"I was wondering, Fisher, do you blame me? Blame me for putting you in this situation, for going home alone after you left Saint Nali, leaving you to wander, and face that terrifying mastermind alone..."

Fisher looked at her, watching her ears twitching constantly, and her eyes not daring to meet his.

Moli was also unsure of her own positioning, which made her quite conflicted.

It was because of her own matters that Fisher got caught up in the turmoil of escape, and she didn’t help him at all, but left him and returned to the sea floor; perhaps emotionally it was the same, even if Elizabeth was not mentioned, her status was indeed neither justified nor approved, yet she wanted to sabotage the friendship between him and Rafael.

Clearly, she wanted to repay Mr. Fisher’s kindness and goodwill, but why did it seem in the end like she wasn’t repaying a kindness but rather settling a debt?

Yet, as he looked at her profile, for some reason, Fisher’s mind suddenly went to that Whale-man seen in the Holy Land, Hooked kiss.

Thinking of him, Fisher couldn’t help but smile, and he said,

"You know, Moli, during these years away, I met another interesting Whale-man. I talked to him about meeting you and our relationship, and he got very angry, worried my greed would harm you. It made me avoid him for a long time, and later when I stopped avoiding him, I began to reflect on what I had done, actually realizing he was quite right, and it made me more cautious and guilty."

Moli covered her mouth and laughed softly, saying,

"Whale-men in our Sea Trench are like that, although they sleep most of the time, they care about each other. If they grew up together, it’s even more so, most Whale-man couples are childhood sweethearts... By the way, Fisher, is the Whale-man you mentioned female? Is there a Whale-man leaving the Sea Trench at this time?"

Fisher thought to himself that it was a Whale-man who probably left the Sea Trench long, long ago, even before your mother was born, but on the surface, he just shook his head and explained,

"No, it was a male Whale-man, a doctor who helped me a lot over these years."

"A doctor? Speaking of which, my dad is a doctor too..."

"What a coincidence?"

"Yes, but I’ve never seen him, it’s always my mother bringing back his messages. Mom says he’s far away, yet always keeps me in mind."

"I see... Anyway, what I mean is, perhaps we both feel indebted to each other. And maybe, even without you, even if I hadn’t discovered Blake and Elizabeth’s affairs, I might have really married Elizabeth, but what’s happened can’t be undone. Erwin might still be alive, possibly causing more people to die... Rather than that, I’d prefer to be on the run. Besides, I wouldn’t want to not know such a lovely Whale-man as you..."

"Don’t bring up Elizabeth for now..."

Moli’s eyes lit up slightly, she pouted, her two slender Whale ears flapping like two paddles going up and down, excitedly.

Her cheeks gradually flushed pink like cherry blossoms, she gave Fisher a watery glance and then shyly took it back, then gently reached out and tugged at Fisher’s sleeve.

When he looked over curiously, as he saw the shy, blushing profile, he finally heard her soft, timid voice,

"Um... Fisher... Rafael won’t be back for another hour..."

The words were indirect, but Fisher keenly picked up the hidden meaning.

In an instant, he felt a heat rising in his body, swallowing reflexively, as if waiting like a simmering geyser under the ground ready to erupt.

Yet, after thinking for a moment, he still shook his head with difficulty, saying, 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"No... not now."

Moli looked a little disappointed, turning to Fisher, she couldn’t help but ask,

"Is it... because of Rafael?"

"... There’s not enough time."

"Not enough time?"

Moli looked at Fisher dumbfounded for a second, then her entire little face turned red.

She quickly avoided Fisher’s gaze, lowering her head embarrassed, feeling both frightened and secretly delighted.

An hour... is not enough?

Is that...

Yikes, this is too...

"Then... let’s just... chat for now..."

She was already tongue-tied, clearly too ashamed to find a place to hide.

Fisher was helpless too, it wasn’t something he could control, and really, if blame was to be placed, it would have to be on the Demi-human Girls Completion Manual, an inarguable fault.

"Okay."

"Then... can we kiss?"

"...Of course."

"Great..."

Moli blushed and reached out to squeeze Fisher’s hand, the warm, cautious fondness made his heart stir.

Unlike Rafael’s intensity, Moli’s affection was restrained, gentle, like a trickling stream with no visible end, unobtrusive in this restless world, standing apart so distinctly.

He also held Moli’s hand in return, beginning to chat, a prelude to their conversation,

"You said that Whale-men tend to have childhood sweethearts, how about you, do you have one?"

"No... because of my mother’s status, I didn’t live with other Whale-men as a child, instead, I stayed at her palace. Although I’ve met Whale-men my age and often greeted the elders, to my mother, all those elders were generations younger, to the point that I too hold a high status among them. I’m only over a hundred years old, but even Whale-men six or seven hundred years old would jokingly call me ’Old Ancestor’ in private! It drives me crazy..."

Fisher couldn’t help chuckling, noting how annoyed Moli seemed now, it was an easy leap to imagine how speechless she’d felt then.

But it made sense too, Xuan Can was a demigod and surely lived a long time, the generations of new Whale-men aren’t easy to compare with.

"By the way, you mentioned your father before. I’ve never heard you talk about him. Where... has he gone?"

"Mmm, I don’t know... Maybe he has very important things to do, I just know he’s really amazing. Even Mom would need to consult him when uncertain. When I was younger, I wanted to meet him so bad, I tried to run away to find him, which made Mom so mad. She told me I couldn’t find him even if I searched the whole world, because he wasn’t here..."

"Really..."

According to Xuan Can, the demigod, if that’s the case, Moli’s father could be in the Gap, or the Spirit Realm... both are possibilities...

"What a pity, otherwise I’d love to meet him..."

In the future, he would have to meet Rafael’s mother, he had encountered Xuan Can once before, wasn’t quite familiar, but surely she had some opinions about him also, though avoiding it wasn’t an option.

Besides, he was quite curious about Moli’s father.

As the Ocean Emperor’s husband, even disregarding the childhood sweetheart aspect, he must be an extraordinary Whale-man...

Hearing Fisher’s interest in meeting her father, Moli felt a warm sensation swell inside, she pursed her lips, once again leaned in and kissed the corner of Fisher’s mouth.

Her whale tail behind her gently flapped against the bed, rhythmically like a metronome,

"Smooch..."

"Fisher, my dad’s name is Hooked kiss. If there’s a chance, can we go find him together?"

Moli said this during a pause in their kiss, then she warmly moved to kiss him again, unaware that after hearing this, Fisher felt as if struck by a thousand-pound thunderbolt from the top of his head down, almost turning him stupid.

He quickly pressed back the approaching Moli, under her puzzled gaze, Fisher incredulously asked again,

"Wait, what did you say your father’s name was?"