Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: Mod7
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Chapter 2 - Meeting
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Death was cold. Yet, it was also gentle, and strangely, wet.
Or perhaps I didn't know. It was my first time dying.
“Cough-!”
One thing was certain: resurrection was far more painful and agonizing than death.
If I had simply died, I could have accepted it.
“Hack- Cough… gasp…”
Once consciousness returned, death was no longer a welcome embrace.
Even in the throes of living agony, I feared death. The tenacity of life was a cruel curse.
“Gasp…? Gasp…! Wh-what…!”
The forced breaths of damp air finally ceased.
“Cough… gasp…”
As I vomited the lake water I had swallowed, I took in the unbelievable sight before me.
A cave. A cave with a pool of fresh water, like a swimming pool, right in front of me. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say a pool dotted with protruding rocks.
And within that pool,
The beautiful faces I had seen before I died were staring back at me.
One of them gracefully emerged from the water and approached me.
“Сәләм?”
I didn't understand the word, but I knew she was addressing me.
As I pondered how to communicate,
I noticed the strange tail extending from below her navel.
Weren't there creatures called mermaids?
That's the only way I could describe them.
Human upper bodies, with fish-like tails extending from their hips.
I saw scales. Similar in size to a dolphin’s tail, but strangely adorned with jewel-like scales.
“Һин шул тиклем бәхетлеһең.”
She continued speaking, but I couldn't even mimic the sounds. I responded in my own language.
“E-Excuse me… I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
The mermaids laughed. Even their laughter was beautiful and melodious. Their appearance was strikingly flawless.
And judging by the fact that they had given me CPR, they clearly possessed an altruistic nature, helping those who resembled them.
“Бәхетлеһең. Сығып китһәм, башҡа бисәләргә әсирлеккә эләгеп, ғүмер буйы ҡол булып йәшәр инем.”
The atmosphere seemed friendly. I mirrored their smiles, though they felt strained. Even without a shared language, mimicking their behavior seemed to bridge the gap between us.
Fleeing to the lake had been the right choice. I never imagined I would encounter such beautiful and gentle intelligent lifeforms here.
They even seemed to have their own language. If I could learn it, we could communicate.
I tried to express my gratitude. I thanked them for saving me, smiling as genuinely as I could.
Smiling seemed to be a positive expression for them as well.
“Th-Thank you. Really.”
Even if they didn’t understand the words,
Speaking softly and bowing my head seemed to convey my sincerity.
The mermaid closest to me stared intently. The gentle smile still lingered on her lips, suggesting I had done something right.
“Борсолма. Һине үҙемдең ирем итербеҙ. Сөнки беҙ уны ҡотҡарҙыҡ, ул минең ирем.”
She gently placed her hand on my thigh.
Perhaps it was my imagination, but this mermaid seemed particularly affectionate towards me.
Even if we resembled each other, we were from different planets.
Our genetics should be completely different…
“Ярай?”
Strangely,
Their gazes, hers in particular, seemed to carry a rather explicit message.
***
Her hair was a vibrant green. Waves of emerald framed her pale, smooth face, a shade lighter than a human’s.
Unlike the mermaids of human imagination, she seemed more akin to a flower or a plant.
In storybooks, they covered their breasts with starfish and talked to sea creatures.
She, however, was closer to a flower.
“Aria!”
One word I understood.
A short sound she uttered while pointing to herself.
“Aria?”
“Aria!”
She was telling me her name.
When I repeated it, Aria smiled sweetly and shook her head.
She swayed her head from side to side as she smiled.
Perhaps it was an expression of happiness among mermaids.
“Juho.”
I pointed to myself and said my name.
“Ju-huh?”
“Juho.”
She seemed to struggle with the unfamiliar pronunciation. Admittedly, my name wasn't easy. Even Dan and Reyes had often mispronounced it.
“Juho!”
“Yes, that’s right. Juho.”
But Aria quickly mastered the pronunciation. She repeated my name several times while talking to the other mermaids, clearly making an effort to get it right.
Forming a positive relationship with the first intelligent lifeforms I encountered was both miraculous and heartwarming.
