Shining Gold
The owner of the sashimi restaurant looked flustered as she double-checked Serpina's order.
"A large assorted platter, you said? That's for four people... Oh! You must be with a group. Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention. Grab a seat over there and wait! I'll bring it right out!"
Serpina settled at a suitable table. As she waited for her food, she glanced around the restaurant.
"How many days of vacation are even left? I don't even want to think about it...."
"We're at the beach and that's all you can think about?"
"Sashimi's all about the dipping sauce anyway. Isn't it?"
"Then why don't you just chew on some crunchy salad."
"Ugh. It's so hot."
"Just tough it out a few more days."
Even though it was still early for lunch, the place was fairly crowded. And among the patrons... a little over half of them carried traces of mana in their bodies. Mages.
Mages were still people. They might have simply come to the beach for a summer getaway, but somehow Serpina doubted it.
She tuned into the conversations around her a little more closely.
"When is it supposed to start? From what I saw yesterday, they hadn't even finished the magic circle yet."
"They're still running the sub-experiment today, though."
"It's going to fail again anyway! That's why I bet on success!"
"Do you even understand how betting works?"
"Sure I do. You put your money on the long shot and hope for that one big payout."
"That's... not entirely wrong."
Most of what the mages were talking about revolved around some kind of experiment. The only project Serpina could think of that would draw this kind of crowd in the area was the Sun Research Society's work. She still had no idea why so many of them had gathered, though.
"Assorted sashimi platter's up first~! Oh dear, has the rest of your group not arrived yet? The order's already in, so I can't cancel it now. Hoho!"
While she'd been eavesdropping, the food had arrived. The owner still seemed convinced Serpina was waiting for companions, but it didn't really matter. Serpina picked up her chopsticks.
A short while later, Han Heerin's family and Choi Ayoung returned from their dolphin tour and stepped into the restaurant looking for her.
"She said she'd be here... Senior?"
Ayoung flinched at the sight inside the restaurant and glanced back at the sign outside. Had she walked into the wrong place? This was supposed to be a restaurant, right?
The place was full of customers, yet not one of them was speaking loudly. At a tourist spot, it wouldn't have been strange to see people cracking open soju in broad daylight, but the entire room had fallen strangely quiet.
"Is she a mukbang YouTuber?"
"How many servings is that now? Just counting the plates... one, two... whoa."
All eyes were fixed on a single table where a meal was just wrapping up. Towering stacks of enormous platter-like dishes rose like a mountain, and the spicy fish stew pot—once full and bubbling—now held nothing but fish bones. It was a battlefield, the aftermath of an intense food fight. And the one responsible for this carnage was Serpina, who looked like nothing more than an ordinary young woman. No wonder they were staring in fascination.
Even the restaurant owner, who should have been rushing around preparing for the real lunch rush, stood there murmuring "Oh my, oh my" as she watched the scene.
Ayoung, who had been about to walk straight over, hesitated. Crossing through this suddenly silent crowd felt like standing up in the middle of a movie and ruining the atmosphere for everyone.
Of course, children don't care about things like that.
"Sister! You ate all the good stuff without us!"
Heerin spotted Serpina, ignored the heavy atmosphere completely, and ran over to plop down beside her. Serpina, who cared even less about the mood, simply handed her the cushion from the next seat.
"Did you enjoy the dolphins?"
"Yeah! It was awesome! There were so many dolphins jumping like this, and like that..."
Heerin's hands bounced up and down the edge of the table, mimicking dolphins leaping from the water. The innocent, childlike gesture softened the stares around them. The bizarre spectacle of an ordinary-looking woman devouring nearly twenty servings shifted into something warm and adorable—a little girl playing hand games.
Heerin's parents settled at the table as well. They called the owner over for more orders, set out spoons and water cups, and arranged everything. All the while, Heerin chattered without pause.
"The boat stopped in the middle! I was trying to give the dolphins snacks and they all came over! It was so cute!"
The excitement from the tour clearly hadn't faded. Her words tumbled out in a jumbled rush, but the meaning came through clearly enough. Ayoung stacked the empty plates and added,
"They said it's really rare to see that many dolphins gather in one place. The staff mentioned it's something that only happens a handful of times in a career."
