Ronald's body swiftly swam forward in the seawater.

Even though he wasn't sure of his current speed, Ronald judged from his senses that he was swimming faster than many fish.

As for Ronald's current feelings...

It felt as if he were a hotdog slipping out from between two pieces of bread, a great pleasure of escaping the binds of fate!

The headache-inducing banquets and social engagements were getting farther and farther away.

And this speed continued to increase with his accelerating movement.

If he had to find a similar example, it was like sleeping in on the first day of the weekend, waking up satisfied after a nap, discovering he had plenty of time to waste, and then immediately lying back down to continue resting—it was that refreshing!

"The education of young people should be left to your own people of Entropia!"

Thinking this joyfully in his heart, Ronald continued to close the distance between himself and the shore.

Compared to the bulky and enormous steamship,

his speed of landing alone, after casting a spell, obviously far exceeded the fleet behind him.

In just a few minutes,

Ronald not only saw the scenery on the shore, but also the seabed rising beneath the water, and he began to see docks for ships to moor.

All of these sights reflected in Ronald's eyes.

A full week's worth of rest time was waiting for him just ahead!

"This is wonderful..."

Bang—

Ronald was full of joy, ready to embrace his holiday.

But reality soon slapped him in the face.

Completely focused on chasing the coast ahead, he unwarily collided with an object that fell from the dock straight onto the sea above him.

You should know that the depth Ronald swam at was just over a meter away from the surface.

Faced with such a sudden situation, he quickly turned around.

Before the thing could truly hit him, he reached out both hands and held it in his arms.

Then... Ronald was dumbfounded.

It turned out to be a person!

A young girl who appeared to be about thirteen or fourteen years old was just held in his arms in the water.

Although the chaotic water flow hindered the view slightly,

Ronald still recognized at a glance the expensive material of the girl's clothes and her youthful, yet promisingly beautiful, cute face.

Especially when she looked at Ronald.

Though the girl's face showed some panic, she hadn't completely lost her composure due to this unexpected event.

What happened next was even more bewildering.

Instead of struggling in the water, the girl hugged Ronald and leaned her face in, bringing her lips close to his.

"Huh?!"

Ronald instinctively wanted to avoid her.

But out of consideration for her fragile body, he couldn't move away in time.

"..."

The next second, their lips touched.

At the same time, Ronald sensed that something was amiss.

At this moment, a kind of magic power began to spread from the girl's lips into his body, and there was a very apparent invasion.

——She's using a spell!

——Upon closer scrutiny, there was even a hint of mental control!

An evidently well-off girl, and a caster no less, deliberately jumped off the dock, collided with him in the water, and then instantly initiated a kiss to launch a mental spell?

Even with Ronald's quick thinking,

he couldn't immediately make sense of such a complex situation.

Luckily, the difference in strength was evident. Although the girl actively initiated the spell, such an "attack" was utterly harmless to Ronald.

He completely blocked this attack with his passive defense spell alone.

Then Ronald didn't hesitate; he pulled the girl's head away and decided to swim up to the surface with her.

Ronald's idea was simple—

No matter what her intentions were, it was necessary to leave the underwater environment first, which was complex and confusing.

Thus, Ronald planned to ascend, rapidly taking the girl with him to leave the underwater environment. And due to his extreme speed, Ronald instantly detected a new change.

The girl in his arms, realizing her spell had failed, finally showed fear in her eyes. She then shook her head frantically while watching Ronald, who intended to take her to the surface.

Ronald clearly saw it.

This girl was trying her best to express that she didn't want to return to the surface, and her eyes revealed an imploring look.

"..."

Faced with such a gaze, Ronald eventually stopped his actions.

Indeed, the girl had been impolite in using magic on him earlier. But compared to her current anxious and pleading expression, Ronald was willing to forgive such a level of impoliteness.

In any case, let's not land here for now; better to get a clear understanding of the situation first.

...

With this decision made in his mind, Ronald didn't plan to waste time there.

So he actively lowered their position in the water, then accelerated once more, swimming straight toward the shore.

However, what Ronald didn't notice was—

As he carried the girl through the water toward the shore, the girl watched the fast-passing fish beneath the waves, and the occasional vibrant coral, with eyes full of brilliance.

Even the previous panic gradually transformed because of this captivating scenery and journey.

...

Plop—

A minute later, Ronald emerged from the water with the girl.

Given her previous anxious attitude, Ronald specifically chose a more secluded beach.

Although right next to the city, there wasn't much sign of human activity.

Even if someone looked in their direction, seeing the two of them coming ashore from the water seemed just like ordinary people returning from a swim on a summer day.

Throughout the process, they didn't attract anyone's attention.

"Phew—"

Soon after, the girl beside Ronald began to vomit.

The girl was also a caster, but unlike Ronald, she couldn't fully adapt to the marine environment.

So after reaching the shore, she immediately spat out the seawater she had ingested earlier and then cleaned her mouth.

Following that, the girl didn't say anything to Ronald straight away. Instead, she prioritized tidying up her seawater-soaked clothes. Once they were somewhat presentable, she stepped back with her left leg and knelt to greet Ronald:

"Sir, I was being chased, and the situation was urgent."

"I ask for your forgiveness for the reckless use of magic."

With a graceful rhythm and clear articulation, the girl expressed her apologies, then took a long breath and continued:

"If you don't mind—"

"May I ask for a small favor?"