Exusiai: Who Are You Calling "Mom"?

"The boss knows the gods... Wait a minute, does that mean our Penguin Logistics boss is actually that powerful?"

"Otherwise, why do you think he survived so many deaths? Beast Lords are immortal, and their true forms probably don't even exist in this dimension of reality."

The Emperor's immortality has never been a secret. He has offended many people and would get his head blown off if he walked down the street, but he always manages to reappear quickly. This is how the legend of his immortality began to spread.

"But such Beast Lords is probably just a legend, right?"

"No, that's not it." Mizuki denied the Doctor's words. "Ama does exist. She is a glowing deer, very tall but very gentle. She truly Sami's life."

"You've seen it?"

"Yes, He kept coming to see me during my time in Sami, probably worried that I had ill intentions, but I felt relieved afterward. Maybe I can ask Him about what happened back then when I go to Sami again."

Mizuki had indeed met Ama. The ancient Sami god, just as the Sami people said, cherished all the living beings of that land. Myths from other places may have become insignificant jokes and legends, but the ancient Sami god alone still existed, and He could never let go of the people of that land.

"In Sami, if you find a light, unmelting snowball on the snow, carry it with you; it is Ama's blessing."

"Unless they are too young or have suffered some kind of accident, Sami tribe will possess an Ancestral Tree belonging to the tribe, and they will take the Ancestral Tree with them when they relocate."

The Sami described by Mizuki is a magical place. Not to mention the two optimists, Doctor and Exusiai, even Skadi wants to go and see it.

"Don't you find it troublesome to bring the tree with you when you move?"

"No, Sami's tree will walk on its own and can even take the house with it, so it's quite effortless."

"... Walk by yourself?"

"Yes, it's like pulling the roots out of the soil and then twisting them into something like feet, so it can walk. It's quite a commotion."

Listening to Mizuki's description, the Doctor couldn't quite picture it in her mind, but she felt it must be incredibly impressive and fun. Maybe next time she wouldn't even go to Columbia, and would head straight to Sami.

"I used to think Sami was just as backward as Kjerag, it's actually quite funny."

"At least Sami has a city."

Mizuki added, then closed her eyes and leaned back. She had thought things would improve after arriving in Iberia, but it seemed she was too optimistic. She needed to keep a close eye on Sami people, since they weren't that reliant on Originium.

In the distant Sami, the continuous snowstorm finally stopped, and the oppressive atmosphere was no longer obvious. Typhon adjusted the bow and arrow in her hand. Her intuition told her that the snowstorm had not stopped, but was just gathering strength. The best proof of this was the Black Bow in her hand, which had long been tainted.

The same force drew the bow, yet its power grew even stronger, signifying that the Demons had not subsided. News had vanished from the northern snow mountain front; no one knew whether the warriors were alive or dead. Typhon disliked them; those guys were always rigid and cold-faced, keeping everyone at arm's length. But when she thought of all the people who had died on the Sami border over the years, she felt an indescribable sadness.

"Ealchi, when do you think Mizuki will be back?"

Typhon missed Mizuki again. When she first met Mizuki, she only thought that this person was really amazing. She was wearing less clothing than herself in the freezing cold. Typhon herself was not frozen because of the Black Bow, while Mizuki was just relying on her physical strength to withstand it.

As they spent more time together, she discovered that things weren't quite what she had imagined. Mizuki wasn't an ordinary person. He wasn't as eccentric as other outsiders. He was curious but didn't act recklessly. Moreover, he was incredibly skilled in combat and was under the protection of Mother Ama. Every time he went out, he would bring back a bunch of snowballs from Mother Ama. Typhon even began to wonder if he was Mother Ama's biological son.

Then... Mizuki told Typhon a lot of interesting things, about the outside world. He didn't have the arrogance of so-called civilized people; he was even like a genuine Sami. Typhon liked him very much, mainly because Mizuki was a good cook, and he wouldn't have nightmares when sleeping next to Mizuki. He also sang very well, even though he couldn't understand what he was singing.

"It won't be long."

Ealchi opened her eyes, Typhon knew she was trying to predict the future. The predictions of the Cyclops were always very accurate, but they were almost never good. No one wanted to know how they died, so Ealchi never had any friends in the camp.

"The Cyclops have all arrived?"

"The defenses of the Northern Ice Fields are about to crumble, and this will become Sami's last line of defense. The Tree Scar Warriors will arrive soon, and of course, they cannot be absent."

