After returning from our two-night, three-day hot spring trip, we decided to take a break the next day instead of going out somewhere.
That said, we didn’t stay inside all day. A few of us decided to go for a walk and do some shopping around the neighborhood.
The members were me, Kuon, Alice, Yaé, Yakumo, Hilda, Frei, Elze, and Linze.
Excluding Kuon, we were all from the "I love moving around" team.
The rest of the group stayed behind. Lu and Arcia were apparently going to cook. After all, we needed meals for over twenty people every day... They probably had to start preparing now if they wanted to finish on time.
Linze and Elna borrowed some manga from Dad’s study, which was at their house, and were reading them non-stop. Sue, Sakura, Stephanie, and Yoshino were reading too. Everyone had different genres, though.
Linze was reading romance manga, Elna was reading feel-good four-panel comics, Sue was into adventure manga, Stephanie liked gag manga, Yoshino was reading school manga, and Sakura was into fantasy manga.
I’m not sure if it’s because those are their preferences, but it seems like once they started reading the first volume, they couldn’t stop.
Dad, due to his profession, always kept track of hit works for research purposes, so I guess all of them must be interesting.
Leen and Quun were also reading, but they were going through specialized books. Dad’s study has a wide range of genres, including research materials.
Leen was reading "Out of Place Artifacts: The Legacy of Ancient Civilizations", and Quun was reading "Introduction to Submarines".
Is Koon thinking of making a submarine...? Since the doctor made the Vaal Albus, maybe Quun thinks he can do the same.
Yumina took it upon herself to take care of Fuyuki. Though Dad and Mom were busy with work, they weren’t too busy, but it was still helpful to have someone looking after the kids. It seems like Yumina would take turns with Linze and Sakura.
I wanted to stay, but with no one to supervise, I felt uneasy, even though it was just the neighborhood...
Anyway, we were heading toward the nearby park.
Even though half of us stayed at home, walking with nine people, especially with six of them being children, definitely made us stand out.
With Yaé, Hilda, and Elze—the older-looking sisters—and six little kids, we probably looked like a weird group to outsiders.
Aside from me, Yaé, and Yakumo, it’s obvious that everyone else looks like they’re from a foreign country. Since this town isn’t very urban, foreigners stand out even more. Well, they stand out but don’t approach us, probably because they’re not confident in speaking foreign languages.
There was one guy who tried to talk to Hilda in English, but when she took off her wedding ring with translation features and responded rapidly in another world’s language, he backed off and quickly left.
"Nice."
"I learned it from Mother."
I see. Good job, Mom.
After walking for a while, we could see the park ahead. It’s relatively large for the area, and there were a few parents with children scattered around.
The children here were probably younger than Kuon or me. It was a weekday, so the older kids were probably at school or daycare.
This park has a slide, monkey bars, swings, and a small wooden obstacle course. There are also benches and pavilions, so it’s a good spot for taking a break.
Some kids were kicking a ball in a wide open space. Nowadays, there are a lot of regulations for parks, but this one is still relatively lenient.
I remember coming here with Grandpa a long time ago to race remote-controlled cars...
"Dad, can we go play?!"
"Yeah! Me too!"
"Just don't go out of the park."
"“Okay!”"
Linne and Alice were the first to run towards the playground equipment. Naturally, Kuon was pulled along with them.
"Won't you two go?"
"We're not at the age to play on playground equipment..."
"We're the older sisters, after all."
Hmm. Yakumo and Frei are the eldest and second eldest, but they're the same age. It seems Yakumo was born a few days earlier than Frei.
Both of them are eleven years old. Eleven years old, huh? That's about fifth grade, right? They’re definitely not at the age to play on slides or playground equipment.
Wait, then why are they following us?
"I thought we could practice swordsmanship in a large space. Father, could you bring out a wooden sword?"
"Oh, I'll bring my wooden sword too."
"No, no, no, wait, wait, that’s a bad idea."
I stopped them from casually suggesting something terrifying. Even though the park has somewhat lenient rules, if we start sparring with wooden swords in a public place, it will definitely get reported!
"Huh? We’re using wooden swords, not real swords."
"Even wooden swords are a problem in Japan..."
Even if we’re not sparring and just swinging the wooden swords around, there’s still a chance the police might come.
"That’s really strict... Are all weapons banned?"
"In a world without magical beasts, I guess weapons aren’t really necessary."
"Hey, Touya-kun. What about gauntlets? Are those not allowed either?"
"Gauntlets... yeah, those are probably not allowed either..."
Well, it’s not that they’re outright banned, but if the police spot us with them, we’d probably get questioned.
Well, I could probably just say “It’s cosplay” if asked and get away with it.
Something like brass knuckles... wait, that’s definitely out. That might actually be more dangerous.
There’s no weapon that would be safe to carry without suspicion... or is there?
I went to the large restroom in the park and took out two items from [Storage] that I had hidden there.
"Touya-kun, what’s that?"
"It’s something from Grandpa’s storage… but I think this should raise less suspicion..."
