“Humans have always been useless to mermaids. Amusement can come from many things, not just humans….”

…Was such amusement common?

Triton, feeling resentful about having his shark’s tooth plucked, thought of Livia as he watched the black shark floating belly-up in the air. It appeared so lifeless, like a dead fish, that it was almost pitiful.

With a small, ironic smile, Triton firmly dismissed Tartan’s earlier words.

No, amusement like Livia was not common at all.

How could a woman who risked her long and tedious life to brandish a dagger at a god for mere revenge, and who laughed joyfully while tearing out a shark’s tooth with her bare hands, be considered common?

That was why she was unique and why she was an intriguing presence.

Lying in the temple surrounded by elegant columns, open to the sea on all sides, Triton closed his eyes to sense the presence of the human woman.

She was the one who, just moments ago, had plucked out Sympho’s tooth and fled from his sight, yet she was undoubtedly lurking nearby.

Her sole purpose in the sea was him. That was why she never took her eyes off him. She focused all her senses on Triton and thought only of him.

How to approach him, how to pierce his heart, how to catch him off guard—those were her thoughts.

A woman who found him wherever he was and followed him, like a fry that never left its mother—a gaze so obsessive it never wavered.

Imagining the woman silently watching him with deep, swamp-like green eyes, Triton felt himself swell with desire.

To feel lust because of a human….

It was an absurd notion, yet it had happened.

For Triton, who as a god had little interest in carnal matters, this was intriguing.

For gods, ‘life’ was tedious. ‘Stimulation’ was the greatest pleasure in continuing that dull existence, and in that sense, ‘carnal relations’ were the quickest and most certain pleasure a god could experience.

Along with this, there was an unusually strong reproductive drive, leading to indiscriminate indulgence. The demigods and heroes born from such unions were in relatively good positions, but those born from the sea god’s seed were often treated as monsters and met tragic ends.

Because of this, Triton seldom indulged in lust. He felt that sowing his seed indiscriminately was a futile and worthless act.

Some gods saw Triton as an eccentric for this, and a few felt challenged to seduce him. Among them, Selene was the most fervent.

Yet here he was, reacting so easily to the gaze of a human who dared to see him as prey.

Unaware that he himself might be emitting an alluring scent, he was being watched by a prey that fearlessly targeted its predator.

Suddenly, his throat tightened. Triton licked his lips, focusing on the sensation of flowing with the currents.

The human woman was likely crouched and waiting nearby.

She wouldn’t know he had chosen to lie in the outer temple rather than submerge himself, making it easier for her to approach.

His slender nerves spread out and touched a corner of the temple.

…There you are.

Triton’s lips curled into a relaxed smile. Sensing the weak, small body hiding nearby after fleeing, he felt a sense of satisfaction, as if he were full without eating.

He decided not to rush Livia, choosing instead to wait for her to approach him.

The way she thought he was off guard and crept closer was so amusing to him.

She might think she was moving stealthily, but everything was in his grasp. The moment he saw her startled and trembling eyes was a delight he couldn’t miss.

However, an elegant beam of moonlight suddenly intruded into the temple, interrupting Triton’s secret enjoyment.

It was the arrival of an unwelcome guest.

***

The goddess, gliding in on a stream of moonlight, reached out to the man lying languidly.

His cool, pale cheeks, straight nose, and stubbornly set lips were exquisitely beautiful and radiant.

His sleeping form reminded her of her long-lost lover, Endymion, whom she had loved so much that she had trapped him in eternal slumber, cherishing and embracing him forever.

Since Endy was human, that was possible, but Triton was a god, making it impossible. Selene lamented this fact, but she had to accept it.

Still.

“We would make quite the fitting couple…. Why won’t you come to me?”

Selene caressed Triton’s cheek, her desire transparent. At that moment, the corners of Triton’s lips curled up, and through his slowly opening eyes, the calm sea was visible.

Grasping the goddess’s wrist, Triton whispered quietly.

“I didn’t call for you, so why have you come?”

…How insolent.

Selene smiled softly, her eyes curving with amusement.

She had many lovers, but never one who treated her with such indifference. The sea often swallowed the moon, so why did the god of the sea reject the goddess of the moon? It defied nature.

“Isn’t it about time your body started to desire?”

Selene whispered as she gently traced her fingertips down his firm chest. Cool and smooth, it was always so sensual that it made her mouth water.

Though she pretended to relieve his desires, in truth, it was she who was more eager.

Her pale fingertips glided over his rock-hard chest, down to his thick abs, and reached for the fierce and wild organ beneath.

A hint of lasciviousness appeared in Selene’s elegantly smiling eyes.

Triton, who had been watching her without a twitch, let a crooked smile spread across his face. In a somewhat annoyed tone, he whispered, “What should I do? I’m just not in the mood today….”

Her hand, which had been reaching for what should have been proudly er*ect, stopped abruptly. She didn’t need to reach out to know. Triton was not aroused at all. In fact, he seemed visibly irritated by her touch.

The goddess’s expression turned cold in an instant.

“…You’re always too cheeky, Triton.”

“I only said I’m not interested because I’m not. What’s wrong with that?”

His words, which mercilessly shattered Selene’s pride, made her eyes grow cold.

“I’m only patient for so long.”

She was by no means a minor deity. She was close to the twelve Olympian gods and another wife of Zeus. She shouldn’t be treated this way. Even though Poseidon had stepped back, Triton had yet to surpass Poseidon’s legacy.

It was infuriating that such a youngster scorned her so, and yet, it was ridiculous that she still desired him despite that.

“…Well, thank you very much for that.”

Triton rose sluggishly, brushing back his cascading hair, and coldly muttered. His voice was full of irritation and annoyance, leaving Selene increasingly bewildered.

He had never pushed her away like this before. Though he usually accepted her reluctantly, Triton and Selene had maintained a relatively amicable relationship.

…So why was everything different today?

“Does the noble goddess really need to humble herself over this? Just let it go, Selene. Turn your back on someone like me.”

With a cold voice, Triton nonchalantly scratched at the goddess’s pride.

“If you can, of course.”

Provoked by his challenge, which implied she couldn’t possibly do so, the goddess quietly seethed. In response, a fierce energy shook the sea.

The fierce aura of the goddess caused icy moonlight to pour into the temple like rain. The blade-like moonlight slashed through the temple with a resounding noise, but Triton merely sat and calmly gazed at Selene.

The sea, which had been quietly settled, momentarily stirred, but that was all. Selene quickly regained her cold demeanor, stepped back, and spoke.

“The moon and the sea are naturally drawn to each other. It’s foolish to deny it. Why go against the natural order?”

“When chaos and love were born at the dawn of time, and the earth, sea, and sky came into being, it was merely a set law. A law is just a law; there’s no need to invest feelings into it.”

The goddess stared at Triton for a moment, then abruptly turned her head and retreated. The moonlight that had been rippling beneath the waves withdrew. As if she had taken even the original moonlight with her, only pitch-black darkness remained.

A profound silence settled into the darkness. The temple, devoid of even a single small fish, was eerily quiet.

With his arms resting on his knees, Triton, perched on the bed, suddenly let out a soft laugh and whispered, “How long do you plan to keep spying?”