Once the projection faded, Iris flopped on the desk. Her radiant smile sank into coldness, devoid of the assurance she gave to Flamira and her friends. Her Faith and Corruption Power flickered inside her eyes, amounting to dim sparks amidst the emptiness.

“You need not appear strong all the time.” Ludmint wrapped her left arm around Iris’s waist and pulled her closer. “If you worry alone, you’ll suffer alone.”

“They are my family.”

“They only become family when you rely on them.”

“They provide me happiness and give my life meaning. I can’t ask for more.”

“When your stubbornness turns into a habit, you might fail to reach out for them when you need them the most.” Ludmint shook her head. “If one Monster Girl cannot do it alone, The Court will come together and make it happen. Such is the declaration of the Court Founder. You should rely on others more.”

“Am I not relying on you?” Iris simpered. “I’m letting you see my period of weakness. Are you upset? I chose to burden you with my responsibility.”

“What about you?” Ludmint patted Iris, gently stroking Iris’s silky hair. “No one chose you to carry this weight. Are you upset? You have to sacrifice your happiness, while others live in the bliss you create, knowing nothing of this struggle.”

“Their smile is my happiness, their laughter my joy.”

“Then that is also my answer. Your smile is my happiness, your laughter my joy.”

Iris grasped Ludmint’s hand. “Do you think it’s possible to change my mind?”

“I didn’t aim to change your mind. I know enough of your stubborn personality.”

“Are you grasping for that ray of hope, the ray of hope which might not exist?”

“It is no lie that I place your happiness above mine. And I believe your friends are like me, like you. We are the same in our difference.”

“Unlike them, I’m selfish and unreasonable.” Iris peeled Ludmint’s fingers from her waist and walked to the window, where the moonlight hit her face. “I intend to distribute the happiness according to my arrangement. The only way to stop me is through wit, scheme, or overwhelming power.”

“You’re opening yourself to my ravenous appetite, Iris.” Ludmint smiled at Iris, and then walked to sit on the messy bed. “Will you regret your words if I, against your will, force you to stay here? Will you be sad if I kidnap you somewhere far away, so far away that no grief will ever reach us?”

“I will not be sad, but I will find my way back.”

“You’re too determined for your own good.”

“My own good is nothing.” Iris closed the curtain and headed to the bed. She lay beside Ludmint.

“Will you allow me?” Ludmint whispered.

“Tonight, I’m yours.” Iris closed her eyes, breathing in and out. “I might not be as receptive as I could, but I don’t want to postpone it. A promise is a promise. Please be gentle.”

“Yes, Dear.”

With a soft giggle, Ludmint placed her hands on Iris’s chest and leaned forward. She crept onto Iris and hugged Iris. Her forehead touched Iris’s soft, bouncy shoulder, and her arms embraced Iris. She stayed in that pose for a few minutes, letting her warmth permeate her beloved.

Iris gradually opened her eyes and turned to Ludmint. “Am I not good enough?”

“Do you know, Iris, that this moment is much more intimate, more inseparable than just our moments of indulgence?” Ludmint smiled. “Since I became a Monster Girl, there have been only two people whom I could hug like this. Now, there exists three.”

“It hurts knowing that I’m not your first, and I won’t be your last.”

“You can try to keep me through wit, scheme, or overwhelming power.”

“I cannot hold you just yet.” Iris touched her heart. “In here, there are multiple knots blocking the way. Before I can make it a home worthy of you, I shan’t cheat you into staying.”

“We can renovate it after moving in.” Ludmint moved her head, placing it on Iris’s chest, listening to the sound of the heart, the lament of the soul. “When I untie each knot, I’ll collect the heartstring, and when everything is done, they’ll bind us into one.”

“So poetic.” Iris yawned. “It’s been a long day but a short night. Ludmint, will you not do anything? There might not be another chance after this.”

“There will be more chances to caress your body, but there might not be any more chances to cuddle your heart.” Ludmint also yawned. “I chose my priority wisely.”

Listening to Ludmint’s chatting, Iris raised her right hand and clasped it. The blanket and the pillow adjusted themselves. The candlelight dimmed.

Quietude descended, filling the bedroom with serenity. The two stayed soundless, motionless until their hearts settled, their minds drowsy.

“Let me tell you about myself. In exchange, you will tell me about yourself,” Ludmint said.

“It might not be what you want to know.”

Ludmint chuckled. “You already knew I have a younger brother. His name is Halinant, a shy, hard-working boy. It’s a pity he is not a girl, or else I would have already taken him with me.”

“Where is he now?”

“I have no idea. I don’t even know if he’s still alive. When he was a child, our parents, and I, too, encouraged him to join the army. We were poor, and our job as a seafarer was unstable.

“He used to remark to me that he hated the army. Fortunately, or unfortunately—because of his military obligation, he couldn’t join us on our last voyage.”

