Transmigrated to the Interstellar Era to Raise Mermaids GL - Chapter 28
“Mhm.”
Orsha gave a soft acknowledgment.
Seeing her light golden eyelashes flutter gently over her downcast eyes, Hojia couldn’t help but feel shy.
She quickly averted her eyes, not daring to look at the gently curving lines beside her, but her fingers stubbornly went down anyway. It felt like touching a piece of warm, smooth, excellent jade. Her fingers quickly followed the toned, slender line of the leg all the way down, finally resting on the fair, delicate sole of the foot.
“Are you done?”
Orsha slightly adjusted her breathing twice, maintaining a calm demeanor, waiting for Hojia to reply.
Hojia watched the tender skin pressed against her fingertips, trying hard to extinguish the small flame ignited by the skin-to-skin contact in her heart. Suddenly, she felt like something was odd.
After all, Orsha was currently lying in bed, which made it easy for her. But if it were a normal day…
She turned to look at Orsha and asked, “When merfolk are on land, do you usually squat down to touch each other’s feet?”
“…We don’t touch each other’s feet.” Orsha found the question very strange.
“Oh…” Hojia finally understood: “So you only touch each other’s tails in the ocean!”
It must be because the tail can be curved up, making it easier to touch!
Orsha pinched the bridge of her nose, hesitating for a moment before saying, “…We don’t touch each other’s tails either.”
“Huh! Really?”
Hojia’s eyes widened instantly, her face expressing, “Oh my god, what did I just hear, I can’t believe it!”
Seeing her so surprised, Orsha guessed that since they met, Hojia had been so fixated on the act of touching the tail. Could it be some kind of special etiquette developed in the profound Earth culture?
…If she was really that concerned, it wasn’t impossible to consider popularizing it in the Mus Star System.
But she didn’t want Hojia to touch other people, and of course, she didn’t want to see others touch Hojia.
Then they could just mandate that only partners could touch each other’s tails…
No, no, no. Is there any place between partners that can’t be touched? Isn’t that redundant!
A rare look of distress flashed in the eyes of the astute and decisive Princess. Fortunately, her keen hearing caught Hojia’s quiet mumble in time.
“That’s not right. I remember the encyclopedia clearly said: White-tailed merfolk express friendship by touching each other’s tails…”
A huge sigh of relief escaped her heart. She took Hojia’s arm, made her look at herself, and cut straight to the point: “I am not a White-tailed merfolk.”
“Huh?”
Hojia stared at her for a moment, subconsciously wanting to turn her head to look for her tail: “That’s impossible! Your fish tail looked exactly the same as a White-tailed merfolk’s…”
Orsha held her by the shoulders, making her look at herself, and asked, “Did that encyclopedia mention any other types of merfolk?”
“…” Hojia averted her eyes, embarrassed: “After assuming you were a White-tailed merfolk, I didn’t read any further…”
After all, that encyclopedia was so thick, and looking up each word with the translation pen was exhausting!
Besides, Sharon had personally vouched that Orsha was a White-tailed merfolk. Could a robot be wrong?!
So, there were actually other races similar to the White-tailed merfolk in the universe! No wonder she always felt Orsha didn’t seem like a refugee. It turned out she had misunderstood her all along!
Seeing the self-reproach and confusion in Hojia’s eyes, Orsha cupped her cheeks with both hands, gently placed a kiss on her forehead, and said, “Don’t worry. Let me slowly explain it to you.”
“Mhm.” Hojia leaned her head tightly against Orsha’s shoulder, actively reaching out to intertwine her fingers with Orsha’s.
The moment Orsha cleared up the misunderstanding, Hojia realized she must have been wrong about many other things too, and she felt an inexplicable panic, like a lost traveler suddenly wandering into thick fog.
But the instant their fingers locked, Hojia’s heart quickly calmed down.
As long as she hadn’t misunderstood Orsha’s feelings for her, nothing else mattered.
After soothing Hojia’s emotions, Orsha began to tell her story.
“Merfolk are named according to the different colors of their tails in the universe. Currently, there are over twenty merfolk races recorded in the encyclopedia. Aside from the White-tailed race, which you know was wiped out by a celestial disaster, the rest of the merfolk races live on the star systems where they originated; they are not refugees.”
And she just had to mistake Orsha for the most unfortunate one…
Hojia looked up, giving Orsha a guilty smile.
“My race is the Blue-tailed merfolk from the Mus Star System. When we hatch from the egg, our tails are a silvery-white, similar to the White-tailed merfolk. Only after molting does the true blue tail emerge, which also signifies that our mental power has matured.”
“Wow, so your tail is blue…”
Hojia imagined the scene of Orsha with a blue fish tail in her mind.
With her golden hair flowing in the ocean, her deep blue body seemed to merge with the sea. Wouldn’t that be as magnificent and imposing as wearing an endless, floor-length gown? A spectacle that the white tail simply couldn’t compare to.
Wow, I really want to see it!
Hojia instantly defected from the White-tail party to the Blue-tail party.
Orsha continued, “Actually, you can’t be blamed for the misunderstanding. Although merfolk and Earthlings are similar in appearance, our brain structures are completely different. Not only our mental power, but even our memory is affected by the tail. My tail was severely injured when I met you. Even I forgot who I was, so I didn’t explain clearly to you.”
“No wonder you couldn’t even speak at first! No wonder you forgot your own name! It was because your tail was injured!”
Hojia abruptly sat up from Orsha’s embrace and asked, “What kind of injury was it? Is it serious now? Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“It’s fine, it’s healed.”
