The familiar dirt road quickly dwindled to gra.s.s plains. Happote Isle was extremely expansive, the destinations were few and far between.The only places inhabited by humans were Vallou, Western Village, and Eastern Port; the latter of which acting as the main trade center for the Isle.
Living as far away from the Mainland, Ciriri hadn"t really dealt with monsters in a dangerous sense. The only time she had ever seen one was when adventurers would bring their bodies through town; looking to cash in on rare parts.
"Well, since we"re walking, we should take the time to know about each other more!" Triton was walking a bit more ahead to flash a confidant smile in Ciriri"s direction.
"What do you want to know?"
"Well, I guess we could play a little game to gather tidbits of each other."
"I"m not so good at these kind of games though…"
Ciriri fidgeted with her utility belt as she walked. Triton"s curious gaze locked on her.
"I"ll make it simple. Watch."
Triton cleared his throat and walked a bit slower to be in line with Ciriri.
"Favorite food!" The question came so quick, Ciriri looked up at him at first. Looking back down, she racked her brain for all of the foods she had eaten in her life.
"Don"t overthink it! Just say what comes to mind." Triton encouraged.
"U-uhmm, holiday hot-pot."
Nodding gingerly, Triton"s face lifted as Ciriri went along with his questions game.
"Interesting! I"ve never had that."
"It"s a huge pot filled with animal stock and meat with vegetable and mushrooms. If you"re lucky, you could stuff leek inside too. You eat it at the turn of the New Year."
Triton"s mouth started to water at Ciriri"s explanation for the seasonal dish. Surely he was only thinking to the meat portion, a huge serving swimming in a large earthen pot.
"That sounds divine! Where I"m from, roast chicken is supreme. I also enjoy steak from the Ushiru Isle."
"Ushiru? I"ve never left Happote so I wouldn"t know the regional differences in meat. Is it good?"
"When prepared right, its like b.u.t.ter. However, I can only eat it rare."
Ciriri had to hold back a lurch in her throat at the thought of rare steak. The vision of blood rushing out from the meat and onto the plate sent a shiver down her back.
"Hmm? Something the matter?" Triton stopped when he noticed Ciriri had stopped to compose herself from the morbid vision.
"No, I"m fine. It"s just, I"m not really into rare cooked beef…" Ciriri said, her legs shaking as she resumed walking.
"Ah, my apologies. I didn"t wish to make you ill."
Waving off the event, Ciriri stood back up.
"Well, my turn then. Favorite hobby?" Ciriri asked with a glimmer of curiosity.
"I have enjoyed reading novels since the Sea Kingdom and humans have been in an alliance. I have to admit that I have a guilty pleasure for short stories." Triton said scratching his cheek in thought.
"Really? The book part seems pretty princely but I never saw you as a light novel buff." Ciriri joked, earning a shocked look from Triton.
"T-they"re easy to follow and the plots are fun! You don"t like them?"
"No, I own a couple of light novels myself. There"s a pretty famous writer in Vallou that publishes "other world" type scenarios."
"Thanks for letting me know, I should pick some up before returning to the Sea." Triton said with a grin in his face. "Now, your turn. What does Ciriri like to do for fun?"
Ciriri brought a hand up to her chin to think. It seemed silly that she had to really think about the things she enjoyed.
When it came down to it, she worked long hours and went to bed as soon as she finished dinner most nights. The only thing she really had time for…
"I guess we"re the same."
Triton"s gleeful grin turned into a curious gaze. Finally getting to what she was eluding to, he smiled softly towards her.
"Ah, so you like to read as well. Maybe we should start a book club!" Triton gushed.
Ciriri only smiled as she saw Triton get worked up over their shared hobby.
"Okay, how about this then? How do you feel about adventure? Sure you"re already out here with me but, what do you truly think of it?" Triton asked.
"I have always envied the adventurers that would come to Western Village. Knowing they crossed the ocean and more than likely went through two towns to my village. They didn"t answer to anyone and always had interesting stories to tell." Ciriri said. The look in her eyes brightened as she recalled memories of pa.s.sing adventurers.