I handed Hilda a small sword made of foam urethane and covered with cloth—a bamboo sword used for sport chanbara.
This would be soft and wouldn’t hurt if it hit. I didn’t think it would be seen as dangerous, either.
There’s a chance we might still get questioned, but if I explain, "I have a match coming up soon..." it should be fine, right?
Hilda and Yaé, holding the soft bamboo swords, lightly swung them two or three times.
"Such a weak weapon, huh..."
"Well, it’s a weapon made to not hurt the opponent. The rule is pretty simple—whoever lands a hit wins."
"A simple rule. Yaé, should we try it once?"
"Yes, let’s do it."
The two of them, with bamboo swords in hand, stood facing each other about two meters apart.
As they readied their bamboo swords, a tense air suddenly filled the space around them. Wait, what’s going on? Isn’t this just for fun?
Hilda took a proper stance, while Yaé remained in an iai pose, not moving. Wait, is she slowly closing the distance to her opponent? What’s with this tense atmosphere...?
Yaé moved. With a lightning-fast step, she unsheathed her bamboo sword, aiming for Hilda’s side.
But Hilda deflected Yaé’s bamboo sword from below with her own and, continuing the motion, swung her sword down toward Yaé’s shoulder.
Yaé barely dodged the strike, stepping back with a quick backstep to gain distance.
As if chasing her, Hilda’s thrust came for Yaé. The two engaged in a fast-paced exchange of blows, neither letting the other land a hit. What... is going on here?
Then, with a sharp Paan!, the match was decided. Yaé’s bamboo sword had struck Hilda’s leg.
"You got me there. I didn’t expect that from that stance."
"Well, it was a gamble. If you’d read me, I would have lost."
Both of them were smiling proudly, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy. After all, the other moms in the park were looking at us with wide eyes.
"Touya, Touya. Don’t they have soft gauntlets?"
"Unfortunately, no."
"Eh—"
Elze let out a dissatisfied voice. Well, there might be boxing gloves or open-finger gloves, but if we started punching each other with those in the park, we’d definitely get reported.
"It sounds fun! I want to go next!"
"Oh, me too!"
Frei and Yakumo each received a soft bamboo sword from their mothers and faced each other.
Once again, a tense atmosphere began to fill the air. With those bamboo swords, you can only block or deflect with the slightly stiff tip of the sword, so it seems this kind of situation is inevitable.
Not being able to stand the atmosphere, I decided to walk over to where Kuon and the others were playing on the athletic course.
The area, made by combining logs and ropes that looked like a net, had things like climbing up ropes and crossing large metal rings suspended just above the ground.
All of them were simple enough for children. I thought Linze and Alice might find it too easy and boring.
But then I saw Linze running across the suspended metal rings and realized I shouldn’t underestimate children’s creativity.
I called Linze over after she jumped off the metal rings.
"Linze. That’s not how you’re supposed to play on that equipment."
"It’s more fun this way, though..."
"If the other kids try to imitate you, it could be dangerous, you know? This world doesn’t have healing magic or potions. If you get hurt, you might not be able to play for days."
"Ah, right..."
After managing to persuade Linze, I sighed in relief when Alice suddenly swung on the swing, reaching the highest point and spinning like a gymnast before landing with a perfect stance.
Ah, geez...
◇ ◇ ◇
Thanks to Alice’s amazing stunt, we stood out so much that we ended up retreating from the park. I hope no one filmed that. Well, even if they did, I cast a recognition-blocking spell, so the images should be full of noise...
"Ugh, I wanted to play a bit more."
"Well, that’s Alice’s fault, you know?"
Kuon teased Alice as she groaned. Well, Yakumo and Frey had also been sparring seriously, so we weren’t the only ones standing out.
"Oh, look! They’re playing baseball!"
Frey spotted some people playing baseball on the riverbank. Ah, I used to play catch with Grandpa here. That brings back memories.
"Let’s watch for a bit."
"Sounds good. Oh, there are benches over there. Let’s take a break."
There were four benches just below the riverbank. They might be for watching the baseball game. It’s a bit far, so they could be for something else. There are also benches right next to the field, probably for the players to sit on.
I had everyone sit on the far bench as a cover and quietly took out some canned juice from [Storage] and handed it to them. Of course, it was ice-cold.
I sat down on the bench and drank grape juice while idly watching the baseball game. The team in white uniforms and the one in black were playing.
Looking at the scoreboard, it was the top of the third inning. The game had just started... Wait, do they only play seven innings in a casual baseball game?
I guess it’s not an official match, so there probably aren’t any strict rules. As long as both sides agree, they could play seven or nine innings.
Still, 6-0 in the third inning? That’s quite a big gap.
"The team in white uniforms over there is all women, huh?"
"Huh? Really?"
When Yaé pointed it out, I double-checked and, indeed, there seemed to be a lot of women. ...Though some of them had a stronger build than you’d expect from women, they all seemed to be women. It’s a women’s team against a men’s team.
The women’s team is losing. I guess differences in muscle strength and such are starting to show.
As I was thinking this, clang! A loud sound rang out, and the hit ball flew in our direction.
