Chapter 23

After holding Winsor tightly for a while, Lansi asked curiously, "Where's the sea monster that was outside?"

Winsor was silent for a moment before replying, "It's taken care of."

"But I saw black tentacles," Lansi said, worried. "Was it an octopus? Is it going to come back and drag me away?"

Winsor paused again. Strangely, he said, "No."

"How do you know?" Lansi asked skeptically, then joked, "You're not the tentacle, are you?"

Winsor gave a light cough and looked down at Lansi's fishtail. "You're injured. I'll go get you some herbs."

"Wait!" Lansi immediately grabbed his arm. He had been so happy to see Winsor again that he'd forgotten to ask the most important question.

"Did you come here specifically for me? I remember you don't like the shallow sea. Are you okay now?"

He figured Winsor must have been brought back to the deep sea by that giant jellyfish and then returned to find him.

What if Winsor wasn't fully recovered?

What if he worsened his condition just to find him?

Winsor didn't answer right away.

The reason for his earlier fatigue was more complicated than he had let on. It was related to the shallow sea, but not because he was physically unfit for it. Back then, he'd made up an excuse so that Lansi would back off and return with him, thinking Winsor was too unwell.

His plan had been simple—

Lansi cared so much about him that he'd give up his journey and go back if he thought Winsor needed him to.

But Winsor hadn't expected Lansi's obsession with Sunset Bay to be so strong.

Nor had he expected that a passing super jellyfish would take him back to the deep sea on its own.

When Winsor woke up and saw the jellyfish instead of Lansi, he'd nearly ripped it to shreds.

After calming down, he'd found the whole situation both frustrating and a little funny.

He had truly shot himself in the foot.

Still, after a few days, he found Lansi in Sunset Bay again.

He was overjoyed. It felt wonderful to see his little fish again.

And even better—Lansi was worried about him.

"I'm fine," Winsor finally said. "I'm completely healthy now. That won't happen again."

"Really?" Lansi was still suspicious and moved closer. "Let me see your tail."

"I told you, I'm fine."

Winsor tensed a little, but let Lansi touch the scales on his tail.

Before Lansi could say more, Winsor turned and slipped out the cabin door.

Lansi raised an eyebrow as he watched him go.

Fifteen minutes later, Winsor returned with a bundle of brown seaweed.

Lansi gave him a look. "If you'd taken any longer, my wound would've healed on its own."

With the mermaid's natural healing ability, the wound on his tail was almost gone, just a thin scab remaining.

Winsor said nothing and calmly handed over the seaweed. "Eat it. You need the nutrients."

Now it was Lansi's turn to fall silent.

He reluctantly began chewing the seaweed with an audible crunch.

Seeing that Lansi was occupied, Winsor looked relieved and pulled something from behind his back.

He had been hiding it since he came in.

"It came to apologize," he said.

He held up a jelly-like creature. As soon as it appeared, it waved two tentacles toward Lansi:

[Sorry! Please forgive me, great one!]

Then, to show its sincerity, the creature began flashing colors—red, white, green, and finally a vibrant red.

Full-blown special effects.

It even shaped its tentacles into little hearts. Eight in total.

Very sincere.

Lansi frowned and stared. "Isn't this the black monster that was chasing me?"

How had it become so small?

Thinking of how ferocious it had been earlier, he jumped up, grabbed it, and flung it at the wall with a loud smack.

His movements were smooth and merciless.

The creature stuck to the wall with a suction cup and resumed flashing lights, adding another heart:

[Monster? I'm an octopus. My name is Quirrell.]

[Quirrell?] Lansi blinked and looked at Winsor. "Did I hear that right?"

Winsor nodded.

Lansi eyed the flashing creature suspiciously. "It can talk?"

And it seemed intelligent.

He couldn't help but think of Professor Quirrell from Harry Potter—the villain who ended up with another face on the back of his head.

[My name is Quirrell,] the creature repeated. [I'm the guardian of Sunset Bay.]

"Then why did you chase me?" Lansi asked.

Quirrell's lights shifted to a somber red. It looked sad.

[I thought you were human,] it said.

Lansi froze.

[You also noticed something was off, didn't you?]

