Chapter 88

Iser was bewildered.

'The Sun God is inside a teddy bear...? Why...?'

That divinity seemed to have been inherited by Jio, but even so, it did not mean his standing as a god had vanished entirely.

Iser knew that the god he had once served now dwelled inside the teddy bear before him, with its soft, cloudy-gold fur.

'It seems to be what he wanted, so I cannot really say anything about it, and now teacher is the only believer left, so in effect he may not have to be faithful to his role as a god. He may not, but even so, he was once called the one and only god, so his dignity...'

As someone who had once learned the duties of a priest and still imitated one now, he could not help worrying about a god's dignity.

'Why is a god inside a teddy bear in the first place?? Inside a teddy bear, of all things??'

He could not understand.

"... Lord Sun God?"

"Coo."

"..."

And why was the sound it made cute on top of everything else?

"... Do you, um... like that shell?"

"Coo."

"May I ask your reason for entering a teddy bear?"

"Coo-coo, coo-cooo... coo-coo-coo."

"..."

Jio interpreted for Iser, who could not understand at all.

"He says it is in order to eat."

"... An appetite...?"

"He does have one."

"Why?"

Did it make any sense for a god to have an appetite?

"A god is, well... a god."

"Surely you do not mean gods should not even eat...?"

"That is not what I meant."

"I understand what you mean."

"You do, right?"

"Of course."

Jio's hair had turned platinum blond at some point.

He nodded with the noble smile unique to a priest.

"Strictly speaking, you are wondering why a god who would have no need to eat and would have felt no such desire would use the body of a mere teddy bear in order to eat, are you not?"

"... Exactly."

"On that point, it is actually difficult for me to give you a proper explanation. I simply started bringing meals when I visited without thinking much of it, and at some point he began getting greedy over food..."

"... Ah..."

Somewhat convinced, Iser let out a relieved sigh.

He looked reassured, as if he had heard the answer to a difficult problem.

"So you were the cause after all, teacher."

"Why do you always speak as though I am the cause whenever something incomprehensible happens?"

"You are not asking because you truly do not know, are you? Surely not?"

"Well, anyway."

Jio stacked the basket of clams Iser had been holding on top of his own basket and smiled softly.

"You can get used to things gradually, and for now, shall we prepare the meal?"

"Prepare the meal..."

"There is not much time left until dinner, so if we want to prepare enough food to eat our fill, I think we should start cooking soon."

"R-Right."

In any case, now that he had become an invited guest, Iser agreed at once.

In their culture, an invitation into one's home was much the same as saying one would serve a meal.

To Iser, it was more familiar to bring up the meal right away.

"I have not heard the exact details, but what is on the menu?"

"Hmm, grilled clams and tomato stew, I suppose."

"Edlen stew?"

"I suppose so."

In Edlen village, where they had spent their childhood, tomato stew was known as Edlen stew.

It was a stew made with the fresh water and seafood that were specialties of Edlen village.

"Ah, that sounds nice..."

At the name he had not heard in a long time, Iser's somewhat stiff face softened.

"The stew from that village really was delicious. Especially the stew you made, teacher. That was even more amazing..."

"My cooking skills have not rusted just because some time has passed, so you may look forward to it as much as you like."

Jio nodded, then asked with an "Ah."

"I would like one person to help me."

Two pale hands rose at the same time.

"I will."

"I will."

"..."

"..."

The mermaid siblings looked at each other.

"... I will do it."

"I am better at cooking, after all."

"You were always in charge of cooking, teacher, and was our role not assisting? If it is just that much, I think I would be better than sister."

"I am not sure in what sense you think you would be better. Someone who cooks well assists well too, Iser."

"I will not back down, on my honor as a mermaid."

"Then it cannot be helped. According to the traditions of the sea, when opinions do not align, through force..."

Jio cut in around there.

"This sounds like it will take a while, so I will just handle it myself."

At those words, the mermaids reached an agreement by rock-paper-scissors in an instant.

"I won... I will assist you."

"Is that right?"

He wondered if this was right, but it was honestly quite funny, so it did not matter.

"Come to think of it, we had rock-paper-scissors in our region too."

"Ah, you said Earth has the same custom too."

"Yes. I understand it is a game found in quite a few countries."

"I see."

Aria, left alone, only clicked her tongue.

"I should have trained more."

"Coo?"

"I am sorry, sir, but would you please not act as though we are close?"

"Coo-coo-coo..."

"Are you laughing?"

Jio led Iser to the kitchen.

"Then shall we clean the clams?"

"This really feels like old times."

"Considering that, Iser has grown a great deal."

"I can still shrink."

"My little Iser was not only small, but cute as well, so that is impossible now."

"Ah... so I am no longer cute."

