Shangri La Pt. 1

103: Puzzle

"Those misfits that appeared at my palace... were otherwise known as the White Lotus Organization." As much as Shoto wanted to be surprised by this news, he wasn't exactly sure what the shock factor was.

"Those misfits were of all different races of fish people all together in one group that I was sure that I was seeing things, but things changed once I got the chance to meet the very founder of their Organization." 

"Is the founder very important?" 

"Hmph, of course, as she was none other than the Princess of the Koi Kingdom; otherwise known as the Koi Princess: Shiro Koi." 

Shoto wasn't sure what this meant yet, but this story was starting to get him more interested in before, and the Betta King knew that. 

"Hmph– From the moment I saw the Koi Princess, she was beautiful beyond compare, with eyes that shone a deep Sapphire blue like the ocean, and hair as black as midnight." Kuro expressed, leaving some hints to the Young Prince to notice. 

'Hm? Why do those features sound so familiar, like I've seen them before?'

"I was quite infatuated by her beauty that I instantly wanted to marry her, but of course when the idea of marriage came to her, she easily declined, as she didn't come to my palace for a marriage proposal." 

"Then what did she come here for?" 

"For her people." 

"Eh?" 

"Like I said, she was the Koi Princess of the Koi Kingdom, so because I had been holding her people captive here, she had every right to storm into my palace and demand that I give her back her people. Of course this was also back when I was still naive and declared that she'd pay me back in return that I could give her back her people. We never truly made an agreement as I suggested that if she married me, then she would get her people back using her own life, but she turned that down. Hmph– Looking back, I'm actually quite glad that she and I never married, as she was far too superior to me and I was still very immature at the time. 

... 

Where was I? Ah~ Yes, the reason I bring all of this up!" Kuro laughed as Shoto could only sit there confused about this part of the story being significant.

"Right then, as though the Koi Princess shared almost the same features as that wench from long ago, it wasn't until the Koi Princess had asked me something quite important that I learned how wrong I was. The Koi Princess decided to ask me why I took her kind captive and held here against their will, so I told her what happened to my father. Yes, she was surprised to hear the truth of my father, she knew that something wasn't right about this. She then asked me what this woman looked like, and I told her that that wench had black hair–like her–but eyes that were silver, and I knew that what I said caught her attention. She then revealed that people in the Koi Kingdom can only have brown or blue eyes, but she knew of another race that possesses silver eyes." 

"What race?" 

"Sirens."

"Ah–" 

"Do you know the history of Sirens?" 

"N-Not really." 

"Sirens are fish people like my own, but they lurk deep in the oceans waiting for ships to appear and for them to seronaid people to fall into the ocean and to their demise. One thing that Sirens are very good at is causing their curse to others too."