After taking the photos, Mahiru casually put some distance between them as if nothing had happened and continued to take pictures of the distant scenery.
However, a careful observation would reveal that the tips of Angel-sama's ears had quietly taken on a crimson hue.
"I took quite a few good photos." A moment later, Mahiru put away her phone, looked up at Sora, and said expectantly, "Sora-kun, shall we head down to the beach?"
"Okay." Sora got back on his bicycle. "Get on, let's go."
"..."
Riding downhill all the way, the two quickly arrived in front of a small shop by the sea.
"That's the seawall over there." Sora pointed to the long embankment not far away. "Its main function is to defend against tsunamis, although I've never seen a tsunami. However, people come here every day to fish."
On the embankment, quite a few figures could be seen fishing, mostly middle-aged men.
"We can just park the bikes outside the small shop." Sora parked his bike and looked at Mahiru. "It's a bit hot out, how about we get something to drink first?"
"Okay."
Mahiru gave a slight nod and carefully parked her bicycle.
The two walked into the small shop.
Sora turned his head to look at Angel-sama. "Have you ever had Ramune?"
"No."
"Then let's get a bottle to try. This is the childhood memory of countless people, the most popular refreshing drink of the summer, bar none."
Of course, the Ramune mentioned here is a proper beverage.
"The most popular drink?" A hint of curiosity appeared on Mahiru's pretty face. "Then I'll have a bottle."
Sora bought two bottles of the drink and handed one of the Ramunes to Mahiru:
"Here, try it."
Mahiru took the glass bottle with both hands and curiously took a sip of the Ramune. The refreshing, icy lemon flavor made the girl's eyes light up quietly:
"It tastes very good."
"Do you want to rent a straw hat?" Sora pointed to the pedestrians not far away. "The sun at the beach is very harsh, and there's no shade from trees, so many people wear a straw hat."
"Eh, you can even rent straw hats?"
"Of course."
The small shops built by the sea rent out basically everything: swim rings, small boats, fishing rods, bait, and so on. That's why Sora came empty-handed to go fishing.
Since it was Mahiru's first time playing at the beach, she naturally listened obediently, knowing nothing about it:
"Then I'll wear a straw hat."
"Wait a moment."
Sora turned and walked into the small shop. He quickly emerged with two straw hats. He put one on himself and casually placed the other on Angel-sama's head, then subconsciously rubbed the girl's small head.
"Mmm..."
Mahiru's pretty face flushed slightly, and she hurriedly reached up to grab the brim of the straw hat.
"Sorry." Sora quickly apologized. "Sagiri has been making me pat her head a lot lately, so I just did it out of habit just now."
"It's okay." Mahiru turned her small face away, curiously looking at some girls not far away. "What are they doing?"
"They should be collecting seashells." Sora replied casually. "There are many beautiful seashells and conches by the sea. Many girls and children like to collect seashells to take back as decorations..."
Before he could finish speaking, Sora suddenly noticed an exceptionally expectant gaze fixed on him.
Looking down, he saw Angel-sama holding down the brim of her straw hat with both hands. She tilted up her pretty face, her caramel-colored eyes sparkling brightly:
"I want to go for a walk on the beach!"
Sora: "..."
Going for a walk is an excuse, you actually just want to collect seashells!
"Let's go." Sora naturally wouldn't refuse, downing the rest of his Ramune in one breath. "We'll take a stroll along the beach first. If we're lucky, we might even find a Squid Girl in a bottle."
Mahiru hesitated a bit: "But Sora-kun still needs to fish..."
"There's no rush to fish, the afternoon is long."
"..."
The two left the small shop and walked towards the sea together. Before long, they arrived on the soft sandy beach.
"Mmm..."
After just a few steps, Mahiru furrowed her delicate eyebrows.
"Did sand get in your shoes?" Sora expertly took off his sneakers. "The sand at the beach is too soft, wearing shoes makes it easy for sand to get in... Take off your shoes, I'll take them to that reef over there together."
Mahiru hesitated for two seconds, her pretty face blushing as she took off her black leather shoes.
Angel-sama was wearing a pair of black thigh-high socks today. Her legs, encased in the stockings, were exceptionally slender, straight as chopsticks, yet still retained a rounded, aesthetically pleasing fullness. In short, they looked incredible.
Sora extended his right hand: "Give me your shoes."
"I-I'll carry them myself..."
Mahiru hid her small leather shoes behind her back, shaking her head shyly in refusal.
The weather was a bit hot today, and after riding the bicycle for so long, although her shoes wouldn't smell, they were definitely a bit sweaty, so she absolutely didn't want Sora to find out.
"Then you carry them yourself."
Sora led Angel-sama to the water's edge and placed the two pairs of shoes on a flat reef.
"You can actually take off your stockings too." Sora's gaze shifted downwards, landing on Angel-sama's slender legs wrapped in black silk.
Mahiru's face grew hot, her voice shy: "Can I not take them off?"
Taking off her stockings right in front of Sora felt inexplicably shameful.
"It's more comfortable to take them off, but it's fine if you don't." Sora naturally wouldn't force her. "Let's go collect seashells."
Mahiru's gaze wandered as she stammered, "I-It's not like I want to collect seashells..."
Stop denying it, your anticipation is written all over your face!
Splash, splash.
White foam crashed against the beach, soon washing over their feet.
"So cool..."
The feeling of the seawater soaking her feet was quite novel. Mahiru looked at the retreating tide, her eyes suddenly brightening, her voice full of pleasant surprise:
"It's a colorful seashell!"
Holding her skirt with one hand and pressing down her straw hat with the other, Mahiru quickly bent down and picked up a colorful shell.
"To be precise, that's a small conch." Sora commented from the side. "If you speak into the conch, you can hear your own echo."
"Eh?"
Mahiru blinked her bright eyes, brought the small conch to her lips, and parted her pink lips:
"Hello?"
Wait, you actually believed that?
You look like a mature adult, but in some ways, you're surprisingly childish!
"I don't think I hear an echo..."
Noticing the subtle expression on Sora's face, Mahiru instantly realized she had been pranked, and her cheeks quickly puffed up.
It had to be said, after taking off the angel mask, Mahiru was even more genuine and cute.
"Sora-kun is so mean."
"Maybe you didn't hold it right when you shouted?"
"I won't believe you anymore!"
"..."
The two continued to stroll along the beach. Before long, Mahiru had collected many colorful small conches and seashells. Sora, on the other hand, remained empty-handed, having only picked up one pretty small conch that he planned to take back as a souvenir for Sagiri.
"Ah..."
The girl's distressed, soft hum suddenly reached Sora's ears.
"What's wrong?"
Sora turned to look at Angel-sama.
"Something just pricked my foot..." Mahiru bit her lower lip with her pearly white teeth, her eyebrows tightly knit.
"The bottom of my foot hurts a lot."