"Maleficent!"
Hearing the name, Lioro gave the general an odd look.
'Is it the one from the movies or the books?...'
Maleficent from the movies was more or less a good character in a way, she didn't willingly terrorize anyone and simply returned attacks after she was betrayed by her love who stole her wings...
Maleficent from the book, on the other hand, was truly an evil witch who cast an eternal sleep curse on the princess for her 18th birthday.
So Lioro decided to ask for clarification.
"Can you tell me more about the witch? And your kingdom...."
"Yes! Of course, Master Wizard!", the general suddenly became excited, thinking Lioro was willing to help him.
So he quickly explained everything in greater detail.
Of course, he made sure to portray himself and his kingdom as poor victims and the witch as an irredeemable antagonist.
'So it's the one from the movie? If it's true, then this general is lying....', Lioro thought with interest.
He remembered that Maleficent from the movies possessed quite a unique variety of spells, such as ones which could transform a crow into a human and a dragon.
While Lioro was thinking, Flynn and Rapunzel on the side seemed to sympathize with his story, as they had gone through a similar experience before.
"General, if you need any assistance in dealing with the witch-"
"Your story has gained my interest, General. I will make a trip to your kingdom and take a look at that witch, Maleficent.", Lioro said, cutting Rapunzel off to help her avoid falling into a trap.
"Thank you! Thank you, Master Wizard! If you help us then the kingdom will forever be in your grace...", the General tightly held Lioro's hand and said in an overly excited voice.
'They must really hate her.', Lioro innocently blinked before giving an ambiguous answer.
----
Underground Kingdom.
Alana looked out of the window with a despondent look on her face.
After her father came to find out she had spent time with a human, he went completely mad.
'Do you even understand what you have done?!?!'
'You don't understand! He's not like that!'
'Silence, Alana! Not another word from your mouth, young lady! I never would have thought that you would do such a thing... From now on! You will stay in confinement inside your chambers!'
'Confinement?! Daddy, you can't do this to me!'
'My decision is final, Alana!'
The image of her father scolding her, not listening to anything she said, kept constantly passing through her mind.
'If only he'd listen.... he would understand...'
Alana tightly clenched her palms and bit down on her lips in frustration.
'Humans aren't as bad as you think.....'
The face of the otherworldly handsome boy passed through her mind, making her let out a longing sigh.
She even told them that she would visit again.
'They won't forget about me, would they?...'
For the first time in her life, her own room felt like a prison to her.
The face of her youngest sister unconsciously passed through her mind.
'I understand now how Ariel must feel-'
Suddenly, a familiar face appeared on her window.
"Hey, sis!"
'-??'
Alana raised her head in surprise, looking at her youngest sister with a head full of beautiful red hair.
"Ariel! What are you doing here?"
Ariel tried to get in through the window, but since the opening was a little too small, she stared at her from the outside with eager eyes.
"Sister, is it true? That you met a human on the land??"
Hearing her voice brimming with unhidden expectations, Alana blinked, then smiled.
'At least someone understands me.....'
"Yes, Ariel.... I went on the land and met an amazing human..."
"Really?? How did you meet him?? How did he look?! Wait! How were you able to stay on land? Did you meet in Arend--"
"Shh~", Alana placed a finger on Ariel's mouth.
Seeing Ariel's eyes practically begging her to say something, Alana felt her mood brighten up.
"I met him while moving around Arendelle....."
"Arendelle? No wonder!"
The Kingdom of Arendelle was their closest neighbour, after all.
"I was about to be eaten by a monster.... but then he came and rescued me....."
"Wah!? Really??", Ariel's eyes gleamed with excitement, fully imagining the scene in her mind.
"Yes.... then he took me to visit the kingdom....."
Alana recounted the events with a hint of longing in her voice.
The more Ariel listened, the more surprised she became.
At the same time, she was feeling a little jealous.
She who had been dreaming of visiting the land every night, collecting things which belonged to man, following every ship that passed by in hopes of seeing their world.
To walk under the sun.
Yet instead, her sister, who had never held any longing for the land, was the one who experienced it.
For a moment, Ariel's face turned sour, then she quickly got rid of the thought and asked her sister the most important question.
"Sis, how were you able to go on land?"
