Pentagoria was a much smaller continent than Sentorale. And as far as the kingdom was concerned, the one who'd discovered it and its people was the Sword Star.

  He was one of the first Transcendants, so he had the privilege of being the first person to fly through the skies unchallenged. One had to remember, after all, that the continent a few thousand years ago was nowhere near as safe as it was right now. Large and very dangerous monsters capable of flight still ruled the skies—ones who could swallow Ascendants whole should they feel threatened.

  In fact, Sir Rolf had been the one to describe the nd as vaguely in the shape of a pentagon, with five roughly equal sides.

  Each of the "sides" was about as straight as a shoreline could ever get in reality, which wasn't very much if you looked closely. It was akin to the result of children drawing the shape out. But the resembnce was simir enough for the comparison to be viable. There was also a massive pentagon-shaped ke smack dab in the middle of the continent. So with two pentagon shapes in the ndmass, it was no wonder the shape soon became the basis of the name it was given.

  One could then ask why exactly the name some dude from some faraway nation used to refer to the continent became its actual name.

  To that, one would simply have to empathize with the Pentagorians. While the Sentorale Continent was a boiling pot of budding nations, city-states, tribal communities, and even nomadic hordes at the time, the Pentagorians had their retively small space entirely for themselves. They didn't even know that, beyond the Great Blue, there were people other than them nor could they imagine that other continents y beyond. So there was no need to distinguish theirs from the rest.

  For the Pentagorians at the time, their continent was the world.

  So when Aizen's name for it traveled through Sentorale, it came to be known that beyond the sea to the far southwest was a pce called Pentagoria. And when those Pentagorians came to know that they were called Pentagorians by others, they simply accepted the title and the name for their continent. After all, they had been isoted from the rapidly advancing Sentorale Continent at the time, so when they were finally discovered, the Pentagorians were nothing more than tribal savages.

  They looked at the wonders of civilization and the innovations from beyond the Great Blue with desire. Knowledge was voraciously devoured until there was nothing to devour anymore.

  And thousands of years ter, here they were, making contact with the Aizen Kingdom's baby.

  'I don't know much about Pentagoria other than that basic bit of history, now that I think about it.'

  Reivan watched Jiji show the Pentagorian envoys around one of the Samsaran Pace's inner gardens. As the nation's ruler, he couldn't meet them personally just yet since they had only just arrived, and there were apparently some convoluted concerns over protecting his prestige and whatnot. But those concerns didn't mean he couldn't sneakily observe them from afar.

  Did he feel like a creep for skulking around like this? Oh, definitely.

  But it wasn't like this was the first time he was doing this. Looking back on the past year, he'd been doing an awful lot of skulking, regurly passing his gaze over his nation's popution to watch out for espers or people with special abilities. It was a bit inconvenient that he couldn't lend the ability out to someone he trusted, meaning he had to do the legwork himself every time.

  All in all, it was honest work. And he was one of the only people who could do it. So that pretty much answered the question of whether he should or shouldn't. The alternative was potentially allowing espers to commit regur massacres throughout the span of his territories, which obviously wasn't okay.

  'They're kind of short, huh...?'

  It was a bit rude to think that, but that was the first thing Reivan noticed about the Pentagorians that came with the Star of Fortune—or rather, Fortuna. They weren't as short as people who had dwarfism, of course. But even the tallest man among them was only about as tall as Jiji.

  Now, his sister wasn't a short stack by any means, but she wasn't particurly tall for a woman either. Besides, there was still a chance that she had some growing left in her, considering the fact that she was only eighteen at the moment.

  Anyway, that meant even Reivan would be at least a head taller than all of them. Of course, it was possible that this group of envoys simply wasn't blessed with tall people. But he doubted it because the Pentagorians having a lower average height than even Arkhanians was a well-known fact.

  "They're kinda short, eh?" Hector shamelessly whispered the thoughts that Reivan deemed too rude to utter out loud. He was taller than Reivan, so he would tower over the envoys.

  "You can't just say that, man.."

  "I'm whispering it. Means I'm saying it in confidence."

  Reivan rolled his eyes. "Just make sure you don't lord it over them when we meet or something. They're not particurly touchy about it, as far as I've heard, but it'd make us look like simpletons to make such a big deal of it."

  Hector crossed his arms and nodded. "That's true. I mean, I don't make fun of you for being shorter than me."

  "...Fuck off. It's not by that much, anyway."