"Then Ealchi, have you seen the future?"

Ealchi didn't answer. She didn't know how to describe what she saw to Typhon. Seeing the future was not a happy thing. When all futures showed an unstoppable trend of decay, Ealchi understood how difficult it was for this land to maintain its current peace.

A balloon on a pint—that's the best way to describe Terra, especially since there's more than one pin.

Originally, all the "needles" maintained a certain stable state. The Firstborn Seaborn had been accumulating power, and the Demons had not truly turned their attention here. The creator of the Originium was still asleep.

But now one of the "needles" has withdrawn on its own, while the other is slowly approaching. The Terra are not prepared to deal with all of this. Ama is indeed powerful, capable of confronting one of the stronger ones behind the gate, but how many Beast Lords love humanity as deeply as Ama does?

Ealchi gripped her staff tightly; she still remembered everything she had witnessed that night.

You only have one chance.

[That's enough. At least we still have a chance, don't we? Terra may not be that great, but it shouldn't follow in our footsteps.]

Does what you're talking about really exist?

[We have to take a gamble. It doesn't matter if I die. The Doctor must have left other backup plans besides mine.]

That night, Ealchi overheard the conversation between Mizuki and Ama, and it was also that night that she received the most unwanted prophecy from the Sarkaz's Sea of Consciousness.

She saw the door open, and Mizuki stood before the darkness that seemed to swallow everything, not as if she were closing the door, but rather as if... welcoming something.

It's going to rain.

Typhon looked up and noticed that thick, dark clouds covered most of the sky, but judging from the accumulating lightning, it should be rain rather than snow, which was a relief.

"Mizuki, how do you think we can subtly lure that Little Bird to the island?"

Since being reprimanded by Kal'tsit several times, Doctor no longer dares to mention things like drugging, kidnapping, or threatening people. Otherwise, if she wanted to abduct Irene, she would probably just say something like, "Little Bird, you don't want me to let Mizuki do anything to your Iberia, do you?"

I have a feeling this is something only Doctor could do.

"That's easy."

Ho'olheyak had just switched cars with Skadi at noon and was now sitting in the passenger seat of Mizuki, couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh, her face clearly showing a malicious expression.

"All we need to do is get Mizuki to catch that Little Bird; he's very good at that."

Mizuki selectively ignored Ho'olheyak's teasing. The agreed meeting place was just ahead, and she hoped that the other side wouldn't be too nervous.

Chapter 162 Exusiai: Who are you calling "Dama"?

The agreed-upon location was a dilapidated and desolate town, which the Sea Siren and the Inquisition had renovated, making it appear only slightly old.

This meeting was not suitable for public discussion. After all, the existence of the Seaborn was not known to the Iberia. It was mostly passed down as legends and folk tales. Apart from the residents along the coast, few people would take the Seaborn seriously. They only knew that Iberia had never recovered its strength over the years.

Although they had rehearsed and planned many times beforehand, Irene still couldn't help feeling a little reserved. Iberia desperately needed this peace talk. If the peace talks failed, the most optimistic estimate was that Iberia could only hold on for another thirty years. This was based on the premise that Victoria maintained the status quo. If Victoria had a new monarch, then a war against foreign powers would be the best way to stabilize public sentiment and gain prestige. War would inevitably come within three years.

More than twenty years ago, King Victoria did not take action against Iberia because Iberia was still considered powerful at the time, and there were many internal conflicts between the monarch and the parliament.

But Iberia simply cannot afford the risk now; it can't gamble, and negotiations are the best option.

No matter how difficult it was to hold on, Irene and the others could not bring themselves to say such things. During this time, the entire Inquisition and all the Inquisition were mobilized, not only to monitor the sea to prevent sneak attacks, but also as a hint to the Sea Siren that the Iberia Inquisition still had the power to protect their country, and that the inquisitors could still die for Iberia.

Even if the Sea Siren and the Seaborn wanted to break off relations and continue the war, Iberia would not back down an inch.

"Your flame is flickering, Irene."

"I'm sorry, sir."

Reminded by Saint Carmen, Irene composed herself and cleared her mind of distractions. She was indeed very Izumik what Izumic looked like. The Sea Siren were terrified of Izumik; a single word from him could keep Sea Siren busy for half a day. They were even more focused on building the town than the rest of them, worried that Izumik might displease him.

