It took Polt and Cerea a few days to recover from their respective encounters with their family, during which Caboose focused on taking care of them both. Thankfully, there hadn't been any direct contact yet from Mero's family, so it seemed they had the time to wait.
It was as Caboose, Cerea, and Polt returned from their first morning constitutional post the colosseum event that something unexpected happened. As they approached home, the sensors in Caboose's helmet picked up something near the entrance to the Blue Base compound. Zooming in, he blinked in surprise. "...why are those fish dressed like penguins?" he asked in confusion.
"Fish...penguins?" Cerea clarified, trying to make sense of Caboose's words once more.
Polt, who had more experience decoding Caboose's odd way of looking at the world from their long talks while running before Cerea joined them, quickly parsed the sentence into parts and compared it to details she knew of the world. "...Fish-like beings the size of people wearing butler outfits?" she inquired delicately.
"Yeah!" Caboose confirmed happily. "Fish dressed like penguins! That's what I said."
"Sounds like fish-men, an evolutionary off-shoot of the merfolk," Polt explained calmly. "They're part of the merfolk kingdom, though aren't actually cross-compatible anymore. They tend to work as servants to the wealthy or noble merfolk families. I'm guessing these two probably work for Mero's family, and probably have a message from her Mother." She smirked softly. "If Mero's mother is wealthy or from the nobility, she's more likely to have made arrangements to have you and Mero meet with her in a place of her comfort, Beloved."
"So...fish butlers?" Caboose asked curiously.
"...yes, fish butlers," Polt confirmed.
"...how are you so skilled at interpreting for Master?" Cerea inquired curiously.
"I'm a good listener," Polt replied happily. She then grinned impishly. "With a talented tongue." She struggled not to burst into laughter at Cerea's bright blush.
The two fish-men turned towards the group as they approached. One was short and stocky with darker scales, while the other was tall and thin with pale scales. Both were dressed in identical butler outfits and wore identical glasses. "I beg your pardon," the taller one offered calmly, "but we appear to be a bit lost. We are looking for the present residence of Merouta-sama, and this appears to be the correct address, but…" He held up a picture of what the building had looked like before the Freckle units had begun expansion, when it only took up one lot instead of several floors of an entire housing block. "This does not look like the right place…"
"Oh, this is Blue Base!" Caboose confirmed happily. "I'm Caboose! Who's Martha?"
"Merouta-sama!" the shorter, stockier fish-man insisted angrily.
"Caboose, we did just finish speculating that they work for Mero's family," Polt camly reminded him.
"Oh, you mean Mero-chan!" Caboose concluded happily. "Yeah, this is where she lives! Come on in!" He turned to lead them in, turning to Cerea and Polt as he did. "Why do they want Mero's Samba? I haven't seen her cook…"
Polt and Cerea both facepalmed as the two fish-men blinked their large eyes in confusion. "Master," Cerea began carefully, "the suffix '-sama' is used to refer to someone of exceptionally high social standing, like nobility or royalty. It's a denotation of rank as compared to the one speaking of or to them."
Caboose thought about that for a time. "...they're outranked that much by a Lieutenant?" he asked in surprise. "What's their rank then? Grif?"
Polt desperately tried to contain her giggles as Cerea simply blinked in confusion.
"Sire?" Mero asked curiously as the group entered the main room, where everyone waited. "What are you talking about-"
"Merouta-sama!" the two fish-men declared warmly and excitedly as they rushed to her side, their eyes tearing up somewhat as they clutched their fin-hands together. "It has truly been a long time!"
Mero gasped in surprise. "Sabastian!" she greeted the taller fish-man. "Potemkinme!" she greeted the shorter one. "What are you both doing here?"
"There is only one reason for us to be here!" Potemkinme declared with enthusiasm.
Sabastian cleared his throat delicately. "These are orders from the Queen!" he proclaimed dramatically. "Come back to the kingdom with us, Princess Merouta!"
[Data found,] Freckle suddenly informed Caboose. [Preposition confirmed. Lieutenant Mero is royalty.]
"Oh yeah!" Caboose declared happily as he put his clenched fist into his armored hand. "I forgot I wondered about that back at the aquarium!"
"Mero Princess?" Suu asked in surprise.
"That's right!" Sabastian declared loudly, ignoring Mero's sudden blush of embarrassment.
"Her goth-loli loving personality is just to hide her true self!" Potemkinme proclaimed with certainty.
"She is the heir to the Mermaid Throne, Meroune Lorelei Du Neptune!" Sabastian announced dramatically as Mero struggled not to collapse from embarrassment.
Seeing no one moving, Potemkinme rounded on the others. "What are you standing there for?" he demanded angrily. "Such insolence! Bow down! Bow down!"
Before anyone could respond, Caboose spoke up. "Why should we?" he asked curiously. "I get Mero's a Princess, but Cerea's the Keybearer. From the way Cerea's Mom talked about it, pretty sure that's more important than Princess. And I got the feeling from the way Granny Palaka acted that the Kobolds pretty much ran things among the extra-species when it came to inter-tribe stuff, so doesn't that make Polt a more important Princess?" Seeing this had caught the two fish-man butlers off-guard enough to make them silent, Caboose pressed on. "Besides, this is Blue Base. She's not Princess Merry Lightbulb Noodle here."
Mero put her hands to her mouth to keep herself from bursting into laughter.
"She's Lieutenant Mero," Caboose continued. "And I'm Captain Caboose. But I don't ask her to salute. Besides, I know all the fairy tales. When the Princess lives among commoners under an assumed name, that's her real self she has to hide while being Princess, not the other way around! So why would I bow to Princess Noodle? I'd rather hug Mero-chan."
"S-s-such impertinence!" Potemkinme managed to stammer out. "How dare you-"
"And since when do butlers get to speak for Princesses?" Caboose asked again. "Doesn't rank go the other way?"
"You dare-" Sabastian began.
"Potemkinme! Sabastian!" Mero suddenly barked out, quickly getting their attention. She sat in her wheelchair, her back erect and her gaze stern as she stared down at the two fish-men. "You have served my family faithfully for my entire living memory, and for that you have my admiration. You have guarded me from those who would use my royal status and unguarded words against me and my family during my formative years, for which you have my gratitude. However, Princess I may be but my own life I also have, and that you do not have the right or permission to dictate."
As she spoke, both fish-men felt themselves sinking to their knees as in their minds' eyes - the mind's eye of all present, in fact - Mero seemed to be garbed not in gothic lolita fashion but in royal garb, and sat not upon a wheelchair but upon a throne. Several of those present found themselves kneeling, not quite bowing but certainly assuming a position of respect...except for Caboose and Suu, who both stood their not understanding what was going on, and Rachnera who watched from a distance with a wicked smirk.
At this point, Mero decided it was time to drop the final bomb, and make her stance plain to her retainers, her mother, the other girls...and especially to Caboose. "As such, you shall both show my chosen suitor and co-wives the proper respect. Is that understood?"
"C-chosen suitor?" Sabastian gasped out in shock.
"C-c-co-wives?" Potemkinme barely managed to say.
The other girls gasped in surprise at the assertion. Caboose showed no reaction.
Mero's eyes hardened as the image of golden regal garb shifted, suddenly taking on - like her gaze - overtones of hardened steel. The image of her no longer clutched a ceremonial scepter, but a royal sword...one that would knight or execute with equal alacrity. "Is that understood?" she repeated more firmly.
"Y-y-yes Your highness!" both fish-men managed to get out. Inside, however, a much different thought echoed.
Queen Neptune is not gonna like this...