By Zephyria 
The sound of splashing approaching from afar had less weight than its size. Something huge was dragging its body towards us. Every so often it would stop, panting, or pound the ground, its sounds echoing from deep within the cave, making it quite eerie.
Tensing, I pulled Ruben behind my shoulder. The child readily hid behind my back.
After waiting tensely for about an hour, what poked its head out from beyond the cave’s bend was… a monster I had never seen or learned about.
Its upper body was human-shaped, but its lower body was like that of a fish. Its eyes, as large as marbles, had no eyelids, its nose was flat, and its mouth was wide. Scales sprouted densely from its neck down to its chest, covering its body as if it were wearing a sleeveless dress.
A rich scent of Mana, unlike that of lesser spirits like Sylphs or Undines, enveloped it. It raised its head, confirmed our presence once, and then slowly, slowly approached again. It first placed its hands far ahead on the ground, and with a ziik sound, it dragged its tail forward to move.
Up close, it looked even more grotesque. Instead of ears, it had tall fins as large as palms, and webbing between its fingers, clearly indicating it was a creature that moved through water.
“…Is that, too, a Nereid…?”
“No, those spirits… they don’t have a physical body, Mika.”
“Then, is that… a Mermaid?”
“…I recall legends saying mermaids had hair.”
But what else could I call it?
Splash, splash.
It thrashed through the mud, swimming with great effort, and then tapped the ground in annoyance. Each time, the gnomes nearby giggled. I watched with bated breath as a couple of Sylphs whirled around it, clapping their hands in encouragement. Its eyes met mine from a distance.
Was it “ing-ing” or “pang-pang”? I couldn’t understand its chattering sounds.
Was crawling on land difficult? I watched it grow increasingly annoyed, tapping the ground, writhing, and flicking its tail to splash mud. My hand still held my sword, wreathed in Sword energy, yet it seemed so confident.
It didn’t seem like it intended to defeat me immediately…
“…It doesn’t seem hostile towards us.”
“…I think so too.”
Should I have secured the princess and prince first? As the creature diligently approached the children, I stepped forward half a pace. It was about ten steps wide, but if I leaped, it would take seven.
The moment I tightly gripped Ruben’s hand in tension, the creature sighed deeply in front of the two children and spread its arms wide.
“Oh dear.”
“…Huh?”
The princess, her eyes wide, hesitantly embraced the creature.
The creature hugged the princess once, then the prince once, patting their shoulders and backs as it spoke in a babbling manner. It sighed mournfully while stroking their platinum hair. A sound like water boiling arose.
…I had heard something like this before. Elvin spoke exactly like this. However, while Elvin spoke with the sound of wind, this creature produced all the sounds water could make.
Was this the language of the Yulan? I glanced at the princess and prince, but they too looked dumbfounded.
After doting on the two children, the creature narrowed its eyes, glared at us, and pointed.
I thought it was scolding Ruben and shielded him with my body, but its fingertip was aimed at me. Its piercing blue eyes were fixed solely on me. Its clawed hand pointed its index finger directly at me, shaking it. The sound of boiling water continued.
I wondered what on earth it was yelling about, but I was also relieved that it seemed unrelated to the Blue Turtle or whatever god the speechless spirits were connected to. It was more comfortable to be blamed than Ruben. I just watched blankly.
After chattering for a while, the creature beckoned me. Come closer?
“Bogre, pong!”
“Why would I…? More importantly, if you suddenly drag someone here and throw a tantrum, where…”
“Bagel-bagel-bagreureureu…”
The creature, beckoning me closer, pounded the ground in anger. The mud around it bubbled furiously. The floor we stood on was made of stone. Was it difficult to approach? I decided this was a safer zone and didn’t move.
As Ruben and I remained still, the creature stretched both arms high above its head, then waved its hands as if mimicking putting something on its head. It jutted out its snout, made a beak-like shape with its hands, then made horns, and even pounded one palm with its fist.
Each time, the princess and prince sitting beside it flinched and retreated.
That creature’s fist was quite large. It could probably hold one of their heads in a single hand. Although it didn’t seem to intend to threaten the children, the siblings huddled with expressions close to fainting.
The mermaid’s fingers twitched, as if trying hard to express something, but I couldn’t understand a word. Wondering what on earth it was doing, I closed my mouth and stared back. Then, Ruben peeked out from over my shoulder and spoke cautiously.
“…A wedding? A secret wedding?”
Pang! A sound like a water droplet bursting.
“…Because of the flute, you’re angry.”
The creature nodded vigorously, making a very angry face and pounding the ground with its tail. Mud splashed everywhere, but its body remained unstained. After a moment of thought, Ruben pulled my hand and led us three steps forward. As we advanced, the tiny spirits parted to let us pass.
Ruben calmly pointed to each of us, then gestured upwards.
“We need to be on the surface. Send us back.”
