Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 210, Section 12: "In romance stories, the characters visit an aquarium every season."

So, the fixed rest day arrived.

Rinne had class today, so she left early this morning.

Using the full-length mirror in Mio's room, Masumi gently patted and smoothed out the collar of her coat.

"Speaking of which, are we going out today to film a music video? Why do I have to dress up so carefully?" he wondered.

"That's a real downer, Masumi-kun."

“We girls have all dressed up carefully. If you still look sloppy, it will look like we’re being kept by you.”

Asami was applying color to her toenails with a fine brush containing orange pigment when she heard this. She looked up and pouted her red lips in dissatisfaction.

"...That idea is far too dark."

Masumi was so focused on suppressing the urge to make a sarcastic remark that she unconsciously pressed the button several times without succeeding in getting it through the buttonhole.

Suddenly, a pair of warm hands touched his fingertips and helped him button up his clothes.

"It's a date after all, so we can't not dress up properly," Kurokawa Mio said seriously.

She wore a navy blue shirt with a ruffled ribbon at the neckline tied into a bow, and a sleeveless off-white vest over it. Underneath her fishtail skirt were a pair of platform sandals.

She was dressed up in a glamorous and elegant manner.

"A date with one man and four women?"

"If Masumi doesn't deny that this is a date, I'll reluctantly agree."

Kurokawa Mio said casually, fastening Masumi's buttons one by one with her slender fingers.

"...I can put the bottom buttons on myself."

Masumi took a small step back, somewhat regretting wearing skinny jeans.

Asami wore a white blouse with a lace collar, which slightly concealed her ample upper body, but not much. She paired it with light blue women's jeans that hugged her hips.

Haiyue wore black cute sleeves and white stockings that slightly chafed her skin under her shorts; just by looking at her, she seemed very adorable.

Those who didn't know better would probably think it was an idol group filming an outdoor scene, Masumi thought to herself.

With the rented camera in hand, the four of them set off.

"Masumi-nii, your outfit today feels different from usual."

The moment they met, Qian Ai's eyes lit up, and the first thing she said was this.

The meeting point is at JR Sannomiya Station. Even at 10 a.m. on a weekday, there are still quite a few people there, and you can see well-dressed young men and women in the crowd.

Even amidst the bustling crowd, Qian'ai's figure stood out.

Her meticulously curled hair was glossy, the cuffs of her shirt were flared outwards, and she wore a brown vest, a pleated skirt in a subdued color, white socks, and Mary Jane shoes.

"Have it?"

"Hmm, this seems to be the first time I've seen Masumi-nii dress up so carefully since autumn started."

“I also put my heart into my work every day.”

She also uses hair gel to style her hair.

“Uniforms and casual clothes are different,” Chiai said with a smile. “But Masumi-nii is also very handsome normally.”

"Thank you."

Masumi readily accepted her praise.

"Now everyone's here, let's do our best today."

"Our goal today is to dominate all the aquariums in Kobe!"

Asami raised her hand, clenched her fist, and gave a spirited shout.

"It's said that Kobe has the most aquariums, but actually only Atoa Aquarium is one of them."

"Huh? Aren't we going to Suma Marine World?" Chiai asked curiously. "It's the only exhibit in Kansai where you can see orcas."

"Although it sounds great, orcas don't really fit the theme of our music video."

“Oh right.” Qian Ai nodded blankly. “I almost forgot, today is for filming a music video, not a date.”

Hmm? Even Qian Ai...

"Masumi?"

Kurokawa Mio called his name softly.

Masumi shook her head and said, "It's nothing, let's go."

Today's location scouting (date?) has begun.

◇

Starting from Sannomiya Station, you need to take the Port Loop bus, which sways and bumps along the way to Shinkocho Station.

An irregularly shaped geometric building came into view; this aquarium had only opened last year.

Although it's called an aquarium, it's actually quite small.

According to the tourist brochure, it is an urban aquarium that combines lighting and stage design, resembling a theater.

According to Masumi, it's a great place for couples to go on dates.

◇

CAVE: Qian Ai

The entrance is on the second floor. The five of them bought tickets and entered the aquarium, where they were greeted by a world reflected by multifaceted mirrors and enveloped by rainbow-colored lighting overhead.

Compared to the lighting, the fish in the aquarium looked rather meager.

However, Chiai remained in high spirits, lingering in front of several fish tanks and taking selfies.

After taking several photos, the girl was not satisfied. Taking selfies in an aquarium where flash photography was prohibited and the lighting was dim yet complex was not an easy task.