"Hmm, so you liked the storytelling side of adventuring?" Triton probed.
"In most ways, yes. I know it"s hard on a lot of adventurers but, seeing the looks on their faces when they tell their stories seems rewarding. I wanted to be like that for a long time…"
Triton noticed Ciriri had trailed off. She was looking ahead albeit a bit more stoic than usual.
"Well, what stopped you? Your gift for finding items is unparalleled! You would"ve thrived out there."
"I promised my mom."
Even though Ciriri gave Triton a warm smile, Triton"s encouraging grin dropped.
"I promised I would stay in Western Village and on Happote… Rin was friends with her for a long time and when she pa.s.sed, her only wish was that I stuck around. I ended up working for Rin and have lived in Western Village since."
"So you gave up your dream of adventure to appease your mothers wishes?"
"Mhmm. At first it really annoyed me. I didn"t know why she didn"t want me to leave the village but as I kept working, the allure had died."
"What of your father?"
Ciriri stalled in her words for a moment, not breaking her gaze from the gra.s.sy path ahead.
"I"ve never met him…"

After a couple of hours of walking and conversing, the pair had arrived at the bottom of a sheer cliff side. The surrounding area was covered in forest; the sounds of the ocean nearby.
"This cavern has got to be damp, being so close to the sh.o.r.e…" Triton pondered as he peered inside.
"This is Glittering Cave, its pretty popular with adventurers looking for jewels but it"s been dry for some time." Ciriri"s voice echoed off the walls from the entrance.
"You think I"ll find anything worthwhile in there? A jewel would be more than okay for me. I could even get it sculpted into jewelry!" Triton was already plotting his gift before he found it.
"Ehhh, well like I said, this place has been pretty dry the last couple of years. I"d be surprised if you found anything."
Triton then whipped around from looking into the deep cavern. The tendrils acting as hair flared out and then compacted together tightly. With hands on his hips, his ever confidant stride seemed to waver as he prepared his retort.
"W-well, you know… that"s where I was hoping you would come in…"
"I"m not following…"
"Y-you know… you"re so great at finding things. And I was hoping we would stumble upon something great with you around. So… you know…"
Triton"s hands were extended out in a gesture of good will while his face wore a surprisingly practiced look of whimsical fort.i.tude.
"Oh, I see. You want to use me for loot!" Ciriri"s voice boomed right past the prince and echoed loudly into the cavern.
"No! No no, my dear pearl! Quite the opposite!" Triton"s attempt at damage control was spiraling.
"What"s the opposite of what you just said then? What else would we be doing in a deep dark cave?!"
Before Triton could even try and think of a retort, his face broke into a sheepish smile. The thought of them stuck in a deep cave and camping out in an alcove gave a warm feeling in his chest.
"I don"t even want to know what you"re thinking about but you"re lewd."
Snapping out of his thought, he gave Ciriri a shocked look before waving his hands in embarra.s.sment.
"No! That"s not what I was eluding to! You"ve got it all wrong!"
The argument was quickly dropped as the sun began to fall beyond the hills. Opting to find a flat spot at the last minute inside the cave, Ciriri and Triton took refuge in the tunnels.
The walk inside was more beautiful than they imagined. Years of excavation and pillaging had left wide walkways and leftover camping supplies. Along the way, firewood and abandoned sleeping bags were picked up.
They decided to venture just an extra half hour in the cave before deciding to make camp near a deep pool of water. The natural polish on the rocks giving off the illusion of the night sky.
Using the torch Ciriri had found earlier, she made a quick campfire surrounded by rocks.
Triton decided to take a quick dip in the pool. A long and drawn out groan slipped from his location as he oscillated in one spot. Ciriri found it funny to only see his tendrils floating loosely in the water.
"The water is so warm here, Ciriri." Triton said, his voice relaxing.
