Chapter 79

For reference, Cha Yi-sol, who had been kidnapped...

"Eunha, your eyes are amazing."

Had no thoughts whatsoever.

There was a reason he got along so well with Jio.

"They're all sparkly."

"Ha..."

"Like a dragon!"

"A reptile, ultimately."

"No, something way cooler!"

"Dragons are a kind of reptile too."

"Gasp, really...??"

Cha Yi-sol asked with a grave expression.

"Then, Eunha, do you hibernate when it gets cold too...?"

"I do not sleep. Strictly speaking, I am a fish."

"You don't have any fish."

"What do you mean...?"

"You're not a fish?"

"Ah..."

It seemed he meant that it was hard to find any "mermaid" traits in Iser's appearance.

"... Then did my eyes look human to you?"

"Isn't a mermaid that? You know, legs... legs... fish legs..."

"..."

"You don't have legs."

"... I do have them..."

Human children truly had so many questions.

"I can explain that part."

"Ah, noona."

"Is watching a child hard?"

"I can't say it isn't."

The Iser of now was not the "Eunha" Cha Yi-sol remembered. Though Iser clearly had the form of an adult and must have looked different from what Cha Yi-sol knew, his overly familiar words and behavior had left the child with no room to think.

Even if they were treating him gently, he had still been kidnapped, yet he was brave indeed. When Iser quietly stepped back, his older sister, Aria, approached.

"Hello, young gentleman."

"You're pretty!"

"Thank you for the compliment."

With a courteous smile, Aria greeted him with an elegance that would not have been out of place in high society.

"In Earth's fairy tales, mermaids may have fish legs, fins, but not every mermaid is like that. Among the mermaids of the planet where we lived, each individual had different mermaid traits."

"... That's too hard!"

"It means there are mermaids with mermaid tails, and mermaids without them. In Eunha's case, he was born without a tail."

Having said that, Aria called her brother as if asking him to show an example.

"Iser."

"..."

With a trace of fatigue over his distinctive smile, Iser lifted the hair by his ear.

"Now, can you see Eunha's ear?"

"Uh... it's different."

"Unlike human ears, he has the ear fins unique to mermaids."

She continued like a teacher.

"Aside from that, he has webbing you can see when he spreads his fingers, and scales here and there on his body. And though he is hiding it now, he has a separate tail that allows him to swim more skillfully."

"What about you, noona?"

"I have the mermaid tail you are already familiar with, young gentleman. But moving in a place without water like this is inconvenient with a fish's fin, so for now I have split my tail in two and made legs that allow me to walk upright."

"Wow..."

"It is an ability any mermaid from my planet can show. Contrary to what humans think, mermaids evolved so they could live on land as well."

"That's amazing...!"

Cha Yi-sol was simply excited. It wasn't that he felt no tension in an unfamiliar environment, but Eunha did not seem to have any intention of harming him at all.

He knew this was a kidnapping, but he had an unshakable faith that his hyung and noona would come find him anyway. Rather than being frightened, Cha Yi-sol was as thrilled as if he had come to an amusement park.

"But..."

That side of Cha Yi-sol certainly seemed special to Aria as well.

"It seems you are not afraid of mermaids, young gentleman?"

"...? Should I be?"

"I understood that humans of Earth tremble in fear when they meet mermaids in person."

Since the incident Earth called the "Catastrophe," "mermaids" had been witnessed on Earth dozens, even hundreds of times. Naturally, as they too were monsters, they had attacked humans, so most Earthlings feared mermaids.

"On top of that, young gentleman, you were kidnapped by us."

"Uh... I know."

"And yet may I hear why you can smile like this?"

"You didn't hit me...?"

"Oh."

Aria tilted her head.

"We could hit you, couldn't we?"

"... Are you going to hit me? Then I'll run away."

"Oh, you poor thing. It would be a bit difficult to run away now."

"So you won't hit me after all, right?"

"There is nothing more foolish than abusing a precious hostage. But even if we say we will not bring you pain and suffering, how could you believe that?"

"If you say you won't, doesn't that mean you won't...?"

"..."

Aria, momentarily at a loss for words, looked back at her brother.

"A formidable opponent."

"A formidable opponent indeed."

"As expected, he is the kind of human Jio would like."

"It seemed he cherished him simply because he was a child."

