Chapter 3-13 : Mermaid Village (part 3)
「If you can’t play tag, then what are we going to play?」(Torque)
「Are there any other games you guys usually play?」(Kako)
「Hunting, maybe?」(Torque)
「Hunting?」(Kako)
「We compete against each other on how many fish we can catch.」(Torque)
「Uhh, is there anything else? Any games that don’t require you to play underwater.」(Kako)
「I don’t think so. We mostly play underwater.」(Torque)
「Onee-chan, humans also play games, right? How about we play human’s games?」(Ratz)
Ratz suggested we play games for humans.
The ones that came into my mind were jump rope and hopscotch, but those games require you to have legs. That won’t do.
The games that don’t require us to do physical activities would be perfect.
Perhaps we should play house instead?
No, it might be boring for the boys.
Or maybe, we should play some table games. Playing cards would be great, but I didn’t have them with me.
Maybe we can play Othello or chess. We can draw the board on the ground with a stick and use rocks or seashells as the chess pieces.
But, explaining the rules would be quite troublesome. Besides, I don’t think children will like those kinds of games.
Let’s see what else I can think of. Hmm…
「Onee-chan, before we play games, I want to give you something.」(Tina)
「Hm?」(Kako)
While I was thinking, Tina approached me and showed me something in her hands.
「This is one of my treasures. Onee-chan, you can have it.」(Tina)
「Wow! It’s so pretty! Are you sure I can have this?」(Kako)
「Un! It’s my thanks for the delicious fruit.」(Tina)
「I see. Thank you, Tina-chan!」(Kako)
I took it from her hand and observed it closely.
It was a small shell conch, but unlike regular shell conches, this one was sparkling like a diamond. It looked so beautiful.
This creature might only exist in this world. After all, I’ve never seen a conch that has a diamond-like shell like this on earth.
My intuition as a merchant is telling me this conch is worth a lot of money. They can be used to create accessories such as pendants, earrings, or hair ornaments. This can be a really great business opportunity.
「Onee-chan, do you like it?」(Tina)
「Un! I’ve never seen a beautiful conch shell like this!」(Kako)
「Hehe~ I’m glad that you like it!」(Tina)
Tina showed me an innocent, bright smile. She’s so cute.
「Say, Tina-chan, are there many of these conches around here?」(Kako)
「No, they’re called stream conches and they are rarely found. It took me months to even find one.」(Tina)
「I see. So they’re extremely rare.」(Kako)
「Yes. On top of that, they’re dangerous creatures.」(Tina)
「Dangerous? These conches?」(Kako)
「Yes. Adult stream conches are very big, but despite their big bodies, they are fast and aggressive. They will try to eat you if you get too close to them.」(Tina)
「E-Eat you!?」(Kako)
「That’s right. They eat mermaids. If they find you, you have to get into a small space and hide, or you will get eaten.」(Tina)
What? Conches eat mermaids? It’s hard to imagine.
When she said they were dangerous, I thought she was talking about them being poisonous or capable of spitting venom or something like that, but… They were fast, aggressive, and they eat mermaids? It doesn’t sound like conches at all. It sounds more like terrifying monsters!
「Tina-chan, you said they were big, but why is this one small?」(Kako)
「Because it was a newly born baby. There’s no way I could kill an adult stream conch.」(Tina)
「Ah, I see.」(Kako)
「The ones I’m collecting are the shells from the baby ones. They are harmless.」(Tina)
「Do you have many of these conch shells?」(Kako)
「Un! I have hundreds of them in my house! My mom will praise me when I find one! It makes me happy!」(Tina)
Again, she showed me her angelic smile.
Ahh~ She’s so cute! I’d rather take Tina home than this conch shell!
Woops… If there were an officer who could read my mind here, they would arrest me for sure.
Jokes aside, I was thinking of doing business by selling these conches, but after listening to Tina, I don’t think it can be realized.
I could probably buy them from Tina since she had a big collection of them, but… no. After thinking about it for a second, I don’t think I will.
