“Onee-sama!! Asahi has returned!!”
Asahi, having flown back from the Telek Port City base in a flying boat, appeared at the entrance of the artificial beach.
“Welcome back!”
“I’m back!”
Asahi immediately dashed towards Onee-sama.
She was already changed into her swimsuit, fully prepared.
“That speed of pouncing is dangerous.”
“Hyaaah!!”
＜Ringo＞ moved.
Operating a Communicator Doll, she blocked Asahi’s path to stop her charge.
Asahi, thrown off balance, rotated vertically as if entangled with the Communicator Doll controlled by ＜Ringo＞, and then plunged into the sandy beach headfirst.
“!?!”
Unable to keep up with the sudden movement, Onee-sama (Eve) froze.
Ichigo, hit directly by the blown-up sand, widened her eyes and stopped moving.
“Asahi, charging at Commander (Mum) with your body is outrageous. What would you do if you caused an injury?”
“I didn’t think it would turn out like this!?”
Asahi’s body has been fundamentally modified to enhance her survival capabilities. It includes a metal endoskeleton, high-output servo motors, powerful artificial muscles, multiple Brain Units, backup power sources, and various other enhancements. As a result, her weight is three times what it appears to be.
If such a heavyweight were to pounce on Eve, a normal human, there was a possibility of injury, even with her advanced body control abilities.
Therefore, ＜Ringo＞ operated the Communicator Doll to stop Asahi.
Naturally, Asahi tried to avoid it, using her advanced body to jump.
However, the Communicator Doll, inferior in weight, output, and durability, could not receive Asahi head-on.
Instead of colliding directly, it precisely applied force to Asahi’s body, manipulating her posture and direction of movement.
Of course, Asahi resisted. But ＜Ringo＞’s processing power had already predicted even that.
The axis of her attempted jump was shifted, the arm she tried to swing up for posture control was seized, and even her movements to avoid ＜Ringo＞ were controlled, sending her into a forward somersault-like motion in the air.
After depriving her of freedom in the air, ＜Ringo＞ plunged Asahi into the sandy beach headfirst.
“Recently, I think ＜Ringo＞’s treatment of Asahi has been rough!”
“I am treating her very carefully.”
“Where is the care in this!?”
Asahi released the tension in her knees and flopped onto her back.
“…Welcome back, Asahi. Let’s calm down a bit, okay?”
“Hauu…”
Eve crouched beside Asahi and wiped the sand from her face with a towel. Asahi became docile.
The time was evening. The sun was about to sink below the horizon, and the sky was dimming.
“Ma’am. The tent is ready. Let’s move over there.”
Even amidst such commotion, ＜Ringo＞ had diligently prepared everything.
Operating another Communicator Doll, she erected a bungalow-style tent.
Torches and firewood for a bonfire were also prepared, making the preparations for the evening complete.
“I see. Akane, shall we all take a shower? Asahi, can you stand?”
“I can’t stand!”
“Asahi, stand up yourself. Ma’am’s strength is insufficient for your weight.”
“No way…”
“Haha. Here, stand up, stand up.”
The group began to move in a line. They washed off the salt and sand in the shower booths, lightly cared for their hair, and then moved to the front of the tent.
“Is this a campfire?”
“It’s not that grand. Just a simple bonfire.”
When Eve, sitting in a prepared chair, asked, ＜Ringo＞ shook her head. According to her, a campfire would be too hot at this temperature.
That was understandable.
＜The Tree＞ is located in a tropical climate near the equator.
Although it cools down somewhat at night, building a large fire would make it too hot to approach.
“This is a bonfire. ＜Ringo＞, can I light the Fire?”
“Yes, Akane. Use the torch to ignite the kindling underneath.”
Akane represented the group and lit the bonfire.
The wood was brought from the Afrasia United Kingdom. It was properly dried, and as everyone watched, the fire successfully spread from the kindling to the firewood.
