Chapter 24
When people are too dumbfounded, they can’t even speak.
“No… why, why me……”
Anschel opened and closed his mouth, stuttering several times. He kept repeating, “Why me…” He experienced the sensation of words not being able to pierce through his throat, fading inward because he was too shocked and flabbergasted.
The current political system was almost completely tilted toward Dante Maxim. In Anschel’s opinion, the only person who could possibly turn the tide in this atmosphere was the war hero, Ender McGuire.
Of course, he was too young to earn people’s trust, but still, no one would have thought anyone else could run as a presidential candidate.
Naturally, it should have been Ender proudly declaring, “I will run as a presidential candidate.” Not suddenly telling his aide, who had never even appeared at an official event, “You run.”
Running for president wasn’t like choosing a class monitor.
“What about you, Colonel?!”
Anschel finally couldn’t hold back and shouted. Both his cheeks, struck by Ender’s sharp hand, were swollen red.
But Anschel didn’t think Ender’s hand was particularly harsh. Considering past behavior, slapping was rather light. Anschel knew best what fate awaited soldiers who disobeyed orders or were mind-controlled by the enemy.
But that was that, and this was this.
“Because I plan to become Harriet Sunbae’s aide.”
“……”
Anschel just wished he could become cosmic dust. He had a stupid, foolish, and absentminded face. His last remaining sanity desperately clung to his soul that was flying away while waving goodbye.
In other words, he was saying that he would leave the presidential candidacy to Anschel because it would prevent him from properly seeing his beloved senior’s face.
Harriet, who had been observing Anschel turning blue then white, opening and closing his lips, couldn’t help but burst into laughter. The way Anschel was opening and closing his mouth while mixing in curses about Ender was so funny that laughter escaped him.
At that sound, Ender’s ears twitched slightly. He caught and stored Harriet’s laughter in his ears. It had been Ender’s habit since the academy days. He really loved the small sounds of laughter Harriet made.
“What will happen to my aide?”
“If I fulfill Sunbae’s wish, please make me your aide.”
Young Ender had boldly said this, but with his small body tensely sweating profusely. The young boy with large eyes looking at Harriet had grown up strong and still remembered that promise.
In truth, with Harriet’s current rank, he couldn’t even dream of sitting on the same sofa as Ender, and since Harriet wasn’t an officer, he didn’t need an aide.
Ender, who couldn’t possibly be unaware of this fact, had a serious face. His red eyes looking back at Harriet sparkled prettily. At least to Harriet’s eyes, they were as beautiful as jewels.
“You said if I fulfilled your wish, you would make me your subordinate.”
At Ender’s voice, which remembered everything, Harriet smiled bitterly.
“But the military…”
“The military is just a means to fulfill Sunbae’s wish.”
Ender raised his hand and carefully stroked Harriet’s faded white hair. As if even touching was too precious, the tips of his fingers lightly brushed his bangs.
Harriet’s eyes looked upward. Lately, whenever he looked into Ender’s eyes, he was enveloped in a nostalgic feeling. It was strange because this had never happened before.
“I wish the war would end soon and peace would come…”
He had said that casually once. Young Ender had tilted his small head and stared intently at Harriet. Then a frog suddenly jumped out of a small pond in the academy, catching both their attention.
At that time, Harriet Sunbae had probably asked what Ender wanted most. Maybe because his birthday was approaching and he wanted to give him a present. Harriet in those younger days was even more oblivious than now.
“What will Sunbae do when the war ends?”
The cute junior boldly asked. Harriet carefully stroked the young junior’s black hair.
Through his white fingers, Ender’s black hair scattered with a pleasant rustling sound. Ender closed one eye like a cat, feeling Harriet’s touch.
Harriet was an experiment subject born for war, and in truth, he couldn’t dream of anything after the war. He had no other abilities.
Perhaps when the war ended, Harriet would no longer be able to stay in the military and might be driven into the sea. His existence was a shame to the military and an inhumane being that had to be hidden.
“Well… maybe I’ll leave the military and become a zoologist?”
He recalled the red eyes that had sparkled then. Perhaps Ender McGuire’s determination had continued since that time.
Harriet blinked his white eyes and tilted his head. Ender’s very cute face from childhood overlapped with his current face. It was strange how different he looked now from when he used to follow Harriet with plump, rosy cheeks.
“……”
‘Excuse me.’
Anschel, who had barely forced his soul back into his body, was watching the two’s little drama with a dumbfounded expression.
They were so lost in their own world without thinking about him caught in between and suffering.
Anschel, whose stomach was starting to ache, popped a stomach medicine from his pocket.
“…What do we do with this merman?”
