The Monster Multiverse

Marlow, The Romanticist
Prose Written Format


In the world of the endless sea, a Merrow by the name of Marlow daydreams of a day when she finds the man of her dreams. Sitting alongside her other underwater friends, they share their happy relationships with their familiars, much to Marlows envy. Sitting on a round table outside the balcony of a mermaid café, they meet up every week to talk.

“So one day when I was away to gather some fish for dinner, my hubby had a surprise waiting for me at home.” One of the ladies, who was a mermaid, bragged with pride as the other girls who were a Scylla and a Flowkelp with her husband in tow.

“Oh yeah, what did you find?” The Scylla inquired.

“I came back to see a trail of flower petals, which led to the kitchen where I caught him struggling to even cook something as simple as a mackerel that he caught this morning! It was so funny since he didn’t even think I’d be back much sooner than he expected, then he overcooked it too when he claimed he was done! He had no cooking talent at all!” The girls all giggled with the exception of Marlow, who just sighed in jealousy.

“What’s wrong Marlow? The others thought it was funny.” Looking at her mermaid friend, Marlow gives her a look of discontent.

“Oh come on now, you know why she’s like that, Juli. She’s the only one in our group that hasn’t found a hubby of her own yet, so of course she’d be jealous.” Her Scylla friend mentions with a tone as if this isn’t the first time it’s happened.

“Thanks for pointing out the obvious Detra, Of course I’m jealous, you guys have all your stories of your hubbies, and I…” Right in the middle of her rant, she hears her Flowkelp friend making out with her lover on the spot “SEE?!” Pointing to the couple, they both stopped for a moment as they realized that all eyes were on them. “Damnit I want a hubby of my own! Oh why great Poseidon of the Sea! Have I done something wrong to ire your wrath?!”

“Sorry, was that a bad time to do that Marlow?” Her Flowkelp friend spoke softly to her.

“Of course it is Kelpy! If you and Aster are being all lovey dovey, do it at home where I’m not around to see it! Ehe!” Calling her Flowkelp friend by a nickname she gave her, Marlow whined like a child before placing her arms on the round table where all the girls were. She places her chin under her arms to hide her scowled lips.

“She does have a point. It’s not exactly a good time to be making out in the middle of our girl talk, which really isn’t even one at the moment since Aster is here. No offense Aster.” Detra commented as she waved both arms in a dumbfounded gesture and sighed.

“Not at all Detra, they have a point Lil, let’s go back home for now, then I can spoil you all you want.” He said to her as she happily snuggled up to him, wrapping her kelp all over his body.

“I love you Aster.” She said softly, smiling as she kissed his cheeks “Sorry girls, I’ll be leaving early. I’ll see you all next week.” She said before the both of them left.

“Sorry Marlow, guess having those two around was a bad idea with you here. Ever since little Lil found herself a man, they’ve been glued together all the time, enjoying each other’s company. But it wouldn’t be right to just leave her out of our chats either.” Marlow just looked at Detra, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh before continuing.

“I know, but damn it. It sucks that all of you now have your own husbands and I don’t! Is it really too much to ask for a dashing man of adventurous spirit to come and sweep me off my tail?!” Sounding more and more annoyed by the second both Juli and Detra tried to cheer her up.

“Oh it’s not so bad Marlow, there’s plenty of fish in the sea…or I guess in our case plenty of men amongst the land. That phrasing doesn’t roll off the tongue nearly as well as the fish by the sea thing…” Getting off topic, Detra interrupts Juli.

“The point is, you’ll find your man soon Marlow, just be patient and it’ll come. I know it will. I mean you’re beautiful, curvy, and your ideas about romance are so outlandish that you’d be good at making him laugh!” Detra couldn’t help herself, teasing Marlow.

“Hey! It’s not that outlandish! Think about it, a seafaring man with a body to match the strength and vastness of the sea! Tall, handsome, strong, who will carry me by the fin and whisper sweet nothings into my ears before we make love under the sun…” Marlow then starts to drool as her overactive imagination starts to go overboard. “The beautiful rays of sunshine reflecting off our moist intertwined bodies, the sounds of our lewd moans a…” Before she could finish, Juli stopped her by covering her mouth with her right hand.

“Okay we get it! You want to have romantic, scenic sex with your dream man! But do you really think it’s going to come that quickly? It took me months to find my man, and boy, he was a poor little lad, drowning in the water right before I swooped in and saved him! The way he looked at me was the best as he saw his savior. Since then we’ve become lovers!” Getting lost in her own memories, she starts to blush and puts her left hand on her cheeks, swaying her left and right out of endearment.”

“Wait…hey Juli your husband couldn’t swim? What kind of a man was he, a kid?” Hearing Marlows question, Juli's eyes widened, getting more flushed as she started to sweat nervously.

“Uh…HEY, I just remembered that I promised that I’d be home…uh around this time yea! Sorry I gotta go girls, See yah!” Swimming off in a hurry, both Detra and Marlow looked at Juli swim away with doubt in their eyes. Detra turns to Marlow.

“Well, I guess it’s time for me to go as well. I do have some grocery shopping to do before going home to my hubby. My advice to you Marlow is to just be patient. Maybe Poseidon will take pity on you and give you a chance encounter with the man, who knows? Though the only places I could see that happening here in the deep sea is Ryugujo.” Marlow turns her head quickly around to face Detra, grabbing her by her shoulders, Marlow starts to shake Detra around as if desperate for more.

“Ryugujo?! Where is that Detra, tell me please!” Her shaking becoming more vigorous, Detra wrapped her tentacles around Marlows arms and forced them off her.

“Alright, I’m pretty sure that soon, an Otohime girl named Sasaki is going to be visiting Ryugujo, and along with her are usually guards of both humans and mamono alike. The place in general is also packed with humans as it’s a place for them to find the ‘pleasures of the sea’ or something like that.” Marlow's eyes lit up with excitement as her smile grew bigger.

“Where’s the place Detra, please tell me you know where?” Desperate, Detra sighed at seeing her friend getting so excited over hearing of Ryugujo.

“So you know how right now where in the lower west part of the sea? You know where it’s generally warm and cozy? Well Ryugujo is at the upper eastern part of the sea where the climate is colder. It’s not a place that you can just swim to in a day, and even if you did get there, the changes in the water temperature there will make you sick. You may as well forget about going there Marlow.” Hearing Detra speak the truth, Marlow's expression changed, her eyes drooping down as she started to frown. “Look, I have to get going. Again just be patient and love will come to you I promise.” One of her tentacles had a jar on it, she pulled out what seemed like an assortment of silver and bronze coins and placed them on the table “I’ll pay for our drinks this time. Take care Marlow.” Hugging her goodbye, Marlow hugs her back before speaking.

“Yea…see you later.” Sounding sad, Detra looked worried, but had to leave to finish her shopping in time. Now all alone, Marlow looks up at the ocean and sees the sun’s rays lighting up the sea. “Ryugujo huh? If it’s the only way, then I guess I don’t have a choice!” Slamming her hands on the table, Marlow slapped her cheeks together before clenching her fist “Time to find me a man!” With determination in her eyes, she swims away from the café. “But first, I should probably pack up and prepare for the journey ahead.” She then heads towards her home to prepare for her journey.

*Meanwhile out in the distant sea, about south of the Zipangu region.*

“Looks like we got our work cut out for us today huh boys?” Speaking to a group of thirty men on the deck of a ship, the captain wearing what looked like a naval uniform rallies his men. A beautiful Otohime princess by the name of Sasaki was there beside the captain. She had long, dark blue hair. She’d normally be wearing more traditional Otohime clothing, but in this case, she instead wears a plain white Kimono with Red stripes that go vertically around it. Her lower tail looked more akin to a dragon’s tail than a mermaids, with hard looking scales and a reflective, light brown color. Her ample F cup size breasts protruding out of her kimono, showing a risque cleavage. “We have been given a task to safely transport princess Sasaki to her destination Ryugujo. This job as you’d expect is very important and therefore, we must be sure to make Sasaki get there smoothly and safely. I want all of you to pay special attention to the great sea as she can be a cruel mistress.” In the middle of his lecture, one of the men raised his hand. Seeing the man, he was a tall man of six feet and five inches, with a muscular build, wearing a sleeveless white shirt with blue stripes along the edges of the shirt and blue pants. His striking blue eyes along with his blonde, short hair made him stand out from most of his crewmates.

“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, how come we’re the one given this task? Surely Princess Sasaki could easily charter a more suitable vessel to take her to Ryugujo.” Before his captain could reply, Sasaki spoke up.

“Captain…who is this man?” She asked in an annoyed tone as she looked at the captain for answers.

“His name is Jason.” Sasaki looks back at Jason.

“You see Jason, I’ve always traveled around the sea underwater. Exploring the underwater beauty that is the sea, but I have always been told that the sea is just as beautiful on the surface as it is underwater. So before my return to Ryugujo, I would like to see the majesty of the surface of the sea myself to see if it’s really what it’s often praised to be.” Speaking her mind, she whips out a fan from her dress’s pocket and covers her mouth with it “Now then, less dawdling, more sailing men! I’m expected to be at Ryugujo in three days, so sally forth!” Speaking for the captain, the men simply cheer aloud. As the men cheered and entertained Sasaki, the Captain walked to Jason and motioned him to follow him. Leading him to the left side of the ship, he speaks to Jason.

“Listen lad, I know this isn’t what you’re used to, or I guess what you signed up for, but this task was given to us directly by her mother. Princess Sasaki is going to take her mother’s place as the main entertainer of Ryugujo’s famous dance balls. We’ll be well compensated for this, so just bear with princess Sasaki’s whims until then alright?” With his arms crossed and a serious look on his face, Jason sighed before nodding his head.

“Yes sir. Sorry for causing a scene. I just didn’t expect our journey to the seas to be this rowdy.” Jason scratched his head in confusion as he stared at the deck where all the men were talking and praising Sasaki. Accepting their praise as she patiently talks and entertains the men around her. She sees him for a moment and softly smiles and waves to him before going back to talking with the men.

“In the end, princess Sasaki means well. She gets along with the men here and is sagaciously patient with their flirtatious behavior. She might even pick one of us to be her suitors huh? Wouldn’t that be nice?” The Captain said as he chuckled at the thought.

“Yea I guess...” Jason said, sounding doubtful. The Captain simply sighs before leaving Jason alone. Later that day, Jason was resting his arms on the rail of the deck, staring at the half sunken sun as night started to arrive. “I never thought that after my apprenticeship, I’d end up as an escort for the next princess in line for Ryugujo. I thought I’d get more experience getting to see what the sea has to offer first, a vast, potentially uncharted island that may hide lost civilizations, species of Mamono, or even treasure.” Without noticing, Sasaki gently floated next to him, resting her arms on the rail as well.

“Well I very much apologize if your first naval journey isn’t what you expected…” Speaking up, Jason jumped as he didn’t hear her at all until she spoke.

“Princess Sasaki!” Jason tried to kneel to her, but before he could, Sasaki used her fan and placed it on his chin.

“Jason, I don’t do well with stuffy formalities like that. Now get back on your feet and keep me company will you?” Surprised, Jason looked up and nodded before getting back up, standing next to her “You know, it’s not always easy to be an entertainer you know? Always being the center of attention, always beautiful, always peerless, and always perfect. The pressure of it all can be rather overwhelming you know? The only solace I get is whenever I have time to myself and just stare at the sea before me. I’ve seen all there is to see under it all. Beautiful corals, cities scattered through the ocean floors with each one having its own unique set of individuals. It’s nice and all, but I’ve seen it all as well. Through all the things that are beautiful and peaceful alike, I have never seen one that matches the sight of the sea on its surface.” Taken by surprise by her words, Jason was simply in awe as he silently listened to her. “Pretty soon, I’ll be back home, and this time I’ll be the center of attention, dancing away as the people demand so the tradition of Ryugujos paradise may prosper for another generation, until I find a man of my own to bear my child and repeat the cycles anew.” With the sun nearly setting down, the gentle glow of the moon starts to peek through the edge of the sea, its gentle light softly illuminating the sea. “Before my return, I just…” Before finishing her sentence, she fully turns her body towards him, the few reflective fabrics on her Kimono giving off faint glow as the moon starts to emerge “I want to enjoy these days of peace, quietly watching the sea and it’s gentle majesty at night, and basking on it’s warm days dancing my fins off till I captivate myself a man of my own.” Smiling ever so gently, Jason blushed slightly, his mouth slightly open. “Um…Jason your mouth is open.” Hearing her, Jason covers his mouth with his right hand.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to look like that in front of you princess Sa-“ Before he could finish, Sasaki pouts, biting her bottom lip in annoyance.

“What did I just say Jason? You don’t need to be so formal here!” Seeing her annoyed, Jason scratched his head and apologized.

“Sorry about that, Sasaki.” Hearing him calling her name casually, Sasaki smiles “But Sasaki, I heard you girls like the attention. You girls like to dance, be the center of attention, all of that right?” Hearing his question, Sasaki tilts her head in confusion for a moment, but then her eyes lit up a moment later.

“Oh yeah, I take it you got that from the encyclopedia that humans make of us Mamono right? Well those entries are usually right, but only half of it. In truth, we do love to do everything that book says we do. We enjoy taking men to places in Ryugujo, making him feel the very best he can be, and maybe if he feels good enough, he may even end up helping us bear the fruits of the next generation. But even then, we have to take breaks every now and then. We love to dance and it’s our way of relaxing, but it’s physically exhausting, So having these short respites where we go ‘abroad’ to learn of new dances or experiences is just a bonus of what were really after when we go out of Ryugujo, and that’s to relax our bodies and just lay low for a bit before we go back and do the usual. Though I guess you could say that for me in particular, I may feel more inclined to stay at Ryugujo if I found myself a man. But as it stands now, this will be my last time in a while to take it easy.” Jason nodded as he didn’t realize what burdens Sasaki carried.

“I see. Well if that’s the case, I’ll help to make sure your journey beforehand is as peaceful as can be.” Smiling at Jaso’s words, Sasaki grabs his hands with her own, feeling her gentle, soft skin touch his hands felt comforting.

“Good, I’m counting on you and the others Jason.” Sasaki said before turning around as she started heading back inside the ship “Come now, dinner should be ready soon. You won’t want to miss my dancing in the dining room to lift up the atmosphere in this ship.” Saying so, Jason smiles back to her.

“Right!” Going with her, they make their way to the dining room together.

*Meanwhile, back to Marlow*

“Alright, I have everything packed and ready for my journey!” Inside her house in her bedroom, she pumps herself up for tomorrow’s journey, staring down at her suitcase which carried about two days worth of clothing and food. “If I take the sea train, it should only take a few hours to reach Zipangu from here. The tickets are going to be expensive, but I have enough to get there and back, and even have some money to spend in my time in Ryugujo!” Marlow raises her arms high with passion in her heart. She turns around to look at herself in a full size mirror. She has bright green eyes, her hair was curly like the other Merrow, but her hair was longer, extending down to her back. Posing in various lewd poses, imagining how she’s going to attract her future lover. “And then, I’ll finally meet the man of my dreams!” She yells aloud. Resting at her home, she sleeps until the break of dawn to make her way to Zipangu.

*The next day*

“Time to head off, the girls will probably wonder where I went, but I’m tired of being the only one in the group who hasn’t found a hubby yet!” Determined to find herself a man, Marlow sets off as she leaves her home and starts to head towards one of the sea train stations in town to make her way to Zipangu.
*Meanwhile at the girls usual spot.*

“So…it’s just the two of us here then huh? Juli said as she was in the café along with Detra. Inside the café and various buildings of the underwater town of Coralin, the doors, windows, and any other parts of the buildings are enchanted with magic which keep water from flowing in the buildings, giving the human and Mamono a chance to be dry and eat food without the worry of water getting their food wet.

“Well, with Lil finding her husband, it’s only natural that we won’t be seeing her every single time we meet, and even when we do, those two often make out without any regards as to where they are. Though aside from her…” Detra noticed that Marlow wasn’t there. “Marlow’s always the first one to be here.” Detra said to herself, trying to think of any reason why she wasn’t there.

“You don’t think she was so upset with me and Lil about talking about our husbands, that she decided not to show up right?” Juli asked, but Detra quickly remembered what she said to Marlow yesterday.

“Oh crap…this is my fault.” With a worried tone, Juli grabbed Detra by her left arm.

“What? What did you tell her?” Detra placed her right palm on her forehead, shaking her head left to right before speaking.
“She probably got the idea that if she goes to Ryugujo, she’ll find the man of her dreams there.” Juli’s eyes lit up with surprise.

“What, you know what she’s like! Once you give her an idea, she’ll stubbornly follow through until she gets what she wants! Going there alone is a bad idea since she could be taken by less than reputable men!” Juli said as she recollects some horror stories she’s heard. “Not everything in Ryugujo is as bright and cheerful as it seems. She could be tricked and taken by men who want her as nothing more than a sex slave, or god even a pet!” Detra bit her lip, frustrated that she told Marlow where Ryugujo is.

“Wait, but there’s supposed to be Mamono elite guards there that stop suspicious fellows from entering right?” Juli shook her head.

“It’s true that there are multiple guards around Ryugujo to make sure things don’t go out of hand, but with so many visitors and activities going around, it’s impossible to keep track of every little thing that happens there. Just a few months ago, I heard from the news that several mermaids were captured by what they thought was a group of men looking to elope, but really they were shady merchants who were after their blood. The girls were drugged and had their blood drawn to the point of near death!” Detra started to sweat nervously, her eyes getting dark as she feared the worst. “Some of the girls were even sexually violated. No love, just the men selfishly tearing their maidenhood from them, leaving them scarred for life.” Realizing the threat, Detra gets off the table.

“Juli, sorry but I have to go after her! I can’t leave her alone knowing how gullible and trusting she is when it comes to men!” Without hesitation, Detra leaves the Café.

“Wait, Detra the bi-and there she goes…” Juli said before seeing her swim with great speed from the windows inside “She did pay last time, so it’s my turn.” Juli said before taking her drink and taking a sip from it “I hope those two will be okay.” Trusting Detra, Juli stays in the Café a little while longer to enjoy her drink.

“Finally here…” Making it to her first stop, Marlow got to the sea train station. She looked up at the billboard above her, seeing the scheduled times each train leaves, and where they lead to. “There it is.” Seeing Ryugujo on the board, she sees that she has five minutes to go before the train leaves “Made it just in time too.” Making her way to the receptionist, she pulls out her wallet, ready to pay “Hey excuse me mam, I’d like to purchase the ticket that leaves for Ryugujo.” The receptionist was a Nereid girl, greeting Merrow with a smile, she types on her cash register to check the prices for the ticket.

“Hello dear customer! Yes we do have tickets for Ryugujo even at this moment! Since this travel plan is special, we do have a higher price for the tickets than we normally do. But it’s still cheaper than paying for multiple tickets to get there normally.” Marlow tilted her head, confused as to how the ticket is special, but she didn’t have time to really ask.

“Oh um okay? So how much is it?”

“The price is two gold coins or any coins equivalent to two gold coin values.” Marlow’s mouth opened in awe at how expensive the ticket was.

“Holy, two gold coins?! Uh well I guess it’s worth it if it’ll get me there the fastest.” Marlow said, slightly annoyed as she pulled out two gold coins and gave them to the receptionist.

“Indeed it is. This ticket will take you from here to Ryugujo within a five hour period. Since Ryugujo is having its famed princess return there to dazzle her long awaited admirers, demand for tickets has suddenly skyrocketed, but we promise we’ll offer fair prices.” Finishing her pitch, the receptionist handed her the ticket. “Here you are! The train that leaves for Ryugujo is going to be on the far right side of the station. Enjoy your trip!” Waving Marlow goodbye, Marlow grabs her suitcase as she heads for her train. When she arrives, she sees that the train is nearly packed, filled with various Mamono species and even some humans in the mix.

“Wow, this train looks ready to burst with so many people in it, oh well time to get in while I still have some room.” Marlow goes inside the train and manages to squeeze her way inside and sees a reasonably spacious seat “There…” Sitting down, she sits next to a mershark and her friend. “Sorry, I hope you don’t mind me sitting here.” She said to them.

“No problem stranger! We’re all here for the same reason after all, so we might as well get comfortable and get to know one another, yeah?” The mershark said, sounding excited as her human companion sits with her.

“Yes of course. My name is Marlow, and you two must be heading there to spend a lovely time together.” Saying that, the mershark and her friend looked at each other for a moment before smiling and laughing “I uh…was it something I said?” Marlow asked before the mershark shook her head.

“No, not at all. It’s just you assumed me and my buddy here are a couple together right?” Marlow tilted her head, confused.

“Wait, you two aren’t a couple here to enjoy your time at Ryugujo?” The human then grabbed the mershark by her shoulder, shaking his head as he did so.

“You see uh…Marlow was it? I met Reeka here about ten minutes ago. We were strangers before then and just happened to sit next to each other. We got along real well and I guess you could say we hit it off right away. So we’re headed there to uh…well spend an intimate time with one another. Isn’t that right Reeka?” Patting her head, Reeka’s face turns red, her tail flipper happily swaying up and down.

“Yup, what Gabriel said, I can’t wait to wrap my arms around you.” With Reeka happily hugging him, the two make their love for another well-known as other passengers who notice them clap for them. Marlow also claps for them, though her claps were slightly more aggressive due to jealousy running deep inside her.

‘Must be so nice to have one another…’ Marlow thought to herself before the two noticed how awkward they must have made Marlow feel and stop cuddling one another.

“Oh I’m sorry Marlow. Here we are already getting impatient and getting lovey dovey and you’re here next to us waiting for us to stop.” Gabriel said, apologizing. “Why did you come here Marlow? I see that you’re alone.” Marlow scowled as he said that.

“Gee thanks for being so considerate.” Annoyed, she took a deep breath before speaking again. “Sorry, I just get jealous whenever I see people hitting it off while I sit here, all alone. But I just met you guys so of course you wouldn’t know anything about that. Anyways I’m here because I heard that in Ryugujo, anyone can find a special someone for them, and I’m determined to find my beloved there as well.” Reeka took a closer look at Marlow, seeing her have a bright pink curly hair that reaches down to her back. Her red hat adorned her head which seemed to be preventing her hair from looking like a complete mess. Adorned with various, colorful coral-like bracelets around her arms, wearing nothing but black clam bikini which was normal for mermaids. On her waist she had a string strapped around her which had various sea shells and colorful gems attached to them.

“Hey you’re a Merrow aren’t you?” Reeka asked before smiling “Oh I see now, yeah I guess it should have been obvious you were alone given that you still have your hat. Well I’m sure you’ll find a wonderful man there.” Reeka said, giving her a thumbs up.

“Thank you, that’s really nice of you to say.” Marlow said blushing slightly. Reeka then without warning grabbed Marlows breast “Kya!” Surprised, Marlow turned around, covering her chest away from Reeka. “Hey what was that for?!”

“Hehe sorry, but with melons like those, I’m sure it won’t take long for a man to just greet you with their eyes glued to your chest.” Marlow shook her head as Reeka said that.

“I don’t just want a man to look at my chest. I want him to see me eye to eye, holding one another in an embrace that can only be described as sensual and gentle…” Before long, Marlow faced turned red, her breathing getting more erratic. “Then…he’ll slip his fingers gently in my lips, rubbing them tenderly before pulling them open with his thumb as he reaches out with his own lips. His tongue primed and ready to assault the insides of my mouth with vigor and drive as if he’s desperately seeking to quench his thir-“ Before she could finish, Gabriel interrupted her.

“Okay we get it! Don’t need to go into detail Marlow.” As he said that, the trains PA system turned on
-Attention all passengers, this train is leaving for Ryugujo district. This is a no stop train that will head straight for Ryugujo, estimated arrival time is five hours. Please behave yourselves whilst the train is in motion. For the best comfort of all passengers, we will begin to drain the water inside the trains. If there are any of those on board incapable of moving with no water inside, just pull the string on top of the window and an assistant will come to your aid. Thank you for choosing the one and only Sea train Hydra!-

“Looks like the train’s done talking to the passengers, five hours huh? Shorter than I expected.” Gabriel said.

“Heh, that means we’ll be there by late afternoon when night hits. I’d say it’ll be the perfect atmosphere for us.” Reeka said “And hey, that includes you of course Marlow.” Reeka said blushing, almost sounding like she’s suggesting something.

“Wha-I’m not interested in that kind of thing!” Marlow said jumping the gun. Reeka laughed at her reaction before waving her right hand around in a joking manner.

“Yea yea I know, I just wanted to see how you would react. Normally I thought Merrows would be into that kind of thing, but I have a feeling you want something more personal and intimate.” Reeka then snuggled up to Gabriel again. “I know I do…” Blushing, Gabriel simply nodded with her. The train started to drain of water, leaving Reeka and Marlow stuck on their seats.

*Meanwhile just outside of the Sea train station.*

“Huh?” Seeing the train moving, Detra’s eyes widened in panic “Oh crap!” Putting both her hands on her head, she shook her head left and right “No I’m too late!” Seeing her panic, the Nereid receptionist calls out to her.

“Mam, can I help you?” Hearing her, Detra swam quickly to the reception booth.

“That train! Is it leaving for Ryugujo?!” Detra asked.

“Yes mam, I’m sorry the train’s maximum occupancy was filled up just a few moments ago.” Detra thought to herself, thinking that Marlow was the one who filled in the last spot.

“When does the next train arrive?” The receptionist shook her head.

“I’m sorry mam, but that train is a one stop only. It heads straight for Ryugujo and will take approximately five hours to get there.” Detra’s shoulders dropped as she looked down at the desk.

“Damnit…this is stupid to ask but, is there another way I can get there with the trains here now?” To answer her question, the Nereid looked at the schedule on her monitor.

“Let’s see…to get there normally, you’ll have to take three stops all together. It’ll cost about five gold coins or any coin value equivalent to get all tickets necessary. And unlike five hours, between the stops, it’ll be a seven hour trip there.” The Nereid said. Seeing Detra still looking down, she wonders if Detra heard her “Mam?” Detra suddenly raised her arms up high, raising her head towards the top of the ocean.

“Damn you Marlow!” Her scream scared the receptionist as she backed away a little. “The things I do for you I swear…” Looking back at the receptionist, her tentacles pull out her purse jar, taking out three gold coins and ten silver coins. “Sorry…just frustrated about a certain ditzy Merrow friend of mine.” Annoyed, Detra slides the coins into the receptionist’s desk.

“Merrow…ah you mean that young lady that came here not too long ago yes. She was quite happy to go there from what I could tell. Um, anyway here you go.” Handing out the three tickets she needed, the receptionist places her hands on the desk and looks out of her desk, then pointing at a train to her right. “The train right over there will take you to where you need to go. The other train’s numbers should match the tickets you have so you shouldn’t have a problem finding the other two on your way to each stop. There’s a fifteen minute grace period between each train departing, so make sure to get to the trains as quickly as you can.”

“Thank you so much.” Bowing lightly, Detra heads for her train to hopefully catch up to Marlow.

*Back at the Navy ship.*

As the day moves to afternoon, the navy ship finally arrives at its destination. They see a dock where numerous boats and ships of various sizes are anchored. Located at the south east end of Zipangu, residents of the land greeted them with smiles and all. There at the deck of the ship was Sasaki, eagerly waving back as she announced her return.

“I am back my lovely citizens; the time for jubilation has begun!” Yelling to them, the number of people there to greet her was immense and tightly packed, with some of them nearly falling off to the sea with everyone pushing and shoving one another to take a look at Sasaki. The navy men all gathered behind her to watch her return.

“Wow…so many people are here just to see her back. There’s probably at least three times as many people here as on the ship, and we’re a trade escort ship so that’s saying something.” One of the crewmen said.

“Well of course men! Princess Sasaki here is the centerpiece for this year’s Ryugujo festival. Though the place is always lively, her arrival marks the retirement of the previous queen Otohime as the successor princess Sasaki takes over.” Jason, who stood next to the Captain, watched silently as he seemed happy for her. “Heh…don’t even think about it boy, your chances to be her next lover to be is practically zero…” The captain said to Jason, seeing him with his smile.

“Hey! I wasn’t looking at her like that in that way, Captain!” Blushing red, the captain laughs at his retort.

“Hahaha yea, sure Jason! To be fair, Otohimes love to please so maybe if you try hard enough, she might consider.” Laughing again, Jason just let out a sigh and ignored his Captain’s remark. Before they realized it though, Sasaki turned around as the men neared the docks.

“Alright boys, drop anchor and when you’re all done, meet me at the port.” Without warning, Sasaki jumped off the ship and straight into the water.

“Princess Sasaki!” Without thinking, Jason jumped overboard and went after Sasaki.

“Jason wait you-“ The captain tried to stop him, but it was too late as both Sasaki and Jason hit the water near shore. “That idiot…” Mumbling to himself, he shook his head before looking back at his crew “Men, furl the sails and lower the bridge down. Form a line and start heading for the port.” Saluting their Captain, the men did as instructed as one by one they lined up and slowly filled the port.

“Jason?” Underwater, Sasaki saw Jason underwater with her, he attempted to swim down to where she was, but he soon started to run out of breath. He tried to swim up, but his right hand was grabbed by Sasaki “Wait a moment Jason.” Feeling a warm light surround him, Jason saw the outline of his body glow light blue. As the light faded, Sasaki smiled and let go of his hand. “Now try breathing again Jason. You should be able to now that I’ve used a spell on you.” Trusting her, Jason nodded and took a deep breath. Just as she said, Jason was able to breathe underwater like he was breathing in air.

“What…how does this work, and for that matter how am I able to talk underwater like it’s normal?” Sasaki giggled at how perplexed he was.

“It’s simple really. This spell basically creates a thin barrier around your body that converts the oxygen present in the water into air that you can breathe in. As for how you can speak so vibrantly without any distortion underwater is that it converts your speech into vibrations which like sound in the air travels around until it hits someone, in which the vibration is turned into sound of your voice. I can sit here all day and explain how it works in detail but the point is, you can breathe and speak underwater without issue now.” Sasaki swam up a little before looking down. “Come on, let’s surface for now since I have to talk with the rest of you guys on the port.”

“Alright I’m coming.” Swimming up with her, Sasaki and Jason surfaced as they saw the captain and his men on the port.

“Jason ya twit! You should know that mermaid types like Princess Sasaki here don’t have any risk of drowning you fool!” Scolded, Jason just laughed nervously.

“Sorry captain, force of habit you know?” Sasaki giggled hearing them before speaking.

“Okay men, since you all helped me get here safely; I want to invite you all to watch the successorship ceremony where I take over for my mother!” Saying that, she spreads her arms forward in front of the men, a large magic circle surrounded the men. They all look in awe at the size and power required to create a magic circle of that size. “Since Ryugujo is at the bottom of the sea from here, I’m afraid all of you will have to get a little wet as we have to travel underwater from here!” When the magic circles faded, the men were covered in a faint light blue color as one by one, they jumped into the water. With the Captain following suit, he dives underwater and sees his men underwater testing out her magic’s effects.

“Incredible…it’s like I’m on land, but I can move around in all directions underwater.” Not too long after, they see a giant carriage underwater rising from below, it was pulled by what looked like sea horses, but of a much larger size.

“We will be taking a ride on this carriage and taken straight below to Ryugujo. Since it’s rather deep, the Sea Horse carriage will be the fastest way to get there.” The carriage doors opened as they were greeted by mermaids and sea bishops alike.

“Welcome to the sea carriage Centurion! We will take you straight to Ryugujo, please board the carriage in a single file line.” One of the mermaid attendants said as the men all formed a line and got inside. The inside of the carriage was spacious, spread out horizontally with each side having room for five people to sit in. The wide spacing between the seats along with the length of the carriage meant there was enough room for everyone in it

“Wow, I’ve never seen sea horses this big before.” Rather than the carriage, Jason was busy admiring the Sea horses instead, their bright yellow scales shimmering in the ocean. He felt his hand grabbed by someone as Sasaki smiled next to him.

“Haha, usually it’s the carriage that people go gaga for, but you get so excited by just seeing a pair of Seahorses? You’re a funny man Jason!” Realizing how awkward the situation was as he felt Sasaki holding his hand, Jason blushed and tried to pull away, but he instead pulled Sasaki closer to himself as her ample breast pressed against his arm.

“Wah! I’m sorry!” Sasaki let go and laughed as she saw Jason panic.

“It’s okay really! Come now let’s not keep the others waiting!” Swimming beside her, they make it in the carriage as it starts its descent towards Ryugujo.

*Back at the Sea train*

“Hey…is it just me or are the waters here starting to feel colder…” On board the Sea Train Hydra, Marlow looked out at the windows to see the surface of the sea starting to go farther and farther away from view.

“It seems we’ll be there in about an hour. The sea train has to descend slowly as we go further and further down. Normally us water dwelling Mamono can adjust to changes in the water pressure here seamlessly, but for humans, the only way they can acclimate to the same degree is if they either get the blessings of Poseidon himself and granted a power that allows them to swim and adjust to water like we do, or if they are given accessories of power that grant them the same benefits, like your hat for example.” Reeka pointed out as she pointed at Marlows hat.

“Ah…that’s right. I know this hat is what grants me the ability to swim underwater so easily. Without it, I lose the strength to even move a muscle underwater. It’s odd really considering the fact that the normal mermaid species can swim no problem, but Merrows like me can’t swim without this hat.” Wondering about her own weakness, it made Marlow think back about the reason her mother had told her. ’Someday dear, you’ll understand that there’s something that the man of your life can give you that’ll make all your weakness worth it.’ “I’ll find him for sure!” Pumped back up, Reeka and Gabriel both looked at each other before giggling at one another.

“Say Marlow, the ideal man you’re looking for. What is it that you desire from a man to have specifically?” Gabriel asked.

“Oh well, let’s see…” Thinking to herself, Marlow’s cheeks started to turn red. “Well I want a man that’s strong, you know a man that can lift me bridal style without effort! A man of soft hearted nature that sympathizes with others, being tall wouldn’t hurt either. Other than those, the rest can be a mystery really! Romanticism has to have its air of mystery after all.” Both Reeka and Gabriel looked at Marlow with concern, but they seemed supportive of her and just smiled.

