## Chapter 956 – Sea

The matches continued afterward.

Strangely shaped crustaceans kept emerging and attacking the merman gladiator Olkentar, but they were no match for him and were quickly slaughtered, meeting their demise.

Each time, the audience cheered, and my women seemed reasonably satisfied with the spectacle. It was somewhat like watching a movie. It was naturally entertaining to see marine monsters, which you don’t usually see, writhing around.

And so, the match ended.

“That star gladiator is really skilled.”
“Yeah, you’re right. It was quite a sight to see.”

Karin laughed at my words.
As expected, she’s the sister who likes bloodshed.

“It’s also fascinating because they’re not the kind of monsters you usually see. Oh, but what happens if the merman loses?”
“Why? Are you planning to buy and eat the darkie merman if he dies?”
“Caught me.”
“You’re crazy, Darkie!”

Wienia shouted and poked my abdomen with her finger.

“Just kidding, just kidding. I’m not, I’m not. Seriously, I’m not.”

I stroked the back of Wienia’s neck and said.

“Don’t lie!”
“I don’t lie.”

She’s cute as ever.

Anyway, as the match ended, the staff began to guide the gamblers, and we went back inside the aquarium to look at other things. There was a good balance of beautiful and extremely bizarre creatures, which was quite satisfying.

That coral would be nice to buy as a souvenir. There should be a souvenir shop near the exit, so I’ll buy it if there is one.

After buying that, we can go out and look around more, kill some time, and then go grocery shopping and return.

“Oh… it seems there are mermaids here.”

At that moment, Risha, who was looking at the sign, said.

“What? Mermaids?”
“Mermaids?”

There are mermaids?

Well… if there are mermen, it would be a bit lacking if there weren’t mermaids.
Yeah, they’re probably similar creatures, so it’s natural that they’re here.

“What are mermaids…?”

Ari asked, tilting her head.
She seemed to have no idea.

“They are a race with a human-like upper body and a fish lower body. You could say they are similar to harpies.”
“Hmm…”

They are a race that contrasts with mermen.

More than that, those harpy bastards.

Just thinking about it still makes me shudder. It was fortunate that I escaped with excellent judgment; otherwise, I would have been captured by those cannibalistic monsters and had my soul plundered.

“Katt. I want to see them.”

Thinking that, Claudia grabbed my arm and said.

“Of course, we have to go see them. Let’s go.”

If we came to a place like this, we have to see everything.
I immediately headed to where the mermaids were with them.

ㅡBuzzing.
ㅡBuzzing.
ㅡBuzzing.

This place was another hotspot, and as soon as we arrived, people were crowded around. Do people all think alike? If you hear about mermaids, it’s natural to be interested.

As we went through the crowd, indeed.

ㅡThere was a mermaid.

An oval tank.
A mermaid was inside.

As Risha explained, the upper body was just like a human woman. Was it female? She had hair the color of a blue-backed fish, and instead of ears, she had fins on the sides of her head.

Her breasts were exposed, and her pink nipples were clearly visible. Below that was the lower body of a fish covered in scales.

This is… a mermaid just as I imagined.

I looked closely at her face, but I couldn’t find anything different from humans. The only difference was that, unlike the people who were happily watching the aquarium, she was drooping her head with a very depressed expression.

ㅡ…

Even as people watched in wonder, the mermaid quietly closed her eyes. Anyone would do that if they were kidnapped and put on display like this. It seems her intelligence is also similar to that of humans.

“This is a mermaid… It’s my first time seeing one.”

Liz-noona said, stroking her lips with her hand.

“It’s my first time too.”

It would be hard to see one unless you live by the sea.

“Her ears are like fins…!”
“Really?”

Hilde’s words were answered by Wienia.
Everyone generally looked at the mermaid as if she were mysterious.

“But somehow, it’s repulsive. Is it because of her legs?”

Karin seemed to feel a bit of disgust.
It can’t be helped since she’s a monster.

“I think I feel that way a little too… It’s not anything else, but that lower body is a bit…”

Liz-noona nodded as if she agreed.

“Still, I think there are a lot of amazing things!!!”
“Hehe, you’re right. It’s amazing. Oh, by the way, Risha.”

I called Risha.

“Do mermaids lay eggs? Or give birth to live young?”
“I know that mermaids give birth to live young.”

So they’re mammals.

“However, I don’t feel any magical energy from this individual.”
“Magic?”
“It is said that many mermaids can use magic.”

They’re inhuman.

