Chapter 81

One day, the young mermaid said.

“I’m going to eat you up.”

“……”

Giovanni gave an awkward laugh.

“…Is that something you say to someone who has just returned from the market?”

“I said, I’m going to eat you.”

“It seems you were displeased that I went to the market leaving Aria alone.”

“Yes, I am displeased.”

“You were the one who said you wanted to stay home alone, engrossed in your book, Aria.”

“I’m going to eat you u…”

“I understand. We shall go together next time.”

Giovanni patted Iseur, who was constantly glancing behind him, wondering if his older sister was angry and handed the child a bag of groceries.

It wasn’t that heavy.

“Could you take this to the kitchen?”

“Ah, yes, I will.”

“Thank you for always helping, Iseur.”

Watching Iseur head to the kitchen, Giovanni sat down beside Aria.

“Looking at you like this, you don’t seem all that angry.”

“Is this what humans call being angry?”

“Merfolk are indeed dull when it comes to emotions. Perhaps it’s because you usually live among sea creatures with whom you rarely communicate.”

“Sea creatures communicate perfectly well. It’s just that stupid humans can’t recognize it.”

“Is that so? But it must be of a different nature than the creatures on land.”

His deep blue eyes curved.

“Perhaps what you are feeling right now, Aria, is anger.”

“The story of an angry mermaid sounds quite unfamiliar.”

“It’s my first time seeing an angry mermaid as well. Merfolk were always expressionless, even when fighting with humans.”

“I suppose so.”

Even when humans killed a mermaid’s child, the merfolk did not get angry.

They simply delivered retribution with cool, expressionless faces, and watching them, people would say they were monsters who didn’t even care if their own children died.

“Speaking of which, I heard humans and merfolk fought again in the next village. Did you see it, teacher?”

“I did not see it, but the merfolk I have seen throughout my life have always been without emotional expression.”

He smiled.

“As you know, Aria, the conflict between humans and merfolk is so old that no one knows who started it.”

Even they didn’t know who was the progenitor of this conflict.

Humans simply saw merfolk as eerie sea monsters, and merfolk regarded humans as stupid and threatening beasts.

The conflict was escalating. Now, merfolk would drown innocent humans in the sea and humans would dry innocent merfolk to death in the public square.

Watching this, they would shout at each other.

“Everyone says this. We must kill the merfolk. We must kill the humans…. They say, how could anyone but a devil create such a horrific situation.”

“……”

“I have seen the conflict between merfolk and humans with my own two eyes. Living as a son of the sun, I traveled from place to place, and in the process, I encountered many merfolk.”

“And so you boast that you know merfolk well?”

“It might have been an inappropriate confidence to show in front of a mermaid. But even I find your angry appearance unfamiliar, Aria.”

“You may be seeing it often from now on.”

“Oh dear…”

Giovanni carefully stroked her dark navy hair.

“As far as I know, the idea that merfolk eat humans is just a superstition spread in some regions. Why did you say you would eat me?”

“Because whenever I said this, everyone obediently listened.”

“So it’s a result of learning. I understand.”

Giovanni understood such learning in merfolk.

The indifference of merfolk, who felt no need to distinguish between means and methods as long as they could produce the desired result, further fueled the humans’ fear.

But Giovanni hoped that this mermaid, who was curious about humans, would become a more friendly and social adult, so he wished this would not end as a mere result of learning.

Giovanni continued speaking.

“Then it must be a joke.”

“A joke?”

“You don’t really intend to eat me, do you.”

“Merfolk don’t eat humans. We get stomachaches.”

“In that case, let’s just call it a joke.”

He didn’t want to place undue weight on the mermaid’s cruel learning.

Hadn’t this deep conflict arisen because up until now humans and merfolk had attached excessive meaning to the other side’s ‘incomprehensible actions’?

He simply advised.

It was an extremely light piece of advice he could offer as a teacher and a friend.

“It must be convenient to make people obey your commands by frightening them. But if you only scare them, a great many people will try to run away from your side, Aria.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“At least for Aria, who wants to learn about humans, it wouldn’t be a good thing. Humans are not creatures that show diverse reactions only in fear. On the contrary, they show far more reactions when they are happy and joyful.”

Giovanni hoped this mermaid would not be left alone in the future.

So, as her younger brother wished, he wanted the day to come when the sea and the sun became one.

Merfolk live for a very long time, dwelling in a single memory.

