Chapter 81
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 81
One day, the young mermaid said, “I’m going to eat you.”
“……”
Giovanni smiled awkwardly.
“…Is that what you say to someone who just got back from the market?”
“I said I’m going to eat you.”
“I suppose you’re upset that I went to the market and left you behind, Aria.”
“Yes. I didn’t like it.”
“But you were the one who said you wanted to stay home and be engrossed in your book.”
“I’m going to ea—”
“I understand. Next time, we’ll go together.”
Giovanni patted Iser on the head as the boy peeked out from behind him, anxiously checking if his sister was angry. He handed the bag of groceries to Iser. It wasn’t very heavy.
“Could you take this to the kitchen?”
“Ah, yes, I will.”
“Thank you for always being such a big help, Iser.”
Watching the boy head to the kitchen, Giovanni sat down beside Aria.
“Looking at you now, you don’t seem all that angry.”
“Is this what humans call being angry?”
“As I thought, mermaids are rather dull when it comes to emotions. Is it because you live among sea creatures who rarely communicate?”
“Sea creatures communicate perfectly fine. It’s just that foolish humans fail to recognize it.”
“Is that so? Still, it must be different from how land creatures interact.”
His deep blue eyes crinkled in a smile.
“Perhaps what you’re feeling right now, Aria, is anger.”
“The idea of a mermaid being angry feels… foreign.”
“I’ve never seen an angry mermaid, either. They always maintain expressionless faces, even when fighting humans.”
“I suppose they would.”
Even when humans killed their children, the mermaids showed no anger. They merely retaliated with cold, impassive faces, which led humans to call them monsters who didn’t even care if their own young died.
“Now that I think about it, I heard humans and mermaids fought again in the neighboring village. Did you see it, Teacher?”
“I didn’t see it myself, but the mermaids I’ve encountered throughout my life have never shown any emotion.”
He smiled.
“As you know, Aria, the conflict between humans and mermaids is so ancient that no one even knows who started it.”
Neither side knew who had sparked the war. Humans simply saw mermaids as eerie monsters of the sea, while mermaids regarded humans as foolish, threatening beasts.
The conflict was steadily escalating. Now, mermaids drowned innocent people in the sea, and humans dragged innocent mermaids into public squares to dry them to death.
Watching this unfold, they cried out to one another.
“Everyone says, ‘We must kill the mermaids,’ or ‘We must kill the humans.’ They ask what kind of being other than a demon could have created such a horrific situation.”
“……”
“I have witnessed the conflict between mermaids and humans with my own eyes. I traveled far and wide as the Son of the Sun, and I encountered many mermaids along the way.”
“So you pride yourself on knowing mermaids well?”
“Perhaps that was an inappropriate display of confidence in front of a mermaid. Still, even to me, an angry Aria is an unfamiliar sight.”
“You might be seeing it quite often from now on.”
“Oh, dear…”
Giovanni gently stroked her dark, navy-blue hair.
“As far as I know, the idea of mermaids eating humans is just a superstition limited to certain regions. Why did you say you would eat me?”
“Because whenever I said that, everyone became obedient.”
“So it’s a learned behavior. I see.”
Giovanni understood. This indifference, where mermaids felt no need to question their methods as long as they achieved the desired result, only fueled human terror even further.
However, Giovanni hoped this mermaid, who was so curious about humans, would grow into a more friendly and social adult. He didn’t want this to remain a product of rote learning, so he quickly continued.
“In that case, it must be a joke.”
“A joke?”
“You don’t actually intend to eat me, do you?”
“Mermaids don’t eat humans. It gives us an upset stomach.”
“Then let’s call it a joke.”
He didn’t want to place too much weight on the mermaid’s cruel lesson. Hadn’t humans and mermaids arrived at this deep-seated conflict precisely because they had assigned too much meaning to each other’s ‘incomprehensible actions’?
He merely offered a piece of advice—the light, simple kind he could give as both a teacher and a friend.
“Scaring people into obedience is certainly convenient. But if you only terrify them, many will try to run away from you, Aria.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“It isn’t a good thing for you, at least, since you want to learn about humans. Humans don’t only show their diverse reactions in the face of fear. In fact, they express far more when they are happy and joyful.”
