The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

Summer! Swimsuits! Lake!

Hello everyone, this is Ruruk reporting live from the scene.

We're at a lake southeast of Shaboom town. It's just past noon. The sun is blazing hot, making you sweat just from walking.

We, Ruruk and his merry band of little girls, have just squashed the orc settlement and completed our quest. All that's left is to return and report.

But I, Ruruk, am currently barbecuing in nothing but my underwear.

Yes, that BBQ.

How did this happen, you ask? Well, our party's new member, the black-haired twin-tailed girl, insisted on getting into the lake to wash off the dirt.

Threatened with being called a lolicon if I didn't join in, I reluctantly agreed... but surprisingly, this world has underwater combat suits but no concept of what we'd call swimsuits.

There are aquatic monsters, so there aren't safe places to swim outside towns. Without swimsuits, it's problematic. How problematic? Well, filming naked little girls would have the PTA throwing stones at us en masse.

But the black-haired little girl insists on swimming. The white-haired little girl somehow supports her.

So, the strategy I, Ruruk, came up with was to make underwear look like swimsuits.

Since Saaya and Elen are still undeveloped and don't have bras, we used regular cloth for the top. For the bottom, we use regular panties. By the way, both of them are wearing pumpkin-shaped underwear.

So, what do we do with the cloth and panties?

This is where we use "Refinement".

"Refinement" is a substitution method that changes the shape, structure, or state of materials without changing the material itself. We used it for traps and launching platforms in the orc battle earlier, but this time we'll use it to create swimsuits.

It's simple. We just change the structure of the linen cloth and panties from woven to knitted to fit the little girls' body shapes.

Even with the same linen material, changing it to knitted fabric creates elasticity, preventing it from coming off when wet. Of course, it's not as good as modern swimsuits, so it's only for splashing around, not swimming. We shape the top similarly, but make it into a one-piece style.

We also used the "Color Change" substitution method. Elen's swimsuit is green, Saaya's is red.

And thus, the swimsuits were completed.

Well, this is probably the most wasteful use of mystical arts in the world~.

Anyway, with the little girls changed, it's time for everyone to splash around.

...Or so I thought, but Elen started looking gloomy, saying she was hungry.

It's past noon, so it's lunchtime.

Ignoring Saaya's dissatisfied face as she wanted to splash around, we start preparing.

If we're going to eat while splashing around by the lake, it has to be barbecue.

We transform iron materials into skewers and a grill, pile up stones to set up charcoal and the grill. With Elen's magic to light it, the barbecue preparation is completed in no time.

All that's left is to skewer various monster meats and grill them with salt and herbs.

Of course, we don't forget the vegetables.

Now, when the meat is grilled and the juices are dripping, it's time to eat.

"Mm. Delicious."

"Wawawa~! It's delicious~!"

Indeed, it's better than a regular meal because it feels like an event.

The little girls seem to enjoy choosing their favorite ingredients and skewering them themselves, wondering what to eat next.

They're enjoying adjusting the cooking time themselves and hurriedly saying "Hot!" when the charcoal pops.

"Hey Ruruk, what kind of meat is this? It's super delicious."

"Gaga Chicken. It's a favorite of my drinking buddies. I caught and preserved it in Stoania."

"Chicken, huh. Might be healthy."

Even though she's only 10 years old and doesn't need to worry about calories, Saaya is quite the proper lady.

"Mm, Ruruk eat this."

What Elen held out was a skewer with alternating meat and vegetables.

It's like a negima skewer. Since my hands were full replenishing the charcoal, I bite into it as offered. She's combined her favorite rabbit meat with bell peppers. Mm, it's delicious.

"Ah, that's cheating! I want to feed you too!"

This time Saaya holds out a skewer.

This is... all fruit. Apple Raune, Wood Butter, Necta Peach, Pine Berry. Grilled fruit is a fresh idea I hadn't thought of. They all become sweeter when heated, but surprisingly refreshing aftertaste. It's good for cleansing the palate.

"Mm... this girl, sharp."

"What's that, Elenora. No monopolizing."

The two glare at each other.

I didn't think they got along well since meeting, but they'll be together for a long time, so it'll be tiring if they keep competing.

When I say that, Saaya turns her gaze away with a huff.

"Oh. I want to get along with Elenora. She's cute, like a little sister."

"Mm... I'm older."

"22 years old, right? That's true, but if we add it up, I'm older so it's fine."

"...Unclear meaning."

If we add your previous life, you're 28 years old, right.

Oh? Come to think of it, if we add it up, I'm 26 years old. Thinking carefully, we should have died together, but there's a 2-year gap in when we came to this world. I wonder why...

Well, since thinking about it won't give us answers, let's check if we meet anyone else reincarnated from Japan. If there are two of us, there must be a third person somewhere.

"Elenora is from the sheep tribe, so even at 22, you're still a minor, right?"

