Meeting

As Mjosgard shouted excitedly, Gawain's ship began sounding its horn. The thunderous blast spread rapidly through the seawater and soon reached Ryugu Kingdom's welcoming party.

King Neptune rode a whale, swimming through the waters high above Ryugu Palace. Below him, the Merfolk citizens looked up at him with anxious expressions.

Of course the Merfolk were uneasy. Ever since Ryugu Kingdom had officially joined the World Government's allied nations two hundred years ago, Ryugu Kingdom had never received a Celestial Dragon.

The last time a Celestial Dragon had appeared in Ryugu Palace was five years ago, when Mjosgard had been shipwrecked and washed up here.

The Fish-Men had long forgotten the friendship between Mjosgard and Queen Otohime during the week he spent on the island.

All they remembered was that less than a week after that damned Celestial Dragon arrived at the palace, their beloved Queen Otohime had been assassinated by a human!

At that thought, the anxious faces of the Merfolk below gradually changed, anger slowly creeping into their eyes. Neptune noticed this and raised his trident, shouting loudly.

"Two days ago, subordinates of the Celestial Dragons from the Sabaody Archipelago brought us unbelievable news!

Among the Celestial Dragons, Saint Mjosgard and Saint Gawain have resolved to return the forty-six members of our people who disappeared over the past five years!

At this moment, we have gathered here not merely to welcome so-called... descendants of gods, because we all know very well that the gods of us Fish-Men are by no means the gods of those humans!

The reason we wait here, the reason we hold such hope, is because our people are returning!

They were seized by cunning and vicious slave traders, forced to the surface, and stripped of their freedom, but... we are not their slaves!

According to the information we received, Saint Mjosgard has done everything he could to protect our people these past five years. Now, he is returning them all to us.

They are our family, our loved ones, our children, and even more, our... memories!

So, my people, lift your heads. Our kin will return soon.

We must let them see our anticipation. Only then will they know...

They have come home!"

As his words fell, Neptune raised his trident high, then swung it forward.

Oooooooh!!!

The bands along both sides and behind the formation immediately began playing grand, stirring music!

Numerous seahorse Fish-Men swam continuously around the formation, scattering crystalline coral from their arms into the sunlit water.

All kinds of beautiful Merfolk gathered behind Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, and Manboshi. Many of them gazed expectantly into the distance, hoping that the ones returning would be their former sisters and relatives.

And Neptune.

Listening to the increasingly close horn and watching the ship's shadow grow larger, he put away his trident, guided the giant whale, and swam from the front of the formation toward the docking point for the arriving vessel.

Behind him, his Minister of the Left and Right wiped away sweat with difficulty.

The Minister of the Left held a notebook and coughed lightly.

"I can't stand this. The Celestial Dragons are about to arrive, and according to the etiquette from two hundred years ago, we actually have to kneel!"

Hearing that, the Minister of the Right looked around and smiled knowingly.

"Ahem, I prepared for that long ago. Haven't you noticed that the ones here to welcome them are all male Merfolk and female Merfolk? There are barely any Fish-Men here.

Everyone knows that those with legs are Fish-Men, while us Merfolk don't have legs.

No legs means no kneeling, naturally!"

As he spoke, the Minister of the Right took out a Bubble Injector and gave it a light press. Bubbles immediately poured from the injector, wrapping around him.

At the same time, the surrounding Merfolk also put bubbles around themselves in the water.

Seeing that everyone was ready, the Minister of the Right waved his Steel Fork and pointed toward the entrance of Ryugu Palace.

"Everyone, connect the water-film passage and open Ryugu Palace!"

"Understood!!!"

The soldiers shouted in unison, and a tubular bubble immediately extended from outside Ryugu Palace's gates toward the outer coating beyond the palace.

The moment the two coatings connected, water filled the tubular air film, and the people of Ryugu Palace gradually made their way through the passage toward the island's outer coating.

Meanwhile, outside Fish-Man Island, Gawain and the others arrived beside Fish-Man Island's massive outer coating.

Upon arriving, one of Gawain's subordinates immediately used an amplification device to shout toward Fish-Man Island.

"Damn it, this is outrageously disrespectful! This is a Celestial—"

"Gion!"

Gawain sharply warned her. Gion immediately used Geppo, and in less than a second, a sound came from the amplification device...

"Celestial... thud!?!"

After a jolt, the soldiers guarding Fish-Man Island's outer layer suddenly realized that the voice had changed.

It shifted from an arrogant male voice to an emotionless female one.

"Ahem, this is a Celestial Dragon vessel. Please have Ryugu Kingdom arrange passage immediately!"

"Received!"

Fish-Man Island quickly switched the outer coating around the entrance, replacing it with a type that would not rupture the Sabaody coating.