"A full-grown mermaid war criminal guilty of mass slaughter does not exactly look cute just because he shrinks..."

"Everything you say is right, teacher."

Iser accepted it readily.

"What should I help you with now, teacher?"

"Hmm... he really is not cute."

At the sight of the polished gentleman with not a trace of shyness to be found, Giovanni felt a little sad.

"Is this what a parent feels?"

"Our parents are separate people, though..."

"Mermaids are not that attached to blood relations in the first place."

"In that sense, you certainly were closer to the word 'guardian,' teacher."

"You cannot take a joke. How did you grow into such a boring adult?"

Jio laughed lightly and took a clam from the basket.

"Sunlight conch, too, brings back memories."

"Is that so?"

"There was a time when I wondered why it was called a sunlight conch when it grew underground."

The underground cavities of Edlen village had several small holes in them, and sunlight and moonlight came in through those.

Sunlight conches usually tended to hide in large numbers in areas where that light came in.

"Let's see..."

"..."

"Teacher?"

"I did not know it had this kind of medicinal effect."

To think it was used for restoring eyesight and treating heart disease; as a doctor, he found it a little absurd.

"Heart disease..."

"Teacher...?"

"Does your heart hurt by any chance, Iser?"

"You have the same look in your eyes as my sister when she hopes for a test subject, but unfortunately, I am very healthy."

Iser said it with a neat smile.

"Of course, if you wish, I will catch one for you even now."

"Are you saying you will harm a person in front of me, a doctor and a priest? How much more responsibility do you intend to take on?"

"If it is something like a beast in human form, would it not be suitable as a test subject? Someone unworthy of being human..."

"If it were a beast that committed child sexual abuse, I might be able to accept it."

"You have not changed, teacher. I will keep that in mind."

"But it is still surprising."

He had never imagined that the sunlight conch from the region where he had lived possessed this kind of medicinal property.

Even if they were a specialty of Edlen village, they were not that precious, and they were common enough to be lying everywhere.

"There were many people who ground the shells and used them as paint."

"Did you not do that too, teacher? Especially when you painted mermaids, you mainly used shell paints."

"That is right. When I painted the sea, I thought it would be nice if even the paint smelled of the sea."

But he had not known that powder could treat heart disease.

"..."

He had researched it separately before, but he had never discovered such effects.

"... Maybe these are effects I can see because the current me has changed..."

"... Have you changed?"

"I have changed in many ways."

He had gone from a human to a portrait.

"Anyway, if it is good, then it is good."

TA-DA.

Jio stopped thinking about it.

"My ultimate positive mindset does not change according to the meaning of my own existence."

"I do not know what an ultimate positive mindset is, but would it not be all right if it changed a little..."

"Must one really live so wearily? This teacher thinks not, Iser."

"How can you be so sure you are an ordinary human with that way of thinking?"

"Because my life does not change according to other people's gazes."

Having only confirmed his firm self-esteem once again, Jio continued observing the sunlight conch.

"Seeing it after so long, I can really feel that it is a beautiful shellfish."

It was a sea snail with a shell that shone as cleanly as a jewel, and its pentagonal-pyramid-shaped shell showed countless layers, as though it had grown many times.

It had a sparkle as if a picture had been painted on it.

"Because its appearance was so beautiful, it was often made into accessories as well."

"Yes, I believe you also made hanging toys for the window with them."

"Because they shine so beautifully when sunlight passes through them."

It emitted colorful light in all directions, like a triangular prism.

"Ah, dear."

The creature living inside tucked its already-transparent body deep into the shell, and perhaps because its body was as transparent as glass, it was hard to see even through that prism-like shell.

"Since boiling it will not damage the shell anyway, we can boil it as it is. This one does not swallow mud and survives on sunlight alone, so after cleaning it thoroughly without any special measures, all we need to do is boil it and eat it."

"I... remember that too..."

"I was simply reminding myself, so you need not pay it too much mind. Preparing clams like these after so long makes me excited."

The next thing Jio picked up was a creature that had been attached to the cavern wall.

'This is similar to abalone.'

Its shell was much darker and smoother than abalone, but the other elements were quite similar to abalone.

Especially that white, broad flesh inside.

"This one's name was probably..."

"I believe it was a black tray clam."

"Ah, that is right."

"It has an appearance that cannot possibly taste bad."

Jio smiled contentedly and cleaned all the black clams.

This was also a clam that did not eat mud, so there was no need for a separate purging process.

"Next is this one. Do you remember it, Iser?"

"I remember that you especially liked it, teacher."

"Because its texture is good. If you eat it raw, it is tender like pudding, and if you cook it, it is chewy like meat..."

In short, it was close to simply "a clam with one long adductor muscle inside whole."

"Ha, I need to sell this in Korea."

"Calm down."

Today as well, Jio was a worldly priest.