Chapter 91: Secret Story
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 91: Secret Story
It took me quite a while to calm down. Of course, "a while" by my standards was only long enough to take about ten deep breaths.
"Then let's try a different fish... a pretty one."
Yuseoha gestured toward a passing fish. This one looked somewhat normal. It was about two meters long, which might seem far from normal, but by the standards of this place, it was practically ordinary.
The creature, which looked like a sunfish, blinked its eyes as it circled around us. It looked cuter than I expected, making me want to name it Sunfish. Yuseoha took my hand and moved slowly, swimming alongside the Sunfish while signaling me with her eyes.
I carefully reached out and touched the Sunfish’s body.
—Why do I exist, and where do we go after we are born...?
This guy’s head was a mess. I looked at Yuseoha. With a look of absurdity, she promptly pulled me away from the Sunfish and shooed it off.
"That was a strange one."
"Sunfish was cute, though!"
"That thing?"
Yuseoha looked at me as if I were crazy while watching our Sunfish drift away. Compared to that flagellated monster from earlier, this one was cute enough to keep as a pet at home. I felt like she was the one whose taste was off.
"Next."
At Yuseoha’s gesture, something popped out from what looked like a giant fish and headed our way. It was a tiny blue fish, about the size of my palm.
I wondered if this was the kind of fish that moved in schools to look like a massive creature. Before Yuseoha could even say anything, I reached out my hand.
—Hungry.
The fish spoke. Or rather, it transmitted its will. I looked to see if I had anything to give it, but since I had been stripped naked and given a new costume before coming here, I had nothing for the fish.
When I looked at Yuseoha, she giggled while covering her mouth and pulled out a snack from her subspace—the kind she occasionally gave me. Seeing her hand it to me, it seemed it was okay to feed the fish. As soon as I tore open the bag, the fish clung to it and began licking the snack.
—Salty, but delicious. What is this? Delicious. So delicious. Wow, I’m full. But I want more. Hungry. Delicious. Salty. Sweet. Delicious. What is this—delicious—so delicious—full—hungry—I want to eat—me—here—this.
The fish was just blabbering whatever came to mind. Startled by the rapidly accelerating voice, I dropped the snack, and the fish dove straight down after the falling treat.
Then, it was sucked into the mouth of a passing large creature—I couldn't tell if it was a shark or a crocodile.
"Fish get overexcited when they eat stimulating food."
"Yeah, I won't give them any next time."
Yuseoha stroked my hair. I felt like I was finally getting the hang of hearing the will of the fish. The Pink Head took my hand and began leading me further down again.
I saw dolphins. They were familiar faces. I pointed them out to Yuseoha. She looked flustered, grabbed my hand, and pulled me in the opposite direction.
Wondering what was going on, I focused.
—Ah, fuck, this is the shit... one more hit...
—Hehe... I'm gettin' buzzed...
The damn dolphins were up to something. As we drifted further away, I used mana to focus, and I saw a pufferfish rolling around between the dolphins.
—Poke this fucker more. Make more toxin come out.
—It's dangerous if we drink more than this...
Those bastards were getting wasted on pufferfish toxin. It wasn't even that shocking of a sight, but Yuseoha covered both my eyes and quickly left the area.
I wanted to try a "hit" myself to see how drunk I'd get, but seeing Yuseoha’s stiff expression, it didn't seem like that was going to happen.
...!
I felt a massive vibration echoing through the water. It was a vibration on a completely different level from that large fish chewing on coral earlier. No, it was beyond just a "fish."
"What is this?"
"Hmm...? It's a whale. Do you want to see it?"
A whale? If I didn't see this, I might as well turn in my man card.
"Yes, yes, please! I want to see it! I want to see it!"
"It's quite far away... I'll have to sing."
I wondered if a whale would really come just because she sang, but since I was about to meet a whale right before my eyes, I was willing to laugh off even the nonsense of this idiot mermaid noona.
Yuseoha opened her mouth and did something. I couldn't hear anything, but I felt the vibration. She was definitely singing, but it seemed she was emitting it in a frequency range I couldn't hear.
I watched Yuseoha sing as if I were entranced. Then, I realized that a massive creature had approached, casting a shadow over the sky—no, over my entire field of vision.