Giovanni hoped this mermaid would not be left alone in the future. He wanted the day to come when the sea and the sun would become one, just as her brother wished.
Mermaids live for a very long time, dwelling within a single memory. Perhaps this young mermaid, who was fond of her current life, would grow up to become a mermaid who helped humans. She could be the beginning of peace.
Whether that would truly happen was uncertain, and he had no desire to force it. However, he certainly wished for this mermaid—who would have to live her entire life carrying the memory of his brief existence—to become gentler.
“If you keep playing these jokes, no one will be left by your side, Aria.”
At that, the arrogant mermaid asked, “What about my brother?”
“……”
“And what about you?”
“…We will likely always remain by your side.”
“Always?”
“As long as I don’t die.”
“But you will die,” the mermaid complained. “Human lifespans are too short. The sun that created you was foolish.”
“But isn’t it because our lives are short that we display a wider variety of facets?”
“I don’t understand. Isn’t it obvious that a longer lifespan allows one to learn more?”
“With time, you will slowly come to understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Desperation.”
Giovanni knew the limits of humanity. He also knew the infinite possibilities born from those limits.
“Because their lives are fleeting, humans strive harder than anyone. A lazy human is easily left behind, their circumstances quickly deteriorate, and humans cannot welcome such a state.”
“So they struggle because they are more desperate?”
“Perhaps. Is there something more we can ponder here? What could it be? Think about it, Aria.”
“……”
The young mermaid princess tilted her head, pondering, then asked, “Then, if a mermaid becomes desperate, will they also become as diverse as you?”
“Of course. Mermaids are simply more familiar with water and have slightly longer lifespans than humans. You are not that different.”
“Many things seem very different to me.”
“If a human grew gills to breathe underwater and lived a life closer to eternity, people would look at them and call them a mermaid.”
“Are you saying we are the same?”
“Neither of us is wrong. We simply have our differences. If there is one thing I have felt while staying with you, it is that you, Aria, are ultimately the same as me.”
Giovanni believed this without a shadow of a doubt.
“After all, mermaids are also creatures who create things precious to them.”
“What does that have to do with future diversity?”
“Because any living creature will evolve to protect what is precious to them.”
“Any living creature?”
“Even four-legged beasts that cannot speak, and even the fish we so often eat, use all sorts of tricks and develop great strength to protect their young.”
“That is just an instinct to preserve the species.”
“An innate instinct can also be a form of preciousness.”
The mermaid did not seem to fully understand.
“Then is human greed the same?”
“If protecting that greed is precious to them, then yes, it is.”
Everyone becomes diverse because they have something precious to them. It is just that humans, with their shorter lives, show a greater effort to achieve their goals.
“So, mermaids will be the same.”
“…Then what on earth is the difference between humans and mermaids?”
“In truth, there is no difference.”
They simply did not understand each other.
“So, nothing grand is needed. If only more people would try to understand each other’s differences…”
“……”
“If more voices speak of understanding and compromise, this long conflict will eventually come to an end.”
The mermaid complained with an expressionless face. “What nonsense.”
“I figured it would sound that way to you.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Is that so?”
“I’m going to eat you.”
“You’re just being mischievous when you have no intention of doing so…”
“I’m going to eat you.”
“Of course, of course. I understand.”
But there was something she absolutely had to remember.
“Aria, if you intend to terrify someone by threatening to eat them, you must know this.”
“What is it?”
“Whatever your purpose may be, humans will all react differently, and you must take responsibility for those reactions. A creature that does not take responsibility can never learn anything.”
“……”
Responsibility.
“…Fine.”
The mermaid readily agreed.
“I’ll take responsibility.”
“Wonderful.”
“I will eat you.”
“Oh, dear… what is it that displeases you now?”
So, it was a joke.
“I will put you on my dinner table.”
“This priest does not taste very good.”
An infinitely light, playful joke.
* * *
“……”
“……”
The mermaid blinked, beholding an overwhelmingly brilliant light.
It belonged to the sun.
…I…
Why am I wavering? The moment my heart shakes, I lose. I’ve waited for so long, and I absolutely refuse to lose.
