Chapter 68
“Lime!”
“Ann!”
The siblings spread their arms toward each other.
Lime, dressed in a white one-piece, hurriedly took off her clothes and jumped into the lake, embracing Ann. Harriet, watching the scene, smiled faintly as he drank water from his tumbler.
Lime and Ann dove beneath the lake several times, holding hands and spinning around. When they surfaced, they looked incredibly beautiful. Unlike Ann with his pale skin, Lime boasted a healthy tan. Water droplets rolled down her smooth skin.
The most beautiful merpeople created by God were busy chattering among themselves, asking about each other’s well-being.
“Is this everyone?” asked Ann, completely rising above the surface. Lime hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“There weren’t many merpeople who could come. This time too, human warships attacked us…”
Lime muttered with an apologetic expression. The other two merpeople who had been watching nodded toward Ann, then took off their thick hoodies and jumped into the lake.
Unlike when Lime and Ann jumped in, water splashed everywhere. Harriet, who had closed his eyes as water splattered all over his face, shook it off and smiled slightly. Inside the lake, the four merpeople stared this way with their blue eyes sparkling.
“Will you tell us now?” Harriet opened his mouth in a quiet tone, addressing Ann. Ann briefly made eye contact with Anschel. Anschel moved his lips but only stared intently at Ann.
He had a feeling. A vague thought that it was time for him to leave, that he would never see him again in this place.
“We’re going to the eastern sea,” Ann answered while gazing into Anschel’s eyes.
“…The eastern sea?”
There were no merpeople living there anymore. In the war that Harriet participated in, he had killed all the merpeople, even those who fled to the deep sea. Though he couldn’t remember, that place had become a sea of death, for both warships and merpeople.
But why?
“Because the eastern sea is dying,” said Ann.
The muscular merman was introduced as Dotrum of the red lava, and the delicate-looking man as Leirum of the blue lava. When Anschel heard they were twins born from the same egg, he couldn’t believe it.
The fact that merpeople laid eggs was new knowledge that surprised Anschel. But there was no time to be surprised by that. Trembling, Anschel opened his mouth at the unbelievable fact.
“…Are you saying that a sea without merpeople rots away?”
“That’s right. We cannot cross the boundaries of our seas. When we need to cross boundaries, we must traverse through land, but the situation isn’t good right now.”
Yes, merpeople did not invade each other’s territories. He thought it was strange before and still found it strange now. They could not leave their territories, and because of that, humans had achieved a great victory.
Anschel desperately racked his brain, but the shock had frozen his mind, and no words came out.
“…I see, so that’s why the eastern sea’s ecosystem is being destroyed now.”
At Ender’s confirmation, Anschel stiffened. Although everyone had been deliberately ignoring it, rotten organisms were gradually rising from the deep sea in the eastern waters. It meant the ecosystem was slowly being destroyed.
Unlike the southern and western seas where some merpeople remained, not a single merperson survived in the east.
“Merpeople use the sea as their source of life, but the same is true for the sea. The sea can live because we exist. Among us, Ann has the most exceptional ability. If Ann goes there, the eastern sea can regain its former blue. So we concluded that we should cross the land to reach the eastern sea. Our final goal is for Dotrum, Leirum, Ann, and myself to settle in the eastern sea.”
Anschel thought he should report this fact immediately. But who would believe this? That the sea rots away without merpeople? Everyone would scoff, condemn him, and point fingers.
Anschel bit his lip. Although she had a resolute expression, Lime had a youthful face that had just reached adulthood. She might even be younger than Angela. Her appearance made Anschel’s heart heavy.
What could those four merpeople possibly do in that vast and wide sea where all merpeople had died, away from their original home in the northern sea? If they were discovered, they would die without even being able to put up any meaningful resistance.
“…But it’s too dangerous.”
This was all Anschel could manage to say. The lake they were immersed in had been reborn because Ann was breathing there.
He realized only now that this wasn’t a unique ability only Ann possessed. This was an ability of all merpeople. This was the racial ability and reason for existence of merpeople who occupy the sea and breathe life into it. Why hadn’t he known that until now!