They were mermaids, they could stay under the sun for some time, but long exposure could lead to disastrous consequences, including death.
And even if they did somehow manage to do it, they didn't have legs like humans, meaning they would never be able to walk, just crawl.
Alana suddenly fell silent, she wondered if it was alright for her to tell Ariel about Lioro and his magic.
Seeing her hesitation, Ariel hurriedly grabbed her hands and said in a pitiful voice.
"Sister, please~"
Alana hesitated for a moment before remembering her time with Lioro.
'I don't think he will mind?.....'
"It's like this..... the man I met was actually the one who defeated the witch..."
Ariel's eyes widened in complete shock.
"He used his magic to help me get temporary legs, then he showed me the human world..."
A dazzling light passed through Ariel's eyes as she listened carefully to Alana's words.
----
After the meeting was over, Lioro came beside the shore of Arendelle to relax when he suddenly noticed something.
Well, to be accurate, it was Cid, sitting alone beside a fireplace.
Looking at the scene, Lioro was hit with a terrible sense of déjà vu.
Suppressing his growing anxiety, Lioro made his way towards Cid and stopped beside him.
"Hey, Cid."
"Oh, hello, best friend!", Cid turned his head and raised a hand in greeting.
Looking at Cid's neutral face, Lioro asked in a careful tone.
"How's the weather?....."
"Hm? Oh, it's all good, the sky is clear with no sign of rain."
"Right....."
Not wanting to play around any longer, he asked the real question.
"So you didn't catch Alana again, did you?"
"Alana? No, of course not, why would I capture our friend....?", Cid replied in a calm voice.
Hearing his words, Lioro visibly relaxed.
"Phew, that's good-"
"I did catch her sister though!."
"???"
The rock beside Cid suddenly trembled and disappeared, showing the figure of a bound red-haired mermaid.
The corners of Lioro's mouth couldn't help but twitch widely.
"Cid..."
"Yeah?"
"Just.... why?"
"It wasn't my fault, okay? She just kept blabbering and wouldn't shut up."
Lioro came beside Cid and whispered in his ear while looking at the bound mermaid.
'You do know who she is, right?'
'Hell yeah, she's Ariel.'
'....Don't tell me you caught her in a net too....'
'Nope, this time she just rushed straight up to me.'
'Then why is she tied up?'
'I just said, she wouldn't shut up.'
Lioro ignored this unreliable bastard and walked up to the bound mermaid.
Standing before her, Lioro noticed that unlike Alana, Ariel was not at all struggling or trying to get away.
Instead, she just lay there, staring curiously at him with her unblinking eyes.
Scratching his head, Lioro crouched down, cut open the rope binding her hands, and removed the cloth obstructing her mouth before saying.
"Hello."
"...."
Ariel remained silent, just staring at him with a dazzled look in her eyes.
Feeling confused, Lioro raised his hand and waved it in front of her eyes.
"Can you hear me? Ms. Mermaid-"
Ariel suddenly woke up from her daze and said in a hurry.
"Ah! Yes! That! I-I heard.... what you said.... yes.."
Turning her head away, she took several peeks at him while moving her hands through her hair, trying to hide her nervousness.
'What are you doing, Ariel!'
She suddenly raised her hands and slapped her cheeks to regain focus.
Turning back towards him, she looked straight at him, only to be dazzled by that otherworldly face once again.
Ba-Dump
Feeling her heart visibly beating faster, Ariel unconsciously started touching her hair to hide her anxiety.
Opening her mouth, she finally said in a small voice.
"I am Ariel..."
Hearing her voice, Lioro was a little taken aback.
Because it was simply too beautiful.
"Hello, Ariel. My name is Lioro."
"Lioro....."
Ariel repeated his name, as if she understood something, her eyes enlarged for a moment.
"Are you the wizard who helped my sister?..."
"Is your sister Alana? Did she tell you about us?", Lioro asked, wondering if Alana had also come with her.
"Yes! She said you were an incredibly powerful wizard who helped her!"
"Indeed, I am a great and powerful wizard.", Lioro said with a wise look on his face.
Cid gave him a side eye.
While Lioro was busy in his own fantasies, Ariel quickly said.
"Sister Alana told me to give you a message."
"A message? What is it?"