“It’s Ann.”
“…Right, Ann… I’m sorry about earlier.”
Thanks to being freed from mind control, he was no longer blindly hating merpeople, but Anschel had a face that showed he didn’t know how to treat the merman.
The fact that it wasn’t merpeople who killed his parents and that they had actually tried to save the Ellikiss mixed in his head, confusing him. His past of boarding military ships to avenge merpeople kept coming to mind.
“We can’t let the military take him.”
Anschel decided to put aside the issue of running for president for now and spoke with composure. He picked up his glasses that had been rolling on the floor and put them on.
‘Damn it.’
One lens was cracked and the frame was bent.
“The sea is far from here… ah damn, I’m sorry.”
Thanks to the president’s powerful mind control, his mouth was full of blood and pain. As Anschel grimaced and quietly covered his mouth with his hand, Ann who was watching him smiled. He raised his hand and grabbed Anschel’s chin.
“……”
Before he could ask what he was doing, Ann’s face came closer. Angela was startled and covered Ryan’s eyes with both hands. Surprisingly, Ann was holding Anschel’s chin and putting his tongue into his mouth.
Anschel made a strange sound, but Ann moved his tongue very skillfully. He swept along the even teeth and sent saliva deep into the inside of his tongue. He rubbed the inside of his cheek, which was burst and tasted of blood, several times with his tongue.
“Ah… ahnng……”
As Anschel’s body trembled, Ann separated his lips and smiled.
“The wounds inside your mouth are all healed, right?”
“Yes……”
Anschel collapsed, his legs trembling. His face was deeply flushed, and saliva was dripping from his mouth.
Damn. He had missed the timing to get angry again. Anschel, seemingly unfamiliar with the absence of the throbbing in his mouth, moved his mouth several times.
“Was that a healing ability?”
“Our tribe’s saliva can heal wounds.”
The human medical community would go crazy if they knew that.
Anschel stood up, biting his cheek with his tongue and teeth. His legs were still trembling.
“Among humans, suddenly inserting your tongue and kissing like that would deserve a slap, so don’t do it next time.”
Ann smiled brightly at Anschel, who was muttering quietly.
“It’s the same among merpeople.”
Ah, I see.
Anschel thought, trembling, that he would like to plant his fist firmly on the merman’s crown.
Unable to return directly to the sea, Ann decided to settle by the lake where the southern merpeople were hiding. Angela and Anschel agreed to drive him there by car.
Angela, who had finished preparing, stood behind Ann who was already waiting outside. Anschel was still talking with Ender inside the office, as if their conversation wasn’t over.
Angela stared at Ann’s back as he approached the tiger and asked.
“Prince, don’t you hate humans?”
From Angela’s perspective, merpeople had enough reasons to hate humans. It was rather strange that Ann was being so friendly to them now. The sea originally belonged to merpeople, and humans committed such terrible acts because they wanted to take it.
Ann, who had stopped at Angela’s question, stroked his chin. His blue hair and blue eyes, full of the sea, sparkled.
Ryan was sweating profusely as he tried his best to hold back the tiger, which was drooling at the sight of such a merman.
“I hated them, despised them, and wanted revenge…”
Ann let out a calm laugh.
“But Alcita kept crying and apologizing, apologizing so much that I decided to forgive humans because I’d received enough human apologies.”
“……”
Are merpeople pushovers, or are they just stupid? Being too kind is also problematic. Merman Ann spoke as if reminiscing about a dear friend.
“Humans wanted to invade the sea… but knowing there were humans like Alcita, I wanted to take a gamble. A gamble to forgive humans.”
She had wondered how he could smile in front of humans who had invaded his territory and killed his kind before his eyes, but his reason was even more absurd.
She couldn’t understand what humans had done to get the sea from such a species.
Silence lingered for a moment, and then Angela scratched her head and opened her mouth.
“I’m sure if Lieutenant Anschel runs as a presidential candidate, people like Alcita will continue to emerge.”
She hated war. Angela was a soldier who had fled because she hated war. Her peers all mocked her as a coward, but she disliked what she disliked.
“We all came here because we hate war.”
So did Ryan, and so did the Captain who retired a month ago. And the guy who’s now gone AWOL was also someone who was demoted after trying to escape because he hated the war with merpeople.
Angela’s cheeks were slightly reddened, and there was moisture in her eyes. Listening to Ann’s words made her throat sting with guilt.
Ann picked a weed flower from the ground and spoke to Angela, who was dropping tears.
“Because of humans like you, we wanted to take a gamble.”
Angela sniffled, wiping her nose.
“That fake flower I broke earlier was really expensive, so you should pay me for it.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
