Chapter 79: 79. Picnic.

"You really want to send me back home, don't you?"

Evelyn giggled and didn't deny it. "Yep."

Ariel shook her head with a smile on her face. "Anyway, I would have loved to stay here for as long as I want, but I know that old fish will definitely have male suitors waiting for me when I return. So, I've been thinking for a while now," Ariel turned towards Orion. "Hey, young Prince. How would you feel about becoming a husband to your favorite Goddess?"

"You mean Mama, right? Yes, I would be happy to become her husband," Orion replied with a smile on his face, and Evelyn giggled after hearing what he said.

Of course, Orion knew what Ariel was talking about and what she wanted to hear, but because he really liked teasing Ariel, Orion decided to give her a response she wouldn't expect.

Meanwhile, Ariel's eyes widened in surprise at what Orion said. "Huh? No! I was talking about myself. If you agree to it, you'll be living in the mermaid kingdom with me, and you'll be able to see and meet as many mermaids as you like."

"As many mermaids as I like?" Orion repeated with his eyes sparkling in excitement.

Seeing this, Ariel smiled, she realized that Orion really liked mermaids ever since she saw how interested he was in her tail.

If everything went according to plan, Orion might willingly request to accompany her to the mermaid kingdom.

"Indeed, my talented underling, you will be surrounded by hundreds of beautiful mermaids, serving you meals and teas, giving you several massages, and everything else you might need."

"That's awesome."

"Of course, it is, and if you like, I could brew you a potion that could temporarily transform you into a mermaid."

"You can?"

"Of course, I can."

"For real?" Evelyn inquired, a bit interested in what Ariel just said.

"Of course. Although the potion might not be perfect, it works really well and doesn't have any side effects."

"I would like to take a look at it after our picnic," Evelyn requested.

"No problem," Ariel nodded her head in understanding before turning her attention back to Orion. "So, my little underling, what do you say?" Ariel asked with a huge smile on her face, but Evelyn replied instead of Orion.

"Nope, baby isn't going anywhere. You're not going to use my baby to get what you want," Evelyn folded her arms underneath her breasts.

If Orion agreed to come to the mermaid kingdom, Ariel would finally get the peace and relaxation she had always wanted.

Ariel rarely did anything as the queen of her kingdom and would rather sleep all day and night.

If she wasn't taking a nap, then Ariel would be working on some potions, and if she wasn't doing that either, then she would definitely be meditating in her room.

Ariel's grandfather was the one who carried out most of the royal duties in the kingdom even though Ariel was the one expected to do them.

This was one of the reasons why he wanted her to get a partner.

If Ariel had a partner, she could focus more on her hobbies while her husband focused on the royal duties. However, Ariel remained obstinate towards her grandfather's wishes, but if Orion were to come to her kingdom, her grandfather might stop asking her to find a partner. However, he would still be the one performing the royal duties until Orion became old enough to lead the kingdom.

However, this was all based on assumptions and Ariel had no certainty if this would really happen.

"Listen, Evelyn, if he comes, he could..."

"Nope, he won't be heading over there any time soon."

"Your Majesty, are you still trying to convince Prince Orion to go with you to our kingdom?" Karen's voice emerged from the dining room entrance as she walked into the dining room.

They intended on doing a lot today, so everyone ate little.

After a few minutes, Ariel made sure everyone had eaten and taken a bit of rest, then she turned towards Karen and asked.

"Did you bring it?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"What's that?" Orion asked, curious about what they were talking about.

"It's a game, wanna play?" Ariel asked.

"A game? What type of game?" Orion wasn't new to the games played in the elf kingdom.

For the past decade, he had been friends with Adrian, and Orion was able to learn about the types of games elves played.

Games like chess and a few others were similar to games he was familiar with in his previous world.

However, Orion wanted to know if the games in the mermaid kingdom were a bit different from that of the elf kingdom.

"We play a lot of games like Hnefatafl and Mancala, but we're not playing those right now," Ariel replied.

"Then what games are we playing?"

"Have you ever heard about Liubo?"

"Yes, it's an elf game."

"Indeed, it's been a while since I last played it, wanna play?"

"Yeah, but I really wanna play one of the games that are unique to your kingdom."

"Me too," Mia showed the same enthusiasm as Orion.

Since Orion was already used to playing Liubo with both Evelyn and Elena, he wasn't interested in any of these games.

"Huh, but it's been a long time since I played Liubo."

"Please, Goddess Ariel, can we play one of the games from your kingdom?"

"Pretty please?" Mia clamped her hands together and pleaded alongside Orion.

Seeing the cute pleading faces of her two cutest underlings, Ariel couldn't say no to them. "Fine, but I don't think Karen brought any of the games you want to play."

"I brought them."

"Yay!!" Orion and Mia rejoiced, causing Karen, Evelyn, and Elena to giggle.

Karen brought forward the game board and placed it on the blanket with the game pieces.

The game board consisted of a square grid; 11 x 11 squares.

Evelyn and Elena also sat close to watch the game. They weren't new to the game because they had played it before with Ariel and Karen, but now they were only interested in watching Orion and Mia play.

"So how do we play it?" Orion asked.

"It's simple. There are two sets of pieces, the defenders and attackers, with the king being in the square in the middle," Ariel arranged the game pieces for Orion and Mia to see. "Attackers start at the edge of the board and we take turns moving one piece at a time. A game piece can move horizontally, vertically, or diagonally."