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"Mr. Blake, the kitchen's all cleaned up, so I'll head home now."
They had just finished lunch when Mahiru softly said goodbye.
"Thanks for the hard work, Miss Mahiru." Blake looked up at her. "Want some tea before you go?"
"No thank you." Mahiru shook her head lightly. "I need to go change first... I heard the UV rays at the beach are pretty strong, so I should put on sunscreen."
No wonder she skipped her usual after-meal tea today. She was too excited about the trip.
"Alright then. Message me when you're ready."
"Okay."
Mahiru left with light, cheerful steps.
Ten minutes later, Blake's phone vibrated.
"Mr. Blake, I'm ready."
Blake stared at the message in shock.
"That fast?!"
Wasn't it common knowledge that girls took at least half an hour to get ready before going out?
She finished in ten minutes. That was absurdly quick.
Mahiru seemed to have read his mind.
"I only put on sunscreen. I didn't do makeup, so it didn't take very long."
Blake: "...Can Miss Mahiru hear people's thoughts?"
"Sorry, I don't have that ability."
"..."
Putting away his phone, Blake greeted Sagiri, changed his shoes, and headed out.
The moment he stepped outside, he saw Mahiru standing neatly by the entrance, staring toward his door without blinking, clearly waiting eagerly for him.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Blake wheeled out his bicycle and looked her over. "Not wearing jeans today?"
During their nighttime bicycle practice sessions at the park these past few days, Mahiru had mostly worn sporty outfits with jeans and shirts. Today, although she still had her beautiful hair tied into a refreshing high ponytail, she was wearing a normal schoolgirl outfit instead.
Without the jeans, somehow it felt a little disappointing.
Mahiru held down her skirt with one hand and replied softly,
"I looked it up online. Girls can ride bicycles in skirts too. You just need a small clip to keep the skirt from getting caught in the wheel."
Clearly, after graduating from beginner status and successfully unlocking the bicycle skill, the angel's courage had risen dramatically.
Blake's gaze drifted downward toward the pink hem of her skirt, his expression completely righteous.
"The skirt is cute, but jeans still look better."
Mahiru tucked her hair behind her ear and shot him a reproachful glance with her bright eyes.
"Hurry up and let's go already."
"Yes, yes."
"..."
There were a lot of rules for cycling in Japan. No riding after drinking, no carrying passengers, no wearing earphones, no riding side by side, no talking on the phone while cycling, no riding one-handed...
Sure, as long as nobody caught you, it usually didn't matter. But Mahiru was obviously the type who followed every rule seriously.
So the entire ride passed in silence.
Blake rode in front to lead the way while Mahiru followed behind him, leaving no opportunity to chat.
Over thirty minutes later, after turning around a mountain road, an endless blue ocean suddenly burst into view.
"It's the sea!"
Mahiru's eyes instantly sparkled. Her beautiful caramel-colored gaze shone brightly beneath the sunlight as she stared unblinkingly at the vast ocean in the distance, as though she feared it might disappear if she looked away.
"This viewing spot is popular for photos," Blake said as he stopped his bicycle. "Let's rest here for a bit." He looked at the joy practically radiating from the angel. "Miss Mahiru, have you never seen the ocean before?"
"No." Mahiru kept looking at the sea, though her eyes dimmed slightly as if recalling memories she'd rather forget. "...This is my first time seeing a real ocean."
Her parents had never loved each other. They barely came home, and no one had ever cared enough to take her anywhere, much less the beach.
Mahiru clearly remembered that when she was very young, she had timidly asked her mother if they could go to an amusement park together.
All she received was an impatient, icy rejection.
After that, she never asked her parents to take her anywhere ever again.
Blake noticed the sadness on her face but didn't press further.
Instead, he said softly,
"Besides the beach, there's also a zoo within biking distance."
"Hm?"
Mahiru's eyes brightened slightly.
"There's an amusement park too."
"An art museum."
"An aquarium."
With every place Blake mentioned, the light in Mahiru's eyes grew brighter until the entire girl practically sparkled.
Even without saying it aloud, the expression on her face was painfully easy to read.
She wanted to go.
She wanted to go everywhere.
"If Miss Mahiru's interested, you could look up routes and take cycling trips around the area whenever you have time." Blake rested his hands on the railing and looked out over the blue sea below. "I watched a movie before called Inside Out. The setting was pretty interesting. People create tons of memories every day. Most useless memories get discarded, and only precious golden memories remain until the very end of life."
"The meaning of traveling isn't just the scenery along the way. It's creating precious golden memories. That way, when you can't sleep at night, you can replay those happy memories in your mind instead of being left with nothing but loneliness."
"...The meaning of travel?"
Mahiru unconsciously turned to look at the boy beside her.
The afternoon sunlight was dazzlingly bright.
Looking at his clean and refreshing profile, his warm and gentle eyes, Mahiru suddenly felt her heartbeat skip.
At that moment, realization quietly bloomed within her.
The brilliant afternoon sunlight.
The endless blue ocean.
The seabirds circling overhead.
The boy standing beside her.
Their calm and gentle conversation.
All of it would be carved deep into her soul, becoming a precious golden memory that time could never erase.
"Is there something on my face?"
Blake looked at her in confusion.
"N-No, nothing..."
Mahiru snapped back to reality and quickly turned her face away, hurriedly brushing at the hair near her ear to hide her flushed cheeks.
Meanwhile, more young cyclists arrived at the viewing area, laughing and taking photos together. Their carefree voices drifted through the sunlight, while the solo travelers mostly stood quietly alone, gazing at the sea.
Mahiru's gaze swept over the surrounding travelers as she softly pressed her lips together.
"So traveling alone and traveling with someone beside you really do feel completely different."
She quietly clenched a hand against her chest, fully aware of what she truly wanted at that moment.
(I really don't want to travel alone after all... I want to make travel memories together with Mr. Blake...)
Taking a small breath, the angel pulled out her phone and looked up at Blake, her cheeks faintly pink.
"Mr. Blake, shall we take some pictures together?"
"Hm?"
Mahiru parted her soft lips, her voice sweet and gentle.
"Since we came out together, it feels incomplete if we don't take photos."
Wait a second.
Wasn't that the exact line Yanami used yesterday?
Don't just copy it directly!
"Sure, let's take a few."
Blake didn't think too deeply about it and walked over to stand beside her, leaving about half an arm's distance between them.
Mahiru raised her phone high, and the two of them quickly appeared together on the screen.
Looking at the noticeable space between them, Mahiru lightly pressed her soft lips together and quietly edged half a step closer to him.
Click.
The moment was captured forever.
"....."