The ship swayed on gentle waves, heading south. The merciless summer sun baked the deck, and a sigh escaped involuntarily from the heat. How did it come to this? My father's order was sudden.

"Try living on your own strength for one month."

With just those words, Guest was sent to the south in what was practically an exile. The destination was a "tropical countryside." A frontier that the nobles laughed at for being boring. Of course, there was no one to meet them and no place to stay.

Eventually, the ship arrived at the port. The moment I stepped outside, the heat enveloped my whole body. It's hot. Just that alone drained my physical strength. I want to go home already.

Carrying those thoughts along with my luggage, I started walking aimlessly. I don't even have a place to stay.

—This place is hell.

As I walked with such thoughts, my field of vision suddenly opened up. I involuntarily squinted at the intense brightness. Beyond my slowly opening eyelids...

An endless blue sky. A transparent sea sparkling like jewels under the sunlight. A white, shining sandy beach.

Gentle waves coming and going stroked the shore as if singing. I gasped at the sheer beauty. The vast blue washed away the frustration that had been swirling in my chest just a moment ago in an instant.

...Was it always this beautiful?

Before I knew it, my feet were heading toward the sea. I set down my trunk and ran to the pier.

Peering into the water, I could see fish swimming through the sea, swaying like grains of light. The transparent water looked like I could see all the way to the bottom, so close it felt like I could reach it if I stretched out my fingertips.

I want to see it closer.

It was at that very moment. The surface of the water burst as if exploding from the inside. With a sharp splash, "something" jumped out of the sea.