“You can’t even go into the water right now,” the fish-folk girl said, between gritted teeth. “I was too late. I missed out on going back.”
“Can’t go into the water?” I repeated. “Why not?”
“You knew about the fish-folk returning to the ocean, didn’t you?” she said, with a sour expression. “So you should know that the demon lord’s goons have been hanging around the area too.”
As a matter of fact, I had heard about that. It was why all of the city’s vessels were idling in the port right now. “Yeah, I’m aware,” I said. “So they’re stopping you from returning, huh?”
“Mm-hmm. Demon Lord Canhel’s minions—a lot of them—have claimed the waters. Not just the surface either—they’re prowling around our city on the sea floor. By the time I figured I should get out of here, it was already too late. They’ll catch and kill me if I try.”
As far as Lucaris was concerned, the demon lord’s minions didn’t represent that big of an issue. It had put a squeeze on the marine industries, certainly, but technically speaking there had been no serious harm done yet. The fact that the townsfolk were still treating the topic like simple gossip was a testament to that. However, it seemed matters were a lot more grave for the fish-folk.
“That’s...” I began, then trailed off. “My condolences. Still, you can’t be the only fish-folk still in Lucaris, right? Why not rely on the others, just for the time being? I heard you stick together something fierce.”
Well, rather than fish-folk having particularly strong bonds, perhaps it was more accurate to say that humans had weak ones. It was quite common among demi-human races to look out for their brethren in general, whereas it was a whole lot more up in the air with humans. Given that, it seemed strange that humans had entire religions that believed in human supremacy and rejected other races. I suppose we are just foolish like that—foolish and beyond salvation.
The girl gave me a suspicious look. “You sure know a lot about fish-folk. You’re right, but if I went to them for help, I’d only worry them. I...”
“Yes?”
The girl shook her head. “Forget it. More importantly, what are you going to do with me? I gave your coin pouch back. Can I go now?”
I considered it for a moment. It was no big deal to me to let her go scampering off, but given what she’d told me of her circumstances, I suspected she’d just go right back to pickpocketing.
At the same time, I didn’t want to hand her over to the authorities either. I’d witnessed the kind of discrimination that demi-humans could be subjected to in Lucaris, and I wasn’t convinced that the city guard would treat her fairly.
That pretty much led me to a single conclusion: It was probably best to ask advice from someone who knew the city better—specifically, Diego.
“I can’t let you go yet,” I said. “I can promise that I don’t mean you any harm, though. Follow me for a while, would you?”
The girl gave me a puzzled look. “So you are going to make me a slave?”
“Again, no. And just making sure, but if the demon lord’s minions clear out, you can go back home and get by without having to resort to pickpocketing, right?”
She nodded, albeit hesitantly, as if not sure why I was asking. “I mean, yeah. I used to earn coin just like how you said—by diving. Once I couldn’t do that anymore, I went around looking for other work, but...”
“Couldn’t find any, huh?”
I wouldn’t have been surprised if there had been discrimination at work there—but she’d likely been unlucky in her search as well. It wasn’t like everyone in Lucaris had something against demi-humans. Diego managed just fine, and there were plenty of other demi-humans like him with their own businesses. That being said, they were all in out-of-the-way places, so it was probably hard to find them unless you knew the city well.
“So without any other options, you resorted to stealing?” I said.
“Yeah. I just figured it would work out somehow. Then you caught my attention by smelling like the ocean and all... But you’re not a fish-folk, right?”
“Hmm? I smell like the ocean?” I was puzzled for a moment, before realizing. “Oh. I went diving yesterday. I guess the scent hasn’t faded yet.”
I hadn’t realized I smelled. Then again, demi-human senses often perceived things differently than humans. Some had senses of smell that were thousands of times superior, for example. That wasn’t necessarily a good thing, since it could easily be used against them—but regardless, it seemed the girl was telling the truth about smelling the ocean on me.
For the record, I bathed regularly, so it wasn’t like this was the fault of poor hygiene or anything. After how long we’d been down there yesterday, I supposed it was only natural for some of the scent to stick.
“You went diving?” the fish-folk girl asked.
“Yeah, in the Dungeon of the Sea God’s Daughters,” I explained. “I’m an adventurer.”
She made a noise of appreciation. “A pretty good one, sounds like. That’s exactly where the demon lord’s goons are hanging around.”
“Really? There weren’t any inside.”
“But they were around, weren’t they? The surface is full of kelpie riders in that area.”
“Maybe we just got lucky, then, because we didn’t run into any. I’ll keep that in mind, though, and stay on guard next time.”
The girl cocked her head in an exaggerated manner. “You didn’t see any at all...?”
“Is it that strange?” I asked, as I set off at a walk.
She shook her head, then made to follow along. “Maybe not. I guess you did just get lucky. More importantly, where are we going?”
“To meet an acquaintance of mine. He should be at the guild’s training ground right now.” Last I’d heard, Diego planned on training with Capitan. I could’ve waited for him at his store, but it seemed best to get this over with sooner rather than later.
“Are you going to beat me up...?”
“You really need to do something about that paranoia of yours. Not that I don’t get where you’re coming from, I guess, but... Oh, right. What’s your name?”
“Me? Pherousa. Child of the old sea.”
“Is that right? Well, I’m Rentt, Bronze-class adventurer. Nice to meet you.” I extended my hand in as affable a manner as I could manage.