Chapter 9
Soon, Sharkrof muttered in a relieved voice.
“I’m glad we moved far away from the fish. I can still faintly smell that tempting scent even here, but it’s better than before. By the way, now that I look around, there are quite a few foolish shops here that will end up becoming victims of the sea’s whim tomorrow. I suppose I should go around and tell them all.”
Sharkrof began busily going around, spreading warnings about the sea’s whim.
Just earlier he said he didn’t want to help land people.
Yet surprisingly, he was being quite diligent.
Sharkrof even gave advice to the owner of a souvenir shop that sold fake shark teeth.
At first it seemed like he would just talk about the waves, but in the end he pointed at the stall and added,
“And these tooth necklaces. They’re all fake.”
Sharkrof said.
“Oh, well… that’s true. But how did you know?”
“Well, they have to be fake. Sharks are strong and beautiful, elegant predators that are difficult to capture. They’re not creatures that ordinary people could catch and turn into tooth necklaces. Earlier I thought it was terribly deceitful when I realized they weren’t real, but now I see it differently. I’ll take it as a kind of compliment. It means that catching sharks is so difficult for land people that they couldn’t even make real tooth necklaces.”
There was a strange sense of pride in Sharkrof’s voice as he said that.
“You must really like sharks.”
The merchant said with an amused smile.
“You could say that.”
Sharkrof nodded meaningfully and then turned toward me.
“I’ve done everything I needed to do. Let’s go back, Miss Marina.”
When we returned to the front yard of the shop, Sharkrof let out a short sigh as if he were regretful.
“I resent the hot sunlight in this area, and the fact that summer is about to begin in earnest. Because the sunlight is so strong, my gills dry out faster than usual. If the weather had been humid, I could have endured longer. It can’t be helped. I’ll come again next time.”
Sharkrof said.
At the word leave, Phineas’s face immediately brightened.
Just like last time, Sharkrof walked to the seaside cliff shaded from the sun and naturally jumped into the water.
The next day, I couldn’t help but feel surprised.
People from the lower streets had come to our shop together early in the morning.
“What’s going on?”
I asked with a puzzled expression.
The people answered in unison.
Sharkrof had been right.
At that moment, Sharkrof was sitting beside me behind the counter, observing land objects with curious eyes.
Soon he lifted his eyes at the people’s gazes.
“I knew it. My ability to read the waves is always accurate.”
Sharkrof said calmly.
“By the way, I was too surprised yesterday to ask properly… You said you’re planning to work here, right?”
One of the people asked.
“Yeah.”
“You said you came from a very far place. So how did you end up coming all the way here to work? Are you acquainted with Marina?”
“Oh, right, yes. We were old friends. She said she needed a place to work, so I told her to come to our shop…”
I gave a vague explanation.
Only after saying it did I realize my mistake. I had accidentally spoken as if Sharkrof had already been hired.
I only planned to ask Sharkrof for help with the café when we were short-handed…
That thought flashed through my mind.
Meanwhile, the people didn’t seem to pay much attention to my answer.
They were too busy throwing questions at the strange employee who had suddenly appeared in their quiet village.
It didn’t seem like they would be leaving anytime soon.
Seeing them naturally ordering coffee from me and sitting down in their seats.
“By the way, how did you predict the movement of the waves? Could you teach us?”
“It’s not something that can be taught. It’s a natural sense.”
“Why are your teeth so sharp? They look just like a shark’s.”
“Because of a special trait that runs in my family’s bloodline.”
“What does that mean?”
“It just means I’ve been like this since childhood. In my hometown it’s not something people care about. So you don’t need to worry about it either.”
“Come to think of it, where is your hometown, Sharkrof?”
“A very far place.”
“Where exactly?”
“A fishing village far away.”
“You seemed like a sailor. Why did you leave the navy and decide to work in a shop?”
“Because of many difficult experiences in war.”
“Oh… You’re still so young. You must have gone through terrible things…”
“So that’s how you answer when you don’t want anyone asking more questions.”
