By Zephyria 
I… no, Neti, a Nereid of Yeldidus, had never left the Saras River in my life. It had been that way for the past three hundred years. Though greatly bewildered and restless, Hestia was very resolute.
“Well. I don’t know what it is, but it seems like my prospective groom is busy hauling something into the Indus Bay. I can’t just passively accept this. I’m going to break off the engagement now, and you’re going to go and mess up whatever that bastard is trying to do.”
[…Me?]
“Are you going to let me marry that old geezer?”
Hestia shrieked. I flinched and shook my head. The Yeldidus family had always been kind and gentle, so I didn’t understand why she was so ill-tempered. I wondered who she took after… Still, having kept her close since her birth and grown fond of her, I shook my head again.
[No, no.]
“Right? Please find out what Kiadris is planning. Is he trying to split the Empire in half with Yeldidus? What is it? It won’t be of any use unless he takes the capital, though…”
[The capital? Take it?]
“No, no. That was me talking to myself. Anyway, go and see what’s happening. And tell me.”
[…Okay. I understand. So don’t be angry, okay? I’m Hestia’s…]
“…I know. That’s why I’m letting it slide. Go quickly, Neti. I’ll be waiting.”
[Mhm.]
Blink.
The scene before my eyes shifted abruptly.
The Indus Bay was a sea with low, calm waves, but it was still the sea. The water was heavy and salty. I felt the difference in density and viscosity compared to the sweet, light, and brisk water of the Saras River basin. Still, thanks to the abundant Mana and water volume, it was good to meet so many Undines.
But I didn’t understand why there were so few Nereids here. With such a vast body of water.
Lesser spirits often had shallow thoughts, while intermediate spirits usually had deeper ones. So, I wanted to meet the Nereids of the Indus Bay and ask for their help. I thought it would be easy to get them to do anything if I told them Wesley Kiadris’s details and asked them to rough him up a bit.
As I ‘thought’ that, the Undines who understood my ‘thoughts’ conveyed some ‘thoughts’ back to me.
So, I swam to the place where the ancient spirits were said to always gather.
From a great distance, a faint golden dawn was spreading. A Golden Turtle, as large as the Duke Yeldidus Family’s mansion, lay on its belly, its long neck extended to rest its chin on its front paws. Even though it was a turtle, seeing something so smooth and beautiful, I thought it must be a specimen that had died not long ago.
It looked like a stone statue, or a sculpture. Even though it wasn’t alive, each scale between its closed eyes shone brightly, as if meticulously polished. It felt like there was a sun in the sea.
But usually, are turtles this big? Was it because it was a sea turtle? It was truly strange.
The Nereids around it were all asleep, leaning against the Golden Turtle. A few were awake, but they sat with dejected faces or seemed too busy suppressing their sorrow to lean against the turtle’s cheeks or snout. The closer I got, the more my nose stung with sadness.
I… I know this feeling.
I always experienced such sadness when the members of the Duke Yeldidus Family passed away one by one due to old age. Still, it was fortunate. They had always introduced me to their children or grandchildren, allowing me to discover new joys. My final sorrow was erased by Hestia Yeldidus.
It seemed these ones didn’t have such a young turtle. I felt immense pity.
I stood far off, staring blankly for a long time. One of the Nereids noticed me and drifted closer. He or she had long, black hair. The face was familiar. It was the face that had contorted like a demon when seeing Ruben, now pale and listless, looking at Ikyun.
And instead of ‘thoughts,’ they spoke.
[A spirit with a contractor, I see. Where are you from?]
[…I. I’m from the Saras River. From the Yeldidus Duchy…]
[Sierren?]
[Yes.]
A weary voice echoed. Each time it did, my fingertips tingled sharply, and my chest churned. Unconsciously, wanting to cry, I clutched my chest with both hands, but the other Nereid smiled and nudged me with the current.
[…Yes. Don’t come too close here. It’s not a good sight for a young spirit…]
[Mhm. I came with a request.]
[A request?]
[A wicked human seems to be transporting something through the Indus Bay. I’m curious about what it is.]
[…Hmm…. I’d like to help, but I’m too exhausted. I don’t want to do anything…]
However, after pondering, the other kindly smiled and pointed in another direction.
[This is the center of the Indus Bay. If you go a little further northeast, you’ll find young spirits who don’t know the Golden Turtle living there. Try asking those children. They might be spirits who have never encountered humans… but they’ll be more helpful than us.]
