Chapter 80

Jio looked at the Little Mermaid, who had grown into someone strong and beautiful.

"..."

Her hair, with its strange colors like the deep sea, her eyes like legendary pearls, and even her wave-like dress all symbolized the sea... but the oversized white coat of a doctor she wore over it stood out strangely.

Back then, we would often play pranks like that.

They were nothing special.

"..."

"... Right, I am human too."

So Giovanni could be certain.

"Let us have a conversation."

In the end, humans were bound to win here.

He was certain of that.

* * *

Aria did not resent Giovanni.

He was the only human Aria recognized as human.

Among those countless humans, he was the truest human of all, and at the same time, so good and kind that he seemed to belong in a fairy tale.

Rare things deserved to be loved.

"I respect you, Giovanni."

But too much time had passed.

"Too much has happened to cover it with a flimsy word like respect, hasn't it?"

"From my perspective, by the time I came to my senses, it amounted to young mermaids running around causing trouble."

"We are no longer young, unfortunately."

Aria loved Giovanni, but she hated humans.

She loathed them and despised them.

"I learned so much from you."

"Human emotion, human life, human judgment..."

"I was also the one who taught you about the human biological structure."

"That was a great help."

"Even after you died."

"Do you resent me?"

"It would be closer to love and stubborn obsession."

"That is a little different from resentment."

"That is what mermaids are."

"A foolish species that lives an entire lifetime on a single memory, wouldn't you say?"

To mermaids like that, the existence named Giovanni was far too cruel.

"After your death, I faced countless humans."

"Some were self-sacrificing, some were selfish, some drove even their own children into the abyss, and some gave their lives for strangers whose faces they did not even know."

"That very variety is what shows the potential of humanity."

"I agree."

"That is why I could not give up this life."

"I analyzed, researched, and studied countless humans, believing that someday it would come to an end."

"It must have been a very long time."

"I hoped this day would come for quite a long time."

"I kept venting meaningless anger and sinking the suns of countless dimensions..."

"I understand."

"And now it seems an ending has come to me."

It was the ending of the name Giovanni.

"In Earth's fairy tale of the Little Mermaid, the mermaid turns into foam and disappears in the end."

"Is the ending you draw the same as that, Giovanni?"

"How they imagine it is every child's freedom."

"Even if the mermaid in the fairy tale turns into foam and is forgotten by everyone, in some child's mind, she must be enjoying a happy life with the prince."

"I am sorry, but there are no children here anymore."

"All that remains in this place is a princess stained with bright-red blood in order to see the limits of humanity, and the loyal subordinate who follows her."

"Then what sort of ending does the Little Mermaid want?"

"Human suffering."

"Human despair."

"The extermination of humanity, I suppose."

"I never thought I would meet you on the Earth I came to in order to sink even one more sun... but first."

"Did you eat humans, Princess?"

"The seas of every dimension have already eaten countless humans."

"Even at this very moment, the sea must be taking the lives of greedy humans and also devouring innocent humans."

Giovanni's noble face came into view.

It was the face of the saint once called the savior of humanity and the son of the one god.

"As you said, is the sea not a cruel existence to humans?"

"But it is beautiful."

"Just as I, who cannot even swim, built a house by the sea and lived there for half my life."

"Do you still consider the sea and mermaids to be the same existence?"

"Do you want to hear that you are beautiful?"

"I cannot say I don't."

"I wanted to show you how I had grown, my teacher."

But this was likely not the form you had wished for.

"How does it feel to see the mermaid you raised with your own hands grown into this?"

"..."

Mourning filled his blue eyes.

"... It saddens me."

"Yes."

"I am happy to meet you again, and I am sorry."

"Why is that?"

"Because you are a mermaid."

Who was that mourning for?

"And I am human."

"... Giovanni, you always used to speak about the differences and limits between humans and mermaids."

With a smile that looked as though it would sing only fairy tales for a lifetime, Giovanni always spoke of the horrors of reality.

"From here on is the main point."

Aria looked at the white-haired Hunter sitting with a tense face, then looked back at Giovanni, who still wore a calm smile.

"I..."

It was the smile she had tried to make all her life, but could not.

It was the smile her younger brother had imitated, but had only ever remained an imitation.

