Chapter Twenty-Two: Aqua: Do You Dare Surpass Me?

"What are you planning to do?" Moyuna followed behind Ruby, curiosity evident in her voice. Early that morning, she had seen Ruby fiddling with a wooden cart, atop which he’d placed a glass container. After his explanation, she’d learned the term ‘aquarium.’

"Cleaning up the mess," Ruby replied succinctly. The poisonous dragon lady had left, but the bathwater she left behind was hardly easy to deal with. Ruby now needed to find someone capable of handling it.

"Aqua, come out!" Pushing his cart, Ruby made his way to the lakeside, calling out Aqua's name. Usually, she would leap out to greet him, but today, she ignored him entirely, as if she’d changed her ways.

Seeing Aqua’s reluctance to appear, Ruby realized the mermaid had grown clever. After the dragon’s first bath here, Ruby had been troubled by the leftover water, quickly recalling mermaid purification magic. Thus began Aqua’s laborious career: every time the dragon left a mess, it was Aqua who cleaned it up. Ruby, a mere human, was powerless to help.

"I have something you like to eat." Of course, Ruby had his methods for dealing with fools. He produced a box he’d prepared earlier, opened it, and let the enticing aroma waft through the air. Soon, half a head appeared above the lake’s surface, eyes fixed hungrily on the box.

"Wait, really? That idiot can actually resist the lure of food?" Moyuna stared in disbelief at Aqua, who didn’t immediately rush over. In her impression, Aqua was the sort who’d risk anything for a bite.

"I’m not an idiot! Ruby, you’re just trying to take advantage of me again, aren’t you? You want to use my body! Every time I finish, I’m exhausted!" Aqua, incensed by Moyuna’s words, floated half her body out of the water, pointing at Ruby and complaining loudly. Anyone overhearing might imagine Ruby was committing unspeakable acts against the mermaid.

"There’s nothing I can do. I can’t purify poisonous water—that’s something only Aqua can manage."

"Even so, I’m not happy about it," Aqua’s angry expression brightened instantly, blooming like a flower. Her tail absent-mindedly swished the water, leaving Moyuna too exasperated to even retort.

"What a pity. This aquarium was meant for the world’s most beautiful mermaid. Guess I’ll have to find another. I wonder if there’s a beautiful mermaid somewhere willing to help me?" Ruby donned a regretful expression, shaking his head as he prepared to push the cart away and search for another unknown beauty.

"I-I-I’ll do it!" Aqua, unable to resist, swam from the lake to the shore, jumped into the aquarium, and filled it with water using magic.

"Deceiving idiots is a crime," Moyuna muttered, unsure what expression to use as she looked at Ruby. She felt the urge to educate him on the Sacred Empire’s laws; clearly, his actions skirted legal boundaries. Though, truth be told, if this mermaid fell into her hands, she could sell her to ten different owners in a single day and have her count the profits herself dozens of times.

"But isn’t such a fool rather adorable?"

"Her body is human, but her mind is fish—no wonder they call them mermaids."

With Moyuna’s playful jab, the two humans and one mermaid headed home. Moyuna had no idea how many levels had been dug beneath the little cabin; she only knew the first floor was living quarters, the second Ruby’s lab and storeroom, anything deeper she’d never seen.

The cart served its purpose before entering the cabin, for its bulk made it impossible to go down the stairs. Ruby spread his arms to Aqua, who promptly leapt from the aquarium onto him. Clearly, she’d done this many times before, skillfully wrapping her arms around his neck, allowing him to carry her downstairs, her shoulders and tail in his grasp.

"Hold onto the water." Passing the first floor, Ruby placed a large jug on Aqua’s stomach. Though mermaids couldn’t leave water for long, short durations were fine; still, Ruby attended to such details, his meticulous care making the foolish mermaid nuzzle happily against his chest.

"It’s so big down here! Are you part mole or something? Why do you love digging so much?" Moyuna, following Ruby for the first time down to the third level, found herself in a vast, damp, shadowy cavern. Thankfully, when Ruby flipped a switch, the bulbs on the walls lit up, illuminating the space somewhat. The stretch of lights revealed just how large it was—she suspected Ruby had hollowed out the entire mountainside.

"It was already hollow, I just remodeled it a bit. But putting together the equipment for her bath took me a whole year."

"Really? Aren’t you tired?" Moyuna glanced at the reckless Aqua, always watching her with a victor’s gaze. Previously, she hadn’t minded Ruby carrying Aqua, but now she was thoroughly annoyed—being mocked by an idiot’s look was infuriating.

"It’s fine, I’m used to manual labor."

"Let me help you—Water Magic: Pool of Clear Springs." Moyuna, with a gentle smile, raised her finger, and under the guidance of her magic, a blue sphere of water quickly formed, growing to about two meters before stopping.

"No, no, no! What are you doing?" Aqua, sensing danger, clung tighter to Ruby’s arm.

"Nothing—look at how heavy you are, it must be exhausting for Ruby to carry you. Let me help." Moyuna slammed the water sphere she was holding onto Ruby; on the rebound, the sphere contained the mermaid, while Ruby’s clothes remained dry. Such mastery was simply overwhelming, warning Aqua not to provoke the Archmage, lest she make your life miserable from every angle.

"Here we are." Now free of Aqua’s weight, Ruby enjoyed his leisure, walking much faster. Soon, they arrived at a basin carved out by human hands, now filled with purple poisonous water. Above it hung a thick iron pipe—Moyuna guessed that above was the dragon’s bathing pool.