“It’s not like you’re truly alone though are you?” When Reeka asked her that question, Marlow thought of her friends who’re probably wondering where she went.

“My friends…” Thinking to herself, she counts three of her friends by hand. “I guess I should have said something to them before going…” Seeing her mood go down, Reeka tried to lighten her up.

“Uh so yeah, you have friends right?! What’re they like?” Hearing Reeka, Marlow smiled and looked back at her.

“Well, first I have my friend Kelpy, she’s a Flowkelp. She’s very shy and timid when I first met her. She stuck around with us for awhile, talking about our days and meeting our destined ones. But then she got lucky one day and actually managed to nab herself a man! He was skinny and timid, but when it came to Kelpy, those two just stuck together like white on rice, never separating from one another even when it’s supposed to be girls' time only!” Marlow clearly looked irritated at remembering how Lil and her husband were always intimately holding and kissing one another. “Then I guess there’s Juli. She’s a mermaid like me, but she’s not a Merrow so she can swim no problem. She already had a lover of her own and would sometimes bring him up. Apparently she met him at the beach one time when he was alone and the two just hooked up from there. Juli would always listen to my troubles though and comforts me daily, telling me that I’ll find the man of my dreams soon enough.” Remembering the times Juli consoled her, Marlow felt nostalgic and smiled. “Then finally, there’s Detra. Detra’s like a sister to me. She’s always so overprotective, asking me about every man I’d see, even though with my luck, the men I find always have another woman with them! Like Juli, she also consoles me when I get down and depressed, even caressing me in her tentacles. She too has a husband to call her own, but she doesn’t bring him up too often in front of me, even though I know deep down she wants to.” Feeling thankful for her friends, she shortly felt selfish for always feeling like she was the one hampering everyone’s mood whenever she complained about being alone. “Reeka.” When Reeka looked at Marlows eyes, she saw that she was tearing up. “Am I selfish for just talking about my troubles? I can’t even remember the times when I’d ask the girls how their lives were. They’d always just talk about it on their own to try and distract me from my sorrow, but the more I think about it, the more I realize how much of a selfish jerk I was for just pressing my troubles on them instead of being supportive and talking about their lives with their lovers!” As Marlow's voice started to weaken, she couldn’t hold her tears and started crying, using her hands to hide her face.

“Marlow...” Reeka was about to reach for her shoulder, but before she could, Gabriel got up and moved in front of her.

“Marlow…” Gabriel grabbed her by her shoulders. Marlow moved her hands away for a moment and looked at Gabriel. “You’ll find the man of your dreams for sure! I know you will!” Reeka just smiled as she saw Gabriel comfort her, using her right hand to wipe the tears off her eyes.

“You’re not selfish for bringing up your troubles. From what you said so far, it sounds to me that your friends just want to see you find a man. They want to hold out on speaking about their lovers fully until you have one of your own, well maybe except for this Kelpy friend of yours who has her husband with her. But I’m sure even she wants to see you get a husband of your own soon!” With both of them cheering her up, Marlow wiped the rest of her tears off and smiled.

“Thank you guys. I know I’ll find my man of destiny at Ryugujo!” With her spirits lifted, Marlow smiles warmly at the two. “Man, I’m kinda hungry, but I guess I should wait for us to get to Ryugujo before I eat anything.” Marlow said laughing nervously as she felt her stomach growl with hunger.

“Ha! Yeah I know what you mean!” Reeka said in agreement with Marlow. “I feel like I could eat an entire yellowfin tuna all by myself.” Gabriel giggled at the two as he sat back down next to Reeka.

“Hey, there’s more than just the tuna you know. They’re importing all sorts of fish, beef, pork, and chicken meat for the feast. I can’t wait to see how large the variety is!” Drooling a little bit from hunger, Reeka noticed the drool from his chin as she moved her face close to his, licking the drool off “Gyah!” Spooked by her actions, Gabriel winced to the wall of the train next to the window.

“Then after that, I’ll have a taste of your meat Gabriel…” With a seductive voice, Reeka just smiled bearing all of her sharp teeth in front of him as he laughed nervously.

*Back to Detra.*


“Okay…so this is the Amazones train stop. Next I have to go to the middle islands of harpy haven, and then from there I should finally be at Zipangu where they hold Ryugujo. Geezus…I have four more hours to go.” Detra said to herself, looking at the train schedule on the wall on her second stop, she quickly moved to her third train to catch the train going to Harpy Haven. Taking a seat, she looks out the window next to her as she thinks about Marlow “Ever since I could remember, she was always the one talking about getting a human lover first and bragged about being the one to find her love first before any of us three. Now not only did she not find her man, but us three found our husbands before she did. At the time it seemed like fun and games talking about our husbands with one another, but I should have thought more about how fragile Marlow’s feelings were. It must have been like having her heart torn apart over and over again, hearing us talk about our lovers, supportive as a friend should, but also seething with jealousy from within.” Grabbing one of the pots hanging on her waist, she pulls out what looked like a group picture of them at the café. Everyone was smiling at the picture, with Kelpy sheepishly hiding behind Juli as Juli herself was waving to the camera. In the back was Detra who was using her tentacles to hug everyone in the group as Marlow was on her left, smiling as she was holding one of Detra’s tentacles. “Please be careful Marlow. I’ll help you, I swear.” Putting the picture back in the pot, she closes her eyes and rests for a bit before her next stop.

*Back to Jason*

Inside the carriage, Jason sees his entire crewmates flirting with the other mermaids and fellow sea bishops who were in the carriage with them. He saw his Captain with one of the sea bishops as well, seeing them talking to one another as the Captain blushed and laughed, seemingly enjoying himself. “Yet another scene that’ll never get used to.” Talking to himself, he looks at the window on his right behind him and looks up at the sea, noticing the light from the sun getting darker as they head further down. Before he lost himself at the view, he felt a pair of hands lay on top of his. He looks to his left and see’s Sasaki, her hands gripping his left hand.

“I take it you’re normally used to being in a quieter, more relaxed place am I right?” Jason smiled as he scratched his head with his right hand.

“Yea, this lively atmosphere is still something I’m trying to get used to.” Sighing to himself, he takes a breath before speaking again. “Before I became a sailor, I was just a fishing boy, going on small boats and catching fish to bring to my father’s market where we’d sell them. Then after that, I’d just head back home with my family and have dinner with them, rinse and repeat.” Sasaki listened to Jason’s woes, silently nodding before he continued. “It was boring and monotonous, but a happy life. Then as I got older and my father started to develop back problems, it was up to me to bring the gold to the house. I could just carry on my father’s job as a fishmonger, but I wanted to change up the pace of my life, so I went out to seek new opportunities, and soon it came to me in the form of my Captain.” Jason looked back at his captain for a moment, seeing him blushing in embarrassment as the sea bishop was holding her hands in delight, talking to one another. “He scouted me while I was fishing. He told me I had a build that was suited for a hard, seafaring life. So he gave me a chance and I took it!” Jason looks back at Sasaki who simply smiled.

“Sounds like you got the chance of a lifetime there.” Jason nodded, but then looked down at his right hand, seeing all the hardened calluses on his palms.

“When I started my apprenticeship, my Captain dragged me to all forms of labor. From hauling loads to sweeping the deck, no task was too menial, and all were important. It was rough, but it just made my body even stronger. I had my crew as well to cheer me on as well.” The other men with Jason were all happily conversing with the mermaids and sea bishops alike. “It was rowdier than I expected for sure, but eventually, I passed with flying colors and became one of them. The pay afterwards was twice what I’ve earned before as a fishmonger. My family got to retire in comfort, so now I send most of my earnings to them. The rest I keep to myself for food, clothes, or whatever else I need.” Sasaki grabbed both of his hands this time, clasping them together with her own, smiling warmly before speaking.

“You’re such a gallant man Jason. You must have had so many suitors giving themselves to you back in your hometown right?” Jason shook his head at her guess.

“No, not really. When I lived in my hometown, I’m the only man of my age range around there. The town I lived in was mostly populated with either the elderly or children. I was born at a rather precarious time, so I was the only person of my age there. But ever since I’ve been with my fellow crew, I finally have a group of friends my age that I can converse with.” He looks back at the window, this time seeing that it had gotten dark as only faint, shimmers of light permeated from the dark sea. “They’d talk about their voyages through several Mamono and human villages and such. Some of the men here have their own wives waiting for them at home, while most are single like me. Though unlike me, they’re actively seeking out their destined one.” Sasaki’s eyes widened in surprise to hear Jason’s disinterest in finding a woman of his own, grabbing his cheeks with her hands to turn his head to face hers.

“Is that right? No interest in finding women eh? Perhaps the time you spent at your home town with all those elderly and children has desensitized to the woes of women. I’ll make sure that this festival will bring out that inner desire for companionship within you, so you better prepare yourself Jason.” Jason could feel Sasaki’s scaley, warm hands on his cheeks. He blushed as she stared right at him. She slowly moved her head closer to his, her breath tickling his neck before they were mere inches away from each other’s faces. “Watch me carefully at the festival tonight Jason, I’ll make sure it’s a night to be remembered.” Letting go, she laughs as she see’s Jasons beet red cheeks. “Oh, looks like we’re finally her.” Looking out the window, Sasaki see’s the entrance to Ryogujo. A gate adorned with two serpent like dragons serving as its pillars served as the entrance as they soon saw more buildings with lights and signs, bustling with visitors of all kinds. As they pass through the gate, they feel that the carriage feels heavier. “Now that we’re in Ryugujo, there’s a self-sustaining magical field here to keep that water outside of the barrier. It’s safe for us to come out now without my magic keeping you guys breathing.” With a snap of her finger, the thin film of magic surrounding Jason and the crew dissipated. The carriage doors open as they are welcomed to a scene of mermaid and humans alike from left to right, separated by what looked like placed railing. “Girls…” As Sasaki signaled them, the mermaids and sea bishops in the carriage went outside first, with one of them unrolling what looked to be a red carpet as it rolled down all the way to the main street of Ryugujo.

“Talk about a flashy entrance…” Jason said under his breath as he couldn’t believe the number of people lined up from left to right, awaiting the arrival of Sasaki.

“Well then.” Sasaki gets up from her seat and floats out of the carriage. After leaving it, she turns to look at Jason specifically before turning herself back to the people of Ryugujo. “Hello denizens of Ryugujo city. Your princess has returned from her maiden voyage!” As she announced her return, the screams and cheers of citizens and fans alike filled the air with excitement and rejoice. “Through my journeys, I have learned about many different cultures and its people. Today I would like to share my experience with all of you through song and dance!” Sasaki then waves her hands in the air and looks straight up for a moment, staring at the lights and building around her before looking back at the citizens “All are welcome to attend tonight’s festivities in the Ryugujo palace!!!” With her declaration, the people of Ryugujo shouted with excitement even louder than the last. “Now then Captain, you and your men along will accompany me on my way to Ryugujo palace on foot. Know that it is a privilege to accompany me to the palace. Think of it as my repayment for your most enjoyable voyage.” The Captain blushed with excitement, getting up as he looked at his men.

“Okay men, you heard the lady, we are to escort her highness to the royal palace!” The other men yelled out in agreement as they all got off the carriage one by one, each accompanied with a mermaid or sea bishop in their arms. Jason was so distracted by the scene at hand that he hadn’t noticed that his own right arm was grabbed. He looks and see’s none other than Sasaki there.

“Sasaki, wh-what are you doing?!” Flushed red, Sasaki seemed amused by his reaction and just pressing his arm against her chest. He could feel her soft chest through her clothes.

“What does it look like I’m doing, I wanted an escort remember? It seems you’re the only one here without a mermaid or sea bishop on your arm, so I’ll take pity on you and have you to myself.” She eagerly pulls him along with her as he’s dragged out of the carriage. There he notices that all the citizens were all staring at him. Some were staring with their jaws dropped, others in jealousy, and even some were smiling. “Come now, don’t drag your feet and keep me company until we get to the palace okay?” Overcome with everything that’s going on, Jason just stays quiet and looks down at his right arm, seeing Sasaki’s arms wrapped firmly around it. Noticing the way he looked down, Sasaki smiles at him “Hey….why are you looking down like that? Oh don’t tell me?” Misinterpreting his intentions, Sasaki blushes and pulls her left hand closer to her chest, pressing his arm even harder against her chest. When her hand gets near her top, she pulls down on it slightly, revealing more skin. “Once we get to the palace and my festive dance is over…I’ll give you a personal service that no one else will ever get…” Instantly shocked by her words, Jason's eyes widened before instinctively pulling his right arm away from her grasp, his face bright red with embarrassment. But he shook himself from it quickly as he noticed the other crewmates and citizens alike looking at him.

“Ah, I’m so sorry Princess Sasaki! I didn’t hurt you did I?” Calling her Princess in front of the others to show he respects her, Sasaki stood frozen for a moment, holding her pose of being pushed away before letting out a laugh of amusement.

“Hahaha, that was the most energetic way I’ve seen you react this entire voyage! I’m glad to see you’re not so used to the monotony of being a sailor that you’ve lost your personality!” Sasaki moves to Jason and grabs both of his shoulders, propping herself up to meet face to face with Jason “Sorry if I was a little too strong with my approach there. Be careful of how you treat me around the citizens here. I know it’s my fault but….” She looks around her as Jason also notices the looks he’s getting. Some were scornful and many looked worried. “I don’t want to cause a scene here and ruin the mood.” She then bumps her forehead onto his “My flirting there just now isn’t just some formality. Jason I think I found you as the one to be my lover. So please…” She takes her head away before letting go of his shoulder and levelling herself to the ground. She looks up at Jason from his chest. “Let’s enjoy our walk to the palace for now. When the party has died down later, I’ll listen to your reply. Just watch me until then.” Showing a serious expression, Jason could tell how serious she was before grabbing his arm again; she smiled once more before looking at everyone. “Sorry about that everyone! I was just teasing this strapping young escort of mine and got him all embarrassed!” Everyone smiled again once she calmed the situation down. “Now let’s go.” Jason was still blushing, but smiled back to her and nodded.

“Right, sorry about that.” Jason walked at the same pace as Sasaki moved this time as they headed straight for the palace.

*Meanwhile with Marlow*

-Attention all passengers, thank you for your patience. We have arrived at Ryugujo Station! Please watch your step as you exit out of the train. Thank you again for choosing Sea Train Hydra for your underwater travel needs!

“Finally we’re here!” Marlow was the first to exit out of the train, waiting for Reeka and Gabriel before moving on.

“Yea no kidding, that felt like it took forever!” Stretching her arms, Reeka looked behind her to see Gabriel just chuckling in amusement.

“We’ll technically it only took us five hours to get here when normally it would take several days, so it wasn’t that long in the grand scheme of things.” Reeka just sighed at his response before locking her arms around his right arm.

“Right right. Now that we’re here, let’s find a place to stay first, and then we can go ham while exploring what Ryugujo has to offer before the show!” Reeka turns to Marlow, who was lost at all the sights around her “What about you Marlow, you wanna come with us?” Reeka asked as she snapped Marlow out of her lost in thought.

“Oh uh…I actually want to look around by myself. I’ll see you guys at the palace though!” Marlow said nervously. Reek and Gabriel looked at each other for a moment before looking back at her.

“Alright. Be careful around here alright Marlow. It’s especially dangerous around this time because of how crowded it is. Don’t just trust every friendly face you see around here.” Nodding at her warning, Marlow just gives Reeka a thumb’s up.

“Don’t worry about me. Detra warned me about that, I’ll be fine. You two enjoy yourselves.” Gabriel and Reeka smiled at her response.

“Got it, we’ll see you at the palace.” Waving goodbye to Marlow, they leave together as they fade into the crowd. Marlow then leaves the station herself and looks around. There she sees many vendors and stores.

“Wow…this place is even livelier than I expected. But something seems familiar here…” Looking around, Marlow sees the same thing as she saw back with her friends. Men and women of all races walking around the plaza, with most having a couple of their own to walk with which made Marlow feel alone once more. “Damnit…” Looking down, her bangs shadow covered her eyes “I guess I should have gone with Reeka and Gabriel instead…this atmosphere is like a kick in the gut for me...” She clenches her left arm with her right hand and frowns, but she then shakes her head side to side before slapping her cheeks to cheer herself up. “Wake up dammit! I’m here because I want to fix my loneliness! Look out Ryugujo, I’m here on a man hunt!” Yelling out with enthusiasm, she doesn’t notice the people who turn around to stare at her as she moves towards a hotel to find lodgings for the day

“Hey…is that a Merrow? Looks like we’ve found one that’ll be more cooperative with giving us blood than the other mermaids we’ve asked today.” A strange group of hooded merchants overheard Marlow and saw that she’s a Merrow. Interested in her blood, they silently stalk her.

*Back to Detra.*

“This last stop is taking a while.” Looking outside of her window, Detra starts to see the surface of the sea slowly fading as the train heads deeper and deeper to its final stop. “I just hope I make it there before it’s too late. There are plenty of shady merchants there that’ll take the blood of mermaids with or without their consent. It usually doesn’t get to that since there are either guards or their own men around to keep them away, but Marlow is alone. They may try to negotiate with her by giving her something she wants, but Marlow stubbornly refuses to give her blood to anyone until she finds her husband since she wants to give her blood to her lover first before anything else.” Detra grabs one of the jars on her waist and pulls out a newspaper from it. “The last reports of mermaid blood theft were even suggested to have been linked with the Order. Merchants get paid handsomely for mermaid blood that they give to the Order to bolster their forces. Please be safe Marlow.” Still two hours away from Ryugujo, Detra looks at their group picture again in concern as she makes her way there.

*Back to Jason.*

“So this is the royal palace.” Jason looks up as he sees the Ryugujo palace. Standing at twenty stories tall and over ten acres wide, the palace was huge with red pillars adorning dragonic and serpent like designs on it. Each floor segmented by oriental style roofing.

“Indeed. Honestly it’s really not that big compared to some other palaces on the surface, but it’s not the size that matters. My family owns this building. Each generation of newlywed Otohime inherits the palace while the retired previous couple will live their lives in seclusion where they can spend the rest of their lives in comfort. Being raised here, I was mostly trained by my mother and other dancers alike to entertain our guests to the best of our abilities. Tonight an hour from now, I’ll be at the center of the palace on the ground floor where I dance with all I’ve learned from here and abroad. You’d better watch carefully Jason.” Sasaki said as she smiled at him.

“Of course I will, I won’t miss a second of it.” Smiling at his response, Sasaki teases Jason again as she presses his arm against her chest again. “Uh…” He couldn’t say anything in response to her advances, simply scratching his head in embarrassment. Heading inside the palace, the first floor had a huge stage venue that was shaped in the letter of a capital T, the top of the T where the two horizontal lines showed a large pole that stretched out five floors. The stairs of the building were located on the left and right side of the building as each floor had seating for different venues. The floors were labelled with the first five floors being for [General Entertainment] which included an indoor bar and seating lounges that had an open view of the first floors stage. The next five floors were reserved for staff such as those who cook, clean, and even lodging. The ten floors above are all owned by the Otohime family and relatives. “You know you saw it’s not that big but, it’s absolutely massive here!” Jason said as the other crew and even the Captain were in awe at the interior of the palace.

“When you compare this place to somewhere like the Demon Realm Castle or the Wonderland Mansion, this place isn’t all that big, but yea I guess for the common folk it’s pretty big. The stage on the first floor is where I’ll be performing.” Sasaki then points up as the crew looked up, looking at the ceiling, they could see what looked like an opening “The top of the building has a hatch that will open up later to let water in.” She then points at the support pillars on the left and right sides of the palace. “There are talismans marked in the palace that use the residual spirit energy produced from outside surroundings as well as the people here to produce what you would call a barrier that repels the water away from a certain distance.” Sasaki floats towards the center of the stage where the pole was “The water is basically pushed by the talisman to the center of the stage where the pole is. In order to do my dance to its fullest extent, I’ll be using water as a way to freely move around without the need to exert my energy which I normally use to keep myself afloat to the surface. This way I can concentrate on the dance and manipulate the water as I need to.” She then floats back to the crew “Now then, I’ll be heading to my quarters for now to prepare. There’s still an hour beforehand, so for now just find a place to sit, chat, mingle, whatever! Our family’s maids will be all over the palace to bring food for the festivities shortly. Have your fill before or during the show, it’s up to you guys.” After finishing talking to the crew, they each move around on their own, either by themselves or with a Mamono or human women in tow.

“Alright men, for now let’s take Princess Sasaki’s kind offer and enjoy ourselves!” The men cheered with him as they all scattered from place to place within the palace. When Jason was the only one standing there, Sasaki smiled and floated to him.

“Just a little longer Jason, for now just enjoy the party and eat your fill okay? Make sure you get a front row seat. So you better watch carefully.” Sasaki placed her right pointing finger on her bottom lip, her eyes narrowed slightly as she let out a small, seductive smile. “Then when all that’s done, I’ll give you a private show you’ll love.” Seeing his eyes widened with embarrassment, Sasaki felt satisfied with his response and moved to her private quarters to get ready. Jason watched her until she turned into a corner at the upper floors where he couldn’t see her anymore.

“Private dance huh….” Jason gripped his chest with his left hand. “Sasaki’s so beautiful…so why would she pick me when there are so many more suitable candidates for her.” He said looking around and seeing some of his fellow crew members he thinks that’ll fill her needs.

“OH WOW THIS PLACE IS HUGE!!!” Hearing a bewildered voice behind him, Jason turns around and sees a Merrow. It was Marlow, carrying around her purse on her right arm while holding dango with her left hand. “So this is the palace huh? It was huge on the outside, but the inside feels just as large with beautiful interior décor…” Looking up, Marlow was caught up in the scenery as she was slowly moving forward.

“Um….mam?” Too focused on her surroundings, she couldn’t hear Jason who was in front of her as she almost bumped into him, but Jason grabbed her shoulders to stop her and get her attention. “Mam?” Snapping out of it, Marlow heard the word ‘Mam’, instantly upsetting her as she pushed herself away from Jason. He was pushed back just enough to get some distance between them again.

“Who are you calling mam? Do I look like I’m marr-” Marlow was about to scold Jason as she spoke to him with her eyes closed in frustration at first, but then she opened her eyes mid sentence and saw Jason. “Aaaa…hu-hunk…” She went from being frustrated to instantly awestruck as she saw Jason’s well-built body. Fitting the sailor uniform he was still wearing, his blue eyes and blonde hair is what stood out to her aside from his frame. “I-I’m so sorry about that! I wasn’t paying attention when I should have been.” Marlow said blushing as she bowed in apology.

“Don’t worry about it. Sorry for calling you mam.” He bowed as well to apologize for calling her ‘mam’. “If you don’t mind me asking though, what is your name so I can avoid upsetting you?” Marlow just shook her head in his response.

“Oh yeah, please don’t apologize. It was my fault for overreacting to someone I just met.” They both silently stared at each other for a moment, then laughing at one another at how each of them apologized to one another. “Anyways…the name’s Marlow. I came here from Coralin to seek out…” Seeing how she’s talking to a man now, Marlow slows down her sentence to think of an excuse for why she came here, then seeing the numerous maids around, an idea pops into her head. “Employment opportunities…” She sounded a little hesitant at the last part, but Jasosn didn’t seem to suspect her.
“Oh really, I guess being employed here would give you lots of money.” Jason looks around and sees the staff hard at work, but smiling. “Plus it’s always lively here from what I can tell so far.” Marlow took a bite from her dango.

“So…what about you, why are you here?” Marlow asked, her voice slightly muffled by the dango in her mouth.

“I’m here along with new crewmates as escorts.” Jason then looked to his back and looked at his fellow crewmates. “The men wearing sailor uniforms are my fellow crewmates.” After looking at his uniform, Marlow finishes the dango in her mouth to speak.

“Oh okay, wait s what were you guys escorting?” Jason blushed at her question as he thinks about Sasaki.

“Well we escorted the Otohime who’s going to be the successor to Ryogujo tonight. Princess Sasaki.” Hearing that Jason was one of the men escorting Sasaki, Marlow’s eyes widened with shock.

“EHHHHH, you’re part of the escort group for the Otohime Princess Sasaki?!” As Marlow spoke, Jason noticed some vacant seats with a small round table on it.

“Why don’t we sit down at that table over there for now so we can continue with our conversation there? Then we can continue chatting from there?” He asked before pointing at a table closer to the stage venue.

“Okay.” Marlow followed Jason as the two sat on opposing sides of the table. “So this Sasaki person, it must have been hard to escort someone like that isn’t it? I mean Princesses usually have a pompous attitude and look down on normal people.” Jason Shook his head at her question.

“Princess Sasaki is actually quite lenient with us. Sure she gives the impression of being unapproachable at first, but then she quickly proves it wrong by being friendly with everyone. The time we had when we escorted her was short, but it was never boring as she kept my fellow crewmates and Captain entertained with her beautiful dances and cheery demeanor.” Hearing Jason speak of Sasaki happily with a smile on his face, Marlow felt jealous somewhere in her heart, trying to figure out what to say next.

“Really is that so? Maybe employment here isn’t going to be so bad and stressful then if you say she’s kind. I was worried that she’d be too rich to even notice us small folk…” Continuing with her lie, Marlow looks around and sees the cheery atmosphere here, the men holding women of both human and Mamono kind in their arms, happily talking with one another, some even being intimate with some of them kissing one another. This made Marlow cross her arms on the table as she gripped her left shoulder with her right hand tightly.

“Marlow?” Jason saw just how hard she was grabbing her own arm, her nails digging deeper and deeper into her arm. She was frowning, her eyes covered by her bangs, hiding her lonely eyes. “Hey don’t grip too hard on your arm, you’ll hurt yourself.” Without thinking, Jason grabbed Marlow’s right hand and pulled it off her arm.

“Oh! I’m sorry I guess I was just remembering something that bothered me…” It took her a second to realize that Jason was holding her right hand. His hands were bigger than hers, almost big enough to grab her entire hand with. It felt rough and calloused, the hands of a hard working man. She blushes softly and uses her hand to feel around his hand more.

“Uh….” Jason didn’t know how to react to what was happening, he just let it happen. In contrast to his hand, hers were small and delicate in comparison. He felt her gentle hands caressing his, he carefully grips her hand so as to not hurt her. The two then locked eyes with one another. Jason could see that her eyes looked teary and sad. Lost in each other’s sights, they didn’t notice a group of three hooded people approaching them.

“Excuse me, miss?” Snapping out of their trance, they both shook their heads to regain their composure before they both turned to look at the people who approached them. “Hello. We’re merchants in connection with the Gyoubu Danuki clan in Zipangu! We’re seeking eager volunteers for bloodletting in exchange for goods.” Marlow felt warning signs in her body just from how they approached her.

“Merchants from Zipangu, I’m sorry but I’m going to have to say no.” Marlow said as she bowed to them in apology. The Merchants looked at one another. They were wearing a simple kimono with hoods obscuring their faces, with one wearing a red pattern design, another with black, and the third with yellow.

“Miss, please reconsider. We’ve asked the mermaids around here already, and all of them have refused to give us any! We must fill our quota or e-“ Jason was staying quiet, but he couldn’t trust them either as the one speaking with the red kimono was stopped by the one wearing black.

“Quota? I’m sorry that I can’t help, but I can’t give you my blood either.” Marlow insisted on saying no.

“But, we have lots of things we can trade for you know?” The one wearing a black Kimono said before pulling out several valuable pieces of jewelry from a bag each of them had in their backs. “The gem stones in these are rare jewels procured from carefully planned trades. I’m sure some of these beauties will be more than it’s worth for just a few drops of your blood.” Annoyed by them, Marlow spoke out loudly this time.

“I said no! My blood isn’t something I want to give to just anyone! Some other Merrows may do that, but not me. It’s meant for my one and only, so please take no as an answer!” Her voice caught the attention of the other patrons as they looked her way, seeing looks of concern as the guards of the palace started to move towards them.

“Tsk….fine….” The merchant in the red said before he and the group left. They were approached by the guards on their way to harass the others.

“Marlow, are you alright?” Jason asked before Marlow turned to him, she shook her head for a second before smiling again at him.

“Yea I’m fine. Those jerks wouldn’t take no for an answer though.” She looks back at them for a second, seeing them bow in apology to the guards.

“They sure weren’t. Sorry I didn’t say anything to stop them.” Marlow just shakes her head again.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not your problem.” She looks down at her hands, her face scowling with annoyance. “My blood…I’m aware that mermaids have blood that can be valuable for others. But see, that value is why I don’t want anyone to have it.” She looks at Jason right in the eyes. “It’s very important to me that the person who gets my blood is given to the one I love first. I know it’s not like with sex were your chastity to your first lover is important, but still, to me it’s the same thing.” Jason then shook his own head before speaking.

“You’re right, it is important. No matter what it is, a gift, a confession, or whatever. There’s nothing wrong with holding onto something for the sake of saving it for the person you love. It just means you value the concept of love even more deeply than most. And I for one believe that’s important too.” Hearing him agree with her, Marlows heart skipped a beat.

“Wh-What….” Just as she was talking about the importance of her First Time, this was a first for her to find a man who agreed with her. The other men who she talked to like this either called her a fanatic or delusional. For the first time in her life, she felt a connection, something she had in common, with a man no less. “Why do you think it’s important Jason?” Marlow asked since she wanted to know why he agreed with her.

“For me, it was something I grew up with. Back in my human village, there were hardly any Mamono around, and those that were around were merchants. So it’s not far off to say that I grew up in a village with only humans. I noticed that humans held loyalty with one another with less value than Mamono does. The moment a human of higher wealth or status got the attention of one another, they’d abandon their previous lover like that, or secretly engage in adultery. It was a disgusting sight to behold. To think that all it takes to break what should be a sacred vow of love between one another is someone with more money, or a better body. It made me sick to know humans could be so shallow.” Marlow listened closely to him “But my family of course was different. My father was just a fishmonger, and my mother was apparently a noble from a nearby town. She fell in love with my father when they interacted with one another when he went to the town to sell fish.” Marlows eyes sparkled with interest at Jason’s story.
“A love story, please keep going Jason!” A little surprised by her reaction, Jason just chuckled in delight before continuing.

“My mother fell for him due to his friendly behavior. She didn’t care how poor he was or how different he looked. He approached everyone with the same kind of kindness and energy as he would do for anyone. My mother hated the suitors that were pushed on her at that time because it was simply for the sake of either expanding her family’s wealth, or because her suitor was only interested in her looks. Of course she was cautious at first when my father approached her, but she was able to tell right away that the way he talked to her, he didn’t see her as some rich lady that he could take advantage of, but as another person. The way she fell for him was pretty funny too as after being approached like that, my mother bought all the fish he had caught that day so that she could take the rest of the free time he had to talk to him more.” Marlow was fascinated by his story as she listened intently.

“So to your mother, it didn’t matter what your father was like. I take it that her family didn’t agree with her decision?” Jason shook his head.

“No, they didn’t agree with it. She was basically disowned with nearly all of her fortune taken away. My mother was only left with some clothes and a handful of gold to keep her alive. From what she told me it was only given to her by her siblings who felt sympathy for her. Despite my mother's new state of poverty, my father made her new way of living a little more bearable. Though there were times when we had difficulty…” Jason said, looking up at the stage. “I was the first born of my family, and at that time, we were still able to afford some items for ourselves for entertainment, but after having my mother’s second born, which is my younger brother, it became more difficult to earn enough money just to feed us.” Marlow looked down for a moment, putting her purse on the table and pulling out a photo.

“Yea, sometimes it isn’t easy to have more than one mouth to feed, but I wouldn’t know since I’m the only born daughter of my family.” The photo was of Marlow in her youth, along with her mother who was sitting next to her on her left with her hands resting on the base of her tail. Her eyes closed with a soft smile. Her father was sitting on Marlows right, he had his eyes slightly open, looking down at Marlow with his right hand on her head. “Sorry that I can’t understand your situation that well.” Marlow said, sounding sad.

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t expect people to pity us. My mother knew it would be hard, but she said that when the feeling strikes, she just can’t help herself. Before I knew it, we had a third mouth to feed, which was my youngest and only sister. Afterwards both mother and father had to work in order to feed us all. At times, I had to keep an eye on them as the oldest sibling. I didn’t mind, but I felt both grateful and understanding of what mother and father went through to raise me as a kid when I had to keep an eye on my siblings. Eventually, I got old enough to work myself, so I helped fish in order to get more product for my father’s fishmonger business When I noticed my father being unable to move the way he wants to due to his back pain, I knew I had to take over as the breadwinner of the house. My brother is still thirteen, and my sister seven, so I have to make sure I make enough to support all of them. Luckily after becoming a Sailor, I was able to make enough money to do just that, and in fact I make more than what my father did.” Jason smiled as he pulled out a couple of gold coins from his pocket. “Now I can provide for my family and even give them some gifts that I’m sure they’ll love.” Marlow smiled hearing his story.

“I’m happy for you. It’s always nice to hear people still having connections with their family even after they grow up.” Marlow then let out a sigh. “My parents are still around too, but I chose to live an independent life instead. I figured being alone meant I wouldn’t burden them financially, as well as just feeling more independent.” She then scowled for a moment. “Besides, when I got older and realized I was getting at that age when I could date and find a man of my own, I got kinda sick of seeing my mother and father getting all lovey dovey. Not because I didn’t want to see them happy, but because it made me feel jealous!” Jason saw the look of sorrow in Marlows eye, looking down as she spread her arms straight at the table. Jason then placed his right hand on top of her right hand.

“Oh so you’re still single? I guess I should have known you were considering you’re alone…” Hearing Jason, Marlow frowned for a moment. “Considering how pretty you are, I thought you would have found someone here quite easily.” Marlow then raised her head.

“Thanks for the compliment. I came here with the intent to look for a man myself, but after coming here, it may have been a bad idea since all I see are couples.” Getting teary eyes, Jason moved his face closer to her to comfort her.

“Hey now, don’t be so glum, you’ll find that special someone. It may not be here, but I know it’ll happen. You seem really nice, and the way you value love is something that I deeply respect” Hearing Jason, Marlow smiled a little and wiped the tears from her face.

