Every kid should have a pet

An enormous fish head broke the surface of the sea and was flung straight onto the deck by the force of Mage Hand.

But that sound... was Murloc!

So this wasn't a fish.

And looking at its limbs...

Right, fish didn't have limbs, so it was a Murloc after all!

The sailors on deck drew their weapons and aimed them at it.

Murlocs hardly had a good reputation. At sea, they were probably only a little better than pirates.

They didn't attack merchant ships all that often, but if a ship entered their territory, they wouldn't hold back.

Fortunately, they mainly operated in coastal waters, so these clashes weren't too severe.

Still, seeing a Murloc on deck was reason enough to be wary.

The Murloc landed on its backside, but quickly sprang to its feet. It whipped its head around to scan its surroundings, then fixed its gaze on Rhode.

Then it spoke: "Muha wani." (It's you?)

Huh, it recognized me?

Could it be the one I let go at the Farm?

Murlocs all looked alike; there was really no telling them apart. But since it had said that, it probably was.

"Muha wawo." (It's me.) Rhode answered.

As expected, everyone aboard stared at Rhode in surprise, except Lilia.

Who knew how Lilia had recognized this Murloc? Or perhaps she didn't care whether it was the one from before. She simply ran over and patted its head. "Hey, hello!"

The Murloc didn't resist at all. It even seemed to enjoy being fussed over by a child.

Seeing that neither side seemed hostile, the sailors lowered their weapons.

Rhode asked, "Wulala aowu wuwa xika?" (Why are you here again?)

The Murloc answered, "Gula yi kaka gulu, gulu yi mulu yawu." (There's nothing to eat on land, so I had to go back to the sea.)

Lilia cut in, "Rhode, can it come play with us? It's so cute."

This little troublemaker was treating a Murloc like a pet!

Still, that might not be such a bad idea...

Kids having pets was perfectly reasonable, wasn't it?

So Rhode pointed at Nat Pagle's fishing basket. "Xika pulili yiwaka, lala huka yahaha." (Why don't you come with us for now? We have food.)

The Murloc seemed to swallow. (?)

"Wula walala."

Apparently, that was a yes.

Ah, the poor little Murloc, running all over the place just to find something to eat. Now that someone was willing to feed it, of course it agreed.

The pressures of life.

"Mula mula wawoga?" (What's your name?)

If it was going to be a pet, it naturally needed a name.

"Mula wawoga lamu, wumu gaba wa." (I don't have a name. Only the chief has a name.)

All right.

Then I'll give you one now.

I'll call you...

Bumpelba!

The sailors had nearly finished their preparations.

Under Captain Sander's command, everyone took their positions and prepared to depart.

"And now," Rhode said, inexplicably excited himself, "let's set sail!"

"Weigh anchor! Hoist the sails! Destination: Southern Island!" Captain Sander shouted with both hands on the wheel, and the sailors immediately sprang into action.

The island was very small, and no one had given it a name, so that was what the captain called it.

The route to Southern Island should have been simple enough: straight south all the way.

The merchant ship was underway.

Standing at the bow, Rhode watched the flag fluttering above the sails and faced the sea breeze rushing toward him. Brimming with high spirits, he couldn't help shouting, "I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"

Lilia asked in confusion, "Who's the Pirate King? Why do you want to become his man?"

"Uh... kids shouldn't ask so many questions."

"..."

Everyone had their own job.

Captain Sander directed the sailors.

Rhode stood at the bow, acting out the Pirate King one moment, Pirates of the Caribbean the next, and Titanic after that.

Nat Pagle tried fishing from the speeding ship.

Lilia chatted with Bumpelba.

They clearly didn't speak the same language, but somehow they seemed to understand each other and were having a wonderful time chatting.

After who knew how long, everyone suddenly heard a sailor shout, "Island ahead!"

"We're finally here!" Lilia jumped up happily.

Rhode looked into the distance as well.

Sure enough, a small island floated on the sea near the horizon, but as they drew closer, it grew larger and larger.

Hmm, this so-called little island was actually pretty big.

"Watch out! Storm!" another sailor shouted.

A storm? What storm?

Rhode had never been out to sea before, so naturally he had no real notion of a storm.

But he was about to get one.

A vast-looking whirlwind in the distance reached the merchant ship in an instant. The island, clearly visible just a moment before, vanished behind a curtain of rain in the blink of an eye as fierce winds swept in.

The sky suddenly turned as black as ink spewed by a squid.

Now and then, lightning struck amid deafening thunder, illuminating the violently roiling masses of dark, copper-colored clouds and the island close at hand. It also let Rhode catch glimpses of the merchant ship pitching in the wind and rain, and the figures of the sailors aboard, before everything sank back into darkness.

It was truly so dark that he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face.

The howling wind and torrential rain made breathing almost impossible, and he could see nothing ahead of him, for the sky was now blacker than the darkest night.

Rhode conjured a small fireball in his hand, finally allowing him to see what was happening on deck.

He hurried over to Lilia and Bumpelba, then summoned a medium-sized Mage Hand to shield Lilia's head. "Get inside the cabin! It's dangerous out here!"

Uh, a Murloc probably wasn't afraid of water. No need to shield it from the rain, right?

But just then, Rhode heard the sailors shouting again:

"Watch out!"

"We're under attack!"

Under attack? They were out at sea. Where would an attack come from? Were there pirates?

By the light of the occasional lightning flashes, Rhode quickly scanned their surroundings, but saw no sign of any other ships.

"God of the sea above, what are those monsters?!" Rhode heard Captain Sander exclaim.

At that moment, the center of the storm shifted a little away from the merchant ship. A few rays of sunlight barely squeezed through the wind and rain, and Rhode could finally make out a little of what was happening on the sea.

Across the water not far from the merchant ship, creatures that looked part human and part fish swam everywhere.

But they weren't Murlocs like Bumpelba.

They were much larger than Murlocs.

These creatures looked as though they had crawled straight out of the most terrifying nightmare, hideous and ferocious.

Each had a lizard-like head and a mouth full of sharp teeth, with fleshy tendrils like squid tentacles growing beneath its jaw. A ring of fin-like membranes grew from the back of its head and extended down its spine.

On either side of their bodies were arms.

But they had more than two arms. Some had four, and some even had six?

Their bodies were covered in thick, blue-green scales resembling those of snakes, while their lower halves were submerged and impossible to make out.

But Rhode knew that beneath the water, they must have fish-like tails.

Rhode recognized these monsters.

These were Naga Sirens!