081 – Let’s go Swimming!

“Wow…! This feels a lot like floating in the low gravity section of a colony, doesn’t it?”

“Sure, it does feel a bit similar, I guess.”

Mimi was in a really great mood as she floated on top of the water with her eyes sparkling in wonder.

The sun was shining brightly, The seawater’s temperature was just right, and Mimi’s breasts were bobbing up and down on the waterline in a splendid fashion. Yes! This really was an amazing resort!

“Kuh……”

Chris, who was using her shark-shaped float, let out a frustrated grumble. Unlike Elma, Chris still has more room to grow, so I don’t think you need to be that frustrated about it though. Elma doesn’t have any chance of filling out in that department after all. But that’s something great in another sense as well.

“It really is fun, even if we’re just floating around!”

“Ain’t it?”

I’m also having fun. Yes. Lots of fun.

“You can also move on the water by fluttering your legs like Chris does.”

“I’ll try it then!”

Mimi leaned forward on top of her float and began moving her legs. And I got a gander of her breasts being pressed down on the float. That’s good. Do it more.

By the way, Elma was floating around a short distance away from us in a relaxed posture. She looks like she’s having fun in her own way as well.

“I’m moving forward! I’m moving forward, Hiro-sama!”

“Yes, yes. That’s good. Please continue.”

With this, she should gradually get used to moving in the water. Mimi started getting engrossed with swimming using the float. It would be nice if she takes this experience and graduates from using the float to swim eventually.

“Yosh. Let’s all race toward where Elma is!”

“Understood!”

“I won’t lose!”

I, Mimi, and Chris began to make our way toward the place where Elma was floating around while relaxing. Chris is used to swimming, but since her legs were short, she couldn’t bring out much speed. Mimi’s leg kicks were still clumsy cause she’s a beginner, but because of her regular workouts on the ship, her kicks were comparably more powerful than Chris’s. It was quite a good match.

Me? I’m good. Let the girls have their fun. I’ll just accompany them. Even if it’s been some time since she last swam, Chris ultimately won over the beginner Mimi.

“Bam! I won!”

The shark float lightly collided with Elma’s float and Chris declared her victory.

“I lost!”

“Mou. Just what are you guys doing…?”

Elma started complaining when she realized she was made into an impromptu goal, but it doesn’t look like she really was angry. On the contrary, her eyes were warmly watching the duo who were frolicking innocently in the water.

“Aren’t you gonna swim, Elma?”

“When I feel like it. It’s great to just take in the sun and the air like this once in a while, don’t you think?”

“That’s true.”

You can’t sunbathe while inside Krishna after all. Harmful cosmic rays are blocked by the hulls and energy shields of ships, so it’s unlikely for you to be exposed to natural sunlight while inside one. It seems there are some facilities in colonies that offer exposure to healthy star rays, but I haven’t really tried going to those facilities even once.

We continued to enjoy swimming for a while. Elma floated peacefully on the water while Chris and Mimi played to their heart’s content.

“Yosh. Let’s take a small break first.”

“There’s still some time though?”

“Swimming can really tire you out without you realizing. And if your body gets cold, there’s a chance you’ll get cramps.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s how it is. And it’s not like swimming is the only activity you can enjoy at the beach.”

It’s fun to chase each other around on the bank and feel the sand on your feet get swept by the waves. You can also try making sand sculptures as well.

Anyway, we decided to get a short break.

“Hiyaaaaa!? It feels kind of weird!”

“I get that. But it’s interesting, right?”
“It feels a bit ticklish. It’s fun.”

Mimi was frolicking around the water’s edge while Chris sat calmly a short distance away as she enjoyed the feeling of sand sifting through her feet due to the waves.

“Whoah. That’s a big one coming.”

“Wah!”

I picked up Chris and carried her away to avoid the big wave. It went all the way up to my knees, so Chris would have been hit straight on the face if she continued sitting there. Mimi’s feet were swept up by the wave and she fell down.

“Uwaaah! I-It’s salty……”

“Are you okay? Did sand get in your eyes?”

I called out to Mimi while still carrying Chris. But it looks like she just simply tripped and didn’t suffer any injuries. That’s good.

“I’m fine! Playing on the beach sure is fun, isn’t it?”

Mimi made a big smile while drenched in seawater. I’m glad you’re having fun, Mimi.

“Here you go. Sorry for picking you up without warning.”
“It’s alright. Thank you very much.”

Chris gave me a gentle smile after I let her down. Un, how cute. How very cute. The image of a guy like me running away while carrying an old style school swimsuit-wearing young girl is an image worthy of a prison sentence though. Or rather, if this happened in Japan, they’d probably report me to the police right away. No, officer! I just helped her out! I swear!

After this, we continued playing as we waited for lunch to arrive. We made sand mountains and toppled them afterward, made sand castles, and buried Elma in sand while she was sleeping in the shade, making her angry in the end.

“It should be about lunchtime, I think.”

“I’m really hungry!”

“I’m also a bit famished as well.”

Mimi agreed with my words energetically while Chris answered while looking a bit embarrassed. When I turned to the spot where the maidroids were on standby, I saw them preparing something that looked like a barbecue grill. I see. So we’re having barbecue on the beach huh. It’s a tried and true staple.

Eh? What the Japanese call barbecue technically isn’t barbecue at all, you say? Don’t sweat the details! If we really went with a full-fledged barbecue on the beach at this point in time, we’d probably not be able to eat until late in the afternoon.