  Reivan had grown to 180 centimeters at some point, which was a perfectly good height by his standards. At the very least, he didn't have trouble reaching things. Hector, on the other hand, measured at 183 the st time they bothered to do it.

  It was only three centimeters and Reivan didn't want to make a big deal about it. But every time it came up, Hector would smirk a little and it irked him verily. They had always liked competing about things since they were children, but there simply wasn't a way for Reivan to ever win on this subject unless he cheated—which he could with [Reality Falsification], but that would defeat the essence of victory.

  He did not need such hollow satisfaction.

  "Heights aside," Hector remarked as his gaze returned to the garden below, adjusting the curtain so it would hide most of his body from view. "Their tan looks nice. No amount of sunbathing is going to make me look like that so I'm kind of envious."

  Reivan chuckled agreeably. Pentagorians were different from Aizenians with their smooth milky white skin, or from pale Arkhanians who were raised in cold environments. Their bronze skin tone wasn’t a result of basking in the sun either.

  It looked nice paired with their primarily bck hair, honestly. There were young women among the foreign delegation, and they were only a few years older than Reivan. Needless to say, they looked very appealing in an exotic sort of way.

  Of course, he wasn’t going to make a move on any of them. He was just noting their beauty, and there definitely wasn’t anything wrong with that. Being married didn’t make him blind, after all.

  ‘I can’t tell what Earth ethnicity they look like… Definitely not Indians. Maybe Egyptians? Not that I know a lot about what they look like, so maybe I’m wrong.’

  This was the problem with being stuck in bed for the majority of one’s life and only having anime and reading as a hobby. He wasn’t very well-traveled as far as Modern Earth ethnicities were concerned.

  The Pentagorians could have been Spanish, Southeast Asian, Greek, or Mexican, for all he knew. Maybe they weren't simir to any of those either.

  Unfortunately, he couldn’t use their clothing as a clue because Pentagoria had integrated Arkhanian culture for the most part. In other words, they dressed like Arkhanians—except they didn’t limit themselves to the usual monotone color schemes. Nowadays, their native culture is just a novelty that's seasonally celebrated during festivals.

  In any case, none of that was as important as the fact that some of the envoys were mermaids.

  “Are you sure they’re mermaids, though?” Hector raised a brow, still doubtful. “They're missing the one big thing that mermaids are supposed to have.”

  Reivan shrugged. “That’s what my ability says. Don’t ask me. I don’t get to decide what I see.”

  Mermaids actually did exist in this world, and there were even ancient records of them. But the homunculi and espers of this world recently disappointed him with how they diverged from his actual perception of them. Even elves weren’t the beautiful woodnd protectors that he would have loved to meet, but rather knife-eared little gremlins that looked like they'd have a horror game about them.

  So with all the let-downs, he was mentally ready for mermaids to be different from his imagination as well.

  Not according to ancient records though.

  Instead of the fish with human legs that Reivan conceived in his mind, mermaids were closer to the First King’s description of them—humans with a fish’s tail as their lower half. Of course, there was the added appendages of gills at their sides and the absence of a nose, almost as if they were cospying Lord Voldemort himself.

  But honestly? He would take it. It was close enough. Who was he to compin?

  ‘These ones look human, though. So what the hell is happening?’

  Just to make sure, Reivan checked one of the mermaids again.

  ════ ?★★★? ════

  Name: Yara

  Species: Mermaid

  Realm: Mortal

  Age: 23

  Sex: Female

  Might: 102

  Special Abilities

  [None]

  Extra Skills

  [Ocean Manipution]

  [Lesser Aquatic Creature Dominance]

  [Qi: Unleashed]

  Elemental Affinities

  [Water]

  Disposition: Respectful Vigince

  Favor: 14

  Threat Level: N/A (This unit is too weak)

  ════ ?★★★? ════

  “Yep, it definitely says mermaid.” Reivan nodded. “And the dudes are mermen.”

  “Mermen…?” Hector echoed in uncertainty. “What’s that? Is it the male version or is it a completely different species altogether?”

  “Not sure, but I’m willing to bet that it’s just a male version. There might be differing racial abilities. I dunno.”

  “Okay…” Hector scratched his head. “What do you think they’re here for?”

  Reivan shrugged. “Why’re you asking me? Hell if I know.”

  Chuckling, Hector unenthusiastically pumped his fist in the air. “All hail, His Excellency’s boundless wisdom.”

