Cael froze.
Watching movies for more than ten hours, then getting a room afterward?
What kind of normal person planned a date like that?
And what the hell did she mean by "getting a room"?
"Cael looks very surprised. Do you think my plan is bad?" Makima looked at him with an innocent expression.
Forget it.
As her friend, Cael felt obligated to correct her strange idea of dating.
"Makima, you don't have any dating experience, do you?"
"Even if the movie is great, watching films for ten straight hours would get boring."
"Is that so?"
Makima pursed her lips and thought about it carefully.
"I feel that spending time with Cael is interesting no matter what we do."
She paused.
"Since we don't know what activity would be best, how about we get a room right now?"
"We could hug each other and count how many eyelashes the other person has."
Being proactive.
That was what Pochita had told her.
Inside Cael's heart, she was not inferior to the War Devil.
The only thing she lacked was initiative.
As long as she became more proactive with Cael, she would eventually occupy a more important place in his heart.
Meanwhile, Cael's brain nearly shut down.
Seriously?
She was not even pretending anymore.
How the hell could she not go three sentences without mentioning a hotel?
Damn.
This must be Makima's real goal.
She wanted to devour him.
"If Makima hasn't decided yet, how about an amusement park? That should be fun," Cael suggested quickly.
He absolutely could not get a room right now.
First Reze had messed with his head.
Then Asa had nearly destroyed his muscles.
Now Makima wanted to drain what little energy he had left?
Hell no.
Even Superman needed recovery time.
"Alright, I will listen to you."
Makima leaned gently against Cael's shoulder. To anyone watching, she looked exactly like a petite girlfriend clinging affectionately to her boyfriend.
"Then let's get in the car."
"Okay."
Makima sat in the passenger seat while Cael pulled out his phone to search for nearby amusement parks.
Unfortunately, most of the popular ones were currently closed for repairs.
The damage caused by the Falling Devil incident had been massive.
After scrolling for a while, Cael finally found one place still operating.
Hakkeijima Sea Paradise.
Located in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture.
According to the description, it was a large complex that combined an aquarium with amusement rides. A place especially popular with couples.
Cael clicked his tongue.
Whatever.
This would do.
Without wasting time, he started the car and drove out immediately.
Makima sat quietly beside him, calm and obedient.
Her gaze, however, remained fixed on the photo frame attached to the windshield.
Inside the frame was a picture of Cael and Asa Mitaka.
Makima sighed softly in her heart.
When would the person standing beside Cael in that photo become her?
The road was smooth, and traffic was light.
They arrived in less than an hour.
Cael parked the car, then held Makima's hand as they entered the park together.
Unfortunately, the situation inside was not very exciting.
Although the park was technically open, many of the large rides were still under maintenance.
Construction crews could be seen working inside cordoned off areas.
The only lively places were the temporary roadside stalls.
Cael clicked his tongue internally.
Honestly, maybe watching movies would have been better.
"Cael, can we try that?"
Makima suddenly pointed toward a nearby stall.
A group of children were crouched around something, staring intently.
Curious, Cael followed her gaze.
It was a shallow rectangular tank about two meters long and one meter wide.
Inside the water swam dozens of small goldfish.
Several kids surrounded the tank, pointing and shouting excitedly.
Beside them stood a middle aged man wearing waterproof gear and holding a stopwatch.
"Goldfish scooping? Sure."
Cael had come here to accompany Makima anyway. If she was interested, he had no reason to refuse.
They walked over.
A red faced boy was frantically waving a small bamboo scoop.
"Ahh! Shimatta!"
"Cut. Time's up." The owner stopped the stopwatch and smiled faintly. "Unfortunately, the young man has failed the challenge."
The boy sighed and poured the goldfish back into the pond.
"Scooping one hundred goldfish in one minute is impossible. I lost."
"It is okay. You have used today's challenge opportunity. Feel free to try again tomorrow," the owner said kindly.
When Cael and Makima joined the crowd of children, they immediately stood out.
The stall owner quickly noticed them.
"Would the two of you like to try goldfish scooping?"
"If you can scoop all one hundred goldfish in the pond within one minute, there is a generous prize."
"What prize?" Cael asked.
The owner smiled mysteriously and pulled out several colorful tickets from his pocket.
Each ticket had small cartoon animals printed on it.
He pointed toward a uniquely decorated building at the end of the road.
"See that building? That is the Little Mermaid Magic Restaurant. My son runs it."
"If you succeed, you can eat there for free. One ticket per person."
Cael rubbed his chin and glanced at Makima.
Makima blinked her ringed golden eyes with visible excitement.
"Cael, you should go first."
"Alright."
Cael rolled up his sleeves and picked up the small bamboo net.
"The prize is average, but I guess I will accept it."
The owner laughed.
"You are confident."
"So far, fewer than twenty people have ever succeeded in this challenge."
"Start the timer," Cael said calmly.
Beep.
The timer began.
Unlike the frantic children before him, Cael calmly lowered the bamboo net into the water.
Dark Water.
An incredible scene unfolded.
Although Cael barely moved, the goldfish suddenly behaved as if trapped in thick stagnant water.
No matter how violently they wriggled, they could not swim away.
For Cael, scooping them became as easy as picking stones off the ground.
One after another, the goldfish were lifted out of the tank.
Within moments, the entire pond was empty.
The middle aged owner stood there in a daze.
He was so stunned that he even forgot to stop the timer.
"Hey! Old man!"
"Cheating is not allowed!"
"I saw it! Thirty six seconds!"
"Big brother succeeded!"
A child behind him stood on his toes and shouted.
"Yes, yes, I know."
The owner finally recovered and handed the voucher to Cael.
"Congratulations."
"But young man, I am curious. How did you do it?"
Cael smiled faintly and shrugged casually.
"It is called internal strength. Kung fu from X."
"You would not understand even if I explained it."
The owner nodded immediately with admiration.
"So it is mysterious kung fu from X. No wonder."
Splash.
Makima poured the goldfish back into the pond and rubbed her hands with excitement.
"Boss, now it is my turn."
"Alright."
The owner agreed without hesitation.
Even if Cael had special abilities, surely his girlfriend would fail.
People like him were extremely rare.
"Ready."
Beep.
The timer started.
But Makima did not pick up the scooping net.
Instead, she calmly pointed a finger toward the water tank.
The owner blinked in confusion.
"Miss, the timer has already started."
"I know."
With a single thought from Makima, exactly one hundred invisible Control Chains shot from her fingertips.
Each chain instantly connected to a goldfish.
"Come."
Makima spoke calmly.
The next moment, an unbelievable scene occurred.
Every goldfish in the pond suddenly swam toward the edge like crazy.
Then they jumped out of the water one after another.
Within ten seconds, all one hundred fish had piled neatly into the small container outside the tank.
Everyone nearby stared with their mouths hanging open.
Who said you needed a net to scoop goldfish?
The middle aged owner looked completely horrified.
"W… wait. What was that just now?"
It felt like he had just witnessed a ghost.
Makima calmly accepted the meal voucher.
"It is animal taming."
The owner's eyes widened in disbelief.
Animal taming?
But fish only had a memory of seven seconds.
What kind of animal tamer could even control goldfish?
===
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