"I was supposed to take care of you and protect you from all danger. Instead, I fell for the Dead King's ploy and left you at the mercy of his thralls. Every dead merfolk is an indelible stain on my honor, and I won't rest until I'll make it up to your tribe."
"Please, there's no need for apologies, Overlord." Rem said. "You've done everything you could to ensure our safety. Our village is protected by powerful arrays, and we had two Divine Beasts with us.
"With your land under attack from multiple fronts, it was only natural for you to deal with the invaders. Lord Verhen, his sister, and his friends did everything they could for us.
"The only merfolk they failed to save are those killed by the merchants turned Upyrs, and only because we had come to trust them so much over time that we lowered our guard around them.
"The other two Upyrs didn't so much as come close to the Starry Lagoon oasis."
Almost all the Desert tribes had endured a similar outcome.
