Chapter 3-13 : Mermaid Village (part 2)
Since I had no idea where I was and I didn’t know the way to return to the city, I had no choice but to keep following the mermaid into the deepest part of this cave, which turned out to be the mermaid village.
Luckily for me, I still have my magic bag with me. I can use the magic swords inside my bag to fight back in case they attack me, but of course, I hope that won’t happen.
This male mermaid said he would take responsibility and protect me while I’m in this place, so I guess I will trust him for now.
「We’re here. This is my home.」(male mermaid)
It seemed that we were at his home, but this place didn’t look any different from where we were earlier, except I could see so many mermaids here.
Some of them were relaxing on the shore, while others were swimming in the water.
Male mermaids were bare-chested, while the female ones had scales that covered their chests. How convenient.
「Don’t worry. They won’t attack you. They’re my family. Just relax and have a seat.」(male mermaid)
「Alright.」(Kako)
There’s no chair, so I sit on the ground with both legs stretched forward.
Now that I have calmed down a little, I realize that I’m a bit hungry and thirsty. I remember I bought a lot of local fruits at the market yesterday. I think this is a good opportunity to try them.
I reached my hand into my magic bag and took out a knife and a fruit I had never eaten before.
It looked like an apple, but the skin was harder than that of an apple. Fortunately, it wasn’t that thick, so peeling it wasn’t that hard.
「Hm!?」(Kako)
When I took a bite of it, I was expecting a hard, watery fruit flesh like an apple, but surprisingly, it was chewy. It felt more like eating a lychee than an apple.
Not only chewy, but also juicy. It had so much juice that it moistened my dry throat in just one bite.
What a perfect fruit for hydrating and satisfying your hunger at the same time.
「Hey, what are you eating?」
「Is that a fruit?」
「It looks like a pearl.」(young mermaids)
「Hm?」(Kako)
I heard children’s voices.
I was lost in thought for a second while I was enjoying this amazing fruit. I didn’t notice I was being watched by three mermaid children from the water. Two of them were boys, and the other one was a girl.
Their eyes were fixed on the apple-like lychee-tasting fruit in my hand.
「Umm, do you guys want some?」(Kako)
「Yes!」
「I want to try it!」
「Yes, please!」(young mermaids)
Without hesitation, they cheerfully answered my question with firm nods.
「Alright. Hold on a second.」(Kako)
I took out three more of the same fruits and started peeling them with a knife.
While I was doing it, the mermaid children came out of the water and crawled toward me.
「Here you go.」(Kako)
「Thank you, Onee-chan!」
「Human onee-chan is so kind!」
「Thank you!」(young mermaids)
“Onee-chan”…? Did they just call me “Onee-chan”…?
Aaaahh~ I’m not sure why, but it makes me so happy~!
「This is so sweet!」
「It’s soft and delicious!」
「It tastes totally different from fish!」(young mermaids)
「I’m glad you guys like it.」(Kako)
They were delighted by the fruit.
This fruit is indeed amazing. Even I, who have tasted many kinds of fruits, was surprised by how delicious it was.
「This is the first time I’ve ever eaten something like this!」
「Me too!」
「This is my first time too!」(young mermaids)
「What? You guys have never eaten this fruit before? But this fruit is the southern region’s specialty fruit.」(Kako)
「Southern region’s…」
「Specialty fruit…?」
「What is that?」(young mermaids)
They tilted their heads in unison, looking confused.
Judging from their reaction, they don’t seem to know about this fruit, even though it’s a local fruit from this region.
Either this fruit doesn’t grow on this island, or perhaps it only grows in the areas where mermaids don’t normally visit.
「By the way, Onee-chan, what is your name?」(young mermaid)
「I’m Kako.」(Kako)
「That’s a weird name. I’m Ratz!」(Ratz)
「I’m Torque!」(Torque)
「I’m Tina. Thank you for the fruit, Kako onee-chan!」(Tina)
After finishing their fruits, they introduced themselves with bright smiles.
「Onee-chan, let’s play together!」(Torque)
「I don’t mind. What are we playing?」(Kako)
「Well, it’s gotta be the most popular game in our village! Let’s play tag!」(Torque)
「Tag? But…」(Kako)
The boy named Torque asked me to play tag with them, but can they even run with those fish legs?
While I was wondering, the male mermaid, who had been silently watching us from the side, talked to the boy.
「Oi, Torque, that won’t do.」(male mermaid)
「Huh? What do you mean, old man?」(Torque)
「Old man, you say!? I told you I’m not old enough to be called that!」(male mermaid)
Being called “old man”, the male mermaid landed a fist on Torque’s head.
「Ouch! Ugh, I’m sorry, Roan nii-chan…」(Torque)
He saved me, but I didn’t know his name since we didn’t introduce ourselves to each other, but it seemed that he was called Roan.
「Geez, how many times do I have to tell you I’m not that old? Anyway, you can’t invite a human to play tag with you.」(Roan)
He’s right. There’s no way mermaids can play tag since they can’t run.
「After all, humans can’t play tag. They can never win against us mermaids.」(Roan)
That’s right. There’s no way mermaids can beat humaー…… What did he say?
「Hold on! What do you mean by humans can’t play tag? I can play tag!」(Kako)
「No, that’s impossible. Humans can’t play tag.」(Roan)
「Yes, we can! I can easily play tag! I was one of the fastest children when I was in elementary school, you know!」(Kako)
「Elementary school? I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it seems you’re misunderstanding it. By playing tag, we mean we’re chasing each other underwater.」(Roan)
「What? Underwater…?」(Kako)
「Yeah. That’d be difficult for a human like you, right?」(Roan)
「Well, that’s… Yeah…」(Kako)
I see now…
They’re mermaids. Of course, they’re talking about playing tag underwater.
I was thinking from my perspective as a human, so it didn’t cross my mind at all.
「I’m sorry, but I’m not that good at swimming. Can we play a different game?」(Kako)
「Aw, come on! We will give you a handicap!」(Torque)
「But…」(Kako)
「Give it up, Torque. Unlike us, humans can’t breathe underwater.」(Roan)
「What!? Seriously!?」(Torque)
「You gotta be kidding me!」(Ratz)
「If they can’t breathe underwater, then how can they save themselves from sea monsters?」(Tina)
The children were shocked. They were staring at me in disbelief.
Is it strange not being able to breathe underwater? Am I the weird one here?
No, wait… This is the mermaid village, so yeah… I guess I’m the only weird person here…
「We can’t breathe underwater or swim fast, but look. We can move freely on land like this.」(Kako)
Being considered weird, it made me want to show them what humans are capable of.
I stood up and started running and jumping around.
「Wow!」(Torque)
「That’s awesome!」(Ratz)
「Onee-chan, you’re amazing!」(Tina)
「Hehe~」(Kako)
I wasn’t doing anything crazy, but they were watching me as if I were doing something incredible.
After dancing around for a while, I stopped to catch my breath.
「Those tails are so convenient.」(Torque)
「I see, so humans have two tails that make it easier for them to move around on land.」(Ratz)
「How fascinating!」(Tina)
It seems that mermaids consider human legs to be tails.
The curious children were observing my legs while lying face down on the ground.
This is kinda embarrassing…
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