  “All hail, all hail,” Reivan rolled his eyes, though he failed to keep his amusement out of his voice. “I mean, who knows? Maybe they’re here to protest about all the fish we’re eating?”

  “Why don’t we ask those people from Fortuna? The mer… Merpeople? I’m gonna call them that now.”

  Ironically, his friend had stumbled upon the actual term for the half-fish people so Reivan could only nod. “Sounds good. Let’s use that.”

  “Right. Well, the merpeople came with Fortuna, yeah? Maybe the tter knows something. May as well probe them, no? It’s not like we have to act pretentious with them. You’re already acquainted after all.”

  “That’s what I was pnning, actually.” Reivan nodded. “That’s where we were headed before we got… distracted.”

  Hector chuckled. “Yeah, those girls down there look good. Especially downstairs, if you know what I mean.”

  “...Hey, just so you know, I wasn’t appraising them in that area,” he lied. “Also, can you shut up? You’re gonna get us both in trouble… The walls in this pce have ears.”

  Before his old friend could retort or say something that would have their wives livid, Reivan briskly walked down the halls of his pace.

  ════════════════════════════════

  When Reivan stepped into one of the private reception rooms in the Samsaran Pace, he was met with the sight of a familiar face.

  “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Your Excellency,” Kalman Adamantes, the slightly rotund and slightly aged heir of Fortuna, smiled and bent his waist for a deep bow, leaning on an elegant bck cane.

  “It’s good to see you as well, Kalman,” Reivan spoke casually, dispensing with formalities because he was technically the ruler of the nd they were talking about. Yet he still reached forward for a handshake, for old time’s sake.

  Kalman seemed to appreciate this as he firmly grasped Reivan’s offered hand, a comfortable warmth between their palms.

  Suddenly, the middle-aged merchant seemed to remember something. “Forgive me for asking this so soon, but I’m a bit confused by you holding multiple titles. You are both the Hierarch of Samsara and a prince of the Aizen Kingdom. Which do I refer to you with?”

  “While in Samsara, I intend to assume the identity of the Hierarch.”

  “I will take note of this, Your Excellency.” Kalman nodded his head before gesturing at the young man beside him. “Ah, and this is my protege. He’s not my son, but he’s an Adamantes as well.”

  A young man who seemed to be around Reivan’s age bowed just as low, surrounded by a graceful calm that belied his apparent age. “It is my greatest honor to make your acquaintance, Your Excellency. This humble merchant is named Servacci Adamantes. Though I may ck in many things, honesty and trustworthiness will not be among them.”

  “It’s nice to meet you as well, Mr. Servacci. It seems like we’re around the same age, so I’m looking forward to working with you.”

  “As do I, Your Excellency. As do I.”

  Reivan also offered the young man a handshake, which was also gratefully accepted. In the meantime, he used that short period to observe the other party further.

  ‘He’s… Perfectly ordinary, huh?’

  As far as his abilities were concerned, at least. Servacci’s grip was not particurly strong nor did his hands have the calluses of someone who brutalized their hand through intense training —though that may have been prevented by medicine and whatnot. He had a normal adult male’s Might, in other words, and he also didn’t have any special abilities. No extra skills or elemental affinities either.

  The young man was, however, incredibly handsome. So much that even Reivan had to acknowledge it.

  Feature-wise, it was clear that Servacci was of Pentagorian descent, though he wasn’t a mermaid. He did have their light bronze skin and dark hair, plus a striking pair of green eyes that most definitely weren’t Pentagorian. Furthermore, Servacci was as tall as Reivan so he was clearly of mixed heritage.

  ‘Man, I thought something crazy would show up.’

  Like the Sons of Arkhan’s mysterious special ability holder that could create teleportation gates that only certain people could use. It would have been nice if that person revealed themself, but reality was rarely ever as accommodating.

  Reivan sat down first, gesturing for the two to follow. Meanwhile, Hector had taken up a spot near the wall behind him, taking the role of his bodyguard.

  The other side seemed to have no guards to speak of, but that may have just been a small gesture that they trusted Reivan and Samsara as a whole. It wasn’t for ck of a sufficient force, Reivan was sure of that. They had Custodians after all—Fortuna’s attempt at creating a force simir to knights.

  “I’m not as young as I’d like to be.” Kalman broke the momentary silence that followed by gently patting his protruding belly while setting aside his bck cane. “And I believe that in this era of new horizons, a… fresher perspective might be useful.”

