Chapter 49

Translator: Yonnee

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“Skipping is what we call teleporting short distances little by little. Since it’s dangerous to do it on water, it would take him a bit more time since he’s going over land.”

It’s not totally determined, but it sounded like there was quite a distance between the tower and this place.

They couldn’t say where it is, but perhaps they could say this much.

After briefly considering the sea’s area in her mind, Ophelia asked.

“How long will it take then?”

“Not sure, if he’s fast, maybe he’ll arrive as early as today? By the way, which direction is the castle? I haven’t eaten anything yet, so I’m famished. And I think I’ll need to save Grand Duke Ronen as soon as possible.”

Haahm.?Yennit said this and then yawned quite widely.

Perhaps the life or death of Grand Duke Ronen, which was supposed to be the real purpose of her visit, wasn’t something that truly concerned her from the very beginning.

Ophelia was about to say something to Yennit, but at that moment—

“Ophelia.”

Sante quietly whispered to her.

“I can feel an unfamiliar magic presence somewhere around the castle. Wouldn’t it be better to go?”

“Unfamiliar magic?”

“Yeah. It has nothing to do with me, but I don’t think that’s the case for you.”

Sante was right.

If it was magic that was unfamiliar to him, there’s only one person she could expect.

Cornelli Deurang.

Towards the direction they passed by earlier, Ophelia turned her head.

“..I believe we should go back without any further delay. Thank you for letting me know.”

“Don’t mention it.”

When Sante smiled as he replied, Ophelia responded with a slight curtsy.

Sante came into this forest, but he also expressed that he intended to return to the nest after checking up on only the younger sirens, so there was nothing special about them parting ways here.

“Then I’ll see you again when something comes up later. Alei, Miss Yennit. Let’s go back.”

“Is it that direction?”

“That’s right, but it would be faster to follow the traces of mana, Miss—I mean, Yennit.”

After Alei stuttered a bit, not used to talking casually, they quickly set off.

In the space they had just left, where the forest used to hold its breath but was now starting to get revitalized little by little, Sante stood still while mulling over various thoughts.

Then, he turned and walked towards the cliff.

It was, unfortunately, a prejudice that sirens would use only their wings.

Within this dense foliage large wings would be rather cumbersome.

So Sante walked until he reached a wide view of the horizon, continuing forward until the space around him was filled with only boulders.

That horizon over the sea that cannot be encapsulated even with both arms stretched out—it was a breathtaking sight.

However for Sante, this was like a front yard.

He looked down from the distant cliff where ferocious waves crashed down without hesitation.

Then below it, on a reef that was smaller than a rowboat, Sante landed as light as a feather.

As Sante folded his wings once more, a single feather fell gently on the surface of the water.

And a hand took it.

Towards the one who took the feather, Sante spoke.

“That feather doesn’t have mana, so it won’t look pretty if you take it underwater.”

“I know. It’s just that I don’t have many opportunities to see this. I like dry things.”

Ariel, who was looking at a wet feather, replied with a smile.

* * *

Sante said that he went to Ophelia as soon as he heard that conversation, but that wasn’t the truth.

While listening to them, his habit of pursuing his own interest reared its head again.

‘Wouldn’t Ophelia want to meet Ariel again?’

Was what he thought.

If he were to orchestrate a chance meeting, he surmised that Ophelia would compliment him again.

So he waited for the mermaid princesses to finish talking and go back underwater, but nearby, he caught a hermit crab passing nearby.

—Hey. Isn’t your house a little small?

He was satisfied with the crab. Crabs could retreat into themselves. He’ll stop eating so much crab.

Small and young creatures usually had no names, so they usually referred to themselves in third person.

And when a predator such as a siren was in front of one, their vocabulary would become limited because of fear.

—This crab likes this house. Please let me go.

—Hey, look here. Who said I’ll eat you. You look like you could use a much bigger house, so,

—A much.. bigger house?

—Yes. If you promise me one thing, I’ll get you a bigger shell.

—A big shell to boast!

The crab’s claws snip snapped with joy.

Such was the fate of a hermit crab, just looking for a moderately big shell for them to boast about, and it was quite a difficult task.

And the conch shell in Sante’s hand was the ideal size.

Watching the hermit crab’s round eyes glimmer in eagerness, Sante grinned.

—Alright. I’ll give this to you, so now you have to lead the youngest mermaid princess here. Don’t get caught by anyone.

—I got it. I got it!

As soon as Sante released the shell, the hermit crab quickly moved houses and disappeared underwater.

And the crab did pay a hefty price for its new house.

From the moment Sante stepped into the forest, he could feel Ariel’s presence under the cliff.

‘But because Ophelia might react aloofly, I had to come see you alone.’

Since he called her, he had to show his face. Sante sat on the reef and cradled his chin.

While saving the wet feather as though it was a charm, Ariel continued speaking.

“I think it’s because I’m always wet, but the things outside the waters are so fascinating.”

“Don’t they say that you can’t get out of the waters until you’re an adult? You’ve never been on the surface before?”

“Does it really seem like that? There was one time, though I got caught and got scolded a lot.”

Ariel, the youngest mermaid princess. Those whose main base was the sea would be familiar with talks about her.

Decades ago, the Mer-king—the leader of the small number of mermaids and the true ruler of the sea—lost his wife.

After the Mer-queen lost her life under the hands of mermaid hunters, the sea had no time to calm down, not even for an hour, as the Mer-king grieved for several days.

Then as the waters calmed down once more, whispers about the last child left by the mermaid queen wandered about.

The youngest child, who had been alive for many years, actually couldn’t open her eyes and stayed inside a protective bubble made of mana due to her weak body—and she woke up.

After suffering from the tragedy of losing a mother and a wife, it’s rumored that the mermaids coddled that child very dearly.

In an environment like that, it was natural that Ariel felt suffocated.

“At that time, I still wasn’t aware that there was a world beyond the waters. I followed my older sisters secretly.”

That day, Ariel’s world turned upside down.

Having lived in a world full of only blue water, as she appreciated that day, this was what Ariel felt:

“It felt as though the world was split into two.”

This other world without water came to her as a complete shock.

But after a while, Ariel quickly became fascinated with this world without water.

It was possible to breathe without having to contract her gills. There was no constant pressure around her body, so she could swing her arms freely. And she could also see how beautiful the droplets of water were over the surface.

The sun was round, the clouds were white. No matter how much she stretched her hand up, she couldn’t reach the sky.

Everything was brand new.

“My sisters seem to think that I’m in love with the man, that’s why I want to be on land. He is nothing but a means1.”

“Are you saying that you’ve been wanting to go on land for a long time?”

“Yes. And I’ll find a way no matter what.”

Sante stared at Ariel, who smiled brightly without any flaws, and without thinking about it, the corners of his lips tugged up.

Listening to Ariel talk about unrealistic dreams, it somehow felt as though he’d swallowed up some feathers.

And somehow, the mermaid’s appearance overlapped with another person’s silhouette.

—I’m going to the magic tower.

The lilting voice still lingered on his mind. In a sense that wasn’t pleasant.

He wouldn’t deny that he was indeed interested in Ophelia, but he was strangely feeling frustrated.

‘It’s not like I’ve been following interest for only a day or two.’

Perhaps because he couldn’t see Ophelia’s reaction as much as he expected today, but Sante dismissed this feeling.

It was also because Ariel had put down the feather and finally broached the subject.

“Then, can I now ask why you called me here?”