TFLCM - Chapter 80

"It's very generous."

As I emptied the bottle in an instant, the man burst into laughter as if he liked it.

'It really is bitter...!'

I forced myself to suppress the rising urge to vomit. Wiping the liquid from the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand, I looked at the man.

Then the man raised his eyebrows and gestured to Miya, who was in the fisherman's arms.

"If you're taking it along, you have to drink together."

I lowered my gaze and looked at Miya. Then, I grabbed Miya, who was struggling as if trying to run away.

"Where are you running away to?"

"B-but...! I hate mermaids!"

Miya buried her face in the white soles of her feet as if she couldn't bear to do it.

"And that really tastes awful... I almost threw up when I ate it last time..."

"I'll give you a massage. And the one you made for me back then, too."

“It’s disgraceful...!”

Miya twitched his mustache, as if asking how such an evil temptation could be made.

I sat Miya on my shoulder. Eventually, Miya, unable to resist the temptation of the massage, drank the potion.

She looked distressed. She even pressed her feet against my shoulders the entire time she was drinking.

I felt very guilty because it seemed like animal abuse, but in the end, she drank it safely.

Miya swayed limply and hung over my shoulders.

"Ugh, I feel nauseous."

"Overcome it with mental strength."

"Okay..."

Miya nodded while covering her mouth with a cotton swab.

“Did you drink it all?”

The man, having checked on me and Miya, started rummaging through something again.

"...?"

What he presented to me, while I stood there bewildered, was yet another potion.

"This is medicine that helps you breathe easily even in water; this is medicine that helps you stand on land. This is..."

As I listened to the pouring explanation of the medicine, I suddenly began to feel dizzy.

'Meeting mermaids. It's damn hard...'

***

Suppressing the rising urge to vomit, I followed the man into the shop.

It was clearly a shop, but as I went further inside, it turned into a cave.

As I was looking around the dark interior, the man held out his palm as if telling me to stop.

The place where we stopped was a dead end of the cave. A large pool came into view.

“Here.”

"...Here?"

I looked around. Even after searching high and low, I couldn't see a single mermaid fin—no, not even a single scale.

'Did he pull a scam again?'

In that case, I will make you pay the price.

It was when I was rolling my eyes, looking for something to substitute for the apple.

The man suddenly raised both arms high.

Then, he started acting strangely, flipping his palms this way and that, poking the sky and then the ground.

"What is he doing? Is it a courtship dance?"

"I don't know either."

"You said you were here last time!"

"I didn't use this method! It seems like a different mermaid."

It was when I was whispering with Maya.

The quiet puddle began to bubble.

"Oh!"

I wondered if a mermaid was about to appear, but the water became calm again.

"Hey!"

Unable to bear it any longer, I called over the man who was still dancing. There was no more flattery.

"What does this have to do with mermaids? You said you would let me meet a mermaid?"

“We can meet.”

"How can we meet when there is nothing...?"

I couldn't stop grumbling. The water in the puddle suddenly shot high into the sky.

The water came right toward us. I recoiled.

"W-What is this...!"

There wasn't even a moment to shout.

Whoosh!

The water that rushed out swallowed us.

***

Cold water surrounded me. Afraid that the bubbling water might rush into my nose, I pinched my nose tightly with my hand.

'I can't breathe...!'

I wanted to breathe in the fresh air with all my might, but I was afraid of the water filling my lungs.

I didn't want to die. Of course, even if I stayed like this, I would eventually die from lack of oxygen, but...

It was just when I had reached my limit. Something soft tapped my cheek. I opened my eyes without realizing it.

'...Miya?'

Miya was looking at me with a perfectly normal face. When I stared at her in disbelief, Miya tapped the hand that was holding my nose.

"Breathe, you idiot."

I shook my head vigorously. Every time I moved, bubbles formed and rose to the surface.

'Look at this!'

I glared at Miya with a fierce look. At that, Miya let out a sigh and patted her white chest fur.

"You're not going to die. Look at me, I'm breathing perfectly fine."

