Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Kurisu
The next moment, the whale shark broke out of the fish tank and attacked the crowd of people! Just kidding, such a thing didn't happen at all.
Whale sharks were actually a type of filter feeder that primarily fed on plankton, shrimp, small squids, and other such aquatic animals. Whale sharks weren't like great white sharks at all, so whale sharks wouldn't attack people even if one broke out of the fish tank… Er, something seemed wrong about this though?
Seiji noticed that his thoughts were getting rather sidetracked. He could only comment on himself being a daydreamer.
At this moment, someone took his hand.
Seiji turned around to see Mika standing right next to him. Her eyes were watery and she had a seductive expression on her face.
"At that time… thank you for coming to save me," she told him gently.
Seiji recalled the way she looked at that time, which caused his heartbeat to rapidly quicken. He took a look at her face, and then looked at her lips…
He was already kissing her by the time that he regained his senses.
Mika passionately kissed him as well, just like the previous time.
Some of the nearby aquarium visitors noticed this passionate scene. Some people's faces reddened as they averted their gazes. Others looked towards their own partners.
"Daddy, someone's kissing!" A little boy started yelling out loudly.
"Shh! Don't be so noisy! Don't look!" The little boy's father stopped him. "Take a look at that big shark."
Although Seiji and Mika both wanted to kiss for longer, they didn't want to stay here and become an attraction themselves. They soon separated from each other.
Mika clutched tightly onto Seiji. Although she was rather embarrassed, she also felt blissful. Her face was entirely flushed red.
Her bliss then reached a peak when Seiji lightly whispered to her...
"I like you, Mika."
-----
Seiji and Mika continued touring the aquarium on the recommended path. They had lunch together at one of the aquarium's restaurants during lunchtime.
It was a nice experience to enjoy the aquarium's view while eating lunch. Unfortunately, there were too many people, so they weren't able to get a seat directly next to any displays.
After lunch, Seiji and Mika continued to tour the aquarium. They then reached the penguin exhibit. The twintailed girl's eyes instantly lit up when she saw these cute waddling creatures.
Although the Phantom Blue Sea display was magnificent, nothing the aquarium had could compare in cuteness to the penguins. The penguin exhibit was forever popular with girls and children.
These black-and-white creatures that had excellent popularity due to cuteness caused Seiji to think of pandas. He felt that not a single creature existed that would be more of a professional at acting cute than pandas.
Seeing how much Mika liked the penguins, perhaps it would be a good idea to take her to see some pandas next time, Seiji surmised.
Seiji observed Mika with a gentle expression. That was when he suddenly noticed a familiar person in the penguin exhibit.
Miyabi Ishihara!
This student librarian/light novel author was standing in a corner, silently observing the penguins.
Nobody was standing next to her. It appeared that she had come by herself.
A female author who was touring the aquarium by herself… it really made her seem like a literary girl.
Should he go over to greet her? Seiji was rather hesitant about this.
At this moment, Miyabi noticed him watching her and turned around to meet his gaze.
When she saw Seigo Harano and the beautiful twintailed girl next to him, Miyabi blinked before widening her eyes slightly.
Suddenly, there was a loud smack. A young child had tripped and fallen next to Seiji.
Seiji reflexively turned to look. He saw a young mother helping her child to get back up again as she gently consoled him.
Seiji then turned back around to see that Miyabi was walking over.
"Hello, Ishiharsenpai." Seiji greeted her when she arrived.
"Hello, Harano-san." Miyabi greeted him back and glanced over at Mika. "…Are the two of you on a date?"
"Nah," Mika responded. "We're just having fun together as friends."
Miyabi looked at Mika.
"Hello, nice to meet you, Ishiharsan. My name is Mika Uehara. Seigo has told me about you before," Mika politely introduced herself.
"Hello… Ueharsan." Miyabi looked her over. She then looked back at Seiji and asked him directly, "Harano-san, won't your girlfriend mind that you're out here having fun together with Ueharsan?"
"About this…"
"Of course she won't mind," Mika answered before Seiji could say anything else. "President Yoruhana knows about this."
