The ocean was calm.
Golden sunlight descended from the heavens, scattering countless fragments of light across the endless blue sea.
The Azura Horizon vessel sailed steadily through the waters.
Its silver-blue sails billowed beneath the wind.
Ancient runes carved along the hull glowed faintly as the ship cut through the waves.
Around it swam several Leviathans.
Gigantic shadows moved beneath the water.
Occasionally one surfaced beside the ship.
The sight was enough to make veteran sailors faint.
Yet the guild members were gradually becoming accustomed to it.
After all...
These Leviathans were now allies.
Companions.
Partners of Azura Horizon.
The impossible had become reality.
On the upper deck, laughter and excited discussions could be heard everywhere.
Guild members excitedly spoke about future expeditions.
Some discussed which Leviathan companion they hoped to receive.
Others simply stared at the creatures in awe.
The atmosphere was lively.
Hopeful.
Bright.
Yet at the bow of the vessel—
A different atmosphere lingered.
Seraphine stood alone.
The ocean breeze danced through her long azure hair.
The sunlight reflected within her blue eyes.
Her gaze remained fixed upon the horizon.
Lost in thought.
Far away.
Deep within memories.
Memories she had tried to forget.
...
Blood in the water.
Screams.
Fear.
Funerals.
Three hundred dead.
Three hundred.
Merfolk children.
Merfolk warriors.
Merfolk mothers.
Merfolk fathers.
Entire families destroyed.
The sea predator had haunted every corner of the merfolk territories.
Fear had spread throughout the underwater settlements.
Every journey outside protected territory carried danger.
Every patrol might become the last.
Every family feared receiving terrible news.
Back then...
She had been powerless.
Unable to stop it.
Unable to protect anyone.
Then he had appeared.
Aedon Flinth.
Or rather...
Kel.
The memory resurfaced clearly.
She remembered him standing upon the shoreline.
Watching.
Observing.
While everyone else panicked.
While sailors shouted.
While merfolk prepared for battle.
He simply watched.
Calmly.
Quietly.
Like an observer studying a puzzle.
Then—
He had borrowed a spear.
Nothing special.
Just an ordinary spear belonging to a merfolk guard.
Seraphine remembered the confusion.
The disbelief.
The ridicule.
Many had thought he was joking.
Then he swallowed a blue pill.
Claiming it was a stamina pill.
At the time she had believed him.
Now she knew better.
Very little about Kel was ever that simple.
The next moment—
He threw the spear.
The memory still sent chills through her body.
The spear vanished.
Simply vanished.
The ocean exploded.
The sky shook.
And a monster that had terrorized the sea for an entire year suddenly fell from the heavens covered in blood.
The attack had resembled a legendary technique.
The Divine Spoon Art.
A technique belonging to stories and myths.
Not reality.
The entire coastline had been thrown into chaos.
Students.
Sailors.
Merfolk.
Everyone had been shocked.
Rumors had spread throughout the academy within hours.
Then came the Scarder Stone.
The sacred artifact.
The Stone of Wisdom.
An object her people considered part of their heritage.
A treasure beyond price.
And Kel had taken it.
Not stolen.
Taken.
Because by every explorer law, it belonged to him.
The monster had possessed it.
He had slain the monster.
He had retrieved the stone.
Therefore it was his.
Simple.
Logical.
Cruel.
Reasonable.
Seraphine still remembered the negotiations.
The arguments.
The desperation of the tribal elders.
And Kel standing there without yielding.
Eventually he accepted compensation.
Fifty thousand gold coins.
No more.
No less.
Enough to equal a normal bounty.
Not enough to exploit them.
Not little enough to disrespect himself.
Then—
The silver-haired girl.
A beautiful mermaid.
A political offering.
A convenient sacrifice disguised as gratitude.
The tribe had attempted to offer her to Kel.
Seraphine remembered the shock that followed.
The silence.
The humiliation.
The outrage.
Because Kel had rejected the proposal publicly.
Brutally.
Mercilessly.
His words had wounded everyone.
Including the girl herself.
Yet now...
months later...
Seraphine understood something she hadn't back then.
He wasn't insulting the her.
He was insulting the people trying to use her.
The realization made her sigh softly.
The ocean breeze carried away the sound.
"Thinking about the past?"
A familiar voice reached her ears.
Seraphine turned.
Kel sat nearby upon a wooden crate.
The wind rustled his dark hair.
One arm rested casually upon his raised knee.
His gaze remained fixed upon the ocean.
Calm.
Relaxed.
Almost lazy.
If someone didn't know him...
They would never imagine this young man had just negotiated with Leviathans beneath the abyss.
Seraphine slowly walked toward him.
Then sat beside him.
For several moments neither spoke.
Only the sound of waves accompanied them.
Eventually—
"Yes."
Her voice was quiet.
"I was remembering."
Kel glanced at her.
"The sea predator?"
She nodded.
"The Stone of Wisdom."
"The negotiations."
"The tribe."
A small smile appeared.
"And how much trouble you caused."
Kel looked offended.
"I solved a problem."
"You created several others."
"Details."
Seraphine laughed softly.
Then silence returned.
For a while they simply watched the ocean.
Eventually—
Seraphine spoke again.
A question that had been lingering in her mind for days.
"Why?"