Something that looked dozens of meters long—no, a whale—was right in front of us.
I was momentarily dazed by its overwhelming size.
"The ones living outside the front lines are gentle, so it's okay. Try touching it."
Seeing me hesitate, Yuseoha took my wrist and slowly pulled me toward the whale. Even though it felt like we’d become friends with the plankton the moment the whale sucked in some water, the Pink Head approached without hesitation.
As we got closer, I could finally take in the whale's appearance properly. There were eight eyes set into deep grooves. It looked like there would be another eight on the other side.
The whale was right in front of my nose. As if drawn by something, I reached out my hand.
—Human.
The whale recognized me. I blankly stroked what I couldn't tell was its nose, its face, or something else entirely.
—Kind human.
The whale's eight pairs of eyes were watching me. It might have been a creepy scene, but I felt a strange sense of relief.
—Human that must not be eaten.
Startled by the monster whale's words, I pulled my hand away. The whale continued to watch me silently.
"That's enough for now. If I call it for too long, its family will worry. We have to send it back."
"Family?"
Yuseoha nodded.
"Because it's just a very young calf. Look over there."
Looking where the Pink Head pointed, I saw whales of indiscernible size circling around us. My sense of perspective was shattered, but I could tell they were at least the size of a building or two.
If that thing, which was the size of a heavy-duty truck, was a "very young calf," then what were those...?
"You can go now. Thank you."
—Goodbye...
The whale-like creature replied leisurely as it drifted away to join its family. Standing next to them, the whale that looked like a heavy-duty truck seemed so small it really did feel like a newborn.
"The ocean is fun, isn't it?"
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! It's the best! Seoha Noona is the best! I'll give you plenty of training when we get home! I'll give Mom some training too!"
Yuseoha made a hmpf sound and proudly puffed out her non-existent chest.
"I want to go deeper!"
"No more. Beyond here is the territory of monsters."
The mermaid princess pointed toward the depths of the ocean. I felt a strange chill from the space where nothing but darkness was visible. It wasn't the kind of feeling emitted by an Ice Essence, but an instinctive sense of danger.
"How big are the monsters?"
"The ones here are usually... small individuals... so they're only about 30 meters... but it's dangerous for Yong-hwan."
Hearing the nonsense that 30 meters was "small," I couldn't bring myself to pester her to go. I had about sixteen safety devices, but in situations like this, it was best to return safely without having to use any of them.
"Then if I come back after I get stronger, will you take me?"
"Yes. I'll show you the capital of Balak, too. And the danger zones."
Yuseoha nodded lightly. To think I'd have a chance to see an undersea city with my own eyes—I felt like I needed to go pound on that dragon whelp's womb or something just to get stronger faster.
We must have come quite far, as the way back took a long time. Since Yuseoha was swimming and I was just being held or carried on her back, I wasn't particularly tired.
Still, while it was just the two of us, I had to gather information quickly.
"Do you know much about the Earth Colony?"
"I don't know the details. I only know what everyone else knows."
No one really wants to go to the colonies, Yuseoha added.
"Then can you tell me some legends or stories from there? Everyone else won't tell me because they say I'm too young..."
While being carried on Yuseoha’s back, I lightly squeezed her chest. There wasn't much to grab, so it was more like gently pinching her nipples.
"Hngh... I-I'll tell you..."
It seemed that was sufficient blackmail (?) for this pervert mermaid noona.
"What kind of place is Earth that people don't want to go there? No, why can't men go?"
"...Well, I don't know for sure. Everyone says that if you go there, you'll pick up bad habits."
Pick up bad habits? I needed to hear more about what that meant.
Because I was still young, I hadn't been directly exposed to the utterly miserable treatment and contempt for men in this society, which was why I was able to live so recklessly (?).
But after graduating from elementary school, I would have to face the world's hostility head-on.
"Pick up bad habits? What does that mean?"
"It's a difficult story... Is this a secret from Ame?"
Yuseoha changed her swimming direction and pulled me into a coral reef dozens of meters wide, setting me down.
"Yeah, I'll keep it a secret! If I tell Mom, I'll become Seoha Noona's son!"
"I-In that case, I guess I can tell you..."
The Pink Head seemed to have a serious defect in her intelligence.