saki-nee."
"Big sisters!"
Elsa, in her young-grass-colored one-piece, waved to the two. Hanna waved as well.
"Ufufu, Hanna-chan is so adorable."
"She is. This village is... how should I put it... healing."
"It is a mysterious village, isn't it?"
Talking as they went, the two entered the water.
"It's cold and feels wonderful."
"Bell, shall we race to the opposite bank?"
"Certainly!"
The two kicked off and began to swim.
"...Must be nice."
One girl watched the two race with pure envy. It was Barbara, the Village Chief's niece. She couldn't swim a stroke. Thus, she was relegated to clinging to a float. The yellow swimsuit suited her perfectly.
Her boyfriend, Erik, was a merchant and was still at the shop at this hour. Consequently, she was feeling a little lonely. However...
"...I'm so jealous of people who can swim well."
Another comrade was clinging to a float right beside her. Lishia Fahlheit, wearing a bright blue swimsuit, sighed. She was a member of the new nobility who had just recently become the lord of Toka Village.
She had visited Kaina Village today to consult with Jin, but since it was the hottest part of the day, everyone had decided to head to the Erme River after lunch.
Since Lishia also couldn't swim a stroke, she had borrowed a float Jin had made and was drifting in the pool alongside Barbara. Her swimsuit was, of course, also provided by Jin.
"I wish I could swim..."
Lishia and Barbara both breathed the same wish at almost the exact same time.
Finally, the last two were the apprentice butler and apprentice maid of Nidou Castle, Barrow and Belle. Both were originally from the Shouro Empire and, true to their roots, were excellent swimmers.
"Big brother, big sister, you're so good at swimming! Can you catch me?"
"Alright, let's see if we can catch you!"
"I won't lose!"
"Come and get me!"
They were currently fully immersed in a game of water tag with the children.
An early afternoon in Kaina Village.
The sun shone in a cloudless blue sky, and the season was turning toward the peak of summer.