Marine Biology Research (3)

It only took a brief moment for Natalie’s interest to shift from swordsmanship training to beach volleyball. …The biggest problem was that this “beach volleyball” turned out to be quite different from what I had imagined in many ways.

“Here you go, Lady Lilith!”

-Wham!

“W-wait a second, Natalie! That’s way too fast!”

Natalie, energetically leaping on the sandy beach to spike the rubber ball at me, while I struggled just to keep up with her movements.

This was far from the leisurely ball exchange I had envisioned by the shore.

-Wham!

“Whoa! Amazing, Lady Lilith! You actually managed to receive that!”

“Y-you just told me to receive it!”

“I didn’t actually think you could!”

…Seriously.

Maybe it was my fault for tempting her with the idea of “training while having fun” since moving around was the same either way.

As a result, Natalie was going all out in her “beach volleyball” with full force-honestly, it was hard to see how this was any different from regular volleyball on sand.

“…Hmph.”

Meanwhile, Agnes, whose height made it impossible for her to join in, was leisurely floating on the sea in an inflatable tube.

I had wanted to relax like that too since we were at the beach, but I ended up suffering because I picked the wrong opponent.

‘When are Ethan and Thomas going to get here…?!’

If I could just hand Natalie, who was acting like a wild filly, over to Thomas, maybe I could finally get some rest.

Just as I was thinking that while enduring Natalie’s intense spikes, the voices of two men suddenly tickled my ears.

“Hmm, ladies. You look bored. Wanna play with us?”

“…Ugh.”

…Yeah, I kind of expected this.

Not all the male students taking the highly popular Marine Biology Research class at Luminor Academy were like Ethan or Gyeotmwa, who attended seriously for the sake of learning.

Especially since Natalie and I, with our looks and figures that wouldn’t lose to anyone, were bound to attract this kind of attention from guys.

“It’s such nice weather, isn’t it boring just playing among girls? Since there are two of us, why don’t we pair up and have some fun?”

“I’m sorry. We already have companions joining us, so please enjoy your time with other ladies.”

“Oh? But you two have been playing alone this whole time, haven’t you?”

“This is where we agreed to meet them. They’ll be here soon.”

“Oh, what a coincidence-we also agreed to meet someone here. Maybe the person you’re waiting for is me, a fateful encounter?”

With pickup lines straight out of the ’90s, the blue-haired guy slowly sidled closer to me.

Meanwhile, the orange-haired guy who appeared with him was inching toward Natalie, trying to hit on her.

“That swimsuit looks great on you. Did you wear it just to show it off to me?”

“…What do you mean? Do you know me?”

“We can get to know each other. Since we’re at the beach, why not become friends? The professor did say we should have fun in the water.”

“…Is that so? But as Lady Lilith said, we have companions…”

“Still waiting, huh? Just play with us for a bit. Are your companions girls too? Why don’t we all play together?”

“…I wouldn’t know. You’d have to ask someone else about that…”

…Ah, Natalie’s doing this all wrong.

Her mind is so full of swordsmanship and sparring that she can’t even give a firm rejection. Plus, since she’s a commoner, it’s a bit hard for her to be outright rude to a guy she just met.

Since I couldn’t expect her to shoo them away, I had to figure out a way to handle this myself.

“Your friend seems fine with it too. Just play with us for a bit, okay?”

“No. No matter what you say, we can’t mingle with the two of you.”

“Tch, seriously. You’re acting all high and mighty for some maid.”

“……”

“What, are you some big-shot noble family’s maid or something? Hey, we can pay, you know. You maids sell your bodies for money anyway, right?”

…This bastard.

I was trying to avoid making a scene by being as polite as possible, but why is it that people in this world never understand when they’re being let off easy?

I smacked away the guy’s hand as it subtly reached for my face.

-Whack!

“Keep your filthy right hand, the one you use to jerk off, the hell away from me, asshole.”

“…You fucking bitch.”

-Grip!

The blue-haired guy grabbed my right wrist tightly after I smacked his hand away.

At the same time, I gathered a bit of mana in my hand to use a shockwave, but the bastard just smirked and glared at me like it was a joke.

“You’re really asking for it…”

“Magic Department, huh? Go ahead, try it.”

“……”

“Did you forget what the professor said about students not fighting during class? We’re all here to have fun-you think it’s okay to go all out trying to kill each other?”

…Ugh, this is so fucking annoying.

If it were just about shaking off this bastard, I’d gladly sacrifice my grades. As a unicorn, having another man’s body touch mine is an unbearable insult.

But the problem is that it wouldn’t just affect me-Ethan, Natalie, or Agnes might also suffer because of it. And if things go wrong, it could even impact our performance in the Marine Biology Research boss battle.

That said, breaking free from his grip by force wasn’t easy. While my physical abilities are stronger than the average man’s, the problem is that my opponent is also an Academy student.

“Hey, what the hell?! Get away from Lilith!”

“What’s with this brat? Don’t butt into adults’ fun and just scram.”

“W-what?! Did this bastard just talk back to me?!”

-Whoosh!

