If the first floor was themed around marine life, the second was dedicated to aquatic creatures from rivers and streams.
Beavers, freshwater crayfish, frogs, salamanders—while the variety was a bit less than the first floor, a considerable number of creatures still lived inside the tanks.
"Wow! So cute!"
Tojo exclaimed, watching a beaver build a dam with branches.
Sakamoto, hands in his pockets, also seemed to be enjoying the sights.
"Ryuji! Ryuji! Look at this! This frog looks so weird, right?"
"Yeah, it does."
Forgetting we were even on a stakeout, I played along with Kishimoto, who was captivated by a mottled frog, while scanning our surroundings.
Unlike the first floor, the lighting on the second was relatively bright.
It was likely because many river-dwelling creatures move between land and water, so they had created artificial groves.
The lighting made it impossible to get as close as before, so we had no choice but to watch from a distance.
About fifteen minutes after Tojo and Sakamoto began their tour of the second floor…
Having seen all there was to see, the two descended a spiral staircase at the end of the hall, returning to the first floor.
It seemed they had spent about forty minutes in the aquarium.
It was about time for lunch anyway, so we decided to leave as well.
"Rika, let's go."
"Ah… wait, let me just see this."
"We don't have time."
"Noooooo~!"
As I forcibly dragged her away, Kishimoto reached out with a pitiful cry toward a beaver in the middle of its meal.
***
April 22nd (Sat) [12:20 PM]
After leaving the aquarium, Tojo and Sakamoto headed to Minami Ikebukuro Park, about a ten-minute walk away.
"Wow, there are so many people out for a picnic."
"You're right."
It was like looking at Central Park in New York or the banks of the Han River.
Families and couples were spread out on blankets across the wide lawn, chatting and laughing.
If this were Korea, you'd just make a call and get food delivered instead of packing a lunchbox yourself, but since we were in Japan, I had woken up at dawn to make one.
When I took out a three-tiered, black-lacquered lunchbox from the bag I'd been carrying all morning, Kishimoto's eyes lit up.
"Wow! You packed a lunch!"
"You need a full stomach to tail someone properly."
With that, I opened the first tier of the lunchbox.
"Wow! Kimbap and inarizushi!"
"I put a little extra effort in today."
It was a classic Korean picnic menu: kimbap and yubu-chobap.
The kimbap wasn't the regular kind; it was filled with tonkatsu and tuna. The inarizushi had furikake and seasoned beef.
I had made plenty for the two of us, so any leftovers would find their way into my stomach for dinner.
Next, I opened the lid of the second tier.
"Fried food! Rolled omelet! Nikujaga!"
"The picnic classics."
If the first tier was Korean-style, the second was Japanese.
I had packed karaage, shrimp tempura, a rolled omelet, nikujaga, and various pickled vegetables, or tsukemono.
Protein and carbs are important, but you can't have a balanced diet without vitamins and fiber.
There was no need to open it yet, but for Kishimoto, who was staring with eyes full of expectation, I opened the lid of the final, third tier.
"Amazing! You even packed a perfect dessert!"
Kishimoto was genuinely delighted.
Inside were various fruits like cherry tomatoes, oranges, melon, and watermelon.
I had actually just bought a fruit cup from a convenience store and re-plated it.
It was much more cost-effective than buying all the different kinds of fruit separately.
We sat on a park bench instead of a blanket, sharing the three-tiered lunch I had prepared while watching the other couple's date.
***
*Gulp—*
Tojo Karen was more nervous than she had been all day.
This was, after all, the very first time she had ever cooked for someone.
The best lunchbox she could manage, perfected after three days and nights of practicing the recipe Kim Yu-seong had given her.
The fruits of her labor were now about to enter the mouth of the person she liked.
"Wow, did you make all this yourself, Tojo? Thanks for the food."
She nodded at Sakamoto's question and said,
"You can eat as much as you want. I made a lot."
"Then… I'll start with the onigiri."
As Tojo watched, the first thing Sakamoto picked up was a triangular rice ball.
The fillings were umeboshi, salted salmon, and mentai-mayo—three varieties.
She had gotten this recipe not from Kim Yu-seong, but from the chef at her mansion.
She figured it was better than bringing plain rice, even with side dishes.
"Wow, this is delicious!"
Fortunately, her choice had been the right one.