Ludmint’s voice dropped. Her relaxed body drooped, shrinking, holding in the remnant of her past life. The emotions which haunted her last moment swirled inside her fuzzy eyes. She spoke nothing of the incident, but Iris could easily guess it.

A gloomy storm covered the hopeful sunlight while the raging tides rocked the stable boat, shaking the surface of the ocean into a circular maze, whose exit extended beyond the downpour. The mouldy scent assaulted the wooden boards, bursting through the stuffy chambers, where the youthful Ludmint cowered beneath her bed.

There were shouts of the sailors, cries of the children, and howls of despair, but everything paled in comparison to the thunderous impact between the ship hull and the emerging reef.

An invisible hand of death swept through the ship. It passed through the walls and, when encountering living beings, it flung them across the room. With each impact, it took away what remained of their vitality.

Everything happened at once. The ship sank beneath the ocean, leaving the only hint of its existence, the scattered wreckage of the decaying wooden boards.

By the guidance of a miracle, Ludmint clung to one of them.

Alone, she lay on the last straw of redemption, soaked in the cold water and salty, sour odour. Without food or drink, she lacked the energy to struggle. She could only rely on luck and resilience until someone, something, chanced upon her.

“Our ship sank, drowning almost everyone,” Ludmint said. “It was painful, suffocating. I didn’t know what to do aside from grabbing hold of a wooden plank. I didn’t know the exact moment everyone left me, but I knew they left me, for I was alone after that.”

The ocean was a harsh place; luck could only help her once. The board on which her life depended snapped. Despite her last burst of strength, her frail, fatigued body sank inside the gaping mouth of saltwater and unending depth of blue horror. The currents filled her body until her consciousness faded.

Though she struggled with the desire to live, her body could not stay awake. Her heart stopped, and her carcass descended the cold darkness.

“That was how I died,” Ludmint said. “It was better that way. Even if I survived, I would have no way to go; I could only be a burden.”

“But you’re still alive.” Iris poked Ludmint’s shoulder. Her finger bounced on the soft flesh. “Are you exaggerating your backstory to gain my sympathy? If you play with my feeling, I won’t forgive you.”

“I indeed died then, but it didn’t mean I cannot be alive right now.”

While the body had decayed, the soul persisted. During her slow descent, something found her. That being, a monster dwelling beneath the surface, circled her before taking her to its lair. The cold, still pressure of the depth preserved her body well, but it could not return her life.

When the monster got back to its lair, an underwater cave, whose inner structure contained an air bubble, it—she held Ludmint’s corpse in her embrace and caressed her frozen heart. She was a Deep-Sea Monster Girl, one whose body shimmered soft light and whose scales covered half of her appearance, concealing her weak flesh from the intense pressure.

Through a ritual unknown, she grasped Ludmint’s soul and gave her a second chance. From then, she lived not of Pure Races but of Corrupted Races.

“Why have I never heard of her before?” Iris narrowed her eyes. “Is she also your lover?”

Ludmint chuckled and pinched Iris’s cheek. “Are you jealous?”

“Tell me everything.” Iris puffed. “We’re sleeping together, but you’re thinking about other girls?”

“I used to chase after her; I wanted to be with her, but she rejected me so ruthlessly I was too afraid to see her again. I thought I would return to her, but all those pent-up emotions are now with you.”

“The extent of your affection sure is little.”

“How could you say that?” Ludmint hugged Iris tighter, kissing her cheek. “You aren’t a substitute; you are yourself, a lovely Slime Girl whom I pursue.”

Iris touched her reddened cheek. “I’ll let you off this time. If I weren’t tired, I would have hit you!”

“You can hit me, but after I finish my story.”

“There are more?”

“There isn’t.” Ludmint tilted her head. “Please be gentle.”

“You’re really asking to die tonight, aren’t you?” Iris swung her right hand at Ludmint, but she stopped herself at the last moment.

“Why did you stop?” Ludmint wiggled her head. “I have been naughty. Don’t you want to punish me?”

“I will punish you, though not physically.” Iris placed her hands on her chest, shifting away from Ludmint. “Instead, I’ll mentally torture you.”

“How so?”

“Do you know, Ludmint, that I have a younger sister? She is stubborn, easily annoyed, and lovingly cute.” Iris reached out to the ceiling and grasped at the empty air. “She used to look up to me, the past me, who was a role model for her.”

“What changed?”

“I got curious, rebellious. Instead of walking the path of roses laid by the power that be, I chose to forge my own path.” Iris laughed. “It didn’t end well, for I am now out of reach, infinitely far away, and in this abominable body.”

“You misspell adorable.”

Iris glanced at Ludmint. “Indeed. The past me would have called it abominable, but the current me, corrupted by my body, morphed by my instinct, do not resent these changes anymore. In fact, despite my resistance, I am slowly accepting my new self.”

“Such thoughts are terrifying, aren’t they?”

“They are also strangely comforting.” Iris smiled. “At least, I am walking the rebellious path I intended to walk. I was myself. Even if I’ve changed, I’m still myself.”