"P-Please let go of me..."
Angel-sama's pretty face was flushed crimson, her lotus-seed-like round and cute toes curled up in embarrassment. Her shy pleading made one super want to bully her ruthlessly.
Fortunately, Sora's willpower was firm enough. After taking a deep breath, he silently released Angel-sama's delicate foot.
If I dare do anything out of line, I will definitely be ruthlessly sanctioned by Angel-sama, rendered physically unable to function...
"Phew..."
Mahiru immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly pulled her right leg back, then hugged her knees with both hands. Her water-clear bright eyes glared affectionately at him:
"Sora-kun, turn around!"
"Is that really necessary..."
"Hmm?"
"I definitely have to turn around."
While complaining, Sora turned his back, unable to resist glancing at his right hand.
His palm still retained the exquisite, silky-smooth, and beautiful sensation of the girl's delicate foot, making him quite reluctant to let go, wanting to hold it in his hand again to carefully play with it...
"Oh no." Sora was suddenly startled by his own thoughts. "Could it be I'm a perverted foot fetishist?"
"Impossible."
"Absolutely impossible!"
"I am an upright, decent person, how could I possibly be interested in girls' feet!"
"..."
A moment later.
Angel-sama's shy voice finally rang out: "Sora-kun, I've put my stocking back on."
Hearing this, Sora turned around. Looking at Angel-sama, who had already stood up from the reef, he tactfully avoided bringing up the previous topic:
"Do you still want to go back to the beach and continue collecting seashells?"
"No." Mahiru quickly shook her head. "I've already collected enough seashells today."
Although the seashells were very pretty and made one super eager to collect them, after the unexpected incident just now, Mahiru inevitably had some lingering fear and didn't want to continue collecting for the time being.
"Then shall we go fishing?" Sora suggested.
"Okay."
Mahiru nodded gently, agreeing to the suggestion.
"I'll go get the shoes first."
Sora turned and left, retrieving their two pairs of shoes from the other reef. After putting them on, they headed to the small shop.
"Fishing gear, bait, and so on can all be rented. As for the fishing bucket, the shop provides it for free. You just return everything together at the end..."
When he was in middle school, Sora often came to fish at the seawall with his dad, so he was quite familiar with the process of renting fishing gear. While renting the equipment, he imparted his experience to Angel-sama.
"Different types of fish have different preferences. So before fishing, you must first determine the target species for the day, and then choose the appropriate bait..."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Mahiru pursed her pink lips, listening attentively.
Sora continued:
"Our target today is Japanese horse mackerel. First, there are plenty of them; when we get to the seawall later, you'll be able to see schools of them. Second, they are very easy to catch, so even a beginner won't go home empty-handed."
"I know." Mahiru's eyes lit up. "I've had horse mackerel sushi before."
The Japanese horse mackerel is a warm-water schooling fish. Its distribution range isn't wide, mainly around the coasts of China and Japan. They vary in size, with the larger ones weighing about a catty [~500g]. Because of their delicious taste, they are very popular. The typical preparation methods in Japan are sushi, charcoal grilling, or sashimi.
"It's indeed very delicious when made into sushi." Sora nodded. "Do your best today and try to catch a few more. We'll have sushi for dinner tonight."
Mahiru clenched her pink fists, making a cheering motion:
"Do your best, Sora-kun!"
Sora's tone was faint: "I'm the one who should be cheering for Mahiru-san."
"Eh?"
"Have you ever heard of the beginner's luck protection period for fishing?"
"..."
A moment later.
Sora walked out of the small shop carrying two sets of fishing gear, alongside Angel-sama.
"Horse mackerel are very easy to catch. We just need to use a combination of a shrimp-skin sabiki rig and a bait cage. The operation isn't difficult. I'll explain it to you when we get to the seawall... Let's go, let's go."
"Sora-kun knows so much." Mahiru looked up, praising him softly.
"I'm just a beginner." Sora waved his hand. "I'm still far from being a true fishing master."
"Being overly modest is just arrogance, you know."
"Just kidding, I'm not a modest person."
"..."
The two chatted along the way and soon walked onto the long seawall, where quite a few fishermen were casting their lines.
