"We have arrived!"
As Chika cheered loudly, Nifuji gazed into the Matsushimakougen Station in silence, appreciating the breathtaking scenery before him.
A coastal sanctuary, this was the best way to describe the view that appeared before his eyes.
As they walked out, they were greeted by a view that blends small-town Japanese charm with the promise of the sea.
The station is set slightly back from the water, but the salt air is immediate. The street directly in front is lined with traditional-looking buildings, seafood restaurants, and shops selling grilled oysters.
"Onii-chan, look at those pine trees!"
"Yeah, it's interesting."
The two saw the "Matsushima" namesake—stunted, windswept pine trees (matsu)—decorating the hillsides and the park areas surrounding the station.
"So, where are we going?" Chika asked curiously.
"Let me see the pamphlet."
Using his smartphone might be good, as he could find everything instantly, which was a good place and where the bad place was based on the review, but somehow, it lacked the fun, and frankly, it was boring.
Nifuji knew that it was irrational, but he felt the thrill that came from the unknown, like how we felt interested in those who didn't feel the same way as us and didn't appreciate those who had given their hearts to us.
'I wonder why?'
Probably, this was also the reason why people adored cats, as they were unpredictable.
Using a pamplet might be strange, as this trip wouldn't be unknown, but it was created by a human, and because of that, it was imperfect, and they might enter a dud, which was what made this trip interesting.
"There is a cruise tour over there. Do you want to go?"
"Go!" Chika agreed without hesitation, but naturally, she didn't forget something. "Onii-chan, take the photos!"
"Okay, okay."
Nifuji took Chika's smartphone and took several photos of the scenery of the station, which he knew she would upload to her social media account.
Still, Chika was as smart as ever, since she knew that while Nifuji's ability in business and getting close to people might be something everyone thought was amazing, Nifuji's photography skill was at a god-like level.
While she knew it might be shameless for her, her social media account now had many followers thanks to Nifuji's photos.
Nifuji probably also knew that he had made Chika's random trip, and that she had a lot of followers; if he wasn't wrong, he happened to see that she had 14,543 followers.
Was it a lot?
There might be some who had more, but for most people, it was extremely a lot, and based on her niche focus, which was a random trip to places that people hardly visited, he knew that this could become another source of money, such as how the local government would ask Chika to promote their city location to boost the economic trhough tourism.
One Piece, Chainsaw Man, Naruto, Dragon Ball, and many others might make a lot of money from the merchandise, book sales, and all other things, but Chika, if she were successful, could get a steady sum of "a lot of money" from her advertisement job.
With her skill and talent as a mangaka, his photography skill, and also their interesting topic, which was a trip, as no one hated to take a trip, or even wished to take it, considering how everyone needed to take a breath and rest, tourism was definitely one of the businesses that never died.
"If you can write in English, it will be better."
"Is it?"
"Yup, you can add followers from all over the world, and you can make a lot of money from just social media alone."
"....." Chika.
"I was kidding. You wanted to become a mangaka, right? So you should focus on that, but..." Nifuji patted Chika's head and said, "Don't give up social media, too. As it is your tool to work, and also helps you to think about going to an interesting place, maybe in the future, we will have a foreign trip version."
"Foreign trip!" Chika's eyes shone brightly, thinking of going to another country with Nifuji, which was interesting and definitely an unforgettable experience!
"Where do you want to go, Onii-chan? Alaska?"
"Why!?"
Nifuji sighed helplessly, but then he would be lying if he wasn't curious. "Well, the easiest is Southeast Asia, but I wonder whether you can handle the heat."
"Yup, yup! Southeast Asia is too hot!"
"But, Alaska is cold."
"Cold is easier to handle than hot, right?"
"That's true."
If one was cold, they just needed to put on more clothes, but if they were hot, they could only use an air conditioner, hide under the shade, or do many other things, since the heat was just unbearable.
This was also why most traditional Japanese houses had good ventilation, or even large doors and windows.
Still, at this moment, the world had become modern, something that was out of reach before had become something that was easy to get, and everyone took it for granted.
Like how he thought of Chika's existence as something that he thought for granted, thinking that she might be with him forever.
"What's wrong, Onii-chan?"
As they joined a cruise tour, which took them to see the 260+ islands in the Matsushima Bay, Chika saw Nifuji stop to take a photo with his smartphone.
"No, it's fine. I am just thinking that you are cute."
Yup, he thought of Chika as cute, especially when she looked at the distant island with a bright, happy smile as the gentle light and crystal-like reflection on the surface of the ocean bathed her face, making her face glimmer beautifully.
It was hard to explain it, yet he was glad that he had taken the first step and dared to do so many things for so many women, despite how wrong it was.
When he returned, many of his women would probably be jealous, and he knew that it was inevitable, considering how he went out to another city with someone else, but without doubt, this was the price of being with him, and let's think of that later.
"W-What are you saying?!"
"You are cute."
"...."
Chika felt that she was being teased, which made her pout since, while she was younger than him, she was also an adult, and later, when they rested in the hotel, they would start to do something that they had been waiting for.
It made her heart giddy, and she couldn't stay calm, so she clung to part of his body.
"...don't cling to that area, Girl."
Nifuji quickly pulled her hands and held them tightly. "Let's watch the scenery quietly."
"Um!"
Along with her silly laugh, Nifuji sighed, yet the two sat down, enjoying the bay's scenery.
It is a striking contrast of colors and textures. The islands are composed of white tuff rock—sculpted into surreal, mushroom-like shapes by wind and waves—topped with resilient, dark green, black, and red pines. This landscape was considered so perfect that the famous haiku master Matsuo Basho was reportedly left at a loss for words, able only to exclaim: "Matsushima! Ah, Matsushima! Matsushima!"
"Matsushima! Ah, Matsushima! Matsushima!"
All of a sudden, Chika suddenly shouted, causing everyone to look in their direction.
"...you are going to attract everyone's attention, is that okay?"
While Nifuji understood why Chika made such a shout, he was somewhat speechless.
"It's fine~!" Chika leaned on him as she showed a cute expression, then clung to him tightly, "Because I have my Onii-chan on my side~!"
"....."
Yup, this girl was too cute, he thought.