"So, in short... Ms. Iefield, you want to go on a romantic cycling trip along the seaside?" I said, looking at the strange sight before me.

"Yes, cycling is a hobby of mine, and this time of year is great because of the high tide, but low visiting rates of the area also; you can call me Ilya since you've still decided to stay after my idiot's outburst."

Ilya said with a cheerful tone and a pleasant smile contrasting the chokehold she had on her idiot.

"R-right. Ilya, can I perhaps talk to Mr. Harper?" I asked, also worried a little about my own safety."

Come on, man. I was just joking with the sub jokes.

She let out a short aww as she let go of the man, and he let out a cough.

"Sorry about that, you see. I think that going to a convention and seeing all of the romance-anime-related stalls is a very romantic occasion befitting our anniversary." He said with his hands together in a thoughtful pose.

"I-I understand the appeal, Mr. Harper, but-" I was quickly cut off as he rushed up from his seat and came closer to me.

"You do?!"

"W-well, I did watch a lot of anime a few years back," I said with a nervous smile and an anxious tone of voice. I faced my dear partner, pleading with her to save my dear life, but all I got in reply was her putting her hands together in prayer.

That's very funny, but please help me.

I was about to call out for help when he was pulled back into his seat by Ilya, who breathed out a short sigh.

I'm sorry for provoking him. It won't happen again, I swear.

I thought as Ilya faced me once more.

"By the way, we didn't quite catch your names earlier." She said with a smile that was absent when she was dealing with her partner.

"Ah, sorry about that. My name's Bridger Blaithe, and this is my partner Myla Marika." I said with customer-service mode activated, and Myla gave a quick nod, a confused and worried look still plastered on her face.

For once, I agree with you on this one.

I thought as the energetic man perked up once more.

"If that's the case, nice meeting you, Bridger; you can call me Hunter."

He said with a cordial smile.

"If only you would be this nice to each other," I said quietly to myself, but it seems they had both taken notice.

"If I did that, he'd be worse than he is now, y'know?" She said, eyes closed in an exasperated voice.

Yeah, I can see that, sorry.

"Indeed, if she did that, her tsundere appeal would go down drastically." He said, eyes closed in an informative voice.

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Yeah, I can't see that, sorry.

I thought as the two continued to squabble. Admittedly, they were kind people in their own right, and judging by how close they were, a good match as well. It seemed the issue then came not in selfishness, but something else. Pondering this, I faced my partner, who was also currently lost in thought.

"You got anything?" I asked with a tired expression.

"Sadly, no. This is a peculiar couple indeed." She said as she put down her signature clipboard and asked me for my tablet. I gave it to her, and she once more left me as she began searching for God knows what.

Thanks for the help.

I thought as I again faced the pair in front of me, still continuing their argument.

"We have all the equipment, and people still haven't found out about the route! If we don't go now next year, it'll be flooded by cyclists and sightseers everywhere." She said with a pout towards her partner.

"And this is the first time a convention of this sort is taking place here in this city, not to mention the home field advantage I have over the rest of the attendees." He said with confidence to cover what was essentially whining. It was getting tiring, but I knew not to lose my cool here, so I began to inquire more about their sides.

"Ilya, why do you want to go cycling in particular?" I said with a somewhat exhausted, but warm smile.

"I was always the most physically adept of my classes back then, and I lived close to my school, so I got into taking my bike to classes and it became a sort of hobby of mine." She said with a nostalgic look, and so I then faced her partner with the same question.

"Hunter, without over-explaining, why the convention in particular?" I said with the same expression I had when asking Ilya. He took some time mentally preparing his answer and chucking the unimportant parts from his head before opening his mouth and replying.

"C-cause... I can have her cosplay someone?" He said with an unsure tone which was missing from his earlier enthusiasm. I wondered if it was something else or if he really couldn't think of anything when Ilya had let out a sigh.

"This is what I've been dealing with for the past few days now; he can't seem to think of a good reason, but he insists on going; he's also been a lot more, well, him nowadays too." She said with a wary expression as she simultaneously lightly hit Hunter on the head.

Hey, I wanna be able to do that.

I thought, glancing at my partner, who had a mortified look as she scrolled through something on the tablet. I took a peek at it as the pair in front of me was currently in their own world and immediately understood my dear partner's reaction. She was browsing a wiki page on the anime where the character on Hunter's shirt came from. It was an anime where this orange-haired gal was the love interest of the MC, her brother. It seemed she had gotten through most of the pages and reviews and was beginning to understand why I was so worked up about this man's hobby.

"You knew about this?" She said with an accusing look towards me.

"W-well, yeah," I said nervously, hoping not to give her another reason to berate me. My confirmation of this knowledge sparked two reactions, both positive and negative. My partner's eyes narrowed, and her gaze became unpleasant as she clicked her tongue. On the other hand, Hunter, who had been busy being told off by Ilya, faced me with a look of sheer joy as he learned of my cursed knowledge.

"You know of it, too?"

"W-well, at the time, it was fairly popular, y'know?" I said, still nervous and still receiving deathly glares from Myla. Ilya seemed to have given up and just rubbed her forehead in frustration.

"Hmm, maybe you might just be who I need." He muttered under his breath - only I seemed to notice as the other two were tired of both of their partners.

"Bridger, can you follow me upstairs for a second?" He said with a determined look.

"Umm, sure?" I said anxiously, and we both got up from the living room. I looked at my partner before leaving the living room, and she gave me a questioning look before replying.

"Go on then. I'll inquire about Ms. Iefield here. Just don't do anything else disgraceful." She said as she faced Ilya, who asked her to be on a first-name basis, as well.

Gasp, she's...she's socializing!

I joked, but I was slightly worried at her proposition. I swallowed those thoughts as I followed Hunter up the stairs into his room. The 2nd floor was a narrow hallway leading to three rooms, one of which I presumed to be the main bedroom and the other a bathroom, which left the last room.

"This is my kingdom," Hunter said with enthusiasm as he revealed the secrets behind the normal-looking door.

God, help me.