Aqua: Can you beat me first?

"What are you preparing to do?"

Mayona followed Ruby, asking curiously. Early this morning, she had seen Ruby tinkering with a wooden cart and placing a glass box on it. After Ruby's explanation, she learned the term "aquarium."

"Cleaning up a mess."

Ruby replied simply. The Poison Dragon lady had left, but the bathwater she left behind was difficult to deal with. Ruby was now going to find someone who could handle it.

"Aqua, come out quickly."

Ruby pushed the cart all the way to the lakeside and called out Aqua's name. But Aqua, who would usually rush over, was acting like she had a change of heart and ignored him.

Seeing that Aqua wasn't coming out, Ruby knew the Mermaid had gotten smarter. The first time the Poison Dragon bathed here, Ruby had already been troubled by her bathwater. Soon, he thought of the Mermaid's Purification Magic, and thus Aqua's life as a porter began. Every time the Poison Dragon left a mess, she had to clean it up. Ruby, being an ordinary person, could only offer sympathy.

"I have something you like to eat."

Ruby, of course, had a way to deal with idiots. He took out a box he had prepared earlier and opened it. A tempting aroma spread through the air, and soon half a head appeared on the lake's surface. Her secretly observing eyes were fixed on the box.

"Hey, no way, that idiot can resist the temptation of food?"

Mayona looked at Aqua, who wasn't immediately coming to eat, in disbelief. In her impression, Aqua was clearly someone who would risk her life for food.

"I'm not an idiot! Ruby, you just want that, don't you? You want to use my body, right! Every time I finish, I'm half dead from exhaustion!"

Hearing Mayona's words, Aqua angrily surfaced half of her body, pointed at Ruby, and complained discontentedly. Anyone who didn't know would probably think he had done something perverse to Miss Mermaid.

"There's no other way, I can't purify poisoned water, only Aqua can do this."

"E-even if you say that, I won't be happy."

Aqua's indignant expression instantly turned happy, like a blooming flower. Her tail unconsciously swept the water's surface, leaving Mayona without the strength to even retort.

"That's a real shame. This aquarium was originally prepared for the most beautiful mermaid in the world. It seems I'll have to find another mermaid to help. I wonder which beautiful mermaid would be willing to help me."

Ruby showed a look of regret, shook his head, and prepared to push the cart back to search for an unknown beautiful mermaid.

"Me, me, me, I'll do it!"

Hearing this, Aqua could no longer hold back. She swam from the lake towards the shore and voluntarily jumped into the aquarium, filling it with Water Magic.

"Tricking an idiot is a crime."

Mayona didn't know what expression to wear as she looked at Ruby. She felt she should educate Ruby on the laws of the Sacred Empire, as Ruby's actions clearly touched the bottom line of the law. However, speaking of which, if this mermaid fell into her hands, she could sell her to ten different owners in one day and make her lend her money dozens of times.

"Aren't such idiots cute?"

"The body is human, but the mind is fish. No wonder they're called mermaids."

Amidst Mayona's complaints, the two of them and the one fish headed back. Mayona was unaware of how many levels had been dug out beneath the wooden cabin. She only knew that the first basement level was the living quarters, the second level was Ruby's laboratory and warehouse, and she hadn't been below the second level.

The wooden cart became useless before entering the cabin, as it was a bit too large and couldn't go down the stairs. So, Ruby opened his arms to Aqua. Aqua immediately jumped from the aquarium onto him. It was clearly not the first time she had done this. She skillfully hugged Ruby's neck, allowing him to carry her down, holding her shoulders and tail.

"Hold the water."

As they passed the first floor, Ruby placed a large water bottle on Aqua's stomach. Although mermaids couldn't leave water for too long, short periods were fine. However, Ruby still considered such details. The meticulous care made the foolish mermaid happily rub against his chest.

"It's so big down here? And what, are you a groundhog? Why do you like digging holes so much!"

Mayona followed Ruby down to the third level for the first time. It was a large, dark, and damp cavern. Fortunately, when Ruby turned on the switch, the light bulbs on the walls provided some illumination. It was also the continuous line of lights that told Mayona how large it was. She almost suspected Ruby had hollowed out the entire mountain behind them.

"It was already empty. I just modified it. But this equipment for her to bathe took me a year."

"Is that so? Aren't you tired?"

Mayona glanced at Aqua, who was currently courting disaster. Aqua was staring at her with a look of triumph. Originally, she didn't think much of Ruby carrying Aqua, but now she was very unhappy. She was being mocked by a mentally challenged person's gaze.

"It's alright, I'm used to physical labor."

"Let me help you. Water Magic [Pool of Clear Springs]"

Mayona raised her index finger with a benevolent smile. Guided by her Magic Power, a blue water ball quickly formed, growing to about two meters in the air before stopping.

"No, no, no, what do you want to do!"

Aqua instinctively felt danger and tightened her grip on Ruby's arm.

"I'm not doing anything. Look, you're so heavy, it must be tiring for Ruby to carry you. I'll do it."

As Mayona spoke, she thrust the water ball she was holding towards Ruby. When she pulled it back, there was already a mermaid inside the water ball. Ruby's clothes weren't even wet. Such control was simply earth-shattering, warning Aqua not to provoke an Archmage, or she would make you uncomfortable from various angles.

"This is it."

Without Aqua's weight, Ruby was also happy to be at ease and walked much faster. Before long, they reached a basin that had been artificially excavated. The basin was already filled with purple poisonous water, and a thick iron pipe extended from above. Mayona guessed that the Poison Dragon's bathing pool was located above.