“W-wait, Agnes! You can’t just use fire magic here!”

And to make things worse, Agnes, who has the shortest fuse, was provoked, bringing us to the brink of disaster.

I was trying to figure out how to shake these bastards off without causing any problems, but my dilemma didn’t last long.

-Wham!

“Guhhh?!”

The guy holding my wrist was sent flying right before my eyes and crashed into the sand.

-Thud!

“Ugh! Ugh! Ptooey!”

The guy, who had taken a punch infused with someone’s soul to the face, spat out the sand that had gotten into his mouth.

As I blankly stared at the guy who had just been sent flying, Ethan’s low voice reached my ears.

“Cough, hack, hack! Y-you bastard, what the hell…?”

“…Just now.”

“Y-you bastard! What the hell do you think you’re…?”

“Just now. What exactly were you trying to pull with my personal maid?”

“……W-what?”

The male student, still sprawled on the ground, looked up at Ethan with a confused expression, as if he was having even more trouble processing the situation than I was.

Meanwhile, Ethan, who had clearly seen me being grabbed earlier, was visibly furious. The guy on the ground hesitated for a moment before trying to drive a wedge between me and Ethan.

“S-she came onto me first, you bastard!”

“……What?”

“S-she said her master was boring and asked me to go have fun with her! I was just going along with it! I didn’t approach her first…!”

-Crunch!

“Ah! Aaah! Ah…!!”

Ethan, without hesitation, stomped on the guy’s fingers as he tried to spin his ridiculous lie.

Perhaps because the accusation was so absurd, he didn’t even bother asking me for confirmation before continuing his rampage.

“My personal maid asked someone like you to go have fun with her? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

-Crunch!

“Ah, aaah! You bastard…!!”

“I’ve spent years with Lilith. Did you really think such a pathetic excuse would work?”

“Aaah! N-no! I-it was really her who came onto me first…!!”

“And even if, by some miracle, what you’re saying were true, it wouldn’t matter.”

-Crunch!

“Aaah!”

“…No matter how many truths you spout, Lilith’s words are the only truth that matters to me.”

Ethan showed no hesitation in beating the guy to a pulp.

I was starting to worry he might be going too far. If the Marine Biology Research professor found out about this, there was no way we’d avoid penalties.

Come to think of it, Thomas had appeared with Ethan earlier. Maybe Thomas, being the reasonable one, could somehow…

-Whack! Thud! Whack!

“……”

“S-stop… I-I give up, stop…!”

“T-Thomas?! What’s gotten into you?! H-he didn’t even do anything to me?!”

-Whack! Whack! Thud!

“……”

…Yeah, that side’s a lost cause too.

Since Natalie was involved, even Thomas, the only sane one, lost his cool and started throwing punches.

In fact, Natalie and I had to step in to stop Ethan and Thomas before things got worse. The two guys who had been beaten to rags glared at us as they got up.

“Y-you bastards! I’m telling the professor! The professor said no violence between students during class, you fucking…!”

And then, a blond man who had arrived slightly later muttered something behind them.

“…Ah, now I remember. You’re the son of Sir Maximilian, the captain of the Imperial Palace’s 3rd Knight Order, aren’t you?”

“……Huh?”

“And that one’s the son of Sir Leonor, the vice-captain. You do resemble your fathers.”

The moment Prince Antonio, who had been silently observing Ethan and Thomas from behind, finally spoke up, the two male students visibly panicked as their fathers’ positions were unexpectedly exposed.

“W-what does that…?”

“Blond hair…? Could it be…?”

“When you’re the captain or vice-captain of the Imperial Palace’s Knight Order, you tend to remember their faces. I see them occasionally when I return to the palace.”

“……”

“Ah, I introduced you two but forgot to introduce myself. I am Antonio Robert Valtoria. If my name is hard to remember, you can just call me Prince Antonio.”

“……”

“……”

Even though Ethan wasn’t low-ranking by noble standards, the appearance of an overwhelming authority beyond his left the two guys speechless.

Then, naturally placing his hands on Ethan and Thomas’s shoulders, Prince Antonio began cleaning up the mess the two hot-blooded men had made.

“Just out of curiosity, did my friends do anything disrespectful to you?”

“……”

“……”

“I’m genuinely asking. I’m not sure if what I just saw was a minor scuffle between fellow Academy students or outright excessive violence.”

“……”

“……”

“Of course, no matter what you say, Sir Maximilian and Sir Leonor won’t face any repercussions, so you can rest easy. Really.”

…It was blatant intimidation, but there was no way they could argue back. In a dispute between royalty and the children of the Imperial Knights, the side that would bleed was already decided.

“…I-it was just a fight between friends… N-no, just a joke, Your Highness Prince Antonio.”

-Nod, nod.

“Good, can I trust that?”

“Y-yes… W-we really don’t mind at all.”

-Nod, nod.

“Good, then. …Now get out of my sight.”

At Prince Antonio’s final dismissal, the two guys scurried away like rats.

…I’m not entirely sure, but thanks to the three of them, the situation was “amicably” resolved.

———————–

(Lilith’s Swimsuit)