BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Sponge found herself seated on a plush red chair inside Khestri's boat, her hands nervously clenched in her lap as she observed Khestri drinking wine in front of her. The scent of wine lingered in the air as Khestri spoke.

"You must be some kind of outsider, no? I have never seen your face before," Khestri remarked with a smile, leaning on the table and swirling the wine in her hands.

"Perhaps you just hadn't noticed me," Sponge replied, observing Khestri take another sip of wine.

"Hn… I would remember if I saw you—your face is something I have never seen before… you are not from Aquithis," Khestri noted.

"Someone shouldn't ask so many questions," Sponge retorted as Khestri smirked, a glint in her eyes. "Tell me your name, and I will."

"Sponge," she replied, causing Khestri to burst into laughter. "Sponge? Oh, goodness, what a hilarious name—" Khestri wiped a tear from her eye as Sponge glowered, letting out a small huff. "Oh well, you did give me your name, so I won't ask further," she shrugged, draining her glass before pouring another almost to the brim.

Sponge eyed her glass before meeting Khestri's gaze.

"You're interested in the painting?" Khestri asked, a knowing look in her eyes as Sponge flinched. "How did you—"

"I saw you on the deck looking over the backstage. In fact, I saw you climb up the deck. I wasn't sure what you were searching for until I saw you follow this case," Khestri indicated, placing a hand on the case beside her chair, a smile playing on her lips.

"Are you the one who commissioned this theft?" Sponge inquired, to which Khestri giggled, waving a dismissive hand. "Of course not! I only won the bid, but I could never commission the theft of such a beautiful painting," Khestri explained with a smile. Sponge gave her a puzzled look.

"What do you plan to do with it then? Add it to your collection?" Sponge asked, watching as Khestri stood up and walked towards another painting on her wall. "Come, see this beautiful painting of mine that I had commissioned," Khestri invited, motioning for Sponge to follow.

Sponge's eyes narrowed as she stood, glancing at the case before approaching Khestri. The painting depicted Khestri, and Sponge observed it before turning back to Khestri, who was gazing at it longingly. "It's a beautiful painting, don't you think?" she remarked, leaving Sponge puzzled about Khestri's intentions.

"How narcissistic to call yourself beautiful," Sponge retorted, to which Khestri snorted, playfully rolling her eyes and waving a hand. "Oh, don't make me laugh," she retorted as Sponge stifled a sigh.

Khestri's expression turned nostalgic, and she sighed softly. "Do you know why The Crystal Flower of Saphria is a painting?" she inquired, catching Sponge off guard.

"No," Sponge responded.

Khestri mused, touching the frame of the painting on the wall. "I suppose you know how the sailor and Goddess Saphria met, then?" she questioned. Sponge nodded, wary but intrigued, and Khestri smiled. "Good, good, it all began from there, actually."

"Do you want to know what happened next?" Khestri asked, but Sponge shook her head in silence. "The sailor and Saphria loved each other deeply, but they failed to consider the mortality of the sailor compared to the immortality of Saphria. His lifespan was shorter than hers."

"The sailor passed away," Sponge remarked.

"He did. He succumbed to old age, but he also suffered from a sickness that made him forget everything—his family, friends, everyone he knew," Khestri added.

Sponge gazed at the painting on the wall, noticing the intricate details. "He no longer remembers Saphria… Was he the one who painted it?" she inquired, turning to Khestri, who was now admiring her own painting with a small smile.

"He no longer recalls her face. He tried to, but Saphria's beauty couldn't be easily captured," Khestri concluded, causing Sponge to blink in realization.

"Oh," Sponge murmured, unsure of what to say. "So, all this time, the Crystal Flower of Saphria was a painting of her lover's? It was never a crystallized flower to begin with?"

Khestri turned to Sponge, "Are you planning to take the painting from me?" she inquired as Sponge kept her focus on the painting.

"What are you planning to do with it?" Sponge asked, her tone serious as Khestri chuckled. "I intend to return it, of course. I realized it was stolen the moment I saw the painting, but the city has yet to inform the public that the Crystal Flower of Saphria was stolen."

"How did you know?" Sponge asked, to which Khestri only smirked, a gleam in her eyes.

"What else do you wish to know, outsider? I thought we were refraining from questions beyond personal gain?" Khestri countered as Sponge huffed. "You're not from here either, are you?" Sponge grumbled, observing Khestri tidy up the table before picking up the case and placing it there.

Sponge followed her, watching as Khestri opened the case, the golden frame of the painting shimmering. "It's truly beautiful. I have seen it so many times, yet its beauty never ceases to amaze me," Khestri expressed, filled with awe and emotion.

Sponge glanced at her briefly before returning her gaze to the painting. "You might be the first person to say that."

Khestri scoffed, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," she remarked.

"They could never understand the sailor's emotions when he created this, the fear of forgetting someone you love," she whispered.

Sponge leaned closer to the painting, "You speak as if you were there when it occurred."

Khestri paused momentarily before clearing her throat. "What if I was? Would it change anything?"

Sponge turned to her, a pensive expression on her face before letting it go. "No, I suppose not. You plan to return the painting, right?"

"I do," Khestri affirmed, glancing at the wall clock and smirking. "Maybe what you need to do is return to save your friend, Sponge," she suggested, a glint in her eyes as Sponge's widened, taking a step back, away from Khestri, who turned to her, looking smug and amused.

"How did you—" Sponge started, but Khestri cut her off.

"Go. I will handle this return. You need to go back and rectify the injustice happening in Aquithis," Khestri whispered, surprising Sponge.

"You're—... are you…" Sponge trailed off, but Khestri only tilted her head, smiling. "I'm what? Come on now, go and save your friend, and prevent the wrongs being committed by the people of Aquithis," she whispered.