Aria punched the air. "Finally!"
They entered through the wooden gate.
Inside, the area opened into a shallow coastal pool with dozens of glowing clams resting under clear water.
Blue, pink, white, and so with faint gold shimr.
Sophia knelt by the water. "These are beautiful."
Caria examined the shells. "We need one with Pure Pearl Essence. They glow gold."
Lyra pointed. "There. Near that rock."
A clam with a faint golden aura sat half-buried in the sand, its shell slightly open.
Rhys approached slowly.
Puddle whispered, "Master... it likes you."
Rhys raised an eyebrow. "Everything on this island seems to like today."
Aria snorted. "Must be your face."
Sophia sighed. "Aria..."
Rhys gently reached into the water and touched the clam.
A worker with a clipboard hurried over.
"Ah—stop! That one’s already been harvested."
Aria froze mid-reach. "WHAT?!"
The worker sighed. "Pure Pearl Essences only show up every few hours. The last batch was taken ten minutes ago. Next restock is in three hours."
Caria blinked. "Three hours?!"
The worker nodded. "Yes. You can wait in line for the next batch... or try your luck in the outer pools. But those are less organized, less safe, and the pearls are rare there."
Aria groaned loudly. "Why does everything good co with suffering?!"
Caria rubbed her forehead. "We can’t wait three hours. If we don’t find one in the outer pools now, we’ll have to co back, get in line again... and then wait another three hours."
Sophia frowned. "So we basically get one chance."
Puddle raised her tiny arms dramatically. "Master! Ti is ticking!"
Rhys took a breath and nodded firmly.
"Alright. Let’s hope we find it on the first try."
Lyra humd in agreent. "It’s possible... if we search carefully."
They left the main clam area and headed toward the outer pools — a long stretch of natural tidepools scattered across coral ridges and shallow sand beds.
Waves splashed gently.
Bright shells sparkled between rocks.
Tiny fish darted between small pools.
They spread out.
Caria checked the nearest pool. "Nothing glowing."
Sophia lifted a clam. "Normal pearl."
Aria found a huge clam, smacked it, and shrieked when it snapped back at her.
"IT TRIED TO EAT !"
Puddle floated around calling, "Shiny? Shiny? Shiny?? ...No shiny."
Lyra hung back for a mont.
Because she had noticed sothing earlier—
The little girl at the booth.
Blue hair.
Ocean-colored eyes.
A glow that wasn’t human.
A Sapphire rmaid.
A royal one.
Rare even in ancient tis.
Lyra stared silently, thinking:
Why is a sapphire rmaid on land... working a booth? That shouldn’t happen.
The girl looked at her.
For one second, Lyra saw her true eyes — bright like the deep sea.
Then the girl blinked and smiled innocently.
Lyra exhaled slowly and muttered, "It’s been ages... everything has changed."
She turned back to Rhys and joined him at a calr pool.
Using the gentlest touch of her aura, Lyra listened to the water’s flow.
A small ripple moved... leading deeper between the rocks.
"There," she said quietly. "That pool. Sothing is reacting."
Rhys nodded. "Let’s check it."
They followed the thin trail, reaching a hidden tidepool behind a rock arch.
A few shells lay inside.
Blue.
Pink.
Silver.
But none glowing gold.
Aria deflated. "Aw, co on..."
Rhys sighed. "Keep searching. We still have ti."
Caria checked her notes. "Two hours and forty-six minutes left."
Sophia nodded. "We’ll find one. We have to."
Puddle raised a determined fist. "Search mode activated!"
They spread out again, moving quickly from pool to pool.
They searched pool after pool.
Ten minutes passed.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Still nothing.
Caria checked her notes again. "Two hours left..."
Sophia sighed. "These outer pools really are unpredictable."
Aria kicked a rock. "At this point the pearls are hiding on purpose!"
Puddle drooped. "No shiny anywhere..."
They kept moving.
Another pool: empty.
Another cluster: normal pearls only.
A deep one: just a shellfish that spit water at Aria’s face.
"WHY DO SEA ANIMALS HATE ?!" she yelled.
Ti kept slipping away.
Caria called out, "One hour remaining!"
Rhys frowned, scanning the pools faster. "There has to be at least one left."
Lyra knelt beside a pool, listening again — but the water here was too shallow, too empty. No response. No mana trail.
"We might not get it today..." she said softly.
Aria flopped backward into the sand. "No... I refuse... I’m not waiting in line for three hours..."
Sophia crossed her arms. "We’ll have to. We’ve checked almost everything."
They rushed to the last few pools—
Nothing.
Caria sighed heavily. "Thirty minutes... Then we’re out of ti."
Puddle whimpered, "Master, we’re losing..."
Rhys closed his eyes for a mont.
Then exhaled.
"...Let’s head back."
They walked back to the main harvesting area, disappointed.
The line had already grown longer.
Other adventurers crowded around the fencing, waiting for the next restock.
Aria groaned. "NOOOO... this is torture..."
Rhys stood in line with the others.
Three hours crawled by slowly.
They waited.
And waited.
And waited.
When the worker finally announced, "New batch is ready!"—
Every adventurer rushed forward.
Rhys reached the front...
But the glowing clams snapped shut instantly, all being taken within seconds.
The worker sighed to them, "Sorry. All out."
Aria scread into the sky, "WHY?!"
Sophia rubbed her temples. "It’s fine. We’ll co again."
Second attempt.
They waited three more hours.
Caria checked every clam as soon as they opened—
"None glowing."
Puddle drooped. "Still nothing..."
Third attempt.Fourth attempt.
Both failures.
Every ti, other adventurers got the glowing Essence first.
Aria looked like she was about to cry.Sophia looked exhausted.Caria was muttering calculations under her breath.Rhys tried to stay calm.Puddle clung to his collar like a defeated bubble.
Lyra remained quiet the whole ti, observing.
After the fourth failure, she finally closed her eyes.
Enough.
She stepped forward, her voice low.
"Give ten minutes."
Aria blinked. "Lyra? What are you—?"
But Lyra was already walking away from the group and toward the quietest corner of the clam field.
She knelt beside a still pool, placed her hand over the water—
And without fully releasing her power, she summoned just a thread of ancient mana.
Not enough to break anything.
Not enough to alert guardians.
Just enough to make the water listen.
The entire pool rippled.
Dozens of clams opened at once—
But only one glowed faint gold.
Lyra’s eyes softened. "There you are."
She lifted the clam gently, walked back to the group, and held it out to Rhys.
Aria nearly scread. "YOU DID IT!!"
Sophia blinked. "That was... subtle. Powerful, but subtle."
Caria let out a breath she’d been holding. "Five attempts... and Lyra did it in minutes."
Puddle twirled in the air. "Lyra is amazing!"
Lyra simply smiled faintly.
"It took... longer than I expected. Even the sea is stubborn these days."
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