It was the smile she had tried to have once more, yet had not even been able to attempt making...

And so, in the end, it was the smile she had given up on.

"... For thousands of years, I have endlessly studied humans and tried to discover their limits."

"But to confess my own lack of ability, that could not be defined as a clear goal."

"I was merely wandering because I did not know what I should do."

Giovanni said,

"And showing you the path you must take is the role of a teacher, I suppose."

"Giovanni, I am standing at a crossroads."

"You have to help me."

What would you choose?

"This foolish, stubborn mermaid can spend the rest of her undying life simply hating, despising, and loathing humans, or..."

"Yes, she can disappear into sea foam like in this Earth's fairy tale."

The death of humans, or the death of mermaids.

"Now, Teacher."

"..."

"What should I do?"

Aria respected the human named Giovanni.

She loved his name.

She felt wonder at the fact that he was human, and she worshiped his endless wisdom and welling kindness.

If there was a human who could draw sunlight into the sea, it was Giovanni.

"Teacher, you wanted the land and the sea to become one."

Aria had placed the sea in the sky and devoured the sun.

"Even if our choices had been the same, the results would surely have been different."

"Isn't that right?"

Giovanni would have created not this cold, fishy reality, but a warm fairy tale that smelled of sunlight.

But that Giovanni had been betrayed by humans and eaten by a mermaid.

Aria looked at that kind face filled with warmth.

"..."

"Now give me an ending."

You became the sun for that, didn't you?

* * *

Watching the situation unfold, Yu Seongun tried hard to hold his breath.

'... This is going a little strangely.'

At first, when Cha Yi-sol was kidnapped and, as a result, they came to the country of the deep sea with this group, he had thought there would be a major battle.

After all, when Hunters entered a dungeon, it was only natural for combat to break out.

But this mermaid named Aria truly seemed to want a conversation.

This place had been prepared solely for a war of words.

'And on top of that... she is forcing Jio to choose between humans and mermaids.'

He could feel her sincerity.

'What is she planning to do if Jio chooses humans...?'

'Will she torment humans out of spite because she finds it outrageous?'

'Or does she really mean to die?'

Depending on what sort of "path" Jio showed her from now on, Aria would either torment humans for the rest of her life or die here.

'That is how monsters are, all of them...'

Aria, too, seemed to have an unsurpassed hatred for humans.

'It sounds like she is saying she will put an end to the life she lived before, researching and studying humans.'

'Well, after thousands of years, I suppose it is about time for a conclusion, but still, does it make any sense to hand that choice over to Jio?'

'This is nothing else but deciding the fate of humans and mermaids.'

What kind of selfish mindset is that?

"..."

Yu Seongun looked back at Jio.

"..."

"..."

He was still smiling as he looked at the mermaid named Aria.

'... Now even I am getting curious about what choice he will make.'

For now, it was true that the existence called the Portrait of Jio was extremely favorably disposed toward humans.

But as he had worried when they first came to the Temple of the Deep Sea, Giovanni, who had deep ties with these mermaids, might choose them.

'He is in a state that cannot even be called human right now.'

'Even if he chooses the mermaids, who became monsters instead of humans, since monsters can be defined as being on the same side... I do not know what choice Jio will make.'

Besides, that side was more rational.

Objectively speaking, the losses would be far smaller.

'If he chooses humans, Aria, the mermaid he was close to, will die immediately, but even if he chooses the mermaids, that does not mean they can suddenly kill all humans in every dimension.'

'If Jio chooses the mermaids right now, then objectively, it would be more beneficial for him to spend time by their side while advocating for humans at least a little.'

Aria had certainly acted as though she would even eat Jio if she became displeased, saying, "You are ultimately human too," but...

Given Jio's standing, he would not be taken down so easily.

Looked at that way, the small number of humans in this dungeon would die, but the majority of humans and the mermaids dear to him would live.

Because he knew Giovanni was not purely good and had a shameless side, he was even more worried.

"..."

Even so, this was not a place where he could step forward, so Yu Seongun kept his mouth shut.

'... In the end, this is Jio's choice to make.'

He waited for some time.

"Whew..."

Jio smiled.

"To be honest, I found it a little amusing."

