Chapter 188: Isekai’d Into The Aquarium?
Chapter 188: Isekai’d Into The Aquarium?
Bubbles glided through the tropical, sun-drenched city of Atlantis, navigating the vibrant aquatic metropolis before nearing its ancient heart. The titanic humpback whale hovered gracefully over a flat, stone island pier. Directly adjacent, two impossible, otherworldly waterfalls roared down, plunging into the massive body of water below.
Princess Opal let out a soft sigh, her defeated expression melting into a soothing voice as she addressed her massive beast. "Okay, Bubbles. Go and rest... Summons Space!"
Vibrating circles of clear Gravity magic rippled across her palm. With a gentle wave of her hand, she dismissed her first Summons.
Poof!
The colossal whale vanished into thin air. Deprived of its living mount, the two-story pagoda temple serving as their airship began a slow, smooth descent, gliding downward until it rested perfectly on the empty stone platform in the center of the massive lake.
Thud.
The pagoda settled with a graceful shudder. Princess Opal turned toward me, a flash of pure amusement dancing in her eyes. "Oh, King Owen, it is time for your favorite part of the trip—the Slap Feast!" (Eating Slaps.)
I blinked stupidly. Slap Feast? I quickly scanned my memory, but there hadn't been a single mention of a "Slap Feast" in the original Owen’s journal.
Before I could even process the name, my nominal wife, Ariel, blurted out in a panic, "No! Owe-kins, let's skip that event! I... I will just teleport us directly to the palace. Come, my husband, let's go quickly!"
Opal smirked, clearly enjoying how flustered Ariel had become. But it was May West who stepped forward to explain exactly what had my wife so terrified.
"No, Princess, that cannot be overlooked," May said, her tone firm but laced with a teasing edge. "It is Mermaid law. Queen Atlantis Blue would scold you for bypassing this time-honored ritual. Just look at them all, waiting for him..."
Frigg and I followed May’s slender finger as she pointed down the main thoroughfare leading toward the Mermaid Castle. A cold sweat broke out across my skin, and I nearly fainted in sheer horror. In that instant, I realized exactly why the original Owen had avoided this kingdom like the plague.
"Isn't this your favorite part of our Mermaid culture, King Owen?" Opal teased, letting out a musical laugh.
Miles down the road from our landing position stretched a grand, white stone highway. Lining both sides of the narrow path were thousands of exotically dressed Mermaids, packed shoulder-to-shoulder to form a gorgeous, terrifying gauntlet of doom.
According to ancient tradition, only pure-blooded Mermaids were allowed to participate in this male hazing ritual. The stunning Nereids and voluptuous Sirens were forced to stand helplessly in the rear, relegated to mere spectators. They wouldn't be allowed to get a single piece of the Human King until Orgy Night arrived.
Gulp.
I swallowed hard, trying to maintain my composure. May leaned in close, her breath warm against my ear as she tucked a stray strand of her vibrant red hair behind her ear. Her voice was a seductive whisper. "The last time you walked this welcoming ceremony for visiting men, you had to be slapped by every single Mermaid until you reached the palace gates. What do you think will happen this time, my lover?"
I started sweating in earnest. If my visual calculations were correct, only a fraction of the total Mermaid population had shown up to join the fun. Yet, judging by the sheer, multicolored rainbow headcount visible through the unique Atlantis-style architecture, there had to be anywhere from one to two thousand pure Mermaids waiting to strike my face. Fuck.
But I wasn't going to let them see me sweat. Forcing a fake, happy, simp-otaku smile onto my face, I pumped my fist in the air and turned to Ariel.
"Heaven is real, and it is entirely subaquatic!"
Frigg shook her head, biting her lower lip to hide the amusement threatening to break through. "Owe-kins, don't go. It won't end well for you. Just like last time!"
While the ship's crew began unloading the heavy supplies brought over from the Balder Kingdom, I rushed down the pagoda's stairs and marched out of the front gates. Frigg immediately took up a defensive position behind me, acting as my rearguard protector. Opal, May, and Ariel—who was tightly clutching baby Sky Blue to her chest—followed closely in my wake, marching down a street practically overflowing with watery estrogen.
