Rody dived into the sea, searching among the coral reefs for a long time without finding a single shell. He figured all the nearby shells had probably been collected by the fish-people, making it unlikely to find any. He thought about going back several times, but the thought of Mitil's expectant little face made him search the seabed over and over. Finally, in a seemingly hidden coral cave, Rody found many shells, all crowded together - big, small, of all kinds, packing the coral cave densely.
Rody was puzzled. Why so many here when there seemed to be none elsewhere? Could this cave be like an elephant's graveyard, but for shellfish? With no time to ponder further, he excitedly picked two shells with the brightest colors and most beautiful patterns, swiftly surfaced, and handed them to the anxiously waiting Mitil.
Mitil joyfully leaped at him, peppering his face with kisses and cheerfully exclaiming how great her brother was. Her face beamed with happiness.
"These are star-patterned and wave-patterned shells, whoa, did you steal offerings meant for the Sea God?" the fish-person cried out in shock upon seeing the shells in Mitil's hands, tremblingly accusing Rody of offending the Sea God by taking the deity's offerings.
"..." Rody was speechless, the shells he fished up from the sea were offerings to the Sea God?
"Human, we must warn you seriously. You're suspected of committing theft and blasphemy. You have the right to remain silent, but everything you say will be recorded and submitted to the Sea Defense Union's Grand Magistrate," a sea monster in armor, apparently the captain of a guard unit, appeared and addressed Rody. His companions surrounded Rody, all gripping their weapons, ready for action.
"Come on, just picking up a shell from the sea and I'm accused of theft and blasphemy?" Rody was about to lose his temper.
"Human, I advise you not to resist. We are well-trained soldiers with rich combat experience..." the captain said, consulting a book before adding, "If you resist, we are authorized to use force, without the limitation of one-on-one combat rules."
"Captain, you forgot to report our badge number and work protocol," a sea monster teammate whispered a reminder.
"Ah, I almost made a grave mistake. Cunning human, don't think of exploiting any legal loopholes. We operate flawlessly, and you can't escape judgment. We are Sea Monster Corps, Patrol Team 1295, working under the watch of the Sea God, in a just, fair, and transparent manner. If you have any complaints about our law enforcement, please contact the Fourth or Fifth Governor of the Sea Defense Union," the sea monster captain saluted Rody with his team, looking serious but then nervously asked his subordinate, "Did I miss anything just now?"
The creatures around applauded, seemingly pleased to see a human's misdeeds being punished. Some, too scared to come close, just peeked out their heads from a distance. The fish-person merchant now looked relieved, as if the sea monster guard team had boosted his confidence.
Rody saw Mitil looking pale and trembling, on the verge of tears but unable to cry. Meanwhile, Moon Night High Priestess seemed to be stifling laughter. When she noticed Rody's gaze, she turned away, clearly unwilling to help him in this predicament.
"No, don't arrest my brother," Mitil burst into tears. She placed the shells on the ground, spread her arms in front of Rody, and shouted for the sea monster guards not to come near. The thought that her beloved brother might be arrested just because she wanted a shell was unbearable for her. "He's a good man, how can you arrest him?" Mitil thought, her heart breaking more with each sob. She cried loudly, firmly protecting Rody, yelling, "My brother is a good person, a kind human, no one can arrest him, you can't do this. He's a good person, a good brother, none of you are allowed to take him! Go away, go away, don't come any closer!"
"The little girl makes it difficult for us…" the sea monster guard captain, a massive creature weighing at least 500 pounds with eight arms, looked helplessly at Mitil.
"Captain, in such a situation, we should first comfort the offender's family," the sea monster team member who previously gave reminders spoke again. The captain, consulting his book, nodded and said, "Yes, article 792 lists ten ways to comfort children, such as giving them candy, which works well. Who has candy?"
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"No one," all the sea monster team members shook their heads.
"I have…" Rody said.
"No, we can't accept your candy; you are the offender," the captain declined Rody's offer, pulling out a card that seemed to be a form of universal currency, and instructed a team member, "Go buy some candy; she's crying too hard!"
"I don't want candy, I just want my brother… You all are big bullies, I don't want your candy!" Mitil cried louder when she heard they wanted to use candy to distract her and take her brother away. Her cries not only gave the sea monster guard team a headache but also drew sighs of sympathy from the surrounding fish-people and various creatures.
"Little sister, we're not bad guys; we're the Sea God's guard team, responsible for protecting everyone's safety and property… In short, we protect a lot of things, including you. Your brother stole offerings meant for the Sea God; he committed a crime and must be judged," the captain patiently explained.
"He didn't steal anything; my brother is a good person; he wouldn't steal!" Mitil, in her heart, held an image of Rody as the world's most perfect brother, incapable of being a thief.
"You see, he fished these shells from the sea, right?" the sea monster guard captain reasoned, trying to comfort Mitil by bending down to her level.
