Chapter 88
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 88
Iser was bewildered.
The Sun God… in a teddy bear? Why?
Gio might have inherited the god’s divinity, but that didn’t mean the god himself had ceased to exist. Iser could tell. The god he had once served now resided within the soft, pale-gold teddy bear before him.
He seems to have wanted this himself, so I can’t really say anything. And since Teacher is the only believer left, he doesn’t have to fulfill his duties as a god anymore. Still, he was once called the one true god… what about his dignity?
As a former priest-in-training who still played the part, Iser couldn’t help but worry about the god’s dignity.
Why on earth is a god inside a teddy bear? Of all things, a teddy bear?
He couldn’t understand it at all.
“…Lord Sun God?”
“Kwoo.”
“…”
And why did it have to sound so cute?
“…Do… do you like that shell?”
“Kwoo.”
“May I ask your reason for entering the teddy bear?”
“Kwoo-kwoo, kwoo-oo-kwoo… kwoo-kwoo-kwoo.”
“…”
As Iser stood there, completely lost, Gio translated for him.
“He says it’s so he can eat.”
“…An appetite?”
“Apparently, he has one now.”
“Why?”
Did it even make sense for a god to have an appetite?
“A god is… well, a god.”
“Are you suggesting a god shouldn’t even eat?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I understand what you mean.”
“You do?”
“Of course.”
Before Iser knew it, Gio’s hair had turned platinum blonde. He nodded, wearing the noble smile of a priest.
“You’re wondering why a god, who has no need for food and has likely never even desired it, would inhabit the body of a mere teddy bear just so he could eat. Correct?”
“…Exactly.”
“To be honest, even I find it difficult to give a proper explanation. I just brought him meals without thinking much of it, and at some point, he started getting greedy for food…”
“…Ah…”
Understanding a bit more now, Iser let out a sigh. He looked as relieved as if he’d just heard the answer to a difficult riddle.
“So this was your doing, Teacher.”
“Why is it that whenever something incomprehensible happens, you always assume I’m the cause?”
“You aren’t seriously asking because you don’t know, are you? Surely not.”
“Well, anyway.”
Gio stacked the basket of clams Iser was holding on top of his own and smiled gently.
“You’ll get used to it. For now, shall we prepare the meal?”
“Prepare the meal…”
“Dinner isn’t far off. If we want to eat our fill, we should start cooking soon.”
“Y-yes, of course.”
Iser readily agreed. In his culture, an invitation to one’s home was synonymous with a meal, so he found the immediate pivot to food quite natural.
“I haven’t heard the details yet. What’s on the menu?”
“Hmm, grilled clams and tomato stew, I suppose.”
“Edlen Stew?”
“Naturally.”
In Edlen Village, where they had spent their childhood, tomato stew was simply ‘Edlen Stew’—a hearty dish simmered with the local freshwater seafood.
“Ah, that sounds wonderful…”
Hearing the name for the first time in ages, the tension melted from Iser’s face.
“The stew in that village was truly delicious. Especially the one you made, Teacher…”
“My cooking skills haven’t rusted just because some time has passed. You can look forward to it.”
Gio nodded, then let out an “Ah,” and added, “I’ll need at least one person to help me, though.”
Two pale hands shot up at the same time.
“I will.”
“I’ll do it.”
“…”
“…”
The mermaid siblings stared at each other.
“…I will do it,” Iser said firmly.
“I’m obviously the better cook,” Aria countered.
“Teacher always did the cooking, and our role was just to assist, wasn’t it? In that case, I would be better suited than you, Sister.”
“I have no idea what makes you think you’d be better. Someone who’s good at cooking is naturally good at assisting, Iser.”
“On my honor as a mermaid, I will not back down.”
“Then it can’t be helped. According to the traditions of the sea, when we cannot agree, we must use force—”
Gio cut in. “This looks like it’s going to take a while, so I’ll just do it myself.”
At those words, the mermaids settled it with rock-paper-scissors in an instant.
“I won… I shall assist you.”
“Is this really how it’s done?”
Though Gio wondered if this was right, the sight was amusing enough that he didn’t mind.
“Come to think of it, we had rock-paper-scissors where I’m from, too.”
“Ah, you mentioned Earth has the same culture.”
“Yes. I believe it’s a game played in quite a few countries.”
“I see.”
Left behind, Aria could only click her tongue. “I should have trained more.”
“Kwoo?”
“Excuse me, sir, but could you please not be so familiar with me?”
“Kwoo-kwoo-kwoo…”
“Are you laughing?”
Gio led Iser into the kitchen.
“Now, shall we clean the clams?”
“This really feels like the old days.”
“You’ve grown quite a lot since then, though, Iser.”
“I can still shrink right now.”
“My little Iser was small and cute. You’re not small anymore, so it doesn’t count.”
“Ah… so you don’t find me cute anymore.”
“A fully grown, genocidal, war-criminal mermaid shrinking down doesn’t exactly scream ‘cute’…”
“You are entirely correct, Teacher.” Iser readily accepted this. “What should I help you with now, Teacher?”
“Hmm… you really aren’t cute anymore.”
Seeing him act like a polished gentleman with not a shred of shyness left, Giovanni felt a little sad.
Is this what parents feel like?
“We have our own parents, though…”
“Mermaids aren’t that obsessed with blood relations to begin with, are they?”
“In that sense, you were certainly closer to the definition of a ‘guardian,’ Teacher.”
