Chapter 199: A Role Model

"Gwen, please get out of there." Miro sounded desperate. "You've been in the water too long."

Gwen remained silent and closed her eyes in the lake.

"That's right, Gwen," I said in the blonde-haired woman's ear. "You've been here too long."

I couldn't bear to see her skin which had started to turn pale, and her lips were turning blue.

Seeing Gwen still not paying attention, Miro scratched his hair roughly. "I had to do this. Forgive me."

Just as Miro put his foot in the water, a splash in the lake appeared. Gwen opened her eyes to see Re'i swimming towards her.

Re'i popped his face in Gwen's face, looking so shocked. Gwen wasted no time, immediately grabbed Re'i's head, then pressed her head against the king's.

"What are you doing, Gwen? This is called torturing yourself!" Re'i sounded very worried. "Why are you naked and in the lake at this time of night? And why is your face so swollen?"

"But you can feel my presence, right? And don't mind my face."

The merman shook his head. "That is true, but…."

"Ah, sorry, but I can't talk too long." Gwen cut off the half-fish creature. "I need your help, Re'i."

Re'i was silent for a moment. "Okay…. What do you want from me?"

The blonde-haired woman gulped. "I need help from your troops. One of my friends was kidnapped by a bunch of bad guys. However, the number of my people is far behind them."

"Ah, I'm sorry for your friend's condition." Re'I fell silent a second time. "Well, I did say that I would help you if needed."

"You want me, right?" Gwen immediately made a guess without hesitation. "I'm ready, Re'i. As long as you fulfill my request."

It was pretty painful to hear that. I then whispered into the ear of my female colonist. "Ask him two weeks after Kat's rescue, Gwen. Make any excuses."

"But, I'm asking for two weeks, Re'i." Gwen followed my lead. "I want to spend some time with my friends first."

A wide smile formed on the king's mouth. "No problem. As long as you're willing to be my wife, waiting that long is meaningless, Gwen. I'm so glad to hear this from you. I will show you the beauty of my kingdom…." However, just for a moment, the smile disappeared. "But, you will become like me. You will become a merman who lives in water. Are you ready for that to happen to you? Then, there was one more problem…. I am a king who already has a queen…."

Gwen's chin started to drop.

"But I swear I only love you, Gwen. I married an arranged marriage. I didn't really love the woman I was with." Re'i hastily added.

You're saying he's basically a good person, Gwen? This half-fish creature wants to make you his concubine just because of your physique. That's a selfish reason.

No. I don't think he's a good person.

"Whatever, Re'i….. Or should I call you your highness." Gwen sighed.

Re'i removed his forehead from Gwen's, flashing his smile again. Then, the king brought his lips closer to my female colonist's. At first, Gwen looked shocked, but she resigned that Re'i kissed her lips in the end.

The interval of my heartbeat spiked up. The sight made me uncomfortable, and the urgency to beat Re'i grew inside of me.

I don't want him to have Gwen.

After a few minutes, Re'i broke the kiss, then pressed his forehead against Gwen's again.

"Thank you for the help, Your Majesty," Gwen said while forcing a smile.

"I haven't even helped your friend yet." Re'i smiled again. "Ah, I can't let you go on like this, Gwen. I will return to my kingdom, and tomorrow I will bring a company of soldiers to help your friend. I will choose the best soldiers who will fight the evil group."

"Again, thank you, Your Majesty."

Re'i backed away, still smiling. After that, he turned and swam away from Gwen.

The blonde-haired woman looked at the splashing water, which gradually disappeared, then turned and came out of the water. She passed Miro, who was still standing by the lake, went over to her sack to get a towel, and clothes. Instead of being near the bonfire, Gwen walked out of place, shivering violently.

"Where are you going, Gwen?" Miro asked while approaching the woman.

Gwen stopped in her tracks, spoke with quivering lips. Either because of the cold or because of her emotional outburst. "I want to be alone, Miro."

"Then you'll be alone by the bonfire, Gwen." Miro took one of the burning logs as a torch. "You need it more."

Gwen didn't have time to answer when Miro left her.

Taking a deep breath, Gwen brushed herself off the water. This time she put on her clothes and curled up in front of the bonfire. It seemed the overwhelming coldness trampled her exhibitionist tendencies.

"I just wanted to say that I admire you, Gwen," I said to her while holding back tears. "You really have a very noble soul."

"I have friends…. One of the guys who got genetic engineering too." Gwen began to tell the story, still with quivering lips. Her eyes looked straight at the fire. "Unlike me, who is just a psychic, he can fly and has super strength." A faint smile formed on Gwen's lips. "He's a complete embodiment of the classic superhero."

"You were inspired by that person?"

Gwen looked at me with teary eyes. "His final opponent was a gigantic monster that was mutated due to an evil scientist's experiments. No matter how strong my friend is, he can't defeat a monster twice as tall as a skyscraper. But he did it anyway, Mr. Spirit. The government was already going to use a giant bomb to destroy the monster and he sacrifices himself. Not to win, but to buy time so that the monster doesn't go to another city, and residents can be evacuated. When all the citizens were gone, he was helpless, and finally, the bomb was dropped…."

Finally, Gwen's tears fell.

"Ah, it's very fitting that your friend is your role model. He is a real hero." I sighed, unable to hold back the tears either.

"What I'm doing is nothing compared to what he did." Gwen's voice was hoarse. She continued to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

Rex came over and sat next to Gwen. The haired woman looked a little surprised, then stroked the dog and smiled again. "Don't worry, Rex. They will bring your master back."

The white dog did not answer, just curled up and closed his eyes.