Roxanna knew that Azul could breathe underwater, but this was the first time she had actually seen him dive into deep water.

"What do you think?" Azul placed several quartz stones of different colors in front of her. His body and hair were completely wet as he came up from the river, droplets of water sliding down his skin. For some reason... he looked even more attractive like that. "Do these stones look beautiful?"

Roxanna glanced at the quartz for a moment, but soon her gaze drifted back to Azul.

[How can I focus on the stones when my husband looks even more beautiful than them?]

The moment Azul heard that, his heart bloomed with joy. He leaned closer to the shore, then rested his head on the ground, like a merman trying to lure his prey into the water.

"What do you think, my wife?" he said softly, his voice gentle enough to make Roxanna’s heart race. "Which color do you like? I can get more for you."

The softer he spoke, the harder it was for Roxanna to stay calm. For a moment, she even felt like jumping into the water just to hug him.

"I-I like the pink one..." she said shyly. "Rose quartz looks really pretty."

"But not prettier than you," Azul replied in a voice as sweet as honey. He reached out and gently played with a strand of her long pink hair. "My pretty wife."

Roxanna’s face turned red so quickly that she felt like her head might explode.

"S-Stop it!" she said, patting her warm cheeks as if trying to cool them down. "We came here to polish stones, not to flirt!"

Azul raised an eyebrow slightly. "Flirting? I’m not flirting. I’m just telling you the truth."

Roxanna puffed her cheeks, but she didn’t say anything because she didn’t even know how to respond to that. Not far from them, a few crocodiles surfaced from the water, but they didn’t dare disturb their friend, who looked like he wanted to mate with his wife.

"Alright, alright, don’t be mad." Azul gently brushed his fingers against her cheek, letting out a soft laugh. "I’ll get more rose quartz for you, so you should smile more, my pretty wife."

At that moment, Roxanna’s heart felt like it was bursting like fireworks. She couldn’t help but shout, "A-Azul! You—"

Before she could finish her words, Azul had already dived back into the water, disappearing beneath the surface as he searched for more rose quartz for his precious wife.

Left on the shore, Roxanna suddenly heard a familiar sound in her mind.

[Ding! Ding!]

[Side Mission Activated!]

[Mission Name: A Simple Date by the River]

[Goal:

- Spend at least 2 hours with your mate (Azul) by the river

- Successfully polish 4 stone together

- Make your mate’s heart rate increase (x3 times)

[Progress: 0/3]

[Reward:]

The Gift of Cupid — Whenever you give a gift to your husbands or others, they will immediately be smitten with you.

+15 Azul’s affection points.]

Roxanna paused for a moment, slightly stunned. She hadn’t expected the system to suddenly give her a mission like this, especially one that matched her situation so perfectly.

Anyway... the Gift of Cupid?

Just the name alone already sounded powerful. A passive skill that could make anyone fall for her the moment she gave them a gift... that was almost unfair.

With something like that, she wouldn’t have to worry anymore about how to win someone’s heart.

But could she really keep making Azul’s heart beat faster? He looked completely calm even when he said those sweet things.

[Looking normal doesn’t mean his heart is normal, Host!]

Well... that was true.

She wanted to think about it more, but before she could, Azul had already come back up to the surface. This time, he brought so many rose quartz stones that they formed a small pile.

[With this many stones, polishing four stones won’t be a problem at all!] she thought.

Azul let out a soft sigh, realizing that Roxanna had probably just received another mission from the voice in her head.

"Here, are all of these enough for you?" Azul asked with a smile. But for some reason, Roxanna felt that something was off about it, like he was a little sad, even if it was only faint.

"This is more than enough!" Roxanna said quickly. She moved closer to the edge of the river, letting her feet slip into the cool water. "But... why do you look a little sad, Azul? Did something happen?"

Azul didn’t answer right away. Instead, he leaned forward and gently rested his head on her legs.

"When I was in the water..." he said softly, his voice softer than before, "...I suddenly felt something in my chest. It felt familiar."

Roxanna froze for a moment, her fingers instinctively tightening around the edge of her dress.

"Familiar?" she repeated softly.

Azul nodded slightly, his cheek still resting against her legs. The sound of the river flowed gently around them, but for some reason, everything else felt quiet.

Azul nodded. "Mhm. I think I also used to collect stones from the bottom of the water back then, but it didn’t look like a river. Maybe more like—"

"An ocean?" Roxanna cut him off.

Azul widened his eyes and immediately lifted his head to look at Roxanna. "Yes... it looked like that. Do you think I really came from the ocean?"

Roxanna replied, "I can’t answer that for sure."

Azul let out another sigh. "If only I could remember the way to the coast."

Roxanna gently caressed his head. "Don’t worry. You still have plenty of time to remember. Besides... I think we should wait until I give birth, because I don’t think I can follow you to the ocean once my pregnancy starts to show."

Azul blinked several times, and suddenly, his heart started beating so fast that he almost couldn’t breathe.

[Azul’s heart rate increased (1/3)]

"You... want to go to the ocean with me?" Azul asked hesitantly.

Roxanna tilted her head slightly. "Why not? You’re my husband, so of course I should go with you when you’re about to face something dangerous."