Episode 134

Who is this person? If you’re at the beach setting up an umbrella, you must be here to relax. And why does he have such a sour look on his face?

“I’m here to relax. Is there a problem?”

“There is a problem.”

I ignored the man and firmly planted the umbrella into the ground. He tapped my shoulder again.

“What is it?”

“Take down the umbrella.”

At his words, I left the umbrella and stood up. The small-framed man had to tilt his head up to meet my gaze once I stood fully.

“Who are you to come here and tell me what to do?”

“I’m the beach supervisor. Setting up personal camp is illegal here.”

I was speechless. We already paid an entrance fee on the way in, and now setting up camp is illegal? Could this man be from the Marquis’s family too?

“Are you from the family of the Marquis of Keikos too?”

“Looks like you know. Pack up your spot. The umbrella, the tents, all of it.”

Della, Idi, and Marim, who had just walked out onto the beach, noticed the strange atmosphere and stood behind me. The man’s gaze naturally shifted toward the staff.

Idi covered her chest with her hands and asked.

“What’s going on, Bertrand…? Is there some kind of problem?”

“This person suddenly told me to pack up the camp. I’ll handle it, so everyone go back to the campsite.”

“What? Told you to pack up the campsite? Who does this guy think he is, telling us what to do!”

Suddenly, Marim pushed me aside and stepped forward, pointing an accusatory finger at the man. The man’s face twisted as he looked at the small half-elf wildly gesturing at him.

“Isn’t she a half-elf?”

“So what? Is there some rule that half-elves can’t come to the beach for vacation?!”

“Others are uncomfortable. I don’t know if you’ve been out cleaning sewage or doing some filthy work, but to come to the beach with such a dirty body…”

“Did this bastard just say that?!”

As Marim was about to rush at the man, I grabbed her and pushed her back, with Della stepping in to hold her back.

“Let go of me!”

“Calm down, Marim! Bertrand will handle it.”

“He called me dirty, can you believe it?!”

Marim’s shouting was so intense, it made my head ring. Amidst the commotion, François, Pelée, and Seleiza from the campsite ran toward the beach.

“Huh? A demon…?”

Under Pelée’s cold gaze, the man subtly averted his eyes.

“So what do you expect? Should we dig in the sand and live there?”

“No. Pay the proper usage fee.”

The man pointed toward a direction. It was the area that had been hidden behind black rocks when we first entered Grace Bay.

I gave the man a suspicious look and climbed halfway up the rocks to peer out.

On the other side of the beach, rows of identical umbrellas lined the sand. People could be seen lounging under them or drinking something.

Behind them, two large buIdings stood in a palm tree grove. Their fronts, facing the sea, were made of pristine white stone and stretched five stories high.

When did such a place appear…? More than that, why did we end up in this remote spot instead of going there?

I remembered the checkpoint soldiers mentioning that we had taken a non-main road. Probably, if we had gone on that main road, it would have led straight there.

“So, you want us to go there? What’s that place?”

“Grace Bay Club. It’s run by the Keikos Marquisate.”

“Wait a minute. I’m sure when I came here a few years ago, there was nothing like this. And this is a direct territory, isn’t it? Why is the Marquis running a business here?”

“It’s the Marquis’s land, so of course they’re running a business. I don’t know the details, I’m just here to catch people like you who are using the beach illegally.”

Did Grace Bay become part of the Marquisate…? Did something happen in the few years since I left?

It’s not common for the borders between a direct territory and a fief to change, but it’s not entirely impossible either. If there were political reasons or mutual agreements, it could certainly happen.

If Grace Bay had been incorporated into the Marquisate without me knowing…then it would make sense to follow the man’s instructions.

Basically, everything on a fief belongs to the lord. So if the Marquis of Keikos has set something up in Grace Bay, we must follow that.

Although I despise nobles due to recent events, I have no intention of breaking the law. Besides, as François said, I didn’t come here to ruin my mood by making a fuss.