"Really?" Ciriri proceeded to dip her hand in the water to find it lukewarm. Like hot bath water drawn about an hour ago.
Compared to what it could"ve been–– ice cold and uncomfortable–– this was a pleasant surprise.
"Wow! I kind of want to get in. Is it deep?"
"I"m not touching the bottom but I"ll check for you." Triton quickly dipped under the water completely.
Watching as his body quickly muddied out of view under the clear water, Ciriri was curious on how deep this small pond could really be.
SPLASH
Suddenly, Triton"s head popped up out of the water and right into Ciriri"s face.
"AH!" The initial shock knocked Ciriri backwards onto her rear.
"My apologies!" Triton drug himself out of the pond to offer his hand to her.
Taking it and hoisting herself up, she dusted her rear of any dirt and rocks she landed on.
"I didn"t mean to scare you. I checked the depth of the pond and it is rather deep."
"Oh, I figured when I saw you div— what is that?"
Ciriri finally looked down to Triton"s other arm. In it, a rather large fish was flopping for all its might.
"Hmm? Oh this? It"s dinner!" now holding the fish in both of his clawed hands firmly, the fish seemed like it knew it was about to meet it"s demise.
"That was in the pond? Amazing!"
"I figured you could bathe and get comfortable and we"ll have a rather hearty meal. I"d like to make it for you as thanks for the meal you offered me in your home."
"Ahh~ well.. if you want to. It feels weird to be served by a royal." Ciriri was growing increasingly bashful as the seconds droned on.
"I"d like to think that while we"re traveling together, we"re equals."
The wet sounds of the fish flapping for its life broke the seemingly thick mood growing.
"W-well ok. I"ll leave you to it. I"m going to go bathe over there then." With that, Ciriri started to walk down the edge of the pond.
The area they were in was a very vast cave pocket. She could comfortably use a couple of large rocks in the corner to cover her body as she began to undress.
As she looked up from her refuge, she clocked Triton peaking ever so slightly above the roaring campfire. His thin blue eyes locked with her"s but not for long as he quickly averted them.
"Keep to cooking please!" Ciriri yelled out, all semblance of bashfulness thrown out the door.

With a hot meal in their stomachs and a warm place to sleep— for the most part— the duo were laid down for sleep.
Triton quickly found out he was too big to fit in the already large sleeping bags they had found. Even though Ciriri initially felt guilty, Triton was excited to sleep in the warm water of the cave pond.
With both of them snug in their sleeping spots, Ciriri rolled over to look at Triton. The large sh.e.l.l connected to his head and the dark red flat sh.e.l.l head attached to his face were clearly visible. A couple of the tentacles were sticking out of the pond and twitching ever so slightly.
She noticed he was slowly but surely listing through the water backwards. He must"ve been using the hyponome on his throat. Moving in a slow circle, his eyes were shut softly closed.
It would be bothersome to try and wake him at this hour to talk but she was feeling lonely. Trying very hard not to think about the predicament she was in, the realism was slowly setting in.
Saying goodbye to Rin, breaking her mother"s promise, running off with a Sea Royal.
A Sea Royal that called her a pearl.
A sudden blush crept up on her cheeks thinking back to the rushed but effective compliment. She was so mad at the time she couldn"t fully grasp what he said, but he for sure called her…
"My pearl…"
The rest of the night was spent stealing glances at the sleeping prince and falling in and out of sleep.

"There"s nothing here, I told you! Even with my skill, I can"t find anything!"
"A cave this big and not one stone?! Your people surely know how to strip a mine." Triton grumbled as they pushed over rock after rock looking for anything glimmering hiding below.
"Stuff like that fetches a high price you know. People from all over were dying to get here."
Triton"s tendrils formed together tightly in a show of frustration at the bare turnout.
"We walked so far and it was for nothing."
Ciriri had to huff at Triton"s defeated tone. Even thought she wanted to throw around "I told you so" — the crossed arms and firm pout matched her inner disappointment as well.
