Editing The Unexplored Summon Blood Sign:Volume5 Chapter1 (section)

===A Happy Memory from an Unknown Point on the Timeline 1===

A pool.

“…”

Kyousuke stared at that overwhelming scene while wearing swim trunks.

The Miniature Garden’s scale was as unbelievable as ever. There was a 50 meter pool in the center, the oppressive-looking Great ceiling towered far above, and the poolside was quite large. The space felt so very open despite the lack of windows, so it was easy to forget it was all underground.

The indoor pool was not divided into racing lanes or built in a wandering circuit like at an amusement facility.

It was round.

It was a mirror of water with a 50m diameter and the water was given an artificial current along the outer edge.

(It’s all about optimization.)

Kyousuke analyzed it.

Creating a never-ending current made it the same as a tuna breeding farm. Tuna had to continue swimming forever or they would die, so they were allowed to swim forever inside their limited pens. In the same way, this allowed the children to swim for several dozen kilometers in this limited space.

It also created a more hygienic environment. By creating a gentle whirlpool, they only had to prepare filters on the edge of the pool to gather and filter out the impurities in the water. It was a similar idea to a cyclone vacuum cleaner.

(There’s probably a trick to swimming along a gentle curve instead of in a straight line.)

“Why are you staring out into space?”

He heard a voice behind him.

It was Biondetta who had split up with him because the boys and girls used different locker rooms.

She wore a pink two-piece swimsuit that looked more like a one-piece split into two than it did a bikini.

“Do you not like the water? Then that’s all the more reason to do some warmup stretches. It’s too late by the time you regret not doing it. Heh heh. Your big sister can help if you want. Because I’m your big sister!”

“Oh? Is that so?”

“E-explain to me what that lukewarm look is-…actually, never mind. I get the feeling hearing that would just break me…”

Biondetta acted oddly while pressing her small butt to the wet poolside and spreading her slender legs to either side. She had a lithe body, so each time she reached her hands toward one of her feet, her upper body bent in a beautiful curve.

“Kyousuke.”

Cosplay Girl Kyoumi arrived a moment later. She was in an all-out leisure mood and wore a white one-piece swimsuit. Even now, she kept on her white twintail wig.

And she held…something under her arm. It looked like a pink curving body pillow. A flamingo face was drawn on the surface, but it may have actually been a more compact version of a banana boat.

Her other hand held a beach ball with a hedgehog drawn on it.

(The Queen of Hearts’ game of croquet? The hedgehogs were the balls and the flamingoes were the rackets…)

But as Biondetta continued her stretches, she had her own impression.

“That’s obscene! The symbolism is!!”

“Shut up and quit reading too much into this, you perverted girl. Now, do you want the curved rod or the swollen ball?”

For some reason, Biondetta started panicking when the beach ball was pushed into her face.

“Did you have any trouble in the locker room? Those lockers are deadly tricky to get locked.”

“Oh, yeah. You have to push in when you turn the key, don’t you?”

“Tch. So you knew. I was hoping you’d come crying to me so I could give you a hands on lesson. Oh, and in the girl’s locker room of course.”

“…”

“Don’t give me that look. We’re family, aren’t we? And at your age, it doesn’t count anyway. It’s too late to lament losing that privilege once it’s gone! But anyway!!”

Kyoumi laughed and threw the miniature banana boat into the giant circular pool. Only then did she remember the current, so she ran after the fleeing flamingo boat and jumped in without any kind of warmup.

Kyousuke had a thought as he watched the various parts of her skin bouncing around.

It was a simple question. If the Fifteen Siblings Project continued and their familial bonds grew, would they stop being bothered by “that sort of thing”? Would they be able to take a bath together or sleep in the same bed? He was not so sure as he viewed Kyoumi’s bodylines which were noticeably growing on a daily basis.

Then he turned toward Biondetta who was stretching her hands out along her legs.

He looked to that girl who had none of those curves whatsoever.

“Well, it already doesn’t bother me that much with Biondetta.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re thinking something incredibly rude?”

Once she finished her stretches, Biondetta started toward the pool as if chasing after Kyoumi.

He could not imagine she was that stupid, but he warned her just in case.

“Be careful.”

“What are you talking about? I’m the big sister, so I’ll hold you by the hand and teach you to-…dbh!!”

After jumping into the pool, she disappeared.

Kyousuke just about slapped his hand against his forehead.

It was a perfect chest-high depth for a high school girl like Kyoumi, but that meant it was a dangerous depth for Kyousuke or Biondetta. And thanks to the artificial endless swimming lane, it had a formidable current. There were no obvious waves like at the ocean, so it was more like falling into a rapid current where it was too deep to stand.

And if she panicked, it would be difficult for her to recover on her own.

Kyoumi seemed to have noticed, but her flamingo banana boat was a problem. She had no oar with which to fight the current, so she was having difficulty approaching Biondetta.