"That may be true. He was someone who held young and weak things in his arms."

Aria raised her head.

"They'll be coming soon."

The sound of the sea being churned up could be heard.

"..."

"For the reaction to be this strong, no matter how much Jio cherishes the child, this is quite fast."

"... It likely means that side was preparing as well."

"If we weren't the only ones preparing ourselves, then I won't feel wronged no matter what result comes out."

"It would mean we were not the only ones paying attention."

Iser suddenly thought it had been a very long time since the word "heart" had come from Aria's mouth. Watching his sister with a smile on his lips, Iser soon held out his hand to Cha Yi-sol.

He was not a mermaid afraid to reach out to a human. Having served Giovanni as his teacher, he could have become an ideal priest as much as anyone.

"Shall we go, Priest Cha Yi-sol?"

"I told you, I'm not a priest yet..."

"I am one."

He simply hated them, that was all.

"Is my hand not cold?"

"It's way too cold. Can I maybe stick a hot pack on you?"

"... No, you cannot. My skin will dry out."

"Then don't you get cold hands and feet?"

"Mermaids, whose body temperature is lower than humans to begin with, do not have that."

It took a little time, but in the end, they finished preparing to receive Jio.

And they had no intention of fighting.

"..."

"Are you having nightmares again?"

"I am not."

I hope so.

* * *

"Nice to meet you!"

Jio was Jio, whether he died and came back to life or not.

"Are our mermaid friends, blessed head to toe by the sea, here?"

"My goodness, look who it is."

Aria laughed elegantly as she walked down the entrance stairs of the temple. Her splendid mermaid dress rippled over the stairs like waves.

"Isn't it Mr. Black Cloak, the new Sun God who barged in without the homeowner's permission?"

"Mr. Black Cloak? Right now, I am Seo Jio. Please be careful so you don't make a mistake later."

"All right, Jio."

"Actually, I'm Giovanni."

"... That could be."

Aria answered with a smile and looked back at the bewildered humans.

"From the look of it, you all came rushing here to save the human child."

"... Are you young Eunha's family, Miss Mermaid?"

"That's right. I am Iser's older sister, and the true master of this dungeon, Aria."

"Oh..."

Yu Seongun looked at Jio.

"I think when we get back, I should suggest raising this dungeon's rank."

"Why? I understand it is already fairly high..."

"There are two dungeon masters. Cases like this aren't common."

Maintaining his smiling face, Yu Seongun let out a sigh and looked at Aria again.

"The fact that the true master of the dungeon has personally come out like this without any tension probably means you don't intend to fight us, correct? May I take it that way?"

"I like that you understand quickly."

Aria curved her eyes with a bright smile. She was quite the monster when it came to putting on an act.

"I apologize for bringing your younger brother here without permission, Hunter Cha A-ra."

"Uh..."

"We only used him as a device to bring you here and did not leave so much as a scratch on him, so do not worry and go check on your brother."

"Uh, uhh... uh..."

"It seems the fragile Hunter is afraid to go alone. Would the other two of you not go with her? That would be the proper courtesy toward a lady."

Yu Seongun shrugged.

"I'm not a gentleman, you see."

What he had to do was care for the Root entity and supervise the management of the gallery's works. Yu Seongun looked back at Kang Seo-dam and Cha A-ra.

"I'll stay with Jio, so I think it would be best if the priest and Hunter Cha A-ra secure Cha Yi-sol first. Since the mermaid Iser is nowhere to be seen, there is a high chance they are together."

"The probability of combat is low, then."

"Cha Yi-sol was probably bait to draw Jio in. It isn't an emotionally hostile situation, so the claim that Cha Yi-sol is safe is likely true. Why don't you move before you offend the mermaids?"

"That certainly seems best."

Kang Seo-dam led the thoroughly frightened Cha A-ra into the temple. Aria kindly gave directions to their backs.

"He should be with my brother in the last room down the corridor."

"... Thank you for telling us."

Once the two Hunters had disappeared from sight, Aria took Jio into her eyes.

"..."

Her lips, red as if painted with blood, opened heavily.

"You look too much alike."

"Does it not occur to you that I am him?"

"What do you think, Mr. Seo Jio?"

"Actually, I may not be."

"When you say that, it makes me think even more that you are the Jio I knew."

