Just as Magiluka said, we could see someone singing atop a rock. She looked like she’d come straight out of a picture book—the top half of her body was a woman’s, and her bottom half was that of a fish. Her vibrant, light-blue hair was largely the color of the ocean as it stretched out into the horizon, but the tips were the rich blue you’d see in the deepest waters. Her skin was pale and glistened in the daylight despite the constant sun one would be under living in the ocean, and seashells featured throughout her clothes and accessories. A-A-A seashell bikini.
I’d seen ladies like her countless times in manga and anime—she was the spitting image of what I’d imagine a mermaid to look like. Not only was I stunned by how closely she realized my imagination, but her aura of sexy maturity and glamorous body on top of that were leaving me feeling pretty flustered.
When the mermaid noticed us approaching, she stopped her singing, but the panicking kraken below showed no signs of slowing down. Uh, isn’t this bad?
“Hee hee,” the mermaid giggled. “I knew it was you singing, Belletochka. I’m so happy to see you— Huh? Uh? Hey! Wait! Ahhhhhh!”
KABOOM! The sound came from below, telling me that Krakky had rushed into something. The ship also failed to slow down and rammed into the small rock above the water, spraying water everywhere. The shock wave sent the mermaid flying. Yep, the princess’s ship is strong. Even after all that, there’s hardly a scratch on the vessel— Okay, enough of that, Mary! Now isn’t the time to be so impressed!
Silence fell over all of us as we stared at the ripples emanating from the impact, each of us dripping with sweat waiting to see what happened next. Then, a single mermaid floated to the surface lifelessly like a drowned corpse. We all froze with shock.
“F-Frederikaaaaaa!” Queen Belletochka screamed, sprouting her wings and flying over to the mermaid.
“W-We’ve really stepped in it now, haven’t we?” I asked. “Is this the start of a war with the mermaids?”
“I-I-I-It was an a-a-accident!” Emilia stammered, averting her gaze as sweat trickled down her face. “S-S-Surely, we can talk things through. O-O-Our mother will do the talking.”
“Oof, you scared me,” the mermaid said, sitting up in the water. “I didn’t expect you to rush right in, ship and all. How very passionate! Hee hee, you’re as feisty as ever, aren’t you, Belletochka?”
“No, no, that wasn’t me,” Her Majesty replied, hovering in the air with her wings flapping behind her. “Krakky, the one pulling our ship, was just a bit clumsy, that’s all. Besides, your song is what sent her whirling into a panic in the first place, no? You’re as playful and mischievous as ever, aren’t you, dear?”
Judging from their conversation and its cute, fluffy air, it sounded like these crazy things happened on the daily for them. I’m not the only one who’s confused by this, right?
A-Anyway, it sounds like she’ll look the other way for this accident that we caused. I breathed a sigh of relief.
The commotion we made earlier was behind us, and we finally settled down atop the quiet ship, with the ocean stretching out before us as far as the eye could see.
When I went to check up on Sacher, it seemed his protagonist luck had blessed him in abundance. “We didn’t expect Rachel to push Sacher down,” Emilia said. “You’re more assertive than we thought.” She was smirking and eyeing Rachel mischievously.
“Y-You’ve got it all wrong!” Rachel stammered. “As I said earlier, the ship began to jolt about, and I tried to protect him! Amid all the fuss, I just so happened to be on top of him, and that’s when you arrived, Your Highness! I-I-I didn’t mean anything by it, I’ll have you know!” Rachel’s ears burned bright red as she desperately gave her side of the story.
“I, for one, am cheering you on,” Sita said. “Right, Noa?” Sita was clenching her fists in front of her and offered an energetic, encouraging huff. When I turned to Noa, she was striking the same pose.
“Sita, Noa... Argh, please don’t tease me,” Rachel groaned.
I knew that Sita was interested in romance from the many books that she’d read, but I wondered why Noa seemed so invested as well. Maybe it triggered her to recall some memories of Agard? Perhaps he’d been in a similar situation to this? Or maybe those memories had already come back to her, and it’s thanks to them she can empathize.
I turned to Noa. She didn’t seem any different from usual, but it was clear the process of regaining her memory had been changing her in ways you couldn’t see from outside. As proof, when we’d slept in the same room last night, a nightmare had made her groan in her sleep. When I’d gone to check on her out of worry, she’d jumped awake, and I couldn’t ever forget what she’d said.
“I’m sorry,” she’d muttered. “I’m sorry, Agard. I... I’m not me...”
She’d visibly shrunk and trembled, and I’d wondered if her dreams and reality had temporarily blended together. Then, when I’d called out and touched her, she’d jumped away from me, fear plastered all over her face. She hadn’t been afraid of me, but of something else—something that was lying in her memories. Was it the Argent Knight? Or Agard?
Presently, she seemed completely normal, as though she’d never jumped awake in the middle of the night. She was her usual cheery self, and it made me hesitant to reach out and pry any details from her. When we go to Xeoral and meet the Argent Knight, all will be solved, surely... I don’t really have any choice but to believe that and press on, in any case.
I switched gears and looked down from the deck. I spotted some crew members flying about and checking up on the vessel while Queen Belletochka and the mermaid, Frederika, watched them work.
“All right, let’s go, Mary,” Emilia said.
“Hey! Don’t carry me again!” I protested. “This is so embarrassing!”
She’d carried me around during the ghost ship incident, much to my chagrin, and she was trying to do it again like it was no big deal.
“Don’t worry. You can stay as you are and watch us,” Frederika called.
The mermaid heard our bickering and called out to us. She didn’t look like she was yelling particularly loudly, yet her voice reached our ears so clearly. Was this some sort of trait that mermaids had? Still, it’s nice that we don’t have to disembark the ship and head over to her. Likewise, she doesn’t have to step—or swim, rather—out of the water and onto the dry deck.
“Now then, let’s start with introductions!” Frederika said. I knew her name thanks to Queen Belletochka, but it was true that we’d never formally introduced ourselves. “Turn up the music!”
“Pardon?” I asked.
Frederika dove underwater, then she burst into the air, jumping out of the ocean with a loud splash. Queen Belletochka began to play a bouncy tune on her lute.
“My naaaame is Frederika! ♪ That’s me! I’m one of the mermaids living in the spirit sea’s domain. I’m a songstress! Yeah! ♪”
She acted like she was some sort of character in a musical and burst into her number. When she’d splashed out the water, she had perfect timing to leap beautifully into the arms of a brawny crew member who was checking the ship. Did she time that?
The crew member, who looked confused as to why he’d caught her so naturally, stood in stark contrast to Frederika, who looked as though it’d been perfectly natural. She locked eyes with me as he bridal-carried her.
“Oh, please, young lady! ♪” she sang. “I’d love to know, the name by which you go. ♪”
“Um, I, uh, I’m Mary Regalia,” I offered, a touch confused by the goings-on.
“No, no, noooo! ♪ Not like that! ♪” She wagged her finger at me as if to scold me.
U-Uh, she’s... She’s not gonna make me s-s-sing too, is she? Oh, please don’t.
When I came to this dark realization, I turned toward my friends, but they averted their gazes, fleeing from the scene as fast as they could. In a last-ditch effort to beg, I turned to Queen Belletochka, who was still playing a bouncy tune on her lute. She smiled back at me.
Urgh... They’re telling me to improv with this music?! That’s so unreasonable. I-Is this the trial of the spirit? The last one wanted tales of romance! Why do all these spirits choose to avoid fighting with raw power, aka the one thing I received from God?! Arghhhh! Damn it all!
Faced with my toughest problem yet, I struggled against my embarrassment... I never would have guessed that this was only the beginning.