"Your Majesty Liszt."
"Gullveig, how is your recovery?"
"Thank you for Your Majesty's concern. I still can't fight, but deep-sea diving is no longer a problem." The gigantic mermaid Gullveig's pitted body was visibly smoothing out at a rapid pace. She looked far more pleasing to the eye now, finally displaying a little of a true mermaid's grace.
Liszt smiled and nodded. "That's good. Only with a healthy body can one enjoy this beautiful life."
"A beautiful life... I only hope to purify the sea as soon as possible, so that the countless souls drowning in the Curse Dragon's pollution can be freed from their suffering."
"Rest assured. Everything will get better."
After chatting casually with Gullveig for a few moments, Liszt entered the palace-like Sea Laboratory. Though the grand and lavish building looked imposing from outside, its interior was much cruder. Fish Ugly lacked artistic flair; the marks of hammer and chisel were too pronounced, and everything was crooked and uneven, with no sense of symmetry.
That instantly gave Liszt an idea: when it came time for future construction projects, Fish Ugly could handle the building while the serfs handled the decorating.
"Your Highness, you've arrived." Kelly, vice president of the Magic Guild, came out to greet him—the Flame Kingdom had yet to be established, so forms of address for Liszt remained rather chaotic. Most people still called him Your Highness, while a smaller number had begun calling him Your Majesty. No uniform convention had yet been set.
Liszt himself did not care. Your Highness or Your Majesty, they were all the same to him.
"Where's Ake?"
"Lady Ake Roides is conducting experiments in the laboratory. Please come with me, Your Highness." As she led the way, Kelly reported on the experiment's progress. "During the days Your Highness was