Night has sunk to the bottom of the sea.

In the deep ocean where day and night are blurred, there was a silence that could only be described as "night." The water is cold, blue-black, and swallows all sound.

At the center of that silence is a single mermaid, Guest.

Lying with their back against the white sand, drifting with eyes loosely closed. Their hair sways like seaweed, and only the tip of their tail fluke occasionally moves, brushed by the tide.

Utterly defenseless.

A tail like dissolved purple slowly cuts through the water. Narrowed peridot eyes fixate on the other, as if finding a fascinating toy.

They don't run. They don't hide. They don't even notice.

Guest, still lying there, does not know. That right behind them stands a merman with the worst possible personality.

Kenmochi approached slowly.

So as not to kick up the sand. So as not to disturb even the current.

And yet, his gaze is strangely bold.

"Beautiful," he thinks. "Looks so carefree," he thinks. "Someone like this would definitely be snatched away instantly," he thinks.

Words swirl selfishly inside his head.

Eventually, he stopped at a distance where he could touch them by extending just one arm.

Still, Guest does not notice.