“Yea you’re right. Hehe the one for me may even be closer than I realize…” Marlow said, blushing at Jason, who in turn blushed as well before turning his face away.

“I…appreciate how you feel Marlow, but I’m sure they’re better guys out there than me.” Jason then remembers what Sasaki said to him. “Besides, to my surprise, I actually have someone who already showed interest in me, as hard as I find it to believe.” Hearing him, Marlow’s eyes widened, tears slowly filling the edges of her eyes.

“Huh? You mean that Sasaki girl, the Otohime?” Marlow asked, her tears now flowing down her cheeks. Jason realized what he did, trying to talk before things escalated, but Marlow talked again before he did. “Funny huh…your mother gave away her chance at living rich and easy by being with your dad…and now here you are about to be with someone who’s royalty herself. Someone that I couldn’t hope to compete with…” Jason saw her tears flowing more aggressively. She started sniffling and crying as she tried to wipe the tears away with her hands.

“No! That’s not it at all I swear!” Jason said, trying to fix the situation. “Sasaki confessed to me, I haven’t even been able to give my response to her yet! She told me to wait until after she…uh…” Jason didn’t want to say anything more out of both embarrassment and keeping it secret.

“Wait till what huh, until she takes you to her room and makes you hers?!”

“Ack, you know?” Jason said in surprise.

“Of course I would know, anyone knows that when an Otohime chooses her love interest, she takes them to her room to give them their own private ‘dance’.” Marlow got off her seat. “I hope you enjoy your time with her then! Makes sense that I wouldn’t be a match for her! After all, we just met, while you were with her for a while as her escort!” Running away in tears, Marlow leaves Ryugujo palace in a hurry.

“Marlow wait!” Jason saw the other people around him stare in disbelief and concern, making him feel bad. ‘I can’t just leave her like that…’ He thought to himself. He noticed that Marlow left her purse on the table after running off. Grabbing the purse, he chases after her, ignoring the people giving him cold stares.

“Hey, where are you going asshole?!” Reeka, who was already in the palace, pursued Jason. But she was cut off by the guards of the palace. “Huh?!” The two mermaid guards shook their heads at her.

“Sorry ma’m, but the show is about to start. We cannot allow anyone beyond this time to leave or enter.” Reeka gave them a scornful look.

“What, that’s a load of bullshit! You saw that Merrow leave with a man following her soon after right?! Why didn’t you stop them?” Clearly upset, the two guards let out a sigh of frustration.
“Because ma’m, they left just before the show’s about to start. Please behave for now and wait for the show to be over. If you continue to be disruptive, we’ll have no choice but to detain you for public disturbance.” Before Reeka could speak, Gabriel grabbed her shoulder.

“Reeka, let’s listen to the guards and wait for now.” Reeka shook her head as she pointed at the door where Marlow left.

“Oh come on Gabriel, she’s our friend right?I know we just met her, but I’m not just going to ignore that!” Gabriel then shook his own head in response.

“Look I get it, I’m concerned too. But right now we have to wait until this show is over alright? We don’t know the full story of what happened there just now. I don’t know who that man was, but he seemed worried for her and even followed her, so I’m sure she’ll be fine for the time being.” Reeka looked at Gabriel for a moment, seeing the confidence in his eyes, Reeka let up and took a deep breath.

“Fine...but I hope for her sake that you’re right.” Reeka turned to the guards. “Sorry, I won't cause a scene again.” She said bowing in apology.

“It’s fine ma’m. If it makes you feel better, we’ll contact the guards outside of the palace to look for them to make sure they’re okay.” Reeka looked up at the guards, her eyes widened slightly with surprise.

“Really?! Thank you so much!” Reeka bowed again before raising her head.

“No problem. It is our job to make sure Ryugujo and it’s visitors are safe. Enjoy the show for now and take a seat.” They said before moving back to their posts.

“See, we don’t have to worry now that the guards are aware. The guards of the Ryugujo festival won’t let anything back happen.” Gabriel said as he walked with Reeka back to their seats.

“I hope you’re right Gabriel. The guards can’t keep an eye on everything, that’s why at least three or four mermaids get kidnapped a year everytime the festival is held.” Reeka said with concern as they finally got back to their seats. The lights in the auditorium dimmed as the show was about to start. The lights went completely dark for a few seconds before a spotlight focused on Sasaki who appeared along with the spotlight.

‘Just you watch...Jason…’ Thinking to herself, Sasaki looked around for a moment at the crowd, but then noticed something odd. She saw that Jason wasn’t on his seat. ‘Wait what, where’s Jason?!’ Sasaki was about to panic but then saw the hundreds of onlookers, waiting for her bewitching dance to start. ‘Damnit...I have to dance for now. I hope he’s just in the bathroom or something…’ Closing her eyes, she places her hands on her chest before taking a deep breath. Sasaki starts her dance with slow, gentle movements on the stage, gently floating with her hands swaying up and down as the ribbons that adorned her arms flowed seamlessly with her movements. Then water started to rise from the stage from the drain holes on it. A magic barrier kept the water within the margins of the stage as it started to fill up quickly. The water allowed Sasaki to swim rather than float as she moved on from her gentle movements to moderate twirling, swimming up and down as the water level kept increasing, reaching the other floors above her.

“So this is the bewitching dance of the next Otohime to be huh?” Reeka said as she observed carefully.

“Yea, she’s absolutely gorgeous.” Gabriel added, but he looked at her face, he could see that she didn’t seem happy. “ Is it just me, or does she look sad?” Looking at her face, Reeka also noticed it.

“Huh yea. You wouldn’t tell at first glance but, she doesn’t seem fully into it. Most dances I’ve heard of were more fervent and passionate. This dance looks more melancholy…”

*Back at Detra*

“Oh thank goddess…” Detra finally arrived at Ryugujo, she noticed that the streets were mostly empty “Huh...there’s hardly anyone here…” As Detra moved out of the train station, she saw most of the stalls were closed. One was open though which looked like a general store. “Excuse me!” Detra waved her tentacles to get the clerk’s attention, who was a Kraken.

“Oh dear...a Scylla down here? You folks usually like your warmer brighter waters. Did the prospects of Ryugujo catch your attention missy?” Detra shook her head in response.

“No, I’m actually here because I’m looking for my friend Marlow. She's a ditzy Merrow. Did you see her come by here?” The clerk pondered for a moment before clasping two of her large tentacles together as if to clap.

“Ah yes, I saw her earlier going from shop to shop ordering everything she could set her eyes on. She ordered one of these beauties here when she stopped by my shop.” The clerk then pulled out a hair clip that looked like a decorated brown pot, with small little jewels on the rim. “Hmm...I may be just guessing here, but is your name Detra?” Saying her name, Detra was taken by surprise.

“How did you know my name?” She asked. The Clerk simply laughed at her reaction.

“Oh well because your friend Marlow mentioned your name to me when she bought the jewel from me. She bought one for you because she thought it would be a meaningful gift for you.” Seeing the jeweled pot head decoration from the clerk’s hand, Detra’s eyes relaxed as she let out a soft smile.

“Marlow you little idiot...even after coming here to find a man, you always think about us girls…” The clerk smiled at Detra before putting the decoration away.

“She also mentioned a Flowkelp and Mermaid friend of her as well, talking to herself as she was trying to figure out what to get for them.”

“Of course she would...that little idiot.” But realizing why she was here in the first place, she shook her head. “Ah, I almost got lost in thought there!” Detra looked at the clerk again. “Please can you tell me where she went?” Detra asked.

“Well, I imagine she went to the same place as everyone at this time did, the Ryugujo palace. Bu-” Before the clerk could finish her sentence, Detra nodded before leaving and heading straight to where the palace was. “Ah wait!” Seeing Detra get farther and farther, the clerk simply stayed quiet. “And there she goes...oh well, she’ll realize soon that the palace is currently closed off.” The clerk minded her own business as she went back to her work.

*Somewhere in the outskirts of the Ryugujo palace.*

“Damnit it! If this keeps up, we won’t have enough mermaid blood to bring back with us to the Order capitol.” A black hooded merchant said as the other two hooded merchants were hiding in a back alley corner near the palace with him.

“It’s to be expected...we barely met our quota last year, and we resorted to kidnapping at that time. Security in this place is getting tighter and tighter with each festival.” The red hooded one commented.

“Kidnap? I thought we’re here to make them give it to us voluntarily?” The yellow hooded one said.

“Oh right...you’re new aren’t you? Don’t worry. We just knock them out and get a few vials of blood from them is all. So don’t go pussing out on us alright?” The red hooded one said. The yellow hooded one just nodded in agreement.

“Oh well. If this keeps up, we may just have to fall back on that. But with more security, it’ll be difficult. It’s better if we strike when the ceremony for the Otohimes succession is over. During that time we’ll have plenty of opportunities to snatch up any-'' Before the black hooded one could finish, the group heard crying before turning their attention to the source of the noise. There they see Marlow all by herself. “Hey...isn’t that the same Merrow that gave us trouble earlier?”

“Yea you’re right. And she’s all by herself…” The yellow hooded one said as they all hid behind a garbage bin and observed her.

“Why...why did I run like that? I acted as if I was cheated on, but I just met the guy! I must have made him feel really bad…” Marlow sat down on a bench nearby. “I heard him yelling out my name, but I ran away from him so fast that before I knew it, I couldn’t hear him anymore…” When she settled down, she noticed that she left her purse behind “Oh no my purse! I left it on the table when I ran! Oh I hope it’s still there when that ceremony is over, but Jason’s there so maybe he took it with him, oh but that’s so embarrassing though!” The group overheard Marlow talking to herself.

“She’s alone...this is the perfect time to get her!” The black hooded one said.

“Hold on, before we do anything here…” The yellow hooded merchant said before pulling the hood down, revealing a blonde haired woman “Let me take care of this alright?” She said as the three huddled up together and formed a plan.

“Maybe I should go back and apologize...but by now the palace is closed down while the ceremony is taking place. Wait if Jason went after me instead of saying behind, maybe he does care after all! Oh who am I kidding, he just met me, compared to that Sasaki girl who he spent days with.” Lost in her thoughts, Marlow pulled out a hairpin accessory from her bikini. It was the same accessory that Detra was shown by the Vendor earlier “Detra...am I just being selfish or stupid again? I can’t help it if I fall in love at first sight, but Jason felt special. If I just met him before Sasaki, maybe I would finally have a man of my own…” Marlow didn’t even notice as a person sat next to her. She was the blonde girl earlier who was wearing the yellow hood. Her eyes were a striking green as she looked at Marlow. This time around though, she was wearing a white top with a Tanuki design on it along with a black pair of jeans.

“Excuse me...I couldn’t help but overhear you just now? Did something bad happen?” Marlow looked at the woman, not knowing she was one of the hooded merchants that was bothering her due to their faces being obscured at the time.

“Oh…-sniff-...no. It’s nothing like that. I guess I’m just being stupid is all…” Marlow wiped the tears off her face before continuing. “I just met this really nice guy, but someone else got to him before I could spring the chance to ask him out. Though again I was just being stupid. I mean what kind of person would just accept someone as their girlfriend the first day they meet anyway! Jason meanwhile had days to be with that woman, so of course I’m no match for her!” Nodding silently as she listens, the blonde girl placed her right hand on Marlows left shoulder.

“I see...that sounds rough. Looks like the both of us are in the same situation then…” She said laying her back against the bench.

“Wait really?” Marlow asked.

“Yea really. I came here with my boyfriend to have a great time. Can you guess what that asshole did? He ditched me for a Unagi-Joro, you know those Eel type girls! Said I was ‘Too plain’. So here I am alone. Hell I’d rather be than stick with that jerk!” She said before looking back at Marlow “Sucks doesn’t it? When our love interest doesn’t even love us back…” Marlow shook her head in response “Huh?!” Marlow then grabbed her hands.

“Sounds to me that you have it worse than I do. I wasn’t even friends with the guy I was interested in yet. But...but…” Holding her tears back, Marlow seemed sympathetic to her as she started to sniffle from lightly crying. “You were actually dating that guy, and he just leaves you like that? That’s just cruel…” Pulling out a handkerchief, she blows lightly on it. “By the way, my name’s Marlow...yours?” The blonde girl scratched her head for a moment, but soon spoke up.

“It’s Natalia. It’s nice to meet you Marlow.” She said with a smile. “Unfortunately, most of the vendors are currently closed with the ceremony taking place and all that, and here I am left with no one to drink with…” Hinting at her purpose, Natalia pulls out a whiskey out of her bag that she carries called ‘Niles Mile.’ “Want a cup girl? It’s just the two of us here. May as well drown our sorrows, am I right?” She asked. Marlow thought about it, and seeing that letting Natalia drink by herself, she felt bad and decided to drink with her.

“Yea sure! To our new found friendship.” Natalia thern grabbed two cups out of her bag and poured about twelve ounces for each cup. One was handed to Marlow as Natalia held the cup high.

“Yea, to new friends! Here that you jerk, I’m drinking with someone else too!” The two lightly tapped one another’s cups before taking a sip. “Hehe...how’s it taste?” She asked.

“It’s pretty strong…” Marlow commented as she shrugged the moment she took a sip, but persevered and kept drinking. But the taste itself isn’t too bad. It goes down rough and hot, but the flavor is stout and strong. Marlow kept taking little sips before speaking again. “You know Natalia...I can tell you’re a good person. I can’t wait to introduce you to my other friends, Kelpy, Detra, Juli, oh and there’s also two new friends I made as well…” Her speech started to slur. “Hehe they’re all great...frienzzzz…” Her head slowly wobbling left to right, her words begin to slur before resting her head on Natalia’s shoulder. Shortly after, Marlow starts to lightly snore.

“Ha...good job there, ‘Natalia’.” Out of the corner where the trash bin was, the black hooded person took their hood off, revealing a white skinned human male. He was bald and had brown eyes. “Good thing our faces were obscured earlier, otherwise this little trick would’ve never worked.” Right next to him, the red hooded person took their hood off and revealed another male, he had a slightly darker skin than the other male and had black eyes instead of brown with messy brown short hair.

“Yea no kidding. Then again, this Merrow in particular was also too trusting, agreeing to drink with someone she just met, and drinking out of a bottle that the stranger brought no less? What an idiot!” While both of the men were laughing, Natalia looked at Marlow for a moment, seeing her peacefully sleep, her expression changed to that of guilt.

“Um...Tarvo, Lui, maybe we should just wait until the ceremony is over.” The two men stopped laughing as they looked at Natalia. “I mean...we’ll have way more mermaids we can ask for blood after the ceremony hits, and this is around the time most of them will be drunk too, so why don’t we leave her alone huh? She’s already gone through enough for today. Leaving her anemic will just make things worse.” The two men stare at each other for a moment before letting out a smile.

“Leave her anemic? Yea I guess that would be bad...or we can just get the entire quota we need by bleeding her dry…” The bald man named Tarvo said.

“Exactly, this way we only need one mermaid. Doing it at this time is the perfect opportunity while all the guards are preoccupied around and within the Ryugujo palace. Hardly any guards will be around during this time in the streets, let alone a secluded warehouse we secured earlier.” The brown haired man named Lui said.

“Wait, bleed her dry?! This isn’t what we agreed to! I don’t want to be part of murder! Mamono or not!” Lui grabbed Natalia’s neck with his right hand and started to choke her. “Gah!” Using his left hand, he covers her mouth.

“Trying to back out now are we? You realize that the moment you gave her that drugged alcoholic drink to her which works to sedate Mamono, you became a part of this whole operation right? You’re an accomplice and whether murder was your intention or not, it’s too late to back away from this guilt free.” Tarvo then unsheathed a knife under his robe before pointing it at Natalia’s chest.

“You will help us. If your try to run away now, I’ll murder you right here!” Pushing the tip of the knife to her chest to make his point, Natalia winced in pain as she felt the tip of the knife pierce her skin, sliding the tip of the knife down on her chest downwards.

“Guh!” Muffled under Lui’s hand, Natalia winced in pain before Tarvo picked up Marlow. The hairpin accessory Marlow had on her hand fell to the ground underneath the bench.

“Lui, make sure Natalia doesn’t do something stupid. I’ll carry this one.” Nodding with his order, Lui pulled Natalia up with him.

“Come now, let’s go. And don’t even think of trying to run away, or this time I’ll be the one to pull a knife out, only I’ll be aiming for your neck.” Natalia nodded before being forcefully pulled by Lui, they left the area as they headed to the abandoned warehouse. While being pulled, Natalia notices the blood from her stab wound dripping down to the ground. Seeing this, she relaxed a little and went with Lui more willingly without much struggle.

*Back to Jason.*

“Where did she go? She couldn’t have gotten that far!” Jason, who was running the entire time with Marlows purse sling over his right shoulder, he stopped for a moment and placed his hands on his knees while standing up in exhaustion. “I Think I saw her tail fin head this way, but all the vendor halls and pathways here make it hard to tell if it was actually her I was following or just someone else.” Jason see’s a bench up ahead to rest on. “Oh good...I need a minute to-” As he got closer, he noticed a hairpin under the bench. “Wait that hairpin...does this belong to...” As Jason walked closer to it, he pondered for a moment, taking a guess that it could’ve belonged to Marlow. “Based on the jewels Marlow had on her earlier, this looks like something she’d wear.” Jason tries to think of what could have happened. “No...those shady merchants earlier...they didn’t get to her before I could did they? I have to find her and fa-” Before he could finish his sentence, Jason’s arms were grabbed by a pair of red tentacles. “Wah?!” Looking at the source, he sees a Scylla moving towards him.

“You bastard, what did you do to Marlow!” Detra, who came charging in at full speed. She didn't even give Jason a chance to speak before slugging him with her right hand, her fist hitting his left cheek. The impact forced Jason back, but was quickly pulled back up with Detras tentacles before grabbing his collar with her left hand, her right hand primed to punch him again before the rest of her tentacles wrapped around Jason’s body, immobilizing him.

“Oww...wait please let me explain.” Detra gave Jason a disgusted look before interrupting him.

“Explain? What other explanation do I need when I can clearly see what happened here huh? That’s not your purse right? No of course not it’s my friend’s purse Marlow’s! What did you do to her!” Detra shook his collar demanding an answer.

“I don’t know what happened to her either! I was chasing after her-” Hearing the word ‘Chase’ Detra punched Jason again in the face, this time hitting him on his nose “OW!”

“Chase?! You bastard, you chased her huh? For what her blood, or her body?! You damn asshole!” Primed to punch again, she shook his collar once more. “I swear if you hurt her in any way, I will personally-” In the middle of her disheartened sentence, Jason yelled out in response to her questions once more.

“I didn’t do anything to her alright?! I chased after her because she ran away from me after a misunderstanding!” Detra looked confused by what Jason meant by ‘misunderstanding’ “I met her in the Ryugujo palace half an hour before the ceremony was about to start…” Huffing in pain from the hits he took “Are you a friend of Marlows?” Detra threatened Jason with her right fist held high again.

“Yes I’m her friend! So you met her while you were in the palace huh? What kind of misunderstanding did you two have?” Jason let out a sigh of relief, seeing that Detra was willing to listen now.

“Listen, Marlow and I got to know each other when I stumbled into her in the palace. There we talked a little about ourselves and she struck me as the kind that was really lonely because of how sad she looked when looking at other couples.” Hearing a conversation that Detra knew Marlow would get into, she relaxed her tentacles and let go of Jason, releasing his collar. Jason looked at Detra who let out a sigh herself before crossing her arms.

“Lonely when seeing other couples huh? Well...that’s something she’d definitely talk about. So out with it, what happened that made her run away from you?” Jason looked at Marlows purse before speaking.

“She was interested in me, but I told her that there was someone else who was interested in me first. She didn’t take that very well and just assumed I made up my mind and chose Sasaki over her.” Detra shook her head, knowing that overreacting is something Marlow would do.

“Don’t worry, it’s not your fault in that case. Marlow tends to overreact when she’s in the spur of the moment. She’ll eventually realize she jumped the gun and apologize soon after...eh wait.” Hearing the name Sasaki pop up, Detra’s eyes widened in shock. “Sasaki the Otohime princess right? The next successor to the Otohime family?!” Jason nervously laughed and nodded in response.

“Yea, I couldn’t believe it myself, but Sasaki herself told me that she believes I’m her mate to be.” Jason looked back at the palace. “But since I ran off right before the ceremony started, I bet she’s dancing right now wondering where I am. I promised to stay there and watch her public performance before talking to her again. She probably thinks I’m a jerk now…” Detra looked confused.

“Then why didn’t you stay? Wouldn’t being with an Otohime be a good thing? I mean they basically have everything a person can desire in a stress free life.” Jason shook his head to her.

“True, being with Sasaki would probably bring in lots of money for me and my family, but I want to get to know her even more than just the past few days we spent together. I wasn’t even alone with her either in most of the cases as I was escorting her along with my fellow crew members to make sure she got to Ryugujo palace safely.” Jason unclenched his left fist, revealing the hairpin he was holding. “When I saw Marlow cry out in tears like that from something as simple as a misunderstanding, I wanted to make her feel better and chased after her. She’s a very sweet girl based on the conversations we had. I could also see myself being with someone like her to be honest. She’s beautiful both on the outside and the inside, just like Sasaki. So I have to talk to Marlow and let her know that I find her very attractive, but I need to consider Sasaki’s feelings too since she confessed to me first.” Detra relaxed as she heard Jason’s side of the story, but she soon noticed the hairpin Jason was holding.

“Hey, that hairpin, can I see that?” Detra asked, pointing at it.

“Oh, yea sure.” Jason handed the hairpin to her. It took Detra only a second to recognize the design.

“Hey, this has the same design as the one the vendor showed me.” She said before letting out a small smile. “Even though she was here for her own sake of finding a man, she still went through the trouble of bringing us back some souvenirs…” She then remembers why she came here in the first place and shook her head. “Gah! What the hell am I doing?! I’m supposed to be looking for that idiot, not reminiscing on good times!” Jason laughed a little from her reaction.

“Haha, well I’m glad she’s got some wonderful friends. All the more reason to look for her.” Hearing his encouraging words, Detra nodded in agreement. “Besides, she wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for me…” Jason looked down, feeling guilty for being the cause of her running away. But as he was looking down, he saw a droplet of blood on the ground. “Hey...is that blood?” Jason said as Detra looked at where Jason was looking as well.

“Yea you’re right...oh no that means that she might’ve been taken by force!” Hearing this, Jason remembers the hooded merchants from earlier.

“Can’t be...Detra I have a feeling I know who’s responsible for this!” Jason clenched his fists in anger. “Earlier when we met, Marlow was approached by three hooded merchants. They hassled her for her blood and she refused them. I couldn’t see their faces, but they sounded annoyed when she refused them, so I have a pretty good guess that they’re the ones who took her!” Detra’s eyes shifted into a look of dread, realizing what could be happening to her right now.

“Damnit! We need to find her quickly!” Detra started to panic a little, but Jason grabbed her by the shoulders.

“Calm down, if you look carefully, you’ll see the blood droplets don’t stop here. See there’s a faint trail leading somewhere.” Looking carefully at the ground, there’s a trail of fresh blood on the ground.

“Hey yea they seem very recent too! Let’s follow it and fast!” With both of their minds set on one goal, they follow the trail to wherever it leads them.

*Back at the Ryugujo palace.*

“Wow…” Both Gabriel and Reeka were in awe as they watched Sasaki and her elegant dance. At this time, she transitioned to a mystical dance where she floated mid air without the water pillar supporting her, but rather she was manipulating the water around her to flow and bend as she pleases. She places her hands on the bended pillars of water and gently sprinkles the water droplets down below for the audience to feel. Some of the droplets however freeze midair and gather around into several bigger droplets. Then in a brilliant flash of light, all the pillars and droplets freeze instantly. Chains of thin, fragile icicle chains bind all the pillars and orbs together. A group of Mermaids and Seah Bishop join Sasaki from below as they all start to sing a soft serenade before Sasaki slowly rises to the top of the pillars and all the way to the summit of the palace. An opening at the peak of the palace gave Sasaki a grand view of the entire Ryugujo district. Looking down below on the streets, she sees some of the mermaid soldiers being given orders by a higher ranking soldier before spreading out.

‘What’s going on out there? Usually there’s no activity during the ceremony, but part of the guards are out there doing what seems like a patrol. Did something happen?’ As she ponders at the cause, her mind drifts back to Jason. ‘Jason...you missed the entire performance too...is this your way of giving me an answer?’ Saddened by this, tears flowed out of Sasaki’s eyes without her noticing as she started to descend back to the palace, her descent increasing as she went further down. Nearing the bottom, Sasaki thrusts her right hand forward, a magic sigil forms around it before hitting the ground. The sigil grows in size on the ground as all the frozen water breaks and instantly turns into a light, cool mist. The Mermaids and Sea Bishops finish their song. A short silence filled the palace before a loud uproar of cheers and applause filled the palace.

“Wow, that was incredible!” Gabriel said aloud, but he noticed that Reeka was clapping her hands slowly. “Reeka, what’s wrong?” She turned to Gabriel with a worried look.

“Well...two things. One, I can’t help but worry about Marlow. I know it’s not appropriate to be so glum from the performance, but Marlow wasn’t here to see it for one. And she even left crying, with some guy following her who I assume is responsible for it.” Gabriel frowned before looking to the side in thought.

“Yea, we don’t know what happened to her, but like I said. The palace guards are probably looking for her all over as we speak. I think she’ll be fine.” Reeka could only nod lightly in agreement.

“I hope so.” She then looks at Sasaki. “But another thing...look at princess Sasaki. Her performance was unexpectedly quiet. She didn’t even sing once in the entire dance, which is something no Otohime has done before. It was a beautiful display of water and magic but, it feels like her all wasn’t in that performance.” Gabriel looked at Sasaki with Reeka, noticing her face, they saw tears down her face.

“Crying, why is she crying?” Gabriel pondered.

“I don’t know, but that probably explains the melancholy dance she performed just now. Maybe something happened just before her performance because she wasn’t like that before entering the stage.” After the cheers, the audience soon noticed Sasaki’s face as well. On the verge of tears, Sasaki bowed to the audience from the applause, even though she was ready to cry at that moment. Afterwards, Sasaki is gently led down the stage by a fellow Sea Bishop.

“That was a beautiful princess Sasaki. It’s a little strange that you didn’t sing even one time but-” The Sea Bishop saw tears running down her face. “Princess Sasaki?” The Sea Bishop moved her face closer to Sasaki’s to see if she was okay.

“Oh, uh yeah thank you. And don’t worry about me, this is just from the water is all.” She said before moving away from the Sea Bishop, wiping her tears off her face. There she starts to look around the tables, trying to see if Jason was around.

“Heya princess, that was a hell of a performance!” As Sasaki was looking around, she heard the captain yell out to her.

“Oh captain, you didn't happen to see where Jason went did you?” She asked. The Captain, who was holding two other mermaids in his arms, lets his grip on them loose and stands before moving his head left and right to look for Jason.

“Hmm...fraid not missy. Though I suppose…” The Captain was thinking for a moment before remembering what had happened before the show started. “Ah yes well yah see missy, earlier Jason was sitting with what looked like a Merrow. I wasn’t payin much attention beyond seeing them talking, but somewhere along the line, the little lass yelled out in what sounded like an argument and ran off. Jason probably made a mistake and wanting to rectify it went after her right before the show started.” Hearing that, Sasaki bowed to the Captain.

“Thank you so much Captain, if you’ll excuse me!” Sasaki said moving towards the entrance of the palace to where the guards were.

“Hmm...so she really did have her eyes set for him then huh?” Sitting back down to his table with the mermaids in hand, the Captain let out a thin smile “Hehe...that boy sure is lucky…”

“Excuse me, guard?” As Sasaki gets closer to the guards at the entrance, she see’s there’s already two others there talking to the guards.

“Lady Sasaki?” The two guards heard Sasaki’s voice as they both bowed their heads in respect.

“Hey, it's the princess. What does she want with the guards?” Reeka said as Gabriel was next to her. Sasaki turned her attention to them before speaking,

“Who are you two? What business do you have with the guards?” She asked.

“Ah well you see princess Sasaki, a friend of ours ran off earlier before the ceremony started. We’re worried about her so the guards here said they sent personnel out earlier to search for her.” Hearing this, Sasaki eyes widened with shock before continuing.

“A friend of yours?! She didn’t happen to be a Merrow was she?” Reeka gave off a surprised reaction.

“Yea she’s a Merrow alright! Not to be rude, but what’s it to you princess?” Reeka asked.

“We’ll, I heard from the Captain of the crew who escorted me here that he saw it happen as one of his crewmates went after her. A man that goes by the name Jason.” Hearing his name, Reeka let out a sadistic, angered smile.

“Jason...so that’s that bastard's name huh?” Reeka clenched her right fist and slammed it against her left palm. “When I see that asshole, I’m gonna bite his throat off!” Sasaki see’s Reekas' anger as she frowned, water started to form around her as they froze and turned into spikes, primed and aimed at Reeka.

“Oh? I don’t know what your relationship with Jason is, but I won’t let you hurt him!” Both the two guards and Gabriel watched as the two stared at one another, primed to attack.

“Ah, both of you please wait!” Gabriel then got between the two of them and extended both of his arms out. “Listen, we don’t know the situation just yet, so please calm down.” Both Reeka and Sasaki lowered their guard as they both relaxed. “Phew…” Gabriel then turns to the two guards. “So have you guys found Marlow yet? She was followed by this Jason fellow too so there’s two people you guys should be looking for.” The guards nodded at his question.

“Yes we know of the man who followed that Merrow. It was brief, but we both overheard this Marlow girl saying something about being rejected, followed by that man Jason yelling out to her to wait and listen to him.” Hearing this, Gabriel pieced together what he knew about Marlow and came up with an idea of what happened.

“Reeka...it’s possible that Marlow was interested in this Jason guy. Knowing her, she probably tried to ask him out, but got rejected.” Reeka’s eyes widened as she soon realized the possibility herself.

“Ah you know...yea that does sound like something she’d do.” Hearing his name mentioned, Reeka turned to the guards. “So you guys haven’t seen this Jason guy yet huh?” Sasaki suddenly grabs Reeka by the shoulders.

“Reeka was it? This Marlow girl, she tried to take Jason for herself right?” Reeka then pulled away from Sasaki.

“Yea that’s what we’re guessing so far. Why what’s it to you?” Asking her that, Sasaki blushed for a moment, hiding her face, the guards took the hint real quick and knew what it was about.

“I see...seems the princess has fallen in love with that man as well.” One of the guards boldly blurted out.

“Wait what, in love with that guy?!” Reeka said, turning to the guards as they smiled, gesturing confusion as they raised their hands up. “He doesn’t seem like such a great guy to me. He made Marlow cry, probably saying something insensitive to her.” Hearing Reeka talk badly about Jason, Sasaki snapped out of her embarrassment and spoke up.

“Don’t talk about him as if you know him! Jason is the sweetest, most humble man I’ve ever met! I won’t just stand by and listen to you talk badly about him!” The two headbutted one another as they stared in anger at each other.

“Hey there’s no time for that alright?!” Gabriel said as he pulled Reeka’s forehead off Sasaki’s “Let’s focus on finding them first. Once we know they’re safe, we can question them about what happened later okay?” Both Reeka and Sasaki relaxed once more, giving the two guards a chance to talk.

“So...about the case of those two. We haven’t found them yet. Most of the guards were stationed here so only about five others were outside looking around. We haven’t gotten a word from any of them so far.” Reeka moved past the guards and opened the door.

“Well, the ceremonies over right? I’m going out there to look for Marlow!” Sasaki then stood next to Reeka, ready to leave with her.

“Yes it’s over. I have to find Jason!” Sasaki turned to the guards. “Please tell my mother that I’m sorry I didn’t stay behind to entertain our guests, but Jason is out there. I need to see him.” Reeka sneered at Sasaki.

“Ha, I could care less what happened to that Jason guy!” Hearing that, Sasaki spoke up.

“Oh yea, the feeling’s mutual for that Marlow girl, making Jason look bad by overreacting and running off like that…” Reeka got annoyed at her remark as she brandished her claws.

“Hey, don’t talk shit about my friend! You may be a princess or whatever, but I don’t mind scarring that pretty face of yours if you piss me off enough!” Sasaki retaliated her response by brandishing her own claws.

“I’d like to see you try shark breath!” Seeing them argue again, Gabriel got between them once more.

“Come on guys enough please! Let’s just focus our efforts on finding them okay?” He then turns to Reeka before grabbing her cheeks and pulling on them. “And you, stop being so aggressive alright?! Antagonizing princess Sasaki’s a horrible idea, especially considering her palace guards are literally everywhere. Now say you’re sorry.” Going meek from his touch, Reeka blushed as she winced in light pain from his pinching.

“Yeoowch...alright alright!” As soon as he let go, Reeka turned to Sasaki. “Sorry alright...I’m just worried about my friend.” Avoiding eye contact, Reeka didn’t really seem apologetic, but Sasaki sighed from that and just smiled.

“Fine, I’m sorry too alright? Let’s stop fighting and work to find them together.” Reeka looked at Sasaki who gave a look of confidence.

“Yea, alright of course.” Reeka said as they nodded to one another. They then exit the palace and there, they see the two other guards outside.

“You two!” Sasaki said. The two guards were a Dullahan and a Living Armor respectively. “Are you guys part of the search party for a Merrow and a man?”

“Yes princess Sasaki we are!” the two bowed before Sasaki.

“We have every able body looking for them as we speak. With the ceremony over, more of us will soon spread. We’ll find them soon.” The Dullahan soldier said.

“Good! I want you two to come with us so we can search for those two together!” Surprised by her command, the two guards looked at one another confused.

“We have no problems looking for those two, but why do you want to tag along?” The Living Armor girl asked her.

“Because…” Her face turning red, Sasaki was trying to come up with an answer. “I-It’s because he hasn’t answered a question I posed for him a while back is all!” Hearing her nervous voice, the two guards teasingly laugh at Sasaki. This caused Sasaki to look away, hiding her face.

“Hehe...understood princess. We will protect you from any harm!” The two guards stood up straight to Sasaki.

