My childhood friend, who I promised to marry in the future, came back as a swordsman

 

Chapter 158: Cute

{TL: By Creed}

Keep your body straight, paddle the water, and kick.

Forward, forward.

Just keep moving forward.

And then...

"Ah."

After swimming for a while, I returned to the beach.

I got out of the sea and took a deep breath of fresh air.

"Good job, Fate."

"Daddy, good job!"

Sofia and Aisha greeted me.

They had been watching me swim from the beach because they wanted to see me in action.

As for Licorice, she's probably off playing somewhere at her own pace.

"Fate, you're a really good swimmer."

"Yeah, I guess I'm fairly decent at it. I've had to cross rivers while carrying loads... and there were times I had to dive for over ten minutes to retrieve treasure from the bottom. So I got naturally trained."

"That's... not exactly funny."

"Haha."

It was a tough experience, that's for sure...

But because of those hardships, I can now swim freely like this.

The past is the past.

You can't let it hold you back; instead, you have to use it as fuel to keep moving forward.

"Sofia, Aisha, aren't you going to swim?"

"I'm content just relaxing here like this."

"..."

Sofia smiled warmly, but Aisha had a gloomy look on her face.

"What's wrong, Aisha?"

"I... I can't swim."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I can't float in the water..."

She wants to swim, but she can't.

It seems like she's feeling down about it.

"Then, how about I teach you how to swim?"

"Daddy will?"

"Yeah. As you saw just now, I can swim reasonably well, so I think I can teach you too."

"Do you think... I'll be able to swim?"

"You will. Don't worry, I guarantee it."

"I’ll... do my best."

Aisha wagged her tail and smiled brightly.

"Aisha-chan is so adorable!"

"Wah!"

Overwhelmed by her daughter’s cuteness, Sofia hugged Aisha from behind.

"Sofia, could you help me out too? Is that okay?"

"Huh? Uh, yes, no problem at all!"

Huh?

For some reason, Sofia seemed a bit off just now... Was it just my imagination?

"Alright, then let's head to the shallows first."

We moved to the shallows to start practicing.

Here, there was no worry about drowning or getting hit by big waves.

"Aisha, can you open your eyes underwater?"

"Yes, I can."

"What!?"

"Sofia?"

For some reason, Sofia seemed surprised.

She's been acting strange since earlier—what's going on?

"N-No, it's nothing."

"Really? Uh, okay... So, can you float in the water?"

"...I sink."

"I see. Then let’s start there. Could you give it a try? Don't worry, I'll help you right away if you start to sink."

"Okay."

Aisha, following the instructions, tried to float in the water...

But she immediately sank.

I quickly supported her back with my hand and brought her back to the surface.

"I couldn't do it..."

"Don't be discouraged. It's okay, you'll be floating in no time."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Whether you're a human or a beastman, it's probably the same... yeah. Basically, people are built to float."

"But I sank..."

"That's because you were scared of the water, and your body was too tense. Keep your body straight and relax. Just imagine lying down on the water, as if you’re going to sleep. That way, you shouldn't sink."

"I see, so I need to relax like I'm sleeping."

"Sofia?"

For some reason, Sofia was listening to the explanation more intently.

"Oh, no. It's nothing."

"Uh... well then, Aisha, give it a try?"

Though I was curious about Sofia’s behavior, right now I needed to focus on teaching Aisha to swim.

Aisha nervously straightened her body as I had told her.

This time, to make sure she didn’t sink, I supported her back.

"Hmm..."

"Maybe you're tensing up too much? Try relaxing your body a little more."

"But..."

"It's okay. I’m supporting you, so trust me."

"...Yeah, as long as Daddy's here, I feel safe."

Aisha’s expression relaxed.

The tension left her body naturally, and...

She gently floated on the surface of the water.

Without my support, she was gently swaying and floating.

"Wow!"

Surprised and delighted, Aisha cheered.

But because of that, she sank for a moment...

She quickly popped her face above the water.

Her face was shining with excitement.

"Daddy, Mommy, look! I was floating just now!"

"Yeah, you were."

"Hehe, you did it, Aisha-chan. To float this easily, that's amazing."

"Hehe."

After being patted on the head by both me and Sofia, Aisha smiled happily.

Her tail was wagging excitedly, splashing the surface of the water.

Yeah.

Our daughter is so cute.

TL Note: Cuteness is justice.

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