"Mm. But three more years."

"Then in 3 years, you can be the big sister. Until then, I'll be the big sister."

"Mmuu."

She looks very dissatisfied.

Certainly, Elen speaks little and has a childish way of talking, so she looks particularly childlike, but she's always calm and intelligent. From Elen's perspective, the emotional Saaya who gets angry and cries quickly probably seems more childish.

With their appearances not matching their mental ages, this seems like it'll be quite a troublesome competition for big sister status.

By the way, do you want to decide which one is the big sister?

"Yes, I want to decide!"

"Mm."

I see.

Then how about this.

Chiki-chiki! The "Who's More Suitable to be the Big Sister" Championship in Swimsuits~! (No wardrobe malfunctions!)

"It's on! Sounds interesting!"

"Mm. Will defeat enemy."

A little girl who's reluctant to fight but enthusiastic about such games, and a little girl who's still muscle-brained as ever.

How about this for the match: The winner gets to call herself the big sister for three months. The loser becomes the little sister for three months. After three months, we have another match.

The way to win is, of course, to act more like a big sister.

I, Ruruk, will serve as the judge.

"I'm in! Let's do this, Elenora!"

"Mm... won't lose."

And so, putting the barbecue aside, a mysterious sister-determination battle began.

...Eh, you say it's my fault?

This is also an irresistible force, an irresistible force.

It was decided to be a best-of-three match.

Whoever wins two rounds first is the victor.

The first round was decided to be the "A Big Sister Can Cook, Right?" challenge.

The rules are simple. Grill a thick steak over charcoal, leaving half of the meat rare. Why half rare? Because I like medium-rare. As a big brother figure, I'm happy to have my little sisters cook for me.

Elen goes first.

She slowly places the thick Great Boar steak on the grill. Crouching and hugging her knees, she stares intently at the fire, but doesn't move much.

When meat juices start dripping onto the charcoal, she finally flips the meat. However, the surface isn't as charred as expected. Rather, it's grilled nicely.

She continues to grill the other side carefully. Again, she hugs her knees and stares at the fire. Every action is that of a little girl. Let's give her 100 little girl points.

Just when it seems about right, an unexpected mishap occurs.

The meat gets stuck to the grill and won't come off.

Elen is flustered, moving back and forth. She tries hard to scrape it off with tongs, but her weak muscles can't manage it. There's also a painful loss of time when she drops the tongs, startled by flying hot charcoal.

By the time she manages to pry the meat off the grill, one side is quite burnt.

This is an unfortunate result. But a match is a match. Let's steel our hearts and cut into the steak.

The verdict is... unfortunately, there's no rare part left. This is a disqualification.

"Mm..."

Elen buries her face in her knees. The match is merciless, but this is only the first round. Well-done steak is delicious too, so let's enjoy this as it is.

Now it's Saaya's turn.

At this point, she can win just by grilling safely. Saaya, who was an efficient class representative type in her previous life, grilled without any particular danger. Because Elen failed quite badly in the first half, Saaya doesn't look very happy, but since it's a competition, we'll judge properly.

Saaya's meat had a bit more than half of the redness remaining, but she won splendidly.

The slightly rare Great Boar is tasty with its unique flavor.

Now, we move on to the second round.

Next is the "A Big Sister Can Give Her Little Sister a Pretty Accessory" challenge.

The rule is to pick up stones from the lakeshore and make them into accessories to give to the other person. Both finding a pretty stone and crafting it into an accessory test luck and skill.

I'll provide the string. The rest is a race against time.

Of course, the big brother will judge. Secretly, I plan to add points for consideration as a big sister, judging not just on prettiness but on whether they can make something that suits the other person.

At the start signal, both immediately crouched down and began searching for stones.

There are no gems on the lakeshore, of course, but there are oddly shiny ones, ones mixed with sparkling sand, and ones with ordinary colors but very regular shapes. It seems the criteria for beauty will be tested too.

I set the time limit to about 30 minutes. There needs to be a limit, after all.

Now, let's clean up the meal in the meantime. By clean up, I mean grilling the remaining uncooked ingredients to preserve them as emergency food.

While watching the little girls gather stones with both hands full, I grill all the leftover food.

From any angle, I look like a big brother taking care of his little sisters on a holiday. Mmm, it's a very comfortable afternoon. If only there was a beautiful elf, it would be perfect.

It seems the time limit has come.

Now, let both of you show me.

First, Saaya.

Saaya seems to have found a smooth, pure white stone. Its shape is quite round, with a noticeable luster.

She seems to have made a small hole in the center of the stone with earth magic and threaded a string through it. This must be a necklace. When put on Elen, the white stone shines on her chest.

Mm, it's nice. It's cute.

Now, Elen's work.

Oh, this seems to be mixed with amber. Tree sap has encased and solidified around the stone. It seems she found a very good stone.