“You really can’t take a joke. How did you grow up to be such a boring adult?” Gio laughed softly and pulled a clam out of the basket. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Sunshine Conch.”
“Has it?”
“There was a time when I wondered why it was called a Sunshine Conch when it grows underground.”
The underground cavern of Edlen Village had small openings through which sunlight and moonlight filtered in. Sunshine Conches tended to gather in abundance where the light reached.
“Let’s see…”
Sunshine Conch
A conch with a transparent shell and body. They are exclusively female and reproduce by mating with the all-male Moonlight Conch. They emerge every two hours to bask in sunlight before returning underwater. The medicinal properties of its shell and body improve with age. They only inhabit areas near Pure Water Rock.
Alchemy Method: If the body is extracted without boiling and dried in the sun, it turns into a hard, transparent pebble. Consuming it like a pill is good for restoring eyesight. The shell retains warmth when left in the sun. Finely grinding the extremely hot shell into powder and consuming it is good for heart disease.
“…”
“Teacher?”
“I had no idea it had these medicinal effects.”
As a doctor, he found the claims about restoring eyesight and treating heart disease a bit absurd.
“Heart disease, huh…”
“Teacher…?”
“Does your heart happen to hurt, Iser?”
“You have the same look in your eyes as my sister when she’s found a new test subject. Unfortunately for you, I am in perfect health,” Iser said with a polite smile. “Of course, if you wish, I can go catch one right now.”
“Are you saying you’ll harm someone right in front of me, a doctor and a priest? How many more sins do you plan to take on?”
“Wouldn’t a beast in human form make a suitable test subject? Those who do not deserve to be called human…”
“If it’s a beast that committed crimes against children, I might be convinced.”
“You haven’t changed. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“But it really is surprising.”
He had never imagined that the Sunshine Conch from his old home possessed such properties. Even though it was a specialty of Edlen Village, it wasn’t particularly rare; it was common enough to be found everywhere.
“I knew many people who ground the shells to use as paint.”
“Didn’t you do that as well, Teacher? You always used shell paint when painting mermaids.”
“That’s right. I thought it would be nice if the paint smelled like the sea.”
But he had no idea the powder could treat heart disease.
“…”
He had even researched it before but had never discovered such effects.
…Is this an effect I can see now because I’ve changed?
“…Have you changed?”
“I’ve changed in many ways.”
He had gone from a human to a portrait, after all.
“Anyway, all’s well that ends well.”
Ta-da.
Gio stopped thinking.
“My ultimate positive mindset doesn’t change, regardless of my state of being.”
“I don’t know what this ‘ultimate positive mindset’ is, but shouldn’t it change at least a little…?”
“Do we really need to live such exhausting lives? This teacher thinks not, Iser.”
“How can you be so sure you’re a normal human with a mindset like that?”
“Because my life isn’t defined by how others see me.”
Having reaffirmed his unshakeable self-esteem, Gio resumed observing the Sunshine Conch.
“Seeing it after so long, I realize what a truly beautiful shell it is.”
It was a conch with a shell that shone with a clean, gem-like light. The pentagonal, horn-shaped shell showed numerous ridges, as if it had grown in stages. It possessed a sparkle that looked almost like a painting.
“Because of its beautiful appearance, it was often made into accessories.”
“Yes, I believe you also made window-hanging ornaments out of them, Teacher.”
“They do shine beautifully when they catch the sunlight.”
It dispersed a variety of colorful lights in all directions, much like a prism.
“Ah, dear.”
The creature inside pulled its already transparent body deep within its shell. Perhaps because its body was as clear as glass, it was difficult to see even through the prism-like shell.
“Boiling it won’t damage the shell, so we can just cook it as is. It survives on sunlight alone without swallowing mud, so we don’t need to purge it. We just need to wash it clean, boil it, and eat.”
“I… remember that as well, but…”
“I was just reminiscing, so don’t mind me. My heart is fluttering at the thought of preparing these shells after so long.”
Next, Gio picked up a creature that had been clinging to the cavern wall.
This one is similar to an abalone.
Its shell was much blacker and smoother than an abalone’s, but other elements were quite similar—especially its wide, white flesh.
“I believe the name of this was…”
“The Black Tray Clam.”
“Ah, right.”
Black Tray Clam
A clam famous for its white flesh, which contrasts sharply with its pitch-black, plain shell. It is a high-end ingredient and a delicate clam that will cook if the temperature rises even slightly. Its shell is known as a material for paint due to its beautiful black color. Note: If touched by bare human hands, the flesh will cook.
“It looks impossible for this to taste bad.”
Gio smiled warmly and wiped all the black clams clean. Since these clams didn’t consume mud either, they didn’t require any purging.
“Next is this one. Do you remember it, Iser?”
“I remember you particularly liked it, Teacher.”
“Because the texture is wonderful. If you eat it raw, it’s tender like pudding, and if you cook it, it’s chewy like meat…”
Club Trumpet Shell
A light-brown shelled clam that lives buried vertically in the mud. It was named the Club Trumpet Shell because its flesh resembles a wooden club and its shell resembles a trumpet. The inside is filled with pale-yellow flesh, which has a very tender texture. Note: It quickly becomes tough if subjected to excessive heat.
In short, it was basically a clam with one long adductor muscle inside.
“Sigh, I really should sell this in Korea.”
“Please calm down.”
Today, too, Gio was a worldly priest.