With a proper banana boat finally in hand, I set about explaining the basics to Kuro and Sieg-san. Then again, as I’d said before, I’d never actually been on one myself, so my instructions ended up being a bit on the fuzzy side.
Despite my clumsy explanation, Kuro and Sieg-san seemed to grasp the concept well enough. They nodded with smiles, their eyes drifting toward the inflatable craft as they spoke.
"Yeah, I think I get the gist of it," Kuro said. "As for the power needed to move the boat, I can just handle that with magic. We shouldn't have any problems."
"The only real concern is the speed," Sieg-san added. "If we go too fast, we might be thrown off..."
"Good point," I agreed. "Actually, considering our physical abilities, I’m probably the only one who needs to worry about being thrown off."
Losing one's balance and tumbling into the water might be fun in its own way, but that was only true if the speed remained within the realm of common sense. If they accelerated based on their own standards, I’d undoubtedly be unable to hang on. Still, I wasn't particularly worried about that.
If Shiro-san were the one at the helm, I would have felt my life was in danger unless we had a very thorough discussion about exactly what speed was safe. Fortunately, Kuro was our pilot. While she could be a bit of a natural airhead at times, she wasn't the type to do something reckless in a situation like this.
Of course, I knew Shiro-san didn't do those things out of malice. It was just that her base specs were simply too high, and since she had so little experience adjusting herself to others, she didn't have a firm grasp of how to hold back. Then again, given how the current Shiro-san was steadily expanding her horizons, it felt like she’d soon be able to make those fine adjustments for others as well.
"I think it’s best if we match your comfort level, Kaito-kun," Kuro proposed. "We'll have you sit in the middle where there’s the least amount of swaying. I’ll start slowly and gradually increase the speed. Just give me a shout when it feels right, and I’ll maintain that pace."
"That makes me feel a lot better."
"In that case," Sieg-san suggested, "it would be best for Chrome-sama to be in front as the operator while I take the back seat."
Both Sieg-san and I voiced our agreement. As I expected, everything seemed perfectly fine. It looked like I’d be able to enjoy my first banana boat ride without a single worry.
With those thoughts in mind, we moved the craft into the water. Naturally, Kuro was the one who carried it. She hoisted the banana boat with one hand, set it afloat, and climbed onto the front section.
I climbed on after her. She was likely using magic to keep the boat steady, as I was able to get on quite easily without much of a struggle.
But... wait. The distance between me and Kuro was closer than I’d anticipated. Was this just the standard experience, and I simply hadn't known any better?
As the thought crossed my mind, the boat swayed slightly, and I felt Sieg-san's presence behind me. She’d climbed on as well, but—yeah, the proximity was definitely intense.
Come to think of it, I was currently sandwiched between two beauties in swimwear. This was a literal Sandwich State. I tried to tell myself it was logical—Kuro, the shortest, belonged in the front, and putting me in the middle was safer than the back—but the rationale didn't do much to calm my nerves.
Despite my internal lecture, my eyes couldn't help but drift toward the smooth, beautiful skin Kuro exposed in her swimsuit, and I found myself painfully conscious of Sieg-san pressed behind me as well.
Wait, I realized why I was so jittery. It was because neither of them—nor I, for that matter—was wearing a life jacket. I knew they didn't need them given their specs, but the fact that the areas usually covered by a jacket were completely exposed was making me unusually tense.
"Alright, here we go!" Kuro called out. "I’ll slowly pick up speed, so Kaito-kun, just tell me when it’s perfect."
"O-Okay, got it."
I told myself to settle down. I was just overthinking the fact that I was being sandwiched by two lovers in swimsuits. If I just sat normally, nothing strange would happen. Kuro was matching the speed to my comfort, so as long as I kept myself steady, there shouldn't be any "happenings."
Or so I thought. But once the banana boat started moving and gained a bit of speed, those stray thoughts vanished. The sun was warm, but the wind stroking my skin and the occasional spray of cool water felt incredible. The surface of the sea sparkled like diamonds under the sunlight. It was breathtaking.
"It's beautiful, isn't it? And the wind is so refreshing," Sieg-san said.
"Yeah, I agree."
Even though the boat was moving at a fair clip, I could hear Sieg-san clearly. Since we weren't being towed by a noisy jet ski, there was no engine drone to drown out our conversation.
"How's the speed, Kaito-kun?" Kuro asked.
"You can go a bit faster!"
"Okey-doke! Accelerating now!"
Kuro sounded like she was having a blast. She was making exaggerated gestures, even letting go with one hand to wave, and her excitement was contagious.
"Ah, wait, this might be the limit for me..."
I was clearly caught up in the moment. That was why I didn't notice—why I failed to see it coming.
"Got it!"
In truth, it wouldn't have mattered. As the person least versed in magic among the three of us, I likely wouldn't have noticed unless I’d been using Sympathy Magic at full power. I missed the fact that Kuro, while waving her arms around, had secretly used magic to manifest a message before Sieg-san's eyes. I missed the way she stole a quick glance at me, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.
"Eh? Wait—!?"
The boat's speed dropped with a sudden, jarring jolt. Just as I lost my balance and lurched forward, my hands—which should have been firmly gripping the handles—inexplicably slipped.
With my body pitching forward, I instinctively reached out to cling to whatever was in front of me. In this case, that meant Kuro.
Even though I should have hit her with a fair amount of force, it felt like I was caught by a gentle cushion of air. There was no impact at all. As I clung to her, I thought I heard a faint, whispered voice.
"...Even I think it's unfair that Shiro's the only one who gets lucky, you know?"
Main Heroine-san: "Shiro told me that when you’re at the beach, 'happenings' and 'lucky sukebe' are essential tools for flirting with your lover!"
Exchange between Kuro and Sieg via Magic Power Characters: Kuro: "This is a perfect formation, so let's execute the Sandwich Strategy! I'll provide the 'don', and we'll just go with the flow from there." Sieg: "Understood. I'll do my best as well."
Machina: "...But these two lack the Breast Power to truly perform a sandwich. I suppose this is just the unfortunate gap between the 'holders' and the 'non-holders'."
Serious-senpai: "There she goes again with her made-up words. Your own size is barely above mediocre, so you have no right to talk."
Machina: "...Heh heh heh. What was that about my chest?"
Serious-senpai: "...Wait, no, I didn't—it was just a slip of the—!"
Machina: "...Get her, Tartarus."
Serious-senpai: "Gwaaaaah!?"