Neville chewed thoughtfully on a piece of pork, contemplating.

Had his actions changed Elliot’s career trajectory? Was this kid supposed to be even acting at this point in time, or was this something new?

He shrugged. I’ll just ask Shelly later.

The Frost Family was rich enough to support Elliot no matter what career path he chose. They were old money, so it didn’t really matter whether Elliot was acting, volunteering, or sitting at home eating bonbons all day.

The only thing that mattered was how any of this would affect Grayson in the future. If Elliot and Grayson’s paths were going to cross earlier than expected, he needed to know.

It was better to be prepared for certain situations.

Then he remembered something he had been curious about for a while now. Neville set down his now-empty food container and pulled up StarNet’s search function. His fingers moved across the holographic keyboard.

"Mermaid, Imperial Star."

He hit enter.

The screen flickered.

Loading icon spinning.

Then—

Nothing.

The entire StarNet interface crashed, the holographic display sputtering out like a dying star. Error messages cascaded across his light brain in rapid succession before the whole system shut down and rebooted.

Neville stared at the space where his search results should have been, a wry smile tugging at his lips.

"As expected of the protagonist shou," he muttered. "Even without a proper halo, he proves to be the right man for the job."

Of course. Why would anything in his life be simple?

Fine. He could take a hint.

Neville began collecting his trash. He would dispose of everything later when he got back on his feet. As he reached into his inventory to store the trash and dirty utensils, something unusual caught his eye.

"Moisturizer?"

He took out the item, and it was surprisingly heavy. The label had a convoluted text written in that same too-perfect font printed around the bottle.

Deep Sea Moisturizer—For Mermaids

"There are products like this for mermaids? Why?"

He turned the bottle over, looking for more information. An information emoji was attached to the back. When pressed, a prewritten holographic note appeared.

[Some scales are bound to fall off; therefore, it’s highly advisable to use this moisturizer. Please use it all over your body, including your face. There’s also seaweed conditioner in the inventory. Please take care of yourself during this time.]

Scales falling off.

Neville looked down at his tail, studying the silver-black scales with wariness.

They looked firmly attached right now, but would they fall? Was it like molting? Were mermaids reptiles? Or was it more like how humans shed skin cells, just more dramatic?

Good thing it wasn’t the hair, that one was harder to grow. He wouldn’t come back to the office all bald and shiny.

He navigated back to his inventory to find the seaweed conditioner Shelly had mentioned. Sure enough, he found it right away, but there was other stuff next to it—those made him take another look at it.

Lube? Condoms? Tissues?

Why?

Neville felt heat creep up his neck despite the cool bathwater. He stared at the items for a long moment, his brain trying and failing to come up with an innocent explanation when he pieced it together.

"Shelly, you absolute menace," he muttered.

If Shelly could see him, she would’ve been cackling, vibrating with glee. She probably stocked these in his inventory to throw him off. Neville firmly decided that Shelly was just teasing him and brushed it off. He had enough to worry about without adding whatever this was.

The moisturizer and conditioner, though—those he should probably use right away. He could already feel his skin drying in places where his scales were. He needed to prevent them from getting any worse.

After he finished following all of Shelly’s instructions, Neville had to replace the water again. Those black pearls he reserved were more than enough to drain the water in the tub. No wonder the water had poured down on the top of his head earlier when he refilled the water; it was to wash him from top to bottom.

Tired, Neville slumped back down into the freshly replaced ocean water. In mermaid form, he didn’t need to worry about drowning—his gills processed oxygen from the water automatically. It was a strange sensation that he wouldn’t get used to any time soon.

He let himself drift, eyes falling closed.

Sleep came quickly. Too quickly.

And with it came dreams.

...

...

Neville floated in the vast darkness, caught between consciousness and oblivion. Then the darkness changed, and he wasn’t in water anymore.

He was lying on sheets. The kind of high-quality, expensive stuff that seemed to beckon him to comfort and softness. It was dark, and he could barely make out that he was in a room with his hazy eyes.

A figure then loomed above him in this dark room.

Broad shoulders. Strong frame.

The details were blurred, but Neville could make out the general shape.

Masculine. Tall. Moving with careful consideration of himself.

That figure lay him down so gently he felt a little ticklish at the touch of the sheets. Large hands supported his back, cradled his head, and lowered him with care.

When was the last time someone had touched him like this? Probably never.

Neville reached out instinctively, fingers grasping for the figure, but he missed. The man was already pulling away, straightening up, putting distance between them.

No.

Neville didn’t know if he had actually spoken it aloud or just thought it loudly enough to resound in his mind, but the desperation was real.

He couldn’t let this man slip away. Whoever this was.

Just as the figure began to turn his back on him, Neville hurriedly reached out, fingers catching fabric—a shirt? Jacket? He didn’t know. But he tugged it hard, pulling with strength he didn’t know he had to pull this man back.

The man stumbled forward, caught off-balance. Momentum carried him down, and suddenly they were face to face, breath mingling, and then—

Their lips met.

The man’s lips were a little rough, but it was sweet.