But they also deeply respect and Izumik, and when they mention the God of Life, they always feel an indescribable pride and honor. It was the Mizuki that made them evolve from Sea Siren into Sea Siren, and allowed the simulated personalities that had long been buried in their genes to truly come into play.

Compared to the solemn judges, the Sea Siren appeared more nervous yet less restrained.

"Hey, do you think my lower body should turn into a crab or a lobster?"

"Just don't turn into an octopus like last time, it'll scare people."

"You're one to talk! What about when you turned into a ship last time?"

"Hey, stop messing around. Can't you just behave yourselves? No matter what you become, it won't stop Izumik from beating you up."

After arguing for quite some time, Sea Siren #233 and Sea Siren #999 had no choice but to shut up. Siren No. 1 suddenly regretted bringing these two to the peace talks. She could have just picked any two, but these two were more familiar with Irene, and she chose them to make the little Little Bird less nervous.

(By the way, does Izumik prefer fish tails or snake tails?)

As she spoke, even Siren No. 1's own train of thought went astray. She couldn't help but glance around again. This town was full of Sea Siren and Iberia Inquisition, lacking any sense of life and instead appearing desolate and solemn. Sea Siren was certain that Izumik wouldn't like this place.

Now, everyone can see the vehicles approaching from a few kilometers ahead; Izumik is coming.

"Oh, this welcome is much less impressive than I expected."

Miss Doctor glanced around and saw that, besides Irene, Dario, and Carmen, there were three Sea Siren at the entrance to the town, and behind them were about thirty judges, or perhaps high judges. It seemed rather rudimentary compared to the content of the meeting.

"After all, it was a secret negotiation, so it couldn't be made public. Although I made the terms very clear, they still had a lot of ideas."

Mizuki looked at the restored town, a nostalgic expression on her face.

"I never thought I'd be back here."

"Have you been here before?"

"This is where I first met Skadi."

Skadi from mentioning the story of being caught by Mizuki to outsiders. However, she also missed this place. The past was vivid in her mind, and the time she spent with Mizuki was forever etched in her heart. From the initial hatred and hostility to the gradual relaxation and now the affection for him, it was a very subtle process. Skadi was too lazy to talk about it, but looking at Mizuki now, many people probably wouldn't believe that she would use such a forceful method to make her eat.

Mizuki parked her car a few dozen meters from the town and walked out, glancing at the dilapidated sign: Tide Stone Town.

When they saw Mizuki step off the car with an umbrella, Irene, Dario, and even Carmen all felt that the person in front of them couldn't possibly be the Izumik the Sea Siren had been talking about, after all, their appearances were too different.

According to the Sea Siren's description, Izumik was at least two meters tall, with a rough voice and a violent temper. He was at least a physical tentacle monster, if not three heads and six arms. But the one in front of them was clearly a handsome and cute young man.

However, the Sea Siren's instinctive standing at attention proved the identity of the person in front of them. Irene even felt that the figure looked familiar, but she was not an acquaintance or friend. Mizuki also had little impression or familiarity with her.

The blue-haired boy opened his umbrella, and sunlight, filtering through the transparent fabric, shone upon him in a rainbow of colors, giving him an almost unreal, dreamlike appearance. Like a Mizuki, an illusion, yet how many people have fallen into its trap?

Irene simply thought the scene was incredibly beautiful. She wasn't the type to be infatuated with girls, nor did she think Mizuki was particularly pretty. It was just that at this moment, the person in front of her, bathed in sunlight under an umbrella, with the sea breeze ruffling his hair, looked so harmonious and perfect with the azure sea. No wonder the Sea Siren always said that Izumik was the sea itself; he was indeed as captivating as the sea.

"Father!!"

However, Siren No. 1's words completely ruined the atmosphere. He was so excited that he wanted to pounce on her, but Mizuki held his head down with one hand and gave him a helpless look.

I was just trying to test these people's abilities, creating a Mizuki illusion, but it all got ruined. That brat must have deliberately distracted me.

But Mizuki wouldn't get angry over something like this. She was just instinctively trying to intimidate these people to avoid trouble, not because she really wanted to cause trouble.

The Iberia judges, Aya, also realized what was happening and were astonished by Mizuki's methods. However, they were almost blinded by the illusion; behind him were clearly desolate hills, not a sea!

