Chapter 410: Departure
“An aquarium, huh? Alright.” Adele readily agreed to the two little ones’ request.
She then grabbed a cushion from the sofa, placed it in front of her chest, and lay down, browsing information about nearby aquariums in the Eastern Capital on her phone.
There it was! The largest aquarium in the entire Eastern Capital.
“The Sea Mystery Aquarium!”
It was a world-class, modern, large-scale ocean aquarium, divided into multiple exhibit areas, showcasing over five hundred different species of fish and aquatic life! It also boasted one of the world’s longest underwater tunnels, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the deep and tranquil underwater world.
“That’s the one! The Sea Mystery!”
“Mrow!” A sudden sensation on her bottom made Adele yelp sensitively.
Turning around, she saw First Snow, now in cat form, using her little paws to “knead” Adele’s perky bottom. After all, the girl’s bottom was soft and bouncy, irresistible. First Snow purred happily.
Adele scooped her up, holding her by the scruff of her neck, making her curl up in her arms. Girl and cat together browsed information about the aquarium.
Gazing at the pictures of colorful, diverse fish swimming in the blue underwater world, First Snow’s mouth almost watered. Perhaps she saw the aquarium as the world’s largest “cat buffet.” Unlike other cats, First Snow was a magical Cat-Bird. This granted her the ability to pass through walls and space. The aquarium’s protective glass was no obstacle to her.
Therefore, if First Snow wanted, she could enter the aquarium’s exhibits, swim among the fish, and eat to her heart’s content. Seemingly reading First Snow’s mind, Adele warned, “You can’t do anything that would trouble the aquarium staff!”
“If you want to eat fish, First Snow, I’ll buy you any fish you want!”
“Even if I can’t afford some… Headmistress Winona will definitely buy them for you, so be good, First Snow!”
“Meow…” First Snow let out a disappointed meow, her mischievous thoughts exposed.
Adele ignored her and directly ordered three aquarium tickets online. Although First Snow was a cat and could be carried in, bypassing the need for a ticket, Adele followed the normal procedure and bought tickets for all three of them. She wouldn’t take such a petty advantage.
After all, Adele was now a civil servant of the Human Race. As a civil servant, she should set an example. Unbeknownst to others, Xiao Ai approached the girl, gazing at Adele’s slightly upturned bottom and quietly swallowing.
“Should we invite the other sisters, Mom?” By now, Xiao Ai had changed a lot, no longer possessing the same intense and terrifying possessiveness as before. Perhaps because she had personally witnessed the affection of those older sisters for her mother, which was no less than her own.
More importantly, she knew that her mother also held equal affection for them, and would worry about them no matter what happened.
Adele shook her head, answering Xiao Ai’s question, “It’s not the weekend today; the sisters have classes.”
“And Mom is special; I can work when I want and study when I want~”
“Then isn’t that the same as Sister First Snow~” Xiao Ai said with a sweet smile on her face.
“What! Comparing Mom to First Snow, that lazy little cat?” Adele raised an eyebrow, pretending to be indignant.
First Snow, lying in the girl’s arms, immediately let out a pitiful “Meow!” As if saying, “I’m not a lazy little cat meow!”
“Alright, alright, First Snow is the most diligent, diligent in eating fish, diligent in sleeping, the best Cat-Bird baby~” It sounded like coaxing, but in reality…
First Snow wasn’t stupid; of course, she could hear Sister Adele’s teasing. So she curled up into a ball, huffing. It took a lot of petting from Adele to soothe her. By then, First Snow had transformed into her cat-girl form, straddling Adele’s waist, hugging her slender waist, her cherry-colored lips slightly pouting, looking up at Adele with a coy “Then… I’ll forgive Sister Adele” look.
Because the girl’s face was too tempting, taking advantage of a moment when Xiao Ai wasn’t paying attention, Adele gave her a quick peck. The little cat-girl’s cheeks instantly turned red.
She shyly and nervously glanced in Xiao Ai’s direction. Fortunately, Xiao Ai was using her tablet to look up information about their afternoon trip to the aquarium, not paying attention.
