Suu took another unsteady stride through the pool, her face contorting in pain as the ball she was carrying sank further beneath the water. Nevertheless, she continued onward.

I stood on the sidelines, leaning against the wall and taking periodic sips from my water bottle. The stiffness from yesterday's workout hadn't quite worn off yet, so Suu had insisted I take a break while she completed the remainder of her training. Typically, Papi or I would support her during such tasks, but Papi wasn't around this time, and Suu was intent on pushing through without assistance. As long as she was confident she could handle it, I had no objections.

I stood there, watching in case something happened. Mero and Rachnee were also in the gym, completing their respective tasks. To my delight, I was starting to notice a small yet increasing number of liminals visiting the Sports Club Kobold. Most were on guided tours, taken on by Polt or Kasim, a troll and the other major club investor—nevertheless, a few utilized the equipment, indicating the club's future success.

The door creaked open, followed by wet, slapping sounds against the floor. Suu and I turned to see...

Huh.

He looked like a goby, with arms and legs almost carelessly attached, to be honest. His brown and tan-speckled scales glistened under the light, and his wide and gaping face stared at me as he inhaled the warm air. He wore a simple hoodie and jeans with his hands in his pockets. Suddenly, his wet, rumbling laughter filled the air, and I finally understood.

He asked with a playful tone, yet his face remained expressionless. It was quite unsettling to witness. "Is this your first time seeing one of the fishfolk?"

Embarrassed by my behavior, I quickly apologized. I walked up to him and introduced myself with confidence. "Hi, I'm Aki. It's nice to meet you."

"Fontaine," he replied, shaking my hand firmly. His scales were smooth and cool to the touch. He adjusted his small, round glasses before sliding his hands back into the deep pockets of his hoodie. "I've heard of you from Polt and the Smith woman. You're the one who traveled between dimensions, right?"

"Yes, that's right," I nodded, folding my arms and looking back to see Suu stepping out of the pool. "Now that I think about it, Polt did mention you a few days ago. You're one of the people who helped her establish this place, right?"

He bobbed his head in a rough approximation of a nod, a slight chuckle escaping his lips. "Indeed. My input was mainly focused on developing the marine equipment, which should be no surprise to you. However, these days I'm in charge of managing the facility's budget, and let me tell you, it's... taxing." He let out a hearty laugh.

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "Did... did you just make a pun?" I asked.

Fontaine let out a hearty chuckle before releasing a gentle sigh. "I have a real passion for puns, although it's a shame that not many people appreciate them as much as I do."

"Don't get me wrong, I love a good pun," I assured him, "I just wasn't expecting it, was all."

"Fair enough. Most fishfolk tend to be a tad stuffy," Fontaine noted, shaking his head, "A byproduct of our servitude, it seems."

"Servitude? What do you mean?"

It was his turn to quirk an eyebrow at me, which, now that I thought about it was even odd.

Fontaine apologized, casting a glance at Suu as she approached them. "I thought it was a widely known fact," he continued. "All fishfolk are bound by an ancient agreement to serve the merfolk monarchy of the country they were born in."

That sounds... suspiciously close to slavery.

"You'd be correct," Fontaine noted.

Oh, shit, did I say that out loud?

Seeing my embarrassed expression, he laughed heartily and waved a webbed hand dismissively. "Don't worry, Aki; I'm not offended. While it is indeed very close to slavery if not outright so, it... is somewhat necessary for the fishfolk." The way he said that made me uneasy and raised some red flags in my mind. No one should ever be enslaved. "Regardless, I was fortunate enough to be free from restraints quite some time ago. But that is a tale for another time. I merely came to see if you were enjoying the facilities here."

Nice redirecting, Fontaine. Still, I'll let it go this time. It sounded like an old and complicated issue that was better left untouched in this particular situation. I'll need to do more research to see if I can find out more, but I'm also curious to know Fontaine's personal history. Maybe I'll look into it another time.

"We are," I told him, resting a hand on Suu's slim shoulder, "This is Suu, by the way."

"Hi," she greeted with a wave.