  “An admirable insight,” Reivan readily praised.

  “Servacci will be an advisor and an assistant to me, Your Excellency,” the rotund merchant said with a beaming smile. “He knows about the matters that caused the change in Arkhan as well. And for many things, he will be my representative. After all, I will be personally focusing on the expansion in Aizen.”

  ‘Heh. Look at this guy, he’s not even trying to hide how pleased he is.’

  Slightly before the whole debacle with the Sage King, Aizen and Fortuna had made some deals below the table. Essentially, in exchange for the technology behind the trains and transfer of the entire logistical transport industry to Fortuna, they would, in turn, grant Aizen a one-time use sve key for the Gdiator King. There were lump sums involved too, but the ridiculous amount of money that would make most people salivate was irrelevant between the two, who had no problem accruing wealth.

  Because of the unintended results of killing the Sage King, however, the entire railway system and even the relevance of train stations were nonexistent now. So in truth, the only thing Fortuna got from this was the blueprints of a train.

  Now, Aizen could have argued that they weren’t at fault for the sheer destruction that ensued. Because they truly weren’t, and it was all the fault of that stupid midget elf that showed up unexpectedly. The Sage King and the War God were also at fault because they fought wildly or used rge-scale techniques that caused so much destruction.

  But the kingdom didn’t want resentment to form between Fortuna and Aizen. Not to mention how utterly idiotic it was to risk alienating a potential ally when they could befriend them instead. And besides, the profits the kingdom obtained from the Sage King’s death were immense.

  Just listing off the top of his head, Reivan could count five: the acquisition of the Sanctuary, enabling knights to form contracts with spirit beasts; hundreds of Ascendant battlemages that were rescued from Argonian Witch Hunters; possession of the Tower itself; the allegiance of the Four Grand Magus Families; and the deepest secrets of Arkhan’s magitechnology.

  That didn’t even include the more practical gains of removing a very dangerous neighbor from the equation, especially one that could apparently become an Empyrean just by killing certain spirit beasts.

  With all the ways they profited from all of this, Aizen did not mind personally compensating Fortuna for the losses it incurred. Fortuna, however, had refused this, stating that their side's massive loss of assets was nobody's fault. No matter how the kingdom's representatives tried to change their minds, they remained steadfast.

  Instead, Aizen allowed Fortuna to expand its business ventures into the kingdom out of goodwill.

  It was, of course, clear to both sides why Aizen offered the proposal in the first pce. With Arkhan gone, the kingdom was essentially offering its own arm for Fortuna to tch onto. If things went well, their fates would be intertwined enough that Fortuna would break its rock-hard stance of neutrality to help Aizen against Argonia.

  ‘Nobody really knows how that’ll really turn out though.’

  “I feel the need to remind you,” Reivan began, his voice sober, “that the royal family has patronized the services of purveyor companies for centuries. Some business retions have even sted more than a millennium.”

  “We understand, Your Excellency.” Kalman nodded, his expression was without a hint of worry.

  “I don’t think you do…” Reivan muttered to himself before sighing. “Kalman, these families and companies have served the royal family for generations. Numerous generations. And that has weight, in Aizen. We value loyalty very highly, even more so than ability.”

  Personally, Reivan didn’t really dig deep or try to build a retionship with the royal purveyors. But he’d used their services plenty of times. And whenever he wanted something, his mind automatically thought of having them procure it. He could literally ask for anything too, and they would provide it within a few days as long as it wasn’t something unreasonable like a castle or something.

  They were the real deal, and their roots ran incredibly deep.

  Of course, their power was never going to impose on the royal family’s authority because it came from the royal family. The moment House Aizenwald stopped patronizing them, they would lose it all. That was also why they weren’t a threat and Reivan didn’t really care about them outside of using their services.

  It was a loveless business retionship that had persisted for a very long time, but the royal family valued them for it.

  That’s why it was never going to be easy to make it big in Aizen unless the purveyors allowed it. The only reason Elsa did so well in the kingdom was because Reivan backed it secretly, and the purveyors stayed away after noticing that Elsa was getting special attention from an Aizenwald.

  It risked outing the whole affair, but the purveyors had tight lips. They would have to, if they wished to continue serving as royal purveyors.

  “You are allowed to operate in the kingdom,” Reivan sighed and crossed his legs. “That does not mean we will actively try to help you. Of course, we won’t particurly hinder you, but…”

  Kalman finally seemed to sober up at Reivan’s insistence, bowing deeply once again. “I appreciate your warning.”

