The box looked old and worn out. The outer wood had peeled away, and several parts were cracked, as if it had been knocked against something hard over and over again. Roxanna leaned closer toward it and even from a distance, she could already smell the strong scent of the ocean.

It made her even more certain that Azul truly came from the sea, not just some random river.

But how could a beta fish live in the ocean?

She had thought that maybe he could survive there in his human form, but still, wasn’t the ocean too dangerous for a small fish-beast like him?

Roxanna had never seen any beasts from the ocean since she arrived in this world, but she was sure there must be many dangerous creatures there, like sharks or even something as terrifying as a kraken. Because of that, even if Azul could live in the ocean in his human form, there was no way he could fight those dangerous beasts every single day.

"Do you think... there’s something useful in here?" Azul asked Roxanna hesitantly. He opened the box, letting her see its contents, which consisted of more shells, several small pearls, and some pebbles that likely came from the ocean floor.

Roxanna observed everything for a moment before replying, "Only you can answer that question, Azul. Are you sure there’s nothing here that can trigger your memories?"

Azul frowned and said, "Like I told you before, I can’t see anything special in these items."

He lowered his head, looking like he was truly convinced that this was just a waste of time. Roxanna, who for some reason strongly believed they would find something useful today, said, "Don’t give up too soon!" She added, "How about you look at the items one by one, but this time without anything else around them? Maybe that way you can observe them better."

Even though Azul still looked hesitant, he nodded anyway because he wanted to appreciate his wife’s effort. "Alright."

Roxanna smiled brightly, then took one of the items from the box before closing it again. "This red pebble looks very shiny, like it has been polished over and over again by someone. Do you think you were the one who did that?"

Azul looked at the shining red pebble for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "No... I don’t think I have that kind of hobby. Or maybe I did? I’m not sure."

He couldn’t even remember anything, so how could he possibly know what his hobbies were in the past? However, Roxanna didn’t want to give up that easily, so she kept trying to find another way.

"What do you think is the right way to polish stones from the ocean?" she asked casually, trying to help him relax, even just a little. "I’ve never done it before, but it actually sounds kind of fun, right?"

[Honestly... polishing stones together could be a simple but really nice date,] Roxanna thought. [Maybe we can collect stones from the river and spend time there together.]

The moment Azul heard her inner thoughts, he became more eager to figure out how to polish stones. Even though he didn’t know anything, maybe he could still figure it out.

"I’m not really sure either, but..." Azul took the red pebble from her hand and looked at its shiny surface carefully. "...maybe we can polish it by rubbing it against a rough stone or using coarse sand."

A bright smile slowly appeared on Roxanna’s face. "That sounds like a great idea! Do you think you can show me how?"

Azul frowned. "Right now?"

She nodded quickly. "Yes, right now. We can get stones from the river." She added, "There’s nothing wrong with going to the river now, right?"

All of her husbands were busy tearing down the buildings in the settlement, and even though Roxanna wanted to help them as well, Azul’s problem was more urgent right now.

"Maybe... we can do that," Azul said after thinking for a while. "We can come back before sunset."

Roxanna clapped her hands a few times, feeling happy because her husband agreed with her idea. She quickly stood up and brought the wooden box with her as they headed toward the river. Along the way, she passed by her other husbands. She simply waved at them, smiling as brightly as the sun.

Her husbands waved back at her. At first, they thought it was a bit strange that Roxanna was leaving the settlement, but since she was going with Azul, they didn’t try to interfere. Besides, her inner thoughts had already explained everything.

[I’m going on a date with Azul! I’m going on a date with Azul!]

She sounded so happy that her other husbands didn’t even feel like getting jealous.

To be honest, Roxanna herself didn’t understand why she felt this happy. At first, she only wanted to help Azul remember his past. But now... the idea of going on a date with him made her heart feel light and excited.

[Maybe this is because of our baby,] she thought. [It must be happy to spend some quiet time with its papa.]

Azul raised his eyebrows slightly. He didn’t understand why she called him "papa" instead of "father," but the word sounded soft and cute. Maybe, he would use it too when their child was born.

"Don’t walk too fast," Azul said when he noticed Roxanna looked like she was about to run instead of walk. He gently held her arm so she would slow down. "You might trip."

Roxanna didn’t argue and decided to walk more slowly so she could stay right beside him.

"Azul, Azul," she called his name in a cheerful tone. "But the good pebbles are usually at the bottom of the river. Are you going to ask your crocodile friends to get them for us?"

"No," he replied without hesitation. "Since this is our attempt to bring back my past memories, I should be the one to collect the stones from the bottom of the river myself."