“Where to mam?!” Both guards asked Sasaki with a stern, serious voice.

“Hmm...you know I’m not sure myself honestly…” Sasaki said as the two guards loosened their stiff stance in awe at Sasaki’s ignorance.

“Well, it’s a good place to start at the vendor streets isn’t it?” Gabriel said, making a suggestion. “Since this Jason guy was chasing after Marlow, it’s probably good to start looking where Marlow would go first. And knowing Marlow, going to the vendor street is a likely place she’d go to either buy comfort food for herself, or just hide away from embarrassment.” Reeka hugged Gabriel from behind and kissed his cheek.

“Great idea! Such a smart man you Gabriel!” Gabriel blushed when he got kissed, tilting his glasses back up from being jolted by her hug earlier, he nervously talked back.

“Hehe well yea I mean it seems like the best course of action…” Sasaki looked at Gabriel and smiled at him.

“Yes, a great suggestion indeed. Well then, to the Vendor streets!” With Sasaki’s voice roaring loudly, the group cheered loudly with her as they headed towards Vendor street.

“Ugh…” Slowly waking up, Marlow feels discomfort on her wrists and arms, feeling like she’s floating in air, she lifts her heavy feeling eyelids, seeing blurred images of three people. “wha…” Her vision clearing, she see’s she’s in some warehouse, looking around as there wasn’t much around aside from a wooden table with some tools, a couple of chairs, and some small pots.

“Oh, she’s finally awake huh?” Tarvo walked closer to Marlow, whose wrists were tied up with chains that are connected to the ceiling, her tailfin strapped tightly to a wooden chair. “You’re surprisingly heavy, but then again, you were limp the entire time, so carrying you was a bit awkward.” Realizing the situation she was in, Marlow’s eyes widened in realization of what she was in for.

“Carried me...wait that voice...are you one of those merchants from earlier?!” Marlow asked as he laughed at her question.

“Haha...well yea I am, but I’m no average merchant.” Tarvo said before moving to one of the jars on the ground. He picks it up and moves it closer to Marlow, placing it under her right wrist. “Me and my friends here specialize in black market trading. From illegally obtained slime vials, alraune nectar, demon ore, eccetera…” He then pulled out a small knife, the few candles and lanterns illuminating the warehouse made it hard to see Tarvo, but she could see his devilish smile. “If you had cooperated earlier, this wouldn’t have happened you know?” Glaring with anger from his words, Marlow scowled at him.

“Wait…” Marlow’s expression softened a bit, remembering that Natalia was with her before she passed out. “Where’s Natalia?! You bastards better not have hurt her!” Marlow struggled as the chains clanged at her attempts of escape, but to no avail. Hearing this, she heard another voice laughing before Lui appeared.
“Oh her...how considerate of you to care about her, considering she was the one that gave us the chance to bring you here in the first place.” Moving closer, he was pulling on some blonde strands of hair, the sound of something heavy being dragged on the ground echoed in the warehouse. Soon Marlow see’s who he was dragging from one of the lanterns near Lui, it was Natalia, unresponsive as her face was covered in blood and bruises.

“NATALIA!” Marlow screamed out her name in horror as she saw Natalia’s horribly beaten face. “Bastards, what did you do to her?!” The chains were rattling in response to Marlow’s arms, her face scrunched in anger.

“Now this is hilarious...didn’t you hear me before? You’re in this mess because of Natalia here. She was one of us, the one wearing the yellow hood, remember?” Marlow gasped in surprise before he continued. “She gave you a drink that was made to drug Mamono, but be ineffective against humans.” He then lifted her up more so he could see her face more clearly, then turned her head for Marlow to see, her eyes looking hollow and empty. “She was one of us, but I guess when she heard that we were going to bleed you dry of all you got, she didn’t want to go through with it. So we had to teach her a lesson.” Lui tosses Natalia’s limp body on the ground right under Marlows fin. She saw that Natalia’s body was stripped naked, bruised even more around her chest and waist as white, slow flowing fluid was around her legs.

“Na-NATALIA! You’re not dead are you! Please answer me!” Despite hearing Natalia’s involvement in her capture, Marlow was too focused on being horrified at seeing how badly hurt Natalia was. Hearing her name called, Natalia’s eyes shifted upwards, looking at Marlow who was crying for her.

“I...I’m so sorry Marlow. If I’d known they-” Natalia suddenly starts coughing, blood and more of that white liquid spilled from her mouth. “I would have never wanted any part in this…” Marlow shook her head to her. Her tears fell on Natalia’s face.

“I don’t care about that! I know from talking with you that you’re a good person on the inside! I’m sure of it!” Despite her clear involvement in this, Natalia saw that Marlow only cared about her well being. This caused Natalia to cry herself as tears started to flow from her eyes.

“Marlow…” Marlow saw how sorry she was from her face, making Marlow smile back softly to her. But their moment didn’t last as Natalia’s face scrunched up in pain before letting out a pained scream, her eyes wide open as her eyes dilated.

“Natalia!” Marlow looks up as she sees Tarvo stepping on Natalia’s left ankle.

“How sentimental...and here I thought we broke you there for a second, guess you’re ready for round two then.” Tarvo picks Natalia up using her right arm.

“Let her go, you bastard! And ready for what?! What did you do to her?” Marlow asked, not really knowing what they did to her.

“Wow...you sure are dense. You mean with the way Natalia looks, you still don’t know what happened to her?!” Lui who talked next to Tarvo, grabbed Natalia’s other arm before grabbing Natalia’s bare breast. “We raped her you dimwit!” Natalia looked downwards, avoiding eye contact with Lui and Tarvo. “We could have killed her, sure...but she needed a lesson on what happens to those who try to stop our…’bargaining’!” Realizing the white stuff she saw earlier was probably their semen, Marlow looked at the two men with disgust, but quickly shook her head and stared at Natalia.

“Natalia! You assholes let go of her NOW!!!” Marlow stared at the men with pure anger in her eyes. Seeing this, Lui let go of Natalia, and instead walked closer to Marlow “Eh-” Suddenly, Lui put his hands on her stomach to feel her skin “Do-Don’t touch me!” Marlow tried to struggle, but all she could manage was rattling the chains.

“You know...aside from that fishy bottom half of yours, your skin is smoother than Natalia’s. No hard muscle to make it feel stiff.” Lui then looks at her breasts. “And your chest...check out those massive knockers! They’re as big as my hands!” Marlow struggles even more as she sees his hand move closer and closer to her chest, when suddenly.

“Oww!” Tarvo flinched in pain as his right arm was bitten by Natalia, forcing him to let go. Then looking behind him, Lui heard Tarvo yell out in pain before Natalia moved towards him. Tackling him to the ground, she bites Lui's right hand afterwards.

“GAH! You fucking bitch!” Lui then slugged Natalia in the face with his free left hand, causing her to let go.

“Ah! No Natalia!” Marlow watched as she saw Natalia fall to the ground, spitting out more blood from her mouth as her nose started to bleed from his fist. Lui’s hand was bitten pretty hard. Natalia’s teeth marks clearly visible on his right palm. As both Lui and Tarvo wince in pain from their injuries, they see Natalia struggling to stand. Spreading her arms as if to protect Marlow.

“Her...her purity isn’t something you can just take…” Gasping in pain, Natalia could barely talk. “Do what you will to me, but leave her alone!” Marlow could barely watch the scene unfold in front of her as the person who was responsible for her getting in this position in the first place, is now defending her with everything she had despite her clear injuries.

“That’s enough Natalia stop! I know you’re technically the reason why I’m here like this, but you shouldn’t be getting yourself hurt even more than you already are because of it! I’m not angry at you! I’m sure there’s a reason why you did what you did, so please!” Marlow choked up seeing that Natalia’s legs were shaking from being barely able to stand. “Just stop and leave me be!” Natalia turned her head and looked at Marlow.

“Marlow...you...you’re so sweet and kind.” Her right leg giving out, Natalia falls on her right knee, but uses her right hand to keep herself from fully hitting the ground. “I’m so-” Before she could finish, Lui ran to her and kicked her in the right side of her head, knocking her down hard on the ground. Spitting out blood and even some teeth from the impact, Natalia coughs up more blood, but stays quiet.

“Damn you cunt!” Lui looked down on Natalia before kicking her in the gut repeatedly. “Damn moron, fighting back even after all we did! You’re really looking to get killed aren’t you?!” With each kick, Marlow could hear Natalia cough painfully more and more and air was forced out of her stomach from the kicking.

“Enough Lui!” Yelling out his name, Lui turns around to Tarvo. “That should be enough to keep her down for now. Anymore and you’ll be wasting your time. Let’s hurry up and collect the blood already before anyone else comes!” Lui scoffed at Tarvo for a moment, but soon relaxed and let out an annoyed sigh.

“Fine...we did waste a lot of time disciplining Natalia anyways…” Lui walked away from Natalia who was limp and silent.

“Natalia! Don’t die please!” Marlow said in tears, seeing how badly Natalia was hurt.

“We could have bleed you dry before you were even awake, but Natalia kept getting in the way earlier.” Lui turned to look back at Natalia for a second, seeing that she wasn’t even moving anymore. “But she won’t be a problem now.” Marlow could only stare in horror as she looked at Natalia’s badly beaten body. Now knowing what they did to her, Marlow looked back at Tarvo and Lui as only anger and hate filled her eyes.

“You guys...won’t get away with thi-” Grabbing her by her cheeks, Tarvo shuts Marlow up before pulling out a knife from one of his pockets.

“I could cut your tongue to keep you quiet. But we’re short on time…” Tarvo turns his attention to Lui who was holding one of the brown pots. “Let’s get started.” Without warning, Tarvo used the knife and cut an inch long incision on her right arm.

“AAHH!” Though the cut was relatively small, it still hurt Marlow to the point of struggling, but she couldn’t do much as she was tied up tightly on her tail fin to her shoulders and stomach.

“Don’t struggle too much!” Lui said as he was trying to collect the blood that leaked out of Marlow’s cut arm. Marlow kept moving her arms wildly despite being tied to chains, causing the blood to move around her arm and even fall to the ground. “Dammit I said stop moving!”

“Or what?!” Marlow replies with hate in her tone.

“Or…” Lui thinks for a second, then lets out a devious smile. He puts the jar down for a moment before walking to Natalia again, he aims the bottom of his shoe down on Natalia’s head. “Or you can sit there and watch as I stomp the shit out of Natalia’s face!” Seeing that this was no bluff, Marlow could only look at Lui with even more hate as she had no choice but to comply. While she was distracted, Tarvo took Lui’s place and placed a small vial next to her cut, collecting a small sample of blood.

“This should be enough for you and I, Lui...but as for the jars…” Looking at three more jars aside from the one Lui set down, Tarvo picks one up and kneels down to observe the jars. Each had a fluid capacity of twelve ounces. “We won’t get enough from just her arm. Even if we cut her entire arm off, the blood that’ll flow out isn’t going to be fast enough.” Hearing Tarvo speak so casually about cutting Marlow’s arm off, she winces in fear.

“Oh? Well if it takes too long on the arms...then what about her tail near the fin?” Hearing his suggestion, Tarvo looks at Marlows fish tail. “A mermaid's tail is responsible for their ability to swim in the water at high speeds right? So there must be a lot of blood that needs to be pumped into them to keep them moving like that!”

“No! You can cut my arm, but don’t touch my tail!!!” Marlow started to panic, but Lui quickly got her attention when he stomped on Natalia’s right cheek, hearing a loud, cracking noise. This caused Natalia to scream in pain.

“GUAAAHH!!!” Marlow stopped moving as she saw Natalia’s face kicked in.

“Woops...sounds like I broke her jaw with that kick! If you keep making this harder for us, I’ll go for her skull next!” Staring at Natalia, she was still alive, but barely responding, only screaming out in pain as her breathing became lighter.

“...” Marlow stopped struggling after Lui’s threat.

“Good Lui, stay there so we can keep this one under control.” Unable to even struggle to avoid getting Natalia hurt, Marlow simply closes her eyes and grits her teeth as she feels the knife cut through her scales.

“KYAA!” Yelling in pain, Tarvo was cutting into her tail as blood started to rush out. Tarvo puts the jar near the end of her tail fin where the blood was flowing to, filling the jar.

“Hmm...flowing this much already just from cutting half an into your tail. I wonder how much more I’ll get if I cut deeper!” Tarvo cuts another half inch in, causing more blood to flow out as Marlow couldn’t keep her voice down anymore.

“HYAAAAAHHH!!!!!” As her screams echo loudly in the warehouse, the doors of the warehouse suddenly burst open.

“What the?!” Lui yelled out as he and Tarvo looked at the door, where they saw Jason and Detra.

“You...you’re the guy who was with her earlier in the palace!” Tarvo said. There Jason and Detra saw Marlow tied to a chair with her, her arms hanging up from chains around her wrists. Her right arm was covered in blood. As they look further down, they see her tail was partially cut, a large pool of blood overflowing on one of the jars.

“Ma-MARLOW!” Jason yelled out in concern. Without thinking, he rushed to her, but Lui stood in his way. “Out of my way!” Jason said as he held his left fist down to his torso before lunging his arm full force into Lui’s gut, causing him to vomit.

“GAH!” Feeling the heavy, strong blow, it was followed up by a strong uppercut to the jaw with Jason’s right hand, sending Lui flying before hitting the ground.

“Lui!” Tarvo yelled out to Lui, who was instantly knocked down. “Damnit...stay away!” Tarvo aimed his left palm at Jason. “Flame Spear!” A magic circle formed around his palm before a spear of flame came out of it, shooting straight for Jason.

“Nebula Shield!” Hearing Detra’s voice behind him, a magic circle formed in front of Jason before a whirlpool of water came out from it, shielding him from the Flame Spear. “Detra!” Looking at her, he could see her face was full of rage. Her eyes dilated as she stared coldly at Tarvo.

“You, you did that to her?!” She said before she moved towards him at great speeds. “I’m going to tear your limbs off!” As Detra got closer, Tarvo smirked before taking a swipe with his knife. “Crap!” Her momentum carried her to his attack, but she managed to guard with one of her tentacles as it was cut clean off.”

“Detra!” Marlow yelled out to her.

“Marlow, Don’t worry we’ll save you!” Looking back at Jason, she wraps her other tentacles around Tarvo. “Quickly Jason, while I have this guy preoccupied, go and untie Marlow and get her out of here!” Nodding to her, Jason runs past them and heads for Marlow.

“Marlow!” Jason looked around her body, seeing that she was cut from her arm and tail. “I’m so sorry! If I didn’t hurt your feelings and let you down more gently, you wouldn’t have run into this mess.” Jason while apologizing takes the straps off her tail, stomach, and shoulders. The arms however were a different story as each had a keyhole. “Ah damn, I need a key!” As Jason was freaking out, he heard a faint voice call out to him.

“Ihhhhn hishhhhhh oooocket…” Hearing her, Jason turns to see Natalia speaking to him, pointing her left finger at Lui. “Look for his pockets...the key is in one of them…” Jason noticed her badly beaten, naked body.

“Ah, what happened to you, are you-” Before he could finish, Natalia shook her head to him.

“eeeet hhhher ouuut…” She said before her face collapsed to the ground. Jason listened to her and looked around in Lui’s pockets.

“Damn Scylla, get off me!” Tarvo struggles to get Detra off him as her tentacles wrapped around his body.

“Don’t bother, I got all your limbs locked nice and tight! Now I’ll tear you limb from limb for what you did to Marlow!” Detra was angry like she had never been before, barely able to hold her composure.

“Detra, Jason...it’s my fault that I got into this mess. I’m sorry too!” Seeing Marlow cry, Detra calmed down as she smiled at her.

“You dumbass...at least you’re still crying like an idiot.” Detra said. Jason then managed to find the key as he started to unlock the right cuff on Marlows wrist.

“Let go of me! Pyre steam!” Losing her concentration for a moment, Detra wasn’t able to react quickly enough as Tarvo used a spell that covered his body in a cloak of flames, burning most of Detra’s tentacles.

“Gah!” Detra backed off from the pain.

“Detra, are you alright?!” Jason looked at Detra at that moment, distracted by her scream of pain, he didn’t notice Lui, who got back up from being knocked out. He pulls out a knife out of his pocket as he readies to stab Jason, gripping it with both hands.

“Jason behind you!” By the time Marlow warned Jason, it was too late as he felt the knife pierce his back, stabbing him in his left lung.

“CUUAAAGHH!!!” Coughing up blood from the attack, Jason stumbles and falls on his knees as the knife pulls out of his back.

“Turn your back on me will yah?” Lui looked down at Jason. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt for long, I’ll be going for your neck next!” Looking up at Lui, Jason was in too much pain to move as Lui plunges the knife down towards his neck.

“JASON NO!!!” Just as Lui’s knife was about to stab through Jason’s neck, a loud clashing noise echoed in the warehouse, the knife was suddenly in the air and out of Lui’s hand and fell to the ground.

“What?!” Both Lui and Tarvo were in shock as they saw a Dullahan between Jason and Lui.

“Thank goodness we made it in time!” Hearing a familiar voice, Jason looked at the door and see’s Sasaki there, along with a Living Armor girl by her side. Behind them was Reeka and Gabriel.

“Damn she’s fast…” Reeka said as she moved in front of Sasaki. “That Dullahan was with us one second, and the next over there…” Looking at the Dullahan soldier, Reeka noticed Marlow close to her, bleeding from her arm and tail. “Marlow! You’re bleeding!” Reeka said before Detra backed away closer to Sasaki and the others.

“I don’t know who you guys are, but you saved us!” Most of Detra’s tentacles were all burnt badly, “I can hardly move with most of my tentacles the way they are. Please help that man Jason over there, he’s hurt more than I am.” Reeka took a look at Jason. The back of his shirt was completely red, drenched in his blood.

“So that’s Jason huh, why should I help that guy?” Reeka hesitated at first, but then Marlow screamed at her.

“Reeka, I can wait, please help Jason!” In tears, Reeka flinched at first, but relented as she went to Jason’s aid first.

“Jason is that right? You got a lot of explaining to do later. For now let’s get you out of here.” Reeka said as she helped Jason up, supporting him by slinging his right arm over her shoulder.

“Damnit. First we get a Scylla and that man, then we get three more Mamono in our way…” Lui said, as he looks closer, he finally notices that one of them is an Otohime. “Wait...what the hell is the Otohime princess doing here?!” Lui said in shock as Tarvo, who was still clad in flames looked shocked as well.

“I don’t know...but even if someone like her saw us, we can’t finish what we came for now.” The Dullahan soldier quickly sliced through the chains, freeing Marlow.

“Here, let me carry you out of here for now.” The Dullahan carefully lifted Marlow, gently wrapping her arms on Marlows back and tail before jumping back to where Sasaki and the others were.

“Thank goodness you’re alright Marlow, you had us worried you know?” Gabriel said. Reeka was still supporting Jason who was coughing up blood from his wound.

“Jason, what happened to you?!” Sasaki saw Jason’s body, badly bleeding, Sasaki quickly applied healing magic. A green, gentle light envelopes Jason as the stab wound from his back shrinks until it completely disappears. “There. That should repair internal and external wounds, but the pain will still be there for a while since it’s an emergency magic healing treatment.

“Ha….ha...thanks Sasaki. Heal Marlow next please…” He said as he pointed to Marlow.

“Right, of course.” Without hesitation, Sasaki moved onto Marlow, healing her the same way she did with Jason, Marlows cuts shrink and disappear. “There.” Sasaki looked at Marlow for a moment. The very girl that caused Jason to chase after her and miss her performance. She quietly analyzes Marlow. “You’ve lost a lot of blood from what I can tell, try not to move around too much okay?” Tarvo and Lui, who were unable to act due to the Dullahan and Living Armor soldiers keeping an eye on them, looked around for a way to escape.

“Sasaki right?” Marlow asked, looking at Sasaki. “Heal Detra too please. She got hurt badly trying to keep me safe from one of those men just like Jason did.” Marlow said as she looked at Detra, wincing in pain from her burnt tentacles.

“Detra?” Sasaki looks at the direction Marlow was, seeing Detra’s burnt tentacles “I see, of course I’ll take care of her as well.” Sasaki moved towards Detra, but Lui unexpectedly lunged forward, picking up the knife that was on the ground earlier.

“Stupid bitch! Ignoring us is going to be a big mistake!” Taking his chance, Lui tried to take out Sasaki, but was quickly blocked by the Living Armor soldier.

“Ah, Ameri!” Sasaki said as she saw her shielding them.

“Don’t worry princess, focus on helping the injured, we’ll keep these men busy. Isn’t that right Enri?” While Ameri was shielding Sasaki, the Dullahan soldier by the name of Enri looked at Gabriel.

“Here, take care of her for me.” Enri gives Marlow to Gabriel.

“Ah alright.” Gabriel took Marlow, carrying her bridal style. “Oh crap, I need to work out!” He said to himself, but Marlow just smiled awkwardly at his comment.

“Ehehe...sorry if I’m fat…” She said in a joking manner, but Gabriel gasped in realization of what he implied and apologized.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that I swear!” Marlow just chuckles lightly at his attempts to apologise. With Marlow in Gabriels hands, Enri lunges towards Tarvo, her blade at hand ready to strike him down.

“Damnit Lui, our priority is to escape, not provoke them!” Tarvo scolded Lui as he avoided Enri’s attack, counterattacking by using the cloak of flame he had and transforming it into a blade of flame, crossing swords with Enri.

“Escape? You’re very optimistic if you think you’ll get out of here unscathed!” She said, trading blows with one another.

“Your burns, luckily they don’t seem deep, so I can heal them relatively quickly. You also have a cut tentacle. I can close the open wound, but I can’t make it regrow.” Sasaki starts to heal Detra’s tentacles. Detra observes Sasaki, seeing her beautiful body.

“Hmm...I guess I can’t completely blame Jason for doing what he did to Marlow.” She said to herself softly. “Sasaki is it? Sorry for the trouble my friend caused. And don’t worry about my cut tentacle, It’ll regrow on it’s own with time.” Sasaki simply shook her head to her.

“Don’t be, under these circumstances, it’d be childish of me to be expecting an apology.” The healing light faded as Detra’s burnt tentacles were back to normal. “The skin and muscles beneath are healed, but you’ll still feel the lingering pain from the burns for a bit.” Sasaki felt her kimono being tugged on, turning to Marlow.

“Princess Sasaki...there’s one more person I’d like you to heal please. She’s arguably in the worst shape of anyone here.” Marlow looked and pointed at Natalia, motionless. “Please...she also helped me by stalling them…” When Sasaki saw Natalia, she was in utter shock at her condition.

“Oh dear!” She quickly went to Natalia, turning her around, her eyes were hollow. Some of her teeth were knocked out and spread around near her. Looking closely around Natalia, Sasaki could see all the splatters of blood and white substance around her. “Wait...don’t tell me…” Realizing quickly at what happened to Natalia. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” Sasaki said softly as this time, Natalia’s entire body glowed a brighter green. “It’ll take more time to heal you, but I know I can make it.” Pouring more of her mana into her spell, the bruises and cuts all over Natalia started to fade. Meanwhile, Tarvo and Lui were backed against the wall as Enri and Ameri cornered them against a wall. Lui was looking around the warehouse as if trying to find a way to escape.

“Thinking of a way to escape? You’re not going anywhere…” Ameri said. But Lui smiled at her, unfazed by her words.

“Escape, no I was thinking of something more of a distraction!” With a sinister smile, Lui pointed his right middle finger upwards. Then a black magic circle appeared on top of his finger. “Hehehe…” With a bone chilling laugh, a dark magic sigil appeared on Natalia’s abdomen.

“What the?!” Sasaki was caught by surprise as the sigil quickly glowed white. A white flash enveloped Sasaki and Natalia. “AMERI! SHIELD EVERYONE NOW!” Yelling out her orders, Ameri without a second delay moved in front of everyone and deployed her shield. The next instant, a huge explosion of flame smothered Natalia and Sasaki.

“PRINCESS SASAKI!!!” Both Ameri and Enri yelled out as all they could see was a flash of flame, enveloping the entire warehouse. When the flames dissipated, Ameri lowered her shield. Jason was left speechless at the scene at hand along with Detra, Reeka, and Gabriel.

“NO NATALIA, SASAKI!” Marlow felt a deep sense of guilt, feeling like it’s her fault for getting both Natalia and Sasaki killed.

“Cascading Deluge!” Chanting out another spell, a blue magic circle envelopes Lui and Tarvo, then a roaring wave of water flows out of the edges of the circle around them. The tidal waves from it reach thirty feet as it crashes down on the group as well as smothering the flames that blew up on Natalia and Sasaki.

“Oh crap!” Reeka braced for the impact, but not enough as the strong waves pulled Jason out of Reeka’s grasp. “Oh shit!” Reeka turned around and saw Jason quickly swept away by the waves.

“No, Jason!” Marlow without hesitation pushed out of Gabriel’s grasp and went after Jason.

“Marlow, don’t go! You’re still anemic from the blood loss!” Gabriel began to feel the waves pulling him away too, but Reeka managed to grab onto him. “Ah, Reeka!” Reeka was then grabbed by Enri, who in turn was held by Ameri

“You two, hang on and don’t let go!” They said as the wave was strong, but with Ameri deploying her shield once more, they managed to regain their footing.

“But what about Marlow and Jason?!” Reeka asked with a worried look on her face.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t risk you guys getting swept away!” Enri said, holding onto Reeka tightly. In the rough waves, Marlow could see Jason struggling to swim up for air as the strong waves pushed them out of the warehouse and into the streets. The water from Lui’s spell continues to flow as more and more water spreads out of the magic spell, increasing the strength of the water's current with each second passing.

“Gluu…uuurp….” Jason was struggling for air, unable to fight off the current, his vision was fading as he felt the need to breathe. Then as he reached the point of passing out, he felt something placed on his head. He suddenly feels his strength coming back, able to see clearly in the water, he can breathe as if he was on land as the waves felt less intense to him now. “What the…how am I?” Feeling around his head, he looks up and sees Marlow’s hat. It gave him a feeling of love and protection. “She must have put this on me to keep me from drowning...wait that means!” Looking around him, Jason spots Marlow, motionless as she’s carried off by the waves. “Marlow, I’m coming!” Jason swam towards Marlow faster than he expected, feeling lighter in the water than what he’s used to. “This must be the power bestowed by her hat, I can swim in the water as well as I can run on land!” Quickly gaining on her, Jason grabs Marlow and quickly resurfaces.

“Ugh...Jason, you’re okay…” Marlow smiled at him weakly, using up the last bit of strength she had, she was bordering on passing out from exhaustion.

“Marlow...thank you for saving my life. And I’m sorry I made you cry. I just wanted to be able to give Sasaki a proper answer before I answered you.” Jason said, but Marlow just shook her head.

“No it’s fine, I understand. I was the one who overreacted.” As the two were having their moment, Jason notices that they were about to slam into a wall from a nearby building.

“Oh crap! Hang on!” Jason made sure Marlow was in front of him, turning his back against the wall, he was bracing himself as his back was about to slam onto the wall. But suddenly, they both glowed a light blue color before stopping, the water also stopped moving as if frozen in time. A second later, the water around them moves away from their bodies, letting Jason land on the ground. The water around them then froze instantly. “The water froze, and this light...it feels like…” Jason didn’t even finish his sentence, knowing well that the only person who could’ve done that was Sasaki. Back in the warehouse, the entire water froze inside the warehouse except for the ones surrounding Enri and the others, giving them space away from the frozen water just like Jason and Marlow had.

“You damn fools…” Sasaki’s voice echoed in the warehouse, her tone low as her anger could be felt through a heavy pressure around them. Ice formed around Lui and Tarvo, freezing them up to their necks, disabling their ability to move.

“That must be princess Sasaki!” Ameri said before seeing Sasaki floated up and away from the initial blast zone, carrying Natalia who was unharmed and fully healed. Sasaki had parts of her kimono torn, but was otherwise unharmed by the blast.

“What?! How the hell did you survive that?! That was a point blank range explosion! Natalia shouldn’t even be in one piece!” Staying quiet, Sasaki looked at Natalia, unconscious but healed, her grip slightly tightened on Natalia’s shoulders before looking back at Lui and Tarvo. The magic pressure she was giving out was even heavier around the two, feeling like it could crush them. The ice surrounding them cracking and shattering from the pressure she emitted.

“I’m more closely related to the Ryu’s and Dragons than I am to mermaids, so my scales can easily withstand such paltry explosions like that. But this woman you call Natalia, she’s but a human, a fragile being who didn’t deserve to be treated the way you two have done to her! I should kill you two where you stand right now!” As the pressure got heavier and heavier, Sasaki let out a sigh before the pressure subsided. “But for now, I’ll keep you two alive for questioning. You’ll have a lot to answer for what you two did!” Sasaki then summoned a magic circle around her right hand. “Sleep.” The moment she cast it, Lui and Tarvo were hit with immense lethargy, instantly falling asleep.

“Whoa...she’s strong…” Reeka said before seeing Sasaki slowly descend, the ice around them shattering, it quickly melts back into water as it gently flows to the ground.

“Hey, what about Marlow and Jason?” Gabriel asked, looking behind him where he saw the two swept away.

“Don’t worry, I felt their presence before I froze the water around us. They’re safe.” Sasaki said before looking back at Lui and Tarvo, both still frozen up to their necks, unconscious. “Enri, Ameri. I want you two to take those men into custody for questioning. Make sure you cuff them with anti magic cufflinks.” Both Ameri and Enri stood straight up and bowed to Sasaki.

“Of course princess Sasaki!” The both of them said at the same time. The ice around the two shattered as both Ameri and Enri carried to two, heading straight to the prison cells. Sasaki then looks at where Jason and Marlow were swept up. “They’re both probably exhausted, you guys should probably help them.” Sasaki said as she then looked at Natalia. “I need to take this one to the hospital where she can recover in peace. Take them there as well.” Sasaki said before leaving for the hospital first.

“Yea, of course.” Detra said, but before leaving, she bowed to Sasaki. “Thank you so much for saving us princess Sasaki!” Sasaki simply waved to them, not even looking back. After thanking her, Detra, Reeka, and Gabriel went to where Jason was. There they saw him sitting on a bench, holding Marlow bridal style.

“Oh...hey guys…” Jason said. Reeka’s eyes widened as she saw Marlow's hat on his head. Detra simply smiled at the sight and sat next to him. Detra then places her left hand at Marlow’s head, gently stroking her pink, fluffy exposed hair.

“Hehe...so I guess you got what you wanted Marlow….” Reeka, who saw what he had on his head, just let out a sigh of relief and sat right on the ground from exhaustion.

“Phew...glad they’re safe and sound…” Gabriel walked right next to Reeka, sitting down with her.

“Yea no kidding. They were seriously hurt when we found them. Thank goodness for Sasaki’s healing abilities or some of you guys would’ve probably died from your injuries.” Reeka said, looking at Jason, Detra, and Marlow.

“So you two, based on how Marlow talked to you, I’m going to assume you’re friends that she made here right?” Detrea asked, Reeka just smiled back at her.

“Haha yeah. We met her on the train to Ryugujo. She had such good things to say to you and her friends back at her home. Says she feels really guilty for always feeling like she’s bringing the mood down when she’s with you guys.” Detra just shook her head as she looked at Marlow, sleeping from exhaustion.

“Moron...we always love having you around.” She then turns to Reeka and Gabriel, bowing to them. “Thanks for keeping an eye on her and keeping her company on the train ride here then. She must’ve been a handful.”

“Oh no it’s fine. I’m glad I met her. She’s so funny and positive. A little lewd mind you, but hey we all are to some extent am I right?” Reeka jokingly said nudging on Detra’s left shoulder with her right elbow. Detra looked at Gabriel for a moment, then back at Reeka.

“Yeah I guess you’re right. You have your ‘prey’ right there don’t you?” Using one of her tentacles, Detra pointed at Gabriel as both he and Reeka blushed.

“Ah, I mean we just met and all so hehe yeah.” Gabriel said nervously.

“Uh yeah, what he said.” Reeka agreed with his answer.

“Really? I thought Mersharks viciously devour their chosen prey? We’ll I guess there is a part in the encyclopedia that mentions you guys being really timid, so maybe you’re just waiting for a proper response before ‘eating’ him?” Reeka just closes her eyes and nervously chuckles along with Gabriel. Detra then walks to Jason. Jason took off the hat Marlow gave him and placed it back on her head. “Looks like she made her decision. Though you’re free to reject her, she’s already made up her mind on her end.” Jason looked up at Detra, smiling at her.

“She saved my life when the water hit us earlier. The current was too strong at the time and I couldn't swim up to save myself. Marlow swam to me and gave me her hat so that I could breathe underwater and swim effortlessly in the water.” Reeka approached Jason and brandished her claws, aiming it right at his neck.

“You damn bastard...you’re lucky she got out of this alive. It’s your fault that she got kidnapped in the first place you know?” Gabriel was next to Reeka, his hands up deciding as to whether to try and stop her or not. Detra was about to interfere afterwards, but Jason spoke up.

“Yea, you’re right. Even if Marlow accepted my apology, it doesn’t exempt others who worried for her. I can’t apologise enough for the worry and trouble I caused you guys.” Looking remorseful, Reeka let out a disgruntled sigh.

“Oh forget it.” Reeka retracted her claws and sat next to him. She places her left hand on Marlows forehead and gently strokes it. “If I stay mad at you when she’s already forgiven you, I’ll just make her sad. So you’re forgiven.” She then stares Jason dead in the eyes as he looks back to her. “But you better take responsibility.” Gabriel placed his right hand on Reeka’s right shoulder.

“Hey come on now. Jason’s in a pretty big bind at the moment you know? I mean he was worried enough about Marlow that he willingly left the ceremony to chase after her. Princess Sasaki had her eyes on Jason too, and well she didn’t stick around after what happened, but I feel like she wants a proper explanation from him too when this is over.” Reeka turned to Jason, who just looked back at Marlow. “We don’t have any right to ask or force him to do anything. He along with Marlow and princess Sasaki have to make that decision on their own.” Detra moved close to Gabriel, nodding in agreement.

