Al, push!

Yes.

　I don't know how many times the exchange has been repeated any longer.

　I did as I was told, moving Maya's board with a psychic and sliding it off the incline.

'Uhhhhhh!'

　Each time that happened, Maya let out a cry of joy that could be called a strange sound.

'Carry me to the top!'

　Then, as soon as we slide up to the bottom, he gets on the board and I pull it up to us with my psychic.

　With my psychic, I can slide down to the bottom of the dune and be back at the top in about ten seconds, and it doesn't drain my energy.

　Maybe that's because it's so easy to do, but Maya kept going up and down.

　I'm not as strong as Maya, by the way, so I'm taking well-deserved breaks.

　When Maya came back to the top, she immediately put the board down and slumped down. Of course, she's still going to continue.

'I don't know how you can keep up your stamina,'

Because it's fun!　We can't play this without Al, and we have to enjoy it while he's here!

　Besides being dressed as a traveler, it's clear from my skin that I'm not a Rasulian.

　I think she knows I'll be gone soon, and that's why Maya wants to play as much as possible while I'm here. So Maya seems to want to play as much as possible while I'm here.

　I can't bear to be a part of that, but I've learned how to ski the dunes and walk in the desert, so I can't ignore it.

　I'll try to teach her a game that Maya can play on her own.

There's a similar game in my hometown, but that could be done with Maya's magic.

'What?　Al's hometown game?　Like what?

It's called snowboarding, where you stand on a board and slide down a slope of snow.

'Snow!　I've heard of it!　They say it's the white, fluffy stuff that falls in the cold regions!　Does it rain at Al's?

　I thought I was going to bite the snowboard, but I got bitten by the snow. But this is the furthest place from the snow. It's not surprising that Maya is interested in it.

Yes, it rains sometimes in the winter where I'm from, too.

　I mean, it's snowing like crazy in the village of Coriat right now.

'Wow, is snow cold?'

Yeah, it's cold. When it falls, the whole landscape goes white.

'I wish. I wish it would snow here too.

　Maya looks somewhat distant as she imagines the cool snow and pure white landscape.

　But she soon came back to reality.

'Oh, sorry. I got sidetracked. You were going to teach me to snowboard, weren't you?

　He remembered the name of the play, in case you were wondering.

'Yeah, not just a square board, but something long and thin like this.

　I make a board with earth magic to show Maya a sample.

'Put both feet on it and secure it with a belt or magic.

　Normally, it would be better to attach a belt or something to make it easier to put on and take off securely, but since I can't get it out here, I used earth magic to secure both feet.

　Yeah, it's tasteless because it's made with earth magic, but it's a neat board. The legs are also firmly fixed to the board, so it's not a problem.

''Huh?　What?　Chanting?

'I omitted it because it was too much trouble. Better yet, make a board and fix it up.

Okay, okay.

　As she said this, Maya chanted and formed a board with earth magic.

'Turn the center of the board against the center and lift the edges.'

　Of course you can't ski smoothly with just a board, so you have to work on the shape.

　The first one I teach is the camber shape, which is easy to use even for beginners.

　It's a type of camber that has an undulating shape like a W when viewed from the side.

　It's easy to control the board intuitively because the two points of contact are right underneath both feet.

　It's a good choice for Maya because she seems to be very athletic.

"Well, is that about it?

Almost there.

　After a few minor tweaks, such as the following, Maya's snowboarding was finally complete.

'How's that?　Are your legs locked in place?

Yeah, I'm fine!

So let's get right to work on your fall to avoid getting hurt.

It's slippery--what?

　When I said this, an excited Maya opened her mouth.

　It's suicide for a novice snowboarder to suddenly ski on an incline.

I thought you were going to slide on this weird board!

'Yes, but do you know how to ski?　It's probably going to go a lot faster than the board you just saw, so even with the soft sand, you could get seriously hurt if you're not good at it.

'Yes!　I can ski faster than I did before!　Wow, okay. First, I'm going to practice not getting hurt!

　Maya, who seemed to find the key word "fast" quite appealing, nodded honestly, though she was fidgety.

　I know you want to try out the new board, but safety comes first.