Anschel’s eyes turned red. What were humans doing to the merpeople who kept the seas alive? They tried to eliminate them and take over the sea. But the sea could live because they existed.
If the sea dies, would the land remain intact?
“Are you perhaps Mr. Toolie?”
“……”
At Lime’s question, Anschel didn’t answer and glared at Ann. His look clearly said: did you introduce me by such a ridiculous name at this important time?
“You’ll end the war, right?”
Lime smiled composedly while looking straight into Harriet’s white eyes. But her lips were trembling slightly. Harriet blinked and directly faced her blue eyes. It was Harriet, himself, who had killed all the merpeople in the eastern sea.
“…Hmm?”
Harriet unconsciously covered his mouth with his hand. But he didn’t understand his own action. He felt a peculiar tightness in his chest and a pulling sensation at his nape. He couldn’t define what emotion that was.
“Leave the eastern sea to us. We will never let the sea perish.”
“…Don’t you hate humans?”
Harriet thought it strange even as he spoke. This wasn’t a question for Harriet to ask. He recalled that Anschel had asked the same question when he first met Ann.
Merpeople have reasons to hate and despise humans. Their hatred was justified.
If merpeople perish, the sea will rot and die, and humans will also suffer greatly. Especially regions bordering the eastern sea, where merpeople have already been exterminated, will suffer serious damage.
But the merpeople didn’t choose the path of perishing together with humans. They conveyed that they would purify the eastern sea and breathe life into it again. This was for the merpeople but also for humans.
“Ann told us. There are people who want to stop the war.”
“Please pray for our dead kin. And please stop this war.”
“If there are humans who don’t want war, we can sing songs again.”
Dotrum and Leirum, who had been silent next to Lime all along, spoke in turn. Though they didn’t look alike, their voices were so identical that it was hard to tell who had spoken.
Both wore the same resolute expression as Lime. Anschel was speechless. Their purity, their kindness to the point of foolishness, and their upright faith left him unable to speak.
“Why… go to such lengths…”
Only then did Lime smile broadly. It wasn’t a mature expression. It was the same pure smile that Angela would make.
“Because we are a race that loves peace and songs.”
Harriet blinked slowly. His white eyes briefly turned green before returning to normal.
“Harriet, merpeople are a race that loves peace and songs.”
“But —- said merpeople are a vicious and evil race that rules the sea…”
As he muttered with a puzzled expression, Alcita Maxim in front of him wore a very sad expression.
“Merpeople are pure beings. They are pitiful ones who don’t know hatred. I want to learn peace from them. So, Harriet.”
“You’re not a person who doesn’t know emotions. Harriet… you’ll surely be able to learn.”
“I’ll teach you how to drink cocoa cold after crossing the sea.”
But Alcita Maxim never returned. He died and couldn’t teach Harriet how to drink cocoa cold.
“Sunbae, this is how you eat it. I’ll show you.”
And at the place where Alcita Maxim had disappeared, a man approached. Holding cocoa topped with whipped cream over ice, he wore a lovely eye smile. That smile was solely directed at Harriet.
He sparkled his red eyes beautifully, completely focused on Harriet. As befitting someone with the power of wind, he was a junior who suited the wind well. His good-textured and handsome black hair was completely disheveled by the wind. That appearance was also blindingly beautiful.
His cute, delicate, small, precious junior was still lovely and beautiful. Harriet moved his lips. If this was the emotion Alcita had spoken of, it was more stifling and choking than he had imagined.
Beep beep beep-
A tacky mechanical sound broke the atmosphere, and Anschel carefully turned his back. Meanwhile, Harriet kept glancing at Ender several times.
His junior, as always, never took his eyes off Harriet. The red eyes captured in his gaze were beautiful.
“…What? Why… Wait, wait a minute!!”
Anschel, who had been whispering quietly at first, couldn’t hold back and shouted. His complexion, as he frantically pressed his phone screen as if to break it, was utterly pale. It was the complete opposite of his expression from earlier when he was flushed with guilt about the merpeople.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