"Masumi-nii, come take a picture for me."

Qian Ai tugged at his arm and said.

"okay."

Since Chiai has already posed, and there are people in the picture, it will be easier to refer to the composition later.

Masumi raised her camera and pressed the shutter to take a picture.

"Let me see, isn't it a good photo?"

Yes, the South American piranhas in the tank were photographed very clearly, but Qian'ai's face was so dark that it was almost unbearable to look at because of the lighting.

Masumi completely forgot that she was also someone who couldn't take photos.

"...Mamaru-nii."

Qian Ai stared straight at him, her face as dark as in the photo, her eyes practically overflowing with dissatisfaction.

She seemed to have something to say, and gently pursed her lips, but in the end she held back, letting out a sigh as if changing her mood.

"Alright, I'll take care of the photos. Masumi-nii, just enjoy the scenery of the aquarium."

"Huh? Is this okay?"

"It's better than this aesthetically unappealing photo that Masumi-san took, isn't it?"

"That was not what I meant……"

Masumi thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll leave it to Chiai."

"I will handle it."

Qian Ai patted her chest loudly.

◇

MARINE NOTE：Asami

Leaving the cave-like entrance, you enter a space that evokes the underwater world, where the lighting is much brighter.

Masumi feels this place is more like an art museum than an aquarium.

"You can also see moray eels here."

Ma Mei approached the sink like a child, her eyes slightly wide open.

"After all, like jellyfish, they are star animals in aquariums."

According to the information board, there are several species of moray eels in this tank.

"Looking at them like this for a long time feels so therapeutic."

Masumi nodded in agreement.

Asami said lazily, "I really want to become a garden eel. I don't have to do anything every day. I can just come and go comfortably."

Yes, yes.

Something about this comment just doesn't feel right.

Masumi's gaze fell on "Mami" in the tank, where moray eels of various colors and patterns were peeking out of the sand and constantly stretching and contracting.

In addition, there were two orange and white garden eels, their bodies twisted into double helices and intertwined.

"...Huh? What's this?" Masumi looked at the information board in front of the sink with a curious expression, but did not get the answer he expected. So he picked up his phone and turned to the internet.

Oh, I see.

In that case, let's give these two some private space.

"Ah! There are also flat fish over there!"

Looking away from the eel tank, Mami spotted the next tank not far away and walked towards it with a bright smile.

“Masumi-kun followed too.”

"understood."

Masumi followed along with a helpless expression.

"Is this a manta ray? It looks much smaller than in the videos online."

Bathed in blue light, the broad, flat fish swam in the water, its cute face hidden on its belly because it was too close to the coral sand.

"It's a ray."

Masumi transforms into the monster of reasoning, perfectly embodying the explanation on the commentary board—

"...Although they are closely related, their sizes are vastly different. The giant ray is about 2.5 meters long, while the manta ray can be up to 8 meters wide."

"I see." Mami nodded in understanding. "It's the difference between the small flying fish and the giant flying fish, right?"

"Real-world animals don't evolve like in Pokémon," Masumi cautioned.

"Really? That's really boring."

Mami didn't seem to care much, her attention quickly being drawn to the flying fish... no, the ray.

"Wow, Masumi-kun, look! It has a hole that can spout water, just like a whale!"

Even though it wasn't her first time visiting the aquarium, Asami was unusually excited. Was it because her mood was different this time?
To be honest, it was a bit of a hassle, because Mami kept shouting and yelling, and even though she tried to keep her voice down, people kept glancing at her.

They've probably already been seen as a pair of clueless idiots who don't know their place in public.

“If it’s a blowhole, every type of fish has one; it’s used to aid in breathing,” Masumi replied.

"So, I thought only whales had that."

A look of curiosity crossed Mami's face, and without thinking, she blurted out, "What about humans?"

Masumi nodded. "There are similar organs."

"Similar organs..."

As Mami chewed on the word, as if she realized something, her cheeks immediately flushed red, but a mischievous smile appeared on her lips.

"Hey, Masumi-kun is being a little unserious."

“I think you’ve misunderstood,” Masumi replied expressionlessly.

"The explanatory board next to us says that, according to embryonic and fossil evidence, the human middle ear actually evolved from the spiracles of fish."

"Oh, I see." Mami was taken aback, then stammered, "Uh, um, I saw this text just now too."

"Right."

"Hmm, we've seen enough of this area, let's move on to the next exhibition hall!"

As if to cover something up, Mami finished speaking in a deliberately casual tone and then quickly left.

