Ryuboshi was so embarrassed that he wanted to dig an entire Ryugu Palace with his tail.
How he wished he could turn back time. If only he had kept his mouth shut earlier.
Unfortunately, the world would not change just because he wished it would.
So he chose to faint.
Seeing Ryuboshi suddenly collapse, Neptune's heart lurched.
Although he had wanted to give Ryuboshi a beating earlier, the boy was still his son.
"I—I didn't hit him hard. I held back."
Christa scratched her head as she explained.
At those words, the supposedly unconscious Ryuboshi shuddered again.
How he wished he had really passed out.
That little tremor immediately told Neptune what was going on.
He understood, too. In Ryuboshi's place, he would have been mortified as well.
"Guards!"
As soon as he called out, several soldiers came in through the door.
"Take Ryuboshi away and look after him. Sigh."
Neptune could not help sighing.
The soldiers exchanged glances, then spotted the charred object in the hall. They could barely make out Ryuboshi's shape.
Though shocked and curious, they dared not ask any questions and hurriedly carried Ryuboshi out.
"Now you understand, don't you? There's nothing shameful about admitting you're weak.
Being weak but thinking you're strong—that's what's truly frightening."
Randall's voice broke the heavy, awkward atmosphere in the hall.
At his words, Neptune and the other two exchanged bitter looks.
They had finally faced reality.
Ryuboshi might not have been the strongest person on Fish-Man Island, but his swordsmanship still ranked among the island's best.
Yet someone like him had been defeated by a little girl in a single blow.
Were all the people on land monsters?
"To think we've been living like frogs at the bottom of a well all this time."
Manboshi gave a self-mocking smile.
Neptune,