Reaching street level, I took slow, deliberate steps down the stone bridge connecting the landing island to the heart of the city. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs like a trapped bird. Looking down at the crowded, chaotic fish-market street, I felt like a lone bull trying to survive the Running of the Bulls—or a solitary man trapped on a planet populated entirely by horny, yandere women.
It was genuinely terrifying when you realized you were walking face-first into a crowd of literal man-eating beauties waiting to pounce.
Wiping a bead of sweat from my brow, I raised both hands, waving to the roaring crowd of women. I projected my voice, yelling out, "Are you all SSR-tier Summons?!"
Many of the women smiled, completely missing the modern otaku jargon, but they fully understood the underlying joke about making every single one of them a part of my magical harem. A wave of excited giggles rippled through the crowd.
Following strict Mermaid custom, I approached the very first woman in line. She held out her hand for a traditional shake. It was obvious she recognized Owen from his previous visits; she laughed out loud as she greeted me. "Welcome back, King Owen! It has been far too long. Don't worry, I promise I'll only slap you half as hard as I did last time."
I took her soft hand, raised it to my lips, and planted a soft kiss on the back of it. I immediately turned on the charm, unleashing my cheesy lines in the desperate hope that Puck’s passive luck blessing would save my handsome face from a brutal beating.
"Mwah~ You are even more beautiful than the last time I saw you," I murmured smoothly. "So if you must slap me, at least add a little tsundere passion to it. That way, we can follow it up with a romantic kiss."
The blue-haired noble Mermaid had already raised her free hand, preparing to deliver a playful yet painful slap. But the moment my cheesy words echoed in her ears and my lips brushed her skin, she froze in absolute surprise. Her descending palm slowed, and as it neared my face, I instinctively squeezed one blue eye shut, bracing for the impact.
Mwah!
To the absolute shock of every Mermaid watching, the noblewoman didn't strike me. Instead, she used her raised hand to gently cup the back of my head, pulling me forward to press her lips against mine in a tame but intensely sweet kiss.
The rules of the gauntlet were incredibly strict: each woman was allotted a maximum of fifteen seconds, allowing for exactly one kiss or one slap before they were legally required to step back according to Mermaid courting laws.
Reluctantly, she pulled away, her cheeks flushing a deep, radiant pink. "King Owen... I will definitely find you later."
I smirked internally. Oh my god. The moment I got a chance to meditate in my magic core space, I was going to give Puck the biggest high-five for saving my pretty face.
The next Mermaid in line stepped forward. She was a stunning blonde with her thick hair woven into an intricate, heavy braid. She waited eagerly for my words as she shook my hand.
"Your hands are incredibly soft," I whispered, holding her gaze. "But I bet your lips are even softer."
Mwah!
This beautiful blonde smiled against my mouth, leaning in heavily. She didn't waste a single moment, using the entirety of her fifteen seconds to slickly slide her tongue past my lips, deepening the kiss into a wet, passionate exchange before she was forced to pull away.
She panted softly, a dazed look in her eyes, her hand sliding down to trace my chest through my tunic. "My past mate must have died, because I can taste your sweet lips... Hehe, I will find you tonight, King Owen! My scales are already burning for you!"
As I continued down the grand avenue, the breathtaking sights of Atlantis unfolded around us, completely defying human architecture. Towers carved from solid, iridescent mother-of-pearl spiraled into the sky, reflecting the refracted sunlight into shimmering rainbows. Overhead, massive, transparent aqueduct arches bridged the gaps between high-rises, carrying schools of glowing neon fish that illuminated the street like living streetlights. Giant, pulsing jellyfish floated lazily past the lower balconies, their translucent tentacles casting a soothing, ambient blue glow over the crowded plazas.
Down the center of the road ran a shallow canal filled with sparkling, enchanted water. In it, several Mermaids swam alongside me, playfully leaping out of the water to catch my eye.
