Crash! Crash!
The waves surged, slamming wildly against the surface of the sea through the gaps, like countless crisp crystals shattering against the reefs.
The shore was silent. The teasing voice of the mermaid woman spread through the air, carrying a sharp edge.
Halnarsen had his eyes closed. His steady breathing rose and fell with his chest in a calm rhythm, looking as if whatever went in one ear came straight out the other. He completely ignored the girl.
The mermaid girl lay half her body on the shore, her colorful tail swaying across the water, stirring up bursts of mist.
One hand supported herself on the shore, the other held her chin. She tilted her head and kept blinking at Halnarsen with eyes full of expectation.
"Mr. Bearman, just tell me."
Halnarsen still said nothing. Calm as ever, he was completely unaffected by her.
Seeing that he continued to ignore her, the mermaid girl puffed out her lips, her forehead turning red. She suddenly smashed both hands onto the sea surface, splashing up a spectacular spray of foam.
"You, if you don't tell me, I won't help you anymore!"
Halnarsen finally spoke, but his tone remained indifferent, "No need."
The girl flew into a rage, her tail slapping the sea and sending water flying.
She leaned back into the cold seawater, twisting her tail and swimming beneath the surface.
At that moment, Leon walked over. Facing the mermaid girl in the sea, she smiled and spoke gently, "Councilor Fenny, it's a pleasure to see you."
The mermaid froze. Half her head rose above the water, bubbles popping from her mouth as she looked at Leon in confusion.
"An elf?"
This was really eye opening. She had never seen an elf at Braeston Port before.
But when she looked at Leon, she always felt that the girl's face seemed a bit familiar.
She blinked and suddenly cried out, "Oh oh, you're the one next to that little girl… your name is Leon, right?"
Leon nodded.
"That's right."
"Oh my, who would have thought. You're an elf, yet you're willing to follow humans."
Lorelei crossed her arms and nodded.
"But I heard something happened in the Forest of Elves recently. Seems like you're going to carry out some kind of… reform?"
Her fish brain could not quite remember clearly. She had only heard about it not long ago.
After thinking for a moment, she stopped caring.
Because Leon had already asked another question, "Councilor Fenny, why did you come to Braeston Port this time?"
"Hm? Of course I came to look at the sea."
The mermaid spoke happily. In the ocean, she always felt especially joyful.
Lorelei Fenny.
One of the twelve councilors of the Mage Council.
Unlike the other councilors, she lived freely in the sea and had no nationality.
After all, there was no such thing as a nation of the sea.
Lorelei often wandered through every sea in the world, watching for any unusual changes in the ocean, like a guardian of the sea.
She not only protected human fishing boats and adjusted chaotic ocean currents.
She also struck hard against those who polluted the sea.
Once Lorelei discovered someone polluting the ocean environment, no matter who they were or what race, they would face her passing judgment.
Lorelei looked at Leon and said, "Originally I didn't plan to come to the Empire, but as you saw."
She was referring to the earlier wave.
The terror of that wave was no ordinary swell.
Its towering force and heavy surging showed a power capable of destroying everything.
Although Halnarsen had blocked it in the end, no matter how many times one saw a tsunami of that level, it was still deeply shocking.
It made Lorelei feel that these waters were not peaceful.
Especially with the weather now, sunny one moment and gloomy the next, only minutes apart.
Leon was no stranger to Lorelei.
This mermaid councilor often came to the Empire's largest port, Braeston Port.
When Miss Liya was absent, they would follow Halnarsen to intercept ships on the sea, checking whether there were demi human slaves captured by force.
Once discovered, they would carry out righteous judgment.
Lorelei had witnessed Halnarsen's acts of justice many times. This warm hearted bear man had left a deep impression on her…
Lorelei always saw Halnarsen's figure. After all, she was a mermaid, a councilor with very high moral standards.
Seeing Halnarsen's righteous side, Lorelei had taken a liking to this steady bear man…
Thinking of this, Leon looked at the seaside speechlessly, a few black lines appearing on her forehead.
Lorelei's slender jade like hands moved back and forth over Halnarsen's body, hooking around his shoulders and neck, teasing him in a charming way.
