One of their rulers?

Roxanna kept thinking about those words, wondering if there was another meaning behind them. Maybe she had misunderstood. Maybe it meant something much simpler, but no matter how hard she tried to think of another explanation, the answer stayed the same.

The fish and the sea creatures around them truly seemed to recognize Azul as one of their rulers.

A ruler of the ocean, maybe? Like a king? Wait... did that even make sense?

After all, his words made it sound like there were other rulers in the ocean as well, so he probably wasn’t a king.

Before Roxanna could think about it any longer, a familiar sound suddenly rang inside her head.

[Ding! Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host! Side Mission Complete: See the Ocean!]

[Reward:

- Earned Title: The Princess of the Ocean.

- Immunity Over the Ocean Rules.]

[Reward: +33,000 Spirit Points (SP)]

[Remaining Spirit Points (SP): 430,950]

Roxanna widened her eyes when she saw that the reward no longer showed "Unknown," but something completely unexpected.

[The Princess of the Ocean?! Immunity Over the Ocean Rules?! What the hell is this?!]

Roxanna shouted in her mind. [How did I even get these titles?! Is it because of Azul? It has to be because of him!]

But why?

[Why? Why? Why can Azul make me get a title like this?!]

Roxanna pressed her lips into a thin line as she looked her husband in the eyes. Moments later, she spoke in her mind.

[Are you... the Prince of the Ocean?]

Azul tilted his head slightly before a smile spread across his face. ’Sort of.’

Sort of?!

That wasn’t an answer at all!

Roxanna was about to ask more questions, but her lungs suddenly felt heavy and burned from the inside. She instinctively opened her mouth, trying to breathe. But this time, she could no longer breathe underwater, a sign that the fifteen minutes had passed.

Realizing it immediately, Azul wrapped an arm around her and shot upward through the water.

A second later, they broke through the surface.

"Waaah!"

Roxanna took a deep breath as she finally inhaled fresh air. "Oh, damn it! Damn it! I can finally breathe!" she gasped, breathing heavily between every word.

Since they were in the middle of the ocean, the waves constantly rose and fell around them. More than once, a wave splashed over her face.

To keep her head above the water, Roxanna quickly climbed a little higher onto Azul’s back.

"I’M ALIVE!"

Roxanna jolted in surprise when she heard Calen’s loud voice. She turned toward the source of the sound and found that Calen had just been brought to the surface by several dolphins.

Not far away, Zeir also emerged from the water. The moment he surfaced, he desperately grabbed onto a floating wooden plank and climbed onto it.

"Why... why is the current so strong?" Zeir said in a low voice, looking genuinely worried. "I seriously thought it was going to drag me all the way to the bottom of the ocean."

His gaze looked slightly unfocused, as if he truly could not believe he had survived.

"Zeir! Calen!" Roxanna finally called out. After signaling Azul to swim closer, she shouted, "Are you two hurt?!"

Calen waved at her and, with a bright smile on his face, said, "No! These adorable dolphins saved me! Wife, how about we bring them home?! Maybe they can live with Azul’s crocodile friends!"

Azul let out a soft sigh and shook his head. "They are sea dolphins," he said patiently. "If you take them to the river, they’ll die."

Calen’s smile instantly froze. "They’ll die?"

"Yes," Azul replied.

The dog beastman immediately shook his head and said in panic, "No! No! Then we can’t bring them home if it means we’ll be killing them!"

He looked at the dolphins one by one. "You’re all so precious to me, but unfortunately, we’ll never be able to meet again."

The dolphins let out a series of soft, low clicks, as if they were expressing their sadness.

Calen’s expression immediately fell. "No..." he whispered dramatically.

One of the dolphins swam closer and gently nudged his arm with its snout. That only made him look even more heartbroken. "Don’t do this to me," Calen said. "You’ll make this goodbye even harder."

Zeir stared at him for a moment. Then finally, he asked, "You’ve known them for less than ten minutes. Why are you acting like you’re leaving behind your childhood friends?"’’

"Because we shared a life-threatening experience together!"

"You nearly drowned."

"Exactly!"

Roxanna couldn’t help laughing a little.