"..."

That's right.

I slowly lowered my hand. I inhaled little by little. To my surprise, what was seeping into my nose was not water, but air.

"What do you think was the reason for all the stuff I ate until I was stuffed earlier?"

Miya glared at me as if I were pathetic.

I cleared my throat in embarrassment, and soon found myself speechless.

It was such a beautiful place.

The sea was clear and transparent, schools of fish swam leisurely over my head, and swaying seaweed occasionally brushed past my feet.

'I never thought I would see a scene like this.'

It was so beautiful that I couldn't blink.

The medicine the man gave me certainly seemed to be working. Me, who had never once lived a full life... to think I was navigating the seas so skillfully.

No matter how much I looked, I couldn't believe it, so I reached out my hand again and again and stroked the water.

As the water droplet touched my hand, it turned into ice and floated upwards.

"What? Do you know how to use magic?"

Miya, who was sitting on the shoulder, asked as if she were fascinated, but the man had stopped moving, so I could not answer her question.

“Here.”

I stared blankly up at the heavy door in front of me.

A huge mansion was looking down at me.

Could there be a mermaid in here? I unconsciously swallowed hard.

As the man approached, the door opened with a loud rumbling sound, as if it had been waiting.

The person who came out was a neatly dressed woman.

"Welcome, Mr. Mikan. Please come inside. However, the people behind you..."

"They are those who have come to hear Ren's words."

"...Okay."

She nodded and stared at me intently. I gave an awkward smile.

She turned around first and moved forward as if to say, "Come in."

The only difference was that we had entered underwater; otherwise, it was no different from an ordinary mansion. No, actually, if there was one difference...

'It looks a little dark.'

In other words, should I say it looks gloomy?

'Is it because it's underwater?'

I brushed my arm lightly, thinking it was nothing.

"It feels ominous..."

Miya also trembled as if she shared the same thought as me.

“This way.”

The woman stopped walking.

Three doors were lined up along the long corridor we had walked through.

"Please enter this way, one person at a time."

The man went into the left room first. I went into the middle room with Miya.

As I went inside, what I saw was...

'Altar?'

An altar was conspicuously set up, as if someone were about to give a speech.

Unlike the eerily quiet mansion, the room was bustling with people.

The three rooms were connected to each other. I wondered why we had entered separately if that was the case.

The man who entered the room on the left first was kneeling in a corner, sitting in a reverent posture.

Everyone except me was muttering something over and over. And they were doing it toward the altar.

'Unless my intuition is wrong.'

It was a time when a creeping sense of anxiety was washing over me.

"Lady Ren is coming out!"

Someone shouted loudly.

'Let's hide for now.'

I quickly followed them and knelt down.

Someone adorned with all kinds of jewels appeared beside the altar. It was a red-haired woman.

“Ren!”

"You are so beautiful today as well!"

"Please take me!"

Those who had knelt spat out words mixed with praise. She, sitting at the altar, waved her hand dismissively as if annoyed.

"Is this the first or second time I've been beautiful?"

When I heard about it, she seemed to have excessive self-love, but her beauty was such that I couldn't help but accept it.

"I'm sick of the same old lines. Come up with something different to say."

Sitting listlessly with her chin resting on her hand, she gazed into the void and tapped the armrest with her fingers.

"Well, I must be a fool for asking such a favor from pathetic people like you."

At that, everyone in the room shook their heads vigorously.

"That's not true! It's all our fault for being stupid!"

"I'm sorry! I'll come up with a wider variety of lines!"

"Please forgive me, Lady Ren!"

They repented of their wrongdoings with the intent to bang their heads on the floor.

I thought as I watched them bow their heads.

'Ah... I’ve really come to the wrong place...'

I thought they were like fanatics, but I never imagined they were real believers.

'Let's get out of here for now. Nothing bad could happen if we stayed here.'

Thinking that, I hunched my body. Conspicuous behavior was strictly forbidden.

"Huh?"

However, the mermaid sitting on the altar fixed her gaze exactly on me.

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