"Don"t give up so quickly."
Triton opened one eye to peer at Ciriri. She was kneeled down by a pile of overturned rocks. The dirt covering her hands and knees really laminated the hard work she put in to help.
"Have you ever heard of the story about the Boy and the Paper Windmill?"
All Ciriri received was a quizzical look from Triton. His tendrils flared for a moment before returning to the tight formation.
"I can"t say that I have, no. Is it a human tale?"
"I heard it a couple of times from my mother." Ciriri started as she dusted her hands of dirt.
Taking a deep breath, she stood up at full attention to tell her tale.
"A long time ago, there was a boy who lived by a vast river. For fun, he made paper windmills fastened to sticks. Watching the folded paper spin in the wind brought him great joy."
Triton was giving his full attention to Ciriri now.
"On a seemingly random day, a demon rose from the river to watch the boy.
"You seem to like these windmills." The demon said.
"What if you could have your own grand windmill all for yourself?" The demon sauntered further"
"This demon sounds sketchy… but I guess he"s a demon after all." Triton said softly, almost to himself.
"Anyways, the demon then told the boy to make one thousand windmills and offer them to the river. After exactly one thousand were made, the demon would deliver a large windmill to his home as promised.
The boy worked very hard, day after day he folded paper and fastened it to any stick he could find. Dumping windmill after windmill into the river, the boy never did get thanks for his continual work."
Triton nodded his head as he listened along to the story. It was obvious he was bracing for a sad ending.
"Eventually he was near the end, only a hundred more to make when his mother fell gravely ill."
"I knew it." Triton suddenly interjected.
Stifling an annoyed look but continuing anyways, Ciriri waved her hand along to the story.
"The boy had to stop for a long time, figuring that if the demon didn"t show up then, he wouldn"t show up now. The days taking care of his sickly mother turned into years. In between caring for her, he had married and fathered children. His mother had pa.s.sed and his children had grown."
Triton"s smug look returned to its focused one as Ciriri reached the climax of the tale.
"When the boy returned to the river to collect water, the demon surfaced again. It had been years but the boy remember him well.
"It seems you have given up on your windmill. Could it be that your aspirations have changed?"
The boy took a long time to answer but only offered the demon a smile.
"a windmill would still be nice but I have made so many I have grown tired of them. The things that are important to me are my family now."."
"So the man learned over time that he had to take time to earn what he really wanted instead of mindlessly grinding towards one selfish goal?" Triton pondered.
"That"s right! I"d say cut your losses now and move on instead of blindly digging in a cave for days. If we haven"t found something now, I don"t think we"ll find it ever." With a overtly exaggerated arm wave, Ciriri knocked into a pile of huge rocks, causing them to knock over.
"Arrrghh! Ow ow owwww!" Crumpled over, she held her hand gingerly and blew on it to relieve it of pain.
"Oh my G.o.d! I can"t believe it!" Triton suddenly yelled out.
"I know! Who put those blasted rocks there!" Ciriri cried out as she finally looked up to Triton.
However, he wasn"t looking at her but at the hole uncovered from Ciriri"s. .h.i.t.
Looking up to match his line of sight, she looked inside the uncovered hole. Her eyes flew open in surprise.
A trove of raw jewels were wedged inside. Diamonds, rubies, and sapphires were mixed together with polished quartz crystals.
"H-how did I…" Ciriri was in shock from the uncovering.
"Amazing Ciriri! Even as we were giving up, you still uncovered the trove! You truly are an amazing woman!" Triton was praising her as he shook her shoulders lightly.
"I-I guess… I just…doesn"t this feel a bit…"
"DON"T TOUCH THOSE!!"
Both Triton and Ciriri halted in their steps. The echoing voice that boomed though the cavern wasn"t from either of them…
"What was that? A monster?" Triton quickly asked, his face was a bit too close to Ciriri"s out of fear.
