The Mermaid's Blessing
“Ah, of course, even if we call it fishing, we don’t actually catch anything. Catching a mermaid in the first place is impossible, and if we were to injure one, we’d never dare set foot on the sea again.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s an old legend. If you tie a gold coin to the fishing line and cast it out, a mermaid will pull on the line. And if the owner of that line pleases the mermaid, you’ll receive the sea’s blessing.”
“Ah! That’s right, Anak. Julian senior mentioned it before. He said the reason the Kruse Merchant Coalition has been able to sail the seas for so long is because his great-grandfather met a mermaid and received her blessing.”
Now that he mentioned it, I vaguely recalled Julian bringing it up in passing. It had seemed like an offhand remark at the time, and honestly, if Rowell hadn’t reminded me, I probably wouldn’t have remembered it at all.
“Yes. Ever since then, people started tying gold coins to their lines and throwing them into the sea.”
“So, has anyone actually met a mermaid?”
“No. More often than not, the line snaps or comes loose and they just lose the coin. That’s why most people only do it for fun or as a prayer when they’ve won big at gambling or when they’re desperate.”
“But then why…?”
I didn’t finish the question. Instead, I glanced around at the other people on deck holding fishing rods. It was hard to believe that so many of them had all won money or found themselves in dire straits at the same time.
“Well, a few months ago, that fellow Welki over there cast his line for fun while passing through these waters. It wasn’t a gold coin, just half a silver coin. He threw it out and completely forgot about it until they reached the next port.”
His eyes sparkled like a storyteller caught up in his own tale, clearly anticipating our reaction.
“But when he finally reeled the line back in to check, the silver coin was gone.”
He paused dramatically, sweeping his gaze over our faces as if this were all part of the script. He probably wanted to savor our expectant expressions, but Bagloros and I had our faces covered. Maybe our eyes were enough?
“Of course, it could’ve just been the line snapping or coming loose. But that wasn’t the case. Instead of the silver coin, there were beautifully carved shell ornaments tied to the end.”
As he spoke, he suddenly checked his own line, though of course nothing had changed.
“A mermaid left them there. Welki threw away a blessing that fell right into his lap. Whether it was because he didn’t stay put or because he used silver instead of gold, the mermaid came and left without granting anything.”
“So everyone’s trying to pick up that blessing for themselves.”
“Yes, exactly.”
Now I understood. The earlier excitement made sense—the hope of actually seeing a mermaid had risen that high.
It was certainly possible that a mermaid had taken the silver and left the ornaments. From what we’d seen, mermaids seemed to favor sparkling things like jewels, gold, and silver, since minerals were scarce beneath the sea.
Of course, it was also possible that someone had secretly reeled in the line, stolen the coin, and tied on the ornaments as a prank.
“So what exactly is this sea’s blessing?”
When we’d met mermaids ourselves, one had been an enemy and the other a wandering drifter. We didn’t know if they could grant blessings to others, but at least we’d never witnessed it firsthand.
“I’m not sure. From what I’ve heard, the previous head of the coalition often said he received the most beautiful treasure from the sea—something he could never compare to anything else in his entire life.”
So the blessing was material? Jewels or treasure? I wanted to ask more, but as he’d said, he only knew what he’d been told. When our reactions fell short of his expectations, he seemed to lose interest and turned his attention back to the unchanged fishing rod.
We thanked him for the story and stepped aside so he could focus on his fishing. The odds of him actually meeting a mermaid were low, but there was no need to crush his hopes.
If that small spark of anticipation helped him endure the dull voyage, that was enough. I just hoped he wouldn’t lose his coin to a snapped line.
* * *
The voyage continued, and it took nearly a week before we finally reached the Parerin Archipelago. Even with a mana-powered vessel, it was quite a long journey.
And for me, that voyage had been difficult in more ways than one. While awake, it wasn’t so bad, but every time I lay down to sleep, the growing sway of the ship not only made rest uncomfortable but even summoned nightmares. I woke feeling ill more than once, and several times a large wave would jolt me awake just as I was finally drifting off.
Another problem was that, no matter how spacious the ship was, space was still limited, so I couldn’t find the right moment to visit Rofena. On top of that, Julian senior’s attitude had been strangely unsettling—not that anything was obviously wrong, but that subtle awkwardness made everything harder. (And the fact that I was struggling because of it only made it worse.)
“Thank goodness, Anak. Now you can set foot on solid ground.”
“Just hold on a little longer.”
From the third day onward, Rowell and Aegina had been saying things like that every time they saw me, no matter how many times I insisted I was fine. I wondered just how terrible my complexion looked.
“I’m fine, really. I’m just having trouble sleeping. Everything else is bearable.”
At least it was almost over. Of course, the return trip already worried me, but for now, land was finally visible in the distance.
“This is everyone’s first time in the Parerin Archipelago, right?”
Julian senior, who had been busy preparing for docking, finished up and walked over to us.
“Yes. It’s our first time.”
“The Parerin Archipelago didn’t suffer much damage during the Great War, so they didn’t need our help with post-war reconstruction. Though Medrup did visit separately.”
After the war ended, we had visited countless nations, events, and reconstruction sites. Some places overflowed with hope, while others were so horrific it was hard to look. There had been many tragedies—not just from the battles themselves, but from conflicts between survivors. In those cases, anger accompanied the sorrow.
There were quite a few scum who asked, “Why are you still alive?” Even if their loss of humanity was a result of the war, it still left me furious and bitter.
Because we’d been so busy visiting those places, regions like the Parerin Archipelago—small nations behind the final defensive line that had been relatively unaffected and hadn’t invited us—were only visited by Medrup in his capacity as Mage Guild Master. We hadn’t gone ourselves.
