"Lord Ryan, you're here!" Tiger hurried aboard the Soaring Dragon and began telling Ryan everything that had happened.
It turned out that after arriving at Ryugu Palace, the Super-Giant Sea Kings had simply circled it. They neither entered nor left, only silently watched Shirahoshi cry.
"That human from earlier!" one Super-Giant Sea King said.
"Hmm. What do we do now? The Mermaid Princess summoned us, but she hasn't given us an order!"
"Wait," said the yellow Super-Giant Sea King leading them.
Eyes bigger than the Castle stared fixedly at the group—or rather, at Shirahoshi. They were terrifying, and their sheer presence was overwhelming!
To everyone's surprise, Ryan walked toward Shirahoshi. Neptune looked at Tiger, who gave him a slight nod. Relieved, Neptune stepped aside to let Ryan through.
Neptune had seen Ryan's strength firsthand. Whether facing Marine Admiral Zephyr or fighting the Fleet Admiral, Ryan had held his own. If he wanted to hurt Shirahoshi, Neptune had no way to stop him.
Smack!
A crisp sound rang out.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Under everyone's stunned gaze, Ryan reached out and smacked Shirahoshi's fish tail several times.
When a child misbehaved, a spanking would set her straight.
Whether Ryan's method worked or the sudden turn of events startled her, Shirahoshi stopped crying. She peered at Ryan with her enormous eyes, adorably bewildered.
Shirahoshi wondered what Ryan had just done to her. She had never felt anything like it before.
"It worked!" Ryan's eyes lit up. He rubbed his hands together, ready to treat Shirahoshi to a full course of Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.
"Ahem. That's enough!" Seeing Ryan prepare to strike again, Neptune could no longer stand by. He coughed twice and hurriedly spoke up.
She was his precious daughter, whom he had always treated with the utmost care. Yet Ryan had just