But the light was so hot it could dry up a vast ocean. It was the same sharp heat that had once dried the tails of mermaids upon the shore.
Her stomach churned. A wave of nausea washed over her—a sickness she had never felt, not in the deep, dark abyss, nor upon the storm-tossed surface of the sea.
“…I don’t quite understand.”
“What is it that you don’t understand?”
“Well, this…”
Is this also desperation? If so, desperation for what? Soon, the mermaid found the words she could speak.
“Why do you think I wouldn’t want you to die?”
“Because, Aria, you did not recreate me.”
Giovanni’s voice was no different from how it had sounded thousands of years ago.
“I saw your laboratory. I saw how you attempted to create and combine countless lives. Since I was the one who taught you how to dissect and organize living things, it was only natural for me to recognize your handiwork.”
Aria suddenly found it incredibly strange. It was a voice she had chewed over and remembered for countless years, yet now it felt foreign, because she knew why it had been absent all this time.
You fled to the sun’s side. Or perhaps you dissolved into the cold sea. How can a person who returned to nature be brought back to life, looking exactly as they did back then and speaking to me?
“Some were even successful, while others you ruined intentionally.”
“……”
“I suspected you did it to grant them a life that was not truly living.”
The Priest of the Sun, looking as if he had been preserved at the peak of his beauty, asked, “But why didn’t you do that to me? Why didn’t you bring me back to life?”
“…No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t succeed. You died leaving behind nothing that could even be called a corpse. There was a lack of research material.”
“That is because you respected me.”
“If you had died in a more intact form, the result would have been different. It wasn’t intentional; it was simply beyond my ability.”
“If you consider emotion a type of ability, then you’re not wrong. I know that mermaids feel emotions, too.”
Giovanni was certain.
“You love me, Aria.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Your voice lacks strength.”
“It’s not…”
It was a meaningful reunion with an old friend.
She had not intended for things to proceed in such a foolish manner. She had resolved that her end had finally come, yet she couldn’t bring herself to speak with her usual sarcasm.
I haven’t been this foolish in hundreds, thousands of years. I have killed, tormented, and toyed with so many humans…
“……”
Yet, the sight of one missed face has left me speechless. Even though the only thing that has changed is your presence, Giovanni.
Only then did she recall that he was not just her friend, but also her teacher. An adult she could never defeat. Her guiding light.
Right. Yes, that’s how it was.
Surprisingly, Aria had never once defeated him. She was struck anew by a fact she had long forgotten.
With great effort, she opened her mouth.
“In the first place… Giovanni, you possess divinity. Would you truly die just like that? This must be nothing more than a trick to fluster me.”
“If this is a lie, I can die anew before you a thousand times over. But if this is the truth, ‘Giovanni’ will disappear from this spot. He is merely a human.”
“…I suppose that’s true.”
She felt ridiculous for not expecting such a counterattack. Unlike Aria, who could not bring herself to touch even a single fingertip of the teacher she had met through an absurd miracle, Giovanni could ruin himself as much as he pleased.
If he were the kind of person who cherished his own body and life, he would have lived longer than that.
But Giovanni was a human who did whatever it took to achieve what he wanted. From a very long time ago, Aria had never been able to defeat her teacher.
“……”
Having come this far, Aria could not lie and say she did not love Giovanni. For whatever reason, he was absolutely certain of the mermaids’ love, and unfortunately, he was right.
“Ah…”
From that moment, the outcome was already decided. Aria knew it. Because she knew, she had placed her end entirely in Giovanni’s hands. Yet, rather than pulling her leash, her esteemed teacher chose to torment himself.
Because he knew that was far more effective in punishing her. And it certainly was.
“Why do you have to be so cruel?” she asked reflexively.
The answer returned immediately.
“Why were you so cruel?”
“……”
“To me, and to the countless humans you have met along the way.”
“…I was angry.”
“Then you must take responsibility.”
She knew.
“I know.”
He had told her to take responsibility.
“From a very long time ago, you kept telling me that. To act only after preparing to take responsibility for everything I do.”
No matter how much time has passed, how could I ever forget your teachings?
