I'm gonna need to get out of here and play my cards right now.

　Thor muttered next to me as I finished my salted sweetfish and put my feet in the water to cool off.

We don't have a river that big in the village of Coriat," he said, "and if there is one, it's a lake. If there is one, it's a lake.'

But we're not going in too deep, are we?

　Asmo is right, playing in the lake is a bit dangerous. The water is deep and there are water plants growing in the shallows. It's not a good option for kids to play in.

'Duh, there isn't a river around here that's just deep enough!　A big, safe place where you don't have to worry about this kind of depth and stones and stuff like that!

What kind of river is that convenient?

If it's not there, I'll make some.

"Can you make it?!

　The moment I said that, Thor and Asmo turned their surprised faces towards me.

　It's not that I don't mind being seen, but it's painful from a pictorial standpoint when the two of them turn around together.

''I have magic, you know.

　If I used earth and water magic, I could make a pool with a constant depth of water where I wouldn't have to worry about obstacles.

　The idea came to me and I stood up to take action.

　A flat area with a moderate distance from the river and no trees was preferable.

　After a short distance, I found a flat area with grass but no trees.

'Alright, let's just stay here,'

　This place seems to have no problem making a fifty-meter-long pool, even if it's a hypothetical pool.

　After selecting the location, I held my hand on the ground and activated my earth magic. This causes the empty ground to cave in at once.

''Whoa!　Awesome!

　Thor and Asmo were surprised by this.

''This is the flashiest Al's magic I've ever seen!

Yeah, something magical!

　I'm always using magic. But in front of these guys, I think I've been using only rather simple magic, such as making cups and chairs and sprinkling cold air.

　Maybe it can't be helped if they say so.

　While feeling a little sad, I use earth magic to make a rectangle out of the ground I dug into. A size of twenty-five meters should be enough.

　Now that a simple foundation has been created, I go down into the pool and hold my hand over the ground to harden it with the compression of my magic power.

'Ah, something looks like the usual Al.

I don't know, I'm not sure, but I'm sober.

''Earth magic is all about unevenly solidifying it with magical compression!

　It's hard to compress magic power when it's this big. And although you can compress it from a distance in order to do it properly, it's more reliable to do it with a proper hand touch.

　That's why my current appearance is inevitably a humble one, like holding my hand on the ground and moving.

　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.

　Oh well. I'll just do what I want to do, no matter what they call it, I'll do it the way I want to do it.

　I get down to the floor of the pool and I make a step on the railing and wall to make it easier to get up.

　I climb up, making sure it's easy to put my feet on, and make a diving board.

　Then I leveled the area around the pool, just to be sure.

All that's left to do is fill it with water magic!

　I get on top of the diving board and activate the water magic method. The water converges in the air and flows into the pool at once.

　Thanks to the massive amount of water flowing in so vigorously, it bounces around in the pool with a thumping sound.

''Ooohhhh!''

　It's a bit frustrating to be called plain again, so I made it flashy, but the reaction didn't seem to be bad.

　The pool was filled with water in an instant as it continued to pour water.

　However, the color of the pool is also brown, because the bottom of the pool is earthy and you can see through it. It's not a light blue like the pools of my previous life, so I feel that it's a little less refreshing in appearance.

'Wow!　Now we can play as much as we want!

No rocks, no water plants, no uneven depths!

　However, Thor and Asmo don't seem to mind it that much and are genuinely happy about it.

　If that's the case, it's worth it to make it.

Well then, let's go swimming.

Swimming?

　I say as I take off my clothes, and Thor says with a questioning look on his face.

'Yeah?　I thought you wanted a bigger place to swim?

'Oh, yeah, right. Well, let's go for a swim then.

　When I ask that question, Thor starts to take off his clothes like he's in a bad mood.

　.........could this guy not swim?

　When I glanced at Asmo, I saw that he had a grin on his face.

　His yawning face is the same as the one I saw when the snow piled up.

　I nodded slowly as Asmo's smile made me understand what I was about to do.

　Asmo nodded and held his hands in the air, and I held my hands in the same way.

　Then I timed it right and pushed Thor, who was trying to take off his top shirt, as hard as I could.

''Sore!''

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!

　Thor's scream rises and a splash of water rises to drown it out.

　Then buzzing and bubbling, Thor's face comes out of the water.

'A-ha!　Bye, baba-baba!　Help me!　I can't swim!

　As expected, Thor seems to be a brilliant canazoo.

　Thor screams as he shuffles his hands around.

　It's rare to see the usually stubborn Thor shed his pride and call for help like this.

　However, from Thor's point of view, who can't swim, the water is nothing short of terrifying.

　I really don't know why this guy said he wanted to play in the open air.

Here, hold on to that.

