Chapter 83

Today, I came to my home for the first time in a while.

It would be nice to spend the day leisurely in the mansion, but since the weather was good, I decided to spend some time outside.

I climbed the tree that stands alone near my home.

I checked the thickness and sturdiness of the branch extending horizontally by putting my weight on it and stepping on it.

Yeah, it doesn’t budge at all. This should be fine even if Asmo jumps on it.

No, that’s a lie. He has a record of breaking ice in winter, so I can’t trust him.

I thought it was frozen to a considerable depth.

Well, I don’t intend to put Asmo on this, so it’s not a problem.

I took out a seat board tied with a rope using spatial magic.

I think you can guess what I’m doing. Yes, a swing.

I wrapped the rope around the tree branch several times and floated the seat board to the right height.

When it reached a height where I could sit, I tied the rope securely so it wouldn’t come loose.

There’s no hardware or anything convenient, so it might not be stable, and there might be durability issues, but since I’m light, it should be fine.

All I want is to be able to sway gently.

After tying the rope carefully, I jumped down and sat on the seat board.

It felt slightly tilted, so I climbed the tree again to adjust it.

After repeating this a few times, I finally had a satisfactory swing.

I tried swaying it lightly, but the tree didn’t shake at all.

This tree is quite sturdy.

I swayed the swing gently.

The indescribable floating sensation felt good. It felt like I was a bird.

If I swayed a bit more vigorously, the scenery started to move up and down.

It felt good to cut through the air with my whole body.

Was it since I last rode a swing in a park on my way back from work in my previous life?

Back then, I think people were taken aback because I, an adult, looked like I was having fun on the swing.

I must have been on the verge of overworking myself and my mind was off.

Why is a swing so much fun when you ride it after a long time?

“…What are you doing?”

Just as I was getting tired of swaying and thinking about reading a book I bought in the capital, someone called out to me.

I turned my gaze towards the voice and saw Elinora-san’s face peeking out from the shade of the tree.

The trees around my home have been cut down, so there’s not much place to hide, and the view is good.

Plus, in this green, natural setting, Elinora-san’s reddish-brown hair stands out a lot.

“Um, it’s a swing, right?”

When I answered, Elinora-san came over.

“Hmm, a swing, huh?”

She looked at it with interest, shaking the rope.

“You’re still good at making weird things, aren’t you?”

That’s a bit rude to call it a weird thing.

However, now is not the time to argue about that. It’s more important to know why this sister came here.

Could it be for another training session? No, she’s not carrying a wooden sword today, and she’s wearing a white dress.

“Why are you here, Elinora-san?”

“I saw Al fly out of the mansion this morning, so I decided to go outside too.”

“So, you followed me?”

“I thought I would do that because I was bored, but your footprints stopped. What kind of walking are you doing?”

“I took a grass path in the middle. Hehe.”

Dangerous. Does this mean I can’t even transfer carelessly near Elinora-san?

“So, you were just walking around to pass the time and found me here?”

“That’s right.”

For some reason, Elinora-san puffed out her chest and answered proudly.

“Ouch!?”

“Oops, sorry.”

The rope hit my cheek when Elinora-san pulled and released it.

Was I thinking about something unnecessary? But from the look of it, it doesn’t seem like she did it on purpose.

Usually, she would clench her fist and say, “I feel like hitting you right now.”

Even though she’s acting calm, it still feels a bit off.

It hurt quite a bit, you know.

“By the way, how do you play with this? Just sit there and daydream?”

“No, you enjoy it by swaying like this. Sitting and daydreaming is good too, though.”

I demonstrated by swaying, and Elinora-san said, “Oh,” in an impressed tone.

“Let me try.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

It felt like being told to give up by a bully or a strong kid.

Since I had enjoyed it thoroughly and was satisfied, I gave up the seat board without hesitation.

Elinora-san started swaying without any trouble.

If it were someone like Thor, he would probably be shouting, “How do you make it move!?”

“Oh, this is actually fun!”

“Right?”

Elinora-san seemed very pleased with the swing.

She skillfully used her feet to gain momentum and accelerated.

As the swing swayed, Elinora-san’s ponytail bounced up and down.

“I’m tired of swaying. Push my back for me.”

She must have figured out that trick. She’s really good at making people do things for her.

I moved behind Elinora-san and placed my hands on her back as she came towards me, then pushed her lightly.

“Oh! This feels better.”

“Of course, I’m pushing you.”

As I answered and pushed her back strongly, Elinora-san let out a joyful cry.

“Hey, you’re not pushing hard enough.”

If I slack off even a little, this happens. If I say it’s because Elinora-san is heavy, she’ll probably kill me.

“I can hear you, you know!”

Just as I was about to push her back, Elinora-san twisted her body and hit my head. It hurt.

What a skillful sister.

Still, I’m puzzled as to why she doesn’t get bored even though I’m just pushing her back, and it’s almost the same as before. I can’t understand it.

My arms are getting tired, so I hope she gets bored soon.

“I’m done.”

After a while, it seemed my wish was granted, and Elinora-san said she was done.

I think it was just a whim.

Elinora-san, after confirming that I had moved away from the swing, used the swing’s momentum to jump off.

She did this before even getting off normally. Although she wasn’t swinging very high, it took some nerve to do that.

Elinora-san’s ponytail fluttered as she landed beautifully.

I, who had been pushing her back and was tired, crawled onto the swing and sat down.

“…Phew.”

As I let out a sigh of relief, Elinora-san looked at me and smiled.

That’s the look of someone who’s come up with a bad idea. Elinora-san’s red eyes were shining brightly.

Elinora-san ran over and circled around my back.

Is she going to push my back hard?

Since it’s not hanging from a large, thick branch, that would be dangerous.

I opened my mouth to warn her but froze when I saw her shoes on the seat board.

Then Elinora-san grabbed the rope and placed her other small foot next to my thigh.

“Two people!?”

“Let’s swing together!”

Elated, Elinora-san said and started swaying skillfully with her feet.

With the weight of two people, the rope creaked.

“No, no, Elinora-san. If two people ride, it will be overloaded—”

“Are you saying I’m heavy? If you say that, I’ll punch you.”

No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just that it wasn’t designed for two people, and my weight is about right.

No matter how I explain it, I feel like I can’t avoid a punch.

…Creak.

“The tree branch just made a bad sound!?”

“It’s just your imagination!”

In the end, the tree branch didn’t break, and we were able to enjoy it, and Elinora-san seemed satisfied.

I was trembling every time I heard the creaking of the rope and the tree branch.

◆

The next day, Rumba came to the mansion with the broken rope and seat board.

“This is Al’s, right? It’s broken…”

“Of course! There’s no way the tree branch could support Rumba’s weight!”

I also updated the story of the evil god’s summoning to another world. Please check it out if you like.

http://ncode.syosetu.com/n4974dc/

The manga of this work will be released on August 26th!