「Actually, I received some tickets to the aquarium.」
「Hee.」
「And they expire today…」
「You could have gone with Yuna.」
「She seems to have something to do.」
Nanaka, whom I met in front of the station, was still a lump of meat.
A 100% pure lump of meat, the kind that could make children cry even without trying.
Therefore, when she tilted what seemed to be her head and said, “Ah, it’s not that I didn’t want to come with Adashino-san, okay?”, I felt no emotional fluctuation at all.
We buy tickets to go to the aquarium located in the neighboring city and board a fairly crowded train. There are no empty seats, and it’s even hard to stand. To behave like a gentleman, I guided Nanaka towards the door and stood facing her.
「I-It’s kind of close, makes me nervous.」
「Partially.」
「What do you mean by partially nervous?」
「I feel like we’ve had this conversation before.」
「Me too.」
Feeling nervous because of proximity generally means being close to the opposite sex. However, in my case, it’s because I’m close to a monster. Perhaps the door to another world or the lid of hell’s cauldron is open. It’s already the end of the century.
If I listen carefully, I might hear the sound of trumpets, I thought as I closed my eyes and waited to arrive at our destination station.
「This is the aquarium.」
「It’s an aquarium.」
「I’m from the countryside, so it’s my first time. I was always surrounded by a green sea though.」
「Are insects on display instead of fish?」
「More like free-range than on display.」
We have a trivial conversation while lining up from the entrance.
It’s a world I can’t even imagine as someone born and raised in the city, but apparently, Nanaka’s place was infested with insects.
If you’re not careful, they quickly come in through the cracks in the house. Especially summer is hell, she says. Indeed, lumps of meat might spoil in summer. And having a zombie sister must add to the stench.
After waiting a few minutes, we reach the entrance and show our tickets to the person organizing the line. With a soft smile, they handed us a pamphlet, “Here’s a pamphlet”. The aquarium’s name is written large, with various notices like no photography below it.
Stepping into the dark space, a cold breeze passes over my neck.
I reflexively touch the back of my neck and think.
「Doesn’t the aquarium feel a bit chilly?」
「Is that so? I don’t feel it though.」
「Maybe it depends on the person.」
The air conditioning must be on inside. I felt slightly cold. However, Nanaka seemed completely unaffected by the cold, and perhaps out of consideration for me, she said something incomprehensible like, “Then, shall we hold hands?”.
「Excuse me.」
──Light Novels──
──Read Here──
「Aren’t you acting too fast? I haven’t answered yet.」
「I read the future.」
「Your timing is too early.」
「Soldiers value swift action.」
「Your judgment is hasty.」
Indeed, she’s a mobile type of lump of meat. She’s probably in a different realm altogether from the ones sold at butcher shops. Before I could answer, she stretched out her slimy tentacle and gently grasped my hand as if wrapping a baby’s hand.
A sensation runs through me, like an icicle has been thrust into my spine, making it hard to find the right words, and goosebumps appear on my arm like a field of blooming red spider lilies. But Adashino-kun is an honor student. Like a British person sipping tea and engaging in witty conversation, I gently relax my mouth,
「Let go.」
「Yuna told me. “Adashino always means the opposite of what he says. He’s a tsundere”.」
「I wuv you so much.」
「Waa, I’m so happy.」
「Are we speaking different languages?」
I sighed, placing my hand on my forehead.
But well.
To my great frustration and sadness.
Actually, if you ask me if I really hate it that much, I’m not that bothered.
There’s no way I’m happy about it, even if heaven and earth were to flip, but if asked if I hate it enough to spew insults to reject it… I’d tilt my head. It’s like a mosquito buzzing around my ear. That I would want to eradicate from the world even if it means using a bomb.
In other words, I’ve gotten used to it after living with monsters for several months. Honestly, at this point, just shaking hands with a tentacle isn’t enough to drive me mad. Infinite SAN value. Strong, invincible, the strongest.
If I went mad just from shaking hands with a lump of meat, it would be impossible to interact with life-sized mud dauber wasps or zombies that look like they’re about to attack.
「Despite what you say, I really like Adashino-san, you now?」
「I see.」
「Why are you so coldー!」
「Well, we’re in an aquarium, after all.」
It’s a rather random response, but I can’t say, “Because you’re a lump of meat”. As I watched her puff up what seemed to be her cheeks as if sulking, I wondered if this is what a waterlogged corpse looks like when it swells.
「Uwa, it’s a dumbo octopus, so cute.」
「Very cute. Extremely.」
「Aren’t your reactions too different? Have you ever been saved by a dumbo octopus?」
「Small is nice, it’s reassuring.」
「It’s my first time seeing someone cite size as a reason for a dumbo octopus’s cuteness.」
Do you have some kind of secret hobby? She asked with an extremely rude statement with a straight face──of course, Nanaka doesn’t have something as sophisticated as a face, so this is a prediction based on my well-honed intuition over the years──I returned a subtle smile.
Well, it’s not human-sized…
At this point, anything is cute. Even a cross-striped moth looks like a hummingbird hawk-moth. Honeybees or silkworms would be fine too.