Chapter 3
Beautiful,
So beautiful I can’t bear it…
My own mermaid.
.
.
Harriet was so flustered by the sudden appearance of his former junior that he hesitated, unable to express his delight.
Although Ender had been a junior who followed Harriet during their academy days, they now had no connection, their relationship distant. So distant that even exchanging common greetings would be awkward.
“Why, here.”
Unlike the rarely flustered Harriet, Ender leisurely looked around and swept his hair upward. His black hair flowed softly between his fingers.
In the past, Harriet had crumpled and touched that hair. It was so soft and fluffy. Ender would sit quietly by Harriet’s side like a cat, savoring his touch.
Behind them, Angela stumbled over her words several times before eventually dropping her shovel on the ground. She was a secret fan of Ender. She had thoroughly read every newspaper featuring him and consumed everything from TV to radio and magazines.
In truth, many people on land loved Ender.
“Have you been well?”
Ender calmly greeted Harriet and bowed his head toward him. Then he picked up the cane that was rolling on the ground. His careful dusting of the cane, as if handling a precious jewel, overlapped with images from the past.
Even at the academy, Ender had handled Harriet’s cane preciously, as if performing a ritual. He would dust it off and if there was any soil, he would take out his handkerchief to wipe it clean. Then he would carefully place it in Harriet’s hand.
Though it had been a long time, that series of actions was so familiar that Harriet just stared blankly at it. Blinking his eyes that contained colorless white irises, Harriet quietly closed his mouth.
Ender, examining that face, said nothing. Silence hung between the two.
“…”
The silence was broken by the man behind Ender. He cleared his throat and took a step closer to Harriet. He was a man in a crisp military uniform wearing gleaming glasses. He would have looked younger if not for his 2:8 parted hair as he saluted Harriet.
“Hello, I am Second Lieutenant Anschel Lee, Lieutenant Colonel Ender McGuire’s assistant.”
He even outranked Harriet. Harriet stared blankly at the two as he received the salute.
“We have something to discuss. Would you mind changing locations?”
At the assistant’s words, Harriet unconsciously looked up at Ender. He was smiling like a leisurely, languid cat. In the old days, he only wore a prim expression… this was utterly unfamiliar.
Behind them, Angela, who had been staring intently at Ender’s back, tried to make eye contact with Harriet, her eyes gleaming. Sorry, but she had assigned duties—the mission of harvesting rice fields spanning three thousand pyeong for a poor old man with a back injury.
Harriet followed the man who had introduced himself as Anschel, limping with his cane. He heard Angela calling him from behind but pretended not to hear.
“It’s modest for a military facility, isn’t it?”
He probably wanted to say it was extremely, quite modest. That was understandable, as this office had been prepared by the village head, making it embarrassingly inadequate to be called a military facility.
It was an abandoned house that the village head, residents, and a few soldiers had made presentable. Harriet entered the narrow two-story building and opened the only office door.
There was only one desk, and the rest was filled with old sofas. Mostly, Harriet would sit at the desk to work while his subordinates lounged on the sofas below, taking breaks.
Angela had said that even though they were relegated to this rural area, it was livable because their salaries came in regularly.
Harriet limped to the shelf and looked around. He thought it would be proper to offer some tea to a superior officer who had come all this way.
Though Ender had been his junior, his rank was much higher, and his aide Anschel also outranked Harriet by several levels. It was only natural that Harriet, the lowest-ranking person here, should move.
“Senior, I’ll do it, so please sit.”
“Huh? But…”
“Since Anschel has something to convey, please sit comfortably.”
If he insisted that much, there was nothing to be done.
Harriet brushed back his white hair and alternately looked at Ender and Anschel, who was pulling out a stack of documents on the sofa. Then he limped over to the sofa.
Ender was humming while deftly taking out tea leaves and coffee from the shelf. It was amazing how he found them so uncannily without being told.
Harriet watched as Ender took out three teacups collected by the soldiers and shook tea leaves into them, then focused his gaze forward. Anschel, with his ordinary brown hair neatly arranged in a 2:8 part, adjusted his pointed glasses and spoke.
“Remnants of the southern mermaids have fled here.”
The documents were filled with difficult terms.
“But there’s no sea here…”
“I’ve heard that high-ability mermaids can come to land.”
That’s true.
And Harriet himself knew that fact better than anyone. But why would mermaids come to this empty rural village…?
Anschel glanced once at Harriet’s back, then cleared his throat again.
“I heard there’s a lake here.”
“…It’s not very large.”
The river flowing through the mountains was shallow, and there was also a mineral spring with very good taste. Mermaids couldn’t hide and live there. However, there was one lake that Harriet frequently visited, though it was some distance away.
Could the southern mermaids have invaded that place…?
Harriet blinked blankly, deep in thought, then pointed to the map with his finger to show the route to the lake.
He was dubious whether southern mermaids had really fled here. The sea was very far from this place, and mermaids mostly couldn’t exert proper strength on land. So there was no reason for them to flee all the way here. Unless someone deliberately lured them here.
Ender, hailed as a war hero, was making clattering sounds behind them as he prepared tea. If Angela, his fan, had seen this, she would have been breathing excitedly through her nose.
“They’re really tiresome, aren’t they?”
Ender laughed as if he couldn’t help it. Then he brought the teacups, serving green tea to Anschel and placing a glass filled with coffee and ice in front of Harriet. He didn’t seem to be having any himself, as there were only two cups.
“…”
Had he told Ender that he couldn’t eat hot things? Or perhaps Ender also preferred cold drinks.
Harriet glanced down at Anschel’s teacup. It was very hot-looking green tea with steam rising from it. In contrast, Harriet’s cup had crushed ice in it. Noticing this, Harriet tilted his head and took a sip of coffee.
“…”
“Four spoons of sugar, right?”
“…Mm.”
Harriet closed his eyes to savor the taste spreading in his mouth, then tilted his head.
“How did you know?”
“…”
“I’ve only recently become able to drink coffee.”
During his academy days, Harriet didn’t drink coffee because it quickly made him thirsty. Only recently had he been able to enjoy coffee. It was truly amazing that Ender had accurately guessed even the four spoons of sugar.
Is this what makes a war hero different? Having exceptionally sharp instincts?
Ender, who had been staring intently at Harriet’s white hair as he sipped his coffee expressionlessly, smiled awkwardly.
“Just a feeling.”
“Hmm.”
So it was just a feeling after all.
‘Thud’
Harriet stopped admiring and turned his attention to the stack of documents that had fallen in front of him. Slowly raising his head, he saw Anschel, pale as a sheet, staring at him while sweating.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
