69novels 38: Good people are rewarded.
38: Good people are rewarded.
Upon hearing Neptune's words, Oro held his glass but didn't drink; he merely swirled the liquid gently.
"There must be another reason behind the Dragon Palace's inaction?"
"yes……"
Neptune's voice deepened, and he gently rubbed the tip of the trident in his palm:
"It all started with a simple document from the World Government, which contained only one sentence: 'The Celestial Dragons want to see mermaids.'"
"At first we resisted, sending troops to drive out several slave-hunting teams, but what happened? Less than half a month later, a Celestial Dragon himself arrived in a holy ship."
He closed his eyes, his words filled with sorrow:
"That day, they took a stroll around Mermaid Island and casually took away hundreds of young mermaid girls, saying, 'If you've chosen them, here's some Berries for you.'"
"We dared not speak out against our anger; it was my incompetence that forced us to compromise. At least the slave-catching team still 'followed the rules' and didn't arrest too many at once..."
Lingling stopped putting the snack in her mouth, and the smile on her face faded.
Taylor stood behind Oro, her long blue hair hanging down her shoulders, her fingertips gripping the hem of her clothes tightly.
Neptune took a deep breath, opened his eyes to look at Oro, his gaze expectant, and lowered his voice:
"Lord Oro, your strength has been witnessed by me and the people."
"I would like to ask you to protect the shipping route to Mermaid Island in the long term. Whether it is supplies or gold rewards, Ryugu City can provide them."
"If you need any resources, as long as Mermaid Island has them, we will never be stingy with them."
Oro met Neptune's gaze: "Thank you for your trust, Mermaid Island."
"But I must be honest, our current capabilities are insufficient to protect the lives of hundreds of thousands of people."
A hint of disappointment flashed across Neptune's face, but he didn't press the matter further.
"but."
Oro then changed the subject: "If we are fully developed in the future, with enough power and fleet, we will definitely come to the aid of Mermaid Island if it is in danger again."
Neptune's eyes lit up, and he quickly raised his glass: "Very well! I believe in Lord Oro's promise! This glass is for you!"
Halfway through the banquet, the mermaid singer began to sing a song of thanks, while bubble chairs carried the guests in a slow rotation.
Auro made an excuse to get some fresh air and went to the terrace outside the palace. Lingling followed him out with some snacks. The two of them looked at the pillar of light that pierced through the deep sea from the Yangshu Eve tree in the distance and remained silent for a moment.
In a corner of the banquet hall, a minister wearing a pearl crown quietly pulled Taylor aside.
He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dragon Palace, a gentle smile on his face, but his voice was very low:
"Miss Taylor, I know you and your brother Tiger are very grateful to Lord Oro, but Mermaid Island also wants to do something for you."
"Tiger is a promising talent. He's skilled and has a strong sense of justice. We want him to join the Dragon Palace Guard. Maybe he can become a bridge between merfolk and fish-men and resolve the conflict between the two races in the future."
Taylor paused, and before he could respond, the minister continued:
"And the mermaids who helped on the Golden Dawn, their families are not having an easy time."
"As long as Lord Oro is willing to maintain contact with Ryugu City, Ryugu City will take full responsibility for the lives of these family members and the education of their children, and will never let them suffer any injustice."
The minister's words were very blunt, so blunt that Taylor felt conflicted. In the end, she simply nodded slightly.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."
......
Late at night, the deck of the Golden Dawn was still lit.
Taylor slid out of his room and looked at the golden pool on the deck.
The swimming pool is just a place for their daily activities; all six of them already have their own rooms on the ship.
Lord Oro renovated each room one by one with gold, and the style of each room was designed based on their own ideas.
Taylor stayed on the deck for a while, and no one came out again. Gails, Lingling, and her five sisters were indeed asleep.
She looked up at the upstairs; the lights in the captain's cabin were still on.
……
"Knock, knock, knock." The knocking was very soft.
"Please come in." Auro was marking the route on the nautical chart on the table.
Taylor gently opened the door to the captain's cabin, slipped silently into the room, and then quietly closed the door again.
"It's Taylor. What's wrong? Is there a problem with the room?"
Taylor shook his head without answering, but instead moved closer to Oro and relayed the minister's words word for word without any concealment.
After listening, Auro paused, the gold pen in his hand touching her fingertip, and looked up at Taylor: "I understand. You did a good job, you didn't hide anything from me."
"Lord Oro, I..."
Taylor wanted to say something more, but Oro raised his hand to interrupt him.
"Don't overthink it."
Oro smiled and said, "Dragon Palace City has its own considerations, and we have our own course of action. I'm not surprised that they did this."
"Whether Tiger wants to join the guard or not is up to him. I promised that the kid he could join our Golden Fleet when he grows up. It's good for him to get more experience now."
"As for Sango and her family, if Ryugu Castle really takes care of them, that's a good thing. If they have ulterior motives, we won't suffer any losses."
Taylor nodded and said nothing more. The captain's cabin fell silent for a moment, with only the rustling sound of Oro writing on the nautical chart.
"Hmm? Is there anything else, Taylor?"
Oro noticed that Taylor was standing blankly to the side, staring at the nautical chart on his table with his big blue eyes, without saying a word, and couldn't help but feel a little strange.
"Taylor? Taylor?"
"Um... Oh! I'm sorry! Lord Oro! I... spaced out..."
Taylor was startled awake by Oro's call, and for some reason her face turned red instantly. She quickly waved her hand.
"Just thinking about how much Lord Oro has helped me, my brother, and everyone else since we met... I... I don't know what to do anymore..."
As Oro listened to Taylor's story, he smiled happily: "Believe that good deeds will be rewarded."
"Although I am not a good person, I do not want to be a bad person who has no one to trust."
"That kind of life is such a failure."
Upon hearing Oro say that he wasn't a good person, Taylor immediately shook his head.
"How could that be! Lord Oro is absolutely a good person! He's the best person I've ever met!"
Oro accepted the "good guy" card and nodded with an unchanged smile:
"Okay, I understand. It's getting late, go and get some rest."
"Oh...yes, Lord Oro..."
Taylor absentmindedly responded, and when he reached the door, he looked at the automatic switch button next to the door but hesitated to press it.
After a while, Oro looked up in confusion. What's wrong with this girl today?
Even mermaids who haven't yet developed legs will come for that.
"Taylor, if there's anything else, just say it. It's okay. You can tell me anything that's on your mind."
Oro’s gentle voice reached Taylor’s ears like the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
The mermaid gritted her teeth, made a sudden move, and pressed the door open button next to the door without hesitation.
The deadbolt button next to it.
"Snap!"
The solid wood door, which has excellent sound insulation and is reinforced with gold, was locked from the inside.
Oro blinked. Why did the atmosphere feel so strange?
"Um...no need to lock the door."
"My golden vigilance extends within several hundred meters of the Golden Dawn."
"It's impossible for outsiders to eavesdrop. Hmm, if someone had the ability to eavesdrop, they wouldn't need to."
Taylor turned to look at Oro, who was nearly ten meters tall, and said nothing, only continuing to approach him.
Oro: "?"
"Thai...Taylor?"
"Taylor!"
"!"
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
P.S. First premise of this book—the protagonist is an adult at all times and in all states throughout the book! He is an adult!