"This....", Ariel suddenly stopped, then fiddled with her fingers before continuing.
"...um, before I say it, can you do the same for me? As you did for my sister?...."
Lioro blinked, then understood.
Alana must have told her about his magic.
And Ariel, being a fan of the human world, must have been dying to see it for herself.
'Well, what can I say, it seems being a tour guide is simply written in my destiny.'
Lioro waved his hand and summoned his water spirit, Nokk.
Then, under Ariel's surprised eyes, the water surrounded her like an armour, just like Alana.
"I have legs! I can really walk!"
Seeing Ariel going crazy with excitement, Lioro smiled.
It was indeed fun to see people's reactions to his magic.
Especially when the person was a plot character like Ariel.
While they were having fun, Cid started cleaning his nose using his finger, feeling bored.
Then, under Lioro's lead, Ariel too was given a tour of the Arendelle kingdom.
Though unlike her sister, Ariel was much more unreserved and brave.
If she was curious about anything, she would not hesitate to grab it and ask about it on the spot.
"I see, so it's a spoon, not a comb!.....", Ariel exclaimed while holding several kitchen utensils in her hands.
By the time they were done with the tour, Ariel held a large bag in her hand filled with miscellaneous items.
'She really enjoys the human world.', Lioro thought, seeing her barely being able to walk with the bag.
Reaching out, he took the heavy bag from Ariel.
"Wow!"
Ariel exclaimed, looking at Lioro, who was easily holding the bag with a single hand.
"Thank you, Lioro! You're so strong!"
She came close to him, then started looking at his biceps with curious eyes.
Arriving back at the shore, Ariel looked at the sea with reluctance, clearly not wanting to go back so soon.
Seeing this, Lioro smiled and said.
"Don't be sad, you can always visit again."
"Yes....", Ariel said, then slowly looked at Lioro's face.
'He's really... handsome...'
Even when compared to every single person she had seen in her life, none came close to reaching his level.
'But sister Alana likes him... if only I had come here first....'
Turning her head away, she silently bit down on her lips before sighing.
Cid on the side let out a yawn, wondering what he should eat for dinner.
"By the way, Ariel....."
Hearing Lioro's voice, Ariel turned around.
"You said Alana told you a message?...."
It was probably just some simple well wishes or something.
"Ah! Yes! Actually, Lioro....", Ariel paused for a moment before continuing.
"My sister, she's been imprisoned."
"....?"
That... seemed like pretty serious news.
Even Cid stopped yawning, an interested look appeared on his face.
"Alana is imprisoned?", Lioro asked for confirmation, in case he had heard wrong.
"Yes! My sister has been imprisoned!"
Well... um
Why didn't you say it sooner?
"Who imprisoned her?"
"It's my father..... he did it after he got to know that she came to visit humans...."
"Then wouldn't you too be imprisoned?", Cid suddenly asked from the side.
"I-I won't be imprisoned! Since he wouldn't know.....", Ariel said with a dodging look on her face.
"I'll tell him."
"???"
"I'll tell King Triton that you ran away to meet humans.", Cid said with a smile.
"!....No! Cid, you can't! Please!"
Ignoring Ariel, who was chasing after Cid, Lioro became silent and fell into thought.
'This.... isn't this a god-given chance?'
He wanted Triton's weapon.
Triton held Alana captive.
And he was Alana's friend.
So..... ahem, isn't it only right for him to go free her? At the same time, maybe even fight Triton and get a quick look at his weapon...
Although he could use invisibility to sneak in as well, but where's the fun in that?
Saving an imprisoned princess from her devilish father sounded kind of..... exciting!
"It's decided!", Lioro exclaimed in a loud voice, startling both Ariel and Cid.
"We're going to rescue our friend!"
"What? But Lioro, father will-"
Lioro placed a finger on her lips, stopping her from speaking.
"It is our fault that Alana got into this situation.... that is why it is only right for us to help her!"
Hearing his righteous words, Ariel's eyes widened.
Cid, on the other hand, scratched his head in confusion.
'What is this bastard up to—wait! Don't tell me he.....'
Cid's eyes suddenly lit up as he understood what this piece of shit wanted to do!
'Best friend! We're truly best friends!'
"Let us go and save our friend!" x2
Ariel was nearly brought to tears.