Chapter 3960: Changes and Challenges (Part 1) "I hope you like this place." Lith said to his guests. "I asked Grandma to follow the blueprints of our dream house." "It’s very cozy." Orion appreciated both the craftsmanship and the lived-in ambiance of the tower’s new form. "When are you going to build this for real?" "When things quiet down for more than five minutes." Kamila sighed. "There’s no point in having a dream house if you have to spend most of your time in a safe location to protect the lives of your friends and family. "Without Salaark’s help, we wouldn’t have enough space for everyone, and even if we did, at that point we might as well stay in the Mansion." "I’m sorry for bothering you for so long." Jirni gave Kamila a deep bow. "We moved into your home months ago, and we’ll probably still be here for Lith’s birthday in a couple of months." "You don’t need to apologize, Jirni." Kamila forced her friend to stand straight. "That came out wrong. I wasn’t blaming anyone. I was just trying to explain why Lith and I have never moved from Lutia. "Even if the threat of the Gernoff was resolved, we couldn’t build our dream house anyway. Setting arrays powerful enough to stop Meln and his Upyrs would cost too much and take too long. "What I’m trying to say is that this is supposed to be our dream house, not a fortress." "I like it!" Garrik ran along the wide corridors of the tower as he explored the place. "There are so many doors and even Fluffy has his own room." "I appreciate the thought, but I doubt I’ll spend a minute in it." The Byk sighed. With his training routine, the children’s games, and Garrik’s habit of sleeping hugged to his fur, Fluffy was rarely alone. "You don’t have to thank me. Thank Grandma." Lith said. "Thanks, Grandma." Fluffy wasn’t afraid to face the Guardian’s fury. Not with Garrik sitting on his back. "You are welcome." She snarled. ’Before you step outside, I must warn you of the danger that awaits you.’ The use of the mind link and the Overlord’s somber tone made everyone swallow hard. ’How can someone threaten us while we are under your roof, Mother?’ Raaz asked. ’It’s not a physical threat, child.’ She explained. ’I would never allow you to be in harm’s way. The danger I’m talking about is for your senses and the good relationship with your hosts. Let me show you.’ Salaark projected the current appearance of the merfolk village in their minds to let the shock wash over their faces before they saw the real deal in front of the welcome committee. Everyone grimaced, their faces twisted in disbelief and disgust. Even the children found nothing of their liking, no matter how hard they looked. Had the merfolk witnessed the Verhens’ reaction, they would have been offended, and the visit would have started on the wrong foot. "I’ll go out first." Lith said. "Remember, no comments, okay?" "Kay." Valeron and Elysia nodded. "And I’ll accompany you." Kamila said. "You guys wait a few seconds before coming outside. Let the merfolk focus on us." "Welcome to our Starry Lagoon village, Supreme Magus Verhen! Welcome to our home, Lady Magus!" The crowd surrounding the tower exploded with cheers and applause as Lith waved his hand in a greeting. "Thank you for having me." He replied. "Nice to see you again, Rem." "It’s Rem Shellshine now." The merfolk shook his hand first and then Kamila’s. "Things are so complicated here on the surface that I had to pick what you humans call a last name." "It sounds nice and it suits you." Kamila said before turning around and taking in the merfolk village. Thanks to Salaark’s care and the valiant efforts of her engineers, the village didn’t look like a Leviathan’s series of disappointing bowel movements anymore. The bright, mismatched colors were also gone, but that just made it less of an eyesore. Some houses were tall buildings several stories high, others were villas, mountain cabins, or large stone tents. The village looked like the collection of a crazy dimensional mage who had taken a house from every city he had visited as a souvenir. Each building was pleasant on its own, but when observing the village as a whole, the best way to describe it was as a chaotic mess. ’The only silver lining is that at least everyone is fully dressed.’ Kamila said via the mind link. "Thanks, Lady Verhen." Rem’s bright blue hair contrasted with her pale skin from the decades she had spent in absolute darkness. "We would have loved to greet you with our housewarming song, but moving to the surface turned out to be more challenging than we expected." "I can see that." Lith said. "I hope that Overlord Salaark has been a gracious host to your people and helped you to get accustomed to your new home." "The Overlord is a perfect host." Rem bowed to the Guardian. "Don’t get me wrong, we got everything we wanted. A safe space where to practice all elements, good food, shelter, and first-rate education to fill the many gaps in our manners. "Our life on the surface isn’t bad at all. It’s just... different, and some of us have more trouble with the transition than others. Having a Sea Heart would help us feel at home, but as you see, we failed to craft one." She pointed at the center of the village, where a rock shaped like a giant seashell rested on a stone pedestal. Lith recognized it from his past visits to the underwater city of Zhen, and didn’t miss how the Sea Heart’s hollow space had been filled with porous soil. "Speaking of hearts, you already know the lady who holds mine." Lith brought Kamila’s hand to his lips, making her blush and the merfolk cheer. "These are our children, Valeron, Elysia, and Raldarak." He waved at Kamila’s baby bump. "Children, this is Rem, and these people are our merfolk friends." "Hi." The babies greeted the merfolk, melting their hearts. As for Kamila, she grimaced and brought her hand to her womb. "Ral says hi. Stop kicking me, you rascal." Her words were met with awws from the crowd. "If you allow me, it would be my honor to teach you a few songs of my people." Rem stared at Kamila in adoration. "We merfolk women speak with our children long before they are born. "We can soothe them when they are scared and understand them when something is wrong." "It would be my pleasure." Kamila replied with a smile. "And I think you’re going to have more than one student." She introduced Friya and Quylla first, and then the rest of the Ernas family one by one. The more people walked out of the tower, the more the merfolk were shocked by Salaark’s mastery over magic. Once the introductions were done, Rem invited everyone to a tour of the village, and they reluctantly accepted. Everyone complimented the merfolk for their beautiful gardens and clean streets, the only two things that could be praised without lying. The mana geyser of the Starry Lagoon village produced no mana crystals or magic metals, but stretched in every direction for several kilometers.