Chapter 57

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: A Memory in the Water
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“Ah.”

Instinctively, I checked myself.

I had been playing with bubbles, so there was no risk of my wet blouse being seen.

He, on the other hand, dressed in a simple shirt and trousers, seemed to have no intention of covering himself.

Using my control over water, I subtly sent some bubbles in front of him.

A little more amusement colored Diello's smile.

But this is water… Is it okay for an Argenta to be in here like this?

“The water, are you okay with it?”

There was no way an Argenta would enjoy this much water.

But Diello nodded, his expression light.

“Of course. As much as an Argenta might dislike water, it’s still the essence of life.”

He scooped up some water in one hand, then let it trickle through his fingers.

*Drip, drop.*

The sound of the water droplets echoed clearly.

Right, if he hated even touching it, how would he wash himself?

“Still, I heard you don’t welcome large bodies of water.”

Considering he was someone who struggled to hold back the Infinite Sea, that seemed likely.

Diello didn't deny my words.

“But this place seems to be fine.”

His smile was brilliant. It made the swimming pool feel like a seaside resort basking in the bright sun.

He cut through the water and came closer, then poked the wall of bubbles I had been playing with.

Then, he gently placed a bit of foam on my shoulder. A mischievous grin played on his lips.

“Besides, I needed the practice.”

“Practice?”

What kind of practice, all the way out here?

“Swimming practice?”

At my words, Diello let out a low laugh.

Then he continued smoothly.

“At the gathering, the question Ellin Cartiel asked. Do you remember?”

I nodded at his words.

“She asked how we fell in love.”

“Yes, and Croire said we fell in love in the water.”

Diello gently picked up the thread of conversation. Then he looked back at me.

“It was very natural.”

He couldn't have come just to praise me. As I waited for him to continue, a smile touched his lips.

“But if I had been asked that question, I wasn’t confident I could have answered properly. So.”

He approached me. As I stared with wide eyes, the ripples he created reached me.

The waves felt all the more stimulating in the water, washing over my entire body.

“I’m here to make a real memory. So I can remember, and speak of, the moment I looked upon you with love.”

My eyes widened.

And in that moment, perhaps because my concentration wavered…

“!”

The water steps I had been standing on dispersed, and my body plunged downward.

The moment water filled my vision.

The moment fear seized me, with nothing to grab onto.

*‘Scared? You won’t die just from being underwater for a bit.’*

Suddenly, a clear voice echoed in my mind. It was a familiar voice, but one that had been buried in my memories.

This wasn't Croire's memory…

*‘You’re not going to go around telling people, are you?’*

*‘Planning to spread a rumor that you almost drowned in the kiddy pool?’*

The sound of laughing voices flashed through my mind.

Ah.

This was my memory, from before I was transmigrated.

I felt like I was suffocating.

*Grab!*

Just then, a man’s strong hand grasped mine firmly.

It was different from the memory of flailing until I lost consciousness.

The moment I clearly recognized that fact.

My mind cleared.

I have to get out of the water.

I can get out.

Moving the water is better than swimming.

I was instinctively about to manipulate the water again.

*Splash!*

I thought I saw Diello move.

The next moment, he was supporting me in his arms. His firm arms were around my back and under my legs.

“*Gasp!*”

The moment I was out of the water, a breath burst from my lungs. Amid my ragged gasps, Diello’s calm voice rang out.

“Are you alright?”

I didn’t know when I had started trembling.

I only realized it after Diello held me a little closer.

A stream of water trickled down his sharp jawline and touched me.

Perhaps because I was clutching his thin shirt so tightly, I could feel his body heat clearly.

“…Ah.”

As I let out a short gasp, Diello led me away with a slightly surprised expression.

He parted the water naturally and brought me to a shallower area.

“…You don’t seem to be accustomed to swimming.”

He had clearly figured it out in that brief moment.

The fact that I could control water, but couldn't swim.

“…The water guides me anyway, so there’s no need to learn how to swim.”

To be precise, I hadn't had a chance to learn to swim after coming here, and before…

I never had the luxury to learn how to swim.

When I fell silent, Diello, who had been observing me, smiled lightly.

“I see.”