"Hey, King! Look over here!" one spunky redhead shouted, popping out of the canal with a splash. She wore nothing but a string of glowing sea-pearls across her bare chest. She grabbed my hand, giving it a desperate yank toward the water. "Forget the line! Dive in with me right now and I'll show you what a real subaquatic climax feels like! I'll let you hold my tail while we do it!"
Before I could even answer, a pair of voluptuous twins with dark violet hair stepped directly into my path, completely cutting off the redhead. Their heavy, round breasts brushed hard against my chest as they tag-teamed my senses. One of them leaned down, boldly pressing her thigh right against my groin, while her sister whispered a hot, breathless promise into my ear.
"Don't listen to her, your Majesty," the sister purred, her tongue tracing the shell of my ear. "Our chamber has a private coral bed that naturally secretes an aphrodisiac oil. Come to us during the banquet, and we will let you use both of our mouths until you can't stand up straight."
Holy shit, I thought, a bit bewildered. These women are just like Ariel—they have absolutely no filters and they can't even tell if their actual husbands are alive!
With every single Mermaid failing to slap me and choosing to passionately kiss and seduce me instead, Ariel’s initial anxiety warped into a dark, brooding jealousy. Her happiness completely faded. Opal watched the spectacle with a strange, lingering amusement, while May West looked at me like I was a god. To May, this was absolute proof that I was the living reincarnation of Neptune; not a single woman had laid a violent hand on me.
It took nearly four full hours of continuous walking to make it through the ever-growing line of Mermaid women. Even with my Vanguard Toughness skill actively absorbing the physical toll, my lips were raw, swollen, and incredibly sore from over a thousand desperate Mermaid kisses and heavy petting.
Naturally, both Ariel and Opal grew entirely fed up after the first grueling hour. Annoyed by the massive public display of affection and the absolute social riot I was causing in the streets of Atlantis, they used their magic to teleport straight into the royal castle to pout and report the chaos.
To make matters wilder, May West had spent the entire four hours spreading the rumor to every bypassed Mermaid that I was the literal reincarnation of Neptune. The crowd went completely feral. By the end of the road, I was practically fighting off a mob to avoid being outright Mermaidnapped.
Finally, the last Mermaid came into view. Unlike the adoring crowd behind me, she looked incredibly angry, radiating an aura of immense, suffocating power. I frantically racked my brain, trying to recall Owen’s useless, incomplete notes to figure out exactly who she was.
Standing at an imposing, athletic six feet tall, Queen Atlantis Blue possessed a striking, supermodel-esque physique. Her skin was a rich, flawless, sun-kissed tan, contrasting sharply with her piercing, sapphire-blue eyes and long, straight, flowing white hair that cascaded down her back. Her choice of attire was minimal and dangerous: a sleek, black leather bikini top and matching high-waisted leather shorts, paired with delicate, strapped sandals.
The outfit completely exposed her bare, toned, incredibly sexy legs—there wasn't a single fish tail or scale in sight. Resting atop her brow was a slim, elegant golden crown intricately inlaid with shimmering opals and pearls.
She was a drop-dead gorgeous bombshell.
Queen Atlantis Blue stood flanked by two overly serious royal guards gripping heavy tridents. But as I approached, a very specific detail from Owen's notes surfaced, piquing my interest immensely.
"Greetings once again, Queen Blue," I said, putting on a cocky, confident smirk as I closed the distance. "I have returned. Tell me, have you seen hide nor hair of that useless Emperor you mated with? The one you failed to get pregnant by? Because if he's still gone, I can gladly help you out with that little problem this time."
Nearly seven hundred years ago, a powerful human Emperor had traveled to the Mermaid Kingdom to become her latest mate after her previous partners met early ends. According to Mermaid biology, a female can only maintain one active mate bond at a time; the latest bond completely overwrites the past, and a currently active bond fills the Mermaid with an intense physical repulsion toward all other marked men.
