Chapter 50
Step—.
“……”
“……”
All that tension turned out to be pointless. We followed the rabbit, then—just like Alice tumbling into a rabbit hole—we landed lightly on our feet.
“…So was the rabbit that man?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Still, falling underground only to find a sea so vast you couldn’t even tell where the horizon was—it was ridiculous.
“Doesn’t really look like the divine realm at first glance.”
I wrinkled my nose at the distinct salty smell of the ocean, and Darion answered.
“Yeah. And what <Saphros> said before we fell—that ‘good child test’—that’s been bothering me too.”
“Gasp!”
“? Why are you looking at me like that, Shasha?”
“I’m just… deeply moved that you’re capable of thinking about things like that, Sir Darion….”
“You tend to think of me as too childish.”
“…Says the ten-year-old.”
“Sha-sha—!”
“Okay, okay, I’ll stop teasing.”
Watching him puff out his cheeks, it seemed I hadn’t needed to worry about him being nervous after all.
“So… are we supposed to take the test in the sea? I’m not very good at practical combat….”
“It’s fine, Shasha. I’ll handle the fighting.”
“Feels like you’re not great at theory either.”
“Then I’ll handle the theory too.”
“If you do both the practical and the theory parts, what am I supposed to do?”
“Cheer!”
…Was he serious, this little puppy?
Judging by his expression, he absolutely was.
“I appreciate the thought, but I can pull my own weight too.”
I grinned and spoke confidently.
“Beast Tamer deactivated. Hero activated.”
I said it boldly—but immediately had to take it back when a system window popped up before my eyes.
[System Error]
“…Should I look for a glow stick to cheer with?”
“Here?”
“Ahh! So what I saw that day wasn’t just my imagination!”
The night we returned from the cave, right before falling asleep, I’d seen a system window.
Back then, I thought I was just hallucinating from exhaustion. The next day, I was too busy dealing with Jin-dori not waking up to even think about opening the system.
Come to think of it, that quest that used to torment me hadn’t appeared in a long time either.
“Wait—does that mean I can’t even use [Map]? Or any other skills?”
[System Error]
[System Error]
No matter what I tried calling up, nothing appeared but error messages filling my vision.
“Shasha?”
Darion tilted his head as he watched me muttering to myself, tugging at my curly hair.
“Sir Darion… I might not even be worth one person’s share right now.”
“It’s okay!”
At the same time as his cheerful reply, the clear sky began to darken with heavy clouds.
Then—BOOM, CRASH!!
Thunder and lightning roared as a storm erupted.
“…This really isn’t okay….”
Shaaa—!
The rain came down in thick sheets, soaking us completely in an instant.
The wind was fierce too; even standing still, my long hair slapped wetly against my face and body.
“Who are you?”
In the now-raging seaside, I couldn’t help but gasp when a small figure popped its head out of the water.
A mysterious child, with ocean-blue hair shimmering white like crashing waves.
“Uh… um… passersby? But more importantly, the sea’s dangerous with waves like this! Please come out!”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Eshia. Eshia—so please come out first!”
“No.”
As the strange child said that, their gaze fixed firmly on Darion.
“Huh? Why? Shasha?”
But Darion was still only looking at me.
“Who are you? You look strong.”
“W-wait. You mean Sir Darion?”
“Darion? That’s his name?”
I answered in his place, but Darion continued to stare only at me.
Splash—!
Even as we stood there, the waves grew more violent, white spray soaring as if it might touch the sky.
“Shasha, let’s go inside.”
“But that kid—”
“Why? Are they swimming?”
“…?”
His innocence made me wonder if I’d been unnecessarily meddling.
“That’s right! I’m swimming! You’re finally talking to me. Want to join?”
“Shasha, do you want to swim too?”
“Want to go pearl hunting together?”
“Pearls would look good on you, Shasha.”
“Exploring the sea floor is fun too.”
“Shasha, aren’t you curious what’s down there?”
It felt like if I so much as mentioned a treasure chest, he’d dive down and bring one back.
“No! Absolutely not curious!”
“Oh. Then we won’t go.”
Only then did Darion finally look at the child peeking out of the sea.
“He saw me! Kyaa!”
“…Um, swimming’s fine, but wouldn’t you like to come out first? Isn’t the water cold?”
“Hey, hey—you said Darion, right? Can I call your name? I will! I’m gonna call it!”
“…….”
Once again, my words were completely ignored.
Snap. I got angry too—I am human, after all.
