October 16th, morning, beneath Kagemaiha Apartments.
"Kuro, over here... Mm? Is your arm all right?" Ayako saw that Shiraishi only had his left arm tucked into his pocket and still felt somewhat uneasy.
"Don't worry. I changed the dressing this morning. Everything's fine," Shiraishi reassured her.
"Come on, get in." Ayako was currently driving a Hummer that completely clashed with both her temperament and figure.
There was no need to ask why.
When they arrived at the Beika Aquarium parking lot, Shiraishi could not help remarking, "There are quite a lot of visitors today..."
"Of course. After all... this is Beika Town's hottest tourist attraction right now!" Ayako said as though it were only natural.
Why was it so popular?
Naturally, it was because the newspapers had all been reporting on the "Beika Red Hair" incident!
"These reporters really have nothing better to do..." Shiraishi said, feeling slightly guilty.
Rationally speaking, he had nothing to feel guilty about, but... when Shiraishi recalled the headlines from that day, those unfortunate reporters had all made the front page. The most widely circulated photo, without exception, was of him underwater amid a swarm of sharks, "giving air" to Ujihara Ayano!
It had to be said that the scenery and composition of that photo were indeed excellent. It even possessed a strangely beautiful quality...
Fortunately, Ayako did not seem to have remembered it just then. She merely changed her shoes, got out of the car, and led Shiraishi through the VIP entrance. From tickets to the sightseeing plan, Ayako had prepared everything beforehand—after all, Shiraishi was so busy that of course she had to handle it.
Why had she changed her shoes?
Whenever Ayako had gone out with Shiraishi before, she habitually wore sky-high heels. But once, she had driven in them and