After drinking a cup of water, the mermaid girl's shrunken skin slowly returned to normal, but her voice remained hoarse and weak, lacking energy.
"Not enough water, right? I'll take you to soak in water."
Nobi Hiroshi dangled the empty water cup, gesturing with his hands, which she should be able to understand.
Without opening her mouth, the girl weakly nodded, then her toes lifted off the ground, and she was picked up, the gap between her legs closing even tighter.
The wind blew, and her snow-white face flushed crimson. Her soft hand immediately covered her privacy.
"Now she remembers to cover up, but I've already seen it…" Nobi Hiroshi said indifferently, knowing the other party couldn't understand him anyway.
He walked through the first-floor corridor, kicked open the bathroom door with his foot, and placed the mermaid on a small stool.
Nobi Hiroshi turned to the bathtub, twisted the valve to release water, and carefully adjusted the water temperature to ensure it was neither too hot nor too cold.
His actions were a bit redundant; he only remembered after finishing that she was a species that lived in the ocean.
"Kai Dai~"
Her watery blue eyes were filled with longing, staring wide-eyed at the warm water in the bathroom.
The mermaid spoke in an incomprehensible language, slowly leaned towards the bathtub, supporting herself against the wall, and then jumped right in.
Water splashed, and the girl's body trembled slightly, seemingly touched by the water's temperature, happily swaying her long legs.
Ripples spread across the surface of the bathtub.
"Sigh~"
Nobi Hiroshi, standing at the doorway, leaned against the wall and sighed, his face full of disappointment. There was really nothing to see. What decent person takes a bath with their clothes on?
Just because you're a mermaid, it's okay not to take off your clothes?
"Forget it, let's solve the language barrier first. I remember there should be a tool for that."
Closing the bathroom door, Nobi Hiroshi ran to Nobita's room. The young man was still asleep, no wonder he didn't join the barbecue earlier.
"Doraemon, Doraemon, please give me the Translation Jelly."
He pulled open the closet, gently waking the sleeping mind. Duo La groggily opened his eyes: "Is it already this late? It's time to get up. This is the Translation Jelly, what do you need it for?"
"You'll find out in a moment."
Happily taking the Translation Jelly, Nobi Hiroshi returned to the bathroom.
The girl in the bathroom caressed her thigh, her expression visibly relaxing.
Xiao Hong stood by the bathtub, watching her stretch her body in the water, and handed her a small hand, signaling her to eat the Translation Jelly.
She must have understood, as the girl curiously examined the gray konjac, opened her mouth, bit off a small piece of Translation Jelly, and swallowed it whole.
"Now we can communicate normally."
Nobi Hiroshi said, rubbing his head.
"How amazing! I can understand you. Is this magic?"
"Eh, you could say that. Now, let me ask you, what's your name? And why did you fall into the bushes in my backyard?"
"I... my name is Sofia. Thank you for saving me earlier. Actually, I'm not sure why I appeared here."
"I remember... it seems like I fell out of the water, and when I woke up, I saw you."
Sofia said, reaching up to touch her chin. The mermaid's beauty and mystery left Xiao Hong both surprised and captivated.
"So that's how it is. No need to thank me, just call me Xiao Hong. Where is Sofia's home? Do you need me to help you get back?"
"No need to trouble yourself. Actually, I just wanted to see this completely different world. I'm not in a hurry to go back right now."
Sofia smiled sweetly.
Sending her home was just a polite gesture. Nobi Hiroshi returned her smile, and at the same time, he already had a guess in his heart: it was probably related to Doraemon's Active Fishing Pond gadget.
Sofia had swum over with those fish, but she had swum too far and wasn't sent back by the Homecoming Music Box. The virtual water disappeared, and then she was left to air out on a tree trunk outside overnight.
How tragic!
Nobi Hiroshi carefully helped the mermaid take off her wet clothes and dry her body.
Her snow-white skin was as pure as moonlight, smooth as a mirror, causing the towel's movements to be exceptionally slow, as every inch had to be wiped.
"Xiao Hong, what are you doing?!!!"
Sofia tilted her head, reaching out to clamp the Zheng Tai's wrist. A blush spread from her cheeks to her neck, making her extremely shy.
Caught completely off guard like a little lamb, his hand speed was simply too fast. Could he be the legendary Shadowless Lightning Hand?
"What am I doing? Of course, I'm helping you dry off. You can't act like you're in the sea when you're at home."
"I... I can do it myself. How can you look at my... That's too much..."
Sofia resisted weakly, her limbs controlled by an invisible telekinesis, slightly parted, revealing a beautiful scene like autumn water blending with the sky.
"Actually, from the moment your tail turned into legs, I already saw it."
"But don't worry, I'm a responsible person. There's nothing I can do since I've already seen it, so... from now on, you're my fish."
The crucial areas became increasingly moist. Xiao Hong used all his might to dry her with the towel, carefully dressed the young girl, his gaze sharp, and incidentally changed his trajectory.
It was their first meeting, so it was better to be a bit restrained. Even if he was already uncooperative and erect, he had to act as if nothing had happened. It would be easier to do things once their relationship became more familiar.
"Who's your fish...?"
"Even if you saved me, we... our progress is too fast!"
"Let's talk about it later. You can't just take off my clothes casually from now on, and you can't use magic to freeze me."
Staring stubbornly at Nobi Hiroshi, Sofia's face was flushed, her body felt strange, her breath was fragrant, and her calves trembled uncontrollably.
She was almost... by the towel.
Thankfully, he stopped.
"Alright, alright, we'll talk about it later. Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?"
Nobi Hiroshi waved his hand dismissively, secretly chuckling, knowing he had the mermaid completely in his grasp.
She had kicked him when he was bandaging her wound, but she hadn't reacted violently to the extremely intimate actions just now, clearly indicating that she was already under his control.
"Mmm, a little hungry."
Humming softly, Sofia was still immersed in the intimate scene from earlier, timidly following behind Nobi Hiroshi.
The Zheng Tai's looks were top-notch even in the mermaid world, and besides, she had already been seen, and he was her savior, so she couldn't just pretend nothing happened.
Wouldn't she be at a disadvantage then? Even if they were of different races, love was all that mattered. However, before that, she needed to carefully observe other aspects.
With the intention of scrutinizing a boyfriend, Sofia happily ate the seafood barbecue that Nobi Hiroshi had prepared for his afternoon enjoyment.
"Delicious! What kind of cooking method is this? I've never eaten it before."
"This is called barbecue. If you want to eat it, I can often make it for you in the future."
In the yard, Nobi Hiroshi squatted on a stool, continuing to barbecue in front of a small stove.
His technique was much more skilled the second time around.
He had initially thought mermaids didn't eat seafood, but now it seemed he had overthought it; she ate quite skillfully, with a pile of lobster and abalone shells beside her.
Looking at the young girl sitting on the patio, he could finally examine her from the front.
Sofia's hair was like the purest sapphire in the deep sea, glistening even more brightly in the sunlight, like a flowing blue waterfall.
Her eyes were as deep as the ocean, discerning the mysteries of all things in the world, sparkling with the light of "wisdom."
When she looked at you, you would feel, 'Wow, there's actually such a pure and easily fooled mermaid.'
"What a fragrant smell!"
"Oh, Xiao Hong, are you barbecuing?"
"Who is this beautiful girl? I've never seen her before?"
Arriving at the living room yard door, Doraemon looked at Sofia and asked curiously.
"Her name is Sofia. She's a mermaid from the Pacific Ocean, you know. She came through your Active Fishing Pond yesterday, Doraemon."
Nobi Hiroshi explained with a smile.