"Where do you want to start? Should we look around the first floor?"
"...Yes."
This is exhausting.
It feels like all my energy has already been drained.
We’ve only been on this date for barely ten minutes, and yet one of Siwoo’s mischievous jokes has left me overwhelmed with fatigue.
Before we started dating, he was always so cool and kind.
But lately, he’s been pulling pranks like this sometimes.
I always end up on the receiving end, and no matter how hard I try to endure it, my face still flushes bright red.
Ugh, that’s so unfair.
Is my reaction really that amusing to him?
"Though I have to say, this is a little unexpected."
"Unexpected? What do you mean?"
"I didn’t know you liked fish."
"...?"
Siwoo asked me that, sounding genuinely surprised.
Liked fish?
If we’re talking about whether I like or dislike them, I do enjoy seafood as food.
But this was my first time at an aquarium, and I’d never really had the chance to see live fish before, so I didn’t think I particularly liked them.
And yet he thought I did. I’d never even mentioned it before.
"Oh, no? I just figured since you wanted to go to the aquarium..."
"Ah... Right."
That’s what he meant.
Since I’d chosen the aquarium as our first date spot, he must’ve assumed I liked fish.
"I don’t *that* much."
"Really? Then why..."
"I thought it might be a good experience. As you know, I’m not exactly... well-versed in common knowledge."
More accurately, Amelia had suggested it.
She’d said that since we were going on a date anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to pick up some trivial knowledge.
I think she’d remembered seeing me struggle with one of Dorothy’s common sense quizzes before and recommended it.
At first, I’d thought it wasn’t a bad idea.
But now, looking back, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was really the right choice.
It was our first date—shouldn’t we have gone somewhere more meaningful?
What if Siwoo didn’t like it? I kept stealing glances at him, anxious.
"I see."
"...You’re not mad?"
"Me? Why would I be?"
"Well, I picked the place for personal reasons..."
"Don’t overthink it."
Tap.
Siwoo lightly flicked my forehead.
It didn’t hurt, but the sudden action startled me, and I stared up at him.
"I’d be happy to go anywhere with you."
"...Why?"
"Because you’re there."
It’s always like this.
Sometimes, it makes me a little gloomy—how I always seem to be the one receiving from him, never giving anything in return.
I never do anything for him, and it makes me feel a little guilty.
But every time I feel that way, he says something that makes my face burn.
...That’s so unfair.
If he puts it like that, then all my worries just... disappear.
All those thoughts about whether this was the right choice just fade away like they never mattered.
"Now that I think about it, this *is* your first time at a place like this, isn’t it, Arte?"
"Mhm."
"Then let me pick. Is that okay? ...Here."
Siwoo naturally offered me his hand.
It felt like he was saying that as long as I followed him, everything would be fine.
That he’d face any hardships ahead together with me.
I happily took his hand.
"Haa, that was fun..."
"Yeah. It was more impressive than I expected."
Ah, I’m exhausted.
Maybe it’s because I ran around shamelessly for so long and stood for ages without a care.
After making a full loop around the aquarium, I sat down on one of the chairs provided for visitors to rest, and that’s when the fatigue hit me all at once.
…Ugh, my neck hurts.
As I rubbed my stiff neck, I noticed Yu Siwoo watching me with a smile.
"…What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No reason. Just."
"…."
Suspicious.
Whenever Yu Siwoo gave me that sly grin, it always meant he was about to tease me relentlessly.
What’s he going to say this time?
I stared at him doubtfully, and sure enough—
Yu Siwoo, still smiling, spoke up.
"It was the first time I’ve seen you that excited. Did you have that much fun? Enough to go hopping around?"
"T-That’s not something we agreed to talk about!"
"We did? When?"
Heh, heh.
The smirk on Yu Siwoo’s face showed no signs of fading.
"I was shocked. I never expected Arte Isis to act like a little kid, jumping around because she thought the fish were so amazing…"
"…."
"Alright, alright."
He was right.
I *had* been way too excited.
I’d run around like the children nearby, gasping in wonder at everything.
I shot back a defense to Yu Siwoo.
"B-But… it *was* really amazing!"
I’d assumed an aquarium would just have a few unusual or pretty fish on display.
But this place had shattered my expectations.
First, the size of the tanks.
I had no idea how they’d managed it, but the aquarium was *massive*—far beyond what I could have imagined.
Probably to accommodate enormous marine creatures.