Yet she had taken responsibility for nothing. After all, she had no desire to take responsibility for the deaths and suffering of mere humans. If she were going to weigh the consequences of venting her anger, she wouldn’t have started in the first place.
“If I take responsibility for what I’ve done, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of venting my anger?”
Ah, she hated humans. She loathed them. Even this feeling of anger was so precious to Aria that she could not bring herself to soften it. Her resentment and hatred were as heavy as the magnitude of her love for him. They were truly precious.
So, it was only natural not to take responsibility. If she took responsibility, if she atoned, she would have to conclude that this emotion was wrong. She did not want this terribly precious memory to be tarnished and dulled.
“No one ever told me to take responsibility.”
“Quite a few people must have wanted you to.”
“I suppose so. The countless humans who died and were hurt by my hands.”
They must have wished for this horrific sea monster to meet the most miserable death in the world, to atone while enduring days more terrible than death itself.
“But isn’t that laughable? How can they expect human emotions from a monster like me?”
She briefly glanced at the white-haired hunter with the impassive expression. Was his name Yoo Seong-un? Aria asked him, “Do you hunters want the monsters dwelling in dungeons to face legal judgment? Or do you want them to apologize or feel sorrow?”
“…Monsters are simply targets to be subjugated. We don’t waste emotions on them. We don’t have the resources to put monsters, who aren’t even criminals, on trial.”
“Yes, exactly. Most humans wipe out monsters without emotion, simply because it is their duty. I, too, have killed humans because I hate them.”
Aria looked at Giovanni.
“Why should someone like me take responsibility? Giovanni, you taught me as a human… but right now, I am nothing but a monster.”
“Hearing you say that truly breaks this priest’s heart. I taught a human who loved the sea, yet you claim you were actually a monster.”
Giovanni said, “You know that all of this is just you venting your anger.”
“I’m not unaware.”
She knew it all too well.
“I didn’t want to justify my actions with your death.”
“Thank you.”
“Because you were far too… merciful for that. You wouldn’t have wanted this.”
“I see.”
“It simply wasn’t suitable to use as an excuse.”
She had to confirm. “Do you still not resent them?”
“I resent and hate them.”
“Then why are you cornering me?”
“Because I do not resent them enough to take responsibility for their deaths.”
He resented them, but he did not wish for them to die. It was an answer only Giovanni could give, one who believed that if you influence someone, you must take responsibility for all the resulting reactions.
He said, “Choose.”
“Choose what?”
“Humans, or mermaids?”
“…What…”
It was a difficult question to understand.
She saw the sharp light of the sun. It was ready to pierce Giovanni at any moment.
“Taking a hostage… how cunning of you.”
“Since I am using myself, the responsibility I must bear is not light either, is it?”
“You are right.”
There was nothing more cost-effective than consuming oneself. Aria knew this, too. That was why she had used herself to instill fear in countless humans until now.
Nor was this the first time she had seen a human make such a choice. Humans who used themselves to strike a bargain were countless, but they… they just weren’t Giovanni.
So she had tormented them.
“……”
Naturally, she did not regret it. Aria had known from the beginning that her and her brother’s actions were merely tantrums built upon favoritism and injustice.
She had only vaguely hoped that one day, their teacher would return to life, scold them thoroughly, punish them, and bring an end to this long life. Only Giovanni could do that. If it wasn’t him, it meant nothing to these mermaids.
…But in the end, it turned out like this. How is it that he hasn’t changed at all?
He rarely let himself be swayed by his disciples. The scolding of her reunited teacher took a form quite different from what she had imagined, leaving her speechless.
“To be honest…”
“You may speak honestly.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Oh, you poor thing.”
“And here I was, so full of confidence.”
She felt hollow.
Even up until the moment she forced Giovanni to make a choice, she had been certain that the ‘ending’ was right before her eyes.
“…Now, I’m not sure what to do.”
THUMP—!
A spear descended.
“……”
“……”
Blood flowed from Giovanni’s shoulder.
Whether it was because she had been his disciple, or simply because Aria was clever, she instantly deciphered the meaning behind that action.
It meant her answer was incorrect.
“What am I supposed to do?”
CRUNCH—!
A second spear fell, shattering bone.
“Should I apologize for my rudeness…?”