“He’s right. I’d like for Marlow to finally find her man. But whether or not Jason is the one for her is not just her decision. Both of them have to really love one another for it to work.” Reeka got back up afterwards, swinging her arms up, she crossed her fingers together and slings them behind her head.

“Okay yea, that’s true…” Jason gets up soon after, carrying Marlow gently.

“We should head for the hospital like Sasaki did. I know I’m healed and so is Detra, but Marlow could still use a blood transfusion. She lost a lot of blood.” With the group nodding in agreement, they all head towards the hospital.

*A few hours later.*

“Ugh…” Groaning, Marlow slowly opens her eyes as a bright light fills her vision for a moment, then as her eyes adjusted, she notices a blood transfusion back on her right, looking down to where the tube on the bag went, she feels it on her arm. “Blood transfusion...which means.” Looking around more, she looks at a window to her left and looks outside. People and Mamono were out and about, celebrating the end of the ceremony with stalls reopened with bright light accompanying the dark depths of the sea. Then looking to her right, a room filled with medical tools and a plain, white background with a single wall TV mounted there complements the sterile environment. Feeling something on top of her head, Marlow looks up and sees her hat back on her head. “A hospital, I wonder if everyone else is alright?” Marlow asked herself, but she soon wouldn’t be alone as the door opened. Looking at who came in, she saw Sasaki, carrying a large bag slinged over her right arm. Sasaki turned around and closed the door behind her before looking at Marlow. “Sasa-Eh I mean princess Sasa-” Before Marlow could finish, Sasaki pouted and interrupted her.

“Don’t you dare. Just call me Sasaki for simplicity sake, okay? I find formalities and titles like that to be annoying.” Sitting down on an empty chair next to Marlow’s bed, she sat down next to her. “Everyone is safe. Reeka and Gabriel are staying in a hotel after confirming you’re safe. They’ll probably have an intimate moment.” Marlow smiled, happy for those two. “Detra’s also at the hospital. I managed to cure her burns, but she needs to take some antibiotics as my magic can’t help with possible infection.” Marlow frowned a bit, worried about Detra.

“Detra…” Clenching her fist, Sasaki giggled before speaking up.

“Detra says not to get upset over it. Aside from the antibiotics, she’s completely fine. She’s in her own room resting. But I’m sure she’ll get restless and visit you soon after.” Marlow sighs in relief before looking at Sasaki.

“Haha, of course she’d say that.” Looking down at her hands, Marlow smiles as she thinks of how sweet it was of Detra to come for her. She then remembers Natalia.

“Oh crap, what about Natalia?!” She got caught up in the explosion along with you too, right? I mean you coming here relatively unscathed tells me you’re fine, but was she killed in the blast?” Sasaki shook her head and smiled at her.

“No, Natalia is perfectly fine. I shielded her with my magic just before the explosion took effect, so she wasn’t hurt in any way from it. But from what I saw before that, Natalia’s body was severely beaten. She had a broken jaw, torn ligaments on her arms, bruising all over her body, and even traces of semen around her face and genitals. Her left ankle was also fractured in multiple parts. I healed her body completely, but she’ll have to go through some physical rehabilitation to properly walk again. That’s not even taking into account her mental state.”Marlow looked sad for Natalia.

“She did everything she could to save me. If it wasn’t for her, I would’ve lost more blood...no who am I kidding. I probably would’ve been dead.” Sasaki took on a serious expression for a moment and looked Marlow straight in the eyes.

“Yes I know that. While you were still unconscious, Natalia did her best to stop them on her own. But she was weaker than them and got overwhelmed. She was beaten and raped afterwards. After that, they got bored of that and started to beat her up again before you finally woke up.” Sasaki lets out a sigh before continuing. “She admitted fault for her involvement and is willing to accept the same punishment as those other two with her by the names of Tarvo and Lui.” Marlow grabbed Sasaki’s hands and gripped them tightly with her own, looking desperate and scared for Natalia.

“What?! No, she’s a victim here! Please you can’t send her to jail along with those other guys!They were just using her I’m sure of it!” Sasaki shook her head despite her plea.

“That’s not up to me to decide Marlow. And up until the part where they were going to kill you, Natalia admitted to following through the plan. She initially thought that they would just take a couple of small vials worth of blood from you. And that doesn't account for the previous illegal activities that she helped them with beforehand. She did say though that she only partnered up with them because she needed the money. She was desperate for money out of a a need to feed herself, but she never wanted to resort to murder. So up until the point that Lui and Tarvo were willing to kill you, she had helped them with their illegal activities.” Marlow just shook her head even more, she even started tearing up.

“No! There’s gotta be a way to save her from being imprisoned! Even if she was helping them with the selfish reason of making money, she ended up saving my life!” Sasaki then patted Marlow on the head with her right hand, trying to calm her down.

“I know alright? She also had a hand in helping us find you too. When she got stabbed on the chest earlier when you got knocked unconscious, she discreetly let the blood from her wound drip down to the ground, creating a small, but noticeable trail that Jason and Detra said helped with finding you. So of course with that and everything else she did to try and prevent your death, I’ll do my best and act as her defendant. I’ll vouch for her, but I don’t know if even my opinions will help sway her punishment unless they set a condition of sorts.” Hearing that, Marlow gasped with surprise and hugged Sasaki, smiling and shaking her around a bit.

“Oh thank you Sasaki! I can’t thank you enough for what you’re doing!” She lets go afterwards, then ponders something. “Hey...so if Natalia helped Jason and Detra find me, how did you, your soldiers, Reeka, and Gabriel find me?” Sasaki smiled afterwards, showing a smug expression.

“Well as for that, when Detra and Tarvo were fighting using spells, I detected the use of magic from that. I followed it and found you guys shortly afterwards.” Sasaki says proudly, crossing her arms together.

“Oh okay. I didn’t know you guys could sense magic, that’s awesome!” Marlow said, clapping her hands together.

“To be fair Marlow, any person who uses spells should be able to sense the use of magic as well.” An awkward grin crosses Marlows face, seeing that Marlow had very little talent for magic herself. “Oh, I believe this is yours.” Sasaki placed the large bag she had on the floor, reaching down, she pulls out Marlow’s purse and puts it on top of Marlow’s bed.

“Ah, my purse! That’s right, I left it when I was running away from the palace earlier!” She said looking at it. It was damp as if it was in water.

“Your purse was carried by Detra earlier. She said she set it down near the entrance of the warehouse before going in. The attack from those hooligans swept it away afterwards. One of the soldiers doing a patrol of the area after the altercation saw it lying on the ground somewhere near the warehouse afterwards.” Opening her bag, Marlow looked around inside and saw the necklace she bought for Juli, which was adorned with seashells around the left and right side of it. In the middle was a large, pink colored pearl. Another trinket she saw was a bracelet meant for Kelpy. It was tied together by strong, brown mandragora roots and has several colored jewels tied to it.

“Oh thank goodness. The gifts I have are here!” She said with a sigh of relief. But moments later, her eyes widened, grabbing her head as she furiously shakes her head in a panic. “AH NO! The hairpin I was gonna give Detra! I think I dropped it when I fell unconscious!” She then looks at Sasaki. “You guys haven’t happened to find a hairpin around a bench have you?” Sasaki just shook her head.

“We found your purse, but as for some hair accessory you’re talking about, we haven’t seen one. Sorry.” Looking down with gloom in her eyes, she awkwardly smiles to herself.

“I didn’t think so….thanks anyway…” Lamenting over her mistake, Sasaki broke the awkward silence by coughing. Marlow looked at Sasaki before she spoke up.

“Marlow...I want to ask you a question…” Sasaki looked back to Marlow, looking at her body for a second. “What made you fall in love with Jason?” Hearing this, Marlow blushed bright red.

“EH?! Wh-wh-what?! Why would you ask me tha…” Before she could finish her sentence, Marlow looks at Sasaki’s face. Her dumbfounded expression quickly made Marlow realize why she asked that question. “Oh...that’s right….you were interested in Jason before I did.” Awkwardly chuckling, Sasaki’s expression went back to being serious.

“What I mean is...what is it about Jason that made you like him in the first place? I know about Merrows and their behaviours. Under normal circumstances, you could’ve just jumped at him without warning.” Marlow just smiles at her.

“Well yeah normally we would. But my mother and father instilled a very important life lesson to me about the importance of marriage and finding your true loved one. So in a way, their teachings had a strong impact on my behaviour. Granted, the urge to do so is very strong, and I still have dirty thoughts every now and then.” Marlow then looks down and thinks back to her childhood days, remembering fondly of how her mother and father showered one another with love and affection. “My father told me about the first time he met my mother. They met when my mother’s latest escapades which involved her chasing after a man went wrong and she ended up losing her hat at sea. My father found her drifting ashore when he was just out swimming.” Sasaki quietly listens to Marlow’s story. “He took her to his place where he took care of her while he looked for her hat whenever he had the chance.”

“That’s so sweet. Your mother and father must’ve had a rather intimate time with one another during that time.” Sasaki guessed, but Marlow shook her head.

“Nope, my father never once tried to do anything to my mom when she was like that. My mom tried to seduce him too, and at one point even tried to guilt trip him by saying that by not giving her his spirit energy, he was being cruel. My father however, knew very well that she only needed the hat to move around in water, it wasn’t necessary to live. So, when he finally managed to find her hat, my mom at first left him immediately, angry at the fact that dad didn’t do anything to her at the time.” Sasaki looked confused.

“Eh wait...your mother gave up?! That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a Merrow giving up like that.” Marlow just laughed before continuing.

“Yea I know. My mom blamed her inability to move well at the time. Since her magic power was tied to her hat, the most my mom could manage was getting out of the bed and trying to get on top of my dad. But even after being forceful, my mom never had a chance to have sex with him even once, he simply tells her everytime that he didn’t want to do that with her. So she gave up.” Marlow grabs her own hat and holds it in her hands. “But it didn’t take long before my mom seeked him out again.” Looking even more perplexed, Sasaki interupts her.

“What? You said your mom gave up, but then came back for him? It sounds to me that she was fed up and got the message that he wasn’t interested, so why?” Marlow’s eyes narrowed, thinking fondly of the story her father told her.

“It’s because my dad’s kind of a dick. When my mom came back to my dad, he asked her why she came back. She said ‘The more I thought about the times you rejected me, the more times I remembered that you took care of me. You helped me with the most mundane tasks that I would normally be able to do myself without complaining, but you refused my sexual advances afterwards. I wanted to thank you that way and show you I was grateful, but of course it was more than just that. I fell in love with you the moment you saved and helped me. Even when I was angry at you for always refusing my advances, I can’t ignore what my heart feels about you? So please forgive me and give me another chance.’” Sasaki gasped, listening closely to Marlow’s story with bated breath.

“Yea, what did he say to her?” Marlow then looks at Sasaki before closing her eyes, smiling warmly at her.

“He said to her ‘Ah, so you did end up falling in love with me normally after all!’ When he said that, my mom at first got angry and even slapped him, saying that it was insensitive of him to have toyed with her like that. And in a way, he did. But he had his reasons.” Marlow brings the hat up and over her face, holding it straight up, obscuring the light above her as she focuses on it. “The reason he did that was because he wanted to find out if she loved him because he was a man, or because he was himself.” Sasaki thought for a moment, trying to figure out what he meant. Then she realized it and gasped, striking her left palm downwards with the bottom of her right fist.

“It’s because he wanted to know if she liked him for who he was on the inside, not what he was on the outside.” Marlow puts her hat back on her head and nods.

“Yup! My dad was worried that he was only liked because he was a man. Merrows tend to ignore the meaning of relationship build up in favor of lusting over men and winning them through their bodies. My dad hated that idea because he felt that there was no true love in it, just sex. After explaining that to my mom, she calmed down and realized it herself that she was just tossing herself right at him without thinking about how he’d feel about it. She actually started crying, but that’s when my dad hugged her for the first time. He embraced her and kissed her lovingly.” Sasaki smiled back at Marlow, happy to hear her story.

“That’s so sweet. You had me worried there for a second there. But I guess I shouldn’t have been worried since well, you’re here after all.” Both Sasaki and Marlow giggled at one another before Marlow continued her story.

“My dad told her afterwards that he was also holding back. He was scared that she really didn’t love him and just wanted him for sex. But after what she did, he apologized to her repeatedly and even cried himself, feeling bad that he made her go through that.” Suddenly, Marlow’s face blushed a bright pink, slightly drooling, she speaks in a more lascivious manner this time. “So afterwards, my mom told me that she wasn’t going to accept his apology until he proved it to her. So they shared an awkward, sloppy kiss that turned into groping, which in TURN WENT TO!!!” Before getting ahead of herself, Sasaki grabbed Marlow by her shoulders.

“Ah, perhaps you should get back to answering my question Marlow, you know, about why you fell in love with Jason. It’s nice to hear about your parents' love story, but I think you’re getting out of track now.” Sasaki said. If she heard anymore, it would make her blush with embarrassment.

“Oh that’s right.” Laughing awkwardly, Marlow calms down before continuing. “The point is, my mom and dad made it very clear to me that true love comes from getting to know someone first. When Jason told me about his upbringing, the way his parents fell in love also involved loving one another through their personalities. He told me the value of love comes from the inside.” Sasaki’s eyes widened slightly, not knowing about his family's upbringing at that point.

“Wow, so he told you about how his mother and father came to love one another huh? He never told me anything about that. but he did tell me about his time before meeting me. He never really seemed to have any interest in finding a woman himself, human or Mamono.” Marlow’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as she stared right at Sasaki.

“HUH?! Wait so he’s told you stuff that he hasn’t told me?! You gotta share them with me!” Sasaki giggled at Marlow’s curiosity and obliged her.

“Well sure. As long as you tell me stuff that he told you and not me!” The both of them giggled. “So aside from Jason’s family, he did also mention that he valued how I saw love too.” Merrow looked at the blood transfusion bag near her on the top right. “Merrows are usually the easier source of mermaid blood right? Even my mom used hers every now and again as either bargaining chips or gifts for her friends. But for me, I want to give the person I love my blood first before anyone else. It’s not like losing my purity from sex or anything like that, so yeah normally it wouldn’t be an issue for Merrows to give their blood to anyone they want to. But there’s just something romantic, or special about giving a part of yourself to someone you love that I really value. So in a sense, giving my blood out to someone is basically like a confession of love.” Sasaki looked out the window, looking at the groups of humans and Mamono enjoying one another’s company.

“Confession of love huh?” Sasaki then looks back to Marlow. “Jason from the conversations and interactions we’ve had shows that he’s very humble. A little ignorant and dense though since half the time, he really didn’t pick up on the messages I was trying to convey to him with body language. Either that or he did know, but wanted to talk about it in private.” Sasaki placed her hands on her chest, closing her eyes and thinking about Jason. “He doesn’t come across as a guy that would just go and date someone because they’re pretty or rich. But he also seems like the kind of guy who’d put his family and loved ones first before himself.” Sasaki places her hands on her waist afterwards, letting out a sigh before looking at Marlow. “Looks like I can’t win against you in that regard.” Marlow looked confused at her remark, tilting her head sideways.

“Eh?” Sasaki gets off her chair afterwards and smiles at Marlow.

“You win Marlow. I think Jason would be happier if you became his lover.” Declaring her defeat, Marlow was understandably taken by surprise, gasping loudly at her.

“WHAT?!” With how loud she yelled out, it even spooked Sasaki before she gestured Marlow to keep her voice down, having her right pointing finger point upwards close to her lips.

“Shush! There are people resting close by.” Closing her mouth for a moment, Marlow nodded before speaking again.

“But Sasaki. You...I mean you fell in love with him first right? If anything I should apologize because I was responsible for Jason leaving. He wasn’t able to watch your dance because of me.” Sasaki just smiles at her, closing her eyes for a moment, she thinks back an hour before visiting Marlow.

*An hour ago.*

“I’m so sorry Sasaki!” On his knees with his head down, Jason was frantically bowing apologetically to Sasaki. “I hurt your feelings by missing your dance!” Sasaki, who was in Jason’s hospital room at the time, visits him to see how he’s doing. The moment he saw her, he disregarded his condition and got off his bed and started to bow in apology on his knees.

“Jason, please there’s no need for you to apologize for something like that alright? It’s a good thing you did leave. If you hadn’t, Marlow would’ve been dead by now.” Sasaki tried to reassure him, but Jason kept his head down anyways.

“But...that doesn’t excuse me from doing that to you! You don’t deserve to be treated that way after you treated me so well!” Jason then looks up to Sasaki. His face was riddled with guilt. “I’ll do anything to make it up to you!” Hearing that, Sasaki bends down to meet his face with hers.

“Anything?” Jason nodded feverishly. “Alright then, I want you to be honest and tell me the truth Jason. What did you feel when Marlow gave you her hat?” Expecting something big, Jason looked confused for a moment before speaking.

“Huh? What does that have to-” Sasaki quickly interrupts him.

“Hey, no questions! Just answer my question please.” Jason see’s the stern look Sasaski had, seeing that she wanted his answer first.

“...I felt an overwhelming sense of warmth...it felt like I was being wrapped around in a feeling of love and passion. It didn’t feel carnal either, just pure, indisputable feeling of trust. It’s like her hat itself wanted to protect me at all cost.” Hearing his answer, a thin smile crosses Sasaki’s face.

“I see. We’ll then Jason. You’d better return those feelings with interest!” Sasaki’s voice cracked a bit, sounding teary and sad. “It is said that a Merrow’s hat is more than just an accessory given to them by the Sea Goddess Poseidon. Their hat’s act as an extension of their true feelings. When Merrow’s entrust their hat to someone, it’s basically the same as a marriage proposal. It’s their way of acknowledging you as their fated one. In rare cases like what you’ve experienced, men who feel a presence of love and protection from the hats given to them are an undeniable proof of that Merrow’s love for them, and this normally happens after they marry their husband.” Jason felt shocked as he heard the explanation.

“Marlow…” Sasaki grabbed Jason on the shoulders.

“In other words, for you to feel that overwhelming sense of love and desire to be protected by her hat even before she even gets married means that Marlow’s love for you is far greater than the feelings I have for you.” Sasaki started to cry as tears started to form around her eyes. “I love you very much Jason. But I’m no match for affection of that level. To take you away from Marlow would be the same as me killing her.” Sasaki’s voice grew weaker and weaker, her tears turning into light sobbing. “Compared to me, all I could’ve done to make you fall for me was to sexually assault you when the ceremony was over! Co-compared to….to how Marlow feels, I…” Unable to finish her sentence, Sasaki starts to cry, wrapping her arms around Jason for comfort.

“Sasaki…” Jason hugged her back, stroking her hair gently. “Believe me...your feelings for me are just as strong in my opinion. You don’t have to cry and feel inadequate because of that. But are you sure? I can’t just ignore how you feel, you know. Especially since you fell in love with me first.” Sasaki pulled away from their embrace. She then shook her head at him.

“What matters isn’t who falls in love first when it comes to us girls you know? It’s about who loves you more. Plus I know being my husband would probably be a drastic change in your life. Yeah it’d be like with your mom and dad where you married someone of noble blood, but I don’t think royal living is the best for you. You’re so down to earth that it’d be wrong to force you to such a dramatic change of lifestyle just for my benefit.” Sasaki wipes her tears, her cries of sorrow slowing down. “The way I woud’ve won your affection through sex seems to shallow anyways compared to how Marlow show’d you hers.”

“But…” Sasaki grabs the back of Jason’s head and pulls his forehead towards her lips, gently kissing it.

“Whether or not you went after Marlow because you felt guilty for making her cry or because deep down, you knew she was the one doesn’t matter. Now that she showered you with her affection, it’s not my place to interfere and stop her.” Sasaki stood up and stretched for a moment. “Besides, I just turned eighteen, so I think it’s a bit early for me to be looking for a man anyways.” Sasaki moved to the room’s exit door, opening it and looking at Jason one last time. “You love her too right? You guys just met, but I know deep down there, you felt that she was the one for you. With me I know you’d accept my advances, but partially because you’d feel guilty for not accepting my invitation. That was a shallow move on my end, so I’ll admit defeat by her hands in return. I know you’ll be happier with her anyways.” Without giving Jason time to say anything, Sasaki leaves the room and into the hospital hallway. After moving a good distance away from the room, Sasaki silently cried to herself once more.

*Back to Marlow and Sasaki.*

“Who got to him first doesn’t matter Marlow.” Sasaki said with a smile. “You should know better than anyone that what determines how someone loves you isn’t about whether or not someone else got to know them before you did, it’s how deep that feeling of love is.” Sasaki put both of her hands behind her head and chuckled. “It was just a spur of the moment thing with Jason is all. I just recently reached adulthood, so I guess I thought he was the one for me. But I still have a long life ahead of me, so I can wait around and find someone who’s really right for me you know?”

“Wait, I’m not that old either. I’m only twenty five.” Hearing that, Sasaki suddenly lets out a burst of laughter.

“Oh wow! You’re older than I thought! I’ve just turned eighteen myself. Who knew I’d lose a battle of love to an old hag?!” Marlow got angry at her remark.

“Huh?! Twenty five isn’t old!” Laughing again at her response, Sasaki holds her gut from laughter and slows down a few seconds afterwards.

“Relax...I was just kidding!” Sasaki calmed down and smiled at her afterwards. “You know, I didn’t even ask how old Jason is. Oh well.” Sasaki moves to the exit as she’s about to leave. “I’ll leave you alone for now then. I promise I’ll try to get Natalia out of her situation alright? And as for Jason….” Sasaki stopped talking and waited for Marlow to look her in the eyes. “Take care of him alright?” With her parting words, Marlow just smiled back and nodded to her. With her mind at ease, Sasaki leaves the room and heads back to Ryugujo palace for the day, resting from the events that unfolded. Alone in her room, Sasaki lays on her bed, grabbing a pillow nearby, she stuffs her face in it. A soft, muffled cry of sadness gently echoes in her room.

The next day, Marlow fully recovered from her anemia. She waited for the staff to relieve her from the hospital in her room.

“Man, I didn’t even really get to enjoy the festival with all the crap that’d happen...I hope everyone’s alright.” Marlow said, looking outside, seeing many of the vendor stalls in the process of being taken down. She then heard a knock on the door. “Who is it?” Seeing the door open, a tentacle sticks out the door, holding Detra’s hair pin.

“Hey, thanks for the hair pin. It’s really pretty.” Fully opening the door, Detra comes out, carrying a brown bag with her. She wasn't wearing her usual bikini top, wearing a black shirt instead with a chibi octopus on the back and front.

“Detra! You’re okay now right?” Detra just smiled and nodded at Marlow.

“Yeah of course I’m alright.” Looking at her tentacles, Marlow see’s one shorter than the rest. Detra saw her staring and just awkwardly smiled. “Ehehe...don’t worry about this. It’s already starting to regrow, but it won’t be back to normal for another month or so.” Sitting on the chair next to Marlow, Detra pulls out two bento boxes from her brown bag. “Here, I figure you’d actually want something edible rather than the slop they call hospital food.

“Oh! Yeah I’m starving!” Opening her bento, Marlow is greeted with an ensemble of sushi and sashimi. “Wow...silverfin salmon, redline tuna...there’s lots of delicious stuff in here!” Without even using chopsticks, Marlow just picks it up by hand and starts eating it. “Hmm...yummy…” Marlow’s cheeks took a light pink color as she was in a daze, enjoying the flavor of each fish.

“Ha, glad to hear it.” Detra on the other hand had only Takoyaki on her bento. Steaming hot, she pulls out a wooden toothpick off her bag and starts to prick each takoyaki one by one, blowing on it gently before eating.

“Takoyaki? It’s kinda plain compared to what you got for me isn’t Detra? Besides, doesn’t it feel weird? I mean you’re eating octopus right?” Detra looks at Marlow with her right eyebrow raised in confusion. She finishes chewing on her food before speaking.

“Uh you know you’re not much better right? You’re a mermaid, but you’re eating fish.” Marlow looks at her bento and just laughs it off. “Moron…” Detra grabbed a remote next to a small table attached to her bed. “You haven’t watched TV yet? Let’s see what’s on.” As Detra turned the tv on using the remote, the first channel to pop up was a news channel. It brings up a mugshot of Lui and Tarvo as the news was covering the events that took place yesterday.

“Natalia…” Marlow said softly, worried about her. As the news went on, it had a brief segment where two soldiers Ameri and Enri were being interviewed.

- “We have here today two of Lady Sasaki’s guards with us today to shed light to the incident that had happened during and after the Ryugujo ceremony was in place!” An Umi Osho was standing there alongside Ameri and Enri near the warehouse entrance. “So tell me, what had happened here while the ceremony was taking place?” She pointed her mic to both of them.

“We have no excuse for what happened here. It’s a popular method for sketchy merchants, no...criminals use it in order to gain goods from others through illegal means.” Ameri said as Enri took over.

“Due to our lack of soldiers, two criminals were behind a plot to drain an innocent Merrow dry of her blood.” The Umi Osho reporter sounded shocked, letting out a gasp before speaking.

“But why would they do that? Merrows are amongst the easiest ways to get mermaid blood, aren't they?” Ameri shook her head at her question.

“While it is true that Merrows are even more willing to give their blood than mermaids do, they still have the right to say no. The criminals wouldn’t take no for an answer and attempted to take it by force instead.” Enri looks at the warehouse as she speaks next.

“Using this abandoned warehouse, they nearly succeeded in doing so. But a Navy crew member by the name of Jason as well as an acquaintance of the Merrow that was kidnapped Detra found them and stalled them long enough for us to step in.” Nodding silently, the reporter moves the mic back to her lips for a moment to speak.

“I see. From the reports that Princess Sasaki left, the reason you were able to find the Merrow was because of the magic that was used in their confrontation, correct?” She pointed the mic back to Enri.

“Yes, that’s right. Lady Sasaki sensed the magic surge after her dance was over and came with us herself to solve the problem.” The reporter whistles at her comment.

“Ah yes, there’s also the matter that the Princess herself came with you guards? Why did she come with you? Was it because she felt that the soldiers she had were inadequate and felt the need to deal with the problem herself?” Ameri looked annoyed at her question, but Enri spoke before she could.

“Lady Sasaki wanted to be there herself to take care of the problem. Not because she felt us inadequate. I believe she left that in the report earlier herself.” The reporter nodded to confirm her question.

“Yes indeed she did. She went on to say that she blames herself for being too lenient and carefree, not taking the threat of illegal activity that could be happening during the ceremony seriously. She had since then formally apologized and promised more security staff and stricter entrance regulations for next year, correct?” Ameri answered this time.

“Yes, that’s right. Starting today, we will be reworking our patrols and scout out for more potential guards. Even without the event of Ryugujo palace taking place, we must reinforce our security measures so that by next year, we will lessen, if not eliminate the threat of illegal activity.” The reporter simply nods before asking one more question.

“I see. And finally, there’s the matter of the victim herself. Princess Sasaki has forbidden anyone from interviewing or even mentioning her name, correct?” Both Enri and Ameri nodded in agreement.

“Correct. The victim at this time is still recovering in the hospital. It is ultimately up to her whether or not she wants to disclose information regarding what happened or not.” Enri said, speaking up first.

“Lady Sasaki has said that due to the traumatic nature of the events that unfolded, she said it’d be best if we withhold any information about her and let her be the one to decide whether or not she wants to speak about the incident.” With her questions asked, the Umi Osho bowed to them before looking at the camera.

“You heard it here folks! For more updates on the events happening around the world, visit-
-
Muting the TV, Detra turns to Marlow as she finishes the last of her sushi. Then placing the empty bento on the table next to her, Marlow lets out a sigh.

“It’s weird how they didn’t mention Natalia…” Detra was still eating the last three of her Takoyaki, listening closely to Marlow.

“From what I can guess, Sasaki used her connections to make sure the part about Natalia was kept between only us. She said it was something about you wanting to keep Natalia away from prison isn’t that right?” Finishing her last Takoyaki, Detra sets her bento down next to Marlows. Then using her tentacles, she reaches down her bag again and pulls out two soda cans. “Here…” Giving her a can, Marlow takes it off her tentacle.

“Huh...Dar-Ling?” Opening the can, a hiss from the carbonation escapes the can. Marlow takes a sip, then starts to drink it more. Detra afterwards does the same with her can.

“[Burp!] Ahh...nothing like a root beer flavored soda to wash it all down!” Marlow covered her mouth and burped as well.

“With the title it had, I didn realize it was root beer.” She said before a realization hit her. “Oh crap! My parents are going to be so worried about me if they find out that I was the Merrow on that news report!” Detra looked down for a moment, her bangs covering her eyes, she let out an annoyed smile before two of her tentacles grabbed Marlows cheeks. The suckers on her tentacles pulled on them like she was pinching them.

“What about your friends huh?! You had me worried sick after you left for this journey of yours!” Marlow grabs Detra’s tentacles to try and lessen the strain on her cheeks.

“Okay! I’m sorry Detra, I really really sorry alright?” Speaking in a whiny voice, Detra pulls on her cheeks one last time before letting go. Her cheeks slapping against her face from the pull.

“Well it’s fine. You did apologize before. Oh speaking of making me worried. I called Lil and Juli to let them know what happened. I imagine they just saw the news, but I called them before it was aired. They’re glad you’re okay of course, with Juli being worried sick, and Lil even crying over you.” Hearing how her friends reacted, Marlow felt a crushing sense of guilt in her heart. “You have a lot of apologizing to do when you get back. I bet Juli will scold the crap out of you as much as I did. As for Lil, well she’ll probably hug you for a long time.”

“Wow...yea I guess I have a lot of explaining to do when I get back.” The door opens as a Unagi Joro nurse shows up.

“Ah, I see you have a visitor.” She said looking at Detra. The Nurse moves closer to Marlow, carrying a clipboard with her. “Well young lady, at this point, you’re fully recovered. You can leave at your own discretion.” Marlow grabs her purse and pulls out her wallet.

“U’m...I don’t have insurance just yet...so am I able to set up a monthly payment plan?” Tilting her head in confusion, the nurse giggles softly before speaking.

“Oh dear, you don’t need that. A certain someone has already paid your bill in full. You’re free to leave as you wish. Just please sign here so we can get your paperwork in order.” Marlow looked surprised for a moment when she heard that someone had already paid her bill.

“Wait! My Bill’s been paid already?!” Marlow turned to the Nurse who just smiled back to her.

“Well I’d rather not say her name mam, but I’m pretty sure you can guess who did that for you…” Thinking for a moment, Marlow thought of Sasaki. She smiles back to the nurse afterwards.

“I need to thank her when I see her again…” Nodding in agreement to Marlow, The nurse quietly hands the clipboard to Marlow as she signs all the papers she needs to, then she hands it back to the nurse. “Thank you, I’ll be back and give you a copy, then you’re free to leave.” Leaving the room for a moment, Detra chugs the last of her soda, crushing it with her hand. She lets out a loud burp before tossing the can at a trash can nearby.

“That was pretty nice of her huh?” Detra asked Marlow.

“Yeah it was. I hope I can pay her back…” Detra laughed for a moment.

“You don’t have to worry about that Marlow. With how rich the Otohime royal family is, it probably doesn’t even make a dent in their bank account.” Stretching her arms up, Detra lets out a sigh before speaking again. “Let’s start packing up, yea?” She patted Marlow on the head with her right hand, grabbing the two empty bentos and putting them back in her bag as she got up first. Marlow gets up herself soon afterwards, stretching her arms up before folding the bed she was laying on. She grabs her purse and puts the strap around her right shoulder. She looks at her reflection from the window, seeing that she was still wearing the hospital gown.

“Not that I don’t like what I’m wearing but...where are my clothes?” Tugging on her gown, it was a size too big for her as the sleeves rolled down, covering her hands.

“Well your clothes were covered in blood. So Sasaki had it sent to her palace to get cleaned. She did that with my clothes too.” Detra said as she tugged on her shirt's collar. “She said she’ll give us our clothes back once they’re clean.” The door opens in the room once more as the Unagi Joro returns with a neatly stapled pack of papers.

“Here you are, these are the copies of your hospital bill as well as your paperwork! Have a nice day.” Bowing to Marlow, she leaves them for good this time. Marlow just carries the papers on hand.

“Alright, Let’s go. I have a hotel I haven’t even had a chance to sleep in waiting for me. You should stay there too for another night before we go back.” Marlow suggested to Detra. “Ooohh...maybe we can even share the room together.” Detra smiled at her suggestion, but shook her head.

“I’ll go to the same hotel as you, but not the same room.” Detra leaves the room first with Marlow following soon after. Moving down the hallway and into the elevator, the two stood there silently before Marlow spoke up.

“What? Why not?” The elevator doors closed. With Detra using one of her tentacles to push the button for the ground floor level, Detra just smiles back to her.

“I’ve had enough of your shenanigans for now. I need some alone time to recharge. Having you around would undoubtedly stress me out.” Speaking in a teasing manner, Marlow just pouts to Detra. “Haha don’t give me that look. Besides…” As the elevator door opens, they see Sasaki was on the main floor of the lobby. Seeing them, she waves her hand to them. “You have other things to worry about.” With a hint of smugness, Detra walks to Sasaki first. As Marlow exits the elevator door, she sees the two exchanging words before Detra turned to Marlow and waved her to come.

“Ah, coming!” Moving to where the group was, Marlow saw Sasaki wearing a more modest looking Kimono. It had a seabed coral like design on it. Her chest was modestly covered this time however, and her hair was fully down with no hair ties to keep them bound.

“Hey Marlow. Glad to see that you’ve recovered already.” Sasaki said before looking at the exit door. There from the glass doors, they see some people standing outside with mics and notepads on hand. “Pesky little journalists. I know they’re just doing their job but, don’t they have any sense of delicacy, considering what happened?” Detra just shrugged and shook her head.

“Well they pretty much got the story covered already, but getting coverage of the incident from the victim herself first will probably get a big bonus or something.” Marlow hides behind Detra, peeking from her shoulder to look at the exit, she sees them waiting for her outside.

“U’m...I don’t mind telling them my side of the story but, I want to go to my hotel room first for now and relax.” Marlow looked worried for a moment, but then Sasaki let out an audacious laugh before speaking.