As I descended the rocks, the man had already followed behind me and was standing just below the rocks. Over there, I could see Marim throwing a tantrum, while the staff looked on with concern.

“Well…if Grace Bay has become part of the Marquisate, there’s nothing we can do. Let’s pack up here and head over to that club or whatever it is.”

“Good thinking. If you didn’t, you would’ve been forcibly removed by the soldiers.”

I was angry at his words, but I held back, remembering François’s advice. Alright…since we came to enjoy ourselves, let’s just enjoy the rest of our time.

As the man walked away, the staff rushed over to ask what had happened. I explained the situation to them. François tilted her head in confusion.

“I’ve never heard that Grace Bay became part of the Keikos Marquisate.”

“But I can’t imagine the Marquis would be so out of his mind as to build a building and run a business in a direct territory.”

“That’s true, but…hmm, I don’t know.”

The other staff understood that we had to follow the lord’s laws in a fief, and didn’t seem too upset. However, Marim was the only one who was still furious and jumping around.

“He called me a filthy half-elf!”

“Calm down, Marim… You’re here at the beach to have fun, right? If you get angry and leave, who knows when we’ll come again…”

Idi tried to calm Marim down, and she simmered down, though still fuming. Marim had been the one most excited about coming to the beach. If I had suggested going back now, Marim would have been the most disappointed.

“Well, it’s better this way. At least we’ll sleep comfortably in beds.”

I lightened the mood with a positive comment and reassured the staff. We soon began to pack up the campsite.

There was no need to carry the bags, so I piled them up inside the palm tree grove and had the hellsteeds circle around to protect them. Unless someone had extraordinary courage, no one would be able to sneak through the three hellsteeds to steal the items.

As we entered the area with the rows of umbrellas, a woman who appeared to be a staff member approached us.

The staff member seemed a little surprised upon seeing Marim and Pelée, but quickly composed herself and gave a friendly smile.

“There are seven of you? You can rent four umbrellas. If you’re staying overnight, they’ll be included in the accommodation fee.”

“Is it one umbrella per two people?”

“Yes.”

Glancing around, I saw that small umbrellas, probably a quarter of the size of the large ones we bought, were filling the sandy beach. It seemed they were splitting up the umbrellas to charge more.

“Then please proceed with that.”

“Take this with you to the club and show it at the desk. It will be added to your accommodation fee.”

The woman wrote my name, the number of umbrellas rented, and her name on a small note and handed it to me.

So, we rented four umbrellas close to the sea. The mats already set up underneath them seemed to be included in the price.

“Where can we change clothes?”

Holding a small paper bag, Seleiza asked, and the woman pointed toward the palm tree grove. There, a changing room had been set up with thick fabric as a privacy screen.

The staff members gathered to change into their swimsuits at the changing area. As for me, I had already been wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals since leaving the inn, so I didn’t need to change.

“Hey, Pelée. Aren’t you going to change?”

Pelée, who had been lying on the mat with her arm supporting her head, shook her head. She was wearing short pants that hugged her hips and a tight-fitting long-sleeve top.

Pelée’s slim, muscular frame was perfectly showcased by her outfit. With her sunglasses on, she looked effortlessly cool.

“Hey, you look great. You’d look perfect doing something like surfing.”

“I don’t know how to do that.”

Pelée replied indifferently, crossing her legs and tapping her toes, lounging around. I threw a handful of sand playfully at her.

Pelée grimaced as the sand hit her and quickly got up, glaring at me over her sunglasses. I chuckled as I stood up.

While the staff was changing, I took Kali with me and headed toward the inn to book a room in advance.

Kali buried her snout in the sand, then quickly tossed it around, enjoying the action. She ran around, sprinkling sand on everyone, so I had to forcefully scoop her up.

As we passed between the rows of umbrellas, I noticed that there were quite a few others here for vacation. Based on their neat appearances and relaxed vibes, they seemed to be upper-middle class or higher.

“Did you come here alone?”

Two beautiful women in revealing bikinis approached me with smiles.