Chapter 242 – West Coast Chronicles (10)
Whale Reef. The place we arrived at was called Whale Reef. As the name suggests, there was a rock in the shape of a whale, and the rock was wrapped around a huge rocky island. The rocks were full of moss and barnacles. Small crabs and lugworms skimmed over the coral. The mermaids who were holding on to the rocks were looking at us with anxious eyes.
“Hi-.”
Eve waved her hand once again. However, the mermaids only met each other’s eyes and did not approach easily. There were no mermaids who shook hands and no mermaids who pretended to know Eve and Sellu.
“What the fuck are you saying? Aren’t you saying hello?”
“Hey! That’s Eve!”
“No, I’m scared! Eve…”
The atmosphere, which had been hardened enough to be nonsensical at the sound of Eve’s cry, was tinged with fear. Eve clicked his tongue when she saw the mermaids who were afraid of her. Said Selu.
“Eve has been a problem child on Mermaid Island since she was little. There are still many kids who are afraid of Eve. Eve is kind at heart.”
“I know. They are very fucking bitches.”
Eve cursed and pulled out a curved sword. All the mermaids, frightened by the sound of pulling out the tunes, scattered. Perhaps because they were on the sea, the mermaids moved like lively money worms. When they crawled quickly and hid here and there, there was no mermaid left on the island. Sellu stepped forward and looked around again.
“We’re here to find out about the monsters that have appeared here. Do you know any mermaids?”
There were no mermaids to answer Sellu’s question. Sellu stuck out her tongue and waited. But even after waiting, the answer she wanted did not come back. Eve said.
“If you catch one and beat him up…”
“Hehe, that’s too extreme. Who’s the boss now? You want to see the face of the boss?”
At Sellu’s question, the mermaids faced each other and hesitated. Among the mermaids, I found a mermaid who was particularly trembling and couldn’t look this way.
“Ann?”
“Oh, oh! Oh, hello!”
When Anne pretended to know me, she was started and greeted her face to face. She bowed her head, her face slightly blushing while her body her trembled. The mermaid she ate when she went on an expedition to the north was now living on Mermaid Island. I said as I approached Anne.
“How are you? I’m glad you arrived safely.”
“Yes… Just like that… How are you.”
Ann said when I held out her hand her, she shyly took hers. I slowly dragged Ann towards me. Other mermaids were muttering. Said Selu.
“So, aren’t you going to introduce the boss right now?”
The mermaids were still silent. Eve clicked her tongue and sat down on her floor. Selu began to persuade the mermaids again.
“Hehe, I used to be your captain, but it’s sad that you treated me so badly. Why don’t you call the captain? Yes?”
I asked Anne.
“Ann. Who is the boss now?”
Ann was clearly conflicted. The mermaids here had faces full of fear for Eve and Sellu rather than hatred for me as a human being. Selou laughed and looked back at the other mermaids.
“What. Won’t you tell me?”
“Oh no…”
Anne opened her mouth. Her gaze her was avoiding mine. Ann knew what a threat lurked if she was wrong, because she had seen me torture her. But she kept her mouth shut and shook her head. Sellu, Eve, and I couldn’t help but be a little taken aback by those words. Ann glanced sideways at me and continued.
“That, the priest… Hunt him… Did you come to do it? So, no. I’m begging you. Just, just go back. Since it’s Eve and Sellu-sama, I let them in. Other humans can’t even come in here. I’m begging you. Please just go back.”
“Human beings are being harmed. The fact that your captain is currently practicing witchcraft. Do you know?”
“…Th-what does that have to do with it? He’s our captain. Mermaids do not abandon their captain. Please please Please go back.”
The fishmen appeared from beyond the reef. The fishmen who climbed through the cracks in the rocks and came up from the bottom of the water began to breathe wildly when they saw the fisherman and me.
“Kheheuk! Kheuk!”
“Aaaaagh!”
The fisherman screamed and clung to me. I raised my mace and Selu lowered her body. Eve pulled out her curved sword. Embarrassed, Anne hugged me tightly and shouted.
“Oh no!”
At the same time, the mermaids caught the fishmen and began to dry them. The fishmen screamed and brandished their weapons in the air. But even for a while, the fishmen withdrew their weapons and became quiet. They were looking at the mermaids and muttering something.
“Kheuk! Kech black! Keck!”
“Right, right, that… You can’t attack. Us, that… Friends of the former boss? They are like that. Huh? They are people we know.”
“Kheuk! Keck!”
The fishmen let out a disgruntled tone and rolled their eyes. There was no focus on the dynamic eyes, so it seemed like corpses were wandering around. They each rolled their eyes in different directions, lost interest in us, and dispersed again. Intermittent breathing was rough.