Thanks to Aria's hospitality, I found a place to rest within the mermaids’ cave.
“Juho, Juho.”
…Or so I thought. I hadn't fully understood Aria's words.
“Бынан сығып булмай. Ярай?”
But Aria repeatedly tapped the ground where I lay, saying my name. She was clearly marking this as my territory.
I nodded. Aria mirrored my nod, and we achieved a rudimentary form of communication.
My territory seemed to be about 16 square feet. Perhaps 4 meters by 4 meters. Quite spacious.
There were six or seven similar spaces within the cave. Mine was the largest.
A mermaid lay asleep on a much smaller space further away. Unlike me, she had submerged her tail, only her upper body resting on the dry land.
It was strange. They had welcomed an outsider, yet they gave me the largest space. Did they understand that my legs were different from their tails?
Their clear hospitality reassured me.
Perhaps it was because of my appearance.
My uncanny resemblance to them.
A strange coincidence, improbable in this vast universe…
“…”
I still couldn't comprehend it.
How could I keep encountering beings that resembled humans in this remote corner of the galaxy?
What was this planet?
What kind of new world had we stumbled upon?
Splash-
“Juho!”
Aria’s sudden emergence from the water broke my train of thought. She often startled me like this, leaping up and placing her tail on my territory.
“Һин асһыңмы? Мин балыҡ тоттом.”
This time, she held a freshwater fish, about 20cm long. She had caught it for me.
“Ah, um… Thank you.”
Fortunately, they didn't eat it raw.
They seemed to have developed a unique lifestyle within the cave, utilizing their human upper bodies.
There were several areas with small fires. The mermaids cooked the fish they caught, along with fruits and seaweed.
I had initially wondered how they started fires in this environment,
But whenever a fire died down, they brought a strange-looking fish. It resembled a pufferfish, inflating its body, but it was small enough to fit in one hand.
Pop-
When they squeezed it, its flesh and organs oozed out,
But strangely, placing their palms over the remains ignited a flame.
They didn’t need wood. I suspected the fish’s body oil had a very low ignition point.
As a biologist, I was itching to dissect this incredible creature, but
Rest and planning for the future were more important right now.
And for that, I needed something.
“Aria.”
While she stared at me, pausing her cooking, I used gestures to explain what I wanted.
Amy was somewhere in the lake. Perhaps she was still standing there, waiting for me. I needed to retrieve her and reactivate her.
“…?”
Aria tilted her head, analyzing my gestures, then, with a puzzled expression, dove underwater.
Splash-
She returned with a round fruit in her hands. She seemed to think I wanted fruit.
“No, that’s not it…”
It would be easier to swim out with Aria and guide her to Amy.
So, I dipped my legs into the water,
Preparing to dive and swim out of the cave…
But on the bottom,
I saw something.
Familiar yet alien,
Ghostly white remnants of death.
Skeletal remains scattered across the floor…
Crack-
Before I could count them, Aria grabbed my leg with surprising strength.
She pulled me back onto the land, then,
“Hyaagh!”
She shrieked.
The other mermaids bared their teeth. I was the only one not smiling.
“Төшмә тип әйттем бит!”
Startled, I scrambled back onto the land.
“W-Wait… I’m s-sorry…”
I tried to calm my racing heart and clear up the misunderstanding…
“Һин күрҙеңме? Шул көсһөҙ ҡойроҡ менән дә йөҙә алаһың.”
"Өләсәй, быны юҡ итергәме?"
The mermaids pointed at me, their gazes accusatory.
I didn't understand.
I didn't understand at all.
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
What was happening?
From the other side,
From the space opposite mine, an elderly mermaid slowly entered the water, her face emerging above the surface.
I had thought she was sleeping,
But it seemed she was simply frail and moved slowly.
“Ҡалдыр инде. Барыбер ҡаса алмаясаҡһың.”
She approached me, her eyes fixed on mine.
It didn't sound like anything good.
“Иң матур йөҙө бар, әммә кәүҙәһе зәғиф.”
Then, Aria,
Clicking her tongue, released my ankle.