"Are you Zenos, the Dungeon master?"
I was at the end of the boat that I and the others were using to fish near the shore of the lake where I have a vision of the quarrel caused between religions that I stole yesterday when suddenly a voice comes from out of the boat from the water.
I go to the edge of the boat and see the Mermaid Shark without an arm that I first saw when the refugees arrived.
"Good morning, what should I call you?" (I)
"My name is Zila, just Zila now..." (Zila)
Last time I saw this Mermaid, she was almost unconscious and wearing scraps of armor in pieces, in addition to her missing arm, she also had several injuries all over her body, but in addition to her large size compared to other Mermaids, which What caught my attention was his unfocused eyes that day, but full of determination.
I remember her determination when she was around treating the children, it was an unshakable determination, so when she saw she was safe and was dismayed to finally miss her lost arm, I took her to the children who couldn't stop talking about how much she was amazing.
I look at her again now, her wounds completely healed and almost no scars, the magic really is amazing.
She looks more energetic than the last time I saw her and also looks more confident, looks like the loss of her arm has affected her less than I expected as she has recovered so quickly, her eyes have that unshakable determination once again.
"Do you need anything from me, Miss Zila?" (I)
"Yes, but I don't want to disturb you at your leisure, can we arrange another time to talk?" (Zila)
"I don't mind being now..." (I)
"This is not a good time, Zenos." (Sapphire)
"Look at the coast." (Ivan)
The tip of Sapphire Serpent's tail hits my shoulder, her big body takes up half the space on this boat, so she and Ivan point me toward the harbor.
When I look over there I see many people watching, some with curiosity and others with suspicion, it seems that that idiot High Priest Alfred managed to draw others' attention to me during his earlier accusations, maybe that was his purpose from the start.
"I think it would be difficult to have any kind of conversation in this place, could you meet me at the house where we're staying? Do you know how to get there?" (I)
"I know how to get there, before I found you here at the lake, I was thinking of going over there to talk to you." (Zila)
"It might show up as soon as it gets dark, everyone should be back by then." (I)
"Thank you for agreeing to meet me later." (Zila)
"Please stop being so formal, just act natural and be honest when you meet me later." (I)
"That's not the kind of thing a King would say." (Ivan)
"Then how shall I address you? Sir? Your Majesty? King?" (Zila)
"For the love of the Gods, just call me by my name, forget what Ivan said about Rei." (I)
"Alright then I'll meet you later Zenos." (Zila)
Zila was being formal so far in the way she spoke, you could clearly see that she was forcing herself to speak that way, which only made it worse, so I had to make her stop it and speak more naturally, but still, I was surprised how she accepted this immediately and walked away speaking my name as a matter of course.
"She's well trained, but kind of rigid." (Sapphire)
"The traits of any Soldier are easily distinguished, she obeys the hierarchy by default and always obeys superiors." (Ivan)
"I'm not her superior." (I)
"But she treated you like one, besides I can already imagine what she's going to ask for." (Ivan)
Early evening, temporary home on Cyrion Island.
I was in an empty room that we use for meetings, this room has Sacred Barriers made by Vanessa, High Priest Henrique, and High Priestess Yara.
According to them, this barrier can be broken by the strongest, but as long as it is intact, it will block the senses of all who are not of their religion.
In the room were just me, Vanessa, Irina, Ivan, Freya and Érica along with the Siren Zila who arrived strangely in a punctual way, at the moment when the Suns disappeared on the horizon and it got dark she knocked on the door as if waiting for the exact moment to appear.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" (I)
"Before anything else, I need to thank you for your help in reminding me how important what I was protecting was when I was falling into despair." (Zila)
"I didn't do anything, I just dragged you to the kids who wouldn't stop talking about your great heroine." (I)
"Thank you anyway." (Zila)
"Just accept the compliments silently." (Érica)
"It's too early to change the subject, so what do you want to talk to my Master about?" (Freya)
"I would like to know if Sirens and Mermen can move into your Dungeon?" (Zila)
She said something so shocking in such a normal and serious way that it's almost strange, she said it in the same way as someone in the family asking if they can come for a few days.
"I knew that was it, it took you longer than expected to come to that conclusion." (Ivan)
"Are you sure you don't just want a ride to another underwater city?" (Irina)
"No, my people and I want to move to your dungeon if possible." (Zila)
"I had my doubts, but it looks like I lost the bet." (Irina)
"Don't be grumpy, Irina." (Ivan)
"Shut up, I'll bring the painting to you later." (Irina)
"I said betting on politics against a former Prince was stupid." (Érica)
"You said that after I took the bet!" (Irina)
"Of course, you would, if I told you before you wouldn't bet." (Érica)
"You bastard..." (Irina)
"You don't have any focus!? Leave your bets for later and stop deflecting the subject." (Vanessa)
"I apologize for such behavior at a time , Miss Zila." (Freya)
"I don't worry about that, but how did you guys know what I was going to order?" (Zila)
"I would also like to know that, it would be nice to know how you also came to the conclusion to ask me that." (I)