As they entered the town of Acid, her husband looked around curiously, fascinated by the novelty of it all. The main street was bustling with people as usual, their appearances and forms diverse.

“Wow, Mika-chan, this town is so cute! Hey, everyone’s smaller than us. Adorable! Oh, what’s that shop selling?”

Dada called out, “Hurry up!” to her husband, who kept lagging behind while distracted, but he showed no sign of concern, thoroughly enjoying his sightseeing.

“Papa, Dada’s telling you to hurry.”

“Ah, sorry, sorry. Mama, you can understand what Dada’s saying, huh?”

“Huh? …Oh, right, I hadn’t activated the telepathy magic tool yet. But you greeted Dada earlier, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. Because you said she’s someone who always takes care of you, right?”

Apparently, her husband had been joining the conversation purely based on vibes. A skill that’d make him fit right in even overseas! But this would be inconvenient, so she hastily had Dada lend him a telepathy magic tool.

“Eh, ah, wh—! A beauty mark…”

“Look, I have one here too. Hurry up, Papa!”

“Let’s hurry, Papa Ogre!”

Whoa, now he could understand them!

And it matched Mama’s!

Muttering to himself, he ran after them toward the guild.

The Adventurer’s Guild barely batted an eye at Mika’s group rushing in, as if this was nothing new. By now, their exploits were well-known among adventurers. So even if an extra ogre had joined them, they were trusted enough for it not to raise alarms.

With a quick wave to the receptionist, they passed through, announcing they were heading straight to the Guild Master’s office.

“You again… What kind of trouble have you brought me this time?”

The Guild Master sighed, shrugging in exasperation. Their last visit—just two days ago—had been about the Flower. He’d apparently been buried in paperwork at his desk in the back, stacks of documents piled high before him.

Pointing at the table in front of the sofa set (just the right size for Mika’s group), Dada said,

“Master, look at this. Papa Ogre, put that Dragonfish on the table.”

The moment the Guild Master saw the fish her husband placed down, his demeanor changed instantly.

“Where did you find this? Was it alone?”

“No, near the door where we got the key the day before yesterday. There were tons of them! Are they delicious?”

“Aaaaah, Dada, you didn’t explain?!”

“No time for that. I only just saw it myself.”

Staring at the already lifeless Dragonfish, the Guild Master suddenly grew frantic and launched into a rapid explanation:

Dragonfish originally spawn as small fish-type monsters, about 15 centimeters long. They’re aggressive creatures that attack anything—human, animal, or monster—that enters their territory. Their sharp teeth can inflict injuries if bitten, but conversely, they’re easy to catch if you’re trying to fish them out.

Because of this, rivers and ponds where Dragonfish spawn are popular fishing spots, and they’re exterminated the moment they appear.

However, if they spawn in remote mountain areas with few people, they might go unnoticed and multiply unchecked. Once their numbers exceed a certain density, they begin cannibalizing each other—growing larger in the process.

The Dragonfish Mika’s group caught was a whopping 70 centimeters long. Just how much had it eaten? And with so many more still out there, continuing to cannibalize each other… What kind of monstrosity would they eventually become?

“You did well finding them. I’d like to issue an emergency request—can you head back there immediately and wipe out the Dragonfish?”

And just like that, Mika and her husband’s otherworldly date took a sharp turn into work.

By sheer circumstance, her husband ended up registering as an adventurer too, and since they couldn’t leave Flower behind, she joined them as well.

Mika thought to herself:

Shopping’s changed to fishing!

In other words, as far as Mika was concerned, the date was still on.