“What did you say?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
Sharkrof calmly answered the flood of questions in his usual flat tone.
From my perspective, knowing that everything he said was a lie, it was astonishing.
How could he come up with answers so smoothly on the spot?
Did he practice them in the sea last night?
To be honest, I had been a little worried about how the neighbors would react to Sharkrof.
But watching people talk with him now, it seemed that worry had been unnecessary.
Thinking about it, it might have been inevitable that Sharkrof would become a famous figure in the village.
Those fresh blue, moist eyes that suited someone with the blood of the sea. His desert-dry tone of voice in contrast. And his expression, even drier than his tone.
Sharkrof spoke the language of land people fluently, but he knew little about practical conversational skills beyond vocabulary and words.
Natural smiles or friendly tones needed for casual small talk were things a shark would hardly need.
Because of that, even if Sharkrof lived an ordinary life, he was bound to stand out.
And on top of that were the stories of his distant seaside hometown and the hereditary shark teeth running in his family.
A background story so unusual it even felt mysterious.
Even though it was all made up.
I moved busily behind the counter while eavesdropping on people’s conversation.
Whether he intended it or not, it seemed Sharkrof had helped me quite a lot this time.
So many customers early in the morning.
People drank coffee while completely forgetting to even touch the waffles in front of them, captivated by Sharkrof’s unbelievable stories about his fishing village.
Everyone was finally freed from Sharkrof’s spell when the market street’s opening time approached.
As they stood up to leave, people each made a comment about him.
They said Sharkrof was unusual but had a strange charm. Tourists would surely enjoy someone so unique.
It was unexpectedly good praise.
Would the moment really come when I ended up hiring Sharkrof as a clerk and borrowing even his shark fin…?
“It’s a good start to the day. Thanks to you, Sharkrof.”
I said.
“Was I helpful?”
Sharkrof asked, his eyes shining.
“Of course. But Sharkrof, how did you come up with all those stories? Your hometown story, the explanation about your shark teeth, and all that.”
“I asked a cunning, scheming octopus-man after returning to the sea yesterday. I asked him for background stories that would fool land people well. It hurt my pride to get help from an octopus-man I dislike, but honestly his advice turned out to be quite useful.”
“It really was useful. Thanks to that, we had so many customers from the morning. And people seem to like you too. That’s a relief.”
“A relief? Not at all. I still dislike land people. Except for you, Miss Marina. Being surrounded by land people and praised as charming doesn’t make me feel good at all.”
“Really? Do you really think that?”
I asked with a smile.
“What do you mean? ‘Do I really think that?’”
Sharkrof looked at me.
“I think you could actually get along quite well with other land people besides me, Sharkrof. Even if you don’t want to admit it. Maybe before you take me to the Sea Kingdom, you’ll end up growing attached to the land first.”
I said jokingly.
Even though he said being praised by land people meant nothing to him, Sharkrof’s actual reaction had been the opposite.
When he had been surrounded by people and at the center of attention, he looked quite excited.
And those innocent, seal-like eyes when people patted his shoulder before leaving.
“I will never grow attached to the land.”
Sharkrof said firmly.
“My position hasn’t changed even a little since the first day I reunited with you, Miss Marina. The land is a harsh and dry place, and therefore the hearts of land dwellers must also be dry. The only people who possess moist souls that haven’t dried up are those with the spirit of the sea.”
“Well, you never know. If you stay here longer, you might change your mind. Not everyone on land is a bad person.”
“That won’t happen. We can make a bet if you want.”
Sharkrof said stubbornly.
“Really? Then shall we bet? If you end up changing your mind after living on land, I win.”
I said jokingly.
“Fine. On the other hand, if you end up liking me more than any land person, then I win. And if that happens, you’ll come with me to the Sea Kingdom.”
Sharkrof said.
Judging by his triumphant tone, he seemed confident that he would win.
It seemed Sharkrof had taken this bet very seriously.
After all, it looked like he believed he had finally found a chance to take me to the Sea Kingdom.
