Winsor had originally thought that even without Lansi by his side, he would be fine.
After all, he had been alone for so many years. He was used to solitude.
But habit—habit was a dangerous thing.
It had only been a few days with Lansi, yet once that familiar chatter had disappeared from his ears, Winsor found himself already missing him.
The coral bones were quiet. No noisy little fish swam about. No more daily headaches from the chaos.
So why did everything suddenly feel so dull?
Winsor lay in the anemone, eyes closed, his once-settled thoughts now slipping back into melancholy.
His little fish...
Winsor had always believed that in this vast ocean, it was the little fish who depended on him. But now he had to admit—he was the one who had become reliant on Lansi.
He couldn't deny it.
Opening his eyes, Winsor looked toward the spot where Lansi used to rest. Now, only a single pearl remained, lying there in silence.
That pearl...
The sight of it made Winsor both amused and exasperated.
Unable to bear the quiet any longer, he finally swam out of the anemone. Though it felt a little awkward, he'd calmed down. It was time to find Lansi.
Even though Winsor was certain Lansi couldn't break through the coral bones, what if that clever little fish had found another way?
When he emerged, he spotted Lansi with his back to him, stuck to a section of coral bone, his entire body curled against it.
Winsor paused, heart tightening. But after looking more closely, he sighed in relief.
If not for Lansi's gently wagging tail, Winsor might have thought something terrible had happened.
He swam up calmly and asked, "What are you doing?"
Lansi jumped, startled by Winsor's sudden voice. He turned and grumbled, "Why are you swimming so quietly? You scared me half to death."
"Swimming quietly?"
Winsor didn't answer. He simply cast a meaningful glance at both of their fishtails.
Lansi: "..."
Right. He wasn't human anymore.
"No, nothing," Lansi said quickly, shifting to block Winsor's curious gaze.
But as he got closer, he couldn't help but remember yesterday's "lesson."
Looking at Winsor's face so close, Lansi faltered and took a small step back.
Winsor's eyes narrowed.
He didn't even need to think. He knew exactly what Lansi was doing.
He leaned forward, voice low. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing much!" Lansi blurted, voice trembling.
"Hmm?"
Winsor raised an eyebrow. "Do you remember what you said before? That you would always listen to me? That you wouldn't resist?"
Lansi nodded gloomily and moved aside.
Only then did Winsor see what Lansi had been blocking.
A hole.
The coral bones were not completely seamless. Pits and gaps of various sizes dotted the wall. Winsor hadn't been concerned, as none of them were large enough for a mermaid to squeeze through.
But now, he wasn't so sure.
The hole Lansi had been shielding was bigger than the others—just barely large enough to fit a mermaid's head.
And from it, a transparent tentacle had snuck in. It trembled and reached, brushing against Lansi's hand. As soon as it touched him, it perked up, then gently slapped against him like a high-five.
Lansi didn't seem to mind. He merely grabbed the tentacle and stopped it from flailing around.
Winsor: "..."
His gaze turned sharp.
He remembered he had just taught Lansi how to use infrasound to "chat" yesterday, so he opened the chat group he hadn't checked in a while—
[Ahhhhhhhhhh, I touched the little fish!]
As soon as he joined, he was assaulted by the excited screeching of a jellyfish.
Lansi, unaware of the reaction, simply held the tentacle and looked at Winsor. Seeing his frown, Lansi tugged gently on the tentacle.
The jellyfish responded enthusiastically, even tearing off the tip of its own tentacle:
[Here, here! If the little fish wants to eat, I have plenty more!]
[Thank you,] Lansi replied, pulling the piece in and turning to Winsor.
"Do you want some?"
Winsor stared at the offering, a vein throbbing in his forehead.
"Are you... planning to eat this?"
It sounded less like a question and more like a jealous husband catching his partner sneaking snacks from a suspicious admirer.
And Winsor had good reason to be suspicious.
Under his care, the little fish had only eaten three things so far: meat, blue firework fish, and seaweed.
Lansi blinked. When Winsor didn't take the tentacle, he popped it into his own mouth.
"Not exactly... but it is one reason."
He chewed thoughtfully, thinking about how much he missed cooked food. Blue firework fish were great, but raw every day got boring fast.
Tentacle with vinegar and soy sauce? That would be a perfect cold dish.
Seeing Winsor's face darken, Lansi quickly added, "Don't chase the jellyfish. It's our ally."
"Ally?" Winsor paused, tentacles halfway out.
"Right," Lansi said cheerfully. "I recruited it to help me."
Winsor went silent for a moment.
Then: "It's a jellyfish. It's basically water. What can it possibly do to help you?"
Lansi looked away.
He didn't plan on telling Winsor everything. After all, Winsor had always opposed his prison break plans.
But he had to admit—he wasn't a good person either. He was seducing the jellyfish to help him escape.
It had already promised to bring a friend: a super large mutant sperm whale.
In a few days, when the whale arrived, it would break the coral wall, hide both him and Winsor in its mouth, and escape to the shallow sea.
[Deep sea creatures rarely go to shallow waters,] the jellyfish had said.
[After you escape, come live with me in the shallow sea! My friends won't imprison you.]
Lansi agreed immediately.
[The sperm whale is just... a bit slow,] the jellyfish admitted.
[It has to come from another trench, so you'll have to wait a few days.]
That was fine. Lansi would use the time to "nb."
Nb stood for digging.
Escape was a sacred tradition, after all. You either broke the wall or tunneled beneath it.
He chose tunneling.
Why didn't he ask Winsor to help dig? He couldn't imagine someone with that face covered in mud.
What would Winsor look like covered in muck?
Unthinkable.
So, Lansi spent his time chatting with the jellyfish. Interestingly, while it seemed a bit dumb, it was actually quite cautious.
[Don't call yourself a mermaid,] the jellyfish warned.
[Can we be anonymous in the chat group?] Lansi asked excitedly.
[What?] The jellyfish was confused.
Winsor, watching, explained reluctantly, "Each species has a unique infrasound frequency. If you're new, they won't know who you are—but once they learn your frequency, you're not anonymous."
Lansi nodded. "Winsor, say something so I can remember your frequency."
Winsor gave him a strange look and replied coldly, "No."
Then he said, "I'm going to sleep. If you want food, hunt for it yourself. Don't wake me."
"Okay. I'll chat with the jellyfish."
Winsor nodded, swam away, then turned his head one last time.
"Don't try to leave from above. The tentacles are still there."
"Got it," Lansi replied.
Then he added slyly, "Winsor, all you do is eat and sleep. Aren't you afraid of getting fat?"
He was genuinely curious what a chubby mermaid might look like.
Winsor: "..."
With a darkened face, he swam back to the anemone.
Not to sleep, though.
He had to deal with the mutant sperm whale.
Winsor was the Lord of the Sea and the Abyss. He had no fixed form and could become whatever he wished. But even he couldn't split his consciousness too many ways without consequence.
This little fish was really difficult to raise.
In the past few days, he had spent more mental effort on Lansi than ever before.
He hadn't expected Lansi to find outside help.
To block the sperm whale, Winsor had to alter the ocean current and reroute it.
As for the jellyfish...
Well, if it vanished too suddenly, the little fish would be sad. That could wait a few more days.