“Hmm, magic… Katt. What was that thing we saw a long time ago? I was thinking for a moment that it might have been a mermaid.”
“Well… it’s not something we can know.”

The idol of the mermen.
The race is unknown.

“That thing you saw a long time ago?”

Ari asked.

“Oh, haven’t I told you before? It’s what Claudia, Wienia, and I saw when we went to the sea a long time ago. The one the mermen attacked.”
“Ah… yes. I remember.”

What was that thing?

“Alright, alright! This is the famous mermaid, the mermaid!!!”

As we were observing the mermaid, a man wearing an inhuman conch hat and ridiculous seafood glasses came and shouted.

Somehow, he looks like a professional serial killer, no, why a serial killer? I’ve gotten so used to thinking that every time I see someone’s face. Looking at him, he seemed to be a normal employee, not a serial killer.

“Isn’t she beautiful! They say what looks good tastes good, but eating mermaids is illegal!! Hahaha!!”

He started explaining while making an incomprehensible joke.

Is he going to tell us about mermaids?

I focused on the explanation.

“Mermaids are a race that lives in the far sea! They look similar to humans, so you might feel sympathy at first glance, but in fact, they are a very cruel and brutal race!! They are the archenemies of the people of our port city!! You don’t need to sympathize with them!!!”

Archenemies… that can’t be helped. Whether it’s mermen or mermaids, there’s bound to be friction with people engaged in fishing.

In other words, they are hostile races competing for the same resources. Inevitably, there will be war. But seeing the large-scale fishing and aquaculture that is prevalent, it seemed that the power of the mermaids did not reach that of the human kingdom.

Large ships often go out to the far sea.

It seems that the natives of the sea do not have the specialized technology or army to destroy our ships.

“They attack fish farms!! And they often slaughter the crew of wrecked ships!! That’s why you must ride a large ship when going out to the far sea! You might be attacked if you’re on a small boat!!!”

The audience nodded as if they understood the explanation.

“Hmm… a scary story.”
“It’s terrible.”
“A murderous race.”

If they’re enemies, we’ll eventually have to kill them.

“Well, it’s not like there are no problems even if you’re on a large ship. Sometimes, the magicians of this mermaid race gather nearby and attack…! They are very hateful guys!”

To the extent that they can destroy ships?

“That’s the kind of guy! We caught like this! Now! Don’t hesitate to point your fingers at the offspring of this pirate-like race!”

As the employee pointed and shouted excitedly, the spectators, swept up in the atmosphere, pointed at the mermaid and criticized her.

“Evil seed!”
“Pirate-like bitch!!”
“You dog-like bastards!!!”

Even though it looks a bit like this, it seemed to be a fun atmosphere.
In fact, everyone here came to enjoy themselves.

“Darkie…? But somehow, it reminds me of that time?”
“Hmm?”
“We had an accident when we were watching something like this back then.”
“Hehehe, you’re right.”

Back then, we went to the aquarium and saw the idol of the mermen being captured.
That was probably the cause of the merman incident.

Is the same thing going to happen again?

“No, but that’s all there is to it. This is a coastal tourist destination. Of course, there will inevitably be similar content.”
“Is that so…?”
“That’s it.”

Then, since we’re getting tired of the mermaid, shall we go somewhere else?

In that way, we went around all the insides of the aquarium.

By the time we were about to come out after seeing everything, there was a souvenir shop attached to the exit as expected. When we went inside, it was a place full of products blatantly targeting tourists.

There were a lot of taxidermied small crustacean monsters on display, and there were also a lot of amulets and ornaments made from the body parts of various marine monsters.

“Katt-nim, look! They’re selling mermaid hair as amulets…!!!”

Hilde, who was looking at it, pointed in horror.

“An evil thing!!!!”
“It’s too inhuman!!!”
“Because they’re inhuman!!”

I couldn’t help but be shocked as I looked at it…!

“Oh, customer! It’s by no means evil! It’s not some kind of cult or pagan object, it’s just that there’s a superstition that mermaid hair brings good luck!”

The employee rushed over with a pale face.

“No, I didn’t mean it that way. I’ll be quiet, so please do your work.”
“Ah, yes.”

How embarrassing.

I turned around awkwardly.

“Father. Is this okay?”

Ari, who was wearing a pearl necklace around her neck, asked.

“It looks good? Let’s buy one. We have a lot of money.”
“Is it okay?”
“We all earned the money together, so we should use it at times like this.”