"To be honest, I didn't expect this room to be used much," Fontaine said, glancing over at Suu, "Slimes are quite rare, even in liminal realms, and there's only one other slime within proximity that could visit."

Suu's eyes lit up. "There's... another like me?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes," Fontaine replied reluctantly, "but don't get your hopes too high. She's a black slime, and she can be quite...challenging to handle."

Black slime was a hazard to anything that crossed its path--its toxicity, violence, and overall danger were unparalleled. I was shocked that Kuroko had even allowed such a creature to enter the city. It was a risk that could have brought dire consequences if not handled carefully.

"Yeah, it's unlikely she would come visiting here," I nodded sympathetically, "And I'm sure you wouldn't want her around in the first place either."

"Indeed. She's currently on probation, staying with a local police officer last I checked, but I doubt she'll linger long here."

Suu wilted a little at that, looking down at the ground. "I still wanna meet her..." she murmured.

"We can certainly give it a try if you're sure that's what you want," I said, leaning down and softly rubbing her back in reassurance. "But we must be cautious—I don't want you to get hurt."

My greatest worry was Suu's inclination to absorb every liquid she encountered, including the potentially toxic ooze of the black slime. If she ingested any of it, she could be irrevocably changed, even transformed into a black slime. Such a fate would be brutal for her, and I was determined to do whatever I could to prevent it.

"Okay," Suu said, smiling sweetly up at me.

"Do as you will," Fontaine said noncommittally, shrugging, "Now, I must take my leave. My job accounts little for my own free time, unfortunately."

"... That one was a little forced," I commented.

He shrugged again with a smirk, "Heh, Maybe, as long as I'm entertained, that's all that counts. Before he left, he stopped and looked at me, his expression serious. "Oh, one more thing, Aki. About the Princess..."

I tensed up. Of course, he would've recognized her. "What about her?" I asked, trying to sound casual and probably failing.

"Hm, so you do know," Fontaine grunted, bobbing his head, "I merely want to know if she's enjoying her stay on the surface."

"I think she is," I answered hesitantly, unsure what to make of him, "She's made friends here, myself included."

At that, Fontaine resumed making his way out, returning to offer us one last, fond smile. "I hope she'll grow to cherish her time up here as much as I have," he said, his voice full of wistful nostalgia. And then, with a final wave, he was gone.

"I don't know what to think of him," Suu whispered at my side, wrapping her fingers through mine.

"You and me both," I replied, rubbing my chin with my free hand. I would have to research to learn more about the relationship between her people and the fishfolk, though I felt that Fontaine was a particular case among his kind. After I had done my research, I would ask Mero about what exactly the deal was.

The day passed without any other remarkable events, and we eventually picked up Mero and Rachnee and headed back home. Kurusu had prepared a delicious dinner for us all, and Miia had lent a helping hand. I was glad to see her learn to cook from a master chef. Upon our arrival, we found that Papi had wandered off somewhere and had only returned with a beautiful headband of flowers adorning her head. Cerea soon returned from her MON training, and we all started digging into the dinner enthusiastically.

"Papi," Kurusu firmly said as he placed a generous helping of Swedish meatballs onto her plate, "We need to know when you plan on leaving the house. You don't want to risk getting deported, do you?"

"Hee, if they try to distort me, then I'll fly back!" she replied, smiling.

"That's not the point," Kurusu sighed, though he couldn't but smile back, "Still, at least you're back safe and sound."

"Where'd you go, anyway?" Miia asked as she helped herself to more meatballs.

"Um..." Papi tapped her chin in thought, "Oh! I went to see Kii! But first, I raced with Playa a bit!"

"Playa?" Suu echoed.

"I think you mean 'Preya,'" I offered before setting broccoli on Miia's plate. Hey, don't you give me the stink eye; vegetables are essential! Just because Kurusu's too busy serving everyone to ensure you have your veggies doesn't mean I am!

Jesus, when did I become such a goddamn parent?

"Yeah, that!" Papi chirped, though that smile quickly flipped when I gave her a helping of broccoli. "Ew..."

