Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"What is it?"

"I suspect someone has been secretly monitoring the estate recently," the butler frowned. "The security systems in the southeastern and southern sectors detected faint dynamic traces, initially identified as small mimetic insects used for eavesdropping."

Helunen's voice was low. "Both locations are closest to the mermaid pool."

"Yes..." The butler lowered his head, not daring to meet those sharp eyes. "They were too alert. I tried to investigate but found nothing." Miniature mimetic insects were costly to produce, specialized for espionage, and difficult to capture.

Truthfully, as the residence of a Federation marshal, espionage attempts had never ceased. But Helunen rarely stayed on the capital world, and once the spies realized they couldn’t extract any useful intelligence, they stopped coming.

This time, however, the intruders were lingering near the mermaid pool—was it intentional or coincidental?

Helunen lowered his gaze slightly, weighing the possibilities in his mind. After a long pause, he looked up to find the butler still standing there. "Is there something else?"

The butler hesitated. "Will you... still be going alone this time?"

"Perhaps take Luo Luo with you?"

Helunen regarded him coolly, as if waiting for a reasonable explanation.

The butler swallowed hard and spoke in a rush, "If you wish for Luo Luo to become independent, why not take this opportunity to let him experience more of the world? It might help... Lately, perhaps sensing your impending departure, Luo Luo's appetite has decreased. If this continues, I fear he might develop anorexia."

Helunen had never considered taking the little mermaid along before—or rather, the option had never crossed his mind.

He didn’t believe the little mermaid could develop anorexia. More likely, he’d been snacking too much before meals. As for the servants sneaking treats to the little mermaid, Helunen had simply looked the other way.

But the first half of the butler’s words weren’t wrong.

The little mermaid was overly dependent on him. If he wanted to help the little mermaid gain independence, the floating island's confines were too limited. In such a confined environment, the little mermaid would naturally cling to him. If the little mermaid saw broader landscapes and more magnificent starscapes, perhaps his attention would shift toward the outside world.

...Perhaps a change of environment would indeed benefit the little mermaid.

He had once watched an ancient recording—how humans of old tamed orcas. Orcas were top predators of the deep sea, yet they were captured and confined in narrow tanks by the wealthy, living their entire lives dependent on their keepers, never seeing the ocean or swimming freely. He didn’t want the little mermaid to become like that because of him.

......

Mermaid Pool.

A fish tail dangled lazily above the water’s surface.

Luo Ci lay sprawled on a rock, chin propped with one hand, his small head drooping listlessly. He hadn’t eaten much of the dinner the butler had brought.

These past few days, he’d wanted to test whether he could truly purify those dark shadowy masses, but Helunen had hidden his Spirit too well.

He hadn’t found a single opportunity.

"Hum..."

Hearing the familiar low-frequency hum, he flicked his tail and swam to the window.

A starship was slowly descending onto the lawn not far away.

The starship loomed over the estate, hovering above the grass. Its streamlined design was flawlessly seamless, but Luo Ci knew it was undoubtedly armed with numerous weapons, only to be revealed in times of danger.

A powerful air vortex swirled around it, shaking the trees on the lawn.

Normally, he’d be excitedly pressing against the window to watch, but knowing the starship was here to take Helunen away, he couldn't work up any excitement.

He’d barely touched the dinner brought to him before pushing the bowl away, dejected.

Afraid of startling the little mermaid, the butler coaxed him gently, "Luo Luo, eat a little more. Just a bit, and I’ll take you to see Lord Helunen off."

Luo Ci shook his small head, his eyes downcast and pitiful, his small nose turned pink.

Not only was Helunen leaving without him, but he hadn’t even said goodbye.

Had he forgotten about him?

The butler carried the downcast little mermaid to the front hall.

Luo Ci secretly clutched his chubby tail tip, pretending to be busy and indifferent, but his sidelong glances betrayed him.

His gaze immediately landed on the tall, imposing figure standing in the hall.

He hesitated over whether to greet Helunen first, but before he could decide, a pair of large, strong hands reached out and lifted him up.

The Light Elevator extended from the starship, and Helunen carried him aboard.

Hm?

...Wait, something wasn’t right.

Wasn’t this just supposed to be a farewell? Why was Fish getting taken along?

Luo Ci turned back in confusion, only to see the butler smiling and waving at him.

It took him a moment, his eyes widening in realization—Helunen was taking him along after all.

By the time he came to his senses, he was already sitting bewildered in the starship’s main control room.