"Mr. Bearman, just pay attention to me."
Halnarsen remained unmoved.
Leon, standing to the side, suddenly thought of something.
As a bear man, Halnarsen also had a bear's habits.
So…
He actually liked eating fish quite a bit.
At that moment, Director Norma arrived in a hurry with several mages, holding the Mage Council emblem.
The moment they saw Lorelei in the sea, smiles spread across their faces.
When she saw Leon, Norma froze for a moment, then looked at the surrounding demi humans and understood.
These were the retainers of the Clavenna family…
After all, the only family that allowed demi humans to hold such high status was the Clavenna family.
Norma nodded respectfully to Leon. Then she turned and saw Halnarsen's massive body.
She blinked hard, stunned in place.
'Th-this… what is that?'
"A… a giant?"
Even though the bear man's aura was calm, even sitting there, the pressure he gave off made her feel fear.
The Clavenna family truly hid dragons and crouching tigers…
Finally, Norma's gaze moved past Halnarsen and landed on the moving sea surface, seeing the mermaid beside him.
The mermaid kept stroking Halnarsen back and forth, her charming expression almost ready to feed him personally.
Yet Halnarsen remained calm as ever.
Seeing this scene, Norma's eyes widened.
'Wh-what is going on?'
She did not dare think further. She remembered her subordinate saying the councilor was the demi human swimming in the sea.
So she stepped forward and respectfully handed over the three emblems bearing broken human heads.
"Miss, may I ask if these are yours?"
Lorelei, who had been teasing Halnarsen, looked at Norma handing her the emblems and froze.
"Ah, yes, yes."
She waved her hand lightly. A current rose from beneath the sea.
As if turning into a slender arm, it gently brushed Norma's wrist, took the emblems, and placed them back on her magnificent chest.
Seeing this smooth and effortless scene, Norma could not help but gasp in admiration.
As expected, she had not mistaken the person.
She was also a mage, but she admitted she could not perform it so skillfully.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Lorelei Fenny."
Hearing the councilor's introduction, Norma came back to her senses and replied respectfully, "I am the director of Braeston Meteorological Bureau, Norma."
"Councilor Lorelei, can you really help us?"
Lorelei raised her long eyebrows slightly, proudly withdrawing her arm from Halnarsen and leaning back into the sea.
"Heh heh, of course."
As a councilor, briefly changing the weather was only a small matter.
Norma quickly asked, "Councilor Lorelei, do you need our help?"
Lorelei waved her hand confidently, "No need."
"I alone am enough."
As she spoke, her eyes drifted unconsciously toward Halnarsen again.
But the indifferent Halnarsen still kept his eyes tightly closed. His furrowed brows clearly showed his disregard for Lorelei.
Seeing this, Lorelei puffed her cheeks and shouted with frustration, "Watch closely!"
As her voice fell, Lorelei began to swim across the surface of the sea.
Her body was like a brush, drawing delicate patterns and wide formations across the water.
As her hands moved over the sea, they kept waving in the air.
Countless flickering blue magical lights gradually attached to the sea surface, forming several runes.
The complicated patterns quickly gathered together, as if pulling the huge formations toward each other, magic flowing within them.
The magnificent glowing blue formation shone like scattered stars. Norma sucked in a cold breath.
"This level of formation… is this what a fourth tier mage is?"
The formation before her was already too complex for Norma to understand. Even the design of the patterns was beyond her.
But she could faintly sense the stable flow of magic within it.
Lorelei floated at the center of the formation, shining together with the blue magic, glowing with confidence.
Rain and sunshine clashing so extremely was caused by two different elemental attributes colliding.
So her goal was to regulate the chaotic elements, especially the violent water element.
As a creature of the water, Lorelei was very skilled at controlling the water element.
Six streams of magic gathered at the center of the formation. A glowing blue sphere gradually became unstable.
Lorelei waved her hand. The magic mass burst open, and a blue pillar of light shot into the sky like an upside down waterfall, piercing through the thick clouds.
Tiny blue sparks moved among the clouds, the magic at the top merging into the sky like stars.
She tried to drive away the dark clouds pouring down heavy rain, to make the rainfall lighter.
