Chapter 83: Is there such a thing as a sane woman?

“...Come again?”

“Is there an issue? That look on your face…”

In a state of absolute bewilderment, Vex looks into the eyes of Joanne, who stares back blankly…with a cherry red smile.

“There’s no way that you just told me that you let Lily go to Fraus without me knowing!”

“But it’s true. She and my daughter are taking a fast-track cruise to Fraus on a girl’s trip. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?”

“And you honestly expected me to react to that positively?”

“Vex, you mustn’t worry so much–all of that stress is no good for you, you know. Besides, the lady who offered to take the girls said that she was an acquaintance of yours. Therefore, my heart is at ease, so yours should be–”

“Enough with the vague statements! Who is this lady you keep referring to?”

“Let me see…her name was Flenn, I think?”

“WHO?!”

The former sense of bewilderment, now transformed into a fit of rage, causes Vex’s body to act out without a filter; he grips Joanne’s shoulders tightly to the point of pressing wrinkles into her clothing, though only slightly taken aback by the sudden impact, her smile remains intact.

“Only an idiot would trust the words of a random stranger without validation! You have the right to do whatever foolish thing you want to your daughter, but Lily is MY party member who is under MY watch.”

“I understand your frustration, but please listen to me. I also felt similar concerns as you do, but my mind felt gradually at ease the more I listened to Flenn. She kindly offered to take Lily to see you in Fraus, and Lily was very motivated to go on her own accord. Jan offered to go with Lily so that she wouldn’t be alone with an adult so awkwardly. Now, they are on a fun trip on their way to meet you…though I didn’t expect to see you return so soon.”

“It’s because I can teleport anywhere and anytime, did you know? Oh wait, maybe the stranger lied to you about my whereabouts! Who would have thought, people can lie. What a revelation for you, huh.”

“...but if I may ask, weren't you also being deceitful? After all, you did sneak away last night, and none of us knew where you went. With your lack of communication, and your prolonged absence…misunderstandings are bound to happen, no?”

“God forbid an adult handles his personal business privately. What was I supposed to do? Tell that little girl all the details of what I was up to and get her approval?”

“I wouldn't mind if you told me, a fellow adult.”

“Woman, I hardly even know you! Do you hear yourself?”

Vex, regaining more mental control, steadily relaxes his tense grip and releases her shoulders. He faces his back towards Joanne, her face full of purple fabric.

“Where is their exact location at this moment? If not exact, a general trajectory.”

“Normally I would be able to answer that…but I disabled the tracker I have on my daughter.”

“...should I even bother to ask why in hell?”

“It just felt right to me in my heart…I can’t really explain any more than that.”

“Figures. Thanks for your hospitality–curse you for everything else.”

His mind scrambling to figure out where to go next, Vex silently approaches the front door. However, just before he could touch its handle, Joanne grabs his hand, freezing him in place.

Though her hands are not cold, far from it. They are warm and soft…just like her breathing.

“?”

“Vex…I’ve been wanting to get to know you more. I don’t like seeing you struggle on your own–you can rely on me. Now that the girls are gone, it’s the perfect time for the two of us to become more acquainted without any distractions! I don’t believe that Flenn plans to harm Lily or Jan, but even if she does, I have connections in several places that can stop her. My daughter is wise enough to detect potential danger and reach out for help if needed. What I’m trying to convey to you is that there’s no need to worry–I am here for you!”

Refusing to even show his face, Vex pushes away the parasitic limb that latched on to him without consent.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

The sound of his voice, low and enraged.

“No trace of them here at all, dang it!”

This harbor was the only viable place that I could check…I have no other leads besides this. I can’t see their ship from here, so they must be deep along the Iniku Sea–assuming that they haven’t landed in Fraus yet.

Who am I kidding? Of course they have. I tried to take a cruise to Fraus, then got hit with a payment wall. I tried to pick up commissions, just for none to be available. I tried to cooperate with other Dark Mercenaries on a risky expedition, just to be double-crossed by a psycho bunny. I ended up having to deal with man-eating water nymphs who would have killed me if it weren’t for one of them being naive enough to pity me. I was forced into a bond with said nymph, and we are apparently stuck with her for the rest of my life. After all of that I had to endure, I finally return just for Joanne to allow Lily to be taken by Flenn to who knows where exactly. Roadblock after roadblock, time after time, why can’t things go as planned for once?!