"Everyone really is wearing a straw hat..."
Mahiru pressed down the straw hat on her head with her right hand, curiously observing the other fishermen.
"Because the sun by the sea is very harsh." Hearing this, Sora casually replied. "Fishing involves sitting for several hours. If you don't wear a straw hat to block the sun, you really will get sunburned."
In a certain movie, two male leads with messy, unidentifiable ethnic perm hair were bare-chested while fishing on the open sea. That simply wouldn't exist in reality.
Anyone who frequently fishes at sea knows how harsh the sun out there is. If you dare go bare-chested, the sun will peel a layer of skin off you in half a day!
Sora led Angel-sama to an undisturbed corner and then unfolded a small plastic stool:
"Mahiru-san, you can sit down."
"Okay."
Mahiru held her skirt with her right hand and gently bent down to sit.
"The preparations are all done, next we can officially start fishing..."
Sora picked up the fishing rod and began to impart fishing experience to Mahiru.
As an Angel-sama proficient in both literary and martial arts, Mahiru's learning ability was naturally very strong, and she quickly memorized every step.
Plop.
The shrimp-skin sabiki rig was quickly tossed into the water.
"So next, I just need to jig the rod up and down?"
Mahiru tilted her head and looked over, her eyes full of a thirst for knowledge.
"That's right." Sora sat steadily on his fishing spot. "Jig the rod up and down, pay close attention to the bobber, and then wait for the horse mackerel to take the bait."
Before they had caught any fish, a fisherman suddenly walked past them, his face full of joy, holding a large fish.
"So dark..." After the man walked far away, Mahiru couldn't help but look over in confusion, whispering in his ear. "But he didn't feel like a black person, how strange."
"He definitely isn't a black person." Sora complained in a low voice. "The reason that uncle just now was super dark is actually because he fishes a lot and got tanned to the color of charcoal."
"Ehhhhh?" Mahiru covered her pink lips in shock. "That's way too exaggerated."
"Don't underestimate the determination and willpower of a fisherman."
A veteran fisherman can skip smoking, drinking, playing cards, and set games aside, but giving up fishing is absolutely impossible. Wind and rain, freezing winters and scorching summers, and even people's body parts floating in the water can't stop that fisherman's heart!
Mahiru widened her beautiful eyes in surprise. Her pretty face showed a subtle expression of 'I don't understand, but it feels amazing'. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly felt the fishing rod in her hand yank downwards sharply:
"S-Sora-kun?"
"A fish took the bait." Sora quickly said. "Steady, don't panic."
Under Sora's guidance, Angel-sama frantically began to reel in the fish. Because she was a beginner, her waddling movements, like a little penguin, were exceptionally cute.
"Be careful."
Sora originally didn't plan to help, but Mahiru was a beginner after all, and in her panic, she almost lost her footing.
With no other choice, Sora had to step forward and help steady the fishing rod from behind.
"Mmm..."
Feeling herself completely enveloped by Sora, Mahiru's body trembled slightly, and her pretty face flushed red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"C-Concentrate on fishing..."
Mahiru took a deep breath, suppressed her shyness, and continued to earnestly reel in the fish.
Hard work paid off.
Before long, a fairly large horse mackerel was finally pulled out of the sea.
"I caught it!"
Looking at the fish flopping lively in the sunlight, Mahiru's eyes sparkled brightly. She suddenly understood why there were so many fishermen on the seawall.
The reason was very simple.
The moment of catching a fish is truly too satisfying. Your whole being feels filled with joy, and all your worries completely vanish.
The rest of the time was Angel-sama's solo show.
The beginner's luck protection period for fishing lived up to its reputation. Sora only caught two small horse mackerel, while Mahiru had already caught seven or eight, and they were mostly quite large. The two had a bountiful harvest that afternoon.
Unknowingly, it was dusk.
The wind and waves at the seaside grew stronger.
The waves crashed against the seawall, splashing countless white foam.
"It's about time to head back. Let's..."
Sora turned to look at Angel-sama. However, before he could finish his sentence, the pause button of the entire world was abruptly pressed.
Time Stop!
Activated!