As for the crafting, surprisingly, she's hollowed out the stone itself into the shape of a ring. The amber part is positioned on top as if it were a gem. As expected of a high-level magician, I'm surprised she could carve such a small, complex shape with earth magic.

We try it on Saaya's finger. Yes, she's become a precocious little girl. It's very cute.

"Ugh... I've lost this one..."

Saaya seems to have admitted it herself.

Since we've come this far, both of you should treasure the gifts you've given each other.

Now, it's the final match.

For the last one, since we're at a lake, it's the "A Big Sister's Charm is Important Too" challenge.

The rule is simply: Who can strike the cutest pose at the water's edge! It's a super vague rule.

Of course, I, Ruruk, will be the judge.

Yes, it will be decided completely by my personal judgment and bias.

...It's not because I've run out of ideas. R-really, it's true!

"So I just need to captivate Ruruk!"

Saaya-san, you look extremely happy.

But let me tell you, wardrobe malfunctions are not allowed.

"Eh~ ... Even if I push it to the limit?"

No, it's not allowed.

In the first place, charm is something that's appropriate for each age. Wardrobe malfunctions are only charming for adult big sisters.

Please convey your charm considering your own appearance.

"Mm... difficult."

"I see. If wardrobe malfunctions are not allowed... ugh, if only I had a school swimsuit even with this childish body!"

There's no need to satisfy niche demands.

Anyway, both of you, this time the judging will be completely subjective, so no hard feelings no matter who wins. If you want to blame someone, blame the judge's preferences. Ah, but don't blame me too much because that's scary, just a little blame is fine.

"Alright~ If it's a charm battle, I won't lose!"

"Mm. Will make you fall head over heels."

The little girls moved to the water's edge.

Now, I'm looking forward to seeing what they'll do.

Ready, go!

At the start signal, Elen turned her back on the spot. In contrast, Saaya sat down where she was.

First, let's look at Elen.

Elen turns her bottom towards us and looks back hesitantly. Because of the swimsuit, her well-shaped thighs are exposed, and she seems a bit embarrassed to be stared at intently. She keeps glancing back over her shoulder, modestly lowering her eyes and blushing.

Yes, it's a very good shy maiden pose. The gap with her usual unflappable self enhances her charm. As expected of Elen.

Saaya seems quite fired up too.

She's sitting at the water's edge in a girly pose with her toes pointed outward. Looking up at us, she's playing with the water, scooping it up and splashing it a bit, with a bright, carefree smile. She's about half-soaked up to her bottom, using the water's edge situation well.

She's also creating a gap with her usual self, asserting her little girl-ness appropriate to her appearance, different from Elen.

Hmm, it's hard to choose between them.

As I was pondering this...

"Ah!"

Elen, who was standing at the water's edge, suddenly plunged into the water.

Or rather, it would be more accurate to say she slipped and was dragged in. She fell as if pulled by her feet and her head went under the water.

Until then, there was no strong monster presence, and I didn't sense any malice or harmful intent. I'll make excuses about letting my guard down later.

"El--"

"Elenora!"

Before the self-proclaimed big brother could dive into the water, the self-proclaimed big sister Saaya jumped in without any hesitation.

It's unclear what happened to Elen, but with the little girls in the water, I, the one left behind, must respond calmly. If they're drowning, I intend to use teleportation immediately to save them.

I peer into the water from the edge, straining my eyes.

Bubbles rise to the surface, and...

"Puha!"

"Ah!"

Safely, Saaya resurfaces with Elen.

I immediately scoop them both up in my arms and move away from the water's edge.

Elen seems to have swallowed a bit of water and is coughing painfully, but it doesn't seem serious.

Saaya brushes back her wet hair and gives a light wink.

"It was good that Elenora was light."

Wow, how dashing.

I felt a bit of a flutter in my heart, but I'll keep quiet because she'll get carried away if I say anything.

More importantly,

"Elen, are you okay? What happened?"

"Mm, fine... probably this."

Elen points at her ankle.

There was a slime attached to it.

...A slime.

It's extending part of its body like a tentacle, tangled around Elen's feet.

It's wriggling as if trying to eat something.

Of course, a mere slime can't eat a human body. Even if it had a predation skill, the level difference with Elen is too great for it to have any effect.

The epitome of weak monsters doesn't seem to intend to stop its wriggling.

Saaya pokes its surface, tilting her head.

"I wonder what's wrong. It looks like it's in pain."

"...I'm hungry..."

An unfamiliar childish voice was heard.

I don't know who spoke. It wasn't Elen or Saaya, so I look around to see if someone else was nearby.

The lakeshore is unchanged, with just us here.

As I thought it might have been my imagination, the owner of that voice spoke again.

"I'm hungry."

"...Eh?"

No way.

That voice undoubtedly came from the slime attached to Elen's feet.