"Hmm… should I go kick his fish bucket now to prove something?"
After hearing the young man's words, Astra lightly tapped her right index finger against her lips, pondering deeply as she asked Wise beside her.
"Better not. You'd become the 'Queen of Releasing Fish' then," Wise said with an exasperated expression.
Even if she did, there probably wouldn't be any fish left in that bucket for her to release anyway.
Speaking of fishing, Wise suddenly felt like trying it himself, so he borrowed a fishing rod from Grandpa Gu.
Then, without even baiting the hook, he cast the line directly into the water. He silently counted for less than ten seconds before there was a tug on the rod.
Seeing this, Wise quickly reeled it in. The fish below offered no resistance at all and was pulled straight out of the water.
It was surprisingly large, and the scene instantly left the two people beside him dumbfounded.
Astra, who had also been watching nearby, reacted almost the same way.
"Amazing! Where did the person hanging the fish even hide underwater?"
"Miss, this man clearly has real skill!"
Feng's words weren't unfounded either. As soon as Wise unhooked the fish, he cast again and immediately caught another one.
With movements that swift, even if someone really were hanging fish underwater, they wouldn't have enough time to attach one to the hook.
"Grandpa Gu, this guy is incredibly skilled!" Feng exclaimed excitedly.
"You don't need to tell me. This young man... no, young sir, how did you do it?"
"Uh, this…"
The enthusiastic expressions on their faces left Wise unsure of how to answer.
In reality, he had no special technique at all. He had simply acted on a whim, imbuing the fishing rod and hook with his charm, and the results came naturally.
"Just like the person beside me said, cast the rod and count to ten seconds. The key is sincerity."
Out of helplessness, Wise casually spouted nonsense.
Even Astra beside him could tell it was nonsense, but Grandpa Gu's enthusiasm for fishing seemed to grow even stronger.
[Ding! Target Astra Yao: has increased her favorability toward the host by 5. Her current favorability is now 65. Additionally, 300 Emotional Value has been obtained.]
[Current Emotional Value: 33700]
Wise felt that the increase in favorability was probably because Astra found his actions interesting.
"Oh, by the way, there's a lighthouse over there. Can we go up?"
Astra didn't dwell on the matter for long and instead looked toward the distant lighthouse.
After learning from Grandpa Gu that they needed permission from the keeper, McDunn, the two immediately set off to find him.
Upon hearing their request, McDunn readily agreed. After thanking him, Astra Yao revealed an excited expression.
"Let's go! Up to see the seagulls~"
The two quickly reached the top of the tower, but just as McDunn had said, there wasn't much scenery to enjoy. The sea was obscured by the Hollow. There was plenty of sea breeze, though.
As for the other side, there was nothing but city and desert.
At that moment, Astra quietly gazed at the sea without speaking. She seemed completely lost in thought.
The lively expression she usually wore faded away, making her seem more like the person from the posters.
Wise didn't disturb her. He simply stood there quietly, watching her. Then, faintly carried by the sea breeze, he heard a woman's soft voice.
It was Astra.
"Hum hum~ Happy birthday to you."
"Hmm? Is today your birthday?" Hearing her softly singing the birthday song, Wise couldn't help but ask curiously.
Astra didn't hide it and nodded decisively.
"Yes, today is my birthday. Only today... No matter what, I don't want to sing for people I don't like, and right now, Eve isn't here..."
As she spoke, Astra's expression became slightly downcast. Although Wise didn't know who Eve was, he couldn't just stand by after seeing her like this.
"Happy birthday to you~"
A gentle melody came from his lips. It was only a simple birthday song, one he had sung just a few times before for his sister.
Still, he sang it sincerely, and his voice itself was quite pleasant.
Astra was clearly stunned when she heard him sing, but she didn't interrupt him. She simply listened quietly until the very end.
"Mm, it was very nice. Thank you."
[Ding! Target Astra Yao: has increased her favorability toward the host by 5. Her current favorability is now 70. Additionally, 800 Emotional Value has been obtained.]
[Current Emotional Value: 34500]
"I'm glad you liked it. I was just thinking, since you don't want to sing for people you don't like today, then maybe I can sing for you instead? After all, I'm one of your listeners too."
Wise smiled softly as he spoke, and that gentle smile etched itself deeply into Astra Yao's heart.
[Ding! Target Astra Yao: has increased her favorability toward the host by 10. Her current favorability is now 80. Additionally, 2000 Emotional Value has been obtained.]
[Current Emotional Value: 36500]
A smile naturally appeared on Astra's face. Clearly, Wise's words had made her much happier.
Then she looked out toward the distant sea once more.
"I know the higher-ups at TOPS value me, and I know those people in black just want to take me back to where I'm supposed to be. But I just want to be willful for once. Or maybe… I want to see whether I still have the courage to even say the word 'willful.'"
As Astra spoke, she suddenly turned to look at Wise.
At that moment, she had already removed her sunglasses, allowing him to clearly see her beautiful face for the first time.
"I'm very glad about all the decisions I made today, especially asking you for help! Even though I'm confident I could've escaped on my own, it definitely wouldn't have been as happy as this. Thank you for staying with me. As thanks, and also as a commendation, you are my only listener today~"
"I'm honored."
Wise's soft response made Astra nod lightly, though the girl whose thoughts constantly jumped around soon began thinking about something else.
"'Ice Queen'... when did I start giving people that impression...?" Astra muttered to herself.
"You're very different from the image in your movies and albums."
Wise felt that this was probably why Astra could wear sunglasses without being recognized. The gap between her public persona and her real personality was simply too large.
After all, most people would never, subconsciously, connect two completely opposite personalities to the same person.
And Astra agreed with Wise's words.
"Of course. Work is work, and I am me. Actually… sometimes I wonder if I've gone too far. Could this lively version of me just be a disguise to comfort myself…?"
At that point, Astra couldn't help but sigh.
"Sigh… I'm a year older now, but it feels like nothing has changed…"
"Nothing changing can also be important," Wise replied softly.
"Heh, you're right. I hope I still have the courage to be this willful on my birthday next year. I'll have to ask you to clear the way for me again then~"
"Mm."
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Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street
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