Chapter 29

Deepwater Prison.

"What? You wanna sniff me too?"

Herbert hugged his knees tightly, shrinking pitifully into the corner, wary and defenseless as he stared at the lecherous sea siren.

She's lusting after my body too!

So lewd!

"You… what?"

Mermaid Princess:???

"What nonsense are you spouting? Who wants to sniff you?!"

Fu Leimei stared at him in confusion, her eyes wide, thinking this guy's thoughts were bizarre—even perverted.

Who in their right mind goes around sniffing other people's scent?

"I just sensed a mark of my sea siren clan on you—I thought someone else was being locked in."

"Hmph, fine, don't tell me if you don't want to."

She rolled her eyes hard, no longer wanting to speak to this guy, and sank back into her water sphere.

"Oh? So you don't have any improper thoughts about me?" Herbert stood up, swaying in front of the water sphere and poking the bubble with his finger.

Duang~

"Hey! Anybody home?"

Duang~

"Open the door! Open the door! Don't hide inside and stay silent! I know you're in there!"

"You there? You there? You there?"

After being harassed for a while, Fu Leimei finally responded.

She slammed her face against the surface of the bubble, glaring at Herbert, then spat out a flurry of bubbles.

Glub glub! ("So noisy!")

Too bad.

The sea siren young lady, raised in royal education, clearly wasn't as easily fooled as Miss Hungry Dragon—she refused outright to bite.

Well, being educated really does make a difference.

After being harassed, Fu Leimei declined the conversation invite and went fully offline.

She hardened the bubble's surface into a matte finish, so poking it no longer caused vibrations—she unilaterally severed their connection.

"Alas, the affection has faded, faded away!"

Herbert sighed mournfully, raised a hand to rub his eyes, and turned his head as if trying to hide his tears.

But in truth, he turned away and smiled, silently relieved.

It was confirmed: Fu Leimei now merely found him annoying—not for any other reason.

"It seems she, like Valentina, only has a vague sense but can't determine what exactly this feeling on me truly is."

To be fair, even though the Harmony God-chan is unreliable, the abilities she provides are still amazing.

One more hidden threat eliminated, Herbert exhaled in relief.

"Still, it seems the courtship and transformation of the sea siren young lady won't go as smoothly as with Miss Evil Dragon."

A mind that's been used really does differ.

Hard to fool.

"Food temptation probably won't work much—I need to think of another approach."

"So the question is, what does a sea siren like?"

"Seafood? Handicrafts? Fish catches? Uh… fish is out— I don't want to see fish again for a long time."

Since she refuses to communicate, relentless fawning won't get results—better to temporarily withdraw and use the tactic of feigning disinterest.

Eventually, she'll be the one who can't hold back.

As Herbert pondered this, he bid farewell to Fu Leimei, picked up his battered lantern, and once again passed through the barrier to the next zone.

"I'm back."

In the Prison of No Light, Herbert opened his eyes.

Same darkness blinding his vision, same deep, chilling gloom.

But there was one slight difference.

This time, Herbert no longer felt the path beneath his feet was all the same—he had a strong sense of direction.

"It actually worked."

Herbert hadn't planned to enter the Prison of No Light before the Grand Bishop repaired the array—but a special ability changed his mind.

In 【The Sea Siren Queen's Affection】, there was a blessing that prevented one from getting lost.

With this ability, he wouldn't wander aimlessly in the dark anymore!

Herbert set down his lantern, relying only on the glow from his holy scar to protect him, and strode forward fearlessly.

Soon, he clearly felt his body subtly tilting to the right.

It wasn't influencing his subconscious or twisting his body—it was altering the ground beneath his feet.

Not?

Wow.

That's a bit cheating, isn't it?

You're taking advantage of the fact that I can't fly.

Though if I just ran faster than the terrain changed, I could outpace it—but that'd be a bit undignified.

After walking silently for a while, Herbert spoke softly into the darkness as he moved:

"I know you're watching me, and you're changing the path beneath my feet. If you insist on doing this, it's getting a bit boring, isn't it?"

"Archmage Suvani."

There were two magical creatures imprisoned in this area, but only one of them had the qualifications to influence the Lightless Prison.

【Forbidden Scholar】, 【Shadow Archmage】, 【The Silent One】 — Suvani Moore

From the records, this dark elf archmage was reclusive by nature and unwilling to engage in any communication with others.

Only with her scholarship could she seize an opportunity to forcibly alter the structure of the sealing array.

However, merely knowing who was behind it was useless — Herbert still had no way to reach that place right now.

So he simply stopped walking, stood where he was, and said lightly:

"Last time, my skills were inferior, so I left — I didn't throw a tantrum and roll around begging you to meet with me."

"But this time, I'm no longer being affected, and you're still continuing like this — that's a bit unsportsmanlike, isn't it?"

"You understand that you and I will have to meet sooner or later. Do you really insist on keeping this game going?"

"If you insist on tearing off all pretense… I can make things very unpleasant for you too."

Herbert shook his head, helplessly raised his right hand, and gave a light snap of his fingers.

"For example — like this."

*Snap. *

When the snap faded, the once-silent darkness suddenly emitted a piercing scraping sound.

*Crack! *

Although it lasted only an instant before returning to normal, Herbert had already achieved his goal.

He smiled, shrugged, and said with disarming candor: "That's right, I really can't fully Control the Seal right now, but you… are in the same boat."

If you can seize control, why couldn't I?

"If you don't want to be disgusted by me every single time, then stop hiding."

"You and I meet once, and I won't bother you again today."

"How about it?"

No one answered in the darkness.

But Herbert knew Suvani had heard his words — because the path beneath his feet had stopped shifting.

"Very good."

Seeing the other party cooperate like this, Herbert was somewhat surprised, then quickly walked forward along the path.

Sure enough, without interference, he soon found the prison cell holding the prisoner.

However, this first-meeting scene was a little different from what he'd imagined —

"Hm?"

Herbert looked at the black iron coffin before him, tilted his head in thought, then raised his hand and knocked on the coffin lid.

*Knock, knock. *

The coffin produced an extremely hollow sound, as though nothing had been placed inside.

Empty?

Really empty?

Herbert thought for a moment, drew a breath, leaned his head close to the coffin, and said softly:

"…Are you there?"

*Click. *

At his call, a faint, soft sound suddenly rang out from within the coffin.

*Click! *

Little Ba is Critically Ill, his whole body weak, head aching.

The doctor said the condition needs everyone's continued reading to improve…

So, please, save the child!

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(End of this chapter)