Chapter 87
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 87
"I’m mimicking you," Aria continued, her voice clear but with the immature tone of a child. "Why aren’t you even trying?"
"Does having black hair mean I’m not Gio anymore?"
"Well..."
Aria took him in.
He wore neither the golden priestly robes that symbolized the sun nor the white cape of a priest of light. Instead, he was draped in a black cloak.
Unlike the man in her memories, he had pitch-black hair and a grim, humorless expression.
His presence possessed a chilling, terrifying dignity that hardly seemed human.
"..."
And yet, she couldn’t say he wasn’t ‘Giovanni.’
"...I still don’t quite understand."
"I don’t know what you mean."
"Is this what they call reincarnation?"
It was truly strange.
"I’ve seen cases like this before, but this feels different. It’s not like you were simply deified by receiving the Sun God’s divinity, either."
How should she explain the Gio standing before her?
"The Earthlings call you 'Black Cloak,' don’t they?"
"It’s a name I was given."
"Is that your identity now?"
"It’s just one of my names."
"Right, Giovanni."
The young mermaid stepped forward on her bare feet, drawing closer to him.
"Were you... a portrait from the very beginning?"
"I am human."
"..."
Only after a long silence did Aria reply.
"...I suppose you are."
Even with her vast knowledge, Aria couldn’t properly define the Black Cloak before her. He seemed like a painting, felt like a god, and yet also seemed truly human.
"What brings you to this village?"
"I came to dig for clams."
"Well, yes. You always did love to eat. I can understand that."
"And I remember that you loved my cooking."
"Then will you invite me to this feast of yours?"
"If you help me dig."
"...You frivolous human..."
Aria wandered across the mudflats, dragging a white gown that was far too large for her small frame. Fortunately, the magically treated fabric didn’t stain easily.
"I’ll help."
"Thank you."
They used to spend time like this in the past, too.
"This is nostalgic."
"What is?"
"Just... this and that. Trivial things."
Giovanni used to bring the mermaids, who were curious about humans, to places just like this. He took them to beaches crowded with fishermen, bustling marketplaces filled with shoppers, and even banks where people deposited money.
As she dug with her bare feet, the mud—which was pure white, unlike Earth’s—slowly churned.
"What are you planning to make?"
"I’m thinking of making grilled clams and Edlen stew."
"That sounds delicious. Are you going to put clams in the stew as well?"
"That would be good. Or I could add meat, since I have some."
"Hmm..."
Gio was an excellent cook.
"Come to think of it, you were a noble. Why did you enjoy cooking so much?"
"You never asked when you were younger. Why the sudden curiosity?"
"Back then, I thought it was the wiser choice. Human lives are so short and complicated... I was afraid that if I poked you with a careless question, you might bleed."
"And now?"
"Now I know you’re not the type to bleed from a simple poke."
"Indeed."
Gio, with his pitch-black eyes, stepped closer and rolled up Aria’s sleeves. The gown, sized for an adult man, had to be folded back several times before her hands finally appeared. They were the small, delicate hands of a child.
"I was a noble who enjoyed cooking simply because I wanted to eat delicious food."
"As expected, nothing grand. But you could have just had someone else cook for you."
"I wanted to see for myself what ingredients went into a dish, how they were used, and how it all came together."
Gio lightly tossed Honey from his shoulder. The bird flew up to just beneath the cavern ceiling, brightly illuminating the underground. The white mud, already pale, became so vividly clear it was almost dazzling.
"I wanted to improve myself."
"That sounds just like you."
"Where is Iser?"
"Hiding in the temple."
"Why didn’t he come with you?"
"Someone needs to guard the house."
"Who would rob such an ominous house?"
"The Black Cloak, perhaps."
"..."
Gio felt a bit wronged. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Am I scary, Aria?"
"How could you not be?"
"Why?"
"You have a dark, gloomy air about you, and you’re intimidating."
"I’ve never been intimidating."