It had only taken Calen less than ten minutes to become friends with the dolphins, yet somehow, he still couldn’t fully get along with Azul even after all this time.

"Aa... aaa..."

Azura suddenly let out a weak sound. The tiny girl’s brows pulled together, and her eyes looked slightly red, as if she was trying hard to endure something painful.

Roxanna’s smile disappeared instantly.

"What’s wrong?" she asked in panic.

She quickly cupped Azura’s thin cheeks and looked her over. "Baby, what’s wrong?" Her voice trembled slightly. "Are you hurting somewhere?"

Azura could only whimper softly. Her little body shifted restlessly in Azul’s arms, making Roxanna’s heart tighten with worry.

Roxanna took a deep breath before turning toward Azul. "I thought..." she said in a low voice. "I thought she would get better as soon as we reached the ocean."

Her eyes were filled with confusion and fear. "But we’re already here." She looked around at the endless blue sea surrounding them. "We’re in the middle of the ocean now, so why isn’t she getting better?"

The more she looked at Azura’s uncomfortable expression, the more anxious she became.

They had rushed all the way here because they believed the ocean would help their daughter, but if Azura was still suffering even after they arrived, then what were they supposed to do next?

For a moment, nobody answered. The only sounds around them were the gentle waves and the distant clicks of the dolphins.

Azul lowered his gaze to Azura and carefully brushed a thumb across her cheek.

His expression had become unusually serious. "This isn’t enough," Azul said quietly. "We have to meet someone, but she’s currently at the bottom of the ocean."

Roxanna felt her chest grow heavy the moment she heard those words. "The bottom of the ocean?" she repeated.

A cold feeling crept down her spine. Everything they had experienced so far had already been terrifying enough. The powerful currents, the endless depths, the feeling of being completely surrounded by water, and now Azul was telling her they had to go even deeper.

"Are you sure we can save her if we go to the bottom of the ocean?" Roxanna asked. Her voice came out softer than she intended.

Azul didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked down at Azura, who was resting weakly in his arms.

After a few seconds, he finally nodded. "I don’t know if it will save her," he admitted honestly. "But I know she’s there."

Roxanna frowned. "Who’s there?"

"The person we need to meet."

"And who is that?"

A strange look crossed Azul’s face. For a moment, he seemed lost in thought, as if he was searching through memories that didn’t completely belong to him.

Then he spoke. "The Sea Mother."

The ocean suddenly felt much colder.

"The Sea Mother?" Zeir repeated.

Calen tilted his head. "Is she some kind of healer?"

"No."

"Then is she a ruler?"

Azul hesitated when he said, "She is my mother."

Suddenly, everyone went into silence, even the waves seemed quieter for a few seconds.

Roxanna blinked. "What?"

Calen stared at him, Zeir stared at him, and the dolphins stared at him. Meanwhile, Azul stared back at all of them as if he had just said something completely normal.

"Your mother?" Roxanna repeated.

"Yes."

"The Sea Mother is your mother?"

"Yes."

"The ruler of the ocean?"

"Yes."

"The one living at the bottom of the sea?"

"Yes."

Roxanna opened her mouth, then closed it, and then opened it again. For some reason, her brain seemed unable to process the information.

Meanwhile, Calen looked genuinely impressed. "Wait, does that mean you’re ocean royalty?"

Azul frowned. "I suppose."

"You suppose?" Calen almost shouted. "How do you suppose something like that?!"

While everyone was still arguing about Azul’s royal status, Roxanna suddenly realized something. "Wait."

All of them fell silent and looked at her.

Roxanna frowned thoughtfully. "Can’t she come to the surface? Or..." she said slowly, "do we have to go to the bottom of the ocean because she can’t leave?"

The moment the question left her mouth, Azul’s expression changed.

It wasn’t dramatic, but Roxanna noticed it immediately. There was a hint of sadness appeared in his eyes.

"She can’t leave," he said in a low voice.

"Why not?" Zeir asked.

Azul looked out at the endless ocean and for a few moments, he didn’t answer.

When he finally spoke, his voice was softer than before. "Because she’s protecting something."

Roxanna frowned. "Protecting what?"

"I don’t remember."