Miyabi was rendered speechless.
As she silently glanced Seiji over, he felt as if he was being judged.
"Did you come here by yourself, Ishiharsenpai?" Seiji tried to talk in as natural a tone as possible.
Miyabi nodded slightly.
"Would you like to go together with us?"
Miyabi shook her head.
"I came here to find inspiration…" she spoke in a light tone. "And now I've found it."
The last part she said seemed to have some profound meaning behind it.
"I see… well, that's good." Seiji's cheek twitched.
"Have fun, Harano-san… together with your 'friend.'" Miyabi glanced at both of them again and placed extra emphasis on the word "friend". She then turned around to leave.
"I'm sorry, Mika," Seiji apologized to Mika after Miyabi Ishihara left.
"No need. This is something that we've all agreed upon already." Mika smiled.
Natsuya would have the official status as Seiji's girlfriend in others' eyes. Mika and Chiaki would remain only as Seiji's "good friends." This was something everyone agreed upon beforehand. As for whether or not others believed this or what they thought, that was out of their control.
Rather than what other people thought about him, Seiji was more worried about what his girlfriends would feel. But, he could only be apologetic.
'I really am such a scumbag,' Seiji thought to himself.
At the end of the aquarium tour, Seiji and Mika finished up by watching a dolphin performance. They purchased a whale shark plushie to remember this visit with.
They then left the aquarium, took the monorail back, and walked at a slow and idle pace back to the Uehara apartments.
When they passed by a park, Mika suddenly said that she wanted to sit down for a little while inside. And so, they went inside the park and sat down on a bench together.
They leaned against each other and held each other's hands. Seiji and Mika enjoyed this moment of silence.
Mika wanted to say something, but then felt like she didn't need to say anything at all.
She nudged even closer to him and felt his warmth. Her mouth started arcing upwards as she slowly closed her eyes.
Seiji observed her for a good while before closing his eyes as well.
Time passed by silently as a soft breeze blew past them. Several falling leaves swirled around the park bench.
One leaf fell on Mika's face, causing her to open her eyes to see what it was. She saw that he was now sleeping.
"I like you, Seiji," Mika spoke gently to his sleeping self.
"What's with the ending to that date? It seems just like a PG-13 film!"
Chiaki couldn't help but make such a comment after learning that Seiji and Mika merely sat together for an hour in the park without doing anything else after leaving the aquarium.
Seiji merely responded with a smile.
Perhaps it was indeed a bit PG-13. Although they only sat down quietly and rested, Mika and him both felt that it was rather nice. That was more than enough for him.
After that wonderful date, what Seiji needed to do next was prepare for the Bloodwine Ritual tournament.
Later that night, Hana sent Seiji information on the other participants.
All seven major Yin-Yang Master families had members participating in this tournament!
These members were all ones that were assessed as average or even lacking talent. It almost seemed as if they were only entering to help fill in the numbers. Despite this, they were still from top-ranking families, so they likely weren't all that weak.
Apart from the seven major Yin-Yang Master families, the three major samurai families as well as the two major ninja sects were also participating in the tournament. Even the Himiki judging clan had someone joining the tournament. The tournament members from these families could be classified as the most likely strongest opponents. They were considered as the first class, and were the fewest.
The second-class opponents were people from slightly weaker Yin-Yang Master families and so on. The majority of the participants were rated by Hana as second-class opponents.
Other participants were categorized as third-class. These were typically individuals with no factions backing them up, or only very weak factions or families. There were fewer third-class opponents than second-class, but more than first-class.
Hana only had basic information, or even no information available on the first-class opponents. Information on the second-class opponents was mostly available. Information on the third-class opponents was incredibly detailed, down to their personal combat techniques and experiences!
The more powerful a faction was, the harder it was to investigate them. They would be better at keeping information secret on their own members' strength. Spiritual Ability users belonging to weaker factions basically had all their information known to the more powerful factions.
Seiji felt like he was learning about the modern-day Spiritual Ability user society's food chain from all this.