Chapter 191: Miracle. (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 191: Miracle. (1)
For lunch, we decided to have sashimi at a nearby restaurant.
If you’ve come to the seaside, you have to eat it.
There’s a setting in this world that fish caught in these waters contain a small amount of mana, even if they aren’t monsters. Because of this, non-superhumans find it difficult to digest them raw. However, for a superhuman, it’s said they can enjoy a much firmer texture and a deeper flavor than ordinary sashimi.
Honestly, I figured sashimi tastes more or less the same everywhere, but we’re on a trip and everyone was looking forward to it, so it felt wrong to be nitpicky.
Everyone had their own way of eating. Ga-eul, Lee Yu-na, and Ha-ni claimed that sashimi was all about the sauce anyway and dipped their flatfish in sweet and spicy red chili paste. Cheon Yu-hak placed a small dab of wasabi directly on the fish and dipped only the tip in soy sauce, while Ju Ri-ra squeezed lemon juice over hers.
Rose said she had no intention of eating and acted like a servant, quietly refilling water whenever someone ran out. The Professor was already boiling the spicy fish stew, lecturing us that the bones needed to simmer for a long time to release the fish oils for the best flavor.
Though their methods varied, the satisfied looks on their faces were the same.
Well, except for Lilac. After eating just a few pieces, he sat there with a solemn expression, restraining himself from eating more.
…What is wrong with this guy now?
“…Why aren’t you eating?”
“I’m holding back now so I can grill the perfect barbecue tonight.”
Sometimes, he really acts like a kid.
Well, I’m just glad everyone seems to be enjoying the first day of the trip.
You guys better play your hearts out today, because you won’t be able to play like this tomorrow!
* * *
“O-ho-ho-ho-ho!”
…Aisha. I don’t dislike you, but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that laugh of yours.
Wait, is that right? Now that I think about it, maybe I only kept her around because of some lingering attachment. Do I actually dislike her?
“It is finally my turn!”
The moment we all stepped out of the restaurant, fully satisfied, Aisha shouted.
Everyone looked at her with faces that said, What nonsense is she spouting now? but Aisha wasn’t discouraged at all. She pointed at me and cried out.
“I stepped aside for the Professor and Ga-eul this morning! And since men wouldn’t possibly enjoy a date together, and Rose-san said she has no intention of dating because she is a follower, it must finally be okay for me to have So-hyun-ssi all to myself, right!?”
Oh, so that’s what she was on about. It seems she’d been patiently waiting in her own way.
But didn’t I say we were all going to move together in the afternoon?
Seeing everyone exchange glances, I realized what happened. It was one of those situations.
“Wh-what is this? What’s with this atmosphere?”
That thing that happens sometimes—everyone assumes someone else will tell the person the schedule, so no one does.
“We decided before we even left that we’d all hang out together in the afternoon. I guess everyone forgot to tell you since you joined so suddenly.”
“…Pardon?”
Aisha froze for a moment at my words, then spoke up cautiously.
“Um, then… does that mean my turn is…?”
“At least for today, there isn’t one. To be honest, I don’t think there will be one later, either.”
“Th-that’s impossible!”
Aisha’s scream echoed, but frankly, I didn’t want to deal with it. I mean, who forced her to crash the trip?
* * *
“Mister, give me a watermelon!”
“Right! I’ll give you a big, sturdy one…! But boy, why are you not eating your onions?”
“Huh? How did you…? No, I mean, they taste bad. They’re spicy and bitter.”
“That is because you do not truly know the onion! An onion that has been sautéed sufficiently takes on a magnificent sweetness…! Its nutritional value is also very high! It pairs well with greasy food and is good for digestion…!”
We had come out to the beach to play together, only to be met with a truly deranged sight.
A muscular man was aggressively trying to sell onions to a child.
“Huh…?”
“If you wish to eat this watermelon, hurry up and eat the onions…! Here! Eat the onions I have grown…!”
“Waaaaah…!? Mommy…!!!!”
In the end, the child burst into tears and ran away.
Seeing as the kid was at the beach, it meant they had awakened at a young age. Sadly, today’s events might become a trauma that makes them give up on their dream of being a hero.
If things go wrong, someone’s definitely going to call the cops.
“Oh.”