Then, numerous sharks swam out from the coating. They approached Gawain's ship and connected the bubbles around their bodies to the ship.

Once everything was ready, the sharks began to pull. Gawain's ship moved slowly forward, its bubble gradually entering Fish-Man Island's incomparably enormous bubble.

At that moment, Gion returned to Gawain's side. She sighed and said softly.

"My lord, your subordinates seem unable to understand your intentions. Perhaps you could hand them over to me for training for a while."

"No need. They are not my subordinates, but the Five Elders'. Even if they protect or serve me, it is all by the Five Elders' orders.

If you want to lead troops, that's not a problem, but not now.

It won't be long before we have subordinates of our own."

As he finished speaking, Gawain could not help raising his head. After entering Fish-Man Island, the sunlight overhead had become increasingly brilliant!

Watching Gawain look up beneath the sunlight, Gion smiled faintly and said softly.

"I understand, my lord. I will gradually drive them away afterward, but everything will be based on ensuring your safety."

"No need."

Gawain shook his head.

"I have my own arrangements for them. Leave them to me."

"Mm, then I will leave them to you."

Gion nodded with a smile, then looked forward alongside Gawain. After their ship entered Fish-Man Island's coating, it soon left the seawater and began floating completely in the sky!

That was right. Fish-Man Island truly possessed a vast sky, and faint clouds even drifted through it. The Fish-Men had constructed enormous stretches of bubbles between the roots of Sun Tree Eve. Once connected, those bubbles formed a vast air zone, along with one independent bubble island after another that looked like marbles from afar.

In other words, Fish-Man Island's overall environment was like a huge balloon containing countless smaller balloons. Every small balloon was an island, while the space between those smaller balloons was Fish-Man Island's immense sky!

As Gawain watched the ship fly through the sky, the breathtaking scenery around him made him feel content again and again. His thoughts were beyond words; he only knew that he dearly wanted to recite poetry.

Either recite a Short Song Style, or sing a Spring in the Garden!

Unfortunately, he was not worthy of it yet. He had only been here for three days, with Gion as his sole subordinate. This was merely the beginning, nowhere near the grandeur described in those poems.

But it was fine. Bread would come, and milk would come too!

Especially when Gawain saw the enormous whale rapidly approaching through the air, and the magnificent formation behind it.

Gawain smiled.

Wasn't his future right there in that formation?

After his smile faded, King Neptune led his subordinates to a stop before Gawain's ship.

Looking at the enormous vessel before him, at the indistinct humans on its deck, and especially when Neptune saw Mjosgard wearing a bubble helmet.

A flicker of sorrow passed through his eyes.

Suppressing his longing for the queen, Neptune sighed, guided the giant whale to Gawain's ship, and hovered at deck level. He bowed to Mjosgard and Gawain.

"Ryugu Kingdom welcomes you all. I am Neptune, King of Ryugu Kingdom!

Next, the giant whale and the Flood Shark will help guide your vessel forward. In addition, I ask that the Celestial Dragons open the coating, so that my ministers and welcoming party may board your deck."

"Quick, quick, get aboard, now!"

Mjosgard had long been frantic with urgency. He desperately waved his right hand, urging the people from Ryugu Palace to board the ship.

However, after the past three days together, the servants and guards traveling with Mjosgard trusted Gawain's decisions more. Thus, the people aboard looked past Mjosgard and toward Gawain.

Under everyone's waiting gaze, Gawain gently raised his right hand and gave the order.

"Everyone, open the coating. Invite King Neptune aboard!"

As his words fell, someone immediately opened a large hole in the coating before Neptune.

Neptune and the several hundred Merfolk behind him boarded the ship, while the forty-six Merfolk waiting on Gawain's deck finally rushed toward their fellow people.

It was May 1st, Labor Day. How much labor I put into this Labor Day depends on what we can accomplish together.

This book has currently stopped getting recommendations. If I don't want to crash and burn before it goes premium, I can only try my best to fight for a ranking on the new releases chart and create exposure for Gawain beyond the various recommendations.

I hope everyone can vote for Gawain. We are currently eighty-ninth on the overall new releases chart. Once we break into the top fifty, I will begin releasing extra chapters. The higher the ranking, the more extra chapters there will be.

Also, please keep reading daily. Daily read-throughs are the key factor in determining recommendation types. Maybe being short just one or two read-throughs is enough for me to get kicked down by authors from the same period, sob sob sob.

I truly love this book. Even if its results are poor, I accept that. I will steadily finish writing it, just like Injustice Superman, fulfilling a dream of Pirate King.

Let us encourage one another. We all have bright futures ahead of us. Love you all.