First Snow was half-relieved. As for the other half, that would only be settled when she buried her face in the girl’s slightly swelling chest, waiting for the blush on her cheeks to completely disappear.
“Sister Adele… naughty meow…” First Snow murmured in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible. “But, I like it meow…”
It could be said that all the coaxing and petting Adele had done earlier couldn’t compare to the power of that secret kiss~
So, if you want to appease a girl, don’t waste your breath, just get close! That was Adele’s experience. Absolutely effective! And if it wasn’t effective, it wasn’t her problem, meow!
Thus, after a leisurely afternoon rest, taking advantage of the end of the hottest part of the day at 2 p.m., the girl changed into outing clothes and, together with Xiao Ai and First Snow, set off from the dormitory, leisurely walking towards the school gate.
Adele had booked a ride-hailing service in advance, and the car arrived just as they reached the school gate. Unlike within Cromwell Academy, magic couldn’t be used for transportation in the Eastern Capital, otherwise, one would face penalties from the Enforcement Bureau. Therefore, taking a taxi was the most convenient way to travel.
However, even within Cromwell Academy, students weren’t allowed to use magic freely in public areas. First Snow was the exception; she could practically run wild within Cromwell Academy. But outside the campus, even cats had to behave.
The aquarium was located in a famous tourist development area in the Eastern Capital, about a twenty to thirty-minute drive from the academy.
Along the way, Adele, like any young person living in a bustling city, was glued to her phone, browsing recent news and messages. In contrast, Xiao Ai and First Snow seemed particularly excited about their outing.
Adele sat in the middle of the back seat, with the two little ones on either side, peering out the windows, admiring the cityscape.
After some time, tired of looking at her phone, Adele stretched her neck, which was sore from looking down for too long, and gazed out the window.
In early spring, the sky was a beautiful azure blue, calm and gentle, like the eyes of an angel.
Chapter 411: The Cat’s Philosophical Question
The Sea Mystery Aquarium. Even though it wasn’t a holiday, as the Eastern Capital was a famous economic and tourist city, it was always bustling with visitors. If Adele wasn’t so accustomed to and fond of the comfort of staying at home, the Eastern Capital had many attractions and places like the aquarium waiting for her to explore.
The three of them got out of the ride-hailing car, and the platform automatically deducted the fare from Adele’s bank card, saving them the trouble of scanning the driver’s QR code. Then, they walked towards the entrance hall of The Sea Mystery Aquarium.
There, Adele retrieved the three tickets she had booked online. Presenting them to the ticket inspector at the entrance, they smoothly entered the aquarium.
“We’re lucky; we can see the mermaid show today!” Adele exclaimed, looking at the notice board displayed at the entrance. It depicted a beautiful mermaid gracefully swimming in a magnificent underwater world, full of mystery and fantasy.
The advertisement also used catchy phrases like “once a year” and “the arrival of the sea princess.”
Although Adele guessed that the organizers of The Sea Mystery Aquarium had probably invited some famous underwater synchronized swimmers or even dancers, having them wear artificial mermaid tails and perform a dance with fish in a huge tank.
Before her transmigration, Adele had seen similar performances, so she remembered them vividly. Not to mention, the young women playing the “mermaids” were all very sexy~ wearing bikinis that made people blush. It was a type of fanservice that the public enjoyed.
Xiao Ai smiled, but her happiness didn’t seem related to seeing the mermaid show. It was because her mother was happy; therefore, Xiao Ai couldn’t help but feel happy too.
As for First Snow, she looked utterly perplexed. Her cat ears twitched back and forth. A passing girl noticed and exclaimed to her companion, “Wow, where did she get those cat ear headbands? They’re so cute~ They even move on their own!”
“I want to buy them too!”
Indeed, to conceal First Snow’s cat-girl features, Adele had given her a suitable headband. As for the cat tail, it wasn’t a big problem, because First Snow could control her tail, wrapping it around her snow-white thigh. The only inconvenience was that the tip of the little cat-girl’s tail would occasionally twitch involuntarily, touching a sensitive spot and causing her entire body to fluff up.