"Ehh, I don"t know. It spoke so I think it was a person! We"re still on the isle so there shouldn"t be monsters here right? Right?" Ciriri was trembling as the sounds of something slithering grew louder.
Looking ever which way, all of the entrances and pathways were clear of ent.i.ties. Nothing was approaching them from any direction and the air became increasingly tense.
"Triton…" Ciriri moved away from the hole in the wall and clung to his arm. Her cheek flush against the puffy shoulder sleeves. "I"m scared…"
Sensing her terrified state, Triton a.s.sumed an attack ready stance. The sword fastened to his hip made a loud shiingg as he withdrew it from the sheath.
"Don"t worry…" glancing down to her, they locked eyes for a moment before he went back to scanning the area. "I"ve got you. You don"t have to worry."
The slithering became louder as Ciriri snapped out of her staring gaze. A visual still wasn"t around and the sound was growing ever louder.
"Geeze!! I can"t hide anything anymore! I just knew someone was going to come along and steal my treasure!"
BANG
The dust on the ground erupted as a large force fell from the cave ceiling. Ciriri let go of Triton to shield her face from flying rocks and dirt. Triton, on the other hand held steadfast in his stance. The grip on his sword tightening.
"Who goes there! You are not challenging an ordinary traveler! Show yourself!" Triton commanded.
The dust quickly settled to show a huge lump of what looked like snakeskin. After a couple of seconds, the lumpy form began to unfurl.
Triton and Ciriri watched as the snake part of the body began to blend to a more human form at the top. The bare top of the human side of the snake woman was covered in a beautiful silk like blouse lined with jewels. The short black hair was adorned with a veil made of the same material.
It was a Snake Royal.
"animal Royalty? A snake woman?" Ciriri stammered out.
"State your business. You are threatening the Prince of the Sea and his partner. Identify yourself!" Triton commanded once again.
The look on the snake woman"s face was stone cold but Ciriri caught her deep blush under her coffee dark skin. Even in the dim light of the well placed torches around the area, her red eyes shone brightly complimenting her jewels.
However, it was because of the tears she was fighting to hold back out of anxiety.
"Y-y-you guys… you are t-trespa.s.sing on h-hallowed and s-sacred ground! This is the new k-kingdom of the Snake Tribe! Protectors of the Forest!" The woman"s arms extended in a brave show of force but Triton and Ciriri picked up on her trembling voice and dwindling strong front.
"Uhh…" Ciriri stammered. She really didn"t feel any hostility from the snake woman anymore as she kept shaking in fear.
"A Snake Princess, is it? Are you here to ambush us?" Triton asked further, his sword still pointed in her direction.
Looking down to the pointed end of the sharp blade, the snake woman slowly let her hands fall to her side. Her brave face was all but demolished at this point and her cheeks were a cherry red.
"I-I am Naga! P-p-princess of the Snake Tribe! P-p-p…."the last word was stuck on her lips as she struggled to stammer them out.
Both Triton and Ciriri leaned in to hear her better and wait for the eventual last word.
"PLEASE DON"T TAKE MY JEWELS!" Naga screamed into the cavern.
The curious look on Ciriri and Triton was replaced with a surprised one. Naga"s fists were tightly balled at her sides as she held a frustrated look towards the ground.
"The jewels are yours? I"m sorry, we didn"t know!" Ciriri suddenly apologized letting go of Triton. Giving her best formal bow, she presented the best apology she could.
Following suit, Triton quickly sheathed his sword and bowed as well.
"Please forgive us, Princess Naga. It was not our intention to steal."
After a couple of seconds, Ciriri and Triton stood back up to a.s.sess Naga"s reaction.
If it were possible, she was redder than before. It was almost as if she had steam coming out of her ears from the embarra.s.sment.
"W-w-well as l-long as you u-understand… j-just don"t let it h-happen again!" Naga"s voice was cracking badly under the pressure.
It was obvious that she didn"t do so hot under pressure but she felt strong enough to intervene when Ciriri and Triton came across her trove of jewels.
