Chapter 74
A golden-headed mermaid — the one who looked like the leader — approached me as I stood there confused.
The gold was somehow familiar.
‘That fish I caught a little while ago was exactly that color.’
But its face was slightly different.
The one I’d caught before had been a bit young; the golden-headed mermaid standing before me looked middle-aged.
‘You can tell a fish’s age, apparently.’
While I was astonished by that odd thought, the golden-headed mermaid bowed politely and spoke.
“Welcome, lord of the humans. I am Dororo, king of the East Sea.”
No way — a fish head greeting me so politely!
He used flawless, old-fashioned etiquette when he bowed, which made me even more flustered.
‘It’s almost too archaic to be normal.’
He spoke like someone out of literature from centuries ago.
Bowing to a fish-headed being felt awkward, but I couldn’t ignore such a formal greeting.
“Uh—yes. Nice to meet you.”
I answered the mermaid’s greeting in a daze.
“I am Danae, lord of Devon….” I added, mimicking his antique tone while watching him closely. The golden-headed mermaid jumped and waved his hand in alarm.
“No! You needn’t use such formality with your benefactor. We’ve come today to repay a debt.”
“…Repay a debt?”
I hadn’t done anything that deserved repayment — I didn’t even remember seeing this mermaid — so I tilted my head in bewilderment. The East Sea’s king laughed heartily and stroked his long beard.
“Hohoho! Indeed. You recently went to the shore for a walk and saved my daughter Paruru, who’d been caught on a fishing line!”
“Oh.”
So it wasn’t a coincidence that the golden fish I remembered looked like this.
“The little golden fish that got hooked on my line back then…?”
“Oh, you remember?”
When I acknowledged it, the great gill of the golden-headed mermaid fluttered with delight.
“I understand. That child is the East Sea’s most beautiful! Once you see such beauty, it’s hard to forget.”
“Y-yes, I suppose.”
My automatic reply made the mermaid king’s gill tremble with greater pleasure.
“Truly, our benefactor has a discerning eye!”
When the golden-headed mermaid cackled, the merfolk lined up behind him bared their gills and laughed loudly.
“Hohoho!”
‘It wasn’t even that funny.’
If a high-ranking person laughed, people below him had to laugh too — apparently life underwater wasn’t so different from life on land.
‘People’s behavior is the same whether on sea or on land.’
As I watched the merfolk envoys with pitying eyes, the king sighed deeply.
“I was told how kind-hearted our benefactor is. Whoever catches a golden fish would normally be tempted to keep it….”
The mermaid king’s gill shuddered in disgust.
“There are those who scour the seas intentionally, hunting our golden merfolk. How uncouth they are.”
In the East, golden fish are considered a good omen.
It wasn’t strange that many people would tear up the sea in search of that rare luck; whenever misfortune hit, folks likely went looking for a good sign.
“But you spared Paruru without a moment’s hesitation.”
“That’s because….”
Because I didn’t want a lucky omen.
But the mermaid king wouldn’t let me explain.
“In repayment, we brought coral and pearls!”
Before I could protest, the merfolk envoys behind him opened the boxes they’d been holding.
It was a spectacle — dozens of merfolk holding chests overflowing with every sea gem imaginable.
The weather happened to be clear, so the jewels glittered brilliantly.
“Wow…!”
Exclamations burst out everywhere. I was admiring them inwardly too.
‘How much is all that worth?’
It must be incredibly valuable. Even without calculating, I knew that much.
These were not ordinary treasures — they were what the sea king brought to repay the person who saved his famed daughter.
My dazed eyes snapped open at the sudden turn of events.
Of course, in the worst way.
‘If all that goes into Devon’s coffers…’
My grand plan to ruin the domain would take a serious hit!
I hurriedly declined the merfolk’s repayment.
“No, really — truly, we don’t need it. I didn’t do it for repayment.”
“Hoho, are you indifferent even to gold and jewels? Then how shall I, an old man, express our deep gratitude?”
The East Sea king’s gills fluttered as if troubled.
“Oh no, Your Majesty, what good would it do to insist on giving such treasure to our benefactor!”
At that moment, among the merfolk carrying the treasure chests, the young golden-headed mermaid appeared.
“Paruru! How did you come here?”
From the king’s reaction, it seemed she was the very mermaid I had saved.
At the arrival of the East Sea’s most beautiful, the envoys flushed and cleared a path.
Thanks to that, Paruru reached us easily.
“I told you to stay quietly in the palace — the surface is dangerous!”
“I thought it proper to thank the benefactor in person, so I dared disobey Your Majesty. Punish me if you must, but is this not the right thing for a true mermaid to do?”
“Paruru…”
The king, who had been scolding, looked at me with a face full of emotion.
He looked like he wanted to shout, “See, benefactor! My child is so kind and clever!” with pride.
Facing her moved father, Princess Paruru blushed slightly and bowed respectfully before me.
“At that time things were urgent, and I couldn’t properly thank you. You who saved this girl’s life — you are the benefactor in my heart forever.”
‘She really said that?’
“If you insist on offering gold and jewels I would gladly accept them, but our benefactor is a great hero who lives solely for the people’s well-being, is he not?”
‘That’s not true!’
I don’t care about that at all.
Unable to find a sensible reply to such absurdity, I watched as Paruru knelt before the sea king.
“Your Majesty, I have heard that on the benefactor’s land, crops do not grow for long. The sea’s salt has polluted the soil.”
“Yes, I know that.”
“What if we purify those polluted lands so that the fields can grow life — would that not be a fitting repayment to our benefactor?”
‘…What?’
Purify the land? Make grass grow?
I thought fast.
Having fertile weather but land so polluted that farming is impossible was a major weakness for Devon.
But if that weakness was removed…
Of course the domain would prosper!
“By refusing gold and jewels out of kindness and caring only for the people, that is the most worthy repayment to a hero.”
‘I don’t want that! I plan to ruin the domain!’
I had to calm things down before this actually happened.
I quickly called out to the two merfolk.
“Um, excuse me? Princess? Your Majesty?”
But the two merfolk, already lost in their own emotions, didn’t seem to hear my voice; they only gazed at one another with affectionate eyes.
“Oh! Is that so? Indeed, Paruru, my clever daughter!”
“Your Majesty, will you grant my request?”
“Of course! Could we refuse such a thing to the one who saved my daughter’s life?”
‘No, hey? That’s my land. Why are you deciding to purify it without my say-so…?’
Where was the landowner’s rightful authority?
I wanted to throw myself on the ground and bawl that they mustn’t do useless things on my land.
But it seemed I was the only one clutching my head in distress.
“If the land is purified, then people in Devon will be able to farm, right?”
“We too — we too could…!”
Voices of emotion rose here and there, and then my steward Dane’s loud cry rang out beside me.
“My lady!”
“…Yes?”
“You truly are the holder of the golden omen that will bring Devon eternal prosperity!”
“…Wha—?”
Before I could stop him, Dane dropped to his knees and bowed his head.
One by one the household staff who had gathered around followed suit.
“Long live our lady!”
“The legend of the golden omen was real!”
Their shouts spread through the Coral Mansion like wildfire.
The merfolk, all kneeling as well, shouted, “Our benefactor!” at me.
And how did I feel standing in the middle of them?
‘Why are you doing this to me…?’
All I could think was that I was completely doomed.