Kel raised an eyebrow.
"Why what?"
She looked directly at him.
The wind moved her hair.
Her expression became serious.
"Why did you go so far?"
The question lingered between them.
Kel remained silent.
Seraphine continued.
"You investigated the attacks."
"You fought Leviathans."
"You negotiated peace."
"You created compensation."
"You formed an alliance."
Her blue eyes reflected the sea.
"Why?"
The answer mattered.
Because she genuinely didn't understand.
Kel possessed overwhelming power.
He could have simply killed every Leviathan.
The problem would have disappeared instantly.
Yet he didn't.
Instead—
He chose the difficult path.
The longer path.
The kinder path.
Kel stared toward the horizon.
His expression remained unreadable.
Then finally—
He answered.
"Because of you."
Seraphine froze.
Kel continued calmly.
"You were prepared to fight them."
The wind seemed to grow quieter.
"You were prepared to stand against Leviathans."
The words carried unusual weight.
"You were even prepared to kill them if necessary."
Seraphine lowered her gaze.
Because it was true.
When the attacks began...
She had chosen humanity.
She had chosen Azura Horizon.
She had chosen her friends.
Even if it meant fighting creatures that once protected her homeland.
Kel looked toward the sea.
"When I saw that..."
His voice became softer.
"I realized something."
Seraphine listened carefully.
"You had already made your choice."
The words struck deeply.
"You weren't a naive anymore."
"You weren't someone blindly following others."
"You had become capable of deciding your own future."
Seraphine's fingers tightened slightly.
A strange warmth spread through her chest.
Then Kel smiled faintly.
"But."
That single word changed everything.
Seraphine looked up.
Kel's golden eyes reflected the ocean.
"I didn't want you carrying that burden."
She blinked.
"What?"
Kel continued quietly.
"If the Leviathans truly deserved death..."
"Then killing them would've been necessary."
His gaze drifted toward the distant waves.
"But I didn't want you staining your hands with their blood."
Silence.
Complete silence.
The sounds of the ship seemed distant.
The ocean seemed distant.
Everything became distant.
Only his words remained.
Kel's voice was calm.
Yet every word carried sincerity.
"You would've carried that guilt."
"You would've remembered it."
"For years."
"Maybe forever."
The wind passed between them.
Seraphine felt her throat tighten.
Back then...
She truly had been prepared.
Prepared to fight.
Prepared to kill.
Prepared to sacrifice a part of herself.
And somehow—
Before she even realized it...
Kel had already searched for another path.
A path where she wouldn't have to.
The realization left her speechless.
Kel smiled.
"So I investigated."
"I stopped the attacks."
"I found the reason."
"I solved the mystery."
"And I compensated the Leviathans."
His shoulders lifted slightly.
"As simple as that."
Seraphine stared at him.
Several emotions mixed together.
Gratitude.
Affection.
Warmth.
Something deeper.
Something she couldn't properly name.
Then another question appeared.
"If that was all..."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Why ask for cooperation?"
Kel laughed softly.
As though the answer was obvious.
"Because it's beneficial."
Seraphine rolled her eyes.
"Of course."
Practical.
Efficient.
Exactly the kind of answer she expected.
Yet Kel wasn't finished.
His expression softened.
A rare sight.
Then he looked directly at her.
"And because..."
The ocean breeze carried his words.
"You should still have something from your old life."
Seraphine froze.
Kel gestured toward the sea.
Toward the Leviathans.
Toward the endless horizon.
"You live on land now."
"You attend the academy."
"You lead a guild."
"You've built a new future."
His smile became gentler.
"But that doesn't mean you need to abandon your past."
The words struck deeper than any spear.
Seraphine's eyes widened slightly.
Kel leaned back casually.
"Don't you think so..."
A faint smile appeared.
"...Guild Master of Azura Horizon?"
For several moments—
She couldn't speak.
Because suddenly she understood.
The alliance wasn't merely practical.
It wasn't merely profitable.
It wasn't merely strategic.
It was also a gift.
A bridge.
A connection.
A way for her to move forward without losing where she came from.
The Leviathans.
The ocean.
The sea.
Her people.
Her memories.
None of them needed to disappear.
Tears threatened to form.
Seraphine immediately looked away.
Refusing to let him see.
Unfortunately—
Kel noticed anyway.
He simply pretended not to.
A kindness she appreciated.
Far away beneath the waters of Scarder Lake, another voice echoed within Kel's mind.
"You are surprisingly sentimental today."
Kel's eyebrow twitched.
"Not a word."
"You essentially gave her an emotional inheritance."
"I solved a logistical issue."
"Of course."
Seiren sounded thoroughly unconvinced.
"A purely logistical issue."
Kel ignored her.
The goddess laughed softly through their connection.
Meanwhile, Seraphine finally managed to compose herself.
A small smile appeared.
Gentle.
Warm.
Beautiful.
"Thank you."
Kel looked toward the horizon.
The golden sea stretched endlessly before them.
"No problem."
The ship continued sailing.
The Leviathans followed beneath the waves.
And for the first time in a long while—
Seraphine felt completely at peace.
Not as a mermaid.
Not as a student.
Not as a guild master.
But simply as herself.
Someone who could embrace both the ocean behind her...
And the future waiting ahead.