Totsuka bowed to Helunen, fluidly reporting his tasks while his eyes unconsciously darted toward the little mermaid in Helunen’s palm.

He hadn’t expected to see the little mermaid again.

Had the little mermaid grown a little? But he was still so tiny—especially perched on the marshal’s palm, peering out with his small head, looking around in bewilderment like a drenched kitten. So small, so adorable.

Ah, even the way he glared was cute...

Helunen’s tone was steady. "Did you hear what I just said?"

Totsuka jolted back to attention and quickly nodded. "Yes, I heard everything clearly."

The files on Diken Star had already been compiled and placed on Helunen’s desk. Before arrival, he needed to review the documents and visuals, leaving him no time to look after the little mermaid. Thus, he assigned Totsuka as temporary caretaker.

"No need to restrict him," Helunen said. "If he’s curious about something, humor him. Your only duty is to ensure he doesn’t get hurt."

Totsuka nodded solemnly, clenching his hands. "Understood."

When Luo Ci was handed over to Totsuka, he wriggled slightly, making Totsuka break into a sweat.

He wasn’t afraid of dropping the little mermaid—but of gripping too hard and hurting him. Especially with his superior watching, this was more nerve-wracking than his promotion exam.

Totsuka cradled the little mermaid steadily in his arms, applying the same precision as mech piloting to prevent any jostling. He softened his trained arms as much as possible to avoid discomforting pressure.

Luo Ci stopped squirming after a few wriggles. While his impression of Totsuka wasn’t great, if Helunen trusted him, that was all that mattered.

*He trusted Helunen, hmph.*

The little mermaid puffed out a string of tiny bubbles.

Totsuka thought his comfort had worked. After he had failed to please the little mermaid last time, he redoubled his efforts. He searched online for the preferences of young sea creatures and taught himself over a dozen nursery rhymes.

Cradling the little mermaid, he hummed the rhymes softly all the way. The little mermaid obediently remained in his hands, and Totsuka thought his singing was working, so he hummed even more enthusiastically.

Luo Ci scrunched his tiny brows, enduring the torturous noise, his soft cheeks scrunching up in distaste.

*This person’s singing is so awful.*

He fought the urge to cover his ears—this guy scared so easily. He'd flinched at the slightest movement. If he covered his ears now, who knows how he’d react?

He held out until they entered the room, then sprang up from Totsuka’s palm, curiously looking around.

This room must be Helunen’s—he caught Helunen's scent.

The room was quite sparsely furnished. The table and chairs were probably meant for receiving guests, usually hidden away. Inside, there was just a bed, a bookshelf, and the shelf was neatly packed with items arranged in order.

Luo Ci couldn’t read, but each stack of documents was taller than he was when standing upright and thicker than his round belly. The sheer volume made him wonder, *Who’d ever read all this?*

Puffing his cheeks, Luo Ci strained to try lifting the stack… but it didn’t budge. Instead, he overexerted himself, toppling backward with a soft *plop* onto the bed. Luckily, the bed wasn’t hard, so it didn’t hurt.

Totsuka grinned at the little mermaid’s adorable antics.

Luo Ci’s attention was soon captured by the inverted scenery outside the window.

The starship was docked briefly at the port, where countless warships crowded the docks, lurking like slumbering metal beasts in the darkness. Their neon lights lit up the night sky as bright as day.

His eyes widened in wonder.

Having never seen so many varied starships before, he pressed his cheek against the windowpane, his chubby cheeks smooshed against the glass.

Totsuka peeked out and explained, “Normally, there aren’t this many starships on standby. It’s just that the sea folk have gone crazy lately… so the port has been on high alert.”

He'd only caught rumors—the sea folk mostly kept to themselves, rarely interacting with other planets. But since their emperor disappeared, they had suddenly gone wild. Planets they'd fought before were suspected of kidnapping their emperor and got hit hard in return.

They even stormed water-rich planets.

“The sea folk won't even talk. They barge in demanding their emperor back. We’re truly innocent—how would we dare kidnap their emperor?” Planets flooded the Star Alliance with complaints.

As one of the permanent members of the Star Alliance, the Federation received a flood of complaints every day.

But the sea folk didn’t belong to the Star Alliance, so the alliance couldn't stop them.

As more and more planets fell victim, the story blew up across the star network, with billions of views. Everyone wondered: what did the Sea Emperor look like? How was he kidnapped? Some said he was taken off-world, not from the sea folk’s home planet. Why was that?

