Chapter 47
Chapter 47
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: The Protagonist is a Villain
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Selu was extremely friendly toward me. It was hard to believe we'd been locked in a life-or-death duel just a short while ago.
The next morning, when I actually entered the bathhouse to wash up for real, Selu gazed at me intently with eyes full of expectation.
"What's wrong?"
"What? Aren't you here to do it first thing in the morning? I figured you'd gotten hooked on mermaid pussy and came rushing back for more."
I frowned and shook my head. Selu leaned back against the tub, chuckling as if she found my reaction hilarious.
I settled into the bath and asked her,
"Is there anything you want to eat? I can't release you into the river, but I'll accommodate you as much as possible."
"Heh, give something tasty to Eve instead of me."
"Eve's a criminal for now, so I can't give her special treatment until she goes through reeducation. I'm the lord, after all."
"You're also a religious man who fucks mermaids."
"From a religious perspective, reeducation is an essential process. Eve isn't as cooperative as you, so things aren't progressing at all."
"Just satisfy her with that thing of yours."
Selu pointed at my cock as she said it. I stared at her steadily, then shook my head. Reading my gaze, she asked,
"Why? What's up?"
"Why are you so friendly toward me?"
"What do you mean?"
"I've captured both of you, and Eve doesn't know what'll happen to her in my hands. Why are you being so nice? Shouldn't you resent me a little? Put up some resistance? You hate humans, don't you? Even if I saved your lives, I'm human too. Why the friendliness?"
I hadn't thought about it yesterday, lost in mermaid pussy, but it struck me as odd now. If they were human, they'd be trembling with rage, yet Selu was amicable toward me. Mermaids weren't a species that blindly submitted out of fear, so her docility after one defeat felt strangely off to me.
"I do hate humans. But how should I put it? I hate them, but I don't feel the need to vent that much."
"That's an odd way to say it."
"Humans are like storms to me. Storms you encounter while swimming the ocean. Ever lost friends or children to disasters? When a massive storm rolls in, sometimes kids get swept into the rapids and torn apart on the reefs. Young or immature mermaids die like that. It happens occasionally."
The image of mermaid corpses floating aimlessly on the sea soured my mood. I grimaced unconsciously before forcing my expression neutral. Selu caught the disgust on my face and smirked faintly.
"Humans are the same. Living in the depths, you run into one and die just like that. Do you know how humans hunt us? They fire harpoons or net guns into spots where we might be swimming. If you don't dodge, you're caught and dragged away. If I had to compare, it's like hooks dropping from the sky, snatching you one by one. Experience that a few times—what happens? First panic, then hatred, and finally resignation. You face reality head-on."
Selu pressed close to the edge of the tub, her slender, pale arm gliding seductively over my shoulder.
"Even sinking ships and killing sailors doesn't last. More hunters come. Kill them one by one, and we build a bad reputation. Kill, and stronger ones keep coming endlessly; don't kill, and you die. It's a vicious cycle. So humans are storms to me. Unstoppable. I can't eliminate them—I've got my limits. Heh... funny, right?"
"So you've given up?"
Selu shook her head and pointed at the bathhouse door.
"That's why, if we really wanted to avoid them, we could flee to the farthest seas where humans never reach. Build a mermaid paradise, sing and swim every day. Like finding an island free of storms. But you asked why I'm treating you so well?"
I nodded. Her roundabout story was finally reaching its point.
"I could live like that, but Eve can't live like a mermaid."
"Eve's half-mermaid too. She swims great."
"But she's not a mermaid."
"Drawing a line, huh."
"We have to. Eve can't do anything mermaids can."
"But she's a mermaid, right? Stronger in water, blue blood."
"She can't lay eggs in breeding season, mimic voices or sing mermaid songs. Can't talk underwater, no gills so she can't breathe there. To us, she's just a human who swims exceptionally well."
"Eve'd be sad to hear that."
"Can't be helped. It's the truth. Eve gets mad every time I say it. Insists she's a mermaid over and over. Maybe that's why she slaughtered hunters so viciously."
"You don't think of Eve as your daughter?"
"No, she's my daughter no matter what. Even if she couldn't swim, the fact she carries mermaid blood qualifies her in my eyes."
"If you accept her, that's that. You're the leader of Mermaid Island."
"Does her being my daughter make her a mermaid?"
Selu tilted her head, as if she didn't grasp my point. Without much thought, I replied,
"Sure."
"You're a lord too. You know acceptance doesn't make things happen by your will alone."
"But you're the leader. Do leaders have limited authority in mermaid society?"
"A leader can't tell the others something false is true. Me seeing Eve as my daughter is separate from the others accepting her as a mermaid."
"That's weird. With Eve around, you could take out most hunters. Wouldn't keeping her benefit the other mermaids?"
Selu burst into laughter again, her giggles echoing in the narrow bathhouse. After a while, she asked,
"If a cannon in your territory suddenly spoke, would you treat it as human? Even if you did, would your people?"
It was a question I'd never considered. If a cannon in my territory started talking, should I treat it as human? I pondered but couldn't answer easily. Right in front of me was someone who spoke yet wasn't treated as human.
"Heh... that's it. Eve can live with mermaids but never be one. But she can be human."
"With Eve's personality, she wouldn't fit with humans. She hates them more than anyone. How can you tell her to live among them?"
"Eve can do everything humans can—and swim better than most."
"Logical. But it lacks emotion. Eve won't like it."
"But humans are where Eve ultimately belongs. That's her only option left. You planning to send her to the execution grounds?"
"No."
After fucking a fish, a half-fish was no issue. I planned to make Eve mine. A pretty, useful girl like that was worth it.
"That's why I'm nice to you. Take good care of our Eve. All I've got to offer is this body. Heh..."
Selu stuck out her tongue and shook her head. I'd thought it before, but compared to her first impression, Selu was smarter than expected. I sank up to my neck in the bath, exhaling as bubbles rose. After soaking a while, I stood up.
"Want to soap me up?"
Selu asked. I had to counter,
"Where'd you learn about soaping up? Do you soap up before going into seawater normally?"
"Eve talked about it when she first came to Mermaid Island. Said she felt grimy without showers. Later she fetched fresh water and washed herself."
Seemed she had a surprisingly tidy personality. As I finished bathing and headed for the door, Selu said,
"Oh, feed me too. I eat anything. Something tasty will do."
"Yes. Got it."
"And take good care of Eve. You have to, okay?"
Selu grinned and repeated her plea. I'd treat Eve very well indeed—in body-to-body lessons.
To focus on work in the morning, I ordered a servant to feed Eve and Selu. The servant, puzzled at feeding mermaids for the first time, asked,
"My lord. What do mermaids eat?"
"She said she eats anything, so give her whatever."
"Ah, then the food scraps here..."
"...You're going to take food scraps to my bathhouse?"
"No! Sorry."
Sometimes these servants pulled sneaky bullshit where I hadn't specified. I'd have to crack down later, but now I was busy with Selu and Eve. Gazing at my last two vials of aphrodisiac, I wondered. Useless on mermaids, but on half-mermaid Eve?
I finished the final paperwork and headed to the underground dungeon. Time for some exciting body talk.