Ritika and Rupa stare at the potions in their hands with curious expressions. Just by looking at that green liquid with delicate white streaks, they already understand what a treasure it is.
But they have no way of knowing that while those healing potions are extremely effective, they are also very addictive, and there will be no going back after they drink that.
"I will complete this mission even if I have to give my life for it." Ritika speaks to Mira in a determined tone. She feels she failed with her people when she led her soldiers to their deaths in the last battle against the Mermaids.
Yet, she doesn't blame the Mermaids for that, but Tyrion for forcing them down that path. And now, she sees in Lucien's plan the only way to stop more innocent people from continuing to die on both sides.
Rupa looks at Ritika with a sorry expression. Despite being tortured by her just ago, the Mermaid did not feel corruption in the Naga General but despair.
Lucien notices that sorry look and gets shocked. He already understood that the Mermaids are kind and loving creatures, but he can't imagine how anyone would forgive their torturer so quickly.
And because of the strength and loyalty she showed when she said nothing during the torture session, Lucien feels that his personal army of women cannot lose such a promising person.
He starts taking off his black vest, revealing his super s.e.xy bare chest, which shocks the girls.
"W-w-what are you doing???" Mira imagines that Lucien wants to do that right now and with Ritika and Rupa too.
But he just smiles as he offers his vest to Rupa. "It was made by my very talented wife and will protect you."
That vest only covers part of Lucien's torso and shoulders, and although it gets a lot bigger on Rupa, it still doesn't look anything like armor. But she can feel a powerful aura coming from that and realize that it has an excellent protective enchantment.
"T-thank you." Rupa makes a happy expression as she accepts Lucien's vest. She can feel his wonderful fragrance coming from it and barely manages to contain the urge to sniff it in front of everyone.
Ritika has no ambitions other than to do her best for her people, which is the reason she's on the frontline even though she doesn't agree with Tyrion's policies. But after seeing Rupa get that magical kiss from Lucien and now his fragrant vest, some feelings that Envy loves start arising in her heart.
[Why is he so good to the Mermaid???] She wonders.
Due to the time Lucien spent with Envy, receiving her demonic energy, he learned to identify that kind of feeling in people and notices how Ritika is a little upset.
He doesn't think the Nagas are right in any way, but he also knows that Tyrion and his supporters left them no choice but to fight the Mermaids.
If the point is personality, he doesn't think Ritika is a bad person because even injured, she was still trying to do the best for her people by getting any information from Rupa.
In fact, he thinks both would be great additions to his personal army of women; they just needed a little training.
"Now you must go; the sooner Mira and the Mermaid Queen can talk and come to an agreement, the sooner this senseless war will end." He speaks, but the girls can't pay much attention to his words as they are focused on his bare chest.
"Ahem!" Mira makes a forced sound to get attention as she doesn't like random women seeing that bare chest that should only belong to her and her 'few' sisters.
The girls look at Mira, and Ritika nods as she walks back. "We are on our way, my Queen."
"Wait!" Kamala goes after Ritika to exchange a few words with her old friend and offers Bina, the White Shark, to get her and Rupa faster to Nea.
At that moment, Rupa approaches Lucien discreetly. She seems to use her tail to slide across the floor like the Nagas, but he sees that she uses her power to levitate, making it clear that the Mermaids don't move as well on the ground as the Nagas.
She blushes as she brings her lips closer to his face, making Mira think she wants to kiss him. But he notices a concerned expression on her face and lets her do as she pleases.
"Lucien..." She whispers his name. "I don't know exactly who you are, but I don't feel malice in your heart... I'll trust you, so please help me stop more of my sisters from dying in this war."
"That's the plan." He responds.
She thinks for another second before sighing. "Saria plans to attack the outposts further north and south from here at the same time."
Lucien is again shocked by Rupa's att.i.tude. Although he made it clear that he is not her enemy, she shouldn't trust him to the point of giving such information.
That's the way he sees things based on his experience with other people. But he doesn't understand how her senses work. The Mermaids can really sense malice in other people, especially towards themselves.