It trended everywhere, with discussions reaching unprecedented levels.

While netizens just gossiped, the military stayed on alert. With the sea folk making such a huge fuss, spaceports were locked down.

Totsuka thanked his stars he was Federation Legion and not the diplomatic corps. Some of his colleagues in the diplomatic service had been whining to him daily.

After the brief stop, their starship set off again.

“Eep…”

Once they left orbit, the starship switched flight modes, emitting ultrasonic waves inaudible to human ears.

His sensitive ear fins quivered. Luo Ci pouted, wriggling his bottom as he burrowed into the pillow, trying to block out the noise. It was like bees in his brain—shaking his head did nothing to drive them away.

Milo’s suction-cup finger extended to cover his ears, providing some relief. Instinctively, he wanted to find Helunen, but when he turned his head, all he saw was Totsuka’s dopey grin.

Luckily, it didn’t last long. Once the flight mode stabilized, the ultrasonic waves gradually faded.

Luo Ci peeked his little head out from the pillow. Totsuka was watching him worriedly. “Is our Luo Luo feeling unwell?”

“Pfft.” A meaningless syllable.

Luo Ci brushed him off, turning his back to flip through the documents on the shelf.

He wanted to learn more Interstellar Language to escape the awkwardness of not understanding others. At the very least, he hoped to communicate with Helunen someday. Besides mimicking sounds, written language was just as important.

Totsuka, however, didn’t realize he was being brushed off. The little mermaid’s glistening eyes reflected the dazzling nebula outside, beautiful as a richly painted canvas.

The chubby little mermaid hugged a thick tome, his soft cheeks rubbing against the pages as he flipped through them one by one.

Totsuka’s heart melted. He didn’t mind the cold shoulder at all, eagerly leaning in. “Does Luo Luo want to read something? Should I read it to you?”

Luo Ci tilted his head at him.

The adorable head tilt made Totsuka blush furiously—thankfully, his dark skin hid it well.

Gently cradling the little mermaid in his palm, he pointed at the words in the document, reading them out syllable by syllable. But the phrasing in the materials was far too complex and profound.

Luo Ci was utterly lost, but the light in his round eyes was unmistakable. Even Totsuka, dense as he was, understood. “Does Luo Luo want to learn Interstellar Language?”

He pulled up *Interstellar Language for Beginners* on his holoscreen. “Let’s start with this, okay?”

It was an interactive lesson combining word spelling with animations, followed by sentences composed of the vocabulary. Luo Ci understood immediately.

This was exactly what he needed.

“Pfft.” Luo Ci wiggled his chubby little hands, eagerly grabbing the screen, his face practically screaming, *This one!*

Totsuka was overjoyed—and a little flustered. He had finally guessed the little mermaid’s intention correctly.

Now he wouldn’t have to worry about how to get closer to the little mermaid!

Being the little mermaid’s first teacher, guiding his babbling attempts at speech, felt like a giant sweet cake had fallen from the sky right onto his head.

Over the next few days of the starship’s journey, Totsuka seized every free moment to hover around the little mermaid. He noticed the little one learned incredibly fast and worried he’d run out of things to teach before he even realized it.

Out of selfishness, Totsuka also taught the little mermaid a few extra words. Pointing at his own chest, he said, “Luo Luo, I’m *gege* (big brother). Say ‘*gege*, *xihuan* (like)’.”

“Ge… *xifan*~” As his body grew slightly, Luo Ci’s face turned red with effort, finally managing to produce a few syllables.

“Yes, that’s right!” Hearing the little mermaid’s babyish attempts at speech filled Totsuka with immense pride—especially when the little one puffed up his soft, obedient face, earnestly practicing the words. He barely resisted the urge to pinch those milky cheeks several times.

Still basking in the sweetness of the moment, Totsuka only snapped back to reality when Luo Ci nudged him repeatedly, pointing at a word.

“Mi… mi?”

Totsuka thought for a moment before it clicked. “You want me to keep it a secret? To surprise the Marshal?”

Luo Ci tilted his face up, pursed his lips, and nodded, then stretched out his plump little tail, his watery eyes full of expectation.

Totsuka wavered for a few seconds between hiding things from the Marshal and the little mermaid’s tail—before swiftly surrendering. He hooked a finger around the irresistible little tail, giving it a careful shake like a pinky promise. “Okay, okay, I promise I won’t tell.”

Now he and the little mermaid had their own little secret!