Shin-nim's Daughter
There were all sorts of treasures at the bottom of the deep sea. Undiscovered creatures, shipwrecks, gold and jewels, rare resources, and more. Every now and then, something like that would get hooked while fishing. It added to the fun of the hobby. I'd met Shin-nim that way, after all.
"Um..."
But the shock I felt right now was nothing compared to the first time I'd hooked the stone slab. Because what I'd reeled in was a little girl.
"Hello?"
[....]
I gave an awkward wave, glancing at the girl to gauge her reaction. It was only natural. I'd just hauled up a perfectly fine, living kid(?) from the depths. From a certain perspective, this was straight-up kidnapping.
She's no ordinary kid, though.
Of course, she wasn't some normal child. With Shin-nim's help, she'd gone toe-to-toe with me for over ten minutes, turning the surrounding sea upside down. Still, appearances carried a strong bias. I felt cautious, overly concerned for no reason.
[Ahem~]
"...?"
As I stared at her for a moment, the girl gave a small smile and stroked her chin with her tiny palm. The gesture was oddly mature. On her childlike face, it just came off as cute.
[Hmm... So you're my new dad?]
"What?"
Then the girl spoke, blowing right past my expectations. New dad? Me? My brain nearly short-circuited for a second, but thinking of the currently silent Shin-nim helped me calm down fast.
"You're Shin-nim's daughter?"
[It's a bit ambiguous, but... yeah, pretty much.]
This girl seemed to be Shin-nim's daughter. Come to think of it, her aura felt vaguely similar.
[Nice to meet you. I'm Mother's second daughter, Yogrine.]
"Sorry, can't make that out."
[Just call me Yogrine.]
Yogrine. The girl before me was Shin-nim's third daughter, an existence whose true name I couldn't even grasp.
A daughter...
But a daughter. Did that mean Shin-nim had another husband besides me...?
[No! Absolutely not!]
I haven't even asked yet...
[I'm pure! Totally my clone!]
That's what she said. I wouldn't have minded if she was a widow, but Shin-nim seemed pretty sensitive about it.
[You're talking with Mother, huh?]
"You can't hear her?"
[Only her husband—you—can hear Mother's voice.]
I was learning a bunch of new things today. So only I could hear Shin-nim's voice. Though it sounded like a robotic TTS to me. Apparently no one else could hear it at all.
"So why are you here?"
[New Dad was trying to play with me, right? I thought it was tug-of-war.]
Yogrine pretended to grip the fishing line with her hands, tugging at it playfully. Hmm... I'd poured every ounce of strength into reeling her in. To her, it was just a game. Given her rank, that made sense. Yogrine was probably 99% Outlier level.
[That was fun, New Dad. Call me from the sea anytime you wanna play again.]
"Sure, sure. Head on back carefully now."
And with that, our chat wrapped up. Nothing more to say, so Yogrine prepared to return to the depths. The hole was starting to close, so she had to hurry.
[Oh, almost forgot.]
"Hm?"
[A gift. Open it at home.]
As I waved her off, Yogrine extended her index finger and shot something at me. No danger, so I let it hit. I didn't feel any change.
[See ya~]
"Go careful now."
I wanted to ask about it, but she'd already slipped into the hole. No choice but to say goodbye. I stared at the spot where she'd vanished for a bit, then floated back to the surface.
"That scared me..."
I'd figured I'd hook some deep-sea entity, but Shin-nim's daughter? Never crossed my mind. No clue how to handle it. Even though I wasn't her real dad, it tugged at my heartstrings.
...Maybe bring a gift next time.
[Uuu...]
"What's up with Shin-nim now?"
As I lay there, Shin-nim's whining came from beside me. Why was she like this? A bit flustered, I asked, and she glanced at me sheepishly before responding.
[E-embarrassing...]
"What's embarrassing?"
[Hubby and me being all lovey-dovey. Didn't want the kids to see.]
"What."
Holy shit. I'd never once related to the phrase "cuteness overdose" in my life, but now I was dying—no cap. Shin-nim was embarrassed because her daughter caught us on a date? This was a god? Nah, just my ridiculously adorable wife.
"C'mere."
[Huh?]
"Get over here so I can hug you right now!"
Thwack! I smacked my own head to knock myself out and dove into the dream world to glomp Shin-nim. Of course, my flailing got me pinned with one finger midway through, and I ended up as her teddy bear for the rest of the day.