　It's hard to practice on such a steep slope, so I'm going to take my psychic and move up to a gentle dune.

I'm not sure if it's a great board or not.　It's going to slide downhill like this.

Keep your board on its side against the slope so that it doesn't happen. Lift up the front board so it can stop snagging in the sand behind you.

It's true.

　Some beginners have difficulty with even this, but Maya didn't have much trouble with it.

'Well, let me explain to you what to look out for when you fall.

Yes.

　Maya nods quietly and I teach her how to fall safely on the board.

　Do not fall forward against the slope. If you fall, keep your board off the ground and try not to fall backwards and hit your head.

　If you fall forward, try not to prick your hands and fall with your whole body, etc.

　It's important not to fall down the slope and to catch the impact with your whole body.

If you fall into a slope, you will be blown away by the force of your fall, and if you poke your wrist, you will twist it," he says.

Yeah, I see.

　Maya grunted when I dared to be specific to convey the danger.

'Don't if you're afraid?'

No, it sounds like fun, so I'll do it!

　I tell her to be sure, but Maya replies with a kerfuffle.

　Apparently, her interest in the unknown plays outweighs her fear.

　If I were her mother, I'd be a little worried.

　Even though it's a fun sport, there's a certain amount of risk involved. I don't want her to push herself that hard. If it's more scary than fun, then it's wise not to do it.

　Well, the board and your feet are fixed, and if it comes down to it, you can just use a psychic to float it so you don't get hurt.



　◆.





　Then I taught Maya how to snowboard.

　I taught her how to slide slowly from side to side, how to shift her center of gravity, and how to balance her upper and lower body.

　The basics, Maya learned them all in no time.

"Maya has a good sense of balance,

'Well, I usually do incline slides and stuff, and I'm usually crowded with water on my head, or I'm on Zuombe.

What's Zuom?

　I could understand the first two, but I didn't understand the last one, Zuom.

'That animal you see over there,'

　In the direction Maya was pointing, a hippopotamus-like animal was carrying a man through the desert.

　Ah, that creature's name is Zuom.

　I used to see it all the time in town, but I couldn't figure out what it was called, so I was curious about it. It was refreshing to find that out.

'Hey, so what's the next practice?'

'There's nothing more to teach Maya,'

　I've always wanted to say this line at least once. It's not like I'm a professional snowboarder.

'....Huh?　Then what's that?

Go ahead and ski all you want.

'Yay!　Al, let's get to that steep incline over there!

What?　Since it's the first time, can't we go on the loose side?

　I thought we'd ski the dunes in front of us, but Maya wanted to ski the large dunes I mentioned earlier.

　I'm not worried about Maya's athleticism, as I've been practicing for a while now, but I'm worried about myself, as I haven't skied in a while.

It's so smooth!　If you're going to ski, you need to ski faster!

　Unaware of my shabby thoughts, Maya tells me to take him away.

　Well, if it comes down to it, I can just float away with my psychic, and I decide to go back to the big dune.

　Then we come to the top of the dune again.

　I skied lightly on the gentle dune earlier, and it was a lot faster than I thought it would be.

　I don't know how much faster I'd go if I had to go down such a long, angled slope.

Okay, here we go!

　Maya says this and immediately slides down, her body halfway down.

　I follow her as she slides halfway down.

　I spread my arms out tightly and bring my center of gravity to the middle of the board with my hips down to keep my balance.

　The board accelerates with a thump as it gains momentum on the slope, and the speed is incomparable to the previous one.

　I was nervous as I hadn't skied a steep slope in a while, but it was fun to ride the speed.

　It felt like plowing through the wind, which was quite exhilarating.

　Before I knew it, I found myself sliding down to the bottom of the dunes.

　Maya was at the bottom of the dune, her excitement still lingering.

It's amazing, this snowboarding thing!　I didn't think I could go this fast!　So much fun!

'This is the desert, so it's more of a sandboarding thing than a snowboarding thing.

'Sandbord I love it!　Thanks for teaching me to play nice, Al!

You're welcome.

　I just taught them some of the games back home, but I didn't expect them to be so happy.

　There's snow on the ground in the village of Colliat, and I think I'm going to teach Thor and Asmo about it.