“Alright, alright, we’ll buy them. But as a price, I also want to buy a matching cat tail~” The passing girl’s companion joked flirtatiously.
“A cat tail? Wouldn’t that make me… you naughty thing!” the girl said, blushing, as if remembering something, and quickly ran away. Her male companion hurried after her.
It’s worth mentioning that because the three of them—Adele, Xiao Ai, and First Snow—were so strikingly beautiful, especially Adele and Xiao Ai, the “sisters” in the eyes of passersby, they attracted countless gazes. Fortunately, most of the girls were of the “mind your own business” type, unaffected by the stares of others.
“First Snow, what are you thinking~” Adele noticed the little cat-girl’s confusion and naturally reached out to stroke her fluffy cat ears. “Could it be you suspect there are real mermaids among the performers?”
The girl teased the little cat-girl. Because if First Snow really suspected such a thing, it would be incredibly adorably naive.
Unexpectedly, First Snow shook her head and said, “First Snow doesn’t think so meow.”
“First Snow is just thinking, if I really encountered a mermaid in this world…”
“Could First Snow eat her fish tail meow?”
“Isn’t it natural for cats to eat fish meow?”
“But she also has a human part meow…”
It seemed that Headmistress Winona had taught First Snow not to harm humans, making it one of First Snow’s behavioral principles. But this conflicted with the rule that “it’s natural for cats to eat fish.”
Adele raised an eyebrow slightly, surprised. “Your question… is quite philosophical!”
After all, mermaids possessed both “human traits” and “fish traits,” making them unique beings. People couldn’t consider them entirely human, nor could they treat them as mere fish, or even food. So, don’t just assume that cats are all about eating, sleeping, and partying at night while roaming the streets during the day. Occasionally, they ponder quite interesting questions!
As for the answer to this question, Adele was straightforward. “Silly goose, don’t think about that!”
“Just tell me, do you like yellow croaker?”
First Snow’s eyes lit up. “I like it meow!”
“Then steamed bass, sweet and sour mandarin fish, fish head with chopped chili, boiled fish, grilled fish… all kinds of fish! Do you like them!”
“I like them meow!!”
“If you like them, why are we worrying about mermaids? Even if we were to eat them, it wouldn’t be in that way!”
First Snow was suddenly enlightened. Sister Adele was right meow! There were so many fish in the world, so many delicious things, why was she fixated on mermaids? Truly, “listening to your words is better than studying for ten years meow!”
“Hehe, after watching the mermaid show, I’ll treat you to an all-fish feast.”
“Xiao Ai also likes to eat fish, right~”
“Mm.” Xiao Ai nodded.
She did like to eat fish. But her favorite was something she couldn’t openly “eat” right now…
After resolving First Snow’s “mermaid problem,” the three of them naturally followed the crowd into the aquarium’s first exhibit area, the tropical zone. It’s worth mentioning that The Sea Mystery Aquarium was divided into several zones based on region and climate. Generally, it would take an ordinary person an entire afternoon to explore it thoroughly.
Of course, that was with careful observation. If one were to rush through, merely “increasing their step count on WeChat,” it would be a quick tour.
Adele planned to visit a few specific zones, such as the cold-water zone with seal performances, the polar zone with cute penguins and polar bears, and The Sea Mystery Aquarium’s most famous underwater tunnel, over a hundred meters long, immersing visitors in a genuine underwater world surrounded by colorful, vibrant fish.
First Snow planned to note down some interesting fish. When she returned to the academy, she would tell Xiao Wei, and Xiao Wei would buy them for her to eat~
As one of the twelve Legendary Mages of the Magical World, Winona indeed had the privilege and financial means to do so.
And if they were delicious, First Snow would also bring them for Sister Adele to eat. This act of using Winona’s money to support other women was hard to ignore. One might even think of Headmistress Winona in a certain, not-so-flattering way… Ahem!
