“Man, eating all this wakame really makes me crave miso soup.”

“Ahaha.”

“No, seriously, I want some of Rio’s miso soup.”

“Yeah, I’d love to make some for you too, Shu.”

It almost sounded like a proposal, but since we were already married, there wasn’t any deeper meaning behind it. I just really wanted miso soup.

“I wonder if we can find miso somewhere.”

“I want soy sauce too.”

“I thought about it when we ate sashimi, but after eating all this wakame, I can’t take it anymore.”

It wasn’t actually called wakame, but in my mind, it had already become wakame.

“Yeah. If that’s the case, we should also look for rice.”

“Alright, now that we’ve set our next goal, how about we take a little stroll outside the city?”

I’d been curious about the cape to the east. It looked like a small hill with a great view.

The morning after our seaweed gathering, Rio and I walked hand in hand along the coast to the east. From here, the land sloped upward toward the sea, forming a path that ascended into the sky. The tip of the cape was a sheer cliff, meaning anyone who kept walking would fall straight into the ocean.

“Huh, there’s a port on the other side of the cape.”

As we started climbing toward the cape’s tip, the view beyond it came into sight. There were two large piers and a big warehouse-like structure. However, there weren’t any ships docked, nor did I see any people.

“Oh, you’re right. I wonder what it is.”

“Well, let’s keep going up for now.”

By now, we were quite a distance from the city. The path was well-maintained, so the facility was obviously still in use, but we could check on that later. Maybe we’d ask about it at the guild.

“Wow…”

Reaching the top, our view opened up. Before us lay an endless expanse of ocean. The sky was clear, and the waves were calm. The wind blowing through felt refreshing.

There were a few boats scattered across the sea, likely out fishing. The horizon was slightly hazy, but I could barely make out the silhouette of a small island in the distance. It might be the same one we saw when we were on that ship escort mission.

If it’s visible from here, I could probably fly there.

“Wow, what a view…”

Peering down the cliffside, I saw jagged rocks below, with waves crashing against them, sending up sprays of water. This spot was way too high to cast a fishing line.

When I turned around, Rio was standing with her arms wide open, embracing the wind. I walked up beside her, stretched my arms, and took a deep breath.

Our eyes met, and we smiled. Moving closer, we wrapped our arms around each other and exchanged a soft kiss.

“This is such a peaceful place, but no one else is here…”

“No interruptions—sounds perfect to me.”

“True, but it seems like not many people come here for sightseeing.”

“Yeah…”

From atop the cape, we gazed down at the empty port below.

“Wanna check it out?”

Curious, we left the cape and headed toward the port on the other side of town.

“Huh, it’s off-limits.”

A sign was posted, and a thick rope blocked the entrance.

“No one’s watching, so we could sneak in… but let’s not.”

No need to stir up trouble just for curiosity’s sake.

With that, we decided to head back to town.

“The port on the other side of the cape?”

Now at the Adventurers’ Guild, we figured we might as well ask.

“That port and the area beyond it belong to the state.”

“Oh, I see. So it’s a military facility?”

“Yes, exactly. So please do not enter without permission.”

Whoa, good thing we didn’t sneak in. Trespassing was one thing, but if we stumbled upon sensitive information, we could be in serious trouble.

Still, for a military facility, there weren’t any guards.

“A large ship docks there about once every two months, but no one really knows what goes on there.”

“Huh.”

Maybe they just weren’t allowed to tell us, or maybe they really didn’t know. Either way, I wasn’t that invested in finding out.

“Oh, by the way, speaking of that area—are there any small islands out beyond the sea?”

“Islands?”

The guild staff tilted their head in confusion. It was just a simple question.

“Yeah. From the cape, we saw what looked like a small island in the distance. I was just wondering what it was.”

“...There shouldn’t be any islands visible from here. Maybe you saw a mirage?”

“Huh? No way. We also saw it when we took that escort mission a few days ago.”

“That’s impossible…”

“I didn’t notice it during the escort mission, but I did see an island-like shadow from the cape.”

“I see…”

Rio and I exchanged glances at the unexpected reaction. From the way the guild staff spoke, it sounded like there really wasn’t supposed to be an island there. They frowned, deep in thought.

“Would you mind discussing this in a private room?”

Without waiting for an answer, the staff member stepped out from behind the counter and gestured for us to follow.

“This way, please.”

Without any room for refusal, we were led upstairs to the third floor of the guild and into a private room.

“I’ll call a superior to speak with you. Please wait here.”

“Alright.”

Rio and I sat down on the two-person sofa while Nir lay down nearby. The guild staff left the room.

“…This took an unexpected turn.”

“Yeah. We were just out for a casual sightseeing trip.”

Sighing, we resigned ourselves to waiting for whoever was coming to see us.