Aria curved her eyes.

"He always left possibilities open."

"Did he?"

"Even the possibility of his own death."

"I have no excuse."

"..."

Aria, who had been looking down at Jio and Yu Seongun from the stairs, turned around.

"Come in, gentlemen."

"..."

"Enjoy a mermaid's invitation to your hearts' content."

Yu Seongun murmured quietly.

"... If I weren't with you, Jio, that probably would have sounded like the opening line of a battle."

That was how grotesque and chilling something in Aria's voice was.

Because despite her soft smile, her hatred and contempt toward humans were all too clear.

* * *

Aria guided Jio and Yu Seongun to the banquet hall.

"Wow, it's a seafood party."

Yu Seongun was dumbfounded.

"Is it okay for a mermaid to do this?"

"Humans are so narrow-minded. Do humans not eat a single land creature just because they are human?"

"Please consider the feelings of a human being served a seafood banquet prepared by a mermaid in the deep sea of all places. It's scary. It makes me imagine what message this table, with not a single piece of land meat on it, is supposed to imply."

"It's not as if I served humans on the table, so what is the problem?"

"That's really scary..."

Aria's tone had changed to something casual before they knew it.

'Is it because this is a place that could be called her home, in its own way? Or...'

Yu Seongun glanced at Jio.

'... Is she just comfortable sharing a meal with this guy?'

It could have been both.

Jio paid no attention to what the two of them were chattering about and went to find his seat. He looked quite accustomed to it, and Yu Seongun looked around the banquet hall, which felt extravagant and splendid for a temple.

"There are a lot of things here for a temple."

"The Sun Cult here did not take frugality as a virtue."

"Uh... yeah?"

Yu Seongun looked at Jio again.

"You know where this place is too?"

"I received my education here, so I have no choice but to know."

"When you say education..."

"I learned many things as a priest. You can think of it as a training school for young priests."

"Ah."

It seemed the way priests were raised was similar in any world.

Seeing Aria staring intently at Jio after his explanation, Yu Seongun forced back a sigh and sat beside Jio. As if it were only natural, Aria sat across from Jio rather than at the seat of honor.

"...? You should be the master of this place, so why are you not sitting at the seat of honor?"

"The master of that seat wasn't me. It was the pope."

Aria curved her eyes roundly.

"I ate him."

Jio started in surprise and looked at Aria.

"Did you not get an upset stomach?"

"No... wait, Jio, is that what's important right now?"

"Do you know how much saturated fat was packed into that man's belly...?"

"I'm asking if that's what's important right now."

A monster had eaten a person, and was that truly all he had to say? Aria seemed to have had a similar thought.

"You don't look particularly sorry."

"After what I suffered because of that man, do you think gentle words would come out of my mouth?"

"You can be quite biting with that noble face of yours."

Her blue hair swayed along with the lips that laughed softly.

"As expected, you must be my teacher."

"That may be true, or it may not."

"If you cannot define yourself, shall I tell you?"

Aria smiled.

"Teacher."

"..."

"The human teacher of the mermaids. Priest Giovanni, incarnation of a saint. Humanity's savior and betrayer."

"You've become quite grand without my knowing."

Jio smiled back as well.

Yu Seongun suddenly realized that Giovanni's, Aria's, and Iser's smiles were considerably similar. Though they were clearly smiling faces, he felt heaviness from them rather than joy...

Even then, Jio continued speaking.

"What will you call me now, Aria?"

"Anything is fine."

SNAP!

When the mermaid snapped her fingers, the temple filled with seawater.

"..."

He did not suffocate.

"Welcome back to your sea."

Hair resembling the deep sea scattered like coral.

The mermaid's dress moved like a fin, resembling languid waves. Her pearl-colored eyes glittered coldly, and the tiara on her head gave off a mysterious light.

The seafood in the banquet hall, completely submerged in seawater, lifted their already dead heads, opening and closing their mouths as they welcomed the guests and intruders.

"... Yes, of course..."

The incarnation of the sea was there.

"..."

"Jio."

Eyes that could never be human held the saint who had been the most human in the world.

"Have a conversation with me."

"Very well."

"If I don't like it, I'll eat all the humans."

For thousands of years, the Little Mermaid had been angry.

"You as well."

Solely toward "humans."