[Yes, thank you. See you next time, then.]
[Sleep well.]
‘Sleep well’?
Spirits don’t sleep. Leaving me bewildered, the Nereid drifted back to the Golden Turtle’s side. Gently placing a hand on the turtle’s front paw, they gazed at its closed eyes for a long time before leaning against it and closing their own eyes. As I felt a sudden urge to cry, I tried to quickly leave the spot.
A magical lullaby rippled through the water.
Then, the Golden Turtle… breathed. Impossible. ‘It’ was already dead. It shouldn’t have been able to move. Yet, the turtle inhaled deeply through its nose, exhaled with a gust, and then curled up deeply.
The Nereids, awakened by the force, gathered coral, shells, pearls, and pretty pebbles to adorn the turtle beautifully. I had seen something like this before. Some fish build nests to lure females. They would dig and decorate the sand in beautiful patterns, blocking the surroundings with coral branches to make it cozy.
The Nereids… were building a nest.
The Nereid who had looked at me listlessly moments before now had an incomparably happy expression.
This is insane.
I fled in haste.
Blink.
Once again, the scene before my eyes changed.
I met several Nereids. They were ordinary spirits, neither sad nor overly joyful.
They ‘thought’ that the spirits around the Golden Turtle had been like that for a very long time. Since some young spirits had been overwhelmed by immense emotions and ended up in the same state, no one approached them.
The young Nereids called them ‘ancient spirits.’ It was because they had lived for a very long time.
I shared many thoughts with them. It seemed Wesley Kiadris had never entered the Indus Bay himself. Would it be okay to just say I sought help from spirits and return to Hestia? I hesitated for a moment but immediately gave up. I didn’t have the confidence to endure that child’s tyranny.
Blink.
This time, I saw the Golden Turtle in the distance.
And a human. There was a human. In this deep water, without the help of spirits, a man wearing black clothes had entered. With an expressionless face, he stood erect before the Golden Turtle and looked at the Nereids. All the Nereids looked at him with ashen faces.
“How have you lasted this long? You… ‘fed’ it?”
[No. The First Goddess played the flute for us.]
Then, other Nereids nearby murmured in agreement.
[The Blue Turtle is merely sleeping.]
[Don’t look at it that way.]
[The Blue Turtle promised us it would wake up again. It said it would open its eyes on the day it met a new bride.]
Then the man scoffed.
The black clothes the man wore were mourning attire. His hair, tied up in a bun, was purplish. His eyes flashed. He was wearing glasses. Yes, I… even as a spirit, even as a reincarnated being, I knew him.
Wesley Kiadris.
Is that bastard truly not human?
How could he breathe and speak in this deep sea? Speech is a vibration of sound. It is neither Sound Transmission nor Divine Speech. Someone who speaks aloud could not possibly be human.
As the Nereids trembled, thick currents stirred. Yet, neither his hair nor the glasses on his face shifted even slightly. Yes, as if… protected by some god.
“But that ends now.”
[What?]
“I said it ends. Humans will no longer play the flute. Humans… have all forgotten. I have too. No one will wait for him anymore… Yes, that’s impossible.”
[No. Just yesterday…]
“Only you, the spirits, do not forget. Soon the Golden Turtle will die completely. When that happens… you will eventually act like you did a thousand years ago, won’t you? Haha. I’m looking forward to it.”
[No.]
“Fill that beautiful belly with filthy garbage. I’m curious to see how far you’ll go.”
[No!]
A huge tidal wave, resembling a tearing scream, rose. Water overflowed even underwater. The man smiled faintly for a moment, then willingly stepped back about eight paces. I saw an extremely dark Mana emanating from his entire body.
I had never seen such murky, thick Mana in my life. I held my breath for a long time.
The man left without looking back.
My chest pounded, though it shouldn’t have.
Blink.
The spirits circling the Golden Turtle became very sensitive. But that only lasted for the first few days. Still, twice a day, and sometimes once, a magical lullaby could be heard. Then, the Nereids would stop stroking the Golden Turtle, smile with happy faces, and fall asleep together.
For what reason did the First Goddess deceive them? If they sleep like this and wake up, will the Blue Turtle or whatever it is come? I couldn’t be sure of anything. The blind actions of the Nereids were deeply unsettling and irksome.
Blink.
And from some day on.
Blink.
The lullaby could no longer be heard.