49 – Aquarium
“This is impressive.”
Lucian hoped Lucia would enjoy it, no matter how much time it took.
Fortunately, Lucia seemed to enjoy choosing the clothes.
But it wasn’t for herself. She was excited about imagining Lucian wearing them.
“Thank you. But what about you, Lucia?”
“I picked something for myself too.”
“I see…”
Lucia unfolded the clothes she had in her hands.
It was a white knitted sweater, suitable for winter.
“What do you think?”
Not bad.
She had also prepared a pair of grey checkered wool pants that weren’t too tight or loose.
It felt a bit unfamiliar for someone who only wore uniforms. But it didn’t go against her taste, and today was about accommodating Lucia anyway. Lucian accepted whatever Lucia handed him. It would be a decent experience.
“Should I put it on right away?”
“Yes!”
#
Wearing different clothes, the black rabbit was sprawled completely on the chair throughout.
Seeing the rabbit ears completely limp, it seemed quite exhausted.
It was understandable since it had been running around here and there all night.
Lucion once again blew sacred energy to wake up the black rabbit.
“【Sleeping anywhere, someone might kidnap you, you know.】”
The black rabbit, startled, jumped up from its seat. Then it quickly glanced around.
Its face… turned reddish.
“Kidnapper…!”
“It’s a dream.”
“Oh.”
Why be disappointed?
Come to think of it, there was no way the black rabbit could be kidnapped. If anything, it was more likely to do the kidnapping. In reality, it happened quite often. Lucion had been an accomplice several times.
The black rabbit alternated between observing the two’s changed attire.
Both of them had good physiques, so anything they wore would look pretty.
“A bit unfair, isn’t it?”
“Is it?”
To be honest, Lucion’s casual style suited the black rabbit’s taste perfectly. The neatly combed golden hair, the knitted sweater that covered the well-trained body, and the seemingly difficult-to digest gray checkered pants all complemented each other.
The problem was Lucian.
“Isn’t it too revealing? Still, aren’t you a clergyman?”
“Hmm?”
Lucia raised her head, a look of surprise on her face.
She was wearing a gray knitted vest over a white blouse, matching Lucien’s style, and a white skirt with fluffy fur, in line with her casual attire. She chose it because it looked cozy and soft, perfect for winter.
“What’s wrong with it!”
Lucia was getting angry instead.
The problem was that even to Lucien, it seemed a bit worrisome.
“Your legs are too exposed.”
“Well, what about Karen!”
Isn’t this ridiculous?
Karen is wearing hot pants!
And they’re tight-fitting!
Why is Karen allowed to wear them while she isn’t?
No, it’s not even that revealing. The person passing by right next to her has a shorter skirt!
The black rabbit pondered deeply.
“Well, what about this?”
The black rabbit looked around and quickly ran off to find something, then returned.
I could have just used magic to bring it here.
“Oh. If I use magic here, I’ll get caught.”
It’s theft-proof. If I use magic, the artifact developed by Dara Han will immediately intervene.
In the black rabbit’s hand was a pair of boots. They had a very long neck.
“This way, I can cover it up.”
“Wow. Absolutely stunning!”
Lucia really liked the long, white boots.
But could she actually wear them?
The heels seemed a bit high.
Without hesitation, Lucia changed her shoes.
Looking back, she realized she was wearing sturdy, white boots with a subtle pattern to make combat easier.
Lucian wouldn’t mind, but to someone who appreciated dressing up, it might stand out.
The problem arose after wearing them.
“No way. They’re too revealing.”
She couldn’t bring herself to voice that fact.
Yet, she couldn’t just swap out what she had carefully chosen to wear.
“Hmm.”
Glancing at the people passing by, Lucia felt overly conservative, to the point of being overly wholesome.
Lucian had lived as a knight, as a lord, building a barrier between himself and the city’s fashion.
“I’m not sure.”
“Not pretty?”
Lucia asked directly.
“If I were to ask if it’s pretty, the truth is, you’d look beautiful no matter what you wear.”
The black rabbit sighed.
“Idiot.”
“Is my language too harsh?”
“A bit.”
“Hey.”
What did I do wrong? Lucion had no idea.
“By the way, it feels like something’s missing.”
The black rabbit opened its eyes wide and glanced alternately at the two.
“You did your makeup?”
“Oh. Can you tell?”
It shouldn’t be noticeable.