“Oh you poor thing. I suppose I should lend you a hand.” She turns to Detra and looks at her next. “I can help you too of course Detra.” Detra and Marlow just looked at each other, confused at what’s going on. “Doubting my ability eh?” A faint blue glow emanates from Sasaki’s body, she puts her hands on top of their heads. They both feel a strange, warm sensation flow into their bodies. After three seconds, she let go of their heads. The receptionist as well as a couple of patients in the hospital gasp in amazement. “There.” Sasaki closes her fists and places them on the side of her hips, smiling triumphantly.

“What do you look so happy about? And what did you do?” Marlow asked, but she turned around and saw people in the lobby staring. But some looked like they were looking around. “What’s with the people here all of a sudden?” Staying quiet, Detra looked at her own hands for a second, then looked shocked herself.

“Invisibility…” Saying that, Marlow turned to Detra.

“What?! But I can see you just fine! Plus there’s people staring at us!” Sasaki laughs at Marlow.

“Detra’s guess was right. I cast invisibility on you two. As for why people are staring, it’s because invisibility is just that. It can’t hide the noises and sounds you guys make.” Marlows turns around and looks at her body, not seeing any difference, but she does feel a slight warmth surrounding her body.

“This form of magic usually consumes a lot of Mana when cast on oneself, let alone casting it on two people.” Detra says, explaining it to Marlow. How long is this going to last? If I tried a spell like this on myself, it would only last me ten minutes.” Sasaki gives them a thumbs up as an answer before answering.

“The spell should last about an hour.” Both Marlow and Detra's faces lit up with surprise, their mouths agape and eyes wide open. “This should help you with leaving discreetly without anyone noticing. Once you get to the hotel, if the spell is still active, just clasp your hands together and say ‘Dispel.’ And that will remove its effects on you.” Their faces returning to normal, Detra and Marlow just nod quietly instead.

“Can you see us Sasaki? I mean I know you can hear us, but you’re staring right at us too, unlike the other people here looking around. Also how can I see Detra? She’s invisible like me right, so how can I see her and she sees me?” Marlow asked.

“It’s because I’m the one who cast it. The caster can always see their own magic in effect, unless they don't want it to. I can also set the conditions of the magic as well as it’s effects, like whether or not a person who casts invisibility to a group can see one another or not.” Sasaki turned around and looked at the reporters outside. “Listen, they came here expecting Marlow. I don’t know how, but they somehow caught wind of the fact that you’re being discharged today. So here’s my plan. I’ll distract the reporters while you two slip away. This wouldn’t work normally as they would pay attention to every person who leaves, even if I’m here. But with you two being invisible and all, you should be able to sneak past them.” Sasaki started to head towards the exit, but Marlow grabbed her by her sleeves. “Marlow?”

“Hey Sasaki, you have mine and Detra’s clothes right?” Sasaki shakes her head.

“Nope. They’re almost done though. I’ll send someone over to give you your clothes later. Oh right I almost forgot!” Sasaki turned to Detra and Marlow. “What’re your room numbers?” Sasaki almost forgot that the other reason she came here, aside from helping the two leave unbothered, was to know their room numbers so that she could give their clothes back to them later.

“Oh, uh mine is on the third floor, room three seventeen.” Marlow said. Sasaki nodded before turning to Detra.

“I don’t have a room yet, Sasaki. I need to book a room myself.” Sasaki pondered for a moment, then snapped her right finger and moved closer to Detra, whispering to her ear.

“That’s fine. Just drop by the Ryugujo palace. The guards will know you’re coming and will let you in. I’ll give it to you there since, well you know what?” Sasaki said, making sure that Marlow couldn't see her face before winking at Detra.

“Sure...real subtle there…” Detra said, looking back at Sasaki with an awkward smile.

“Alrighty then!” Without giving them much time, Sasaki opens the exit as a flood of reporters come rushing near it. Expecting Marlow, they all look around Sasaki. “Oh, how nice of you people to see me!” Flaunting her presence, she purposely grabs the attention of every reporter as some stare in awe, while others chuckle awkwardly.

“Hey, now’s our chance, let’s go.” Detra said as she grabbed Marlow’s left arm and pulled her along with her.

“Yea okay.” Marlow follows Detra’s lead as they weave and evade the reporters around the entrance. Managing to leave without touching any of them, Detra turned around afterwards and saw Sasaki wink at the two. The reporters started to take pictures, thinking it was Sasaki posing for pictures.

“Phew...she saved us a lot of trouble.” Detra stopped for a moment to let go of Marlow’s arm. “Alright from here, you take the lead. I don’t know where the hotel you're staying at is.” Marlow looks around to see where they’re at. Near the main street, she looked at the signs on a pole nearby.

“Ah okay that’s where we are.” Marlow said softly, she pointed to the left of the street, right across from where they came from. “If we cross the main street from here, there should be an area with small business buildings that we’ll come across. The hotel I booked in is through that.” Marlow grabbed Detra’s left hand with her own this time as they headed towards the hotel.

“Hmm…” Simply following Marlow, Detra was lost in thought. Thinking about what Sasaki told her earlier before Marlow came in.

“-etra…” A faint voice echoes in Detra’s head, but she ignores it.

“Sasaki…” Detra said Sasaki’s name under breath before feeling something like a wall hitting her. She shakes her head and snaps out of her trance, seeing that she bumped into Marlow, who stopped and looked at Detra with worry in her eyes.

“Detra, are you alright? You were mumbling to yourself the whole time.” Detra just smiles at her, rubbing her head with her right hand.

“Sorry about that, I’m fine. I was just thinking about how I’m going to explain everything that’d happen with Liam on the phone later. He’s going to know one of my tentacles is stubby when he sees me again when we head home after all.” Marlow eyes widened for a moment, smiling back to Detra.

“Ah right, your hubby! Yea He’d definitely be worried if you came home like that without explaining what happened first.” they both giggled at the thought before moving on. As they pass through the buildings, they eventually reach their destination. A four story tall building with a bright neon pink colored sign called ‘Agua De La Rosa’. Heading inside, the lobby has dark red carpeting and a round, brown rug at the center. On the far end of the wall, there, a red slime receptionist standing there.

“Huh?” Looking at the door, the receptionist tilts her head and looks around afterwards. “How did the door open? It’s not like there’s wind in here to force it open.” Seeing her reaction, Marlow and Detra giggled at her reaction. “Eh?!” Hearing the soft giggles of women in the empty lobby, she looks around left and right more frantically. “Who’s here!” Detra and Marlow look at each other and nod to one another, clasping their hands, they both close their eyes.

“Dispel!” Hearing those words, the receptionist see’s Detra and Marlow appear out of thin air.

“Kyah! Ho-how did you do that?!” The receptionist asked.

“Sorry, we kinda forgot the invisibility spell was still in effect.” Marlow said before bowing in apology. Detra just followed Marlows lead and bowed as well.

“Oh okay. For a second there, I thought I was being harassed by ghosts again.” Letting out a sigh of relief, the receptionist takes another look at Marlow, recognizing her. “Hey, you’re that customer from yesterday. Marlow was it?” Marlow straightened herself up again before moving closer to the reception desk.

“Yup that’s me. I reserved a room for a three day stay.” The receptionist looks at a monitor in front of her which has a list of all the current occupants of the hotel. Using a foldable silicone keyboard, the receptionist types Marlows name in and finds her name in the registry.

“Ah yes, a three day, two night stay. I was wondering where you were yesterday.” Looking at her more closely, she see’s Marlow wearing a hospital gown. “Wait...are you the merrow that was mentioned in the news?!” Marlow immediately tries to keep the receptionist's voice down by pressing her right palm against her mouth.

“Ah! Oops!” Realizing her reaction, Marlow quickly pulls her hand away. Looking at her hand, it was covered in red slime. Detra, who was silently waiting for her turn behind Marlow, started laughing. “Hey! This isn’t funny Detra!” She scolded Detra, but she was too busy laughing to hear it. Marlow turns around to the receptionist afterwards. “Please don’t tell anyone okay? I just want a day to relax and not get mobbed by the press.” Marlow puts her hands together and begs the receptionist. “Please…” Taken back from having her mouth covered, the receptionist closed her eyes and cleared her throat before speaking again.

“Very well. I can respect the fact that you want to be left alone after such a horrific event.” Taking a close look at Marlow, the receptionist was checking the extent of damage done to her body, but couldn’t see any. “It doesn’t seem like you got hurt nearly as bad as the scene made it look to be though, which is a good thing of course.” Taking a card from a drawer underneath her desk, she hands the card over to Marlow. “Anyways, here’s your room ID card. Just place the card on the card reader near the door and it’ll open for you. As you requested on your first visit yesterday, we took the liberty of taking your luggage to the third floor, room three seventeen.” Taking the card, Marlow bows slightly to the receptionist.

“Thank you so much.” She turns around to Detra, who finally managed to stop laughing. “Are you done?” She asked in an annoyed tone.

“Ahaha...ha...yeah I’m done. Sorry about that.” Taking a second to catch her breath, she moves to the receptionist next. “I’ll stay here for as long as you have. So it’ll probably be a two day one night rest for me since your first night and day were already used up right?” Detra asked Marlow.

“Yea, though I had to spend that day on a hospital bed instead of here.” She complained. A thought just crossed her mind as Marlow sniffs herself. “Oh man, I haven’t taken a bath at all since I left!” Smelling her own sweat, Marlow shivered at the thought of smelling bad.

“Considering what happened to you, no one’s going to blame you for missing out on a bath. Besides, you don’t smell too bad. I’d have to get pretty close to you to notice.” Giggling a bit, Marlow scowls at Detra. “Just go ahead and take your shower okay? I’ll stop by your room later to tell you where my room will be okay?” Nodding, Marlow heads for the elevator, seeing Detra talk to the receptionist before the door closes on her. When she gets to her floor, she heads straight for her room and opens it. There she finds her luggage next to her bed. She sits down next to it on her bed, putting her purse down on the side before opening her luggage. Seeing a spare set of clothes, she pulls out a blue lace bra, then a pink shirt with a coral reef motif on the front, and a simple purple clam on the back.

“Alright, this will make for some comfortable clothes to sleep on, though I don’t even wear a bra when sleeping.” She looks around the room and sees the one that leads to the bathroom. Time to take this hospital gown off and take a shower.” Taking her clothes off, Marlow’s bare breast jiggled as she pulled the hospital gown up and off her. Sporting a hand filling triple D cup breasts, she stares at them for a moment, squishing them together with her arms. “Hmm...they feel like they got bigger...but I’m not sure.” Moving to the bathroom, she looks at herself in the mirror, her pink nipples complemented her light skin. But looking at her right arm, she sees the small scar she developed from the incident. Staring silently at her own arm, she looks down next to look at her tail, seeing the bigger scar left behind by the cut. “I should be happy that I’m alive and all, but these scars, I wonder if it’ll bother Jason.” Saying his name without realizing it, Marlow shook her head vigorously to take her mind off the idea. “What am I thinking?! Jason hasn’t even made a decision yet, and here I am talking like I’m dating him or something.” Shaking her head one more time, she slaps her face one more time before going to the shower. She gently turns the hot water on as the mirror fogs up from the heat. “What’re their options here for cleaning products?” Looking at her choices for cleaning products, there were a line of shampoos, conditioners, body wash, and even different types of loofahs to choose from. She takes her pick of the ‘Rosey Fields’, carefully washing her body, occasionally taking her hat off to properly wash her hair, then putting it back on. When she finishes her shower, she grabs the towel nearby and dries herself off. “Now to brush my teeth.” With her hair still wet and body moist, she quickly grabs her toothbrush and toothpaste she packed with her and heads back to the bathroom and starts brushing. After brushing, she grabs a cup to rinse her mouth clean, when suddenly.

[Knock knock.] Hearing someone knocking on the door, Marlow peeks her head out of the bathroom and hears the knocking once more.

‘Huh...must be Detra…’ She thought to herself. Finishing her rinse, Marlow was still naked, wearing the towel she had around her chest. She opened the door, but was busy drying her hair with another towel and couldn’t see in front of her. “Sorry about the wait Detra, I was just about done brushing my teeth when you…” Mid sentence, Marlow moved the towel away from her face, there she saw that the person she opened the door to wasn’t Detra, but Jason who was carrying her clothes from yesterday.

“Ah…” Speechless, Jason could only stay silent, blushing bright red from seeing her near naked body, he could only stare in silence along with Marlow.

“...Jason…” Speaking softly, but nervously, Marlow broke the awkward silence in a spectacular way. “Ah! Why are you here?!” Backing away, she lost her sense of balance and was about to fall on her back.

“Hey, be careful!” Jason’s body moved on instinct and grabbed Detra’s flailing left arm in an attempt to keep her up, but she unintentionally pulled his arm hard enough to pull him in with her. With a loud thud, Marlow falls on her back, causing the towel wrapped around her body to fall off, landing on her upper body, the towel covering her right breast. Jason was pulled on top of her, his left arm still being held by her hand, his face landed next to her face on her left. He managed to use his left arm to prop his body up so as to not put all his weight on her.

“What’s this...soft feeling.” Feeling a soft sensation on his hand, Jason squeezes it once more.

“Kyah...” Letting out a soft moan, Jason pulls himself up to look at Marlows face. There he sees her blushing as he looks down to where his right hand is. Seeing her pink nipple poke between his pointing finger and middle finger, his big hands manage to cover most of her breast. Her nipple stiffening from the stimulation of squeezing her breast.

“Oh crap I’m sorry!” Jason quickly gets up and crawls backwards a few feet away, giving Marlow enough time to pull her upper body up and cover her chest with the towel.

“Um Jason...can you please close the door first?” Looking behind him, Jason see’s the door was still open.

“Right!” Getting up quickly, Jason closes the door. While he was turned around at the door, Marlow gets up and grabs her right breast with her left hand, still feeling the lingering touch from Jason’s big hand. “Why are you here?” Too shy from what happened, Marlow just stares down on the ground as she wraps herself up again with her towel.

“Uh well, Sasaki sent me here to give you your clothes back. She couldn’t do it herself because something came up that she had to attend to.” Jason was also looking away so as to not embarrass her more. An awkward silence fills the room. Marlow backs away to the bed before sitting down on it.

“You can uh...drop my clothes off near my suitcase.” Pointing at her suitcase, Jason nods without looking at Marlow as he puts her clothes down next to it. Jason tried to head to the door afterwards, but Marlow grabbed his right arm, holding her towel up with her left hand. “We need to talk...please.” Nervously asking, Jason could feel her arm shaking. Jason obliged and sat next to her on her left. The two stared straight at the ground for a few seconds before Marlow broke the silence. “How’s your chest Jason?” Jason smiles, placing his right hand on where the stab wound was.

“Yea I’m fine. I checked in the hospital like you did. Because Sasaki healed it completely, there wasn’t really any need for me to stay there. Afterwards, I reported to my captain and spent the night in Ryugujo palace.” Jason turns his head to the right, looking at Marlows tail, seeing the scar near the end of her tailfin. “How about you?” Giggling softly, Marlow uses her left arm to keep the towel on as she grips her right arm tightly with her left hand.

“I’m fine as well. I passed out from anemia as you know, and after that, I was sent to the hospital like you and had to get a blood transfusion. It only took a day for me to recover though so I’m happy about that. The crappy hospital food certainly didn’t help.” Jason giggled with her.

“I bet. Hospital food from what I heard tastes bad.” Having trouble trying to find what to talk about next, the two stay silent once more. Jason was taking glances at Marlow’s body. She was still slightly damp from the shower. Her skin looked more supple and soft from the moisture on her skin. Her pink scales shimmered ever so gently from the lights in the room reflecting off them.

“Jason, I want to thank you for going after me before. If you hadn’t been around, I don’t know if I’d be standing here talking to you now.” Marlow looked Jason right in the eyes. “I can see you catching glances at my body. Are my scars bothering you?” Jason immediately shakes his head at that question.

“No, I’d never get bothered by that. I mean for one, the scars are thankfully not that deep and will eventually heal, but I was looking at them because I just felt sort of responsible because it wouldn’t have happened if I didn't make you cry.” Regret written all over his face, Marlow couldn’t help but smile at his kind words.

“Listen Jason…” Marlow takes her hat off, holding it between her hands, she places it on her lap. Seeing her hat, Jason was reminded of what Sasaki told him. Jason placed right hand on her hat afterwards.

“Your hat. You gave it to me during that time that we got swept up by Tarvo’s attack. If you hadn’t given it to me, I would’ve drowned.” Taking her hands off her hat, she placed them on top of his right hand. Even with both hands on his, she could feel how rugged they were.

“It’s alright. I would’ve swam you out insead but I was barely able to swim towards you, let alone lift you up with me. So I thought it’d be better to give you a chance rather than try to swim up with you.” Jason shook his head and put his left hand on top of her hands.

“Yea I owe you my life, and not just that…” Jason grips Marlows hat and sets it aside on his left, then gets up in front of her before turning around to face her.

“Jason?” Before she could react, Jason grabbed her shoulder and pushed her down onto the bed. Keeping his arms straight, Jason kept himself up on top of her.

“The feeling I got when you gave me your hat. It felt warm and protective.” Jason slowly lowered his body until his chest touched hers. He was careful to not put too much weight on her. “That feeling of love and protection. I want to return those feelings.” Marlow’s eyes widened, looking like she’s about to cry, she put her right hand on his cheeks, gently rubbing it.

“Jason, are you sure about this?” Thinking back for a moment, Jason remembered the brief moment he had with Sasaki before he got to the hotel.

*A few moments ago.*

“Sasaki...you want me to do what?” Jason was given Marlows clothes, holding onto them, Sasaki was there in his room in Ryugujo palace.

“I want you to give these back to Marlow. These were the clothes she wore during that incident. We’ve washed it since. I thought it’d be best if you gave it to her. This way, you’ll feel obligated to visit her. Knowing you the way I do, you were probably going to avoid her out of guilt from what happened. And Marlow from what I see feels the same way, and even feels guilty about having you leave the ceremony to rescue her. Honestly you’re both a mess.” Sasaki sighed in annoyance before looking back at Jason, this time looking stern and serious. “She may not be aware of it, but her hat is an extension of her feelings and emotions. Giving it to someone is the same as a love confession to them. And the fact that you said you felt nothing but love and a sense of protection from it is proof of that. It’s like I said last time. You’re the person who’s best for her. And in my opinion, she’s the best for you too.” She smiled afterwards. “It’s time you properly reciprocate those feelings Jason. You’d think being a man, you’d have a sense of duty to repay those kinds of responsibilities. But of course that just goes beyond just being a man. You love her because her value’s of love align with yours. She’s a beautiful woman as well.” Jason looked at her clothes, thinking about Marlow.

“You’re right. I’ve only met her, but I already want to spend my entire life with her. To be by her side so I can finally make her feel happy like she deserves to be.” Nodding in agreement, He see’s Sasaki smile as she leaves his room.

“I’m gonna go ahead and help Marlow out of the hospital. Chances are, the media wants to interview her of what happened, but I think she needs time to relax before all that happens. I’ll message you on your cellphone on where to go afterwards to find Marlow alright?” Leaving him alone in the room, Jason looks back at Marlows clothes.

“Now that I think about it...she did wear some pretty...revealing clothes huh…” He said to himself, but then the door opened again as Sasaki forgot to say something to Jason.

“Oh by the way. You do know how Merrows act right? They’re very romantic in nature and will get into a rut once they get going. If you really love her, embrace her for what she is and take all she can give you, because you’ll be dependent on one another once you cross that line.” With those final parting words, Sasaki leaves Jason for good this time. Thinking about what she meant, Jason grips Marlows clothes tightly, bracing himself for what’s to come.

*Back to Jason and Marlow.*

“Yea, I’m absolutely sure Marlow. The way you and I see love, I'm so happy that I managed to find someone who actually value’s love the way I do.” Moving his head down to her chest, he nuzzles between her breasts, her damp towel making his face a little wet. “I was kind of jealous of my crewmates whenever they talked about their wives and their lovers too to be honest.” Taken a little by surprise, Marlow just goes with it and strokes his hair with her right hand, placing her left on his back. “But it looks like I finally got one myself.” Marlow pulled herself up, pushing Jason up with her, she stared at him in the eyes.

“Okay, but shouldn’t we take things slow, like going on a date, watching a movie, eating out…” Jason shook his head at her.

“Normally, you’re right. We would take things slow and do things one at a time as they come. But the thing is…” Jason looked over at where Marlows hat was, he put it on top of his head. “When I have your hat on, the feelings that come to me aren’t poseidon blessings or the power of the sea…” Jason takes the initiative and kisses Marlow. It was an awkward, slow kiss that started with him pressing his lips onto hers, then slowly opening his mouth, he pushed his tongue into her accepting mouth. Their kiss was slow and sloppy, but loving. Jason pulled his mouth off hers a few seconds later. “I already know everything I needed to know about you when you gave me your hat. You felt this way about me even though we just met. Of course I also know that it’s not just because I’m a guy, but because we share the same opinion of what love should be like.” Jason without warning pulled Marlow’s towel off, exposing her breasts in front of him. He grabs both of them with his hands, gently groping them. “And I don’t want to be with anyone else but you.”

“Jason...if that’s how you really feel then…” Using her weight, Marlow pulled Jason down with her on the bed again. “I’ll accept it all. I know I just met you, but I already feel like I could give you everything I have.” Smiling at her remark, Jason strokes the top of her head with his left hand.

“You already did silly.” Moving his face down, he kisses Marlow once more, this time holding her more intimately. His right hand supported the back of her head while his left was down in her right breast. Marlow wraps both of her arms around his back. Getting more confident with his technique, Jason pushes his lips harder onto Marlows, sucking on her tongue. Marlow feels the strength of the pull and lets her tongue inside his mouth. Tasting one another, their senscious moans filled the room. Marlow felt something hard pressing against her lower gut. Giggling at his reaction, Marlow moves her left arm down off his back and on his erect penis. Getting a feel for its length and girth, Marlow instinctively swallowed as she pulled away from the kiss.

“Hey, uh Jason?” Jason looked at her right in the eyes, seeing the nervous look in her eyes. “Can I take your...well you know...your penis out for you?” Blushing at her request, Jason simply nodded. Getting up and off her, he waits for Marlow to move. “Hehe...alright. Here goes.” Seeing his bulge press against his pants, she took a closer look at what Jason was wearing. He was wearing a black shirt with horizontal blue lines across it. His pants were long, white pantt that were tightened around the waist using an elastic waistband. Marlow unties the band and pulls down his pants. As she pulled down, his dick’s erection was pulling the front part of the pants up, making pulling his pants down rather difficult. “Oh crap...uh hold on.” Realizing she needs to pull down harder, Marlow moves her arms up for a moment, then pulling down as hard as she could, his pants waistline went down to his knees as his dick was finally out in the open. Staring at it, Marlow could only stare silently at his eight inch cock.

“Ma...Marlow?” Staring at Marlow, she could only stare at his cock. Grabbing the base, she could barely wrap her whole hand around it. “Ah!” Feeling her grab his hand, the soft feeling sent a shiver down his spine. Using her right hand that wrapped around his left thigh, Marlow pulled herself closer to his dick, breathing heavily as a lascivious smile crossed her face. Each breath tickled the base of his dick.

“So this is a man’s dick! Your’s is so burly Jason! I mean your physique should’ve already made it obvious but hot damn!” Marlow then settled down, realizing that maybe she went too fast for Jason. “Oh crap...I’m not making...you feel uncomfortable am I?” Looking down at her, Jason could tell that Marlow was barely able to hold her arousal back. Jason just puts his right hand on top of her head and gently strokes it.

“I’m not experienced at all when it comes to sexual things so...I’m counting on you to take the lead okay?” Getting his approval, Marlow looks at Jason’s face, laced with embarrassment as he had no idea on how to start things off aside from kissing.

“Oh you’re so adorable!” Marlow said before wrapping her other hand on his dick, with her left wrapped around the bottom half, while the right’s gently wrapped around the tip. She rubs the back of the neck with her thumb while stroking the base. “The tip’s softer than the rest of your rigid cock. It’s twitching a lot too…” In contrast to his burly dick, Marlow's small hands felt really soft and smooth. This sensation felt really good to Jason, his breathing getting heavier.

“Ah...your hands feel so nice Marlow.” With his voice sounding weak, Marlow looks up and see’s Jasons face which shows he was feeling good. Feeling motivated by his reaction, Marlow starts to tighten her grip on the base, stroking it harder and faster. “Uh hey wait Marlow…” Jason had never even masturbated before, so this sensation was new to him. feeling a rising ache from his crotch, precum started to leak from the tip of his penis.

“Oh?” Feeling the precum on her right thumb, she rubs the precum on the tip around it. “It’s already getting like this huh? You can’t seriously tell me you’ve never touched yourself like this before...haven’t you?” Jason couldn’t look Marlow in the face with that question, simply turning his face away, red with embarrassment.

“I’ve never had a reason to before, so no I have not done that before.” Realizing that this was Jason's very first experience at being pleasured in this way, a big, lewd grin crossed Marlow’s face as she increased her pace even more, grabbing hold of his cock even harder than before. Each breath she took, Jason could feel it on the tip of his dick. Seeing how excited Marlow was, Jason was happy for her, but also slightly concerned at how engrossed she was at the act. Feeling his lower body tense, Jason let out a moan before his body stiffened up, experiencing his very first ejaculation.

“Aha!” Marlow slows down her strokes, changing her pace to match his ejaculation. Gently milking his dick to make it feel as good as possible. His cum shot up as some fell on Marlows face and hair, while the weaker spurts ended up dribbling and flowing on her right hand where the tip is. When his ejaculation ended, Jason relaxed his knees, using his hands, he used them to cushion his fall when he fell on his butt. Gasping softly as his legs were shaking from the new experience he felt. “This is semen…” With streaks of cum on her left cheek, forehead, and chin, Marlow wipes them off her face with her left hand. Bringing her right hand which was covered with his cum near her mouth, she licks it and tastes it. “It’s sticky...and a little salty…” Getting used to the taste, Marlow’s eyes narrowed, sticking her tongue out as she cleaned the rest off her right hand. Breathing out of her mouth, her moans made Jason blush, seeing Marlow displaying such lewd behavior.

“Ma-Marlow...have you done this before?” Like stepping on a landmine, Marlow’s eyes suddenly widened as her expression changed to that of annoyance. Staring at Jason afterwards, she moves down to where Jason is. Grabbing her hat and putting it back on to move the bottom half of her body, she used her hands to crawl towards Jason. Getting close enough to the point that their faces were mere inches apart, she brings her right hand up and flicks his forehead. “Oww.” Slightly flinching from her flick, Jason looked confused at the angry Marlow. She lets out a sigh before speaking.

“I’ve never done this sort of thing with anyone Jason. I know these things because it’s something my mom taught me when I was eighteen.” Mentioning that, Marlow has a brief moment where she recollected her mother teaching her all sorts of techniques to pleasure a man. “Plus, I also did research on my own time even before then. I always fantasized what it’d be like to have a man, so when the day comes that I do have one, I’ll be ready to pleasure him. How dare you assume I did it with someone else?!” Upset, Marlow turned away from Jason afterwards and crossed her arms. Realizing what he did, Jason scratched the back of his head with his right hand, guilt written all over his face.

“I’m sorry Marlow, I didn’t mean it like that.” Jason hugged Marlow from behind. “Please forgive me. It just felt so good is all, I just thought you’ve done it before, but that was stupid of me to say thinking about it.” Seeing the semen he shot on her hair, Jason wipes it off with his hands. “Let me wipe this off you. It gets in the way of your beautiful hair.” Feeling his hands on her hair, Marlow turns her head upwards to the left and looks at him. Seeing him trying to clean her hair, Marlow smiled warmly.

“Have you taken a bath yet?” Jason thought about it and shook his head.

“No. I took a shower after the incident yesterday, but I haven’t washed myself since. Why?” Marlow turned around and grabbed his hands with her own.

“I just took a bath myself but...since you got my hair all dirty, I suppose I can go take another quick shower with you.” Making her intentions well known, Jason nervously swallows, smiling afterwards.

“Sure, I could use a bath by now.” Getting an idea, Jason puts his left arm around her back, and his right arm under her tail. “Let’s go.” Lifting her up, Jason carries her bridal style. Jason looks down to her and smiles, trying to look cool, but feeling nervous about it.

“Oh Jason you strong hunk of a man you!” Marlow wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him on the cheek. “Careful not to drop me handsome.” Showering him with praise and affection, he blushes bright red as He carries her to the bathroom. The steam from her bath from before was still present, it felt hot and humid inside. He sees the bathtub, big enough for the both of them to fit. He gently lowers her body down on the bathtub. “Hehe good job.” Marlow turns the knob on the bathtub, making the water just hot enough for it to be comfortable, she pats her own tail as the water fills the tub. “Okay big man, in you go.” Jason nodded before stepping into the tub himself. He then sits down across from her. Taking her hat off, she puts it on the side of her on the edge of the bathtub.

“...” Grunting nervously, Jason's eyes were glued to Marlows chest. They were pretty big, enough to fill even Jason’s hands. Marlow obviously seeing where he’s looking, she looks down at his hands and notices them moving in a squeezing motion. His dick steadily rose.

“Ahem...Jason?” Enjoying the way he’s been looking at her, Marlow spoke up to get his attention.
“Ye-yes?!” Jason responded quickly and awkwardly. Being the inexperienced man he was, Marlow’s perverted mind swelled with lewd thoughts. She stretched her arms up, her breast being pulled up by her movement before she quickly dropped her arms back down, letting them bounce.

“Why don’t you start by rinsing your cum off my hair.” Grabbing the showerhead which was stretched down on the bathtub from the previous time she took a shower, she used her other hand and grabbed the bottle of shampoo. “Then you can use this to clean my hair again huh?” Marlow turned around, showing her back to him, she looked back to him, cracking a smile. “Go on now…” Without saying anything, Jason gets on his knees and grabs the showerhead and shampoo off Marlows hands. With the tub filled up to their waist with water, Jason switches the water flow from the bathtub to the showerhead, rinsing off her hair first.

“It’s not too hot is it?” Moving the showerhead around to make sure all her hair gets wet, Marlow shakes her head in response.

“Nope, the water’s just right…” Getting her hair all wet, Jason puts the showerhead aside in the bathtub for a bit and grabs the shampoo. Squeezing a good handful of shampoo, Jason carefully rubs it around his palms and fingers. He starts by pressing his palms on her hair, spreading the shampoo on top before pushing her fingers into her hair and massaging her scalp.

“Your hair...it’s rather frizzy isn’t it?” Even though her hair was wet, Jason had to use some force to pull her hair between his fingers so that he could wash them properly. “I’m not being too rough am I?” Asking again if she’s alright with the way he’s doing things, Marlow just giggles, looking behind her, she can see his face is red, not from the heat, but from embarrassment. Catching him taking glances at her chest, she closed her eyes and responded to him.

“No, I have to get a little rough with my hair when I wash it. I guess most of us Merrows are born with frizzy hair. Mine just happens to grow out longer, but instead of it growing down to my back like I wanted, it kinda just puffs up like a balloon unless I properly use hair spray.” With her hair sufficiently washed, Jason grabs the showerhead again and washes the suds off her hair.

“Hey Marlow. Earlier you said that you learned to do those...uh things when you were eighteen right? I haven’t had a chance to ask yet, but how old are you?”

“Hhhhhmmmm?” Hearing her tone, Jacob panicked and started to bow apologetically.

“Ah, I’m sorry, was that rude of me to ask?!” Marlow laughed at his attempts of apology, merely teasing him.

“Oh don’t apologize! I was just messing with you.” When he stopped bowing, Marlow put her right hand on her chin and thought to herself. “You’d better not make fun of me like Sasaki did. I’m twenty six years old.” Jason, like Sasaki, was taken by surprise by her age as well.

“What?!” Marlow pouted at his reaction. Turning her head away from his.

“Didn’t I say not to make fun of me?” Misunderstanding him, Jason quickly responded to her.

“No you don’t understand Marlow. You just seem younger to me, that's all I swear! Before you mentioned that you were eighteen in the past, I really thought you were at that age. I mean being twenty six isn’t really that long either, but still. You’re so beautiful.” Hearing him explain himself, Marlow shivered at being called beautiful by Jason. Quickly turning around, she hugs Jason without warning, splashing water all over the place as he’s pushed against the wall.

“Oh that’s what you meant! Sorry for overreacting there Jason. It’s just that Sasaki was a rude little girl and made fun of me because she didn’t know I was older than her.” Hearing that Sasaki was younger than Marlow, Jason turned his head sideways in confusion.

“Okay, with Sasaki, I definitely expected her to be older than she looked. I mean she acted like a Princess yeah, but I thought with the way she talked to people around her, she’d at least be closer to my age.” Speaking of his age, Marlow didn’t know how old he was either.

“Hey speaking of age, you never told me yours Jason? If you thought Sasaki was closer to your age, how old are you then?”

“Crap, I haven’t told you yet have I? I’m twenty three years old.” Marlow awkwardly smiled before looking down on herself. “Ah what’s wrong?”

“Oh it’s nothing...I just feel old is all.” Jason shook his head and grabbed her by the shoulders. She looked up at him afterwards.

“You’re not old Marlow. We’re only three years apart alright? Besides, you’re still beautiful and plenty young looking, so don’t get bothered by it.” Marlow perked up at his compliments, hugging him again.

“You’re so sweet Jason!” Marlow presses her chest harder on his, knowing full well of what she’s doing. “By the way Jason…” Feeling his dick poking against her stomach, Marlow teases the tip by rubbing her stomach against it. “I’ve noticed you stealing glances at my chest you know? As thanks for cleaning my hair earlier, I’ll clean your body next.” She pats on the edge of the bathtub, placing a towel on it. “Sit here facing away from the bathtub okay?” Getting up, Jason does what Marlows tells him and sits on the towel. His erect dick standing tall, standing out from his shy look.

“Like this?” He tries to hide it, but all he really did was grip onto his dick, making it stand out even more.