“No.”
“Why?!”
But seeing Darion shut it down so firmly, my anger vanished instantly.
‘Wait… why does him setting boundaries calm me down?’
I didn’t have time to think further.
“I’m gonna call you! I will!”
Now the angry one wasn’t me—it was the kid.
Unable to contain their rage, they whipped the tail submerged in the sea, splashing water at me on land.
…Wait.
“That’s a tail!”
“No, Shasha! If you see a tail, you’ll lose your mind! Don’t look!”
“I do have preferences, you know. Rather than shiny fish tails, I prefer fluffy ones—no, that’s not the point! Wait, that kid is a mermaid?!”
“That’s right. I’m a mermaid.”
Oh my god.
It was my first time seeing a mermaid.
Though, to be fair, Darion was also my first time seeing a human like that. But that wasn’t the point.
“You’re the one who didn’t allow your name to be called, Sir Darion—so why are you splashing me?!”
True, I was already soaked from the rain, but seawater was different—it’d dry sticky and rough. I even dropped honorifics without noticing.
“Why do you get to call his name? Did he allow it? Did you ask?”
The mermaid child looked back and forth between me and Darion.
“Shasha’s fine.”
“Ugh, I’m jealous!!”
Darion answered firmly, and the mermaid glared at me.
“I’m jealous! I’m jealous!!”
“C-calm down.”
I’d heard somewhere that mermaids could control the weather at sea.
The reason that thought crossed my mind—
Huge whirlpools began rising around the mermaid.
“!!”
“I’m jealous!!”
The whirlpools surged straight toward us.
Darion shoved me back and slashed at them with elongated claws.
“Tch!”
But there were too many to cut through, and soon we were trapped inside one.
“Ng—!”
Caught in the spinning seawater, I couldn’t even open my eyes.
All I could do was cover my nose and mouth.
‘I didn’t realize I was this helpless….’
It was frustrating.
Ever since coming to this world and gaining the Beast Tamer and Hero classes, I guess I’d subconsciously thought I was strong.
‘Without the system, I can’t do anything!’
As resentment welled up, my consciousness began to fade.
—Splash!
“…! Cough! …Hack!”
The whirlpool vanished, and I felt my body thrown aside.
Someone was shouting, but my ears rang too loudly to hear clearly.
“Shasha! Stay with me! Don’t open your eyes yet—I’ll wipe them first.”
Scrub, scrub!
“Ugh!—mph!”
The rough but familiar hands wiping my face with a damp yet soft cloth had no sense of restraint.
‘This reckless touch that makes me feel like I’ve turned into a floor mat is definitely—’
“Darion… cough… sir….”
“Yeah, Shasha. It’s me.”
I knew it.
“Forget that kid. Stay with me.”
“Shasha’s coughing badly. Give her water.”
“If I give her water, will you stay here with me?”
“No.”
Cough, cough… my vision slowly cleared.
‘This place is….’
I tried to understand where we were, but it was impossible.
It looked like an underwater palace—filled with seawater—yet the mermaid could swim freely, while Darion and I could breathe and walk normally. A mysterious place.
I looked at the mermaid confronting Darion and asked, voice hoarse:
“At least—cough—tell me why. Why are you so obsessed with Sir Darion, someone you just met?”
The mermaid answered calmly.
“Why? Isn’t it obvious? He’s stronger than you.”
“What?”
“You thought that too, didn’t you? Unlike weak you, that being is strong. Weak you couldn’t even protect yourself and just got swept away by my whirlpool.”
I flinched. The mermaid continued, as if reading my thoughts.
“You were annoyed that someone younger than you is stronger, weren’t you?”
“No. I did think I was weak—but I didn’t feel resentful toward Sir Darion.”
“Is that so?”
As I said that, my gaze drifted toward Darion—
—but the mermaid’s hand suddenly covered my eyes as they closed the distance in an instant.
Whispering into my ear, the mermaid said,
“So? Aren’t you jealous of him too? Just like me.”
“…I’m not jealous of Sir Darion.”
“No. You are jealous right now. Ugly, filthy jealousy.”
With the hand not covering my eyes, the mermaid grabbed my hand.
They spread my palm—and placed a dagger on it.
“If you stab his heart with this, you can absorb the strength of the one you stab. Isn’t that wonderful?”
They forced my fingers closed around the dagger.
“Go on. Stab him.”
My mind blurred, as if intoxicated by the mermaid’s whisper.