She said these conches were her treasures, and there’s no way I could take away the cherished treasures from this innocent girl.
「Umm, Tina-chan, I’m happy that you gave this conch to me, but I suggest you never show these conches to humans again.」(Kako)
「Why?」(Tina)
「Because these conches are so beautiful that they might attract bad humans. Those greedy people like valuable things after all.」(Kako)
「Hm?」(Tina)
Tina tilted her head, not really understanding what I was saying.
「Does that mean Kako onee-chan is a bad human? You said you like it.」(Tina)
「What? No, no! That’s not what I mean. I like it, but I’m not a bad person. But, if you show your collection to other humans, they might try to take it away from you. You don’t want it to happen, right?」(Kako)
「I see… I would be sad if someone took it away from me…」(Tina)
「Right? Of course, I won’t tell anyone. This will be our little secret.」(Kako)
「Un!」(Tina)
She’s such a good girl.
I have to give up on making money from selling these conches, but at least this innocent mermaid girl won’t be tricked by bad people if she ever encounters humans in the future.
I put the precious gift Tina had just given to me into my magic bag and returned my gaze to Torque and Ratz, who were still discussing the game we were going to play.
「Alright, back to business. What game should we play?」(Kako)
「Forget about games. You seem to like shells a lot, so how about we collect shells instead?」(Torque)
「There’s a place with shallow water and a bunch of shells nearby. You won’t find any stream conch shells there, but there are many other cool-looking shells. What do you think, Onee-chan?」(Ratz)
Torque and Ratz suggested collecting shells instead of playing a game.
We can surely spend our time together without a problem that way.
「That’s a good idea!」(Kako)
「Great! We’ll take you there.」(Torque)
「Un. Let’s go, Tina-chan.」(Kako)
「ーCough cough!!」(Tina)
When I returned my gaze to Tina-chan, she suddenly began coughing while holding her chest.
「Tina-chan!? What’s wrong!?」(Kako)
「Tina!」(Torque)
Torque quickly slid toward Tina and put his hand on her back.
「No way… It’s happening again! Cough cough!!」(Ratz)
「Damn it! Cough cough!!」(Torque)
Not just Tina, but Torque and Ratz also started coughing.
They looked in a lot of pain.
「Torque-kun! Ratz-kun! Are you guys alright? What is happening!?」(Kako)
「Oh no! Folks, we need some help here!」(Roan)
Roan, who was watching over us, called the other adults as soon as he noticed the children started coughing.
「Tina! Oh my Tina!」(female mermaid)
「Poor children…」
「I wonder when this misfortune will end.」
「Those damn humans…!」(adult mermaids)
「There’s no point in complaining. Please take them home for now.」(Roan)
The adult mermaids, who came out of the water, carried the children carefully and returned into the water.
Before they took the children deeper into the cave, the adult female mermaid, who carried Tina in her arms, glared at me menacingly for some reason.
「ー!!」(female mermaid)
「!?」(Kako)
She then returned her gaze to Tina, looking at her worriedly, and swam with the others, heading deeper into the cave.
「Sorry about her. She’s Tina’s mother. She really hates humans. Well, most mermaids do.」(Roan)
「I see… It’s alright. I understand.」(Kako)
When I said that, Roan looked at me and smirked.
「You’re still a child, but you’re strangely mature sometimes.」(Roan)
「I told you I’m not a chiー …No, it’s not the time to get mad over a trivial matter. Forget about me. What’s wrong with the children? Is it because of the fruit I gave them?」(Kako)
「No, nothing wrong with your fruit. They are sick.」(Roan)
「Sick?」(Kako)
「Not only the children. The adults are sick too.」(Roan)
「Is it because of the strange liquid you have just told me?」(Kako)
「That’s right. Many mermaids in this village have been poisoned by that substance released by those irresponsible humans.」(Roan)
So it was the marine pollution that caused it.
This is a serious matter. No wonder the mermaids hate humans so much.
In any case, I’m worried about those children. There must be something I can do for them.
Not just them, I might be able to save the entire village with my Synthesis Skill.
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