Looking at them, everyone was picking out various things. Risha seemed a bit interested in the coral ornaments, and Claudia and Karin were standing in a corner where the mermen’s weapons were displayed.

“Isn’t something like this okay?”
“Oh.”

Liz-noona brought a wallet made of fish skin with an impressive unique pattern. It felt bumpy like stingray skin, but the color was a bit strange.

“This is made of fish skin. It’s good.”
“Right? I should buy one.”
“That’s a very good decision.”

It’s good to have one.

“Come this way.”

At that time, Risha called me.

“Oh, Risha, why.”

Risha was looking at the beautiful coral ornaments.

“I like this coral.”
“Buy them all. Buy them all. We have a lot of money.”
“Hehehe, is it okay?”
“Of course, it’s okay.”

They’re just things to keep at home.

As I was called by this woman and that woman and bought various things, the luggage quickly increased. In the end, I even bought a suitable fish skin backpack. We’re really spending money like water.

“Darkie. Let’s go grocery shopping soon.”
“We should.”

We spent more time than I thought.

I immediately asked the employee where the market was, found out the location, and then headed to the destination with them. Let’s buy some grills and stuff to eat and then go back to the cabin. Dinner is barbecue.

* * *

ㅡBoom!!

The fireball shot up by Wienia exploded in the air, creating an orange light source. It felt like fireworks. The brilliant light was reflected in the sea, creating a shimmering light like the sunset glow.

The light that bloomed in the darkness was so beautiful that it felt like a lantern of an anglerfish found in the deep sea.

ㅡSizzle.
ㅡSizzzzzzle.

Large fish were grilling golden brown on the grill. Hilde was cooking it with hellfire, but it wasn’t burning and was grilling in a very good way.

Tonight is barbecue.

ㅡSwish.

The sound of the waves is also quite refreshing.

“Can’t we eat soon?”

Karin, who said that, suddenly pulled out a dagger and slashed the fish.

ㅡChop!

With that, the bones and flesh were perfectly separated in an instant. The pure white flesh that flew in the air for a moment was placed neatly on the plate as if it were going into a goal.

“No, what’s with asking and then disassembling it?”
“My sister doesn’t have much patience.”

The deboned fish was placed very well on the plate. As expected of a master of the sword, she debones fish very well too. Somehow, I want to bring army fried chicken and see if she can disassemble it or not.

“Are you sure there are no bones in this?”

Liz-noona, who picked up the plate, narrowed her eyes like a strict mother-in-law and said.

“Hey, hey. There aren’t any. Try it.”
“What if there are?”
“I’ll call you ‘sister’.”
“I’ll find them right away!!”
“What are you going to find, you bitch. Just eat it.”

Liz-noona, who picked up a fork, carefully poked the fish and brought it to her eyes to check for bones. I looked for a moment too, but it didn’t seem like there were any at all. Look at the appearance of this fish, with only the head, spine, and tail remaining. Even the small bones are being perfectly deboned.

“Hmm…”

Perhaps because she didn’t find it very interesting, Liz-noona dipped the fish in the sauce and brought it to her mouth.

“…”

Tasting time.

“How is it?”
“Wow, this is delicious. Karin. Please disassemble everything quickly.”
“It’s not difficult. No, but are you subtly trying to make me do everything?”
“The people who are good at this should do it. I can’t do that.”
“Can’t you just punch it once and separate the bones and flesh?”
“The fish will get on my fist. Or vice versa, the fist will get on the fish.”
“That’s true too.”

Anyway, it seems very convenient to have someone who debones the fish for you.

“Katt. I’ve made all the skewers.”

At that time, Claudia brought a plate full of skewers.
She was making them with Risha and Ari right next to her.

The skewers were made of meat and vegetables.
I bought some land meat because I thought it would be a bit much to eat only fish.

“Let’s put it here. And eat some of this fish. They say it’s delicious.”
“Okay.”

Claudia, who was holding a fork, blew on the fish.

“Katt. Aah.”

And then, she brought it to my mouth.
I happily accepted it.

“Hehehe, aah. This is so delicious.”

The taste of the fish is excellent.

“Is it delicious?”
“Now, Claudia, aah.”

I also picked up a fork, picked up some flesh, and fed it to Claudia. By that time, Wienia, who had been scribbling magic in the sky, also came and tasted it.

“Hoo.”

I fanned the grill and looked at the sky.
Isn’t this very peaceful?

I’m glad I came to play.

If nothing goes wrong, I think I can enjoy a peaceful vacation.