The "sandwich"—which had been heaven in one sense and hell in another—finally came to an end. I walked along the shore, fanning my flushed face with my hand.
The banana boat ride with Kuro and Sieg-san, who had shown such unexpected initiative, had been devastatingly effective. I could still feel the lingering warmth of their touch against my skin.
Fortunately, the plan for today involved moving between the different groups rather than staying with just one pair. This gave me a chance to regain my composure while deciding whose company to seek next.
Now, who should I visit...? Or rather, which pair's area should I head toward? Alice and Anima were closer, but they seemed to be busy swimming in the ocean right now.
As for Isis-san and Fate-san... wait, they were even further out than they’d been before? I wondered what they were up to. It didn't look like they were swimming or doing anything of the sort.
Curious about what the two of them were doing so far away, I decided to head to Isis-san and Fate-san's spot first and started walking toward them.
The distance was too great to tell what they were doing from afar, but as I drew closer, their activities gradually came into focus.
They were crouching by the water's edge, seemingly focused on something, though it didn't look like they were just playing in the sand. They would crouch down, search for something, stand up to move a short distance, and then crouch back down to search again.
As I closed the distance, Isis-san noticed me first. Her face lit up with a brilliant smile as she gave me a small wave. She was as lovely as always.
Seeing Isis-san's reaction, Fate-san realized I was there too and gave me a light wave of her own. The way her hand moved even more slowly than Isis-san's was very typical of her, and equally charming.
I waved back lightly and picked up my pace until I reached them.
"Isis-san, Fate-san. I've come to join you for a bit."
"……Kaito…… welcome."
"Kai-chan, hey there~"
As I looked at the two of them, who welcomed me with warm smiles, the seashells in Isis-san's hand caught my attention.
"Are you two... um, collecting shells?"
"……Yes…… gathering…… various shells."
"Exactly. Man, once you actually start looking, it’s really hard to find ones with nice colors and shapes."
I see. So that was why they had been moving along the shoreline the whole time. Knowing their personalities, I suspected the idea had come from Isis-san. Fate-san usually seemed like the type to find such things bothersome, but it looked like she was happily participating.
"And above all, this is way more exhausting and tedious than I expected."
"……Fate has…… only…… picked up…… two so far."
"Hey now, I'm working really hard here! In fact, just moving this far without using my cushion is practically a miracle, don't you think?"
"……A long distance? ……Hmm…… But…… the shells Fate found…… are very beautiful."
"Ai-chan’s picking up a ton, isn’t she? Honestly, how do you even find that many? I guess it really comes down to the difference in experience points."
It was typical of Fate-san to complain about the effort in such a relaxed way, and Isis-san watched her with a fond, slightly wry smile. The atmosphere between them was peaceful; they seemed to be getting along quite well.
Curious about what they had found, I asked to see their collection. Just as Fate-san had said, Isis-san had already gathered a considerable number of shells.
"Wow, you really have collected a lot. By the way, are you planning to make something with these?"
"……Yes…… hourglasses…… and sea glass too…… I’ll put them in bottles…… and…… a mobile…… like the ones in Kaito’s world…… might be nice."
"I-I see."
She was using some surprisingly chic terminology.
"……Hey, Kai-chan. What’s a 'mobile'?"
"Um, it's a kind of decoration with small items hanging from strings that sway in the wind... I think."
"Huh. Then what’s 'sea glass'?"
"U-Um..."
I could picture it—the kind of thing people hang over baby cribs or in windows—but explaining it was surprisingly difficult. Regardless, it sounded like a very stylish kind of seashell craft.
As I struggled through a clumsy explanation, Fate-san nodded before asking about the next term. Unfortunately, I wasn't entirely sure about that one myself. Since she said she was "picking it up," I assumed it was something found naturally in the sea...
Seeing me stumped, Isis-san held out a piece of what looked like a beautiful stone and explained it for me.
"……This is…… sea glass…… To put it simply…… glass fragments…… with their edges smoothed away…… by the waves…… If you put them in a bottle with tiny shells…… it’s very beautiful."
"I-I see..."
"Ooh~ that sounds pretty stylish."
Isis-san was certainly knowledgeable, and as Fate-san noted, her ideas were very refined. Hearing her talk about it made the project sound fun; it even made me want to try making something myself.
I'm not exactly the handy type, but if it's just a bottle... maybe I can manage if I put my heart into it?
Sad Creature Created at the Six Kings Festival: "Who Wished for It to be Made! Who Prayed for It to be Born!!"
Serious-senpai: "He sounds like some tragic villain now! Come to think of it, there wasn't any mention of what happened to that creature after Shiro got it. What became of it?"
Machina: "My child has it... it looks like he kept it in his Magic Box. Apparently, he looked up what a 'Gunlock Dragon' was afterward and muttered, 'I mean, it’s a total coincidence, but they look exactly the same.'"
Serious-senpai: "Oh, so it really was returned to him as promised..."