"Maybe you are now."
"I still say that’s unfair."
"Well, besides that..."
Looking up at him with her shrunken body, Aria said, "...I didn’t know what kind of face to make when I saw you, so I couldn’t bring myself to visit."
"True, we did start fighting the moment we met."
There was no time for a touching reunion.
"From my perspective, it’s as if the nieces and nephews I raised like my own children went abroad for a few years, only to come back as mass murderers who kidnapped a child."
"If we’re going to put it that way, then from my perspective, it’s like my beloved teacher, who I thought was dead, reincarnated as a pitch-black, monstrous blob that isn’t even human. To top it all off, you possess the divinity of that insufferable Sun God, which makes me wonder if someone is playing a prank just to piss us off."
Gio nodded at her words.
"Indeed. I suppose my situation was the more shocking of the two."
"I’ve almost missed that shamelessness of yours."
The mermaid let out a chuckle.
"Aren’t you angry?"
"Should I be?"
"At the very least, Giovanni, what we’ve done all this time wasn’t exactly to your liking."
"A dead man like me has no need to take responsibility or get angry over how the children he raised have changed."
"That’s rather cold..."
"I let out all my anger back at the banquet hall."
With his pitch-black hair and indifferent eyes, Gio continued, "The long-dead Giovanni has neither the duty nor the authority to question what came after."
"..."
Soon, the mermaid spoke.
"Then that’s fine."
Aria didn’t wonder about it anymore either.
"Since you said we have plenty of time."
"Exactly."
Above all, Gio was not one to overthink things. He wasn’t the type to be frightened just because the mermaid disciples he cherished had grown into crazed mermaids.
"Besides, using your brain when there’s food in front of you is a bad habit."
"Isn’t that just because you’re strange, Gio? Why do you love food so much?"
"Why don’t you love food that much?"
"You can’t live just to eat."
"But you can’t live without eating, either."
"...Fine, as long as you’re happy."
"You give up easier than I thought."
It was unexpected.
"You used to try so much harder to win."
"Because I’m an adult now."
"Coming from the one who cried during our meal."
"...You do remember who made me cry, right?"
"And you remember who made me angry, right?"
"...Oh..."
"I win again."
"...You really are shameless..."
"It’s my charm."
Gio looked down at the mermaid, who had shrunk so much that he had to bend down quite a bit just to meet her eyes.
"Can you even dig for clams in that body?"
"I used to come dig for them even when my body was this small. Why bring that up now?"
"I was asking if you feel any discomfort, with your body reverted to a child’s."
"Mimicry at this level is easy for me now."
"Hmm."
After a moment, he asked, "That gown... That’s mine, isn’t it?"
"..."
The mermaid quickly replied, "This doctor’s gown?"
"Yes."
"Well, yes. It’s mine now."
"That’s fine. I had intended to pass it down to you anyway."
"..."
After a long pause, the mermaid asked, feigning indifference, "Is that so?"
"Did you think you stole it?"
"..."
"Your silence tells me you did."
She really had. Aria couldn’t deny Gio’s words.
"I never imagined you intended to pass it down to me."
"I planned to leave the doctor’s gown to you, Aria, and my priestly robes to Iser."
"Unfortunately, your priestly robes were torn to shreds by those Sun Cult fanatics."
"I figured as much. Fortunately, the doctor’s gown found its rightful owner."
"It’s truly unexpected."
Aria kept smiling.
"Since we, the mermaids, ruined your life when you were human."
"The tragedies back then were more a case of humans ruining things for themselves."
Giovanni could have easily chosen not to help the mermaids. Humans could have engaged in a massive, pointless emotional war with them. Once, this world could have been a place where humans and mermaids lived together.
"You never stole anything from me, Aria."
"Is that really true?"
"I simply passed it down to you, as intended."
"You’re still so kind."
"Did you want me to be different?"
"Perhaps."
"But unfortunately..."
