Chapter 274: The Castle’s New Resident

When he woke up, they had already arrived at Flower Harbor.

The mermaid Acheron woke up due to the ship's docking and stretched lazily before cracking open her shell a little: "Liszt, have we arrived?"

"We have. I'll take you on a tour of my castle first."

"The castle... the residence of the Lord... I've heard about it. There are many princes and princesses who live in castles, along with romantic love stories."

When she heard that Liszt was going to take her to the castle, Acheron felt both uneasy and excited, wondering what stories about castles she had heard before. Perhaps they were the favorite fantasies of common folk, the tragic and beautiful love stories between princes and princesses.

"There are no princes or princesses in my castle, only me as the Lord, and my male and female servants, as well as many fairy bugs and mischievous thorny sprites, Jie La."

"Sprites... they are so beautiful. I saw them long ago by the sea."

"By the sea where?" Liszt's eyes lit up and he asked.

"I don't know. It must be far away... I was chased by the sea beast Dulumichita and ran here... I've already forgotten where that was."

What a pity.

If Acheron were able to provide an exact location, Liszt would definitely set off to try and capture some sprites by the sea—in this world, there are many wild sprites, but they are extremely rare, as it takes a tremendous amount of pheromones for a fairy bug to evolve into a sprite.

Relying on the fairy bug itself, it's extremely challenging to gather sufficient pheromones and overcome other difficulties to complete the evolution.

...

The dockworkers had already started unloading the cargo.

Kosto came to ask Liszt how to transport the large shell.

"Let me think for a moment, Captain Kosto, please wait." Liszt dismissed Kosto and asked the mermaid again, "Acheron, can your shell shrink a little? It's too big, and there's no suitable carriage to transport it."

"Ah, Acheron can't. The shell has been this big since I was born. It has always protected me from being eaten by sea monsters."

Acheron had the ability to control water currents; she could navigate the shell through the vast sea, but once on land, the shell couldn't move an inch.

As for Acheron herself, without growing legs, she couldn't leave the shell.

Because she and the unique seawater within her shell were one, just like how a fairy bug hasn't matured and detached from the cordyceps.

"Then I'll order someone to dismantle the carriage to transport the shell. After you've toured my castle, I'll figure out a way to settle you properly, so you won't be threatened by Dulumichita."

From the open shell, the mermaid Acheron gave a sweet smile. "Thank you, Liszt."

Liszt gracefully bowed. "It is an honor to protect the beautiful Acheron."

He turned and left.

He immediately ordered his subordinates to dismantle a valuable carriage, keeping only the frame. This way, the three-meter-diameter large shell could be placed on the frame and secured with ropes.

Riding his horse, Liszt personally escorted the large shell along the gravel path, steadily transporting it to the castle under the curious stares of officials such as Gorte.

"Continue with your work, don't stand around here. It's just a large shell retrieved from the sea, like the giant clam before." Liszt dismissed the overly curious officials.

He had the shell placed in the castle's main hall.

Now a new problem arose: although the three-meter-diameter shell was very light—the shell, the seawater inside, and the mermaid Acheron didn't weigh much, probably only as much as two or three people—because of its huge size, it was difficult to carry it into the second floor of the castle.

"Sigh, I've overlooked many issues, my mind has become muddled... Accommodating Acheron in my castle is quite challenging."

If it were Tulip Castle, it would be easy to prepare a dedicated room for the sea nymph Acheron upstairs.

But the castle in Flower Town was just an unnamed small castle, with only two floors. The corridors and staircases were very narrow, making it impossible to move the large shell through.

Liszt was even less willing to place it downstairs, among the servants.

His personal desire clouded his judgment, making him want to keep Acheron to himself. Of course, Acheron also needed secrecy. Only after the problem became clear and he calmed down did he regain some clarity of mind.

He had Kater dismiss the servants from the hall, then knocked on the shell.

The shell opened, and Acheron, curious, carefully examined the castle's hall: "Lord Liszt, this is a castle... a beautiful castle. Acheron has arrived at a human castle."

"Actually, the upper floor is even more beautiful; that's where I live. This floor is for the servants. But the staircase is too narrow. I can't get you up there."

"Oh."

Acheron looked disappointed.

Unable to bear it, Liszt had an idea: "How about this? I'll have a two-story wooden house built beside the castle. You can live upstairs, and I'll create a passage through the wall between the house and the castle, so you can visit the second floor... Yes, that's what I'll do."

As a man of action, Liszt wasted no time and called for Isaiah to give his instructions.

He pointed to the insect room facing north of the castle: "Isaiah, arrange workers immediately to build a two-story wooden house here, connected to the castle."

"My lord, are you planning to keep a sea monster in the shell inside the wooden house?" Isaiah asked curiously, as the large shell was hard to miss.

"Yes, it's a curious shell. I think there's a pearl inside. Let's keep it and see."

"Shouldn't the shell be kept in water?"

"If it's kept in water, it will run away. I need to do some research. Don't ask too much and just follow my orders." One of the benefits of being a noble lord was having the final say. Once Liszt made a decision, no matter how peculiar, his subordinates would faithfully execute it.

Isaiah bowed: "As you wish."

...

During the construction period, the shell left in the hall remained closed. Acheron would only open it when Liszt brought her fruits.

The castle also used the construction as an excuse to stop holding any banquets.

Liszt continued with his daily routine of handling official duties, practicing his battle aura, and making inspections outside, but he had stopped writing *The Dragon Fights in the Wilderness*, a project within his lifetime. During this time, he needed to reassure Acheron, who was feeling uneasy in the new environment, to win her heart.

The beauty of the sea nymph was one aspect, but more importantly, with a sea nymph, one would not get lost at sea.

Moreover, through his inquiries, he learned that sea nymphs could predict storms, sense sea monsters, and even perform some water-attribute magic. Thus, Acheron's importance was immense, with strategic value.

Three days passed.

The illegally constructed wooden house connected to the castle was completed smoothly, and the large shell was successfully lifted upstairs. The passageway to the insect room was opened, making Acheron neighbors with the thorny fairy Jie La.

"Woo-wah!"

Jie La had a temperamental disposition toward strangers but showed intense curiosity and gentle friendliness towards Acheron.

It circled around the shell.

When the shell opened, it stared curiously at Acheron: "Woo-wah, woo-wah!"

"Hello, Jie La... My name is Acheron, and I am a sea nymph." Acheron reached out her hand, and Jie La tilted its head, mumbled some sounds, and landed on her palm.

The sea nymph held the fairy.

Liszt, watching this scene, regretted not having a camera to capture the moment.