From the outside, it hadn’t looked that big, so I suspected the Hunters had used their Abilities to modify it somehow.
Second, the creatures inside those tanks.
It wasn’t that there *weren’t* any strange or ornamental fish like I’d expected—there were plenty of those.
But the number of *truly* bizarre creatures went far beyond what I’d imagined.
"There were eels that puffed up like balloons, fish that breathed fire from their mouths, fish that swam around folded in half, and, and—!"
"Calm down, calm down."
Even thinking about it now, it’s incredible.
How *do* fish breathe fire?
Especially underwater.
"A while back, some fish from a dungeon that opened in the ocean made their way here. Ever since then, the number of unusual fish has gone way up."
"Ah…."
"The ones you saw are like that. They’re not classified as magical beasts, but they do have some magical beast blood in them."
Again.
More common knowledge I had no idea about.
But I didn’t mind.
Because Yu Siwoo was always by my side.
Because he’d always explain things like this when I didn’t understand.
"Hey, Arte."
"Yes?"
"How was today?"
He didn’t need to ask.
I’d been making a fuss all day, and he’d even teased me for it.
Even if he hadn’t reacted, he could’ve guessed from intuition.
And yet, he still asked me directly.
Did he want to hear it from my own mouth?
"…What about you, Yu Siwoo?"
"Me?"
"Yes. I had a lot of fun."
I *had* enjoyed myself.
But had he?
Hadn’t he already known about all of this? Wasn’t it boring for him?
Siwoo easily dismissed my worries as if they were nothing.
"Yeah, I had fun too."
"Shouldn’t we just eat out on the way home? You must be tired."
"Ah, no."
"The ingredients? There definitely weren’t any in the fridge…"
"I ordered them in advance, so don’t worry about it."
"…Alright. I’ll go wash up."
"Okay, look forward to it. I’ll make something delicious."
I understood how Siwoo felt.
He was worried I’d be exhausted after being out for so long.
But tonight, I wanted to cook for him myself.
A delicious home-cooked meal after a date—
who wouldn’t love that?
It was my stubborn insistence on making something good for Siwoo.
Not long after Siwoo went into the bathroom, the sound of water hitting the floor told me he’d started showering.
"…Good."
Amelia’s date plan had been perfect.
We’d played around at the aquarium, eaten a great lunch, watched the penguin and dolphin shows, then wandered the aquarium a little more before heading home.
I could never thank her enough.
"Oh no, now’s not the time for that."
Since Siwoo was in the shower, I needed to start cooking right away. I hurriedly opened the box Amelia had sent.
"W-What is this…?"
Never mind thanking her—cancel that thought.
What in the world was she thinking?!
I frantically searched for other ingredients, but of course, there were none.
All I had were a few frozen foods and some canned goods.
I couldn’t serve that to Siwoo when he was bound to be starving.
Not on a day like today.
"…Sigh."
Was there no other choice…?
I steeled my resolve and began cooking.
"Ooh, something smells good. What is it?"
"It’s eel."
"Eel? Wow, sounds delicious. What about these?"
"Ah, those are… oysters and abalone. I grilled them with butter, and added some chives and ginger…"
"And this?"
"These are schisandra berries and black raspberries for dessert. I thought they’d make a nice tea…"
"Hmm? They sound familiar…"
"A-Ahaha… T-There’s also octopus and shrimp! Since we went to the aquarium and all!"
"Wait, hold on. Chives, eel, abalone, ginger, schisandra, black raspberries…? Arte, this is…"
"S-Siwoo, it’ll take a little time, so just relax for a bit…!"
I practically shoved Siwoo out of the kitchen.
He definitely noticed.
I resented Amelia.
Why on earth did she send me this?
Siwoo might think it’s weird.
Meanwhile, in Amelia’s room.
"Old man. Did you deliver it properly?"
"Don’t worry. Who do you take me for?"
"Hmm? Arte will probably figure it out… but I wonder if Siwoo will."
Amelia leaned back lazily in her rocking chair and popped a grape into her mouth.
"Keh heh, I wonder what kind of face Arte’s making right now."
"…Hard to say."
"I’d love to see it for myself, but I’ll have to give up on that."
If she could, she’d sneak into their house to watch, but if she actually did that, they might try to kill her.
Amelia decided she’d settle for hearing about it later.
"Mmm, these grapes are good. I should’ve included some. What a waste."