  “Conspiracies will bloom,” Reivan continued in a grave tone. “Before the ink of every contract is dry. They will twist the intentions of every cuse, all while obeying them to the letter. They will lie and cheat to hide their sins, all while waiting to drag into the light those of their rivals. They will use the w as a tool for their ambitions and hide behind every protection it affords them.”

  He heard Servacci gulp, though that may have been because of his sharp senses and not because the young man was a loud gulper.

  “That is how they fight, Kalman of Fortuna.” Reivan chuckled. “I don’t intend to make light of you or what your ancestors have built up until now. But Aizen’s home-grown conglomerates are something else, and so are the sharks who lead them. It is different for me, whose purpose in life is not to accrue as much as I can so I may pass it on to my children. I will likely be alive for a very long time and I’m a prince, so I’m never in a rush. Mundane mortals, in that sense, are terrifyingly voracious in comparison.”

  He knew more about this than he wanted to know. Because back when he was debating on how much protection he should grant Elsa, Reivan investigated the hidden competition between the purveyors that he would never have noticed if he hadn’t dug at all.

  With the things he discovered and the extent of the sheer dirtiness of the conflicts, he had promptly protected Elsa’s interests as much as he could without outright ciming that she was his subordinate. Better to spare her from the trauma and harassment.

  “You are a big fish that has dominated many waters.” Reivan shrugged. “But our nation is a small pond with very big fish in it as well—fish that have thrived in that pond for centuries without being unseated. They have fattened up nicely and they do not like sharing if they don’t have to. Do take care.”

  “I shall, Your Excellency.” Kalman grinned, shark-like and so very unlike the kind, portly man he seemingly was. “Even more, now that I’ve heard how insistent you are. In fact, I find myself looking forward to it.”

  ‘I suppose he’ll do fine, then.’

  Moving on from the topic, Reivan signaled Hector to pour them some refreshments, and his friend grudgingly complied. Of course, the “grudgingly” part was not shown on the man’s face.

  “So,” Reivan cleared his throat and spoke as if commenting on the weather. “The voyage with the Pentagorian envoys seemed to have been wrought with some unfortunate accidents.”

  Kalman, ever the sharp man, seemed to immediately clue in on what Reivan was really inquiring about. “Yes. We took them with us because they asked a favor, so we’re frustrated that we couldn’t safeguard them properly. If only we could have guarded them with Ascendants. But the treaty...”

  “I understand.”

  “It seemed as if they wanted to establish better diplomatic retions with Aizen, and subsequently, the newly established nation of Samsara. I can only wish them good luck in their endeavor, for I have no talent in diplomacy on a national scale. Nor do I have the desire to… meddle in them.”

  Reivan smiled in response as he read between the lines.

  ‘So it was just a favor and Fortuna’s not necessarily backing them. Alright, I understand.’

  “Then have you sensed anything strange about the envoys?” Reivan inquired testily.

  “Strange, Your Excellency?” Kalmar’s thick, bushy brows furrowed a little. “I don’t quite understand. They all seem perfectly fine in my eyes. The Pentagoria and Southern Seas are unaffected by the unnatural heat in the mainnd, so the voyage here was comfortable outside of the occasional sea monster attack.”

  Reclining on his chair and resisting the urge to scratch his head, Reivan made himself clearer, even at the threat of being a little too blunt. “I was just wondering if all the envoys are truly working for who they say they’re working for.”

  “Oh.” Kalman rubbed his shaved chin contemptively. “I see. If you are worried about that, I can only offer you my word. I believe that none of them are Argonian sympathizers. I understand that you are worried, but I’m quite certain that they are working for the good of Pentagoria.”

  ‘No, you don’t understand... But I guess this is fine too. This confirms that you don’t know about the mermaids, at least.’

  Reivan had just been waiting for [Lie Detection] to activate, but it never did. Which meant Kalman wasn’t lying. Or, Kalman simply believed what he was saying was the truth.

  Deciding that the mermaid query was a dead-end for now, Reivan swapped over to another topic.

  “About the Gdiator King…” Reivan hesitantly began. “How is he doing, if I may ask?”