Thankfully, he didn't press further.

I watched him for a moment before speaking.

“I thought you disliked water, Diello, but have you been practicing swimming a lot?”

His movements in the water were certainly natural.

Diello answered my question lightly.

“It would be a problem if the one who guards the Infinite Sea couldn't swim.”

…Right, it wouldn’t do to drown in the middle of a fight. There are plenty of naval battles, after all.

“Besides, I’ll have to become even more proficient to be with Croire.”

I stared at Diello at his unexpected words.

In that instant, Diello’s face drew closer.

*Whoosh.*

The breath he exhaled blew away a bubble by my ear that I hadn’t even noticed.

The fluffy bubble floated up and popped in the air.

He chuckled softly.

“Since you are a woman who commands water, I must get even closer to you in a place like this.”

My gaze met his—I, who could control water but couldn't swim, and he, who controlled water's opposite, fire, but was a good swimmer.

My cheeks flushed for a moment.

“These bubbles are more persistent than I thought.”

He said, gently plucking a bubble that had floated back up to his hair.

We burst into laughter together.

***

We played in the water for a long time, just like when we were children.

But the swimming practice was a spectacular failure.

Perhaps it was because the memory from my past life had surfaced so vividly.

Whenever I was fully submerged, a dizzying sense of oblivion made it impossible to keep my wits about me.

*‘If it’s too hard, you don’t have to practice, Croire.’*

Diello had told me gently.

*‘There’s no reason for you to ever fall into the water.’*

*‘A situation where you fall in and can do nothing would be the worst-case scenario.’*

*‘That shouldn’t happen. No, it won’t.’*

At his words, I eventually gave up on swimming. Instead, I focused on practicing my control over the water.

“Simply understanding the flow of the water without using your abilities will help with your training.”

That was Diello’s advice.

So I decided to train here often.

“Is your body okay?”

I nodded at his question.

“Of course.”

I had expelled the poison long ago, and I had been in the water for so long, so it was only natural.

Besides.

“And, it might be difficult, but I think it would be good to create an environment like this in Argenta as well. Not just a hot place, but somewhere things can catch fire easily.”

I moved the water to form a large wolf, then let it dissipate. It was the wolf I had seen once when saving Nirua.

*Splash!*

“It seems to be true that one’s power is amplified in a place with an abundance of its source.”

As I watched the wolf’s form return to water, Diello turned to me.

“I don’t know if you saw or heard, but Cartiel was found using the same method.”

“In that case…”

Diello’s eyes widened at my words.

“Yes, we might be able to create an advantageous battlefield when fighting Alloje or Cartiel.”

Argenta had been searching for ways to use their powers more efficiently until the unawakened head of the family could finally awaken.

If what I said was true, it would be nothing short of a revolution for Argenta.

“Of course, we’ll have to investigate if this applies to the majority of ability users, but… ah.”

I couldn’t just go to Alloje and ask, I was about to say, when something came to mind.

There’s an Alloje on this land, isn’t there?

“I’ll ask Sir Nirua as well.”

I said I would ask, but I already knew for certain.

One becomes stronger in a place with an abundance of their element’s source.

Setting aside the fact that it was a clearly stated rule in the original novel, I myself was living proof.

I clearly remembered feeling an overwhelming sense of confidence and power in front of the infinitely stretching sea.

“We’ll have to approach this carefully, but if it’s true…”

Diello’s eyes sparkled with joy.

If it was true, there could be no better news for Argenta’s forces.

“I hope it’s true.”

I said, wiping a bubble from his cheek.

“I’m not sure if we’ve made enough memories.”

At my words, Diello’s eyes widened as if to ask what I meant.

“Next time Ellin asks how you fell in love, will you be able to answer?”

Diello blinked at my question, then burst out laughing.

“Of course.”

Then he kissed my knee as I sat perched on the edge of the pool.

Thanks to his movements in the water, a sensual ripple once again brushed against the tips of my toes.

“I think I can say for certain how I was bewitched by Croire.”

His whispering breath touched my wet knee, creating a strange sensation.

He seemed so perfectly fine that I wouldn't learn until much later that he felt pain whenever he touched water infused with my magic.