"Whoa, it looks like a summoning altar for demons. Are you going to throw her in as a sacrifice?"

Mayona took a few steps back, looking at the bubbling purple liquid. Then, she looked at the mermaid in her hand and asked with a hint of eagerness. The poor mermaid panicked and kept knocking on the edge of the water ball, begging for help. Mayona didn't know how she did it, but the edge of the water ball, which should have been liquid, was as hard as steel. No matter how she struggled, she couldn't get out.

"Stop bullying her. Just put her on the side."

Ruby patted Mayona's head and pointed to the cushion he had prepared earlier. Mayona obediently threw the water ball, along with the mermaid, onto it.

"Ptooey! I curse you! I curse you to choke when you eat and gag when you drink! You hateful guy!"

"That's truly terrifying."

Mayona curled her lips. She had experienced such powerful curses before, so why would she be afraid of a foolish mermaid?

"Aqua, you can start now."

"Hmph, they've taken away my only source of fun, I'm going on strike."

Aqua lay motionless on the cushion, exuding the aura of a lazy fish who didn't want to work. For her, the walk Ruby carried her on had been a psychological comfort, but she hadn't expected Mayona to take even that small comfort away.

"Ha, Ruby, why did you stop Philoxis from bathing in the lake back then?"

Seeing Aqua on strike, Ruby might have to purify the pool himself. Mayona, unable to find another way, decided to use her brain and asked, while the pretending-to-be-dead Aqua perked up her ears to listen.

"I told you, it's because of my water source..."

"Enough with the excuses. While it's true you can't produce water, the Dragon isn't just for decoration. I don't believe someone like you can be choked to death by your environment. At worst, the Dragon can pack up all your equipment and move you somewhere else. Small mountains like this are everywhere; you don't need a year to do all this."

"It's because of this Mermaid, isn't it? She arrived before Philoxis. You can move, but for this Mermaid, that lake is her only home."

"Then can't I just take her with me?"

"Impossible. You don't know where suitable living environments are, and you can't take a Mermaid who can't leave the water for long onto land. If you ask why, it's human greed."

"Mermaids are never seen on the continent. Even cities by the sea rarely see them. They live in the deep sea. It's normal for many people to live their entire lives without ever seeing a Mermaid."

"You should remember what her tears turn into. Once it's discovered that a powerless human is wandering around with a precious Mermaid, it would be more conspicuous than a baby carrying a pile of treasure. If you're lucky, you'll probably be locked up and forced to cry for hours every day. If you're unlucky and encounter a perverted Noble, you know what could happen."

"That's why I say anyone who meets you is lucky. You're a complete idiot."

Mayona's confident voice brought the debate to an end. Ruby hadn't expected Mayona to be so clever. Just as he was about to struggle, he found Miss Mermaid had already jumped over.

"Is, is that so? It was for me?"

Aqua pounced on Ruby, pressing her entire body onto him as she asked.

"These are small matters, it doesn't matter."

Ruby stroked Aqua's beautiful long hair, and the Mermaid began to cry, pearls falling onto Ruby with a pitter-patter sound.

"If you've cried enough, go to work. You don't want to stay here forever, do you?"

"I'll stay if I want to, you're here anyway."

Aqua obediently returned to her post and began casting Purification Magic. Mermaids are favorites of the Water Goddess. Not only are they highly skilled in water magic, but they are also top-notch at purifying water sources. After all, legend has it that the ancestors of the Mermaid race were responsible for cleaning the Goddess's lake.

"You despicable Archmage, did you succeed?"

While Aqua was busy purifying the poisoned water and not paying attention, Ruby finally spoke.

"What are you talking about?"

Miss Archmage, bending over to pick up pearls from the ground, asked as if she didn't understand.

"Intentionally making Aqua cry to collect her tears, and so on. I told you yesterday we were running out of living expenses, and you remembered it."

"Well, I just stated the facts. Her crying out of emotion is her business, so it's not like I'm being despicable."

Running out of living expenses was a very serious matter. It meant Miss Archmage couldn't whimsically order Ruby around. Those precious food ingredients had to be bought with money. Seeing that her next snack was not guaranteed, Mayona was extremely anxious... Well, not that anxious. As long as she was willing to turn to a life of crime, money would be no problem.

"Purification complete."

After an unknown amount of time, just as Mayona was about to fall asleep leaning on her Cloud Magic [White Cushion], Aqua's voice startled her awake. When she walked to the edge of the basin, she found that the water in the pool had completely disappeared. Ruby was inside, wearing gloves and using a dustpan and broom to clean the bottom.

"What are you doing?"

"Aqua can't completely remove the Dragon's poison. These things appear every time after purification. I'm cleaning them up."

Ruby's dustpan was already filled with purple crystals, and there were many more lying at the bottom of the basin.

"Is this a Poison Crystal?"

Mayona, who had seen a lot, immediately recognized what these crystals were. Poison Crystals have a small chance of forming at the bottom of poisonous swamps or within poison-attribute Mo Beasts. These crystals are extremely potent and act very quickly. Basically, the victim dies before they can even react. They are simply essential items for... traveling and home life.

"Poison Crystals? These things are indeed quite poisonous. I studied them for a while. Soaking one of these in water for a second would be enough to poison someone."

"It's more than that. These are very precious magic materials, especially Poison Crystals from a Dragon. Do you know how much these are worth?"

"Worth money? Look over there."

Ruby said nothing, casually pointing to a corner of the cave.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Mayona let out a surprised cry as she looked at the pile of Poison Crystals stacked like a small mountain. She didn't care about anything else; she just felt that her snacks for the rest of her life were secured.