And then, the perpetrator of that insane scene spotted us. At this rate, that madness was surely going to swallow us up too.
I tried to stop him, but he was faster, running over with a beaming smile and thrusting a giant sphere toward me.
“Take it. It is a watermelon I grew myself. To you, who still does not pick your food, I grant the right to eat this watermelon.”
“No, I mean…”
“There is no need to decline. If you wish, you may consider it a gift for that boy overcoming his distaste for seaweed stems.”
“The thing is.”
“Ah, it’s thanks to you. I tried it the way you said, and it was actually edible.”
“Indeed. Seaweed is also a sea plant born from the essence of the earth. I am glad you are now able to eat it.”
…What kind of crazy talk is that? Does this guy even know what ‘sea plant’ means?
I’ve thought this since last time, but this guy and Lilac get along strangely well.
While the other members, excluding Lilac and Aisha, kept their distance, Lilac was happily accepting a bunch of vegetables, saying he’d use them for the barbecue.
Ah, it’s the police.
It seemed they had been dispatched after a report of someone threatening a child. The man denied the charges at first, but then, as if he had no choice, he knocked the officers aside and started running away.
Wow, that guy is really going all out as a villain now, isn’t he?
…Should I just ignore it?
“By the way, this watermelon is huge.”
“You’re right, it really is big.”
It really is. But since watermelons aren’t exactly soft, I honestly think the thing that just approached me is far more magnificent.
No, wait. Professor Cathy had walked up to me.
Let me make an excuse.
Of course, it’s not like I could always control where my eyes wandered, but today especially, the events of this morning kept flashing back, making it impossible to look away.
Yeah, maybe it’s better to just close my eyes.
But when I actually did, I felt her breath getting closer.
“I’m showing you this so you’ll look. Why are you closing your eyes?”
Why is our Professor being so aggressive? She couldn’t even make a move earlier because she was too embarrassed.
“Let’s do a watermelon split!”
“Oh, shall we?”
For a split second, I wondered if Ga-eul and Lee Yu-na were going to try and split the Professor out of sheer jealousy, but fortunately, both of them were looking at the watermelon in my hands.
I looked over at Ban Gi-san, who was chatting with Lilac, worried he might get angry at us for playing with food, but he just nodded as if to say it was fine as long as we ate it.
Well, honestly, for you to tell us not to play with food… the things you usually do aren’t exactly wholesome either.
Fortunately, everyone seemed to be having fun.
Just watching them chatter excitedly about who would break the watermelon made me feel full.
If I wanted to, I could use mana to spread my sensing and find it instantly, but I especially liked the fact that no one was doing that.
Ah, for the record, the watermelon was smashed by Lee Yu-na. After losing her bearings and colliding with Professor Cathy, she channeled a fierce, burning jealousy into a strike that obliterated the fruit.
Everyone had been having fun just a moment ago, but somehow, one person ended up not having fun at all.
The sea is a cruel place.
* * *
“Ah, that was really fun, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. Lilac dancing while grilling the meat was way over the top, though.”
“Why? All the kids seemed to enjoy it.”
“They were just caught up in the mood. Honestly, I don’t think he was the funny part.”
“Yeah, agreed.”
After the barbecue was over, Ha-ni and I were on our way to buy the drinks we’d been asked to get.
I thought we’d brought plenty, but after everyone started drinking together, we ran out.
Honestly, I had fun today too.
So much so that it felt a bit sad that the trip would end after today and I’d have to move toward my original goal.
“You look a bit sad.”
I hadn’t intended to show it, but Ha-ni saw right through me.
“…Do I?”
“No, I mean, your expression is the same as usual, but I just got that feeling~ Actually, I’m a little sad too. It’s a three-night trip, and we had so much fun on the first day that I can’t believe a whole day has passed already.”
“True. Sometimes it’s so fun that it actually feels a bit bittersweet. To me, every single day feels like a fantasy.”
Yes, like a sparkling jewel. Sometimes it’s so dazzling it’s hard to even approach. There are times I wonder if this is all just an illusion that will eventually shatter.
“But today isn’t the end. We just have to have a good time tomorrow too, right?”
I won’t let it be called a fantasy. I won’t let it end miserably.
Tomorrow, and the day after that, I will do whatever it takes to make sure you all can keep smiling.
