Aaaaaah-!
Inside the Deepwater Prison, the mermaid let out a piercing wail and plunged into the water sphere before anyone could react.
Splash.
Water splashed out of the cage, forming a jet that sprayed Herbert straight in the face.
?
The water moved so fast that a rookie like Herbert had no chance to dodge. He took the whole splash square in the face.
"Ah, I-pfft!"
Surprisingly, the water wasn't cold. It was warm and a little salty, but lacked seawater's distinctive fishy smell.
"Cough, cough!"
Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!
Herbert spat out all the water that had accidentally poured into his mouth, wiped his face, and sighed helplessly.
What was this even supposed to be?
All I did was give you one compliment. Just a drop of kindness-did you really have to repay me with this much water?
"Listen... hmm?"
But before Herbert could say anything more, something suddenly occurred to him.
Huh?
In a sense, couldn't this water count as the mermaid's bathwater?
Fish soup?
Urgh-
Herbert dry-heaved at the thought. He didn't have that kind of next-level perverted fetish, so he couldn't consider this a perk.
Bubble, bubble!
Unlike the slightly nauseated Herbert, Freime was on the verge of falling apart inside her water sphere.
Through the sphere, she stared despairingly at her uninvited visitor. "When did you get in here!? No, how did you get in here!?"
"You didn't lock the door. Why couldn't I be here?"
Herbert dried his face, wiped his mouth, and answered with perfect confidence, "Besides, I'm the warden. This is a cell. Why shouldn't I come here?"
"But you shouldn't be here at this hour!"
Freime felt awful right now... absolutely awful!
She had been singing at night as usual, thinking no one would hear her, only for this guy to show up in the middle of the night.
It wasn't just the embarrassment of having someone hear her sing. What filled her heart even more was an indescribable sense of guilt.
Oh no.
He heard it. He heard it!
It's over.
He's going to die any moment.
He... huh?
"Huh?"
Freime suddenly froze, staring blankly at the boy, whose expression was perfectly normal.
Staaare-
He didn't seem to have changed at all?
That wasn't right. Better look again.
The mermaid blinked hard, slowly poked half her head out of the water sphere, and narrowed her eyes to study him.
Staaare-
That wasn't right.
Why did he seem completely unchanged?
His body showed no signs of decay, and his mind hadn't descended into madness... hmm?
Had it really not?
Unable to make sense of the situation, Freime knitted her brows tightly. No longer bothering to conceal herself, she lifted her entire upper body out of the water and bent forward, bringing her face as close to him as possible.
Let me get a good look!
Staaare-
Herbert: ?
What are you doing?
What's so interesting about my body?
Noticing the mermaid's strange stare, Herbert froze for a moment. Then, realizing something, he glanced down at his chest.
!!!
The white silk robe Herbert wore had become somewhat transparent after getting soaked. It clung to his skin, outlining the contours of his muscles, along with two-
???
Holy shit!
The female gaze.
This was the blatant, naked female gaze!
Guys, does anyone get what I'm going through?
I'm shaking with rage. I've run into a creepy Sea Monster!
I'm going to name and shame you on fantasy-world Little Pink Book!
You female pervert!
"Wait! What are you looking at!?"
This time, Herbert genuinely lost his composure. Purely on instinct, he raised both hands to cover his chest, quickly turned sideways, and stared back at her warily.
I was only joking with you earlier, but you actually want my body.
Jane, you're serious about this!?
Freime: ?
Was he finally showing a reaction?
Seeing Herbert react so dramatically all of a sudden, her first thought was that her singing had finally taken effect.
But Freime quickly realized something was wrong from Herbert's movements and suspicious gaze.
The way he was acting seemed like... ah!?
"Wait! You've got it wrong! That's not what I meant!"
Realizing what misunderstanding her actions might have caused, the Sea Monster shook her head repeatedly, trying to prove her innocence.
"I wasn't sneaking a look at your body! I really wasn't!"
Never in her life had she felt as embarrassed as she did right now.
What am I even trying to explain...?
But Herbert didn't believe her. He snorted. "You certainly weren't sneaking looks. You were openly undressing me with your eyes! Your eyeballs were practically falling out."
"I wasn't! I didn't! Stop making things up!"
Freime waved her hands frantically. Under her victim's relentless offensive, the "peeping tom" without a leg to stand on retreated again and again, nearly crying from the injustice.
What was this even supposed to be?
And just after Freime raised the white flag, Herbert suddenly changed tack and threw another heavy punch.
"You weren't looking? Why weren't you looking? If you're so against it, does that mean you think my body looks bad? Are you looking down on me?"
Since you used the female gaze, don't blame me for striking back with a men's-rights punch!
My friend, this punch has twenty years of training behind it. Can you take it?
Freime, who had never encountered anything like this, was instantly knocked senseless by this punch from another dimension.
Freime: ?
Looking down on... what the heck?
I'm not looking down on you!
I, I, I... why am I even explaining this to you?
"No, wait!"
Splash.
Finally realizing the problem, Freime snapped fully back to her senses. She shot out of the water again, forcibly interrupting his continued spellcasting:
"Stop, stop, stop!"
"Quit going on about all that nonsense! First, tell me why you're fine!!?"
"Huh? What do you mean, fine?"
Feeling thoroughly refreshed after throwing his punches, Herbert blinked and tilted his head in confusion. "Was something supposed to happen to me?"
Look all you want.
I was only joking. I'm not actually afraid of you looking.
"Want another look?"
As Herbert asked, he very generously made as if to take off his robe.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't take it off!"
Freime shut her eyes and turned her head away, shouting, "Didn't you hear me singing just now?"
"I did. Didn't I tell you that right from the start? So what exactly are you talking about?"
Herbert scratched his head in confusion, unsure what she had been getting so worked up about all this time. Remembering the question he had wanted to ask earlier, he took the opportunity:
"Oh, right. Why didn't you finish the last line of that song? Is there some special reason for that?"
"You know the song. You really did hear it..."
After receiving that answer, Freime felt strangely lost and slowly slid back into the water sphere.
Bubble, bubble.
He really was fine.
There really was someone who wasn't affected by my [Singing]...
Before you continue