Ann hugged me again and said. I pushed away the fisherman clinging to me and hugged Ann even tighter. Ann said in a low voice in my arms.
“Boo, please. Now that the boss has come, humans won’t touch us. Chi, I have friends too. Those fishermen are a bit like that, but they are kind-hearted and are good to us. Just let me live like this Please don’t take the boss away from us.”
Ann was really crying. Sellu frowned at her. Eve scratched the back of her head with a quizzical expression and put her curved sword back in place. I looked at Sellu. Sellu shook her head. I also sighed. The circumstances of Anne and the mermaids here were pitiful, but this was a non-negotiable issue. Someone is already dead
If you see blood once, you have to see blood to solve the problem.
If we don’t see a solution here, more people will die. And warships will depart from the kingdom, and both mermaids and humans will die. There was no other way. We had to go with a definite result here. I said.
“Ann. Now your boss is not a mermaid…”
“I know.”
Ann nodded her head. The mermaids all nodded. Eve clicked her tongue and sat down on her floor. The fishmen, who had been crawling on the floor and eating insects, raised their heads in bewilderment at the sudden solemn atmosphere. Sellu asked.
“You knew?”
“I know that you are not a mermaid. They can’t swim, and they look different, but we can’t get confused. The current boss is not a mermaid.”
“I am using you. Your boss is, according to my expectations, the Demon King’s subordinate and the Four Heavenly Kings…”
“Does not matter. What does that matter? What does that have to do with the devil’s number and the world’s justice? Priest. You are a hero You are a hero who loves mermaids. Are we not in your definition? Do we, who are dying to humans, have to die under the false accusation of being the servants of the demon king? Mr. Sellu. You know that, too. How many mermaids have died so far? All the mermaids who lived in the river and the children who lived in the lake died. All we have left now is us.”
“Still, you can’t do this. We, we can live a little better life now huh?”
Selu’s face went white. She stuttered her words, trying to convince her Anne. Anne asked.
“A little better life? I always believed in it and waited. But how was it in the end? Humans don’t change. If we don’t fight, we’re just prey. Mr. Sellu. Sellu-nim also tried against it. We can’t do anything with our own strength. They die helplessly, and become slaves again. I-I hate that.”
“Lucius is different. Huh? It’s not good to see it end like this. Ann. Think carefully. If you go to extremes like this, everyone will die? I can say this even now we didn’t know It was all done by the Lamia.”
“I do not like it. We cannot sell the person who fought for us.”
“Please… Ann… Please… Other kids too? Wasn’t I also a boss before? Huh? We can live happily ever after… Huh? Please…”
Despite Selu’s persuasion, the mermaids showed no signs of coming over. Sellu wept. They reluctantly lowered their heads and averted their gaze. Ann hugged me tightly and began to sob.
“Please, please. Priest. I hate seeing my friends die now. I don’t want to be enslaved by humans. Priest. The priest loves even mermaids. For loving us a little more, please protect us. You are a warrior. If the hero abandons us, why the hell do we exist? Who are we supposed to trust?”
Complex. My head hurt. The fishmen were screaming loudly. Selu bit her nails and her face her turned white. She and she knew things were not good right now. If you start fighting to find Lamia, in the worst case, the mermaids will also join you.
What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? Who should I protect? I saw a mermaid disappearing secretly into a cleft in the rocks. I grabbed my mace and looked around. When Seluna Eve got closer, the mermaids sneaked away. The fishmen came next to me and sniffed, then lost interest and disappeared again.
*****
“Boss!”
“What, what, what! I told you not to come near me when I was preparing my magic!”
Rua was startled and almost dropped the reagent she was using to draw the magic circle. She looked back at her mermaid, clutching her jar in her hand. The mermaid looked at Lua’s tail her and said.
“Boss. The fin fell off.”
“Yes? Ahhaha! A mermaid like me and a Lamia hybrid! Yes, the fins often fall off, so I have to attach them. Huh? You know?”
The mermaid smiled briskly at Lua’s words and nodded her head.
“Yes. Boss. Absolutely. It’s common knowledge among mermaids.”
“What’s going on out there? Are you very upset?”
The mermaid hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.
“No. Nothing happened. You can’t come out. Got it?”
“What… I hate going into the water anyway… No, I like water! I’m a bit big, so it’s better not to go out. Right?”
“…Yes.”
Le Ah started drawing her magic circle again. I will kill all humans. What she started with such an impulsive thought has now taken a strange turn. Leah remembered her old days of her.