Orsha saw the look of distress on her face and didn’t want her to be sad about something that was already over. She reached up and gently stroked Hojia’s soft bangs: “Successful molting means my body has completely recovered, but it also means I can never turn back into a white tail.”
Hearing the sudden drop in Orsha’s tone, Hojia finally understood why she was so conflicted about the tail versus the legs.
She quickly shrank back into Orsha’s embrace, wrapping her arms around her waist, and sweetly coaxed, “It doesn’t matter! Of course, I like your legs more than a white tail! They’re slender, long, and beautiful! They’re the best-looking legs I’ve ever seen, without exception!”
Although Orsha was pleased, she wouldn’t let Hojia’s flattery completely turn her head. She pinched Hojia’s chin and asked, “Then tell me, how many other people have you seen with legs that bare, hmm?”
“None, none! The only person I’ve seen this exposed is you!”
Hojia played along with her teasing, seriously pulling the blanket over Orsha’s body, which was only clad in underwear: “I have to cover it quickly! Lest I get tempted and distracted and can’t focus on what you’re saying!”
Hojia’s slightly flushed cheeks and small, perky nose were endearingly cute. Orsha took the blanket Hojia had pulled to her shoulder, wrapped both of them up inside, and kissed Hojia’s face as she peered out from under the blanket.
“Mmm…”
Hojia was suddenly enveloped in the blanket by Orsha. She finally managed to struggle out, and before she could catch her breath, her mouth was blocked by Orsha.
Looking at the surge of passion in those azure eyes, Hojia closed her eyes, half-shy and half-intoxicated, letting herself sink into Orsha’s gentle, lingering deep kiss. Her whole body went limp.
Her oxygen-deprived mind was too dizzy to think, but a firm voice echoed in her heart: She likes her so much!
Whether Blue-tail or White-tail, regardless of her true identity, even if she was the Princess of the merfolk, she wanted to be with Orsha.
Feeling the arms around her suddenly tighten even more, Orsha couldn’t help but want to flip them over and press Hojia beneath her.
The cabin’s voice-activated computer suddenly chimed an automatic alert: “Do you wish to accept the file folder transmitted by Lieutenant Colonel Gano?”
“…Accept.”
The two sat up, breathing heavily. Hojia looked at Orsha’s moist, flushed lips and shyly lowered her eyes, asking, “Right, those people outside all call you ‘Your Highness the Princess.’ Are you the Princess of the Blue-tailed merfolk race?”
“Mhm.” After all this preamble, it was time to get to the main point.
As if afraid Hojia might flee, Orsha hugged the soft body tightly into her embrace and called out, “Voice-activated computer.”
“How may I help you?”
“Search for the Blue-tailed merfolk race in the encyclopedia and read it aloud.”
“Understood.”
“The Blue-tailed merfolk race, an intelligent species born in the Mus Star System, is a rare race with special abilities. The vast majority of Blue-tailed merfolk are from the Lasea family. One hundred and twenty years ago, the Lasea family established an empire in the Mus Star System. The Mus Star System is currently the most prosperous and powerful star system in the Interstellar Alliance, with abundant resources and population. The current ruler of the Empire is Empress Geloka, and Her Highness Princess Orsha is her First Heir…”
Hojia instantly stopped hearing every word that followed.
She stared blankly for a long moment, then slowly looked up at Orsha, hearing her say, “My full name is Orsha Lasea, and I am the Grand Princess of the Mus Star System.”
Hojia’s mind completely crashed.
I-i-is this world real?
“Hojia?”
Seeing her stare blankly without reacting, Orsha worriedly stroked her face: “Are you alright?”
Hojia grabbed Orsha’s fingers and forcefully poked her own face.
Wuwuwu, it hurts. This really isn’t a dream…
“When did you remember? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
Hojia’s eyes instantly reddened with hurt. She sat up from Orsha’s embrace and faced her directly.
Orsha explained, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hide it from you. It’s just that when I remembered these things, I found someone on the Prime Star was monitoring me. But I had to secretly return to Mus Prime Star to catch the person who injured me, so I never told you the truth.”
“But, but…”
Hearing the deep remorse in Orsha’s voice, Hojia could rationally accept her reason, but her heart still felt heavy.
She originally thought she had picked up a poor refugee and was enthusiastically planning to care for her, only to discover the person was actually the Princess of the merfolk, and the most powerful race in the entire galaxy at that.
It was like thinking you adopted an injured little sparrow, only for her one day to tell you she was actually a phoenix who descended from the heavens to undergo a trial.
Even if the phoenix was still willing to acknowledge you as her owner, you would be so humbled and terrified that you wouldn’t dare to accept.
Moreover, her relationship with Orsha was beyond just adoption; they were already…
Hojia pulled Orsha’s hand with a deeply wronged expression and asked, “When I suggested adopting you, had you already recovered your memory?”
“Mhm.”
“Then did you agree just to deceive the monitors?”
“Mhm.”
Orsha lowered her head, her voice heavy.
Many things might have been misunderstandings, but this was the one thing where she had truly deceived Hojia.
Hojia’s nose stung, and she said, “But you clearly knew how much I looked forward to returning to Earth with you…”
“I’m sorry, but you genuinely cannot adopt me.”
Orsha suddenly looked up, pulling Hojia tightly into her embrace: “Because I want you to come with me to Mus Prime Star. I want to send you to school. I want to live with you. I want to see you every day…”
“I want to date you. I want you to be my partner.”