𝒲𝒾𝓃𝓉ℯ𝓇 𝒲ℴ𝓃𝒹ℯ𝓇𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹： 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓌 ℴ𝒻 𝓉𝒽ℯ ℱ𝓇ℴ𝓏ℯ𝓃 ℋℯ𝒶𝓇𝓉

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓒𝓸𝓻𝓻𝓾𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓜𝓮𝓻𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓽 𝓯𝓻𝓸𝓶 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓓𝓮𝓹𝓽𝓱𝓼: 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 61

*
"Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation. True gentlemen avoid it when they can."

**
Mirror Chamber

Soon enough, the group managed to make it back safely inside of the Mirror Chamber of the NRC. They all slumped onto the floor, all panting as they began getting adjusted to breathing on land once more.

"*Huff, huff* You guys okay?" Deuce asked, on his hands and feet from exhaustion.

"I think so..." Ace replied, panting.

"I wasn't expecting them to actually be mermen..." Jack says, releasing a sigh.

"It was almost a feedin' frenzy there—with us as the chum!" Grim angrily exclaimed. "Swimmin' that fast ain't fair!" he huffed in annoyance.

"Well, yeah. Merfolk are literally in their element underwater." Ace stated.

"But we gotta get that photo fast, or they're gonna confiscate Ramshackle Dorm..." Grim says, his paws on his head in a panic.

"Guess we gotta rethink our strategy." Deuce says.

"..." Y/n's mind was somewhere else, thinking about what Jade said. Was there really such a condition in the contracts that she missed? No way, she read word per word.

"Yeah." Ace nodded in agreement. "Cater likes to say he's got his finger on the pulse of the community, so why don't we get some input from him?" he suggested.

"It'd also be a good idea to go back to Savanaclaw and see what Ruggie and the others have to share." Jack also suggests. Everyone nods.

That night...

*
Savanaclaw Dorm - Lounge

"What? You guys actually went to the Coral Sea?" Ruggie questioned, widening his eyes in disbelief as he and Leona were eating their dinner, staring at them.

"Hah? How stupid can you get?" Leona asked with a dumbfounded look.

Y/n had a forceful hold of Aqua who was literally about to jump Leona for insulting her. Grim, however, angrily pointed their paw at them. "Mrah?! But you're the guy who said to 'get the ball rolling' right now!" he exclaimed in irritation.

"Hmph. I never said anything about diving headlong into the sea." Leona stated.

"You technically did." Y/n bluntly says.

Leona huffed in response. "Hmph. Your time's limited. What I was suggestin' was that you use your head and find a worthwhile use of your time." he states.

"You said time was money." Y/n bluntly added, appearing behind Leona, her face oddly close to his face as she stood in between the lion and the hyena.

"Wah!" Ruggie yelped back as Leona sweat dropped with a blush, his heart beating at the close view of her natural icy blue lips and dull eyes.

Leona bashfully cleared his throat. "C-Challenging merfolk head-on in the water is a losing proposition no matter how you slice it. It's like walking into a carnivore's mouth." he explained.