SQUELCH—!
It was the third spear.
“Don’t die.”
“Incorrect.”
CRACK—!
“Don’t die in front of me.”
“Incorrect.”
THUD—!
“I…”
“Do you feel like respecting me now?”
“…Are you angry, Giovanni?”
“Did you expect me not to be angry?”
His voice was still gentle and soft, but Aria realized that he was furious.
No, it was more than that.
“Did you expect me not to be disappointed?”
He seemed disappointed.
“……”
“…This is quite eerie.”
With just a few gestures, Giovanni had become covered in blood. His body was riddled with punctures and torn flesh—a frail vessel, unworthy of the honor of the new Sun God.
That was why she was afraid. The terrible stench of flesh roasting in the sun’s fire filled the air. It was the foul odor of her old friend being reduced to a mere lump of meat, and it announced his demise.
"...Was it like this back then, too?"
Seeing him so terribly wounded—and by the light of the sun, of all things—brought back memories of that day.
"I heard you were tortured."
"I was."
"Did it hurt as much as this?"
"I think this hurts more."
"Then you should just stop. This isn’t wise."
"Emotional humans are seldom wise."
"That’s..."
"Aren’t you the same, Aria?"
"..."
"It’s why you committed such atrocities."
The accusation was so absurd that Aria was left speechless. All she could do was laugh.
"...Why do you..."
"..."
"...still see me as human?"
And yet, she was crying.
"How can you do that?"
Pearls tumbled to the floor, rolling over the hem of her dress.
"Why haven’t you changed at all?"
When we have changed so much.
"Isn’t this a mockery of the humans who died because of me? Because of my brother? How can you be so kind?"
"I don’t see you as human because I’m kind," he said. "I treat you as human because it’s the truth."
"How ridiculous. What a joke. No one else sees us as human. So yes, you are still far too kind."
Perhaps because the pearls fell from eyes that remained waxen and pale, without a hint of redness, she did not look particularly sad. They seemed like mere ornaments.
"I am not human, Giovanni."
Aria found his words slightly offensive. She didn’t like it. She wanted to find peace, even if it meant devouring everything.
"But you could be."
"It’s only natural for monsters to devour and torment humans."
"Claiming that monstrous atrocities are natural just because you are called a monster is nothing but an excuse."
Giovanni still wore a smile, his voice soft and gentle. His smile, remaining perfectly intact despite his broken and battered state, looked like something preserved in a painting, sending a shiver down her spine.
It was like watching a portrait burn, its expression never changing. His blood-soaked body, hovering somewhere between life and death, continued to speak.
"You could have chosen not to devour humans. You could have chosen not to torment them."
"..."
"You could have avoided being called a monster, Aria. You had that choice."
Unaccustomed to fear and anxiety, the mermaid did not know what emotion she was feeling. She had never felt this way, not even when her master—the sole meaning of her long life—had died.
She could only plead. Because the person before her was her only reason for being, she was uncharacteristically foolish.
"Don’t be angry with me."
"Aria is my student."
"...Still?"
"Yes, still."
If you are this angry because I am still your student...
"...Then isn’t that too cruel?"
She knew. She knew it was hypocritical to say such things when she prided herself on being a monster. The souls of those who had died by her hands would scoff and look down on her in contempt. But if she had ever cared about doing what was right, she would never have chosen to become a monster in the first place.
Aria, caring only for her own feelings, repeated the thought in her mind. You know, I missed you for longer than I can count.
"Don’t suffer like that in front of me. You shouldn’t."
"If you are a monster, then this is perfectly fine."
"..."
In the end, the mermaid had to admit it.
"...That I am still your student."
"Yes."
"If I am not a monster, can I be punished in some other way?"
"Of course. This is a conversation between humans, after all."
Giovanni spoke in a warm, firm voice befitting a teacher.
"I have always treated you as humans. As beings just like me."
"..."
"I know you are mermaids, and I know the differences, but that does not make you monsters."
She had thought this was the perfect moment to bring their long story to a close, but it seemed Giovanni had no intention of ending it here.
"Why is killing me not the perfect ending?"
"Because that, too, is a choice to evade responsibility. It is a cowardly act."
