The Final Battle (Part Two)

Fish-Man Island, Ryugu Palace.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Prime Minister Colin of the Kingdom of Heaven is here..."

The door creaked open. The right minister, who usually dressed impeccably and kept his hair and beard perfectly groomed, looked disheveled and rushed. It wasn't that he had forgotten his manners. Colin had arrived late at night, at a time when every visit carried weight. The timing was startling.

"Thank you for your efforts, right minister. Don't alert anyone else. The queen and I will greet him ourselves."

Neptune, seated high on his throne, did not rebuke the minister. He and Queen Otohime were already dressed and ready, their faces grave. The right minister froze, then seemed to realize something. His two catfish whiskers twitched. "Yes, Your Majesty. Prime Minister Colin is just outside the connecting corridor."

"Let's go, Otohime."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"..."

As the right minister silently straightened his clothes, he watched them leave and thought back to several days earlier. When the war in the New World had first broken out, the king and queen had gone in person to Fish-Man District to visit Shyarly, a six-year-old fortune-teller whose predictions were one hundred percent accurate.

No one but Queen Otohime knew what Neptune had learned from Shyarly. Since that day, though, the two of them had often worked late into the night.

Now it made sense. Shyarly must have foreseen Prime Minister Colin's arrival without knowing exactly when he would come. That was why the king and queen had been working so unusually late.

Where do we sea people go from here...?

The right minister's worry was not unfounded. Walking down the corridor, Neptune had also resolved to face what lay ahead. "Whatever caused Noah to fly away, I trust King Reg and Prime Minister Colin. They aren't men