"When did you get such a big child on my back?" Exusiai had originally planned to wait in the car a little longer, but she couldn't hold back after hearing Siren No. 1's words.

"Didn't you see it before?" Mizuki felt a little embarrassed. "This is the same Sea Siren from before, only it was diluted with a lot of water."

This vivid description immediately made Exusiai understand what was going on. She stared at it for a moment and found that this Sea Siren was indeed the first one that had been born and summoned by Mizuki. However, it was a miniature version like Muelsyse before, but now it was a normal-sized one.

Hello, ma'am!

Upon seeing Exusiai, Siren No. 1 and the two Sea Siren behind her immediately approached and greeted her in the Great Yanese. After all, in the minds of these three girls, Exusiai was Great Yan person, so it was appropriate to greet her in the Great Yan language.

However, this title Exusiai was leaning against the car door, lose her balance and fall to the ground, causing her to become extremely agitated.

"Who are you calling 'auntie'?! I'm only in my early twenties and not married yet!!"

"Huh, isn't that wrong?" Siren No. 1 scratched her head. "Human names are really hard to understand, but we shouldn't have called them wrong. Could it be a language problem?"

Seeing Miss Sea Siren scratching her head, the Doctor adjusted her demeanor slightly. Although she was a bit unserious, she could still be relied upon in serious situations.

"Ah, Third Aunt!"

"..." The Doctor almost lost her composure, and Mizuki finally realized what was going on. "You should probably change how you address Xiao Le."

Strictly speaking, the name used for these Sea Siren isn't wrong. They were born in the Sea of Life of Mizuki, and Mizuki is their father, so Exusiai is naturally their mother, and calling her "Mom" is normal. But the problem is that they don't just have one mother. Even if we don't count Kal'tsit and others who came later, using Doctor, Exusiai, and Specter as references for their personalities and intelligence, and using Muelsyse's life form as a template, there are at least four who can be considered half a mother, making it a total of two.

"Change it to what?"

"As long as the meaning is the same, it's fine. But you guys can actually speak the Great Yanese?"

"It's not difficult to speak the words, but I don't quite understand why there are so many words with similar meanings."

Miss Sea Siren pondered the issue of how to address him, and finally came up with something that was somewhat acceptable, while looking at Exusiai was almost driven mad with anger.

"Hello, ma'am?"

"Can't you just remove these damn big words for me?"

Exusiai was practically ready to pull out her gun and fire a burst at Sea Siren. Suddenly, she felt incredibly tired. Texas, who already knew about the Sea Siren, patted her on the shoulder. "Just bear with it. Have you forgotten what Mizuki said? At least half of these Sea Siren's personalities are learned from you."

Now Exusiai finally understood what it meant to reap what you sow. Couldn't these Sea Siren learn something good? Couldn't they learn from her sister and Mostima... oh wait, they shouldn't learn from her either. The thought of so many Sea Siren having the same personality as her older sister Exusiai as well just drag Mizuki away from this world.

"Fine, just call me Exusiai, it's not like I gave birth to her."

"That won't do. A stepmother is still a mother, and besides, you're not the wicked type." Miss Sea Siren was quite self-aware in this regard, Mizuki hoped she wouldn't be so self-aware.

"Alright, this isn't just a family gathering. They've been standing there watching for ages."

For once, Doctor was serious, and Mizuki looked at Irene and the others. Although the thirty-three judges couldn't quite understand what they were saying, they didn't seem that serious. It felt like this group wasn't here for peace talks, but rather for tourism. Putting aside Ho'olheyak, even Carmen couldn't help but frown when she saw Skadi and Specter.

Iberia's rejection of the Aegir was not without reason. The Great Silence decades ago directly knocked the Aegir down from their position as the strongest nation on Terra. A large number of Aegir were spies of the Church of the Deep, and there were even spies within the Inquisition.

Carmen wouldn't say that all Aegir are involved with the Church of the Deep, but in Iberia, nine out of ten Aegir are spies for the Church of the Deep, which is why the Inquisition has not appointed a single Aegir to this day.

If it weren't for these Aegir, Iberia wouldn't be in this state. Not all Aegir are Obregan, who helped Iberia rise to power.

But guests are guests, and peace talks are the priority. Everyone needs to show sincerity, and at the very least, not malice. Both sides did this.

"Welcome to Iberia, Mr. Izumik. I am Inquisitor Irene, though you may have already heard of me from the Sea Siren."