The creature crossed its arms with a stern expression and shook its head. After a moment of consideration, Ruben slowly pointed to the princess and prince, then made a gesture of cupping them with his hands, and pointed upwards again.
“Just these children. Upwards.”
Then, the creature’s fingertip pointed to the princess’s embrace. …The princess was still tightly clutching the black flute, a divine object, in both hands.
Ruben didn’t hesitate and immediately approached, extending his hand to the princess. The princess, trembling, handed the divine object to Ruben.
“Like this?”
…Only then did the creature relax its expression and nod.
Almost simultaneously, the gnomes began to swarm. Mud rose in a semicircle, enclosing the two children. The princess and prince, looking terrified, gazed at Ruben as if he were their lifeline.
Ruben quickly commanded,
“We will send word once this matter is resolved. Upon arriving at the Royal Castle, please find Baron Ivan Bikoff and deliver this message. Mikael and I will investigate the issue with the spirits originating from the divine object before ascending. If you don’t hear from us in two days, immediately report them as missing to your homeland.”
“That is, well…”
“On behalf of Rubel Anti Sieron, I grant Ivan Bikoff full authority to act. Please be sure to convey this. As quickly as possible.”
“…Yes!”
With that reply, the children completely disappeared from our sight. The mud ball that had crawled up and seemingly swallowed the siblings slid and stuck to the wall, then melted away. I thought I heard a voice from inside the wall murmuring “Thank you,” but I couldn’t be sure. The voice faded away very quickly.
“Those guys…”
“Hm?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
I felt a pang of resentment, as if Ruben had taken on the princess’s sin.
But Ruben was right, without deep thought. It was just inconvenient to drag around people who would cause trouble. What use would it be to leave the siblings here? Wouldn’t we be able to devise a solution only if we took the lead?
I felt deeply ashamed of my petty thoughts.
What was this thing called love, I had forgotten my days as a wandering knight. It was utterly absurd.
The creature slowly turned on the muddy ground. It seemed to be leading the way, pushing its belly forward like a snake towards the distant end. Ruben, with a determined expression, tightly gripped my hand. As if he would never let go, he intertwined his fingers with mine, and I firmly clasped his hand back.
“Let’s go, Mika.”
“…Yes.”
I worried that walking on the wet ground would be difficult, but the gnomes’ skill in supporting our steps made sure our feet didn’t get wet. We advanced through the dark cave, where visibility was poor, guided by the blue light of Sword energy.
The gnomes’ chattering was so noisy that my ears tingled for a long time.
❖ ❖ ❖
Where else could I possibly see such a paradise?
I had been deeply troubled while walking through the dark cave, but as soon as I reached its end, my mind went blank. My breath and steps stopped in unison. I opened my mouth without realizing it, gazing into the distance.
My vision was filled with a bright blue light.
A turtle, as large as my torso, kicked off from the cliff face and floated away somewhere. Bright blue and vivid yellow fish swam below, darting through red coral, then peeking out to observe the situation.
A horned fish, with white and black stripes along its sides, casually swam from right to left, causing the tiny fish to startle and split their schools in half.
In the Central Plains, I rarely saw anything other than carp and crucian carp, and the fish I encountered in Sieron were generally no larger than my forearm. However, that horned fish was large enough to easily dwarf a grown person. I was dumbfounded, wondering how deep the water must be.
The creature that had brought us here, the mermaid, finally seemed to have found its world, circling in large arcs from above to below. The sound of water splashing was deep.
Thwack.
A sound like an oar striking the water with great force echoed. It was the mermaid, now floating right in front of me. How could it strike water so powerfully from within it? It was an astonishing skill.
It beckoned me to hurry, but I couldn’t immediately follow.
This was water so deep that even koi would seem like minnows. I was afraid to immediately obey the mermaid’s command. Leaping across water or jumping off cliffs was something I did all the time, so it was nothing new. But I had never, in my life, heard of even the most powerful Martial artists walking underwater.
I turned to Ruben without realizing it. My dissatisfaction vanished instantly. The blue light filtering from above lay like a beautiful veil over Ruben’s handsome face. Yet, a blush that couldn’t be hidden spread across his fair cheeks. Our shoulders brushed, and he whispered softly in my ear.
“It’s pretty, isn’t it?”
“…Yes. It truly is.”
Indeed, if that creature had intended to kill us, it would have buried us in the earth long ago.
I drew Ruben closer, embracing his waist. I stepped forward as if I had never feared anyone before.
Immediately, a spherical bubble of air enveloped both Ruben’s and my heads. The Sylphs, holding our hair, giggled, their laughter sounding unusually close. It was the same method that prevented water from entering the cave.
So the Sylphs had been helping me and Ruben all along. Realizing this, I felt a little relieved.
Ruben’s gaze was fixed on the distant underwater world, and I had no desire to disturb him. I kicked off from the cliff where the cave had been and swam towards the mermaid. Ruben, who had been lost in wonder, looking around, kicked his legs along with me.