Chapter 302: Water Gun

While preparing for the festival, today was the first really hot day in a while.

Since Yato had come to visit as well, we cut short our farm work and decided to play by the river.

The temperature was around 32°C, but since anything under 30°C was normal for us, it felt extremely hot.

“Wow, it’s way too hot even though I haven’t been here in a while! I feel gross from sweating!”

“Just the climb up the back hill left, so let’s do our best to get up there.”

“Sato, I want you to piggyback me!”

“I-I can’t. I’m exhausted from the heat too.”

After calming down Yato’s unreasonable demands, we climbed the back hill and arrived at the usual stream.

Entering the hill, the shade increased slightly, providing some natural cooling, but with all the equipment we carried, the sweat wouldn’t stop.

We set our gear down and jumped into the river to wash off the sweat.

Because it was mountain water, the temperature was low, and it felt incredibly refreshing.

Floating in the water, everyone enjoyed the cool sensation spreading through their bodies. I thought it might be nice to build a sauna near the stream, while swimming until fully cooled down.

“Sato, this feels amazing. The heat that was so annoying just a moment ago suddenly feels good.”

“It really does feel great! I’m completely revitalized!”

“Me too! Now that I’m energized, I feel like catching some fish!”

Yato tracked the swimming fish with his eyes but wasn’t fishing today. We had come not just to cool off, but for a specific purpose.

“Well then, shall we get started?”

“Let’s go! I’ve been itching to shoot the water guns!”

The reason we came here today was to play with water guns together. These water guns had been prepared by Rozzo for the festival, and this was also a test run.

The rules were simple: divide into two teams of three and shoot each other with the water guns.

Each player wore a fragile paper bib, and if it tore, that person was out. The team with members left standing won.

Since the river water would wet the bibs, most of the fight would be on land, but fetching water from the stream was key.

Surprisingly, the strategy options seemed broad and exciting.

“Let’s decide teams by rock-paper-scissors.”

By luck, I, Joel, and Helena were on the same team. The opposing team was Sheera, Yato, and Milagros.

Normally, we wouldn’t stand a chance against them, but this was water guns. There were ways to win.

We positioned ourselves on opposite sides of the stream and began preparing and planning our strategy.

“Master, let’s do our best!”

“Sato, Helena, let’s do this! Should we plan strategies or just fight freely?”

“Detailed plans would only cause confusion. Let’s keep it simple: each fights freely, and on my signal, we all attack at once. How about that?”

“No objections. We’ll definitely win.”

“Sounds good to me too! I’m so excited!”

As Joel jumped up, Yato jumped on the opposite bank. They seemed to be having fun even before the game began.

“All right, begin!”

At my signal, Yato and Joel started firing. Rozzo’s custom water guns reached across the stream, but the distance meant no hits yet.

The opposing team acted first. Yato stepped into the river and advanced steadily.

Sheila and Ashros followed, crossing the river to hide behind him.

Once across the stream, shooting skill mattered less; physical ability became decisive.

“Joel, stay in position. Helena, flank to the back! Fire at Yato!”

We spread the firing lines, and while Yato hesitated to return fire, his bib tore.

Sheila and Ashros, using Yato as a shield, charged forward. Despite numerical advantage, we remained calm.

“Fire at Ashros!”

Ignoring Sheera, we focused on Ashros. Using concentrated fire from three directions, we tore Ashros’s bib.

Meanwhile, Sheila crossed the river and tore Joel’s bib.

Now, it was just me and Helena surrounding Sheila, making it two against one.

We kept firing safely, waiting for Sheila’s water to run out. When it did, we all fired at once and defeated Sheila.

Using Yato as a shield was a good strategy, but our “spread firing and simultaneous attack” worked perfectly.

“We did it! We win!”

“Aw, I want a rematch!”

“Of course, let’s go again!”

We rested in the stream as it got hot and continued our water gun battles.

I hadn’t played with water guns seriously since elementary school, and I was surprised how fun it was when done properly. We played until sunset.