The jelly twisted its body and stared wistfully out the window.

[Yes, I was created in a human lab—an experiment. A forced fusion of squid and octopus.]

According to Quirrell, it had been born through human interference. Scientists had tried to prove that their new formula could combine traits from multiple species and create something new.

Not only had they succeeded, but Quirrell had ended up unusually smart.

The scientist who named it had the surname Su. He was the one who called it "Quirrell."

[I hate humans. They kept experimenting on me, trying to find my limits.]

Quirrell grew agitated, its lights flashing into a blinding black-and-white mix. Lansi shielded his eyes.

"Quirrell, enough," Winsor said sharply, frowning.

The jelly quickly turned red again, subdued.

Lansi leaned into Winsor's arms, still dazed.

Mermaid vision had its perks, but it also made them overly sensitive.

"Why would humans do such things?" Lansi asked, confused. He turned to Winsor, hoping for a comforting explanation.

Winsor gently stroked his head. His voice was calm, almost cold.

"Because humans realized their bodies aren't strong enough for this world anymore."

Lansi's eyes widened. He felt faint and covered his forehead, pale.

Those words gave weight to the suspicion he'd always had.

He'd always been an optimist. Before the cruise ship incident, he ignored the signs, dismissed the conspiracy theories and end-of-the-world rumors online.

Could they have been true?

Lansi curled his tail tightly and fell silent.

"Lansi?" Winsor reached for him, uncertain if he should offer comfort. His hand hesitated.

Just as he began to pull away, Lansi grabbed it and leaned fully into his arms.

"Don't talk. Just hold me for a while."

Winsor froze.

Meanwhile, Quirrell watched the touching scene. It felt like Lansi was overreacting, but it wisely chose to sneak away while the two mermaids were busy.

It raised a tentacle—and immediately locked eyes with Winsor's cold stare.

Quirrell withdrew the tentacle at once and stuck to the wall, flashing pink light.

Lansi held Winsor for a long time before pulling back slightly. "Are humans struggling this badly now?"

Winsor frowned, uncertain where Lansi's thoughts were going, but answered honestly.

"Yes. The sea level is rising. The land is deteriorating. Species are mutating. It's bad."

Lansi bit his lip. So, it was true.

Part of him had always feared it. Seeing so many sea monsters after waking up only confirmed it.

Yet, hearing Winsor say it out loud... somehow brought a strange sense of relief.

"But you still have me," Winsor said softly. He gently brushed Lansi's tail with his own. "If this world ends, I'll go with you to the very end."

Lansi looked up, stunned. Winsor didn't talk much, but when he did—it was devastatingly sweet.

Flustered, Lansi tried to downplay the moment. "W-we agreed to stay together, after all."

In the Coral Kingdom, that just meant traveling the sea together. It was innocent.

Why did it feel like a confession now?

[Tsk. Lovers.]

Quirrell's snide voice echoed from the side.

The two mermaids looked at him.

Quirrell quickly turned green, painting the cabin an awful shade as a form of protest.

The room went quiet.

Winsor looked away from the jelly and asked Lansi seriously, "Do you like eating octopus legs?"

Lansi covered his eyes. "I prefer takoyaki."

At the same time, he secretly thanked the green light for hiding his blush.

But his tail betrayed him, curling tightly in embarrassment.

Winsor noticed. His little fish's tail always revealed the truth.

Apparently, Lansi had already figured out his feelings and was slowly accepting them.

Winsor was pleased. He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Lansi's forehead while the other still had his eyes covered.

Then, just as Lansi realized what happened, Winsor turned and swatted Quirrell, ruining the atmosphere.

When Lansi looked up again, he saw Quirrell flattened against the wall, flashing no colors at all.

[What did I do?] the jelly muttered.

Then it noticed Winsor's glare and quickly straightened up, puffed out its chest, and said:

[What can I do for you?]

Lansi stared. Then, tentatively, he asked:

[I'm looking for a shipwreck. The Queen Mary. Do you know it?]

Quirrell somehow produced a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and perched them on his eyes, looking very scholarly.

[You've come to the right fish,] he said.

Genius octopus Quirrell—literate and proud.