Trash Prince and Ice Queen 10th Re - Life-Chapter 158: Back to Tartagia Kingdom

During the journey to the Tartagia Kingdom aboard Murmic’s luxury zeppelin, Luca—who had joined them on the airship—appeared delighted and ran circles around the deck like a little child who had just found a new toy. Ard and Eva, along with Adeline, who had suddenly become fast friends with Luca, simply followed behind her to make sure she didn’t get into any trouble. Meanwhile, Alicia, Milia, Beatrice, Rosalind, Mirea, Claudia, Pyria, Ainsley, Geoffrey, Thorena, Irwin, and Irina just stood by the deck railing with Lesnar, who sat cross-legged beside them; they could only watch as Luca ran around endlessly, looking truly happy like an ordinary little girl.

"She... she really is that continent-sized giant dragon we just saw, right?" Milia asked, unable to believe that Luca looked just like a typical human girl.

"That’s how it is... hard to believe... but real," Pyria answered.

"So she’s actually still just a child... her true body is the size of a continent, but her personality is like a ten-year-old," Claudia added, observing Luca.

"What’s clear is that she knows the Dragon God Bedryt," Ainsley murmured while pushing up her glasses.

"Yep, exactly. She called Bedryt old and seemed to be on his level... it’s hard to believe," Irwin added.

"I wonder if the other dragons, like Qualdriog and Zorax, are the same as her?" Mirea asked, watching Luca.

"Possibly... but they’re likely more like the Dragon God; it’s impossible for them to be children," Irina answered.

Rosalind turned to see Beatrice and Alicia still staring toward Luca, who was running around the deck and asking numerous questions while pointing at things for Adeline, who held her hand, all under the watchful eyes of Ard and Eva. A mischievous smile appeared on her face.

"Hey... Princess, do you want to join them over there?" Rosalind asked, noticing Beatrice standing silently, just watching Adeline as she seemed to be playing with Luca.

"Am I allowed to?" Beatrice asked, turning to Rosalind with a face full of hope.

"Of course not. Even though she looks like a child, she’s a goddess and a giant dragon, so it’s best if you just stay right here. Her status is clearly much higher than that of a princess," Rosalind replied, answering quite bluntly.

"Then why did you even ask... you’re terrible," Beatrice said, annoyed because she felt like she was being teased.

"And you look like you want to join them too, Alicia," Rosalind said, turning to Alicia.

"Ah... no," replied Alicia, who clearly wanted to join in since she adored children—especially little girls—being the youngest child herself.

"Good, it’s better if you two just stay here and don’t try anything funny," Rosalind replied, looking triumphant with a wide grin.

Meanwhile, Thorena and Lesnar kept their eyes on Luca, appearing as though they were still struggling to accept that she was actually Lucathan—the goddess and giant dragon ruler of the seas who forbade their kind from crossing to the other continent and had always been a looming threat over the waters.

Now, she was right there with them, running around the deck with enthusiasm and asking all sorts of questions like a little girl who wanted to know everything. Geoffrey, standing between the two of them, simply smiled as he watched and remained silent, understanding that they were still finding it hard to believe what they were seeing.

The airship continued its journey toward the Tartagia Kingdom. From a distance, a majestic city was already visible, featuring three pyramids that were said to act as conductors for electricity and energy. The houses in the city looked like large, tall temples with domed roofs, each equipped with a pillar that seemed to function as an energy receiver. Luca perched on the edge of the deck, even lifting her feet as she peeked over the side, while Adeline held onto her body to make sure she didn’t fall. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Wow... what a majestic city, incredible," Luca said with a cheerful face, holding down her hair as it blew in the wind.

"Be careful, Luca!" Adeline shouted, gripping her tightly.

Luca jumped down and immediately sat cross-legged, leaning against the wall of the deck railing; she seemed satisfied with her playtime, while Adeline sat next to her looking relieved. Ard and Eva also sat cross-legged in front of the two of them.

"Had enough sightseeing, Luca?" Ard asked.

"Yep... I’m done. Turns out the land underground is actually pretty interesting, even though it’s much better to see the merman civilization under the sea," Luca answered casually.

Ard and Eva instantly went silent, turning to look at one another, while Adeline looked completely puzzled with a face that said "what are you guys about to talk about." Then Ard and Eva turned back to Luca.

"Mermen? The half-human, half-fish creatures that legends say live in the surface oceans?" Eva asked.