But things were different now. If Puck’s luck magic assisted me—just like it had with May West—and I managed to successfully sleep with and inseminate the Queen, a loophole would trigger. Because the Emperor hadn't renewed his bond in centuries, the Mermaid Curse holding them together had significantly weakened. By impregnating her, I would effectively break his bond, steal the ownership of the Mermaid Curse for myself, and permanently lock him out. She would never be able to mate with that guy again, as long as I made sure to visit her every few years to refresh the connection.
Queen Atlantis Blue’s eyes narrowed into slits. "King Balder, I am not here to court you, so please keep your failed flirting to the others... Tell me, how did you do it? I have been watching from the palace. Not a single Mermaid rejected you."
Sensing the shift in atmosphere, I dropped my goofy otaku guise. I adopted the serious, calculated expression of a ruler engaged in statecraft, mimicking how the original Owen would act during intense political maneuvers.
"I can promise you I am not the reincarnation of Neptune, your Majesty," I replied, my voice dropping an octave. "Though it seems the Mermaids have suddenly taken a strong liking to my company. My only guess is that it stems from my recent contact with the Demonic Sect, where I became their Holy Son. I've also been consuming a vast amount of the Father of Regrets' alchemical sake. Furthermore, May West here can attest to my sudden appreciation for your local wine, the Sunken Cinnamon Lily."
To perfectly emphasize my point, May stepped forward and wrapped her arms tenderly around my bicep. She pressed her voluptuous body against mine, openly signaling to everyone present that she had entirely surrendered herself to me.
Queen Atlantis Blue frowned, a flash of deep suspicion cutting through her stoic demeanor. She quickly masked it with a practiced, rigid political expression. She was clearly deeply unsettled by how fundamentally different this King Owen Balder seemed compared to his last two visits. She resolved to keep a dangerously close eye on him.
As a formidable 9th Circle Mage specializing in rare Time Magic, she expected to hold all the cards. But the moment she looked at me, my gaze pierced directly through her defenses, staring straight into her foundational magic core.
The Queen visibly shuddered. For a fleeting moment, a look of primal dread crossed her face—as if an apex predator had just locked its eyes on her, marking her as its next meal.
Swallowing her discomfort, she tried to reclaim her royal authority. "King Owen, it would be rude of me as the Queen of Mermaids to completely ignore your advance. Here."
She extended her slightly tanned, elegant hand. I reached out, grasping it for the traditional handshake.
Slap!
Before I could even grip her fingers, her sapphire eyes constricted in a flash of movement. Her free hand whipped forward, delivering a light, stinging slap to my cheek. The sudden sound shocked the remaining onlookers.
Internal calculations ran through my mind. That's the second slap of the day, right after my own wife, Opal. Two slaps out of a thousand and some odd number of women... Honestly, those are fantastic odds.
As she pulled her hand back with frantic speed—as if touching my skin had sent an electric shock through her entire system—I instantly reverted back to my cocky, otaku persona.
I rubbed my cheek, letting out a low chuckle. "You know, I usually have to pay extra for that kind of service back home."
The bizarre, modern comment completely threw the proud, almighty Queen off balance. Her regal expression went entirely blank, her mind struggling to process the utter lack of shame.
I gave her a slow, deliberate wink, then casually turned my back on her to look at May. "Hey, May, can you arrange for me to stay in a separate guest room with Frigg? Preferably somewhere right near your own quarters? I really don't want to disturb my baby's sleep with all of my loud, late-night antics, hehe."
There was no way in hell I was sharing a room with Owen's actual wife, Ariel. I had already stolen far too many women from the original guy's life, and I drew the line at sleeping in his marital bed out of a lingering sense of personal principle.
The stunned Queen overheard the incredible request. The fact that a visiting human King was openly refusing to sleep in Princess Ariel’s chambers was politically mind-boggling, but she simply nodded toward May, eager to escape the suffocating tension.
"Lady West, see to it that King Owen’s request is fulfilled," Queen Blue commanded, her voice rigid as she turned to leave. "And King Owen... we will have the grand banquet tonight. I suggest you get some rest beforehand. Goodbye."