Finally, the chaotic storm under the sky calmed somewhat. The raindrops became much smaller than before.
"Did it work?"
Director Norma felt a burst of joy. She had not expected that once the councilor acted, the air would stabilize in just a moment…
Crash!
Suddenly, the heavy rain fell again, even more violently than before.
The shocking rain poured onto Director Norma's face and onto everyone around.
"?"
'What… what is going on?'
Everyone looked confused. 'Wasn't the rain supposed to get smaller?'
Even Lorelei herself was stunned. She said angrily, "That was a mistake. I'll try again."
She urgently mobilized the magic within her body, constantly adjusting the magic circle. However, the patterns in the formation gradually became chaotic, completely losing their order.
The more flustered Lorelei became, the more she tried to reduce the water molecules in the air. Yet those star like blue lights seemed to spread even more water elements into the sky.
After the final release, the rain in the sky became even heavier.
Lorelei, "???"
She fell into deep confusion.
It was as if some higher existence was controlling the massive water elements in the sky.
How was that possible?
How could someone control rain clouds and make rainfall stretch for thousands of miles?
Could it be that what was fighting her for control of the weather was nature itself?
But suddenly, the surrounding water elements seemed to become enraged, violently rioting at some strange frequency.
The storm over Braeston Port swept fiercely again. Driven by strong winds, the raindrops flew wildly, crashing against roadside signs with dull thuds.
Huge waves rose once more from the sea.
This time, Lorelei was completely dumbfounded.
No matter how she urged her magic, the surrounding water elements would no longer obey her, making it impossible for her to cast spells.
And once a mage could not use magic, she was no different from a useless person.
At that moment, Norma looked at the towering wave almost touching the clouds, and her mind went blank.
Right now, she had no more thoughts.
Just as the wave was about to crash down on Lorelei and destroy the port, Halnarsen stood up.
The massive bear man stood alone at the shore, solemn, his broad body especially solid under the dark clouds.
He faced away from everyone, revealing only his firm back.
Then he stepped into the sea.
Everyone stared blankly at Halnarsen walking toward the wave.
Because his feet were actually standing on the surface of the sea.
As if empowered by some force, though his body was extremely sturdy, he simply would not sink.
The mermaid leaned behind Halnarsen, mouth open, staring stiffly at his broad back.
At the moment the seawater was about to crash down, Halnarsen's hands touched a corner of the wave.
'Receive!'
The wave flowed along the bear man's broad arms, yet it seemed to be supported and forcibly stopped.
A massive amount of seawater surged violently, suspended in midair.
'Neutralize!'
Halnarsen stepped back, his hands turning in the air. White, heavy "energy" moved along with his hands.
As his body rotated and the path of energy in his hands changed, the wave rotated as well, as if flipping over in midair.
Completely losing its force.
'Release!'
Halnarsen pushed forward, dispersing the violent tide's power and sending it back to the sea, smashing into a white splash nearly a hundred meters high that shot into the sky.
The wave turned into scattered spray, falling back into the ocean all at once.
After everything passed, the sea became extremely quiet, only rolling waves rising and falling as the vast ocean calmed.
Chaotic raindrops kept striking the sea. The sound of heavy rain quickly filled the silent space, mixing with the waves.
In the storm, everyone stood frozen, completely lost.
Even Lorelei stared blankly at what had just happened.
Yet amid everyone's shock, Halnarsen did not turn his head.
His gaze was directed toward the center of the ocean.
Then, with that white and heavy "energy" flowing over his body, he leaped toward the sea.
Leaving behind only ripples and splashing water, he shot into the ocean like an arrow, quickly leaving the place.
Lorelei blinked in confusion, then suddenly panicked.
"Be Bearman Mr. Bearman!"
Without caring about her earlier performance, she hurriedly dove into the sea and chased after Halnarsen.
Watching the bear and the fish gradually leave the port, Norma blinked blankly.
"Uh… could it be that this Bearman sir is the real councilor?"
Leon spoke in a low voice beside her, "…No."
"Mr. Halnarsen is the chief steward of our Clavenna family."
"And by the way, bears can indeed swim. You don't need to worry."