Strategy for Dealing with Problematic Girls

Third place earned a complimentary voucher for a Sand Popsicle, a treat you could only taste at Golden Sea Dream. On the outside the thing lived up to its name, like wet sand packed around a wooden stick.

In truth it was made by a method the shop guarded as a trade secret, a semi-solid cream whipped into something that looked like sand. The flavor was nut butter.

"Such a shame. If my shovel hadn't snapped, I might have taken second place and won the Fat-Roll Lobster." Pecorine ate her popsicle with visible regret, seriously reviewing every mistake she'd made in the contest.

Jhin preferred chocolate to nut butter, so he turned to the girls beside him. "Does anyone want another Sand Popsicle?"

"Me, me, me!" Megumin shot her small hand into the air. She'd already worked through two thirds of hers. It was her first time trying the nut butter flavor, and she'd found it unexpectedly good, so she'd been eating fast.

"I could give you mine, sure. But…" Jhin turned his cheek toward her and puffed it out. "You'd have to show a little appreciation, wouldn't you?"

"Mwah~"

Megumin rose onto her tiptoes and left a light kiss on his cheek, quick as a dragonfly skimming water. Then she snatched the popsicle and stuffed it into her mouth, mumbling around it, "Th… this… gwood enough?"

Pleased with the kiss on the cheek she'd given him in return, Jhin pulled out the map of the beach district he'd picked up at the Sand Fortress and studied it as he spoke. "Third place isn't bad at all. Pecorine, if you want Fat-Roll Lobster, we can wander through the seafood market later and see if anyone's selling it. I remember Kyaru likes fish too."

"Mm, but right now I'd rather go to the Overlord Squid Fishing Grounds. They say the texture is amazing!"

"Then the fishing grounds are our next stop. Megumin, Kyaru, you two are the only ones who haven't named a place you want to visit. Hurry up and think of something."

"Huh?" Kyaru blinked, puzzled. "You haven't named one either, have you?"

"Me?" Jhin said with a chuckle. "I've been standing in the place I want to be this whole time."

"Mm… where is this place?" It didn't register at first, and she scanned the map, hunting for wherever it was they were currently standing.

It took Megumin nudging her shoulder, biting back a laugh and pointing at herself and the other girls, before she understood. The place he most wanted to be was right beside them.

Kyaru rolled the map up and shoved it back at him, her tail swaying in small, delighted arcs. "If… if you were already there, you could've just said so. Why… why be so roundabout about it?"

Catching her companions snickering at how slow she'd been on the uptake, she bared her little fangs at them in a huff. With both cheeks burning scarlet, the fierce look carried no threat whatsoever.

Jhin laughed and gently rubbed one of her cat ears, which felt wonderful under his fingers. "All right, all right. Next time I'll say it straight: just being at your side is enough for me."

"You… you really don't have to be that direct…" Kyaru muttered, leaning into the touch all the same. However tsundere she liked to act, she had no defense against Jhin's bare-faced declarations, and she melted into a spoiled little kitten far too easily in front of the others. She really didn't want them seeing her like that.

It was so mortifying that she sometimes wondered whether a different soul moved into her body whenever the sweet talk started, because how else did she end up all soft and simpering like that?

By the time they reached the Overlord Squid Fishing Grounds the two of them still hadn't decided where they wanted to go, so Jhin simply pushed the question to a later day. They'd come here to play, after all, and there was no looming end-of-vacation deadline weighing on anyone.

Worth mentioning: Pecorine's fishing skills were formidable. She hooked one catch after another, and right before they left she landed an Overlord Squid patterned with gold. According to Kokkoro's explanation, it was a rare Gold-Rimmed Overlord Squid, and its texture was several times better than an ordinary one.

The catch even brought the owner of the fishing grounds running. He offered a hefty sum for the Gold-Rimmed Overlord Squid, but Pecorine was a glutton through and through, and the Gourmet Edifice was hardly short on money. The owner never got his purchase and could only hint, politely, that they should come fish for squid more often.

By the time the group extracted themselves from that little commotion, evening was closing in. Determined to soak up the atmosphere now that they were here, Jhin led the girls to a lavishly decorated seaside inn and walked inside.

"Honored sir, honored ladies, welcome to the Blue Dove Inn." The young woman at the front desk gave them a sweet smile and began running through the room types. "We offer the Golden Sands Dream room, designed especially for gentlemen, and the Violet Tipsiness room, our most popular option among ladies—"

"No need to split us into two rooms. Just recommend one large room, if you would." Jhin waved a hand, cutting off the flood of sales patter.

The receptionist froze for a beat, her smile going stiff. "Sir, you're certain you only want a single large room?"

"That's right. Preferably one with windows facing the sea."

"Understood. In that case, how does the Platinum Spiral suit you?"

Jhin took the folder of room photographs she offered, glanced through a couple of pages, and nodded at her. "This one, then. How much?"

"One hundred thousand Eris per day."

He turned back to the girls. "How many days are we planning to stay?"

"Whatever you all want." Megumin didn't much care where she was these days.

"Mm… if we can, let's stay a good while. It's summer, and anywhere else we go probably won't be as cool as the coast." Kyaru had grown fond of the crisp sea breeze.

As for Pecorine… well, no need to even look at her. Her head was packed full of Golden Sea Dream's local seafood, and she wasn't going to want to leave early either. Kokkoro, meanwhile, would simply follow whatever Jhin decided. So he pulled out a pouch of Eris and set it on the counter.

"That's three million Eris. Let's start with a month."

"Y-yes, of course. I'll process your check-in right away."

Once the receptionist had gone, Megumin poked Jhin in the side with a wicked grin and murmured, "Her eyes went completely wide just now when she heard we were all staying in one room."

"She probably hasn't worked here long. Not enough exposure to the world yet."

"What does exposure have to do with anything?"

Jhin glanced around and lowered his voice. "Where I come from, hotel staff won't even blink when two men check into a couples' suite."

"Ugh…" Kyaru's face twisted in distaste. "That's kind of gross."

"Which is exactly my point about her lack of exposure. What's so shocking about me sharing a room with four beautiful girls?"

While they were still debating how long the receptionist could possibly have worked there, she returned to the counter with a key card and presented it respectfully in both hands. "Sir, here is your room key. The room number is 1013. Allow me to show you the way."

"Mm, thank you."

____

👻🔥Read More on P@treon: Walnut-chan🔥👻

🔥 New history: Zenless Zone Zero: Rewriting Fate in New Eridu — now up on The_Mikudayo

📚 Walnut-chan = 40 chapters ahead + you keep the translations moving

Help us hit our community goals:

🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!