"Whoa, it’s like an altar for summoning demons. Are you going to toss her in as a sacrifice?" Moyuna stepped back from the bubbling purple liquid, looking at the mermaid in her water sphere, eager to try, while the poor mermaid began to panic, pounding desperately at the sphere’s walls. Somehow, the sphere’s edge was as hard as steel—no matter her struggle, there was no escape.

"No need. Just put her down over there." Ruby pointed to a mat he’d prepared. Moyuna tossed the sphere and mermaid onto it.

"Puh-ha! I curse you! Curse you to choke on your food, to cough up your drink, you wretch!"

"How terrifying," Moyuna sneered. She’d endured far stronger curses before—why fear a foolish mermaid?

"Aqua, you can start."

"Humph! My only pleasure has been taken away. I’m going on strike." Aqua sprawled on the mat, motionless, radiating the aura of a lazy fish. For her, the walk in Ruby’s arms was her only comfort, and even that small solace had been stripped away by Moyuna.

"Hey, Ruby, why did you stop Feiloxis from entering the lake for a bath back then?" Seeing Aqua’s strike, Moyuna feared Ruby would have to purify the pool himself, so she resorted to changing tactics, activating her mind. The feigning-dead Aqua pricked up her ears to listen.

"I told you, it’s because of my water source..."

"Enough with the excuses. Sure, you can’t produce water yourself, but you have Dracon. He’s not just a decoration. I don’t believe someone like you would be stymied by the environment. Worst case, you’d have Dracon pack up all your equipment and move somewhere else. Little hills like this are everywhere—no need to spend a year setting this up."

"It’s because of this mermaid, isn’t it? She arrived before Feiloxis. You can relocate, but for her, that lake is her only home."

"Couldn’t I take her with me?"

"Impossible. You don’t know where there’s a suitable habitat, nor can you take a mermaid—a creature who can’t stay out of water for long—onto land. The reason? Human greed."

"Mermaids are unheard of on the continent; even cities by the sea rarely see them. They live in the deep, and many people go their whole lives without seeing one."

"You should remember what her tears turn into. If it’s discovered that a human without magic is wandering with a precious mermaid, it’s more conspicuous than a baby carrying a chest of treasure. If luck holds, she’ll be locked up and made to cry for hours every day. If unlucky, and she meets a twisted noble, you know what could happen."

"That’s why I say everyone who meets you is lucky. You’re a thorough fool," Moyuna’s voice settled the debate. Ruby hadn’t expected her to be so astute; as he tried to protest, he noticed the mermaid had already jumped over.

"Is—is that so? You did it for me?" Aqua pounced on Ruby, pressing herself against him as she asked.

"These are trivial matters, nothing to worry about."

Ruby stroked Aqua’s beautiful long hair, only to find the mermaid sobbing, her pearl tears falling onto him with a steady, ticking sound.

"If you’ve cried enough, get to work. You wouldn’t want to stay here forever, would you?"

"Stay, then. As long as you’re here," Aqua obediently returned to her spot and unleashed her purification magic. Mermaids, children of the Water Goddess, are masters of water magic and peerless in cleansing water sources. Legend has it their ancestors cleaned the divine lakes for the goddess herself.

"Scheming Archmage, did you succeed?" Once Aqua was focused on purifying the toxins, Ruby finally spoke.

"What do you mean?" The mage bent to collect pearls from the ground, feigning ignorance.

"Deliberately making Aqua cry to collect her tears. I told you yesterday we’re running low on living expenses—looks like you remembered."

"I merely stated the truth. If she was moved to tears, that’s her business, so I’m not the schemer here."

Running out of funds was a serious problem. It meant the Archmage couldn’t demand Ruby do this or that at will; those precious ingredients cost money, and with her next meal unaccounted for, Moyuna was anxious... well, not too worried. If she chose the path of crime, money would never be an issue.

"Purification complete." Who knew how much time passed—only when Moyuna was about to fall asleep on her cloud magic cushion did Aqua’s voice rouse her. Walking to the basin, she found the pool’s water had vanished. Ruby, gloves on, was using a dustpan and broom to clean the bottom.

"What are you doing?"

"Aqua can’t fully eliminate the dragon’s toxins. After every purification, these remain, so I have to clean them up." Ruby’s dustpan was already full of purple crystals, with many more scattered across the basin floor.

"Are those deadly toxin crystals?" Moyuna, worldly and knowledgeable, recognized them instantly. In poisonous swamps or within toxic magical beasts, there’s a small chance these crystals form. Their lethality is swift, often killing before the victim even realizes it, making them ideal... for travel and home defense.

"Deadly toxin crystals? They are indeed quite poisonous. I researched them for a while; soak one in water for a second, and the water becomes lethal."

"More than that—they’re precious magical materials, especially since they’re from a poisonous dragon. Do you know how much they're worth?"

"Worth something? Look over there." Ruby pointed casually to a corner of the cavern.

"What!" Moyuna exclaimed, seeing a mountain of toxin crystals piled high. Nothing else mattered—she felt her lifetime supply of snacks was secured.

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PS: Please bookmark and recommend
Aqua: Um, would you like to buy Aqua shares? Guaranteed profit (True Blue Love)
Everyone: No, get lost!
Aqua: Why, why!
Everyone: Exploiting idiots is a crime.

PS: Thanks to Chara for the 1000 tip, Misty Cat for 600, BlueYellow015015 for 100