Perhaps this young mermaid, who liked her current daily life, could grow up to become a mermaid who helps humans someday. She could be the beginning of peace.

It was impossible to know if it would really happen, and he didn't want to force it.

However, there was a definite wish for this mermaid, who would have to live a lifetime embracing his short life, to become gentler.

“If you keep playing pranks like this, no one will be left by your side, Aria.”

To that, the arrogant mermaid asked.

“My younger brother?”

“……”

“And, what about you?”

“…Perhaps we will always remain by your side.”

“Always?”

“As long as I do not die.”

“You’re going to die.”

The mermaid complained.

“The lifespan of humans is too short. The sun that made you was stupid.”

“Isn’t it also that because our lifespan is short, we show more diverse aspects?”

“I don’t understand. Isn’t it obvious that one can learn more with a longer lifespan?”

“You will slowly come to understand as time passes.”

“What?”

“Desperation.”

Giovanni knew the limits of humans.

He also knew the infinite possibilities that arose from them.

“It is precisely because we are creatures of short breath that we strive so hard. A slothful human is easily left behind, that situation easily worsens, and humans cannot welcome such a situation.”

“You struggle because you are more desperate?”

“Perhaps that is so. Is there a point here to consider further? What might that be? Aria, think about it.”

“……”

The little mermaid princess, after pondering with her small head, asked.

“Then, if merfolk too become desperate, do we become diverse like you?”

“Of course. Merfolk are simply more familiar with water and have a slightly longer lifespan than humans. It means we are not that different.”

“A great many things seem very different.”

“If a human were to grow gills to breathe underwater and live a life closer to eternity, people would look at him and call him a merman.”

“Are you saying we are the same?”

“No one was wrong. We simply have our differences. If there is one thing I felt while living with you all, it was the fact that ultimately, you, Aria, are the same as me.”

Giovanni did not doubt that fact in the slightest.

“Merfolk are also creatures that create precious things, aren't you?”

“What does that have to do with future diversity?”

“Because any living creature develops to protect what is precious to it.”

“Any living creature?”

“Even a four-legged beast that cannot speak, even the fish we so often eat, will use all sorts of tricks and develop great strength to protect their young.”

“That’s an instinct to preserve the species.”

“An innate instinct can also be called something precious.”

The mermaid did not seem to understand well.

“Then is human greed the same?”

“If protecting that greed is precious to oneself, then yes, it is.”

Everyone becomes diverse because they have something precious to them.

It's just that humans, with their shorter lives than merfolk, strive harder to achieve their goals.

“So, merfolk will be the same.”

“…Then what on earth is the difference between humans and merfolk?”

“In truth, they are not different.”

It is only that they do not understand each other.

“So, nothing grand is needed. If only the number of people who understand each other’s differences increases…”

“……”

“If the number of people who voice understanding and compromise increases, this long conflict will one day come to an end.”

The mermaid complained with an expressionless face.

“That sounds strange.”

“I suppose it does.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Is that so?”

“I’m going to eat you.”

“You won’t, yet you’re being so cross…”

“I’m going to eat you.”

“Of course, I understand perfectly.”

But there was something she absolutely had to remember.

“Aria, if you intend to scare someone by saying you’ll eat them, you must know this.”

“What is that?”

“Whatever your purpose was, humans will each show a different reaction, and you must take responsibility for that reaction. A creature that does not take responsibility cannot learn anything.”

“……”

Responsibility.

“…Alright.”

The mermaid readily affirmed.

“I will take responsibility.”

“Wonderful.”

“I will eat you.”

“Oh my… what could have displeased you again.”

So, that was a joke.

“I will put you on my dining table.”

“This priest is not tasty.”

An endlessly lighthearted joke.

***

“……”

“……”

The mermaid blinked her eyes and saw a rapturously brilliant light.

It was the sun.

“…I…”

Why am I wavering?

The moment my heart sways, I’ve lost.

I didn't want to lose, not after waiting for so long.

But that light was hot enough to dry up even the vast ocean.

It was the sharp heat that had once dried the tails of merfolk above the sea.

My stomach churned.

A motion sickness I had never felt, not even in the deep, dark abyss, not even on the surface roiling from a typhoon, came over me.

“…I don’t quite understand.”

“What is it that you do not understand?”

“Well, this is…”

Could this also be desperation?

If so, desperation for what.

Soon, the mermaid found the words she could say.

