Chapter 20
Since it didn’t seem like any customers would come, I decided to close the shop a little earlier than usual.
I asked Sharkrof to watch the shop for a moment and stepped outside.
I wanted to check whether the road back home was still passable.
Before long, I discovered that the only walkway leading into the residential area had completely disappeared.
The path that had gleamed brightly after being splashed with cold water on the day Arthur visited—the only route between the shop and my home—
was gone.
It had sunk beneath the rainwater and seawater.
[A Mysterious Shark Spotted at the Festival]
The swollen water sloshed over the walkway and railings.
The current, rushing at an incredible speed, looked dangerously threatening.
I had lived in Fishbone Town my whole life, but this was the first time I had ever seen the walkway submerged like this.
Even though it was my first time witnessing such a sight, I could tell instinctively—
trying to cross it on foot right now would not be a good idea.
With no other choice, I returned to the shop.
“I had a bad feeling about this… and it actually happened. I really can’t go home now.”
“You can’t go home?” Sharkrof asked.
“The walkway is completely underwater. I think I’ll have to stay here until the water recedes at least a little.”
“That’s a problem. It doesn’t look like the rain will stop anytime soon. You’re not going to end up spending the night here, are you?” he said, resting his chin on his hand.
“Don’t say things like that. It might come true,” I replied.
“Well… to be honest, I wouldn’t mind spending the whole night here with you, Marina.”
He continued,
“At least one thing is fortunate. Because of the rain, the air is humid, so my gills don’t dry out as quickly as usual. I think I’ll be fine staying here all night with you. It’s a rare opportunity—rarer and more precious than a large pearl.”
“So on humid days, you can stay on land longer…?”
“Of course. The weather is important. The rate at which my gills dry and the rate at which laundry dries are almost proportional. So on days when laundry doesn’t dry well, my gills stay moist too.”
Sharkrof spoke as if he were explaining something profound.
At this rate, every time I hung out laundry, I’d end up thinking of Sharkrof’s gills.
I needed to shake off this strange association quickly, so I changed the subject.
“Anyway, I’ll try to think positively. It’s not a good situation, but it’s not the worst either. In a warm seaside town, storms like this are almost an annual event, right? Though weather this intense is a bit rare. When I was younger, there was one storm just as big. Compared to then, things are much better now.”
“Why?”
“Back then, it wasn’t just wind and rain—we had a blackout too. I was really scared as a kid. At least now, the electricity is—”
I couldn’t finish my sentence.
All at once, the lights in the shop went out, plunging everything into darkness.
“Well… I guess it’s not that different from back then anymore.”
I muttered awkwardly.
“I’ll go find some candles.”
I fumbled through the darkness and brought back a candle.
Sitting together in the dark shop, relying on a single flickering flame, the situation somehow started to feel a little funny.
When I thought about how I ended up in this predicament, I couldn’t help but smile.
Sharkrof, on the other hand, seemed lost in deeper, more romantic thoughts.
“Sitting together in the dark like this… it feels kind of special.”
He gazed at the wavering candlelight as he spoke.
“Special?”
“Yes. It feels like we’re sitting together in a cold underwater cave. It’s very cozy.”
His metaphors were still hard to fully grasp.
“I usually don’t like fire. It’s dry, and I hate anything dry. But sitting here with you across this candle… I don’t dislike it as much. It creates the perfect atmosphere for sweet, intimate, romantic conversations. Don’t you think so, Marina?”
“Well… I’m not sure.”
His dreamy tone made me smile without realizing it.
“Now that I think about it, you’re more optimistic than I expected, Sharkrof. Even in a situation like this, you can find something romantic. You said you were worried about how I’d get home, but you don’t seem scared at all.”
“I am still worried, of course. But I’ve decided to stay calm. After all, bad weather always clears up eventually. More importantly, the humid air means I can endure for quite a long time. As long as I can stay here with you, everything else is trivial.”
He continued confidently,
“I’m a shark who knows how to feel a healthy sense of danger, but I’m still brave. There’s nothing that could make me shrink back in fear—”
At that moment, a deafening crack of thunder cut him off.
It sounded like lightning had struck nearby.
Startled, I turned toward the window.
The flash had already vanished. Outside was dark and quiet again.
I turned back to Sharkrof.
“Sharkrof, did you see that? I think lightning just struck right next to the shop—”
But he wasn’t there.
For a moment, I was confused, wondering where he had gone.
Then, from beneath the counter, a pale figure slowly crawled up.
It was Sharkrof.
He glanced at me nervously.
“I fell off the chair. Just a simple mistake. I definitely didn’t shrink back because of the lightning.”
His voice made it obvious he had.
“Of course. Someone as strong and brave as you wouldn’t be scared of thunder, right?”
“That’s right.”
When I teased him with a doubtful look, he grew visibly flustered.
It seemed he desperately needed an excuse to change the subject.
Suddenly, he stood up.
“I just remembered something I need to do. I should check the situation outside again. I’ll be back.”
“You’re going out now? But—”
“I want to see if the walkway to town is still flooded. I’m definitely not going out because I got embarrassed and need to run away for a moment.”
“But the rain hasn’t stopped, so I doubt anything has changed…”
I said, but he had already rushed outside.
Of course, being a shark, he didn’t bother with an umbrella.
“Sharkrof! You should take an umbrella!”
But there was no reply.
He was already gone.
I quickly grabbed an umbrella and followed him outside.
He hadn’t gone far.
There wasn’t anywhere to go.
The walkway was still completely submerged, just like before.
Standing in the pouring rain, Sharkrof had already turned into a drenched mess in that short time.
He didn’t seem to care at all about being soaked, making the umbrella I brought completely useless.
Noticing me, he turned around.
“You should take an umbrella. Though… judging by how soaked you are, I guess it’s already too late.”
Instead of answering, he muttered thoughtfully,
“Marina, the walkway is still the same. And I don’t see any land-dwellers coming to help.”
“Yeah…”
I replied absentmindedly.
“The current is too rough—it’s unfortunate. If the water were calm, I could transform into my shark form and carry you across on my back.”
“Ride on your back?”
He seemed to mistake my surprised expression for disappointment.
“There are sea people who boldly dive into even rougher waves than this. But me… perhaps if I hadn’t been caught in a storm as a baby shark, I would have been that brave too. Still, don’t be disappointed, Marina. Clear days always come back.”
“I’m not disappointed…”
“When the sea calms down, I’ll give you a ride anytime. I may be a rough shark, but I’m confident in my elegant swimming. I could move smoothly enough to surprise you.”
“Well… carrying a person while swimming sounds hard for you. It does sound fun, but I’ll just appreciate the thought.”
Riding on a giant shark like people lying on surfboards waiting for waves didn’t seem like the best idea.
Sharkrof looked slightly disappointed at losing the chance to show off his swimming skills, but he quietly followed me back into the café.
Once inside, his drenched state became even more obvious.
Soft white clothes were practically meaningless when soaked through.
Through the wet fabric, his bare body was almost completely visible.
Shivering slightly, he said,
“It’s cold. Probably because my clothes are wet. Would it be okay if I took them off until they dry?”
Not long after, I found myself sitting in the dark, facing Sharkrof—
who was now wearing nothing but a beach towel around his bare body.
His completely soaked sailor uniform was draped over a chair to dry.
