Chapter 9 The Sulking Fish
The fish who had fallen asleep against the bathtub edge still had a flush on his face. I stroked his silver hair in satisfaction, carried him out, changed him into clean clothes, reapplied medicine to his wet wounded leg, and only then left the cell.
But when I woke up from my nap, the guards told me Sa'er was throwing a tantrum and refusing to eat.
He's a monster. Missing a couple of meals won't kill him.
I still had official business to handle and no time to coax him. If he wanted to throw a fit, let him.
He fasted for three days and I didn't react. But when I heard he was secretly crying in his cell, my hand paused while signing documents.
"Let's go see him."
When I arrived, Sa'er had his back to the door, facing the wall in complete isolation.
He clearly had the ability to leave the cell himself, yet he insisted I come see him personally. Wasn't this relying on my favor and acting spoiled?
"Tell me. Why are you throwing a tantrum?"
Sa'er turned his head and looked over at me sharply. "You actually came?"
"Mm."
I nodded openly.
Sa'er said, "You took advantage of me while I was vulnerable, then abandoned me."
"What are you talking about?"
"Between adult creatures, isn't mutual consent enough?"
Sa'er gritted his teeth, refusing to look at me. His face was completely red. "I wasn't clear-headed at the time. Where was the mutual consent?"
I took out the Dream Bubble and showed him the dream he had during his heat.
Instantly, the entire fish turned scarlet. With a splash, he jumped into the bathtub, transformed into a small white ray fish, and stuck himself to the wall, playing dead.
"What are you hiding from?"
Since I'd brought up the topic, I wasn't about to let him off easily.
"Gurgle gurgle."
After spitting out a long string of bubbles, I grabbed him by the tail and lifted him up. He spoke in human language, "Dreams aren't something I can control!"
"Oh? Then why did you have that kind of dream?"
Sa'er changed back to human form, sat in the bathtub hugging himself, looking at me like I was some great villain who forced an innocent little fish.
He hesitated several times before finally speaking, as if he was throwing away his dignity to protect his innocence. "I've never had contact with any other female. Only you... make me like this..."
"Oh~"
Sa'er looked up. "Just 'oh'?"
"What else do you want?"
"After touching me, don't you need to take responsibility?"
Sa'er's eyes reddened. "I'm going to kill you!"