"And how was your visit with Kii?" Mero asked as she daintily wrapped egg noodles around her fork.

Papi's eyes lit up excitedly as she answered, "Lots of fun!" She bounced in her seat, her enthusiasm palpable. "We played tag and hide and seek, and she even made me this!" She proudly held up her fresh-picked flowers for everyone to admire.

"My, those are quite lovely!" Mero said, "Your friend has quite the skill!"

"Just be careful not to get any petals in your food," Rachnee warned after wolfing six meatballs. It was evident she was starving after her earlier workout. "I know you're strictly against consuming anything that resembles a plant."

"Hm? Oh, Kii said that'll never happen," Papi assured her, "She said it's magical, and it'll never wilt or anything!"

"Really? That's pretty awesome," I said, impressed, "Speaking of food, though...."

"Oh, right!" At that, Papi finally dug into her food and would likely be unavailable for conversation for at least ten minutes.

Now that I had reflected on it, her mention of Preya reminded me that she would move in with her new host family today. Kuroko had given me the number of their house, and I had planned to call them soon to see how it went. I would give her some time to adjust before checking in on her; just one day, however. I was not about to let a similar situation to her first host family arise again.

"How did your training go today, Cerea?" Kurusu asked after he had finished serving everyone. I had filled his plate up while he was busy, and he had given me a grateful nod in response.

Cerea's enthusiasm was palpable as she said, "Today's discussion centered on effectively subduing hostile liminals without causing them harm. In particular, we discussed strategies to deal with orcs given the current security situation, but we also touched upon methods to handle other creatures with similar vulnerabilities."

"So, how does one stop an angry orc without killing him?" Rachnee asked.

"Their sense of smell," Cerea answered, "is unrivaled amongst liminals. They can detect scents up to a kilometer away, and their noses are incredibly robust. However, they can be overwhelmed by powerful smells."

"But what stops the orc from simply walking away from the smells?" Rachnee asked. "It would be almost impossible to restrain one of them, given their immense strength."

"True," Cerea nodded, "Which is why the odors aren't meant to hinder an orc on their own. Their primary purpose is to force the orcs into a zone ideally cleared of civilians and set to trap them. If a trap cannot be prepared, they're redirected into a space ideal for snipers to tranquilize them."

Rachnee mulled that over for a moment, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Not bad," she said with a toothy grin, her pale face filled with satisfaction. "I've always been a fan of traps. However, the average male orc is hardly the most intelligent of creatures. What about other species with a strong sense of smell but are likely capable of higher-order thinking? Canines, felines, avians? Could we devise a trap that would also be effective against them?"

Cerea replied seriously, her eyebrows knitted in concentration as she continued, "It varies depending on the species. The methods used to study them are nearly twice as numerous as the number of species. It could be even more than that."

"Fair enough," Rachnee nodded, "So long as MON knows not to treat every case the same."

"Such would be foolishness."

The conversation slowly shifted to more lighthearted topics as dinner ended, creating a relaxing and peaceful atmosphere. My hands kept finding their way into my pocket, where I had a special letter tucked away. Before bed, I reread it, then put it in my desk drawer. A smile spread across my face as I saw Suu sitting on the floor, a book in her hands.

"You ready?" I asked. She nodded excitedly. However, right as she nestled into my lap, there was a knock at the door.

"It's open," I called.

To my surprise, it was Cerea who slowly swung the door open. Even more oddly, she looked anxious.

"Pardon my intrusion," she apologized, bowing slightly, "But if I may be so bold... may I join you two in your reading? I... enjoyed the experience when last we did so."

I was smiling before I realized it. "Sure thing," I told her.

Cerea smiled back thankfully, then looked at Suu. "Is that no trouble for you, Suu?" she asked.

"Not at all!" Suu happily replied. Through our connection, I felt her joy for having a new companion to share in the fun.

Bowing again, Cerea entered the room. It took a moment to figure out how to go about the arrangements, as suddenly the room had much less space, but soon enough, we made ourselves comfortable and began to read.

To be continued...