Priests were supposed to be skilled in the art of makeup.
They always had to maintain neatness.
Even without formal training, it was considered common sense.
“Well. I guess I can fix it with just the hair.”
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The black rabbit rummaged through its pocket, pulling out a wand and aimed it towards Lucion’s head.
“What’s with the bangs?”
The hair was coming down to a position barely covering the eyes. The black rabbit transformed Lucion’s hair into an elegant bob.
“Much better!”
“Unnecessary meddling.”
“Is it really?”
Lucia also agreed with the black rabbit.
“Are you an idiot?”
“Seems like I am.”
It was something Lucion couldn’t understand. It wasn’t so bad that Lucia was getting along with the Black Rabbit. After all, she couldn’t meet her friends from the orphanage anymore. The Black Rabbit was someone she could still meet even if she moved to a different district.
Later, the Black Rabbit would be able to use teleportation.
“Well, anyway, I’ll go check it out. I came here to help in case you guys couldn’t adapt.”
Among the newcomers to Parnachia, their route was surprisingly neat. They headed straight to the representative tourist spot of Parnachia from the beginning. If they filled their stomachs reasonably and went down to the underground to visit the aquarium, the day would end.
#
The meal wasn’t particularly special. Rather, what was more unusual was people staring every time they moved back and forth.
“People keep staring.”
Lucia had mentioned it uncomfortably, but Lucion had no suitable solution as Lucion.
‘What can I do because you’re pretty?’
There wasn’t an answer. It’s not a role to say not to be good-looking. Fortunately, there weren’t many people aggressively staring at them. Lucion would immediately notice if he felt hostility.
The underground aquarium was divided into three floors.
The first underground floor displayed small and pretty fish in a low-ceilinged space.
And the second underground floor had peculiar sculptures and lined aquariums. From ceiling aquariums to tunnel-shaped tanks, and even sea creatures the size of a person were on display.
Lucia was particularly fascinated by the small fish.
To the point where she stuck to the glass to watch the swirling of tiny fish, each imbued with the light of sanctity. She genuinely watched the spectacle of the fish’s celebration.
“Mysterious!”
An honest impression.
The view Lucia saw was actually a bit different from what Lucion saw. Each small fish seemed to be bathed in the light of sanctity, so the sight of small fish swirling in the ocean, like a cluster of stars swirling, looked similar to the way a constellation swirls in the universe.
And so, Lucia watched the swirling of the small school of fish on the first basement floor for a while.
“You did well to come.”
“An aquarium… It’s nice. Is this what they call a fish tank? It’s so beautiful that I want to keep looking at it. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve seen so far.”
In fact, while Lucia leaned against the glass wall, more people gathered to see Lucia.
Every time that happened, Lucion scolded her for coughing.
Anyway, if Lucia didn’t like it so much, she would have already taken Lucia back.
What Lucion liked was on the third basement floor.
A massive hall.
From there, you can look at the underwater world beyond the walls.
It’s connected to the actual underwater world, so you can see different scenes from time to time.
You often see crocodiles or turtles near the beach, but not so much in the deeper parts of the sea.
The third floor goes deep into the underwater world, so you see completely different scenery from the surface.
Sometimes baby krakens or sea dragon-leviathans appear.
This time,
“It’s a siren.”
It seemed like something that shouldn’t be there.
#
Once a year. Human-like fish approach the underwater aquarium.
From their perspective, people visiting the aquarium look like monkeys trapped behind bars. That’s why sometimes sirens also come to watch humans.
However, sirens were not particularly sacred beings.
The sound of laughter, seemingly mocking, emanated from the people inside the aquarium, so audible that it was irritating.
Lucia seemed to feel the same way.
“Zion… that. Isn’t it dangerous? It lacks sanctity.”
“Just a moment.”
Lacks sanctity?
They hadn’t considered them as enemies since they hadn’t encountered them before. It appeared that the sirens were undoubtedly adversaries of humans.
The absence of sanctity meant they were cloaked in magic, and sirens, possessing intelligence, were included among the demons.
Lucion pondered. Should he exterminate that here or not? However, many people were watching, and from the aquarium’s perspective, sirens were also a significant source of income.
Regardless, it was a widely acknowledged fact that, superficially, they were attractively shaped beings.
It just wasn’t the form Lucion preferred.
“Let’s go.”
Looking at that makes me lose my appetite for sushi.