“Once the fire has spread throughout, we’ll add these thick logs.”
“I’ll do it!”
“Me too!”
Utsugi and Erika raised their hands energetically, and under ＜Ringo＞’s instructions, the two of them stacked the firewood.
Eve watched the scene while sitting in her chair.
Asahi was clinging to her feet, Ichigo to her right, and Olive to her left, so she couldn’t move, so to speak.
Akane was observing the gradually spreading fire with great interest.
“Literature states that bonfires are strangely captivating. What do you think?”
“Well… it’s true, I can’t help but stare at it,”
Eve gazed blankly at the flames.
She had done barbecues several times, and Eve had tried grilling with gas and charcoal.
However, this was the first time she had seen flames blazing like this, other than with a gas fire.
“I have prepared marshmallows. It seems good to roast these over the bonfire.”
“Oh?”
“Marshmallows! I see, even Asahi can eat those!”
Asahi’s body has been enhanced in various ways, leaving little space inside, and her digestive organs have been greatly simplified.
Therefore, she cannot eat regular meals and can only consume light foods that are easy to digest and absorb.
＜Ringo＞ had thoughtfully prepared something that Asahi could eat.
She was, as expected, thorough in this regard.
“Then, let’s all try it.”
◇◇◇◇
After making a fuss around the bonfire again and settling down a bit, they moved inside the tent.
The temperature and humidity were, as expected of a tropical climate, quite high.
Eve would definitely not be able to sleep soundly in this environment.
Therefore, the inside of the tent, a circular bungalow type, was air-conditioned.
“Oh, it’s cool.”
“This is!”
“Glamping!”
“This is glamping.”
“Glamping?”
The Five Sisters, perhaps recognizing it, rushed to the bed with shining faces.
Eve tilted her head, as she didn’t recall hearing the term before.
“Glamping. A portmanteau of ‘glamorous’ and ‘camping’.”
Inside the bungalow, a table and sofa, a Refrigerator, and a large bed were prepared.
Furniture unrelated to camping was all there.
“We considered general tents as well, but the environment is not very good, so we have arranged various things here.”
“Hoeh…”
Eve imagined that it was probably different from general camping, but she nodded, thinking that this was fun in its own way.
Only a single layer of cloth separated them from the outside world, and they could still hear the sound of the waves inside.
If they opened the curtains, they could even observe the outside through the transparent vinyl.
Because it was under the canopy covering the artificial beach, they couldn’t feel the rain, but well, Eve wasn’t expecting that much.
Pretending to be outdoors was enough.
She didn’t want a harsh experience.
“Sounds fun. I’m getting a little excited.”
＜Ringo＞, standing behind her, was also smiling, pleased that she had piqued Commander (Mum)’s interest.
Incidentally, there was also Plan D (Deck), which involved staying overnight on the ship’s deck, and Plan I (Island), which involved staying overnight on a deserted island, but they were shelved because directly experiencing nature was too difficult.
“Onee-sama, Onee-sama, Asahi requests a lap pillow!”
“Ah, me too!”
“Me too.”
“Yes, yes. Then let’s move to the sofa.”
Usually, when Asahi comes, a fox girl pile-up occurs.
Because Asahi is faithful to her desires, the other girls are also drawn in and become honest.
Even Ichigo, who is modest in everything, becomes clingy, so the Asahi effect is truly terrifying.
The set includes Asahi going too far and being held down by Ringo.
While they were bustling about like that, a rustling noise entered from outside.
“It’s a squall. It should stop within 30 minutes.”
“Hmm, so this is what it’s like to hear the sound outside. It’s kind of refreshing.”
“We’re always in the sunroom, after all.”
“This might be the first time I’ve been outside during a squall.”
The sound of rain hitting the crystal canopy.
And the low-frequency sound entering through the sea.
The girls, huddled together on the sofa, surrendered themselves to the sound of the rain (noise) for a while.