　Since he's in a position where I can't reach him, I toss the board I made with my earth magic to Thor.

　Then, Thor immediately leans on the board and is able to float.

''Hahaha, you're doing a terrible job.

You said you wanted to go out in the open, so I thought you were supposed to be able to swim.

'Haha, no. We don't even have a deep river here, so there are very few villagers who can swim.

　I said, and Asmo replied with a laugh.

　Oh?　Doesn't that mean that Asmo, who is also a villager here, can't swim either?

　As soon as that thought occurred to me, I walked behind Asmo, as if my curiosity had driven me, and pushed him into the pool.

'Dwaah!　Al, you betrayed me!

　Asmo yells something like that throwaway line and plunges headfirst into the pool. A large splash of water rises due to the overwhelming weight.

　I don't remember ever once saying anything like teaming up with Asmo, but...

It's a good thing I'm not the only one.　Help!　I can't get my footing!

　Apparently, brilliantly, Asmo can't swim either.

　Earlier, he was pushing Thor away with a pretend gesture as if he could swim.

'The board!　Give me the board!

'Idiot!　Stop it!　A fat guy like you would sink if you put your weight on him randomly!　Grab the other side of me!

　Asmo seemed to be able to calm down by holding onto the board as Thor did.

　Then they moved their feet awkwardly and were able to move across the water to reach the poolside.

　It was refreshing to see two people who usually made fun of each other and so on, seriously joining forces. Plus it's kind of funny.

'Oraa!　I know you're ready for this, Al!

You're next!

　As I'm laughing at them, Thor and Asmo come over to us and surround us.

　No wonder they're working together smoothly, and then they're colluding to push me away next.

　As for me, I could run away with magic, but if I did that, I wouldn't know what he'd do next, and I'd have to be on guard behind me the whole time.

　It's not that I can't swim, but I'll take my revenge quietly.

　For now, I just pretend to escape, and Asmo quickly comes around in front of me and grabs both of my legs.

''Oh!''

　As my legs scooted and my body fell backwards, Thor caught it and grabbed both my arms to catch it.

　These guys are tough. They only use high specs coordination techniques when it's useless.

"Hehehe, we'll join forces with you and send you far away!

　Then Thor smiles a lowly, thug-like smile, and they grab me by the hands and feet and shake me from side to side to gain momentum.

　With my hands and feet grabbed, I was helplessly swayed from side to side and thrown off when I gained momentum.

''Oraa!''

　I was thrown into the air with great force. In my field of vision, the blue sky and white clouds spread out, and in the distance I could see the green mountains, very beautiful.

　The time spent watching the scenery in the air was supposed to be an instant, but it felt like a long time.

　Then, as if to signal the end of my time of floating, my body is pulled by gravity and falls with great force.

　I enter the water, along with a larger splash than Thor and Asmo had fallen. The cold water wraps around my entire body and it feels good.

　However, my stomach hurts a little bit, probably because I was hit by the water from so high up.

　Why does the surface of the water hurt so much when you fall from a high place and receive it in a large area? At a glance, it looks so soft, so it should be able to take the impact like slime. What a thought, I thought rather seriously.

　I slowly open my eyes, holding on to the dull ache in my stomach.

　The pool I've created is solidly built, and the shadows at the bottom of the water are shimmering in the light. It's very quiet, with no sound outside.

　I sit still, listening to the faint sound of the water as it flows.

　The world in the water is quite nice. I can't help but want to stay here forever.

　Maybe next time I can make some kind of snorkel and have Logan make me some goggles.

"Hey, Al ain't coming up here!　Are you okay?

　As I'm thinking about this, I hear Thor's impatient voice from outside.

　Apparently he's worried about me because I got thrown into the pool and didn't come up at all.

　It would be troublesome if they misunderstood me as having drowned, so I stop immersing myself in the water world and surface.

"Fuu.

Oh, there's Al!

　When I looked up for air, Thor and Asmo were rushing up to me with their boards in a hurry.

'Haha, I can swim, unlike Thor and Asmo, so it's not a problem.

　I show off my breaststroke to prove to Thor and Asmo that I'm okay with it.

'Nah, you can't swim!

...I failed to worry about it.

　I was a little glad to see the two of them usually do all the stupid things, but when it came down to it, they were properly concerned about me.

'I was going to give the struggling Al this board or torment him for not doing it.

I didn't expect you to be able to swim.

　I take it back. These guys are scum.

'I mean, where did you learn to swim?

I'll see you at sea when we go to Kagura.

　The truth is, I learned it in a past life school and just remembered it as a feeling here, but it's more convenient this way.
And...

Teach me how to swim.　I want to be able to swim in the water with ease!

Me too.

That's all right. I'll show you how to swim, then.