"Little Beauty."
Zhao Lei was leaning so far over the side of the boat that half his body was nearly hanging out.
"I'm leaving."
"Look, the boat is—"
His voice cut off abruptly.
Little Beauty's inexplicable disappearance that morning... The sudden appearance of the boat... The malfunctioning compass...
A thought flashed through Zhao Lei's mind.
"Little Beauty, was it you?!"
He quickly glanced behind him.
The bald crewman was singing.
None of them had noticed his shout just now.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he looked back at Little Beauty.
This time, he deliberately lowered his voice.
"Little Beauty, did you find this boat for me?"
"Eee~"
Little Beauty happily flicked her tail in the water.
The pink-gold scales on her tail shimmered and sparkled in the sunlight.
She was beautiful beyond words.
"So it really was you..."
Zhao Lei smiled in sudden realization.
Of course.
He should have guessed as soon as he heard the captain say the compass had gone haywire.
There had been so many coincidences...
He really was slow on the uptake.
Zhao Lei "spat" on himself in his thoughts.
His eyes curved into a smile. "Little Beauty."
He took a deep breath, his voice solemn. "Thank you."
"Eee~"
Little Beauty's head emerged from the water.
She seemed a little confused by the solemn way Zhao Lei was speaking to her for the first time.
Zhao Lei's tone grew gentler.
"Little Beauty, thank you."
This time, a clear note of amusement colored his voice.
A radiant smile appeared on Little Beauty's face, too.
"...Little Beauty."
Zhao Lei pressed his lips together.
A sense of reluctance welled up inside him.
"I'm leaving."
"Eee~"
Little Beauty tilted her head.
"I'm leaving that little island."
Zhao Lei pointed toward the island, now much smaller in