  “Ah, Master Jerme, is it?” Kalman nodded, surprisingly respectful of someone who was technically a sve to Fortuna. “He has expressed interest in staying in the kingdom, seeing as we’ll be focusing on operations there soon. Of course, his motives aren’t to help us, but simply because he’s curious about what life there is like. I was actually supposed to inquire if he was allowed to do so.”

  “Is that so? I don’t think my brother would mind. But you should talk to him yourself when you get there."

  ‘I’ll have to give him advance notice so he can return from wherever he might be, then.’

  No matter how powerful Aizen was, suddenly having a Transcendent stay in its territory was going to be a big deal. This wasn’t even at the level of a Hollywood celebrity staying in some small town in the boonies. A Transcendent would have to be near the foreign Transcendent at all times, essentially serving to check them and prevent any funny business.

  Saintess Frey was a bit of an exception because of her unique disposition and nature. But the Gdiator King would not receive such special treatment.

  If the Transcendent made one wrong move, Sir Rolf could cleave him in two without much trouble. Especially with how close the Sword Sanctum was.

  ‘I heard the Gdiator King was a bit of a hedonist. I suppose he’s coming to experience a luxurious lifestyle in Aizen?’

  In any case, all of the topics he wanted to talk to Fortuna’s people about were, unexpectedly, answered quite quickly. Now he felt somewhat awkward about not having anything else to talk about.

  Luckily, Servacci seemed to have something to prevent silence from overtaking the room for too long.

  “Your Excellency,” the young merchant protege said, with a bit of hesitation. “I actually had the pleasure of walking around the town st night.”

  Reivan hummed in acknowledgment. “I’m aware that Lageton isn’t pretty at the moment.”

  “Oh, no. No. I wasn’t concerned about that.” Servacci shook his head. “I cannot truly fathom the destruction wrought by Transcendents and their peers, but I know that it is so great that mere mortals cannot recover so quickly.”

  “Then…?’

  “I was wondering why there is such a rge volume of people walking around with firearms. It's rather arming, to be honest.”

  Reivan licked his lips and just barely resisted clicking his tongue. Not because he was annoyed at Servacci, but because the other man had brought up one of the problems Reivan had been contempting for a while.

  “While we do have Custodians who surpass the need to fear gunfire,” Servacci continued. “Most of our personnel, such as I, are still quite vulnerable to them. Fortuna values its employees very highly and I’m simply concerned for their safety.”

  “That’s a very reasonable concern to have,” Reivan nodded. “It’s just that Argonia’s presence still looms in the minds of many citizens, and carrying firearms is their way of… shall we say, setting those minds at ease.”

  “I see… So this will not change in the near future?”

  “My administration is working to steadily improve the citizens’ feeling of safety. But that is our goal, yes.”

  “So that’s it…” Servacci looked down in contemption for a few seconds before continuing. “Would it be fine to simply outw it?”

  Reivan shook his head. “That is a very drastic answer that I do not feel is warranted. I was thinking more along the lines of restrictions on what caliber of weaponry can be carried around outside.”

  “All guns are fatal to the mundane like me, Your Excellency. But I suppose it would be enough to simply restore it to the state it was in before the Arkhanian cataclysm. Guns were not necessarily forbidden at the time either.”

  “That is the aim, yes. I believe the problem isn't the w, but rather, the troubled times that make them feel the need to carry those weapons. They feel endangered. And it falls upon me to alleviate those concerns.”

  Servacci lowered his head. “Thank you for accommodating my curiosity, Your Excellency. And I apologize if I may have come off as rude.”

  Reivan shook his head and smiled. “I have suffered no rudeness and I understand your concerns. Make no mistake, however, that my staff and I are aware of the problem. And we are working to fix it.”

  “That sets my heart at ease. Thank you, Your Excellency.”

  Some inconsequential small talk followed after that, before Reivan parted from Fortuna’s bigwigs, Hector shadowing him like a slightly taller guard dog.

  “Well,” Hector remarked when they were far away enough. “That ended up being a useless conversation. We confirmed nothing of import.”

  “What? No. Are you dumb?” Reivan raised a brow as he gnced back. “We confirmed they don’t know anything about the merpeople. Finished pleasantries with Fortuna’s future Samsaran representative. And we have moved forward the negotiations about the Gdiator King’s participation with our darkin pns.”

  “I guess…”

  Still, Reivan couldn’t get the mermaids out of his mind.

  Nor could he completely get over the tiny part of him that was disappointed about not seeing traditional mermaids with their seashell tops and apparently serene singing voices.

  Lire