I brought the two girls with me to an outdoor shower area near the beach in order to wash the sand and seawater stuck to our bodies. I finished earlier, left the girls, and returned back to find the barbecue stove almost ready to go. It seems Elma was watching from her spot in the shade as well. She was lazing around on a beach chair with a parasol shielding her from the sun. She finally got up from the beach chair and went over. She had a curious expression on her face.

“What’s up? Are there any unusual foodstuffs mixed in?” I asked Elma.

“Hm? Well, natural vegetables and meat are rare foodstuffs too, but… I think what’s actually rare is the traditional cooking method and the antique cooking tools.”

“Traditional?”

I turned my gaze toward the barbecue stove. Apparently, it doesn’t use things like charcoal or gas in order to heat the plate on top… It appears electric, but I’m not sure. I wonder what its power source really is though? There are things like energy packs for laser guns, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re using the same tech to power this thing. It won’t really be a surprise if that turns out to be the case, actually.

“Cooking appliances that have only a single function like cooking food using heat aren’t used very much nowadays anymore. They’re only used by hobbyists or specialty chefs.”

“I-Is that so?”

In my eyes, this thing is sufficiently high tech though… Well, I guess that’s how it goes if you use this dimension’s standards. It’s a world where you can make tasty food just by inserting food cartridges into auto cookers after all.

After watching the maidroids prepare the food for a while, Mimi and Chris finally came back from the showers. When Mimi spotted the barbecue stove with various foodstuffs arranged near it, her eyes immediately sparkled in delight. She’s gonna eat up a storm again later, it seems. Chris didn’t seem to be particularly moved. I guess she’s used to stuff like this.

“Alrighty. Let’s barbecue, shall we?”

After checking the temperature of the grill, I used the tongs placed on the side to pick up some meat and veggies on top of it. After doing so, Elma, Mimi, Chris… and even the maidroids made surprised expressions when they saw my actions. What’s up, everyone? What’s so shocking?

“You… You can actually cook?”

“Hm?”

I tilted my head in confusion. Cooking? This is just grilling you know. It’s quite basic. I don’t really think this is worth all that surprise.

“I don’t really think this amounts to cooking y’know… I’m just grilling stuff.”

I pointed at the containers placed on the side and looked at the maidroids.

“Are these seasonings?”

“Yes. Here, we have–”

I then received a general explanation about this dimension’s seasonings. There wasn’t only salt and pepper, but there was something called Crazy Salt as well. There were a number of unfamiliar spices and seasonings mixed in.

While being watched by everyone, including the maidroids, I lightly shook out some salt and pepper from the containers on top of the food as I grilled them. The meat needs a bit more time. The vegetables were just about done though.

Oh right. I heard that when grilling, it’s better to use a separate pair of tongs for picking up raw meat and cooked meat. Grabbing cooked meat with the same pair of tongs used for raw meat increases the chance for food poisoning, it seems. Those who had experiences of ruining their stomachs after eating yakiniku testify that they found not picking up cooked meat with the chopsticks or tongs they used to pick up raw meat reduced the instances of them losing control of their bowels after eating.

I certainly wouldn’t Mimi, Elma, and Chris to get their stomachs done in by my grilled meat, so I have to be careful. Well, there’s a good chance these meat pieces have already been sterilized though. By some sort of unknown tech, I mean.

But just what is this meat anyway? Cow? Pig? It kinda looks like cow’s meat though.

“Hey, is this cow’s meat? Or is it pork? Will they be okay with being grilled rare or medium rare instead of well-done?”

“Yes. These are beef slices. They have already been sterilized, so there’s no problem with cooking them rare.”

“I see. Here you go, Mimi.”

“Y-Yes…… Ah! It’s delicious!”

“The beef is probably good quality. It’s just been flavored with salt and pepper after all. I think it’ll be even tastier if you use this sauce.”

Mimi poured some of the sauce I recommended on her meat. She didn’t speak out, but her eyes were shining even brighter, so I guess she liked it. By the way, the sauce I recommended was the Japanese-style yakiniku sauce. It’s sweet and has fruity undertones.

“Well, that’s an unexpected skill you got there.”

“Was Hiro-sama a chef before?”

“Chef…? No, of course not. I’m just grilling stuff here. C’mon.”

“But you’ll already be considered a chef if you know how to handle raw ingredients and cook them though.”

“That’s right!”

“Really……?”

The standard for being a chef in this dimension sure is way low, man. Well, auto cookers are a thing after all…… Or rather, it might be possible that most people who’ve migrated to space have long forgotten what it’s like to cook themselves. It’s a pain to bring fresh foodstuffs and ingredients to space after all. So in the early days of the true space age, I’m betting they relied solely on processed food and stuff to get by.

And so, since there were less and less opportunities to cook for themselves, the people out in space gradually forgot how to cook except for a rare few. And that’s why they’re all surprised that I can handle and prepare raw food and whip them up into something edible.

“I still feel calling something like this cooking isn’t exactly appropriate. Actually, I bet the maidroids can do a better job than me. Or rather, can I have you take over now?”

I tried to hand over the tongs to them, but the maidroids shook their heads in refusal.

“Yes. We can certainly cook as well, but it seems your companions prefer you cooking for them instead.”

Eh……? I turned back to the girls. Mimi nodded her head energetically with her mouth full of meat, and Elma was giving me an eyeful which seemed to say『Hurry up and hand over the meat!』or something like that.

“I think I’ll have some too.”

“There we go. Even Chris agrees.”

“Please!”

Chris nodded with a smile as well.

And so, I continued grilling meat, seafood, and veggies after this until we were all stuffed full. This is also one of the pleasures of going to the beach.