She had succeeded in coaxing a compliment from Sakamoto.
Buoyed by this, Tojo gained confidence and boldly offered the next dish.
"Try this next."
What she offered him with her chopsticks was a piece of golden-brown karaage.
Her masterpiece, a decent piece of fried chicken she had finally managed to create after dozens of attempts.
Sakamoto, who had been happily munching on the onigiri while muttering how delicious it was, hesitated for a moment at the unexpected gesture of being fed. But when Tojo's gaze turned sharp, he opened his mouth and accepted the karaage.
*Munch, munch.*
"I-It's delicious."
"Right? Have some of the rolled omelet and Vienna sausages too."
From then on, it was smooth sailing.
She sat beside Sakamoto, feeding him this and that, attending to his meal.
Sakamoto, who had initially looked burdened, seemed to give up at some point and began to readily accept the side dishes she offered.
Around the time the lunchbox Tojo had prepared was half-empty, Sakamoto must have decided he couldn't let it continue, as he offered some to her in return.
"Don't just feed me. You should eat too, Tojo."
Tojo blinked, her chopsticks still in hand.
"I'm fine. Just watching you enjoy your food is enough to make me full."
"It makes me uncomfortable. Here!"
Tojo stared blankly at the onigiri he offered her, then nodded and took a large bite.
That seemed to open the floodgates. She held the onigiri with both hands and began to eat ravenously.
Sakamoto Ryuji watched her with a fond smile, then poured some oolong tea from a thermos and handed it to her.
As if she had been choking, Tojo quickly took the cup of oolong tea and gulped it down.
"Phew~!"
At her hearty way of eating, having momentarily forgotten any pretense, Sakamoto grinned and asked,
"See? Eating together is better than eating alone, isn't it?"
Tojo, belatedly realizing she had shown an unladylike side of herself, blushed like a tomato and nodded.
"Yeah."
Their private mealtime passed in this warm atmosphere.
***
After finishing lunch in Minami Ikebukuro Park, Tojo and Sakamoto took a slow walk along the park's tree-lined path.
As I watched them from afar while sipping green tea from a vending machine, Kishimoto muttered,
"I want to go on a date like that someday..."
Hearing that, I felt something was off.
"Rika, didn't you call yourself a love expert last time?"
Realizing her slip of the tongue, Rika quickly covered her mouth.
But knowing she couldn't take back her words, she giggled and confessed.
"Well, I've never actually been on one. I learned everything from manga."
"..."
So you've been acting all high and mighty with knowledge you picked up from manga?
"Oh, but I've given my friends lots of relationship advice! For real!"
I had a lot to say, but since that wasn't the important thing right now, I decided to let it go.
More importantly, that Tojo… the mood between them is great. Isn't it about time she confessed?
Just as I thought that and turned my head forward again…
"Well now, what a pretty picture."
Something completely unexpected happened.
"We've been looking all over for you, you pretty-boy bastard."
"Last time you stole a girl we were hitting on, and now you're with a new one?"
"What a player, huh?"
In the moment I'd looked away, a group of delinquents who looked like they'd jumped straight out of a manga had appeared and surrounded the strolling couple.
"Should I call the police?"
"No, wait a minute. Even if we call now, it'll take them a while to get here. I'll step in if I have to."
I stopped a panicked Kishimoto and watched to see how Tojo and Sakamoto would handle it.
If this was one of the events from the original story, it might be better for us not to interfere.
A moment later, Sakamoto, who seemed to know them, stepped forward and shouted,
"You guys! How dare you show your faces!"
"Ooh, so scary. You gonna hit us again? This time we'll have to be hospitalized for a month."
The delinquents said this while feigning to clutch their necks and arms, which were in casts.
"Ugh… You cowards."
It was a short exchange, but it was enough to understand their relationship.
They were the first-year rookies from the kendo club I had only vaguely heard about.
Apparently, these were the two who had ganged up on Sakamoto 2-on-1 and gotten their asses kicked.
"Because we fought you and then lied about it, we got kicked out of the kendo club we barely managed to get into!"
"Do you have any idea how much it hurts that we can't see Fuma-senpai's amazing chest anymore?!"
It was at that moment.
"You idiots!"
Tojo, who had been listening quietly from behind, shouted in anger.
"Can't you see that's exactly the attitude that got you kicked out of the kendo club in the first place?!"