“Then I’m sure you’ll all like it. The islands are incredibly beautiful.”
Even before the Great War, the Parerin Archipelago had been famous for its stunning natural environment. While some sea monsters lived near the shipping routes, the islands themselves had no monsters that particularly threatened people. Instead, they were home to unique flora and fauna found nowhere else.
“It certainly looks that way.”
The island ahead looked like a massive tree when viewed from the front. A jagged coastal city stretched along the shore, with gentle mountains rising behind the beaches. Rocky cliffs were visible up to the middle slopes, but above that, dense trees covered everything, their thick foliage hiding the interior completely.
“The island is quite large.”
The Parerin Archipelago consisted of over a hundred islands, large and small, each with its own leaders. Back in the academy, I’d gotten the impression that outsiders had simply lumped the smaller islands together for convenience, but seeing the size of the island and its settlements, that clearly wasn’t the case.
Even from this distance, the island ahead looked enormous. If even one-tenth of the remaining islands were this size, their territory would far exceed that of most small nations.
“There are many islands larger than this one. Especially Inanaklan Island, the heart of the archipelago—it’s four or five times bigger than this.”
The ship didn’t head straight for the harbor. Instead, it slowed and came to a stop. Soon, vessels appeared from somewhere and surrounded us. Though much smaller than our ship, every one of them had mages and warriors in somewhat ornate clothing lined up on deck, ready for battle at a moment’s notice.
“Impressive. Even the smaller ships are in perfect attack formation.”
They were probably patrol ships from the island. Despite the Kruse Merchant Coalition’s emblem being prominently displayed and decades of regular visits, they maintained such thorough vigilance. Their diligence was almost admirable.
The sailors, clearly accustomed to the procedure, lowered rope ladders toward the nearest approaching vessel. Soon, a man who appeared to be in charge climbed aboard.
“Captain Sinebletu. It’s been a while.”
“Indeed it has, Julian.”
The man who answered Julian’s greeting was a middle-aged man with a thick brown beard. He wore a somewhat flashy uniform mixing red, yellow, and blue, but his sharp gaze contrasted with the colorful attire.
Though he pretended to casually scan the deck, he carefully observed each sailor’s expression, as if trying to gauge the ship’s overall atmosphere.
After studying us—our faces hidden—for a moment longer, he nodded.
“Normally, we’d have to search the other ships as well as every cabin and cargo hold. But since it’s none other than the vice-leader of the Kruse Merchant Coalition, and you’ve come to help with the subjugation, I’ll make an exception this time.”
“I appreciate your trust.”
The man signaled to the other ships, and the smaller vessels surrounding us began to withdraw.
“Then I’ll see you at the subjugation.”
“Yes. I’ll see you shortly.”
He glanced our way one last time before descending the rope ladder.
“He’s quite the warrior.”
“Yes. A formidable one.”
Rowell and Aegina said as much, but honestly, hearing them praise someone like that made it feel like adults complimenting a child—completely devoid of impact.
The ship moved again and soon entered the harbor. The wooden houses and peculiar structures woven from vines gave the city a landscape similar to the southeastern regions of the continent, yet distinctly different.
Children who had come to the harbor to watch the ship arrive had innocent faces, and like their vibrant, colorful clothing, there was no trace of dark shadows about them.
“Even though this region wasn’t attacked by the Demon King’s army, it really is different from the continent.”
There were quite a few cities and nations on the continent that had been spared direct attacks during the Great War, either because they were behind the final defensive line or simply lucky. But even if they hadn’t been attacked directly, they’d still had to send reinforcements and supplies to the front lines, so they hadn’t been completely free from the war’s influence—and they’d lived with the constant fear that danger could strike at any moment.
Of course, the Parerin Archipelago hadn’t refused to provide support during the war either, but the impact here was clearly much lighter.
“Is there only one city on this island?”
Compared to the island’s size, the city itself didn’t seem particularly large.
There were no walls around the city, but watchtowers stood along the coast alongside lighthouses. Around the city’s perimeter, dozens of green pillars wrapped in vines encircled the entire settlement. Beyond them, in the outskirts, single-story houses with low roofs and spacious yards clustered together in an irregular but natural pattern.
Though built slightly elevated above the ground, the wooden houses were single-story, so from the ship we could see the entire residential area on the outskirts.
Even though the city itself was large, most of it consisted of houses with yards several times the size of the buildings themselves, so the population didn’t seem very dense.
A massive pyramid-shaped building near the city center and a wide open space that looked like an arena stood out, but given the island’s scale, they seemed too small.
“No. There are smaller villages along the opposite coast and inside the island. You can’t see them from here, but there’s also a village on the mountainside. It’s connected to the temple at the summit. The people there handle various rituals and ceremonies and essentially manage the island.”
“A temple?”
No matter how high I craned my neck, the summit was hidden behind the trees. The thought of walking from the mountainside all the way to the top made my legs ache in sympathy.
“What god does the temple worship?”
“I heard it enshrines Taisankun and the island’s ancestors.”
The ship lowered its sails, and the sailors began bustling about, unloading cargo from the hold down to the harbor. Since the Kruse Merchant Coalition held a monopoly on trade with the Parerin Archipelago, there was far more cargo than I’d expected. Likewise, local goods waiting to be loaded were piled high on one side of the harbor.
The reason three ships had come wasn’t just for the monster subjugation.
“Alright, while they’re unloading, let’s go pay our respects. I mentioned it in advance, but if we want to attend the Grand Council on the central island, we’ll need separate notarization.”