Chapter 16: Hello!

“Hello!”

“Oh my, it’s been such a long time since we last met—did you miss me?”

Herbert walked up to the water sphere with effortless familiarity and sent a chat request to the mermaid hidden inside.

Come on!

Chat with me!

“Huh? Why aren’t you speaking? Are you shy?”

“Didn’t we have a wonderful chat yesterday? Have you already forgotten our lovely time?”

“You said you were sleeping?”

“Oh my, what time is it? Time to wake up!”

How can someone your age even sleep?

Three or four hundred years old is the perfect age to push yourself.

Get up and have fun!

???

Freyme fumed inside the water.

“I’m ignoring you like this—can’t you read the signs?”

I, the princess, have made my stance perfectly clear—how can you still not understand?!

Glub glub.

Bubbles rose from the water sphere to express her protest; then she turned her back, reshaping the sphere into a frosted texture, barely revealing the shadow within.

Herbert kept muttering to himself while constantly observing the water sphere where Freyme hid.

Hiding?

Do you really think you can stay hidden?

He took off his waist sword, left it sheathed, and jabbed the water sphere directly with the scabbard.

The water sphere looked fluid, but its surface held a thin membrane—no matter how he touched it, it wouldn’t break, and instead rebounded a dissolving force that neutralized his strength.

Receive, deflect, don’t strike.

Herbert’s goal wasn’t to forcibly drag her out—his power wasn’t enough for that.

But now, he didn’t need power.

For a situation like this, being annoying was enough.

For example, how big is the power gap between a mosquito and a human?

Huge.

They’re not even on the same scale; technically, they’re incomparable.

Yet precisely because mosquitoes are so weak—something a single finger could crush—they possess a maddeningly irritating ability.

They drive humans to collapse, screaming and roaring at night, breaking down in tears.

I, Herbert, am now a giant mosquito.

Skilled at poking people.

He jabbed the water sphere’s surface again and again, endlessly delighted.

Poke.

Poke-poke!

Poke-poke-poke-poke…

As he poked, his muttering never stopped, continuously sending chat invitations to the mermaid.

Finally, after Herbert’s relentless harassment, Freyme gave in after ten minutes.

“Enough!”

Splash.

Freyme burst out of the water sphere, glaring at him with her eerie beauty, baring her teeth without grace: “Are you ever going to stop?!”

“Talk-talk-talk! Are you never going to shut up?!”

“Poke-poke-poke! Are you never going to stop poking?!”

“Is this even funny?!!?”

Seeing Herbert grin and nod without a shred of shame, the already taut string in her mind snapped completely.

Snap!

“Aaaaaaah—”

She could no longer hold back, clutching her head and letting out a piercing shriek that sent fine ripples across the water sphere’s surface.

But just as the sound wave neared a critical threshold, the shrill scream vanished instantly—the entire space plunged into absolute silence.

Splash—

The floating water sphere plummeted to the ground, bursting like a water balloon dropped from height, exploding outward in a violent surge upon impact.

The sea creature inside, no exception, crashed down like a dead fish.

Thud!

“...”

Freyme glared at Herbert, lips moving, but no sound came out.

She tried to rise, but collapsed the moment she pushed up—her magnificent tail visibly drying out.

The prison was absorbing magic power at an astonishing rate.

At this pace, she’d be injured soon!

!!!

Freyme realized this, gritting her teeth as she stared at the boy kneeling nearby.

A legendary sea creature shouldn’t be this helpless—even without water, she could manipulate water elements and magic to float in midair.

But this was a prison tailored for each outsider.

Once it detected magic fluctuations beyond the limit, it activated the sealing array hidden within the prison walls.

Yes.

In a sense, the prisoners here were themselves a kind of sealed object.

They were powerful and dangerous—each one alone could trouble another monastery. Only the Mist Monastery dared place them together so casually.

They dared do this partly because the Grand Abbot was present, believing they couldn’t cause trouble, and partly because of these sealing arrays.

When the warden’s position was vacant, the arrays operated at minimum capacity, interfering little with the prisoners.

But when a new warden took office, control of the arrays naturally passed to him.

“...”

In the silent space, time slowly passed; Freyme’s condition worsened, her once-lustrous hair beginning to dry and wither.

Yet she made no plea for mercy—she lay there in a disgraceful posture, expressionless, staring at Herbert.

She had her pride; she wouldn’t lower her head because of this little torment.

Herbert made no reaction either, silently watching her the entire time, his smile unchanged.

After brief contact over several days, Herbert had gained some understanding of these prisoners.

Valentina, though outwardly cold and full of verbal games, was inwardly warm—she scolded him but secretly advised him.

She showed kindness, so Herbert chose to respond kindly.

He used feeding to build goodwill, and warmth to become her friend.

But Freyme was different.

Though she appeared friendly at first glance, acting like a kind, approachable older sister, it was all an act.

Beneath her fake sweet smile lay murderous intent; her seductive voice dripped with malice—no pretense, no flattery, she’d tried to drown him immediately.

She showed malice, so Herbert responded with malice.

This was a small punishment.

Just as Freyme thought the array would continue for longer and prepared to drain her essence to resist further, Herbert raised his right hand—the holy mark on his palm blazed with brilliant golden light.

Snap—

With a phantom sound like shattering crystal, sound returned to the space, magic surged back in, filling the dry gaps.

Instantly sensing the magic, Freyme shed her half-dead state, waved her hand, and gathered vast amounts of water elements—within a few breaths, she recreated the floating water sphere.

She submerged her lower body within the sphere, her upper half exposed, squinting at the warden who still smiled.

“...Hmph.”

After a moment, Freyme smiled, nodding at Herbert.

“You… are good.”

She inhaled, gritted her teeth, and forced the words from her throat:

“Really… very good!”

In response to her sarcasm, Herbert bowed slightly and smiled as he replied:

“Thank you for the compliment—I agree, I’m doing quite well myself.”

(End of chapter)