“Yes, just like that…” Marlow gets her hat and puts it back on before getting off the bathtub, grabbing the bodywash, she pours some on her chest and rubs it with her breasts, using her hands to rub the two together. Jason couldn’t help but look again while she was rubbing them, seeing her pink nipples poke through the buildup of suds forming on her chest. “You’re really engrossed by my breasts aren’t you?” Finished with her rubbing, she moves closer to Jason and pulls his hands off his dick, quickly putting it between her breasts. “Oh wow...even when they’re wrapped around your cock, a good inch of your dick pokes out from the top, the tip’s even close to my chin.” Rubbing the suds on his cock, she gently rubs both of her breasts in an up and down motion.

“I’m sorry...I couldn’t help it. It felt soft on my hands...and your nipples have a pretty pink color to them. I’m feeling it around my cock instead now though…” Happy at his response, Marlow starts to move them side to side, alternating her motions with her left breast up, and her right breast down.

“Really? I’m glad you like them. I’m not the bustiest out there, but I’m still confident in the size of my boobs…” She pressed them together, squeezing his cock between them as her chest filled up most of his dick, leaving only the tip exposed. “I can't forget about this part too.” Marlow sticks her tongue out and flicks the back neck of his dick.

“Weren’t you saying you were cleaning my body?” Seeing the suds rub around more and more around his dick, she let’s go of her grip for a moment and rubs her chest against his. Spreading the suds around his body, she uses her hands and spreads them evenly around his chest, under his pits, and even on his back.

“That’s exactly what I’m doing. But I also have to clean the dirtiest part of your body too, you know? Since it’s standing so lewdly in front of me, this dirty thing has to be cleaned very thoroughly…” Feeling her rub his body, he lets out a soft moan, enticing Marlow to clean even harder, pressing her hands harder on his chest, feeling his pecs. “Such a rigid body…” As she rubs her hands more around his back, she feels a small bump behind his chest. “This is…” Marlow stops for a moment, pulling him even closer to herself until she sees his back from hugging him, looking down at the scar left over from the stab wound he got from behind. Marlow lets go of Jason and hunches down, putting her hands on her tail. “I’m sorry.”

“Huh?” Jason turned his head to the left, looking down at his own back, he could slightly see the scar on the left side. “Oh this…” Jason looks back to Marlow, grabbing the body soap, he lathers his hands before grabbing her right arm. “You got one here because of me you know…” Gently scrubbing over the cut she had under her right bicep, Jason moves down to her waist, around her stomach, and up to the other arm. Your entire body feels so soft and delicate. I’m sorry in advance if my hands feel heavy and rough. I’ve washed my younger siblings before too of course, but still your skin is so smooth even compared to them.” With only her chest left to clean on her top half, Jason was about to reach for her breasts, but Marlow intercepted his hands with her own. “Marlow?” She shook her head and rubbed more body soap on her chest again, spreading his legs apart as she wrapped his cock with them once more.

“You’re so sweet Jason. We’d probably go on forever apologizing to one another if we keep talking about that stuff. We’ll have all the time in the world to talk about it later. For now, I have to say you were plenty gentle with my body. You could’ve even been a bit rougher, but I find it cute seeing how hard you’re trying to be careful with my body. As for my chest, well I would let you fondle them, but these are not done cleaning your dirty thingy over here.” She said as she poked the tip with her right fingertip. “Your abs too, I have to rub those clean with something a little more rigid on my boobs.” Pressing her nipples against his abs, he can feel them poking on his gut. She moved up and down, occasionally moving in a swirling motion to wash his abs thoroughly

“Ma-Marlow...slow down...I’m already nearing my limit…” Just from her mere movements that weren’t even directed at his dick, he felt a rising orgasm reach his groin.

“Already huh? Well I guess this is only the second time you’ve ejaculated your whole life, so I’ll let it slide...but!” Lowering herself back down to his dick, she presses her boobs even harder than before on it, pushing her breasts down, then pulling them up against his shaft, increasing her pace every second. “I can feel it twitching...it’s going to burst again right?” Seeing his tip poke between her cleavage, she purses her lips and sucks just the tip of his dick in her mouth, licking the tip inside her mouth.

“Aaahhh...so warm...I can’t take it anymore!” With a finishing blow, Marlow pushes down hard on his shaft with her boobs one last time. Swallowing the top half of his cock, he cums directly into her throat.

“Gurrrrgaah!” Taking his dick in too deep, Marlow reflexively chokes on his cum, pulling her mouth off his dick and nearly falls on her back, managing to stop her fall by using her hands as support. While she was still coughing, his cum spurts a couple more times, landing on her chest and waist before slowing down until his last few spurts just filled his urethra. Relaxing after his ejaculation, Jason looks down at Marlow, still coughing from taking his dick too deep into her mouth.

“Hey are you alright?” Nodding, Marlow clears her throat. She see’s Jasons hands were raised up in concern, but she was more interested in his dick which was still twitching. The tip glazed with his cum.

“Oh it’s still dirty...let me clean that up…” Crawling forward, she sticks her tongue out and licks the tip, circling around it to lick off the remaining cum on it. For Jason, it was a very erotic sight to behold. Seeing her eyes half open as if lost in ecstasy, moaning and breathing heavily from sucking his dick. His body jerks unintentionally from the sensation he felt from the tip, still sensitive from cumming earlier. When Marlow finally finished, she backed off and looked down at her chest and waist. Looking dazed before looking up to him and smiling.

“Ahhh...That felt so good...but Marlow you got yourself dirty again.” Jason grabbed the body wash bottle and squeezed a little more on his hands. Rubbing them together to create suds, he rubs the semen off her chest and tail. “Let’s finish up our bath here alright?” Grabbing the bottle herself, Marlow squeezes soap to her hands and rubs them together as well. She gently strokes Jason's dick, cleaning off the semen on it before moving down to his balls. “He-hey wait...I’ll take care of those parts okay? It feels too good when you do it!” Marlow smiled before looking up at him.

“You’re gonna have to get used to this at some point you know? If this is enough to get you moaning, then getting to the real thing will probably knock you unconscious. So just bare with it okay? Besides it may not look like it, but you’re cleaning somewhere relatively sensitive yourself.” Looking down at where his hands were, he had his hands near her waistline where her human half and fish half connect. Jason noticed that he couldn’t see her vagina where it should be. Instead a pink scale that was pointing in the opposite position of her tail scales was there.

“Ah, I’m sorry! But hey where is your...uh...you know…” To embarrassed to say it out loud, Marlow lets out a sigh.

“My vagina? Us mermaids have a special scale around our crotch that covers our vagina. We can remove it via magic so that we can mate. Here…” Blushing slightly, the reverse scale on her crotch starts to disappear. When it fully faded, her vagina was in plain view. Only her slit was visible at the moment. “See?” Moving her fingers down, she spreads the lips open with her right two fingers. Her outer pussy walls were a bright shade of pink, slightly leaking love juices. Near the top, her clitoris could be seen, slightly swollen from arousal. “I’m just about ready to take you in...so let’s finish this up and head back to the bedroom okay?” Pulling her fingers away, Jason just nodded in response. The image of her pussy burned into his mind as it was the first one he’s seen that closely. Afterwards the two finished cleaning each other up. Getting off the tub and drying each other off as they had wrapped towels around their body afterwards. “Hey do you have your own toothbrush?” Jason shook his head, never really intending to take a bath there in the first place, he didn’t have one with him. “I have a spare in my luggage near the bed. It’s blue, use that one.” Grabbing the pink toothbrush she already had on the sink in the bathroom, she applies toothpaste and starts brushing her teeth.

“Oh alright, thanks.” Leaving the bathroom for a moment, Jason looks for the spare in her luggage, seeing a fresh, new toothbrush that was wrapped in a plastic wrap. It looked like a temporary toothbrush for travel. When he headed back to the bathroom, Marlow handed him the toothpaste with her left hand while her right was still used to brush her teeth. “Thank you…” Applying toothpaste on his own toothbrush, he starts brushing his own teeth. Marlow finished first, rinsing her mouth off before looking at Jason.

“I’ll wait on the bed okay?” Marlow winks to him before moving out of the bathroom. After finishing brushing his own teeth, Jason stares at himself in the mirror.

“...okay...relax…” Talking to himself, Jason slaps his cheeks with his hands, getting himself ready for what's about to happen. Breathing out, he leaves the bathroom. Right in front of him, he see’s Marlow sitting on the bed. The hat she had right beside her.

“Hehe...you seem so nervous Jason, even though we’ve already done some pretty lewd things already.” Jason scratched his head, looking away from Marlow for a moment.

“Yea, but I mean...this is going to be different.” Seeing how nervous he was, Marlow got an idea on her head, she grabbed a pillow and placed it on her lap. “Huh?” A sly smile crosses her face, patting down on the pillow with her left hand.

“Here. I have an idea of how to calm you down.” Sitting down next to her, Marlow points at the pillow on her lap. “Lay down and put your head on the pillow here…” Confused, Jason just cooperates and lays down on the bed, resting the back of his head on the pillow. “Good...now…” Without warning, she slightly bent down and pressed her right breast on his face, her nipple blocking his mouth.

“HHmmff?!” Caught off guard, Jason was trying to pull his face away, but Marlow wrapped her right hand around the back of his head and kept his head still. With his hot, heavy breath blowing on her breast, she lets out a moan, feeling his lips pressing against her nipple.

“It’s okay Jason...just open your mouth a little and suck on my nipple. With how often you’ve been staring at them, I know you’ve wanted to suck on them right?” Looking to her left, she saw his dick poking out of the towel wrapped around his waist. “And while you do that…” Pulling between the towels crease, she yanked out his dick, grabbing the shaft with her left hand. “I’ll take care of this for you okay?” Knowing that her mind was made up, Jason calmed down and decided to play along with her idea. He opened his mouth and started sucking on her nipple, licking around the areola. “Fuwwaaahh…” A tingling sensation went up her spine as Jason licked and sucked on her breast. “hehe...so cute...no milk will come out unfortunately…” Looking down at him, she glides her fingers between his hair, then looking back at his dick, she starts gently stroking it. With each stroke, she could feel his blood pumping hard on his cock.

“Hmmhmmpff!” Feeling him suck harder, he’s starting to lick her nipple, sucking down hard on it. Marlow relaxed her grip from the stimulation she felt, giving Jason a chance to pull his mouth away from her boob. “Puuwaah! A little tight on your grip there Marlow, I was having trouble breathing.” Jason said between his breaths.

“Oh...I’m sorry Jason. It just felt really good when you were sucking my boob that I just kinda got lost in a trance.” Jason giggled slightly, looking back down at her breast.

“You’re right about what you said earlier though, I was staring at your chest. So round and soft...and your pink nipples standing out from your skin...it’s really pretty…” Licking her nipple again, he goes back to sucking on it, using his right hand, he reaches for her left breast, gently pinching her left nipple. He alternates between pinching and groping her left breast, while sucking on her right.

“Oh Jason…” As her arousal rises, her grip on his cock strengthened, increasing her pace as she stroked him faster and faster. Using her right hand, she pulls his face deeper on her chest while her left hand moves towards the tip of his dick, rubbing the back neck of his dick with her thumb, his precum flowing out of the tip and acting as lube for her thumb. “Almost there huh?” Suddenly, Marlow stops her left hand and pulls Jason’s face off her chest. Near the brink of orgasm, Jason’s cock was twitching wildly, frustrated and confused as to why she stopped.

“Wh-why…” Seeing the frustrated look on his face, Marlow’s face lit up with excitement, placing her left hand on her cheek while smiling with her tongue sticking out on the left of her lip. Narrowing her eyes, she stares lewdly at Jason.

“Sooo cute! You look so desperate to cum! Don’t worry you’ll get your chance...after all like we discussed earlier…” Laying down on the bed, she spreads her pussy open with both of her hands. Dripping wet with anticipation, it’s almost overflowing with her wetness. Her clitoris engorged with arousal. “I can’t wait anymore Jason! I want that big burly cock of yours! Pound me into a mess! Make me drool in ecstasy!” Getting lost in her lust, Marlows eyes turned hazy, looking like she’s delirious.

“Ah...ah…” Breathing heavily himself, Jason’s frustration from not cumming earlier was also clouding his mind with lust. With a strong urge to seek the climax he was denied, he crawls on the bed with his knees until he’s on top of Marlow. With the tip of his cock near her pussy lips, they were both on the cusp of losing themselves to pleasure.

“Yes...let me help…” Marlow reaches down with both of her hands, her left spreading her pussy lips open with her fingers. While her right hand grabbed the top half of his cock, the head poked out between her thumb and pointing finger. Slowly bending his penis down, she pulled the tip towards her vagina. “Hyaahh!” Feeling the hot tip of his dick on her pussy lips, she looks up at Jason. His face was riddled with impatience.

“Okay...you’re in position now...thrust however you want!” Closing his eyes, Jason braced himself for what’s to come. Pushing his waist slowly, he feels resistance going in. “Ah...it’s tight! Can it fit?!” Worried about her, Jason hesitated a little, but Marlow wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled at him.

“It’s fine! It’ll go in! Just push it in hard!” Marlow reassured Jason, even though she knew that it would hurt at first with it being her first time, and how big Jason was. “GOOO!!!” Screaming for him to push, Jason clenched his fists and pushed as hard as he could. His penis forcefully spreaded her vaginal opening, forcing about seven inches inside of her in one thrust. “HYAAAAAHHH!!!” Feeling his big dick inside of her, the sensation was painful and pleasurable at the same time. Blood trickled out between the gaps of her vaginal lips.

“So...tight!” Jason couldn’t push himself any deeper than that. He relaxes for a moment, looking down at Marlows face. She had a pained expression. “Are you alright...oh that’s a stupid question...of course you’re not alright.” He looks down and sees blood leaking from where her vagina was, staining the sheets below.

“It’s alright…” Slowing her own breathing down, Marlow adjusted to the pain. With her left hand still wrapped behind his neck, she used her right hand to stroke his hair. “You can go ahead and move alright? I’ve adjusted to the pain. It’ll always hurt the first time.” Nodding to her, Jason looks down again and starts thrusting his hips. First pulling out, he could feel how tightly her vagina was holding onto his cock. Then when just the tip was left inside her, he starts to push it back in. It was easier this time thrusting in, but it was still tight. “Ah...being a real gentleman aren’t you?” Jason chuckled, looking back at her nervously.

“Well if you’re saying you’re feelin good, then I’m basically on the brink of cumming myself. I can’t hold out much longer, so I should pull-” Before he could finish his sentence, Marlow pulled his face closer to hers, kissing him when their lips met. Letting go a second later, she shook her head at him.

“No, don’t pull out. Cum inside of me!” Jason looked baffled at her request. “Listen...you said that you didn’t want to imagine anyone else being with me except you right? Well this is your chance to make that really happen. I love you Jason! I want to spend the rest of my days with you and be your loving wife. Let’s raise a family that the both of us can be proud of!” Remembering what he said to her earlier, this was Jason’s chance to really pour all the love he can muster by giving a chance to be a mother, and giving himself a chance to be a father.

“Alright Marlow, I won’t hold back then!” Moving his face down to hers, Jason kisses her this time, pushing his tongue inside her mouth as they licked one another’s tongues. While doing so, Jason thrust his hips back and forth, quickly building up the climax he was holding back before. With one final thrust, Jason pushed as deep as he could inside her. Keeping their lips locked together during climax, he pumped her full of his seed, shooting straight into her cervix. Her eyes roll upwards her head as she feels his warm semen gushing inside of her, some leaking out of her vagina while still connected. As Jason pulls away from the kiss, he sucks on her tongue one last time. When he pulled out, their tongues left a trail of saliva that broke off. Some of the saliva landed on her chin, while the other hung out of his mouth and onto his chin when he stood on his knees straight up.

“ah…” Breathing heavily, Marlow was catching her breath, but she felt Jason’s hands grab her waist. “Eh?” Looking up at Jason, he had a rather unsatisfied expression on his face. He looks down to her, breathing heavily himself.

“Marlow...It’s not going down at all...it’s still really hard. You can handle it right?” Seeing him being assertive, Marlow smiled at him.

“Of course I can handle it!” With her left arm stretched up, she grabs a pillow with it while her right hand grasps her right breast. Showing off a lewd pose. “Go and fuck me with all you got!” Smiling in response, Jason just starts thrusting his hips. Going full throttle right at the start, he slams his hips against hers. The sudden rough movements caused Marlows eyes to roll up on her face, her tongue sticking out as nothing but moans and labored breathing escape her mouth. “Uwwaahhh!” Swinging his hips wildly, her breasts bounced up and down in a fierce rhythm. Looking down at her chest, Jason grabs her left breast with his hand and starts groping it, pinching her nipple with his fingers.

“So...good!” With each thrust, Jason could feel the walls of her pussy greedily gripping his cock when pushing in, then as if it was refusing to let go, making it feel like he was being sucked back in as he pulled out. Each time he thrusts in her, the tip hits her cervix. “It’s getting easier and easier to slide in and out!” He increases his pace even more, seeking to feel even better. The rough and fast pumping is causing an ache to rise within her.

“Just a little more Jason...I’m getting close to cumming myself” Jason moves his upper body closer to hers, hugging her as he wraps his left arm around her back, he pulls her body tighter and tighter to his, thrusting even harder inside her. “Ah...aaahh...AAAAHH!!!” Wrapping both of her arms around his back, they hugged one another as they reached their climax at the same time. Filling her with more of his semen inside of her, she drools in ecstasy as she cums as well. After their orgasm, Jason and Marlow relaxed their grip on one another. Marlows love juices flowed out of her vagina when Jason pulled out, his semen mixed in with it.

“How’re you feeling Marlow?” Tired from his efforts, Jason lays on the right side of the bed next to Marlow, looking at her afterwards.

“I’m feeling great...you were really going at it there weren’t you? Didn’t even hold back for a second there that time around.” Unlike Jason, Marlow seemed to catch her breath only about a minute after having sex. “Tired already aren’t we?” Giggling, Marlow gets up and moves on top of him this time, floating on top of him.

“Wait...how’re you doing that? Don’t you need your hat?” Shaking her head, she smiled while holding her stomach.

“You don’t know much about us Merrows do you? It’s true that we need our hat to move around but, you’ve been pumping me full of semen. It contains your spirit energy and fills me with magic power.” Laying on top of him afterwards, Marlow rubs the lips of her pussy on the shaft of his dick, rousing his erection. Marlow grabs her hat and puts it on top of Jason’s head. “This hat represents not only the trust I give you or the power of Poseidon, but my everlasting love for you. As long as I have you, I won’t need it anymore.” With his dick now fully erect, Marlow stands up straight. “This time I’ll be on top, you just sit back and relax.” Guiding his penis with her right hand, she slowly lowers the lips of her pussy on the tip, then pushing all the way in. “Gah! Even after cumming in me twice, it’s still kinda hard to move with just how big your dick is!” Looking down at Jason, she saw his eyes rolled back in ecstasy, drooling from how good he’s feeling.

“Marlow...I’m still really sensitive from before! I can’t go on.” Shaking her head, she gyrates her hips, causing his dick to rub around inside her pussy. “Aaaahh…”

“Oh yeah? I’m sure you got just one more in you. Otherwise this fella down here wouldn’t be so hard.” Shortly after, she starts to grind her hips front and back. The slow, but hard grinding pressed her inner walls hard against the shaft. The tip was constantly rubbing around her cervix.

“Too much...this is too much! I’m gonna go insane!” Blushing red and breathing hard, Jason was gripping the bed sheets hard with his hands. His enraptured face coupled with the fact that he’s wearing her hat made a slew of lewd and sadistic emotions seep out of Marlow.

“Oh it’s so cute to see you acting like this Jason! A big burly man like you, reduced to moaning and struggling so much after just cumming twice! I mean you got me the first two times...but now it’s my turn to toy with you!” Enjoying his reactions too much, she starts to thrust her hips up and down on him. Gradually picking up speed as she goes, their hips coupled with their genitals covered in sexual fluids fills the room with lewd noises. Even the bed was starting to creak with how rough she was getting.

“AAAHHH!!! Ma-Marlow!” Moaning even louder, he managed to compose himself, looking at her. “I haven’t said it to you properly yet haven’t I?” Stopping for a moment, Marlow looks down at Jason.

“Said what Jason?” She said between her breaths.

“I...I love you Marlow! I love you so much!” Jason moves his arms up and grabs her hat which he had on his head. He holds onto it tightly. “You’re the love of my life! I’ll treasure this hat always!” With his heartfelt expression of love, Marlow nearly bursted into tears.

“SO CUTE!!!” Unable to resist him, Marlow lowers her body down on his, pressing her chest against his. She reached for his face. “Let’s love each other for the rest of our days!” Kissing him one last time, she thrusted her hips as fast as she could. Pushing his dick deep inside her as they deeply kissed one another. They wrapped their arms around each other’s backs, hugging each other tightly before reaching one final climax together. Filling her womb with his semen. They twitch and convulse in pleasure, taking in the afterglow of their orgasm as much as they can. When it finally died down, the two pulled away from their kiss, leaving a trail of saliva.

“...yo-you almost made me pass out...that felt too good.” Laughing to herself, Marlow just smiled back to Jason, licking off the saliva off their mouths.

“Good...you’d better get used to it. This is what we’ll be doing everyday from now on.” Jason’s eyes widened slightly in shock.

“Everyday?! I’m gonna go insane if we do this every single day…” Giggling at his words, Marlow lays down on his chest. Afterwards, she raised her right arm, showing off her scar to him.

“No you won’t. You’ll have a long life ahead of you to adjust when you drink my blood.” She then smiled at him. “We can start it nice and slow. Once a day is enough. And it doesn’t even have to be sex really. As long as I get your spirit energy, I’ll get the energy I need to move around. Remember, I’m depending on you now.” Poking at his forehead, Jason looks up and sees her hat.

“Yeah you’re right...I’ll do whatever it takes…” As the two smiled warmly to one another, exhaustion finally got to him as Jason’s eyes slowly closed, falling asleep.

“Hehe...goodnight...my love…” Marlow said softly to him, kissing him on the cheeks. “I always wanted to say that…” Marlow pulled herself off Jason. His semen flowing out of her vagina, she looked at his naked body. His dick covered in her love juices. “We just took a bath and already made a mess of ourselves…” Looking at the bed, she blushed at the sight of it. Stained with their lovemaking. “Oh crap...I hope the hotel management doesn’t notice until we leave…” Using the energy she got from Jason, she managed to get up off the bed on her own. Going to her luggage, she pulls out a tissue carrier she had on her and wipes the excess semen off her pussy. Then looking at Jason, she wiped his dick clean next. “There...gotta wipe that stuff off first before going to bed at least.” Throwing the used up tissues to a trashcan nearby, Marlow gets back on the bed and lays right next to Jason. Pulling the bed sheets on them, she laid her left arm on his chest before falling asleep.

*The next day.*

Waking up first, Jason slowly lifted his eyes open. He saw Marlow hugging him, still asleep.

“What a night…” Jason said softly to himself. He moved his left hand and placed it on her hair, stroking it gently. “I wonder what time it is…” Looking around the room, he saw a wall clock right in front of the bed. It read ‘ten thirty AM’ “Hmm...looks like I slept for a while…” Looking back at Marlow, he smiled seeing how peaceful she was. Noticing that he’s still wearing her hat, he grabs it with his right hand and takes it off, laying it on top of where his chest is. “A sign of trust and love…” Focused on the hat, he didn’t see Marlow place her left hand on top of the hat. He turns his head to her and sees her smiling.

“Hey...good morning darling…” Smiling afterwards, Marlow moved closer to Jason and kissed him on the cheek. “I always wanted to say that.” Getting up afterwards, she looked around the bed and saw the mess they made. “We should probably take a shower first, then ask for a new set of sheets for the bed…” Jason just nervously laughed before nodding in agreement with her.

“That’s true...we did go a little overboard yesterday.” Getting up himself, Jason takes the hat off and puts it aside on top of a drawer near the bed. “Come one, let’s get clean first.” Walking to the bath first, Jason and Marlow went to the bathroom and bathed one another. After cleaning each other, they both get dressed.

-Knock Knock-

“Huh?” Hearing the door knocking, Marlow who managed to get dressed first answers the door. When she opens it, she see’s Detra there. “Oh hey Detra!” Hugging her, Detra just accepts the hug and hugs her back afterwards.

“Hey there...sounds like you two had a wonderful night.” Smiling at Marlow, she turns to look at Jason with a knowing smile. “Hey there stud! Good to see that you stayed true to your word.” Jason just blushed at her words before she looked back at Marlow. “So I wanted to do something with you yesterday, but I heard you two moaning the entire night so I thought it’d be a good idea to leave you two alone for the night.” Both Marlow and Jason blushed, not realizing that she heard them.

“Wait, you heard us?!” Rather than saying yes, Detra just nodded her head.

“Oh yeah I did. I bet your neighbors if you had any would’ve heard you two as well.” With the two of them just staying silent, Detra let out a sigh before talking again. “Anyways...Marlow you still have an entire day here, so you may as well enjoy a nice date with Jason, right?” When Jason got finished getting dressed, he walked next to Marlow.

“That sounds like a great idea, but I don’t think I can.” Detra tilted her head, wrapping her tentacles around his neck.

“Hey now...you’re not planning on doing a ‘dip and dip’ are you?” Her tentacles were tight enough to keep his neck still, but not enough that he couldn’t breathe or talk.

“Dip and...what?” Confused at what she meant, Detra shook her head.

“It means you’re not planning on just fucking my friend here and leaving are you?” Marlow, seeing how Detra was acting, grabbed her tentacles and pulled on them.

“Hey, cut it out Detra. He’s not going to do anything like that. Let Jason go.” Detra compiled and let go of Jason.

“I promise I won’t do anything so callous. I just need to talk to my Captain about taking a week off so I can spend more time with Marlow. I can’t bring Marlow with me on my job as a crew member of the Navy after all.” Hearing his explanation, Detra silently bows to Jason.

“I’m sorry, I overreacted…” Jason just chuckled and waved his right hand to her.

“Don’t worry about it. Marlow, I’ll see you back here around…” Looking behind him, Jason see’s that the time now is eleven AM. “I’ll be back here around two PM okay?” Jason was holding Marlows hat on his left hand. Putting it on, he gently pulled Marlow’s forehead to his lips before kissing it. “I’ll be right back...uh...honey.” In bliss at hearing those words, Marlow hugs Jason, pulling herself up on his left cheek before kissing him there afterwards.

“Alright my love, be careful out there alright?” I’ll be here by the time two PM comes.” Nodding to her, Jason left first and headed out. When he was gone, Marlow turned to Detra. “So you wanna grab something to eat Detra? I really didn’t eat anything with Jason yesterday considering what we were doing.” Blushing, Marlow started to drool as remembering what she was doing last night was getting her imagination going.”

“Sure, and this time it’ll be my turn to listen to you.” Realizing that it’ll be her first time talking about her lover, Marlow jumps up and down with glee.

“Yes! I can’t wait to tell you everything!” Grabbing Detra’s hand, she leads her to the elevator. Staring at Marlow, Detra saw that she’s not wearing her hat anymore. “What’s up?” Noticing Detra looking at her, Detra just smiles back to her.

“Oh, I’m just happy to see you moving around without your hat you know?” Detra reaches for Marlow's head with her right hand and rubs the top of her head. “You have enough magic power to move around right?” She asks her.

“Yea I have enough...in fact…” Giggling to herself, Detra felt an ominous air flow around Marlow. “He filled me up so much...that I have to go to the receptionist and see if they can’t replace the-” Detra wrapped one of her tentacles around her mouth to shut her up.

“Didn’t I say I’d listen to you when we find somewhere to eat?” Just wait until then alright?” When the elevator door opened, she let go of her mouth. The two checked out and headed out to find somewhere to eat.

*Meanwhile with Jason*

As Jason headed towards the Ryugujo palace where his Captain and his crew were staying, he saw them gathered outside near the entrance. There the carriage that brought them here in the first place was parked there.

“Jason?” Hearing his name, he turns around and sees Enri, with Ameri behind her. “How’re you feeling?”

“I’m fine, thank you.” Jason bowed slightly to them. “Where’s Sasaki?” Ameri moves in front of Enri to answer his question.

“Lady Sasaki is currently talking to her family regarding the events that took place in the kidnapping of Marlow.” Jason looked a little disappointed, but shook his head and turned to look at his crew. He couldn’t see the Captain amongst them.

“Hey, do you two know where my Captain is?” Asking that question, Jason felt something grab his right shoulder, turning around, he saw his Captain. Beside him was a Nereid who was holding onto the Captains left arm, nuzzling on it. “Ah, Captain sir!” Jason saluted his Captain for a moment before returning to a normal standing position.

“At ease Jason…” Letting Jason know to relax, he wanted to ask his Captain a question.

“Captain sir! I...have a request to make…” Smiling at him, the Captain just laughs out loud for a few seconds before stopping to talk.

“Yes I heard everything that’d happen from the little Princess lad. Sounds like you’ve had a tough time.” He looked at Jason and noticed Marlows hat on him “So that little Merrow...what’s her name...Marlow right?” Jason nodded silently at him. “Glad to see you’ve finally found a lass of yer own laddy. You always had chances too out there before getting here. What changed yer mind?” Thinking back to Marlow, he fondly recalls their talk about love and it’s importance.

“Not much sir. I just found someone who shares my interests and views.” Jason turned his attention to the Nereid holding onto his Captain’s left arm. “I see you found a lover yourself sir?” Looking at the woman by his side, the Captain smiled before looking back at Jason.

“Ah yes I did. This is Oumugi. She was quite the lady after the ceremony and kept me company through the night.” The Nereid giggled, looking at Jason afterwards.

“As your Captain Dazlo says, I’m Oumugi. Dazlo over here is a very charming man. I’m surprised no one snatched you up for as long as you’ve lived!” The two were enjoying one another's company, with Dazlo looking proud of having her by his side.

“Haha well Oumugi dear, that’s because I haven’t met anyone as fetching and lovely as you!” Getting embarrassed at Dazlo’s flirtatious ways, Jason clears his throat to get his attention.

“Um...as I was saying Captain...with everything that’s happened in the past few days. I’d like to request a week off sir.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you sir…” After saluting Dazlo, Jason quickly realized how easy that was and immediately questioned it. “I’m sorry what?!” Dazlo looked at Jason’s dumbfounded face, laughing at his reaction.

“Haha you heard me boy! I said it’s fine. We’ve completed our task of getting that little princess here safely, so us staying here was just a formality that Sasaki insisted we follow up on.” Feeling Oumugi rubbing her head on his shoulder, he smiles and pats her on the head with his right hand. “Once you’re done with your little time off, just head back to the Navy headquarters back near yer hometown. Everyone except you has already been paid for our job. Your pay is going to be given to you by Sasaki herself since she wanted to give it to you personally. We’ll be heading back to headquarters for now.” He then looks back at his crew, seeing almost all of them having a lover or even two with them. “Though some might probably retire…” Turning back to Jason, Dazlo tips his hat to him. “Congrats again on finding that special someone Jason. I’ll be heading back with the rest of the crew...right after I bring this beautiful gal back to my home.” Laughing proudly to himself, Dazlow leaves with Oumugi as he and the rest of his crew and their new lovers head to the carriage.

“He didn’t even give me a chance to express my gratitude…” Jason stood there for a moment, dumbfounded.

“Ah, hello there Jason.” Turning around as he hears a familiar voice, he sees Sasaki right behind Ameri and Enri.

“My lady!” Both Ameri and Enri took a knee to greet her.

“Cut it out you two! Everyone’s pay’s been evenly distributed right?” Standing back up, the two stood straight up instead.

“Yes they have! We’re escorting them back to their ship as per your order.” Letting out an annoyed sigh, Sasaki couldn’t stop them from being too formal and just went with it.

“Alright then. I’m counting on you two.” Bowing to her, both Ameri and Enri head for the carriage. With Jason and Sasaki seeing everyone that needed to be inside get in, the carriage started to move towards the surface, leaving Ryugujo.

“So formal...no matter how many times I tell those two to act normally around me otherwise…” Seeing the carriage disappear into the sea, she looks back down and looks at Jason. Seeing Marlows hat on him, she bit her lip for a moment before shaking it off and smiling at him. “So I take it you delivered her clothes to her just fine right?” Hearing her question, Jason turned his attention to Sasaki.

“Yes I did. Thank you Sasaki.” Sasaki approached Jason and handed him a small cloth bag.

“Here...this is your cut of the pay for your escort duty. As the current princess of the Otohime family, I formally thank you for your service.” She bowed slightly to him before handing him the bag.

“O-of course! It’s my duty.” Taking the bag from her, he felt the hefty weight of it. “Whoa...what’s in this?” Opening the bag, he sees numerous gold and platinum coins in it. “Gold and platinum coins?” He looked at her afterwards, dumbfounded by the amount he received. “This is a lot of money…” Sasaki shook her head at him.

“Not really...this is the same amount of money that everyone in the crew got. Your Captain even received a slightly higher amount than the others did since he’s the Captain.” Closing the bag up, Jason puts it in his right pants pocket. “Now this is different…” Pulling something between her cleavage, a gift card pops up. “Now this...this is just for you.” Handing him the card, Jason looks at it for a moment. It seemed empty at the front at first, but the moment Jason grabbed it, his name as well as a randomly generated card number appeared on it. It’s design started to show, leaving a cherry blossom leaves decoration on the cards front.

“A card? I’ve never seen these before…” Having been born to a small remote village, the need for credit or debit cards didn’t exist there.

“Yup, it’s a gift card. Use it for whatever you see fit. For example, use it for the date you’ll be having with Marlow for the day before going back home with her.” Jason was stunned to the point of speechlessness, simply trying to process the amount of support he’s getting from Sasaki. Suddenly, he felt Sasaki hug him. She moves her lips closer to his right ear. “I’m happy for you, really I am.” Pushing herself away from the hug afterwards, Sasaki let out a big sigh. “Phew...that felt good.” Sounding like she was relieving stress, she smiled at Jason, giving him a chance to talk.

“Sasaki...I…I don’t deserve this...why give it to me?” Jason looked at the card, then back at her. “And what was that about?” Sasaki beckoned to Jason with her right hand, making a fist except for her pointing finger which she used to signal him to come to her.