"I don't want it anymore, I'm giving it back to you," Mitil immediately argued. "We're not taking your things now!"
"But that's not okay, he clearly took it just now!" the sea monster guard captain said uncomfortably. "If he were a child, we could forgive his action, but he is an adult, and also a human with evil tendencies, so we must... okay, okay, don't cry, can you stop crying for a moment?"
"If you dare to catch my brother, I'll bite you!" Mitil, desperate to protect her brother, shouted defiantly.
"Be careful, Captain, she looks very angry. Captain, you should be aware of your safety," one of the sea monster team members warned loudly.
"If letting her bite me would get her to listen, then let her do it. She's small, a fairy, and probably doesn't have venomous teeth. I should be able to withstand it," the captain bravely volunteered, yet stepped back and consulted his book, saying, "Maybe there's another way. The book says giving her a favorite toy sometimes works well. What toy does she like?"
"A shell, look, the human just fished one out for her," the fish-people vendor reminded.
"I'm really stupid for not noticing this detail," the captain rejoiced, searching himself, but then slapped his forehead saying, "Oh, I left my big conch shell at home... Does anyone have one?"
"No, we heard the alarm bell and were in a hurry, so we didn't bring anything," the sea monster team members all shook their heads.
"Mr. Captain, she seemed to really like this shell I'm selling. Why don't you try giving it to her?" the fish-people vendor offered helpfully.
"You're really supportive of our work, we'll pay you an extra 5% for your price. Thank you so much!" the captain gratefully saluted the vendor.
"I don't want it, who cares!" Mitil was angry and resented the shell. If only they could have bought it without money, then her brother wouldn't have had to fish for shells and wouldn't be getting arrested. She resented the shell and the fish-people vendor.
"She likes the shells on the ground," Rody, seeing their dilemma, couldn't help but speak up.
"Really? Oh, but... we can't thank you because you're the offender," the captain hesitated to pick up the shells from the ground, remembering they were offerings to the Sea God and also evidence.
"Wuu wuu, brother, Mitil is so sad!" Mitil, fearing Rody would be taken away, clung to his waist and wept loudly.
"No choice, I'll offer a hundred shells in prayer to the Sea God, hoping the great and merciful deity will forgive our mistake. No, the Sea God will definitely forgive us. He wouldn't want to see a child cry tears bitterer than seawater... Poor little girl, don't cry, these two shells are yours. May the Sea God bless you, don't cry, little girl...” The sea monster captain struggled to console the crying child, preferring to fight a dragon than to appease a weeping little girl.
"Don't catch my brother! Wuu wuu wuu!" Mitil naturally cherished the shells Rody personally fished for her, clutching them tightly while also clinging to her brother.
"There, there, don't cry. The guards won't catch me!" Rody wiped her tears and comforted her softly: "It's okay, don't cry!"
"No, we can give her the shells, but you're still a criminal," the sea monster captain emphasized. "You have the right to appeal, but you must come with us..."
"Waaah, waaah!" Upon hearing that her brother was still being taken away, Mitil cried and made a scene, almost rolling on the ground in despair.
"This is really difficult!" The sea monster captain found it hard to take Rody away at this moment. Seeing Rody holding Mitil, who was in tears, the captain scratched his bald head with his huge hand and said to his subordinates: "Let's invite the Grand Judge here! It's impossible to arrest the offender now because the relative is crying too hard!"
"I agree! Agree, I agree too!" The subordinates voted on the spot, unanimously agreeing that it wasn't appropriate to arrest the offender at this time.
"Before the Grand Judge comes to judge your crimes, we will monitor your every move and word. Human, you temporarily lose your right to leave freely, understand?" the sea monster captain said, adding, "If you need, we can provide you with a lawyer, which is your right. You may also defend yourself, but all statements must comply with the maritime law and must not be unreasonable."
"If human city management were half as good as you, the world would be such a beautiful place!" Rody couldn't help but exclaim, "Although your minds are more rigid than stone, it seems not entirely a bad thing. If every guard were like you, indeed the world would have fewer crimes, because arresting with you is too troublesome and painful... This sea monster captain and your subordinates, if possible, I must invite you to the human realm to train human guards, to teach them what a guard should do! Although I don’t want to praise you different species, you really did a great job!"
"Captain, did you hear that? He seems to be praising us!" the sea monster team members were excited.
"A human is actually praising us, how strange!" Some showed a hint of joy, nervously rubbing their eight large hands together.
"Don't be proud, everyone. Although human praise is rare, we must do our job well and not let humans look down on our sea tribe and marine guards," the sea monster captain said seriously, then whispered to his subordinates, "Did he really praise us? Are you sure? I was too nervous and didn’t hear it clearly!"
"See? Didn’t I say the sea tribe is stubborn and quirky?" Moon Night High Priestess chuckled slyly, winking triumphantly at Rody.