Standing near the edge of the dock, Vex hopelessly stares out into the sea, its rapid waves respond in kind. Just as a couple scurries past him, a small pebble rolls towards Vex’s shoes from the impact of their feet.

“I have no idea what’s suddenly going through the minds of these silly women, but the inexplicable lack of maturity and morality pisses me off to no end!”

THOINK!

PLOOP

Ploop

ploop

The innocent pebble skitters across the water’s surface, creating a sea of ripples in its path. Vex stares at the surface, his distorted, hooded reflection angrily looking back at him. In a parallel fashion–by sheer happenstance–as the waves calm down, so does the man in the water.

“...wait, I do have one more option. I didn’t want to rely on her this soon, but…I can’t afford to waste any more time!”

Perlina said that I can summon her by calling out to her near a body of water, right?

However…

Vex looks around him, from side-to-side, to over his shoulder, to a full circle around and even above him. One fact is for certain: there is a huge crowd of people roaming the busy harbor.

“No good.”

Summing a giantess water nymph out in the open like this would garner too much attention and potential chaos. I’d much rather not be the talk of the town–there’s no telling where that information would spread…or to whom. I can’t think of a feasible spot to covertly summon Perlina away from the prying eyes of the masses…!

That’s it! Perlina never said that I had to be on land, so theoretically, if I do this…

Vex takes one more look at the seawater, doubling down on his decision. The sea stares back, as if welcoming him...perhaps even daring him to follow through. Accepting this challenge, Vex does a brief full body stretch, then takes a deep breath.

“Here goes…”

The further Vex backs up, the more path he clears for himself. With only a two-second timeframe of no obstructions, he gets a running start, sprinting all the way to the edge of the dock until there was nothing but air beneath his feet. Did doing such a dramatic action attract the unwanted attention of the masses? Does he look foolish? These questions have no relevance since his face rapidly draws closer to the surface.

“PERLINA!”

SPLOOSH!

…did it work?

From the looks of it, I’m only sinking…slowly sinking into the darkness, doing nothing but holding my breath for the life of me. Besides the initial disturbance I created due to my kinetic energy, nothing is happening.

“...”

Assuming that I met the conditions for summing her, I didn’t expect for it to take…more than a few seconds. Now that I’m underwater, I can’t call her again without resurfacing…

I really should have taken a bigger breath.

Bubbubbub…Sheen!

A flash of light, followed by a stream of bubbles appear directly underneath Vex. As he is engulfed, a pale, giant hand grabs him gently.

“I’m here, Vex! Please, breathe the bubbles in!”

“Inhale…ahh, I can talk now. That’s a relief.”

Thank goodness she appeared, even though there was quite a bit of delay. Uncomfortable delay. If it weren’t for the ambient glow of her pale skin, her giant head looming beneath me would have seemed no different than a sea monster preparing me to be its next meal. Though instead of the gaze of a killer, she has the expression of someone else’s concerned mother.

“S-sorry, I didn’t expect that you would dive into the sea like this! Please be careful next time, I can’t bear you drowning–not even the thought of it!”

“I’ll be fine as long as you come to my aid swiftly. You can do that, I know it.”

“Y-yeah…but I can’t guarantee that every single time. I just…want you to be safe…o-okay?”

“All right all right, I’ll keep that in mind next time. Anyway, I need you to take me to Fraus immediately. I want to avoid the docks where the ships accompany, so ideally somewhere more discreet but close to the harbor. Can you do that, or is that too much to ask?”

“Not at all! I’ll fulfill your request, no problem. But…I have a request for you too.”

“What is it? Make it quick.”

“Swimming at such a speed and distance holding you in hand would be too risky. I could lose grip of you, a sea creature could snag you, you could run out of oxygen without me noticing…”

“So?”

“The best solution to circumvent that is to…hold you inside my mouth. I-I know that you d-don’t like t-that very much, and–”

“It’s fine, do whatever you must. Whatever it takes for you to operate at maximum efficiency, do it.”

“R-really? O-okay!”

Before Vex could even blink, Perlina opens her mouth as she brings him closer to her lips.

“AHHH!”

Tightly sealing her lips, Perlina blushes, feeling assured of Vex’s security on the tip of her tongue. She then looked forward towards the open sea before her and propelled through the water at high speed.