"I will never see my sins as sins for the rest of my life."
"But as long as you remain by my side, you will come to see them as such."
"To be able to stay by my old friend’s side is a great honor," she said, amused. "Do you really think that is punishment enough? Returning someone precious to me?"
"First, I am in no position to punish you. And second, I am not returning anything to you."
"But if you aren’t going to punish me, why keep me alive? If you aren’t returning anything, why do you intend to stay by my side?"
"My very existence will be your punishment. Since I love what is good, you will pay attention to good things, and one day, you will be reformed."
"That will never be a hell for me. If the people I’ve killed and tortured knew of this, they would weep tears of blood. This is no punishment..."
"I repeat, I am in no position to punish you. I have neither the responsibility nor the duty to do so. Isn’t that right?"
He continued.
"However, as time passes, you will one day view yourselves not as monsters, but as humans."
"That’s absurd."
"When that day comes, even if no one forces you, you will seek out your own hell. You will punish yourselves."
"How do you know that?"
"I raised you. I taught you, and I protected you. I know how good you were when you were by my side."
Giovanni spoke calmly, as if stating an obvious fact like the sun being hot.
"You are so curious and clever. You have the will to grow, and you aren’t afraid to try new things."
"..."
"That is the 'you' I know. So stay by my side. You must take responsibility for your actions."
In the banquet hall, ruined by the blood of a noble priest and the fire of the sun, Aria surrendered.
"...Fine, then."
She admitted defeat.
She had no regrets about her long, meaningless tantrum, but it had dragged on for far too long. Her hatred and anger were endless, so she could not stop, nor did she want to. If possible, she had hoped that Giovanni, her Giovanni, would return and bring an end to the mermaid’s tale. Only he could end the mermaid’s life. Only he had the right to conclude this mad fairy tale.
"I wanted to win, but I lost."
"I suppose it is because, even like this, I am still your teacher."
"So give me time."
"Time?"
"I need time to think about what form I will take to remain by my teacher’s side."
"As do I."
At that moment, the few remaining spears of light vanished. Aria stared into the empty air, a lingering trace of regret on her face.
"...You should have killed the monster."
"As I keep telling you, that is not my role. Why do you seek punishment from me?"
"Are you going to call me cowardly?"
"Yes. So don’t be a coward. Stop lingering in the time when I was dead, and start acting like a proper adult."
"What if I keep killing people?"
"That is also none of my business. I have never encouraged you to kill, nor have I ever stopped you."
"Then how can you call this an ending? Nothing has been resolved."
"But I am by your side now. Nothing may have been resolved, but that doesn’t mean nothing will change. Right?"
"I won’t deny that."
"Personally, I think this isn’t such a bad ending. Did you know?"
Giovanni smiled.
"In the fairy tales of Earth, the Mermaid Princess sometimes dissolves into sea foam and disappears. But sometimes, she becomes human and lives happily ever after with her prince."
"Yes, my prince. I’ve thought of you that way ever since I first saw you. So, will you live happily ever after with me now?"
"If you wish to, you may. The end of wrath can be reconciliation, forgiveness, or ruin. It all depends on how much responsibility you take, and how you choose to bear it."
"And it will have nothing to do with you, Teacher? I can’t tell if you’re being kind or indifferent."
"Ah, my dear. I’m sorry to say this, but I’ve done my part. Honestly, I wanted to just cut ties and pretend I didn’t know you, but you kept causing trouble left and right. I only came to see you after swallowing my own distaste."
"How cold."
"So... let’s take our time thinking about the rest. The story you write from now on is entirely up to your choices."
Gio brought it to a close.
"Because we have plenty of time."
"..."
"Right?"
* * *
An Ending for the Mermaid Princess (1/1)
Fairy Tale Synchronization Rate: 100.0%
Acquired: Bartlan Giovanni
Connection: 'Deep Sea Kingdom' and 'Breathing Sea'
Palette Residents: Aria, Iser
Connection successfully completed.
Achievement: Law of Equivalent Exchange
Achievement: Painter in the Painting
Achievement: Painting within a Painting
Achievement: Human in the Frame
Achievement: ....
.......
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Tutorial completed.