"Yep, that’s right. I’m their guardian," Luca answered proudly.

"Huh... they actually exist?" Ard asked, confused.

"Of course. They’ve been hiding and distancing themselves from the world all this time because they don’t want to meddle in worldly affairs. When we return to the surface later, I can introduce you to them," Luca replied.

"Owh... is that so? Where exactly are they?" Eva asked.

"They are between the central continent and the western continent," Luca answered.

"Huh... the western continent? The empty continent that has nothing but desert?" Ard asked.

"True, but on the coastal shores of the western continent that are still green, there are many villages belonging to merman tribes who live on land, just like me," Luca said, showing off her two legs that looked like fish but were split in two like a human’s and covered in fish scales.

Ard and Eva examined Luca’s legs and finally realized that Luca’s form wasn’t actually human, but a merman. They immediately shifted closer together until their faces were near, whispering while Luca talked to Adeline.

"Ard, wasn’t the western continent also the location of that old kingdom?" Eva asked.

"Yeah, the kingdom I destroyed because they executed you back then, which turned into a desert 3,000 years ago," Ard answered.

"Hmm... Azroth’s first base, right," Eva replied.

"True, but I never knew there were mermen there. Maybe I just didn’t see them... mermen are a race just like dwarves and giants, a race that supposedly hasn’t existed since the battle between the Goddess and the five dragons long ago," Ard replied.

"Hmm... that’s what the legends say, but if dwarves and giants are real... it doesn’t mean it’s impossible for mermen to be real too, especially since Luca took their form. It seems that even though we lived 3,000 years ago, reincarnated in this era, and repeated life nine times, there is still so much we don’t know," Eva said.

"Yeah, it seems that way," Ard replied.

"Hey... what are you guys talking about?" Luca asked.

"Nothing," Ard and Eva replied at the same time as they slid away from each other.

Then they returned to their conversation. Ard and Eva even called over Thorena and Lesnar, who hadn’t taken their eyes off them, to join the chat with Luca—though both appeared stiff as they approached.

***

Meanwhile, in the Tartagia royal palace, inside the room where Prince Elmer and Princess Grethia had been moved from Kresus’s residence, Vogir sat beside his daughter’s bed, holding both her hands. Murmic and Hardim sat beside the Crown Prince’s bed.

"Ugh."

The sound of Prince Elmer groaning rang out. Murmic and Hardim immediately stood up to watch the prince as he stirred. Murmic turned to see Vogir, who was also standing with a stunned expression, watching his daughter squirm. Then he turned back to Elmer.

"Elmer," Murmic said, stepping forward.

But Hardim pulled Murmic back, making him stumble until Murmic turned to look at Hardim with a flushed face.

"What do you think you’re doing?" Murmic shouted.

"Let him wake up on his own, Brother. Be patient," Hardim replied.

"Whoaaaaah!"

Elmer woke up and immediately sat upright in his bed. He was sweating profusely, looking panicked as he glanced left and right to take in his surroundings. His wide eyes landed on Murmic and Hardim, then on Vogir, and finally on Grethia, who was groaning in the bed next to his. Without delay, Elmer climbed down and scrambled onto Grethia’s bed.

"Grethia... Grethia... I’m here," Elmer said, taking Grethia’s hand.

"El...mer?" Grethia asked slowly.

Grethia opened her eyes, and when the first thing she saw was Elmer, she immediately sat up and pulled him into a hug with her four arms, even though he was much smaller than her. Of course, Elmer hugged Grethia back, stretching his arms as wide as they could go. Their faces showed immense gratitude to see each other safe, leaving Murmic, Hardim, and Vogir—who had shifted toward the others—completely speechless.

A few moments later, Elmer and Grethia released their embrace and looked around. They appeared shocked to find themselves in a bedroom within the Tartagia royal palace. After that, their eyes fell upon Vogir, who was standing next to Murmic and Hardim, all of them frozen like statues as they watched.

"Papa? Why are you here at the Tartagia palace?" Elmer asked Murmic, sounding confused.

"Wait, Papa? Why are you... standing next to King Murmic? Have you finally agreed to our relationship?" Grethia asked Vogir.

"Calm down first. You both just woke up after fifty years of being asleep and possessed," said Hardim, stepping forward to explain since Vogir and Murmic were still standing there, motionless.

"Huh... what?" Elmer and Grethia asked at the same time with puzzled expressions, then turned to look at each other.