“Oh, honestly.”

With that mechanical comment, Kyousuke jumped in.

The water that slipped in through the slight gap between his lips was not fresh water. It had a hint of saltiness. It did not sting his tongue and was more like a sports drink.

(The Pool of Tears, huh?)

This was another symbol from Lewis Carroll.

Human cell fluid was different from both fresh and sea water. When combined with saline, they would probably be able to continue their water training without wearing themselves out.

Unlike an actual river, there were no bumps or rocks on the bottom to complicate the water’s current. It was an entirely even flow, making it easy to ride the current. Kyousuke swiftly approached Biondetta as she struggled and he reached below her arms from behind and tried to drag her up to the surface.

But then something unexpected happened.

Her superb agility decided to make an appearance at the worst possible time, so she suddenly turned around and clung to him in desperate fear. She was too panicked to care that she was pressing her undeveloped body against him and wrapping both her arms and her legs around him.

It was a lot like she was clinging to a log, but this kept Kyousuke from moving. It was a stereotypical way for a rescuer to become a secondary casualty.

(She’s only restricting my arms and my waist. At least I can still use my legs.)

It was a silly situation, but it was still a deadly one.

But Kyousuke mechanically grasped what was going on, used his legs to maintain his position, and managed to bring their heads above water.

“Pwah! Aw, aw, aw, aw!!”

“Biondetta.”

“Uuuughhhh!!”

“Biondetta, don’t worry. I won’t let go, so can you at least remove your legs?”

She did not respond.

In fact, she only clung to him even together.

She was apparently too panicked to listen rationally. If he could have used his hands, he would have tried stroking her head or back, but they were unfortunately restricted by her tight grasp.

Their hearts beat together in the water and they floated along treading water for a while until they finally came across Kyoumi on the banana boat. Instead of approaching them, she had stopped herself near the poolside to let them float to her.

“Sorry, sorry. I panicked and took too long to respond. I’m deadly sorry. Yeah, I should have abandoned the boat and swam over like normal.”

“At least nothing happened.”

“That’s all that matters. Then again, I’ve heard that Biondetta can ''hold her breath for 15 minutes'', so I never thought it was that serious.”

She casually announced that the upper limits of humanity had been shattered.

That meant Biondetta could keep up an intense infighting rush in boxing for 15 minutes or she could easily run at a sprint for 15 minutes straight. She was truly the master of anaerobic exercise.

But Kyoumi was interested in something else.

“Anyway, Kyousuke,” she said while still clinging to the banana boat. “You know a very strange way of swimming.”

“?”

“''Isn’t that a military style?'' It was developed to remain afloat with just your legs so you can hold your equipment overhead and cross a river without getting it wet.”

Kyousuke could not carelessly respond.

He could easily say the grownups had taught it to him, but if Kyoumi went around and found out that none of them knew this way of swimming, that explanation would fall apart.

There was a risk of her seeing through the thin layer to the Miniature Garden’s true purpose: killing the Queen.

“More importantly, can you deal with Biondetta? I don’t have infinite stamina.”

“Oh, that’s right. I’ll let her onto my boat. C’mere, Biondetta. If the water’s too deep to stand, then welcome to my boat.”

Kyoumi grabbed her shoulders, but Biondetta refused to move.

Did she think her one safe spot was being taken from her?

No, she may have simply been unable to move at all.

She was pressed against Kyousuke with her chin on his shoulder, so he could hear the conflict escaping her lips as a whisper.

“(Uuuh… I can’t believe I’m holding this filthy boy between my legs, but I’m scared and my feet don’t reach. It’s embarrassing, but I can’t let go. Ghhhhh!)”

It would seem they had not built up enough artificial familial bonds to take a bath together.

Although that was actually a relief for Kyousuke.

“This is amazing. It’s like a shellfish stuck to a rock.”

Kyoumi sounded half impressed and half exasperated up on the flamingo banana boat.

She stroked Biondetta’s head, but it had little effect. The girl was still panicking.

“Fine, then. I guess I’ll resort to the deadly magic words.”

“?”

Not even Kyousuke knew what she meant, so Kyoumi gave a mischievous smile.

“C’mon, Biondetta. I know you’re glad you have an excuse, but if you keep pressing that blatantly flat chest against him, he’ll notice how hard your heart is pounding.”

Kyousuke felt Biondetta’s body temperature skyrocket.

Another emotion must have overpowered her fear because she frantically pushed at the boy’s chest to shove him away.

“Y-you have it all wrong! And I’m not fla-…gabh!!”

“Sigh…”

“Sigh…”

It was the obvious result.

Kyousuke and Kyoumi sighed in unison as they watched Biondetta sink when her support vanished so quickly.

The two of them followed the current and resumed the rescue operation.