◇

MIYABI: Kurokawa Mio
Koi fish swim gracefully in the water beneath the glass floor, against a backdrop of Japanese screens, washi paper lanterns, and Kyoto Yuzen colors.

"Japanese aesthetics, really quite charming."

Masumi looked at the doll dressed in samurai armor not far away and sighed.

"However, it doesn't match the theme of the music video at all."

The song I submitted for the first time was based on the sheet music that my senior, Rugu, gave to Masumi when I was in Miyako Island.

"Seeing the Moon on a Moonlit Night"

Based on the musical style and lyrics, Masumi hoped to create a feeling in the music video of "floating in the sea under the moonlight and seeing jellyfish that are like the moon in the sea, faintly glowing with fluorescence".

Words alone are not enough to describe it, so the group decided to go to the aquarium to find inspiration for the music video.

"Yeah, they don't match at all."

Kurokawa Mio echoed his words, skillfully taking Masumi's arm.

"Mio?"

"Since it doesn't fit the theme of the music video, let's temporarily stop filming and focus on enjoying our time together."

Her luscious lips curved into a pleasant smile as Kurokawa Mio said with a sly grin.

"In other words, an aquarium date."

"Uh, isn't it a bit inappropriate to do this in front of everyone?"

Masumi awkwardly felt the gazes around her.

Because we followed the route, the tourists around us were the same group of people we had just met at Marine Note, and even at the entrance.

In other words, they witnessed Masumi and Chia taking a "sweet selfie" together in front of the mermaid tank at Minami University, and then flirting with Asami in front of the eel and ray tank.

Then, at this moment, she was arm in arm with another blonde beauty.

"Having three boyfriends at the same time?" "The guy is terrible." "They're all stunning beauties."

Such whispers overlapped in the air.

After Masumi pulled her arm away, Kurokawa Mio pouted unhappily.

"Since we've already been misunderstood, there's no point in Masumi pulling her hand away now, is there?"

...That seems to be true.

"so--"

This time, without saying a word, she grasped Masumi's hand; not interlocking their fingers was the last line she would cross.

"Let's enjoy an aquarium date together," Kurokawa Mio smiled sweetly.

"Ah, um."

Masumi, having given up all hope, strolls through the ocean world with Kurokawa Mio.

◇

PLANETS: Sea Moon

The spherical tank on the third floor is the aquarium's signature feature.

Since the opening of Atoa Aquarium, people have frequently uploaded photos of this giant spherical tank on social media platforms such as Instagram.

Upon entering, the surroundings are filled with a tranquil atmosphere. When you breathe in, it feels as if you are inhaling not dust particles from the air, but a gentle flow of water.

Ornate fish such as cherry blossom sea bream and butterflyfish swim in the tank, attracting many visitors to stop and watch.

However, Haiyue didn't even glance at them and headed straight for the jellyfish area.

Under the dim lighting of the aquarium, the jellyfish glowed.

Or, in other words, a jellyfish that reflects light through a reflection mechanism.

It neither swims nor emits light, yet it shines just like that.

"The luciferin protein in jellyfish is oxidized in the presence of calcium ions and releases blue light. Then another protein converts it and emits green light."

Masumi shifted her gaze from the explanatory board upwards and saw fluorescent jellyfish floating in the water, and a girl standing there, gazing at the jellyfish.

The ambiguous light, like moonlight, and the faint glow of the moon in the sea, outlined a soft halo around her body.

Her flaxen hair, draped over her shoulders, was much longer than when I first saw her during the rainy season. In the light, it looked like a beautiful fin, shimmering and sparkling in the water.

Masumi couldn't help but speak:
"How beautiful, jellyfish (Kurage)."

"..."

Haiyue, who had been staring blankly at the sink, suddenly turned around and looked up at Masumi.

"Huh? Did I say something wrong?"

Haiyue opened her mouth as if to make an excuse, but then closed her lips again.

"……without."

Her eyes darted around, and for a moment she saw Masumi.

Silence suddenly appeared, standing between the two.

Standing together like this, Masumi couldn't help but recall that time in the summer at the Amagi Aquarium.

Haiyue's words, almost like a soliloquy, echoed in her mind as she replayed them:
"...Can't swim, has no self, no heart, can only drift with the water...can't emit its own light, is a weak and illusory creature..."

The girl gazing silently at the sink looked so weak and ethereal, as if she would transform into a moon jellyfish and be sucked into the sink at any moment.

Masumi gazed at Kaigetsu with calm eyes.

The sounds of people and water in the aquarium somehow sounded as distant as a mirage.

(End of this chapter)