"Yeah! They said we got really lucky! But..."
"But?"
"Everyone seemed kind of desperate. Like they were running away from someone in a game of tag?"
Heerin tilted her head, puzzled. The impression was easy enough to understand. It sounded like they'd felt chased. Maybe a magic beast had appeared in the ocean? Beasts showed up on land all the time—there was no reason the sea would be exempt. Still, it was only a guess since she hadn't gone anywhere near the water. There were plenty of other possibilities.
It wasn't interesting enough for Serpina to bother checking it out herself. She let her attention drift from Heerin's story after making her rough assumption.
By then, the additional dishes they'd ordered were arriving one after another.
"Here we are! Your order's ready! And this sushi is a special service for our little lady! I left out the wasabi, so add some if you want!"
"Service? Oh, thank you so much."
"Hoho. I'm the one who should be thanking you! I don't know how much that young lady boosted our sales all by herself today! Of course we have to give a little something extra! Oh, would you like drinks too? No alcohol since we have a child with us—cola? Cider?"
"I want cider!"
With the food arriving and Heerin happily chatting with the owner, the table settled into the peaceful scene you'd find anywhere. The curious stares from the food-fight spectators finally pulled away. A tranquil lunch hour had begun.
The total on the bill, however, was anything but peaceful. Serpina had eaten an absolutely staggering amount, and tourist spots always charged more. That was all that needed to be said.
.......
When afternoon came, Heerin's family headed back to the sea with her. It seemed they planned to enjoy the water again today. At Ayoung's age, a full day of playing would normally leave a person desperate to rest the next day, but an elementary schooler's stamina was truly a force of nature.
Serpina and Ayoung wandered the shoreline for a while before making their way to a hidden stretch of white sand.
The atmosphere at the hidden beach was completely different from that morning.
"I got here first! This spot is mine!"
"What does that matter? When I arrived, there was no one here!"
For one thing, there were a lot of people. The security magic circle installed on the hidden beach remained in place. It meant every single person gathered here was a mage capable of sensing mana and deciphering the formation.
"You bastard! Don't tell me you've forgotten what happened last time!"
"Ha. You lost because you're weak. Why are you mad at me? If you've got a problem with it, come at me again."
The relationships between these mages didn't seem particularly friendly. The sight of them pointing parasols and water guns at each other looked ridiculous from the outside, but the spells they were preparing could easily kill someone if they landed wrong. The fact that they weren't openly casting anything that screamed 'I'll kill you' probably meant they weren't seriously planning to fight. At least it didn't look like an actual brawl would break out here.
Serpina looked out over the white sand beach—which had become packed in less than half a day—and muttered,
"What the hell are all these people?"
"I... I'm not sure. This is new to me too...."
It seemed Ayoung had no idea what was going on either.
Wondering if there was anyone who could explain, Serpina scanned the area. A short distance away, she spotted Taein walking around the magic circle with several others. Fortunately he wasn't wearing the band-aid outfit from that morning. He was in an extremely revealing bikini, but at least it technically counted as clothing.
That made sense. No matter how shameless Taein was, even she wouldn't stroll around naked except for a few bandages in front of this many people.
...Right?
"Excuse me. Would you two happen to be Lady Serpina and Lady Ayoung?"
While the pair was anxiously studying Taein's outfit, a man approached and spoke to them. Serpina recognized him at a glance.
"Then you must be with the Sun Research Society."
"Oh! How did you know? You really are as impressive as the rumors say."
"Yeah, sure."
In truth, she'd figured it out from his skin tone. How many people in Korea had such distinctly tanned skin? She didn't bother explaining that part.
"Did you both come to observe today's experiment as well?"
"There's an experiment today? Isn't the magic circle still unfinished?"
"Haha. You even knew that much. That's correct. The main experiment still requires more preparation. What we're doing today is more of a side project we're running while we have the chance."
"Really? Sounds interesting. Since we're already here, we might as well watch."
Having nothing better to do anyway, Serpina and Ayoung found a decent spot and settled in to observe the experiment.
And when the experiment began...
"Ah."