"All right, all right, there weren't any plump seals," Amon said, the smile at the corners of his eyes growing more obvious. "Only a plump whale—a huge one—"
"Stop using 'plump' to describe things, especially in connection with me!" Xia Mi bared her teeth, putting on a fierce expression.
"Fine, I won't mention it." Amon raised his hands in surrender, though his tone remained leisurely. "But that whale really was—
Magnificent beyond belief. I waited on deck for a long time. Everyone else who couldn't wait any longer to see the whale had gone back inside to warm up, but I was the only one who stayed until the end. At first, it was just an inconspicuous black speck on the horizon. Luckily, I had binoculars with me, so I could make out that it was a white sperm whale."
He paused, his voice slowing and deepening, as though the memory had drawn him back to that icy sea.
"It seemed to be singing—a cheerful, lingering whale song—as it leisurely cruised across the surface, followed by a whole entourage... like an emperor inspecting his ancient domain."
Amon shook his head slightly and corrected himself. "No, perhaps it would be more fitting to compare it to an elementary school teacher taking a group of clueless students on an outing... unhurried, with a kind of... divine serenity.
"It noticed our ship and led its pod over. At the closest point, it was probably only a little over a hundred meters away."
Amon's gaze drifted toward some point in the void, as if measuring that distance.
"It was far larger than an ordinary sperm whale. It should have already surpassed the world record—perhaps it was as large as a blue whale... And its skin seemed slightly reflective. It didn't look like light reflecting