Still, not bad for our first date.
After spending the night like that, I woke feeling refreshed—but a little confused.
"Where... is this?"
Still the vast ocean, same as before. But the underwater topography had totally changed. Must've drifted while sleeping.
"No excuses."
Couldn't blame anyone. The sea never stops moving. Forgetting that basic fact was my fault. As long as I hadn't gotten caught in a storm, I'd drifted maybe a few kilometers at most. Head east calmly, and land would appear eventually.
"Yawwwn..."
Like yesterday, I let a drop of blood fall to control the waves. Rode them along. The warm sunlight and wave sounds made me drowsy, even after a full night's sleep.
"Hm?"
How far had I gone? As I lifted my head from my hand, something caught my eye at the horizon. A ship...? Nah. Looked alive.
"A whale."
I channeled mana into my eyes to boost my vision, and its shape came into focus. A massive black whale. But far from ordinary. It was island-sized, with black tar-like ooze flowing over its skin.
"An anomaly?"
Looked like one at a glance. But what was that little house on its back? Couldn't figure it out. As I watched, the whale stopped and locked eyes with me.
"Oh crap."
[Kroooaaargh!]
It bellowed with a massive voice. At the same time, someone emerged from the house on its back. A man in a wetsuit, no helmet. A sinister gem gleamed on his chest. Checking the mana flow, he was a mage like me.
"What the hell are you?"
"That's my line. Who are you?"
He questioned me. I shot it right back. We'd just crossed paths by chance. Neither of us had a great position to demand answers. But was he a pirate? No, he'd invaded my turf. He clearly thought the same.
"You're a sea mage, huh?"
"You too, looks like."
"Ha! The magic I wield isn't limited to the sea!"
He tapped the gem on his chest. Waves of energy pulsed out, corrupting nearby creatures.
[From the filthy depths, new life shall be born!]
Fish hit by the waves sprouted horns. Seagulls grew an extra pair of wings. And they all bulked up too.
"Kill him!"
[Kraaak!]
[Peck! Peck!]
He declared it boldly. His familiars charged me in unison. I watched for a second, then lightly slashed my wrist.
[On it.]
Deep Sea Tentacle
[Kraaak...!]
[Shlurp! Shlururp!]
The sea turned blood-red. Massive tentacles erupted from the magic circle. I'd used more blood than usual—and this was the ocean, perfect for them.
Boom! Crash! Kwang!
The tentacles crushed the enemies with overwhelming force. Monsterfied or not, they were still Earth creatures. No match for deep-sea natives.
"Guh...! You're pretty strong!"
[Shluuuurp!]
Familiars down. Just the mage and whale left. A tentacle reared sky-high, ready to smash him. Total crisis, but he was... smiling?
"Your familiar! I'll take it off your hands!"
"Say what?"
[Reborn from the polluted sea!]
As he chanted, black sludge surged from his hand. It enveloped the tentacle in seconds. He thought he'd seized control and issued a command.
"Attack your former master now!"
[Shlurp!]
"Why me?!"
Like a human ignoring a bug, the tentacle ignored him. It might look beatable, but it was a deep-sea entity. It disregarded his order and slammed down.
Splat!
He burst like a tomato.
"What now? Keep fighting?"
[....]
Just the big black whale now. Master dead, control broken. Question was whether it'd give up its power.
[Krooong...]
"Bye."
The whale submitted. It shed the sludge coating its body, left the hut behind, and sank into the depths. Back to being a normal whale.
"Let's see..."
I hauled up the sinking hut and went inside. The mage's corpse was mush—useless. But his workshop might have stuff.
"..."
The hut reeked of black sludge. Floor, walls, furniture—all coated. Gross, didn't wanna touch. But I checked the desk anyway.
"Not a grimoire?"
I'd thought the book on the desk was a magic tome. Nope—his diary. Drawers just junk.
"Hm?"
Just as I felt deflated, a paper stuck out from the diary.
"..."
Pulled it out. A letter. Contents were mundane: greetings, "let's meet soon." But the sender? Not mundane at all.
"Truth Research Society."
Certain words become magic themselves. Volde*mort's a prime example. Just saying "Truth Research Society" made my tongue sting. A normal person would've lost theirs.
"What the hell are these guys."
Cheon-do Society, now these clowns. Deep down, I prayed they'd stay away from Incheon.