"You said your name is Naga? You"re also a Princess? That"s amazing, do you have a kingdom settlement around here?" Ciriri asked innocently.
"Ah, good thinking Ciriri, perhaps she would have an inn we can sleep in for tonight!"
Looking back to Naga, she had looked back down to the ground. Her cheeks were puffed out and tears were welled in her eyes again. She seemed defeated.
"Princess Naga?" Triton softly spoke. Naga flinched at the calm words regardless.
"I-i don"t…." It was almost a whisper on her lips.
"You don"t? Don"t what?" Ciriri asked. She was trying her best not to overload Naga with a loud voice.
"I don"t have a settlement…"
The cave was very quiet for a couple of seconds.
"EHHHH?!"
Triton"s sudden outburst frightened both Ciriri and Naga. The latter suddenly looking up from the ground and a.s.suming a defensive stance. Her tail was fidgeting a million miles a second from the stress.
"You"re a Royal without a Kingdom? How is that possible? Don"t tell me, the Snake Clan does things differently? Or maybe you ran away from home? Forced arranged marriage? No, too absurd."
"Triton, stop! Look at her, you"ll kill her just from talking!" Ciriri interjected Triton"s rambling to motion towards Naga.
Her defensive stance was still present but all of the color drained from her face from Triton"s a.s.sumptions. She physically looked dead where she stood.
"Naga, why don"t you tell us your side of the story?" Ciriri asked.
Taking a deep breath, Naga slithered a bit closer to the pair before sitting. Carefully wrapping her snake body in a spiral lump, she resting her arms on it.
"I was born a couple hundred years ago from the far west. Langba to be precise. A couple of years ago, my father had released me to travel the world and establish a new Kingdom of my own. As I had children, our kingdoms would roam where they would."
Ciriri"s eyes were gleaming at the mystical tale of Naga"s life. Traveling and erecting your own kingdom sounded like a dream come true.
"But I just can"t do it! Talking to people was never something I was good at! And I had no idea how to build something as vast as a kingdom! What if my subjects hated me?! What if they tried to eat me in a riot?!" Naga suddenly yelled out.
"Eat you?" Ciriri questioned.
Triton offered his best smile.
"I understand how you feel sometimes. Our kingdom has always been located outside of Happote, but I feel the pressure of responsibility all too often. It must be hard having to leave your home and form alliances."
"It is…" Naga"s downcast face gave a very dreary mood.
"My father put so much trust in me and all I can do is lock myself away in a cave. These jewels were a parting gift from everyone in the previous Kingdom… I"m letting them down."
The soft dips of the water inside the cave echoes off the walls, cutting through the thick tension.
"Well, what if we help you get started?"Ciriri then offered.
"Huh?" Both of the Animal Royals looked at Ciriri, taken aback from her sudden offer.
"Oh n-no! Please, you don"t have to do anything!" Naga offered as she brought her hands up the quell the mood.
"No, I think it"s a great idea! You said you were protectors of the forest right? Well there"s a forest right outside the cave. Let"s find some snake people to form your Kingdom with!" Ciriri cheered, a fist pumped in the air.
"Fabulous! We could act as amba.s.sadors for you as we help you settle into your new life amongst the trees!" Triton said, also getting into the spirit of helping Naga.
"Guys…" Naga wanted to bury her head in her arms. The overwhelming sense of camaraderie the duo was offering to her was too much. "You both… really don"t have to do this…"
"You want to make your dad proud, right?" Ciriri asked.
Naga"s head lifted slowly to meet Ciriri"s soft smile. With a bit of hesitation, she slowly nodded her head.
"Then its settled! Let"s build you a Kingdom!" Ciriri cheered.
"Yeah! The Princess Naga Kingdom Amba.s.sador Committee is go!" Triton hollered gleefully, pumping his own fist in the air.
As the duo cheered and did their best to build hype within Naga, the poor Snake Princess was trying her best to smile.
Even if a couple of fearful tears fell with it.