In the end, Gio was still Gio.
"I don’t change very easily."
Perhaps it was because he wasn’t one to think too deeply.
"On that note, shall we get back to digging for clams?"
"You certainly have a knack for ruining the mood."
"I have to prepare dinner before it gets any later..."
"Hah."
The mermaid grumbled as she adjusted the gown, which kept slipping down despite Gio having rolled up the sleeves.
"I thought you came to talk to me, but you’re just a glutton."
"It’s good to do both at once."
"You really just go with the flow. That’s so you, Giovanni."
"You still don’t seem to understand that life is most enjoyable when you don’t take it too seriously."
"..."
After a short while, the mermaid asked, "...Are you happy now?"
The answer wasn’t difficult.
"I always have been."
"...Why?"
"Because I’ve always done my best."
"..."
"So, about those clams..."
"Oh, honestly."
Though she let out a small huff of annoyance, Aria dutifully joined the clam-digging expedition.
* * *
"We’re back."
"Kwoo..."
The teddy bear looked at the four creatures, each carrying a basket full of clams.
"Kwoo?"
"Yes, I caught Aria and Iser too—"
"Kwoo."
"—I mean, I brought them along."
Since there had been no word from them for a while, Iser had come to Edlen Village to see what was going on.
And there, he had discovered his sister, dressed in a gown, squatting and digging for clams. Gio had never known that a face already so pale could turn even whiter. And just like that, Iser was forcibly drafted into the clam excavation squad.
Iser looked at the Sun God, who was wearing the guise of a teddy bear, with a complicated expression.
"..."
"Kwoooo."
"...You’ve become quite cute since I last saw you..."
"Kwoo-kwoo."
"Is he laughing?"
Seriously? What on earth am I looking at?
Clutching a basket of clams to his chest, Iser was already dazed.
He was bewildered by the sight of none other than Aria digging for clams with mud all over her hands, and equally bewildered by his own situation—having been naturally dragged into digging clams with them and then pulled all the way back to the cabin.
"Why is the Sun God here...? I felt the presence of the sun vanish, but this is..."
"He’s still your grandfather, so don’t be like that. No need to make an elder feel uncomfortable when he’s just sitting there quietly."
"No, no, I—"
Iser was at a loss for words, but his sister Aria wasn’t in a much better state.
"A teddy bear?"
"Kwoo."
"Are you serious?"
"Kwoo-kwoo-kwoo..."
"He’s laughing?"
Amidst the quiet chaos, Honey waddled across the floor and approached the teddy bear. Then, with a clatter, he spat out all sorts of clams, big and small.
"Kkook."
"Kwoo."
"Kwoorrr!"
"Kwoo-kwoo..."
The teddy bear clapped his cotton paws, chuckling like an old man watching his grandchild’s antics. As Honey proudly puffed out his chest, Dana, who had been watching, stood beside him and struck the same pose. The Sun God was absolutely delighted.
"Good little ones."
Gio was pleased too.
"..."
"..."
Gio called out to the speechless mermaids.
"Time to clean the clams, kids."
"...Are you our dad?"
"I’m already a father of two. Any more than that is a bit much."
"Then uncle."
"Sure, my niece. Want some allowance?"
"Is this fun for you?"
"It is, actually."
"Oh..."
With that flat reply, Aria froze like a statue. Iser adjusted his grip on the clam basket, which he had almost dropped, and turned his gaze to Gio.
"Teacher."
"Yes, go ahead."
"Do you, by any chance, have plans to destroy Earth...?"
"Why would you suddenly ask something so horrible?"
"Considering the lineup..."
"...?"
Gio looked around.
"..."
He couldn’t understand.
"It’s just one teddy bear, one bird, and one cat. What could possibly be wrong with such a cute and harmless lineup?"
"Ah, so that’s how you view them... I understand."
"I don’t think you do."
Even before they started cleaning the clams, they were already quite the lively family.