Arista looked at the form of her sleeping sister, taking care to not make too much noise or drawing the girl's attention. Just like their cetacean namesakes, Dolphin-Mermaids slept with half their brains still active and were extremely sensitive to anything that could register as trouble, even barely. It was more like a meditative state or the twilight of consciousness just before falling asleep than full vigil, though. The time they needed to rest was still the same.
At the bedside hovered the staff with her robes draped over it, a legendary artifact if she ever saw one used as a glorified magical coat hanger. She knew several powerful people would frown at the mundane use for the item. But Adyra had this practical side to her, and Arista liked it. When she became Queen, it would be very useful to her.
It was the true purpose of this trip. Get the young Royal's metaphorical feet grounded, give her a worldly view of how surface society worked. Give her a few lessons. Expose her to some risky experiences in a controlled environment. Even now, the reincarnator knew some groups plotted to attack and steal her sister's artifacts.
The mermaid kidnappings weren't part of her plans and happened spontaneously. She could've solved it in a few hours instead of going through all this. But she knew the kidnapped mermaids were fine, as much as a kidnapped person could be. Her extended Detection Perks pinpointed exactly where they were. It was time for a visit.
She became ethereal and invisible to any mortal eyes before she slipped out of the room. Few rogues could beat her [Grandmaster Surreptitiousness], a higher-order [Stealth] skill. Even with her acute senses, she didn't notice Adyra stir lightly in her half-sleep when the girl noticed the lack of a distinct presence in the room.
"Be back soon, sister," the young Princess mumbled.
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Once away from the inn, Arista dashed toward the place the mermaids were currently being kept. While she wanted Adyra to rescue them, she couldn't bear in her heart to leave them in such a stressful situation. Slipping past the magical wards of the underground facility where, if everything went according to plan, the final showdown would happen, she reached the large swimming pool where the captors held them.
She rose a privacy barrier and dispelled her abilities. The mermaids rose to the surface, curious about the newcomer.
"Greetings, sisters," Arista said with a grin.
"Princess. You came to rescue us!" One of them, which she recognized as Genowefa said. The long and diaphanous yellow and blue fins on her tail mesmerized Arista. It tugged at some parts of her heart where deep-seated wounds rested, barely scabbed over.
"Calm down, girls," Arista raised her hand to calm them down. "Yes, we came to rescue you. Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"
By the pristine state of Genowefa's fins, she knew the answer. It was good to let them vent, anyway. "We're fine. They wouldn't dare harm their merchandise," another one, Mirabel, scoffed.
"Did the men do something to you?" She asked carefully.
The five mermaids let out a sigh of annoyance and frustration.
"No, they didn't do anything! Even when we asked! Can you imagine?" Tyra, with her light link tail and transparent fins, vented out, annoyed. "They said, 'we wouldn't dare harm the merchandise'!" She grunted and made something like a sultry gormandizing groan. "I've been ten years without a man! They were already erect! Was it asking too much to just..."
"Yes," Mayala, with a silvery tail and short fins added. "They pleased themselves next to the tank we were held in, denying what we wanted. It was torture!"
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"Okay, I got it. Look, sisters, surface people have different views on this. They think women that were never touched by men are worth more."
"But these naive fries have no experience!" Tyra protested, then purred, "They don't know how to really please a man!"
"That they do. But surface people are strange like that. That's why I worked on those new islands. To give our girls a place to meet and spend some time with men, get some experience and put some fries and calves in the oven. Now, listen.
"I brought Adyra with me. It is her first time on the surface proper, and I'm teaching her some lessons. I could take you out of here now, and bring you home, but I want to play this little game with her. Have her maneuver in human society, have her try and find you with minimal input from me. I think it will make her a better princess and a wiser Queen, especially if I am no longer around.
"So, I won't force you to stay here. If you want to go back home now, I'll do it. But I would like you to think on holding the charade for a bit longer, so Adyra can complete her task."
It was Genowefa that snorted and laughed. "Don't you think she will be mad at you knowing you fooled her?"
"Honestly, I think she knows this is just a game," Arista answered. "She knows very well I could just come and get you. But she also wants to prove her worth."
Tyra pushed her chest out of the water, balancing her belly on the pool's edge. "I'll do it, on one condition. I bet the other girls will also agree."
"What is it?" Arista asked, already regretting doing so.
Tyra went for the throat, "We want lots of men to f...."
Arista sighed, forcing herself to ignore the last word the horny mermaid said.
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Adyra woke up and stretched on the bed. It wasn't the first time she's done so but it was still strange. The bed was too still, too stiff, too constricting. Nothing like sleeping rocked by the gentle waves of the ocean.
"Good morning, sunshine," her sister greeted. After blinking the torpor out, she noticed the silver-haired fairy sitting on the floating staff. "Did you find the pea?"
The [Princess] had to sift her memory. "Those green vegetables that grow in pods. What about them?"
"I put a pea under your mattress," her sister said sheepishly.
"Did you? No, I didn't feel anything, just the straw," Adyra answered unaware of the expected answer.
"Damn," the fairy clicked her tongue. "And I thought you were the real deal. Nevermind," she added when Adyra made a confused face, "Let's start our day. We need to investigate the docks today."
"Right!" Adyra said. "Find that ship and the kidnappers. We need to hurry, I don't want to leave our sisters for too long under captivity. Who knows what dreary torture they are being subjected to?"
Arista barely concealed her mirth, "Dreary, indeed."
Adyra didn't comment on that, but she knew her sister was up to something. She was level thirty-seven, why leave to her the rescue when she knew her sister had power enough to turn this city into a smoking crater and leave the five captive mermaids unscathed? But Adyra had nothing but absolute trust and admiration for her sister. Whichever were Arista's plans, she knew it was for her and the kingdom's own good.
She vowed to do her utmost to soak in every single lesson her sister gave her. Keep her attention peeled on every single detail of what happened, to get the most of this adventure.
The [Princess] clapped her hands. "Let's not waste time then!"
"Good," Arista nodded with a gleam of approval on her large brown eyes. "Put on your robes and make sure everything is in order. Then we go downstairs for breakfast."
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Once she was ready to go downstairs, Arista assumed her two-legged form. "Here, you should tie this around your waist."
It was a black leather belt with tall rectangular blocks also wrapped in black leather stuck to the front and a box on the side. The blocks and box looked stiff and sturdy. Once she touched them, she knew they were made of metal on the inside.
"What is this belt for?" Adyra asked.
"Potions," Arista answered and waved her hand over the table. A variety of glass flasks with colored liquid appeared. "Here on the surface, they use these to recover their resources. The darker ones are for HP, the lighter ones for MP."
Adyra picked one and looked inside. The glass looked thick and sturdy, with concentric rings of runes on the bottom and a cork stopper on top. "Are I supposed to drink them?"
"Indeed," her sister said with a hint of approval on her voice. "in fact, drink the one in your hand now. You need to get used to the taste. I tried to sweeten them as much as I could, but they still are a bit bitter."
She drank the potion slowly, forcing herself to finish it. It was both bitter and sweet with a hint of spices, leaving a syrupy taste on the tongue and a slight burn on the throat. The system told her the potion was wasted.
> You are already at maximum HP.
"it is important that you get used to the taste. Because, in combat, you'll need to down the potion as fast as possible," Arista explained.
She scraped her tongue over the roof of her mouth, trying to get rid of the taste. Then she picked another one, a lighter one. "Understood. Let's do this!"
Turned out MP potions tasted even worse than the HP ones