“Oh, Kang So-hyun is looking pretty cool today.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
“I guess someone who goes on dates with three people in one day is just built different.”
“What do you mean three people? The one with Aisha fell through.”
“You’re on one with me right now.”
“…Huh?”
“Oh, so a friendship date isn’t a date? Everyone was so focused on the morning, so I waited until night, you know?”
When I stopped walking for a brief moment, Ha-ni turned around to face me.
After staring at my face for a while, Ha-ni eventually turned away, her cheeks flushing red.
The redness in her face probably wasn’t just because of the sea breeze.
“Come to think of it, So-hyun, didn’t you say you came here because you had something to do?”
“Ah, um. Well, it wasn’t anything major.”
The sea is never truly silent, even at night; it’s filled with all sorts of sounds.
“What? Now that you’re trying to hide it, I’m even more curious.”
“It’s something good for you guys too, so just wait a bit. It’s like a secret present.”
“…A secret present.”
“Yeah. You’re all going to be really surprised when you see it.”
Hearing my words, Ha-ni stopped in her tracks again.
“Since I’m here… it’s not a present, but a secret. Actually, the reason I said I’d come with you to buy drinks was because I wanted us to be alone.”
“Huh…?”
What? What’s gotten into her all of a sudden? Like this?
Looking at me with eyes that seemed to have reached a decision, Ha-ni slowly opened her mouth.
“Actually, I’ve been thinking I should tell you. For a while now.”
I didn’t know why she was doing this all of a sudden, but she seemed sincere.
* * *
From Kang Ha-ni’s perspective, this wasn’t actually sudden at all.
She had agonized over it a lot, and she’d been provoked by various things recently.
In the first place, on the day the two of them had gone out together, hadn’t she resolved to reveal her feelings first if he didn’t reveal his?
Actually, it was a lie that she had planned this and followed him. It just felt like the perfect moment.
His lonely-looking face, his attitude that felt like he was hiding something.
It felt like all of it was because of the distance between him and her.
Because she couldn’t get any closer as just a friend.
He had said it himself. That she should decide for herself which side she preferred.
The answer had been there from the start, hadn’t it?
She was trying her best to act cool, but honestly, she hated just being friends now.
The Professor, Ga-eul, and even Aisha were all boldly shouting that they liked him. She hated that she was the only one leaning on him in the shadows where no one could see.
Just like how he smelled like the Professor today.
She wanted to hold him close, too. She wanted to be his ‘first,’ someone he could rely on.
She didn’t care if it became a relationship much deeper than friendship, even if it became something they could never turn back from.
At the very least, she wanted to be able to say she liked him with more confidence.
They say in romance, the one who falls in love first loses, but so what if she lost? It was better than being a fool who lost her chance because of her pride.
“Actually, I…”
Thinking about it, he had just been being considerate of her. He already knew.
So, she would say it.
“Ah, damn it.”
But the timing was terrible.
Suddenly, a vast energy began to surge from the sea.
“…It’s faster than I thought.”
Huh? What is this? Am I seriously getting my confession blocked right now? Because of some sudden accident…?
No, no. Wait, this is total BS.
Whether he knows or not is one thing, but do you know how much courage it took for me to speak up…!
What’s going to happen to the mood now…!
“I should probably regroup with the others.”
“…Did you know about that?”
“Yeah. I thought it would be around tomorrow, but it broke out a bit early.”
Why did it have to break out now of all times? What even is that? If it’s not that important, can’t she just force her words out?
“A Dragon Vein has appeared right in front of us. I have to claim it before any interlopers show up.”
So it is important…?
Ah, is this how Ga-eul usually feels? Ah, seriously.
“I hate this so much…”
“Don’t worry.”
“Huh?”
“I’m not so tactless or shameless that I’d pretend I didn’t notice. Let’s talk properly after the trip. We need to discuss what to do moving forward anyway. It’s not like we would have finished the conversation tonight.”
…That was true.
Today wasn’t the only day.
“We’re going to be together from now on, so let’s not be impatient.”
“So-hyun, are you seriously a player? Is there someone else you’re hiding besides us?”
“…That is incredibly unfair.”
Pfft.
Look at his face.
Ah, seriously. This is why she couldn’t hate him.
* * *