"Whoops."
Elze effortlessly caught the soft baseball flying toward her, barehanded, without a glove. The players on the field froze for a moment after seeing that.
"Sorry, sorry!"
The female catcher took off her mask and bowed her head apologetically.
"No, no problem. I’ll toss it back!"
"Huh?"
"Ah, Elze, hold back a little—"
Before I could even speak, with a sharp whoosh sound, Elze threw a laser-like throw that pierced the catcher’s mitt. Too late...
The catcher, flustered by the ball that had suddenly appeared in her hands, looked around. I’m sure Elze aimed perfectly, but... what kind of control is that?
It seems like the other team is getting agitated...
Huh? The pitcher and catcher are coming over here?
"U-uh, excuse me! If you have time, could you come help us out?!"
"Huh? Me?"
Elze, who was suddenly being bowed to by the two, looked a little surprised.
"We have one member who’s feeling unwell, and we can’t continue the game... Please, we need your help!"
"We’ve already gotten permission from the other team, so please, could you help us out?"
"Uhm..."
Elze glanced over at us. Well, I guess it’s fine as long as she doesn’t go all out. If she goes easy and doesn’t win too much or lose too much, it should be okay.
Receiving Elze’s glance, I nodded quietly.
"If it’s okay with you..."
"“Thank you so much!”"
Elze headed toward the team’s bench, and we followed her.
At the bench, there was a woman with a pale face. It seems like she was the one who wasn’t feeling well.
Should I secretly use [Recovery] on her?
"See, I told you. You drank too much yesterday. You got too carried away because it was your first time in a while at a mixer."
"I’m sorry... Ugh..."
Well, maybe I won’t heal her completely. It might be better if this lady reflects on herself a bit for her own good.
"Elze, you know what you’re doing, right?"
"I know. I won’t go all out. I’ll handle it well."
When I quietly said this to Elze, she winked at me as if to say, "Leave it to me." I’m really not sure if this is going to work...
It looks like Elze will be playing center field. Elze has played baseball before in Brunhild, so she knows the rules. Sometimes, she even joined the knight team to play.
While I was thinking about that, the game resumed.
Ka-ching! A good sound echoed, and once again, the women’s team was hit. The ball fell right in front of Elze at center field.
Elze rushed forward to grab the ball and threw it to first base with a swish! sound.
Once again, a sharp throw hit the first baseman’s glove with a satisfying thwack!
"Ah, out..."
The umpire croaked in a hoarse voice.
Hmm, Elze is probably holding back a lot, but still, her play is professional-grade...
But, even if Elze alone is playing at a professional level, there’s nothing we can do. The other team kept hitting, and the score quickly increased.
Now, the third baseman tried to grab the ball, but it hit her ankle. Is she okay?
"Ti-time!"
The pitcher called for a timeout.
The players gathered at the pitcher’s mound, including Elze. I kind of have an idea of what’s going to happen next...
"Pitcher change!"
Just as I thought. Well, it couldn’t be helped.
Elze stood at the pitcher’s mound. Since she occasionally pitched in the other world, she should be able to pitch here as well.
However, while Elze has great speed and control, she can’t throw curveballs...
Boom! A thunderous sound was heard as Elze’s pitch slammed into the catcher’s mitt.
"St-strike!"
Both the batter and the umpire, as well as the catcher, looked at each other wide-eyed. Is this really okay...? That pitch had to have been around 150 km/h, right...?
Elze continued to throw blazing fastballs and quickly struck out all three batters. At least no more runs should come in now.
"Sorry..."
"No, no, it’s my fault for not being able to catch it."
Then, the catcher came back to the bench, holding her left hand. Uh-oh... After receiving that kind of pitch, it was bound to happen.
Elze looked at me and apologized. I understood.
I approached the catcher, who was applying an ice pack to her hand, and used some healing magic on her. I didn’t fully heal her, though, to avoid suspicion, just gradually healing her. By the time the game ends, she should be okay.
"If it’s alright, I can take Elze’s pitches. I’m used to catching them."
"It looks like the third baseman hurt her ankle. If it’s okay, I’d like to join in as well."
Yaé and Hilda offered to substitute for the injured players. It’s probably more about having fun, though the phrase “To see what needs to be done and do it” is fitting here.
The catcher and third baseman happily accepted the offer. The third baseman’s ankle was swollen and red, so I secretly used the same healing magic I used on the catcher.
Since it was the third baseman’s turn to bat, Hilda stood in the batter’s box.
The pitcher wound up and threw a sharp ball, not as fast as Elze’s, but still with good movement.
"Strike!"
It seems like Hilda let the first pitch go. Maybe she was trying to gauge it.
"That’s pretty fast."
"The pitcher has actually played in Koshien before. So it’s not going to be that easy..."
As the third baseman said that, there was a sharp clang! from a metal bat, and the white ball flew high into the sky.
"Home run..."
The umpire muttered, and Hilda bowed lightly, starting to circle the bases. For a moment, our team was stunned, but soon the air was filled with loud cheers from the crowd.
Looks like the game is turning around!
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