“Come with me for a second Jason. I’d rather talk somewhere less open if you don’t mind.” She said as she and Jason looked around them, seeing the crowd of people looking at them.

“Alright sure.” Jason followed Sasaki inside the palace. Inside, the place was surrounded by cleaning staff, taking care of the mess that happened during the ceremony. As Jason followed Sasaki, they headed towards the stairs and kept climbing higher and higher. Eventually, they reach the family residence floor where Jason is led to Sasaki’s room.

“Here we are…” Inside her room, it was really well kept, with a huge bed large enough to accommodate two of her in it. A coffee table on the right side of the bed had a tea set on it with two cups on it. On the left side of the room was a dresser and mirror with a door next to it which leads to a bathroom. “Now then…” Sasaki sits on the bottom edge of her bed. “Think of the card I gave you as my wedding gift okay?” Jason looked confused, wondering why she’s giving him something like this now.

“Sasaki...why now? I haven’t even taken Marlow to a proper date yet.” Jason walked closer to where Sasaki was, sitting next to her on the bed.

“That’s why I gave you the card silly. It’s meant to be your early marriage gift from me.” Looking down at her waist, Sasaki grips her own kimono tightly. “I’m happy for the both of you, really I am. But I don’t think I can personally be there for your eventual marriage ceremony, so I decided to give you your wedding gift now.” Seeing Sasaki choke up a bit, Jason realized quickly that Sasaki was still thinking about Jason’s decision.

“Sasaki...thank you. You’ve done a lot not just for me, but Marlow and her friends. You saved us from what could’ve been a disaster. If you ever need me for anything, then just ask okay?” Feeling like he needed to return her kindness, Jason was earnestly trying to do anything to pay her back.

“Haha well you already said that before. Maybe I should hire you as my personal bodyguard, hmm?” Sasaki said teasingly. “But nah, you’d be too distracting if that was the case.” As they were laughing at one another, the door to her room opened. There another Otohime entered her room.

“Oh my...Sasaki dear I thought you said you’d given up on Jason.” Her voice was sultry, but somehow calming at the same time.

“Ah! Mom, what are you barging in here for?!” Embarrassed with her sudden appearance, Sasaki got up from the bed and tried to push her out of the room.

“Don’t be so cold dear. I saw you bringing Jason in here so I thought I’d pop on by and say hello!” Teasing Sasaki, she laughed in an amused manner before looking at Jason. When he got a closer look at her, she had the same hair color as Sasaki, but her hair only reached down to her shoulders. She had a much more mature air to her as well, wearing a beautiful orange kimono with a dragon ornate etched onto it. Her voluptuous figure was well exaggerated, especially due to her breasts which easily reached I Cup size. “So you’re the handsome Jason fellow my dear sweetie here was talking about.” Her eyes were closed the whole time up until she looked at Jason. Even her stare was seductive, sending a chill down Jason’s spine as he felt her piercing gaze.

“Yo-you know who I am?” She giggled when Jason wondered how she knew him.

“So she didn’t tell you huh? Well first I should probably introduce myself.” With Sasaki still trying to push her away, she suddenly moves Sasaki aside effortlessly. “My name is Machiho. If you haven’t gathered by now I’m Sasaki’s mother.” Bowing slightly to him, Machiho introduces herself to Jason. “Sasaki told me all about you before the ceremony even took place.” Unable to stop her mother, Sasaki just gave up and looked down in defeat. “Oh done already dear? I was having fun playing with you just now.” She giggled.
“...it’s as my mom said Jason...while I was getting ready for the ceremony, I was talking about how I met you and had my eyes on you.” She stood straight up afterwards.

“I see, it’s nice to meet you Queen Machiho.” Jason bowed respectfully at her.

“Such a polite young gentleman too! It’s too bad that you didn’t end up being my son in law like I originally thought…” Machiho turned her attention to Marlow’s hat which was on Jason’s head. “For such a tall, strong burly looking man, wearing that hat seems so out of place for your looks. But of course if you’re wearing one, it means you and that Marlow girl really sealed the deal huh?” Jason looked even more confused now, wondering how she knew about Marlow.

“Wait, you know about Marlow too?” Sasaki moved back to her bed, sitting down where she was before.

“I told her about Marlow and what happened after the incident of course.”

“Right, that makes sense.” Jason said. Machiho went to the bed and sat there. Sasaki followed her and sat next to her.

“I take it you gave Jason his pay and gift right?” She asked Sasaki.

“Yes mother, I gave both of them to him already.” She replied, sounding annoyed at her mother.

“Speaking of which.” Machiho looked at Jason for a moment, bowing to him again. “Thank you for getting my daughter safely to Ryugujo. I was nervous at first about letting her out in the sea, but knowing that she came back safe because of you and your Captain, as a mother I am truly grateful.” Jason blushed at her kindness, simply dismissing her thanks with his right hand behind his head and bowing back to her.

“Oh don’t worry about it. I was just doing my job.” After that exchange, Jason saw a wall clock on the right side corner of his eye, seeing the time reading one thirty AM. “Oh crap! It’s almost time for my date with Marlow!” Machiho giggled seeing how panicked Jason looked.

“Oh dear, we can’t have that now can we?” With a snap of her finger, a Kikimora maid quickly showed up by the door.

“Yes milady?” Surprising Jason, he turned around and saw the Kikimora maid behind him.

“Dear, fetch me a selection of our finest men fashion post haste please? Find one that matches this man’s physique!” Bowing with her command, the Kikimora maid pulls out a body measuring tape from one of her pockets and quickly get’s Jason’s measurements. Afterwards she bows again before leaving.

“Ah...holy...who was that?” Jason asked, pointing at where the Kikimora maid was.

“That’s our Kikimora maid Lila. She’s been serving the family ever since I was a little girl.” Sasaki said. “If you’re going on a date with Marlow soon, you’d best look ready. Luckily here at Ryugujo palace, we have the best suits and clothing for men and women of all shapes and sizes!” Sasaki boasted proudly with her mother clapping in amusement.

“That’s right! You have to look presentable before your date dear! We’ll have to be quick though, so you’d better be ready!” Both Sasaki and Machiho giggled in delight, feeling excited about seeing what clothes would fit Jason.

“Right...please help me! I’ve never been on a date before, so any help is appreciated.” Jason bowed to them in respect, but secretly nervous about the look in their eyes.

*Taking place at the same time as when Jason got to Ryugujo palace.*

“Where to eat…” Detra was thinking of places to eat while she was moving alongside Marlow. The both of them were looking around places to eat, but amongst the many stores and restaurants around they, they notice a large crowd forming around a nearby restaurant called ‘Sachiko’.

“Hey what’s going on over there?” Marlow asked Detra. The crowd disperses as a man rolls on the ground towards the two. Both Detra and Marlow got out of the way from opposite sides of one another.

“If yah ever bother me again, I won’t be so nice next time you hear?!” Hearing a familiar voice, Marlow turns to where she heard the voice. Sure enough it was Reeka. “I’ve already told you everything, so leave me and my boyfriend alone!” Other men and women were also on the ground near her, cowering in fear, they all ran away in random directions.

“What a lunatic! I’m outta here!” The man who was sent rolling got up and bolted away from the crowd as well, leaving just the spectators around.

“What’re you all looking at?!” Glaring at the crowd, they quickly dispersed along with the others before only she and Gabriel were there.

“Reeka...maybe you were a bit harsh with those reporters. They were just doing their jobs, you know?” Reeka turned around to Gabriel.

“Listen Gaby, we were just having fun, minding our own business when those shmucks came and started asking questions. You already answered for them and I even tolerated a question or two, but after that, it got really annoying!” In the middle of her conversation with Gabriel, Marlow and Detra moved closer to them.

“What the hell happened here?” Detra asked. Still frustrated, Reeka turned around with an annoyed look on her face. She was about to yell at Detra, but she quickly recognizes her, then see’s Marlow next to her. “Oh hey you two!” Reeka came running towards Marlow first, giving her a hug. “How’re you feeling girl?!” She looks at Marlow's head, noticing that she wasn’t wearing her hat. “...oh...hohoho looks like I don’t have to ask that question do I? Of course you’re alright!” Letting go of Marlow afterwards, she looks at Detra and waves to her. “Heya Detra, glad to see you’re okay too!” Detra just lets out an awkward smile and waves back to her.

“So uh...like I said, mind telling us what the hell happened here?” Detra asked as the bystanders were staring before they slowly moved away.

“Oh right...well me and Gabriel were about to have lunch here when the reporter assholes started coming right for us. They were bugging us for questions about what happened yesterday and well...had enough after they started asking about Marlow.” Hearing her name, Marlow looked down and bowed in apology to Gabriel and Reeka.

“I’m sorry guys...guess they wanted to know more about me in that incident, so sorry if they bothered you because of that.” Both Gabriel and Reeka were shaking their heads and hands in denial.

“Hey, no need to apologize Marlow. I’m just glad you’re safe.” Gabriel said with Reeka nodding her head in agreement. Detra looked at the restaurant that Reeka and Gabriel were about to go in.

“So this place...is it any good?” Detra said, pointing at the sign of the restaurant.

“This place? I heard it’s good, but there’s only one way to find out right?” With optimism in her voice, Reeka grabs Marlow by her shoulders and moves behind her. She then nudges Marlow to go inside. “Come on girlfriend! Let’s get a bite to eat!” Flattered by how happy Reeka looked, Marlow smiles back to her and nods.

“Of course! I can’t wait to tell you about Jason!” The two laughed merrily as they headed inside.

“Well then...shall we go inside before we’re left behind?” Detra asked Gabriel, noticing that the two were ignored during their exchange.

“Haha, well it can’t be helped.” Detra and Gabriel started to walk inside after Marlow and Reeka. There they saw a line of mermaids and human sushi chefs that stood on the left side of the restaurant behind a counter. In the counter was a display of all different kinds of fish as well as a view of the chefs masterfully cutting and gutting the fish. On the right side were all the seatings which included either table or booth options. In the middle right next to the entrance, they saw the receptionist, who was a Kappa. Next to her they saw Marlow and Reeka, with Reeka pointing at where Gabriel and Detra were.

“Hey you two, thanks for waiting.” Detra said sarcastically.

“I’m sorry Detra, Reeka was just so insistent is all.” Marlow replied giggling nervously.

“I got us seated at a booth guys, come on let’s go!” Reeka said before moving next to the Kappa receptionist. The group follows her to a booth near a window to get a view of the outside.

“Welcome everyone! I’m your host for the day, Kammy!” She tilted her head slightly and gave them a warm smile before handing out their menus. “What can I get you guys for drinks?” Reeka only took a second to look at the menu before deciding what she wanted to drink.

“I’ll have the ‘Shark’s Bloodymary’!” Jotting down what she wanted, Kammy looked at Marlow next.

“Hmm...oh...this looks interesting. I’ll have the ‘Mangoyita’.” Kammy then looks at Detra next.

“I’ll have the…’Midnight Abyss’.” With Gabriel the only one left, Kammy looked at him, awaiting his order.

“For me, I’ll just have water for now.” Reeka dropped her menu and looked straight at Gabriel.

“EEEHHH?! Really that’s it?” Gabriel giggled awkwardly as he saw Reeka’s reaction.

“I’ll be right back with your drinks.” Kammy bowed before taking her leave. Reeka then looked at Gabriel again.

“Water...seriously?! Man up and drink down a stiffy like the rest of us girls Gabriel!” Reeka sounded disappointed that Gabriel didn’t choose to drink alcohol, but Gabriel simply smiled at her.

“Someone around here has to be sane and sober...besides.” Gebriel suddenly flashed a look at Reeka. It was a fierce, almost piercing gaze. “You already took a stiffy down yourself last night.” In that moment both Detra and Marlow’s mouths were left open in awe at what he just said. They both look at Reeka, who was blushing bright red and hiding her face with her hands instead of replying with a snarky comeback.

“Holy...I don’t know you guys very well, but I never expected such a plain looking guy like you to say something like that Gabriel.” Laughing off Detra’s remark, Gabriel just smiles at her.

“Well let’s just say that spending a night with Reeka made me realize just how two-sided her personality becomes.” With a prideful look on his face, Detra was thinking to herself for a moment before realizing what happened.

“That’s right...Mersharks grow timid once they’ve found their husbands to be...so that means…” With a sly smirk on her face, she uses her tentacles and nudges Gabriel on the shoulder across the table. “You sly dog…” Marlow looked at Reekas face, seeing how embarrassed she was, Marlow grabs Reeka’s hands off her face and firmly grasps them.

“Oh yay! Looks like we popped our cherries on the same night then!” With no shame in her words, Gabriel turned in surprise and looked at Marlow while Detra just had her right hand on her face, shaking her head.

“Your hat...right it’s not with you now. So that means you gave it to that Jason guy right?!” Gabriel asks as Marlow just nods in response.

“Haha, well you’re not going to be lonely anymore then! Hell neither of us are!” With the two sitting right across from each other, they grasped each other’s hands and waved them up and down in victory. “So tell me girl, how’d it start off huh?” Excited to tell her experience, Marlow didn’t hesitate as she went first.

“Okay, so get this, Jason grabbed my shoulder and pushed me down on the bed with him on top right? Then he said the sweetest things to me about how he could feel my love from wearing the hat and went down to kiss me! He was so awkward at it, but it was also really cute! It felt good too regardless and-” Before she continued, Marlow realized that she also wanted to know Reeka’s story. “Well I’ll leave it at that for now. We should tell our stories piece by piece. So Reeka, how did you and Gabriel start things off?!” Being asked about her experience earlier than she expected, Reeka blushed bright red as her eyes were darting around all over the place, avoiding eye contact with Marlow.

“Ah...well you see...I mean yea so I jumped on top of him and started to rub my naked body against his right?! To make him drool in ecstasy, I bit him on the neck and started gobbling up his mana! Gabriel was basically fidgeting like a fish outta water, so while he was gasping for pleasure, I was licking and biting all over his body until I reached his-” Before she could finish, the drinks that they ordered were placed on the table.

“AHEM!” Clearing her throat loudly to get Marlow and Reeka’s attention, they both look at Kammy before she leans down on the two with her right hand close to her right cheek to whisper to them. “Listen girls, I’m very happy for you two...but if you don’t mind keeping it down. They're guests here after all that are trying to EAT.” Looking around themselves for a moment, Marlow and Reeka noticed the other patrons looking at the two of them while Gabriel and Detra were looking away at the two while drinking their beverages. Some patrons were laughing and smiling while some were shaking their heads in annoyance.

“Whoops...sorry about that…” Marlow said, scratching her head and apologizing afterwards.

“It’s alright. Now then…” Kammy brings out a menu for each of them and places it on their table. “I’ll be back in around five minutes to see if you’re ready to order. Take your time.” Kammy bowed to them before taking her leave.

“We got a little carried away didn’t we?” Reeka said nervously.

“Yes you both did.” Detra said sternly. Gabriel was already reading the menu, looking at what he wanted to eat. “Hmm...why don’t we start with an appetizer for you and I Reeka? I see that soft shell hell crabs are in here…” Reeka’s mouth started to water at the mention of the food, taking her menu and looking around in it herself.

“Sure, I can go for some crab before a main course.” Going straight for the part of the menu where there was meat, Reeka closed her menu, already knowing what she wanted. “Okay, I know what I want.” She turns to look at Gabriel afterwards who also closes his menu.

“Same...what about you two?” Detra seemed more interested in the sushi and sashimi menu.

“Hmm...Looks like that sushi and panko breaded veggie boat will fill me up nicely.” Closing her menu, she looks at Marlow who was the only person left who hasn’t decided.

“I am hungry but...I think for now I’ll just have a small three pack of salted mackerel with rice for lunch.” Considering the fact that the lunch she decided on was on the small side, Detra and Reeka looked at Marlow with confusion.

“Hey...why the small lunch? Are you going on a diet or something?” Reeka asked. Gabriel was confused for a moment too, but quickly realized why she didn’t want to eat as much and just smiled at her.

“Oh well...I mean I would eat something big but...I’ll be going on a date with Jason about two hours from now. I want to have an appetite when we go out after all.” Marlow blushed as she looked forward to her date with Jason.

“Wait? I thought you guys went on a date?” Marlow shook her head at Reeka’s question.

“No...we kinda skipped that part and just went straight to sex you know?” It was a spur of the moment thing. So this time he and I want to actually go on a proper date and talk to each other more before we leave here you know?” Reeka let out a big grin at Marlow.

“Oh I see! Yea after the incident, me and Gabriel spent our free time going on a date before we did the nasty. You two were still in the hospital taking care of your injuries at the time.” Marlow nodded silently to her before the waitress Kammy came back.

“Alright guys, are you ready to order?” The group nodded to her as she got her notepad and pen ready.

“For starters, we’d like the Soft Shell Hell Crab appetizer, two of them. Then I’ll personally get the two pound salmon steak!” Jotting her order down, Kammy looks at Gabriel next.

“For me I’ll have the Pork Cutlet Bowl.” After his Order, Kammy turns her attention to Detra.

“The Sushi and Panko Fried Veggie Boat looks good, I’ll have that.” Finally, it was Marlows turn to order.

“And for me, I’ll just go with a three piece Mackerel and rice bowl combo.” With all their orders placed, Kammy smiled at them.

“Alright folks, I’ll be back with your food when they’re ready.” Taking her leave, Reeka and Marlow look back at each other and continue their story more quietly.

“...based on what I know about Mersharks…” Detra suddenly started talking to Gebriel, taking a sip of her drink before looking at him. “You became the dominant one during sex didn’t you?” Instead of replying, Gabriel just smiled at her, leaning over to whisper to Detra.

“Well to be fair, it was a little of both. She started out strong, but afterwards when she was done, she became surprisingly timid and I was the one on top the entire time afterwards.” With a smile of superiority on his face, Detra could tell he was telling the truth and was proud of it.

“Oh is that right? Well regardless I’m happy for you…” Detra said to him as she glanced over to Marlow, overhearing her conversation with Reeka as she got to the part when Jason was getting serviced by her in the bathtub. ‘So you finally got to talk about your man huh? I’m going to be hearing this story more than once, that's for sure…’ Detra thought to herself, happy to see Marlow talking about their love life.

“Thanks for the wait!” With a large plate full of their dishes, Kammy brings the group their food. “Alright everyone, enjoy!” With chopsticks on hand and food on their table, the group eat and chat away over the events that happened yesterday and today. After catching up and finishing their meal. The group split the bill evenly before leaving the restaurant with everyone but Marlow full.

“Ah...that was some good eating!” Reeka said letting out a loud, satisfied sigh of relief.

“Geez Reeka...I can’t believe you ordered seconds for that salmon steak.” Gabriel sounded full himself, letting out a small burp which he covered with his mouth.

“What?! I need a huge meal recharge after what happened last night!” Reeka wrapped her right arm around Gabriels back neck, hugging him close. “Hey Marlow, where do you live?”.

“Oh...uh me and Detra live in Coralin.” Reeka's eyes widened a bit when she heard where they lived.
“Wow, you guys live far! I live closer to the surface around Sapphire Coast. Luckily Gabriel doesn’t live far from where I am and is literally just a fifteen minute swim away from the shore where his hometown is right?” Reeka asked Gabriel.

“That’s right. I live in the forested area of Eltra Forest. It’s a forest village that’s in the middle of modernization so it’ll probably look drastically different given another ten years or so.” Reeka then turns back to Marlow.

“Still, where we are is only about a train ride away from where you live though. You don’t mind if we come by to visit every once in a while right?” Reeka seemed shy asking Marlow that question, but Marlow didn’t even hesitate and hugged Reeka.

“Of course you can! I can’t wait until you meet my other two friends Kelpy and Juli!” Hugging her back, Reeka smiled before putting her hand on top of Marlow's head, rubbing her hair and making a mess out of it. “Ah hey! Cut it out you!” the both of them laughed at one another.

“Alright Marlow...you’d better hurry. It’s already one forty five PM so you should get back to the hotel and get dressed and ready for your date.” Detra said before Marlow finished her hug with Reeka.

“Have fun with your date Marlow! We’ll be heading home for now so we can relay the news of the relationship between me and Reeka to our families. We’ll visit real soon okay?” Gabriel said before handing Marlow something. It was a piece of hydrophobic paper with Reeka and Gabriels phone number on it. “Call us when you get back so we can set a date for us to show up alright?” Marlow nodded to him and put the paper in her purse.

“Yeah of course! Be careful on your way home guys! See yah!” With a final goodbye, Detra and Marlow waved Gabriel and Reeka goodbye as they parted ways for now.

“Come one Marlow, I’ll help you get ready for your date.” Nodding to Detra, the two head back to the hotel and get ready for Marlows date.

*Around the appointed date time of 2:30 PM*

“I wonder if I look good enough…” Talking to himself, Jason entered the hotel where Marlow was waiting for him. He walks past the receptionist who just looked at him with a smile on her face. Getting in the elevator, he looks up at the numbers waiting to reach the third floor. When he got there, he walked to her door and knocked. “...” Nervously waiting, Jason hears the doorknob open and see’s Marlow. “Hey Marlow, sorry if I’m a little late…” Jason looked at Marlow, seeing her wear something casual. Her top was a plain white shirt with a pink star design on the middle of it with a phrase written on top of the star that says ‘PinkyFish’. It was subtle, but he could see her pink lace bra around her shoulders through her white shirt. Her bottom was a skirt, but it was designed to feel and look like a pair of jeans made for mermaids. Around the left and right side of her waist were corals and small shells braided with a small string. “Wow...you look good.” Marlow blushed at his compliment and looked at Jason. Taking a good look at Jason, Marlow’s face suddenly distorted into that of laughter.

“Bwahahaha! Jason, why are you dressed like that?!” Holding her stomach in, Marlow was laughing really hard at Jason, she looked at him again. Jason was wearing something radically different from what she expected. He was wearing a plain Black Kimono with a blue vest on top of it. His pants were a pair of dark blue Hakama pants. He was still wearing Marlows hat which stood out radically from the rest of his outfit.

“Ah! I knew wearing this wasn’t something appropriate for a date!” Jason said blushing red, hiding his face with both of his hands.

“I highly doubt this is what you would’ve worn using your own judgement. Someone helped you right?” Jason nodded, pulling his hands away from his face. He let out a sigh of frustration afterwards.

“It was Sasaki and her mother Machiho.” Jason said somewhat reluctantly.

“Really? Hehe well Detra helped me out, but it was more of her just helping me decide which set of clothes I wanted to wear. Something tells me that you just went along with whatever those two suggested to you?” Nodding again, Jason took another look at Marlow.

“Yea, I just went along with their whims...you on the other hand dressed the way I expected you to. Casually, but cute.” Hearing his compliment, Marlow smiled at Jason and gave him a hug.

“Aww...you’re such a sweetheart Jason!” Marlow grabbed her purse from her bed and left her room. “Well regardless of how you’re dressed, we’ll have a great time with our date!” She wrapped her arms around his left arm. “You take the first lead and bring me wherever you want alright?” Trusting Jason, he smiles at her and leads them out of the hotel where they started their date. They first went to watch a movie, then they had dinner at a ramen stall. They went shopping for a bit afterwards before the end of the day came.

“Marlow...are you alright?” Jason asked. They were back in Marlows room in the hotel. Since her last day was today, she was packing her things, but seemed to have a hard time moving around on her own.

“Yea I’m fine...but I guess I’m a little weak from not getting enough spirit energy from you today since we didn’t do anything sexual…” Jason kissed Marlow on the cheek before putting her hat on her head. This gave her the rush of power she needed to move regularly again. “Ah what?! Jason you’re supposed to be wearing my hat now you know?” Whining a bit, Jason just patted her on top of the head.

“Relax...I figured for now that it’ll be easier for you to have it on for now since we have to leave before the train departs. Once I get you back home, we can spend the entire day having sex alright?” Marlow giggled with delight before nodding in agreement.

“Oh alright! I can wait a couple of days I suppose. But you better be ready then, because once we get to Coralin, I’m gonna be fucking you till I drop!” Jason laughed nervously at her proclamation, but nodded back to her.

“I’m a little worried that I won’t be able to keep up with you, but hey this just means I’ll have the chance to build up my tolerance and stamina right?” Jason offers his right hand to her. “Let’s go.” Grabbing his right hand, Marlow walks with him as they head for the train station back to Coralin. Once they got there along with Detra, they were greeted with Juli and Lil who hugged Marlow and Detra with all they got, worried sick about the both of them.

“Marlow! I’m so glad you’re okay!” Lil wrapped herself around Marlow so much that she covered her in her seaweed fluids.

“Ah...heya Kelpy...I’m okay and I’m happy to see you too but, please can you not hug me so tightly…” Lil shook her head in refusal.

“No! I almost lost my friend...I won’t let go until I feel satisfied!” Juli was standing beside Detra, giving her a quick hug before turning to look at Lil and Marlow.

“I can’t believe all of that happened Detra. I’m so glad you’re both safe.” Juli said with a worried look on her face.

“It did get pretty dicey. Luckily Sasaki and her guards showed up and helped us.” Behind Detra was Jason. He was carrying both Detra and Marlows luggage. Juli noticed Jason and swam up to him.

“Oh my...so you’re Jason! Such a strong and handsome looking man you are!” Juli said, clasping her hands together and smiling at him.

“Ahaha...you think so?” Jason felt embarrassed being complimented like that. He put the luggage down before looking at Marlow who was still being hugged by Lil. Lil looked over at Jason, waving her kelp tentacle at him.

“Hello…” Seeing how shy she was, Jason just waved back to her. Marlow moved closer to the rest of the group with Lil still attached to her.

“Um guys...can you help me with getting Kelpy to let go?” Juli and Detra both sighed before helping with getting Lil off her. “Thank you...now then…” Reaching down in her purse, Marlow took out the necklace and bracelet gifts and handed the necklace to Juli and gave the bracelet to Lil. “These were souvenirs I bought while I was in Ryugujo, I hope you two like your gifts.” Juli put the necklace given to her, smiling at Marlow.

“It’s so pretty! Thank you Marlow!” Juli seemed happy with her gift, giving Marlow a big hug before letting go. Marlow then turns her attention to Lil, who puts the bracelet around her right seaweed tentacle that acted as her right arm.

“Haha...it stands out from my arm from the shiny gems…” Lil moves towards Marlow in an attempt to hug her again. “Thank you Marlow…” Her voice was soft sounding, but happy.

“It’s alright Kelpy! I’ve gotten plenty of hugs from you already alright?” Marlow said, smiling at her before she saw Aster hug Lil from behind.

“Yea I think she’s had enough hugs for now sweety.” Turning around, Lil quickly wrapped herself around her husband.

“Aster! I’m so glad everyones back home and safe is all…” She said, nuzzling her face against his.

“Yes yes, I’m happy for them too…” Right beside him was Liam, Detra’s husband. He was taller than Detra with long black hair that reached down his back.

“Hey Liam...I’m back.” Detra said before wrapping her own tentacles around him in a loving hug.

“Welcome home Detra...I’m glad you’re not seriously hurt.” He looked at one of her tentacles which was shorter than the rest. “This was the one that got cut right?” Detra just nodded, getting patted on the head by him afterwards. “Ah well as long as you’re okay right?” He then looks at Jason, who was taller than all of them. “Looks like you got a hubby of your own now huh Marlow?” Marlow grabs Jason's right arm and pulls it to her chest.

“Yes sir! I finally brought a dashing man of my own!” She looks back to Juli, noticing that her husband wasn’t around. “Hey Juli...what about your hubby? Where is he?” “Juli looked nervous at being asked, avoiding eye contact with Marlow.

“Uh...well you see…” Before she could finish her sentence. A young man jumped up and hugged Juli from behind. He had short, brown cut hair and seemed shorter than everyone else.

“There you are Juli, running off without me…” Letting go of her, he waved hi to everyone. “I guess she hasn’t properly introduced me yet. I’m Kalvin!” Both Detra and Marlow looked at Juli with a judgemental stare.

“What?! I swear he’s older than he looks!” Hearing about his age, Kalvin laughed at Juli.

“Hahaha...yea I guess with the way I look, I would embarrass you wouldn’t I? I’m eighteen you guys…” Both Marlow and Detra looked at Kalvin carefully before backing away. They turn to Juli, giving her a perplexed look.

“Well if he says so then it must be true.” Marlow said before clinging to Jason again.

“Yea...best not to question these kinds of things.” While watching everyone happily talking to their own husbands, Jason felt Marlow press her chest against his right arm even harder.

“What’s up Marlow?” Looking down to her, she looks at her friends, each a husband in tow.

“You know...a week ago I envied every one of them for having something that I didn’t…” Her grip on his arm tightens for a moment. “But now...I can hold my head up high, both metaphorically…” Marlow then looks up at Jason, smiling at him. “And literally.” Without warning, Jason picked up Marlow bridal style. “Kyah! Ja-Jason?”

“Haha sorry did I scare you?” He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “We have our entire life ahead of us. Let’s get you home first okay? I have to get back to work after today, so let’s make the most of our day.” Putting her back down, Marlow grabs her luggage and turns to her friends.

“Thanks for seeing us guys, but as you can probably imagine, I’m a little tired from the train ride so…” She looks up at Jason for a moment before looking back at them, giving a smug smile to them. “I’ll need to spend some intimate alone time with Jason!” With Jason in tow, Marlow heads back to her house where the two spent a sensuous night together. After getting back to work, Jason would frequently visit Marlow everyday after his work while sending any money he can to his family. Jason quickly rose to a new rank as the vice captain alongside Dazlo. Carrying out his duties at sea while living his life with Marlow afterwards. He wasn’t home everyday like Marlow wanted, but regardless, they ended up being a perfect match, constantly showering one another with affection wherever they had the chance.

*1 Year later*

“NATALIA!!!” A year has since passed. Invited once more to the annual Ryugujo Palace to watch the ceremony unfold, Jason brought Marlow with him while Marlow’s friends tagged along. Reeka and Gabriel were also there, talking amongst Detra, Juli, Lil and their husbands. It felt more like a big party reunion. Marlow saw Natalia, one of the previous Merchants that turned good after the incident one year ago. Marlow didn’t give Natalia a chance to react and hugged her with full force, pushing the both of them down on the ground.

“Aaahh! Ma-Marlow!” Natalia looked down and saw Marlow burying her face on her chest. When she looked up at Natalia, she was crying with worry.

“I’m so glad you’re alright! Waaahhh!!!” Behind Natalia was Ameri and Enri. The both of them laughed awkwardly, seeing how much Marlow gushed over Natalia.

“Yes Marlow I’m fine. You can let go now!” Natalia got up, pulling Marlow up with her. When Marlow gathered herself, she took a closer look at Natalia. This time she was wearing a red kimono with floral patterns all over it. Over her Kimono was armor plating that covered her chest, shoulders, forearms, legs, and even feet.

“Whoa...what’s with the armor?” Marlow looked confused.

“Oh that’s right you don’t know do you? You see, after the incident, I was sentenced to serve jail time like Tarvo and Lui, but after being defended thanks to Lady Sasaki, I was given a second chance.” Ameri and Enri placed their hands on her shoulders. “After avoiding jail time, I was given a choice by Lady Sasaki to either start over and find a different way of living, or to serve as her bodyguard. I don’t think I have to tell you what I went with.”

“Incredible! I’m so happy for you.” Marlow looked at Natalia’s physique, seeing that she gained quite the muscle mass. “You’ve gotten pretty bulky too.” Before Natalia could reply, she saw Sasaki move in front of the three guards.

“Being one of my guards does require one to be fit after all. Natalia’s just a human, but she mops the floor with most of the guards here when it comes to combat.” Marlow went to hug Sasaki next, embracing her gently compared to Natalia. “Nice to see you got my invite Marlow…” Sasaki rubs her hand against Marlow’s hair before looking up at Jason.

“There were no incidents this time around right?” Jason asked before Marlow let go of Sasaki. Sasaki was wearing a beautiful white kimono with rose petals and coral design embroidered on it. Her hair was tied in a ponytail this time using a large, yellow ornate hair clip.

“Yes, this time around I had all the guards do a proper sweep and background check of everyone participating before the event starts.”.

“In addition, me and Enri will be overseeing the outer palace as well as the plaza whilst the ceremony takes place.” Ameri added.

“I’ll be in charge of keeping an eye on Lady Sasaki directly, right around the backstage just in case something happens.” Natalia said with a proud smile.

“Indeed, I have made sure that no illegal activity shall take place this time for as long as I’m here!” Sasaki boasted, but while everyone was distracted talking to one another afterwards, Sasaki moved towards Marlow, leaning down and whispering to her ear. “Um...Marlow, you’re not opposed to a monogamous relationship are you?” Hearing that, Marlow wanted to scream out in surprise, but seeing how serious Sasaki looked, she composed herself.

“...you still feel the same way about Jason Sasaki?” Instead of replying, Sasaki just nods. Her face was bright red, envious of Marlow.

“I can’t help how I feel...even after a year has passed, Jason’s the only person I can think of to be my husband. My mother says that I've unintentionally been rude to all the other men who tried to be my suitor for the past year. So I guess I just can’t just ignore what experience I had with Jason.” Marlow pats Sasaki on the head, smiling at her.

“Well...like you said, it’s not up to me to decide who he likes. Personally, if he likes you too, I wouldn’t oppose sharing him with you.” Sasaki’s eyes widened with surprise, but then noticed Marlow holding her belly. “But if you don’t mind, can you wait just a bit longer...just until ‘she’ is born…” Knowing what she implied, Sasaki nods to her with a warm smile.

“Hey, what’re you two whispering to each other for?” Jason walked up behind Marlow, hugging her from behind.

“Oh Jason. It’s nothing really, just us girls having a private chat is all…” With a look of content in her face, Marlow pulls herself up by grabbing Jason’s shoulders. With her face in level with his, she kisses him on the lips, tenderly kissing him before letting go. Everyone saw the endearing moment she had with Jason, all smiling for the two. “Let’s enjoy our time together while it’s just the two of us, because soon, we’ll have the family we’ve both wanted to have.” Jason nodded to her. Holding her bridal style, the two laugh happily as everyone around them clapped and cheered for their happiness.

End of Fanfic