The owner of the Fish Stall, Gu Gua, handed the Pearl Oyster gifts brought by the girls to the Mysterious Naga, then jumped straight into the sea and ran away.
No one except Ella had expected such a thing to happen.
“Sorry, I didn’t think they’d do something like that.”
Back at the Human District, Dory hurried over to apologize after hearing what happened.
But apology was one thing; how to solve the problem, he had no idea.
It had been a while since they returned from the seaside, but Celes still couldn’t make sense of it: “It ran off just for a bag of Pearl Oysters. Does that mean it won’t run a fish stall anymore?”
Dory hesitated for a long time before finally bracing himself and saying, “It’ll keep running the stall. It’ll just change its name, and we won’t be able to find it… As you saw, most Fishmen look exactly the same.”
At most, this one’s head is bigger, that one’s fin is smaller—you really can’t tell them apart.
Vina poked out her little head.
“So you’re saying, not only did it scam us out of money today, but tomorrow it’ll openly set up shop again and keep selling fish?”
Dory stayed silent, but the meaning was clear.
Yes, it scams you today, then changes its name and keeps selling fish tomorrow.
It might not even bother changing names—it’s just that bold.
“Understood. Thank you, Mr. Dory.”
Back at the inn, Celes gathered everyone for a small meeting.
She started by admitting her mistake—using habitual thinking to judge the sea monsters, without realizing this was a completely unfamiliar race to her.
“I plan to adjust the order of our actions and find a way to understand them first,” the girl said.
“I intend to focus on the lower-status sea monsters and try to find one we can communicate with smoothly.”
Lower status means easier to bribe, and for smooth communication, at least they need to be able to understand each other.
Ella secretly nodded.
Not bad at all. Even though she took a big fall at the start, she quickly adjusted her mindset and revised her action plan. Such conduct—truly the mark of a great leader.
Nothing more to say—just wish you success.
With the new plan in place, they got to work right after lunch.
The girls set out again, first using money to buy some more Pearl Oysters.
This time, they didn’t rush straight into the Fish Market, but stopped by the road outside to observe in secret.
The Market was truly bustling.
Sea monsters who had just restocked their fish came again, carrying large nets, coming and going at the entrance—so much activity it was dizzying.
At this moment, Vina pointed.
“How about that one?”
She was pointing at a small Fishman who had just come out of the Market entrance, holding something in his hand, looking like he was running an errand.
As he passed by, he even chatted with one of the Market staff.
That last part was important—being able to chat with humans meant he could communicate pretty well.
Celes nodded.
“Let’s go with that one.”
A few minutes later, the girls caught up with the little Fishman heading toward the Workshop.
Surrounded by so many people, he was nervous at first, but when he saw the Pearl Oysters in the girl’s hand, his face immediately lit up with joy.
“Can we chat for a bit?”
Celes asked.
“Yes, yes, of course.”
The little Fishman stared intently at the Pearl Oysters in her hand.
“What would you like to talk about?”
His words were much clearer now.
There were still some gurgling bubbles, but at least it was understandable.
“We’re from another city, and we’re really curious about Harbor City. Could you introduce your race to us?”
Celes didn’t just ask with her mouth—she smoothly took out two more Pearl Oysters in her hand.
“No problem, boss,” the little Fishman said obsequiously.
“I’ll tell you everything I know, no holding back.”
What kind of beings are the near-sea sea monsters?
The little Fishman couldn’t really say—he didn’t have that kind of vision or perspective.
All he knew was that, since birth, he’d been making a living with his brothers and sisters, fishing in the sea every day, then coming ashore to sell fish in exchange for shiny Pearl Oysters.
Pearl Oysters were their favorite thing—their guiding light, an essential item for their faith.
“An essential item for your faith?”
Ella caught onto that unusual phrase.
“Is it related to the God you worship?”
The little Fishman nodded his fish head.
“God likes this. Every Ritual Day, anyone who hasn’t offered enough Pearl Oysters will be exiled by God.”
At this, Leah couldn’t hold back: “What kind of God forces believers to pay up? That’s not pure faith at all. Oh, by the way, are you interested in learning about the great Goddess of Light? She doesn’t charge anything, and her blessings are really powerful.”
The little Fishman looked at her with a wise, questioning gaze, as if to say, “What is this?”
Though he didn’t say it outright, it was clear the attempt at conversion had failed.
“Do you know Gu Gua?”
Celes asked.
“His boss is a very tall Naga.”
The girl was still brooding over being scammed that morning.
But the little Fishman thought hard, then asked her a question in return: “Which Gu Gua are you talking about?”
“What?”
“There are seven or eight Gu Guas just on my street. Which street’s Gu Gua are you looking for?”
The name Gu Gua was just the sound of water gurgling in the throat.
Any Fishman with a slightly bigger head was called Gu Gua, so there was no need to change names at all—it was impossible to track them down.
Celes helplessly gave up on the idea of settling the score.
“Where are you headed, and what are you doing?”
“To the human Workshop,” the little Fishman said, pulling out what he was holding.
“Ritual Day is coming, so the Chieftain asked me to order some Divine Plaques.”
It was a sheet of paper, with what was probably an image of their God drawn on it. Ella leaned over to take a look—the drawing was truly abstract, with a deep-sea, oppressive body and tentacles as the main features, making one feel a bit uncomfortable.
Just then, they arrived at the Workshop entrance.
The little Fishman looked at the Idol Drawing in his hand, then at the Pearl Oysters in Celes’s, a bit reluctant to part with them.
“You go ahead,” Celes handed him one of the Pearl Oysters.
“When you’re done, I’ll ask you a few more questions.”
“Alright, I’ll be right back.”
The little Fishman happily rushed into the Workshop, while the girls sat down to wait at the Teahouse across the street.
“We met a Fishman who could actually communicate on our first try today,” Ella said, putting her hands together.
“That means our luck will be good going forward. That’s wonderful~”
When no one was looking, she’d reinforce her delicate persona just a bit.
“Not necessarily,” Vina said.
“Maybe there are plenty who can communicate, but their status is low, so they have to run errands and interact with humans more. We didn’t meet any before because we kept looking for higher-status sea monsters.”
“I see, that makes sense~”
As if the Demon Lord herself wouldn’t know that—she said their luck was good just to boost morale.
You’re the only one who gets it.
“Sigh, ignorant people,” Leah shook her head.
She didn’t think much of the little Fishman, since he refused to accept the Divine Guidance of Light.
Celes said nothing, taking a light sip of tea as she sat and waited.
It was just placing an order, not waiting for the goods—it shouldn’t take long.
Sure enough, about half an hour later, the little Fishman came out of the Workshop’s main entrance.
The moment he appeared, he started looking all around for the girls, eyes full of longing for the Pearl Oysters.
But just then, Zero suddenly stood up.
“Something’s wrong!”
A figure wrapped head to toe in a cloak darted out from the other side of the entrance, grabbed the Fishman’s head with one arm, and with the other hand, drew a dagger and slashed lightly—
Swish!