"... What did you?"

"They say family resembles one another, and I suppose we did too."

Unlike Jio, black-haired and blunt, Giovanni, with his bright colors, naturally suited even that light smile that hinted at mischief.

The mermaid named Aria was icily expressionless, but her eyes seemed caught by that smile.

"..."

As though she could not help recalling a time she had missed...

As if embarrassed, as if troubled, and yet as if he found it funny, Jio curved his lips.

"I thought about it too."

"Somehow, I found a way to come to the country of the deep sea without taking a submersible, but no matter how much I wandered and waited here, I could not find even a single strand of hair from Iser or you."

It seemed this portrait had been visiting the country of the deep sea all this time in order to meet the mermaids.

"Perhaps you were avoiding me?"

"I cannot say we weren't."

"We were too afraid we might receive heavenly punishment from the new Sun God."

"The Sun God..."

"Surely you weren't planning to hide it."

"Not while carrying such scorching divinity."

"I ended up shouldering it by accident, but to be honest, I do not really know what I should do either."

"Is it not for the sake of killing me?"

"How fascinating that there are things even you do not know."

"I am human too."

"..."

"We always run up against limits."

Jio gave his distinctive, proper smile.

"So, just as you kidnapped Brother Cha Yi-sol to bring me here, I also tried to devise a way to gather our dear mermaid friends."

"Because I wanted us to have a conversation without running away."

"And what method did you devise?"

"Compared to what you prepared, it is a very modest plan."

"Perhaps I should say it is rough."

"As your teacher, I am quite embarrassed that I cannot show you anything impressive..."

CRRRRACK!

"Now."

Together with a savage roar that did not suit the radiance bright enough to hurt the eyes, spears of light appeared.

He spread both hands.

"..."

"Look."

All together, there were more than ten of them.

And the blades of those spears, bearing the heat of the sun, were aimed at Jio.

"This is how humans have a conversation."

"..."

At some point, the seawater in the temple had dried up, and only a terrible heat like a desert filled the place.

"... A human conversation?"

"What does that mean?"

"Good people cannot be rewarded every time."

"... I know that too."

"Then you should have known better."

Jio continued speaking as though teaching her.

"There is no guarantee that goodwill will return as goodwill, and a notorious villain cannot always be punished and soothe the wounded hearts of their victims."

"The world is not a fairy tale, and reality makes its endings as the moments pile upon one another."

"..."

"Because humans are always changing."

"They can grow, and they can regress."

"It would be foolish to expect every ending of this fickle creature, which cannot stay still even for a moment, to always be consistent."

"As intelligent as you are, you surely know that well."

The banquet hall was swept up in a heat so stifling it stole the breath.

"But that is why humans created countless rules."

"They learn how to face each other, and they learn how to converse."

"..."

"And they made it so that a terrifying murderer, whose number of victims cannot even be guessed, can be held accountable for their crimes."

"... You are saying you will hold me accountable for crimes?"

"Invoking human rules against me, who is not even human..."

"Aria."

His sunlit face was warm.

"Humans are diverse."

"They have no limits, and so do you."

"I said it is humans who cannot stay still for even a moment and continue to change."

"..."

"Were you not like that?"

"Did you not change at all?"

"You merely fell under the illusion that you were the same as you were thousands of years ago because you had grown and regressed..."

"... I..."

"We can have a conversation."

His voice was firm.

"If you receive the punishment you deserve."

Like a teacher instructing a young student.

"... How on earth is that a punishment?"

"I cannot understand it."

"We use fairly underhanded methods to get what we want."

"Shall I be the one to ask this time?"

"I do not understand."

"It makes no sense."

"Just as I have no reason to stop your hatred toward humans, Aria."

The teacher who had guided his student asked,

"Is there any reason I should not take 'Giovanni' away from you?"

"..."

Jio chose humans.

And if, as he said, humans and mermaids were beings with no difference between them, then he had, in effect, neither abandoned nor chosen either side.

At the underhanded declaration of a greedy adult, the mermaid's face crumpled.

"Whether you choose humans, including me and you."

"... Ah..."

"Or whether you choose the mermaid's rage is up to you."

Then what was revealed was not the sea, but the face of an immature student.