And although Lucien has selfish desires to get Nagas and Mermaids as his troops, he doesn't want to harm them but rather reward them as he does with his other troops. So what he wants for the Mermaids is for them to prosperate and become stronger.
Rupa can feel that, and that is why she is honest with him. "They have millions of troops; half will be led by Saria and the other half by someone else... please arrange a truce between our peoples until I take your message to the Queen."
He slowly moves his head to the side, brus.h.i.+ng his lips over her cheek. "I stop this war, so get back to me as sooner as possible."
Feeling Lucien's lips gives Rupa great pleasure, but it also makes her body burn with anxiety and frustration. She really wants to feel his lips with her mouth again, which will motivate her to go through any situation and complete her mission before returning to him.
"Mm!" She makes a sound of agreement before going after Kamala and Ritika. She entered that building as a prisoner but leaves as someone who just found the best treasure in the universe; her bright smile leaves all the Nagas there perplexed.
Still inside that building, Helena looks at Lucien with a confused expression. "What is wrong?"
He looks thoughtful. "The Mermaids... are they always like Rupa?"
"Yep." Mira nods. "They are gentle and empathetic creatures."
"That's why you thought it was weird that they started attacking back, right?" He asks. "I can't even imagine how such creatures could even kill other people."
Now Mira is the one who makes a thoughtful expression. "Well, I believe any creature, if forced into it, will defend itself and those they love. Also, people are different from each other; I don't think Nea would initiate such an attack, but I don't know Saria enough to say the same."
"Maybe Saria wasn't like that before but was influenced by an outsider." l.u.s.t comments.
"An outsider?" Mira asks. "Do you mean that human Lucien seemed interested in?"
"Yes." He answers. "Maybe she's one of my sisters who is together with another Sin, someone capable of influencing the entire race to change."
A strange gleam pa.s.ses through l.u.s.t's eyes as Lucien can feel the jealousy rising in her heart. "Gluttony always wants more than she can absorb, but Greed is different... only Greed would motivate one race to fight another so she could take everything of value from them while they kill each other."
Lucien sighs. He doesn't know how his other sisters are being influenced by the Sins, but it looks like it.
"What are we going to do next?" Helena asks.
"You heard it, right?" He asks. "Saria will attack in the north and south, so we have to find her and stop this war."
"But we don't know where Saria will be." Mira comments. "I mean, she's going to lead half the troops while someone else... wait; could that person be your sister?"
"I think so," Lucien responds. "Rupa seemed so resistant to saying anything about that human as it seems to be too close to Saria already."
l.u.s.t hugs him. "Well, we don't know where they are, but do we have to make a choice now, north or south?"
He stops looking at Mira, Helena, and Oya, but they all leave that choice to him, so he just chooses a path at random. "South then."
"Alright." Mira nods, and together they start heading south with those four thousand blackguards loyal to them.
But before going two miles south, Lucien stops his mystic shark because he feels something is wrong inside his soul.
"What happened?" Kamala asks.
"I'm not sure..." He answers as he starts opening the purple world.
Once the portal is ready, the group quickly enters it, and everyone is shocked to reach the main hall of the house and see a sword flying around madly, making a mess of the place.
"What the h.e.l.l?!?!" Mira quickly notices that the sword is a cursed weapon and tries to attack it with her ability.
"Wait!" But Lucien quickly takes her hand. "She's not really hostile to us."
Mira and Kamala are really shocked as they watch the sword slowly calm down and land in Lucien's hand like a good kitten.
"Where have you been??" He asks as he remembers that she disappeared into the purple world when they met the Leviathan. l.u.s.t said that the cursed weapons could not be kept there by him, but it seems that nothing prevented her from staying there on her own.
The Ghost Lady vibrates in Lucien's hand, happy to be getting his demonic energy again. But even after a few minutes, she keeps vibrating with a strange silvery glow.
"Looks like you want to tell me something…" Lucien comments.
As if understanding his words, the Ghost Lady floats back and begins to cut through the wall, creating a word in Ancient Ocean Language.
Mira and l.u.s.t read that word at the same time. "North."
Then the house's magic repairs the wall, erasing that word quickly.