“Why would you think that I’d wish for you not to die?”

“Because you did not create me, Aria.”

Giovanni’s voice was no different from what it was thousands of years ago.

“I saw the laboratory. You attempted to create and combine numerous lives. The skill in dissecting and organizing creatures was, at the very least, taught by me, so I could recognize it as a matter of course.”

Aria suddenly thought it was all too strange.

It was a voice she had mulled over and remembered for a countless amount of time, but it felt unfamiliar, knowing the reason for this voice’s absence until now.

You fled to the sun’s side or you melted into the cold sea.

How can a person who returned to nature come back alive, looking the same as then, and speak to me.

“Some even succeeded, and some you intentionally ruined.”

“……”

“I was suspecting that it might have been to give them a life that was not truly living.”

The priest of the sun, who seemed to have been preserved in his most beautiful years, asked.

“Then why did you not do so to me? Why did you not bring me back to life?”

“…No matter how I tried, I could not succeed. You died without so much as a corpse, so there was not enough material to study.”

“That’s because you respected me.”

“Had you died in a more intact form, the result would have been different. It was simply a matter beyond my abilities, not something I intended.”

“If emotions are also an ability, then that would not be a lie either. I know that merfolk feel emotions too.”

Giovanni was certain.

“You love me, Aria.”

“Why would you think that?”

“There is no strength in your voice.”

“That’s not true.”

It was a meaningful reunion with an old friend.

I had no intention of proceeding in such a foolish manner; I hadn’t been able to sneer as well as I had resolved to, thinking that my end had finally come.

I had never been this foolish for hundreds, thousands of years.

I had killed, tormented, and toyed with so many humans…

“……”

But just by seeing one missed face, the words wouldn’t come out.

Even though the only thing that had changed was your existence, Giovanni.

Only then did I recall that you were not only my friend but also my teacher.

An adult I could never win against and my guiding star.

‘That’s right. Yes, that’s how it was.’

Surprisingly, Aria had never won against him.

She was reminded of a fact she had forgotten for a while.

With difficulty, I opened my mouth.

“In the first place… Giovanni, with your divinity, would you really die just because you were killed like this? This must be nothing more than a trick to fluster me.”

“If this is a lie, I can die anew before you a thousand times, and if this is the truth, ‘Giovanni’ will disappear in this place. He is merely a human.”

“…That’s also true.”

I became amused at myself for not expecting such a counterattack.

Unlike Aria, who couldn't touch a single fingertip of her master, encountered through an unbelievable miracle, Giovanni could destroy himself as much as he wanted.

‘If he had been one to cherish his own body and life, he would have lived longer than that.’

But Giovanni was a human who accomplished everything because he wanted to.

Form a very long time ago, Aria had not been able to win against her teacher.

“……”

Having come this far, Aria could not lie that she did not love Giovanni.

Because, for whatever reason, Giovanni was confident of the merfolks’ love, and unfortunately, that was the truth.

“Ah…”

From that moment, victory and defeat were already decided.

Aria knew it too, and because she knew, she had placed her end entirely in Giovanni’s hands.

And yet, her benevolent teacher chose to torment himself rather than wield that leash.

Because he knew that was more effective in punishing Aria. It was certainly so.

“Why do you have to be so cruel?”

A reply came back to the reflexive question.

“Why were you so cruel?”

“……”

“To me, and to the countless humans you have met until now.”

“…I was angry.”

“Then you must take responsibility.”

I know.

“I know, too.”

He told me to take responsibility.

“From a very long time ago, you’ve kept saying that to me. To act only after preparing to take responsibility for everything I do.”

No matter how much time has passed, there’s no way I would have forgotten your teachings.

But she did not take responsibility for anything.

Because she simply did not want to be responsible for the deaths and suffering of mere humans.

If she had to weigh the gravity of her tantrums, she wouldn’t have even started in the first place.

“If I take responsibility for the things I’ve done, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of venting my anger?”

Ah, I hate humans.

I loathe them.

Even this feeling of anger was so precious to Aria that she couldn't bring herself to soften it.

My resentment and hatred are as heavy as the love I had for you.

It was truly precious.

So, it was only natural not to take responsibility either.

Because if I took responsibility, if I atoned, I would have to conclude that this feeling was wrong.

I didn't want this terribly precious memory to be tainted and dulled.

“No one told me to take responsibility.”

“Quite a few would have wanted you to.”

“I suppose so. The countless humans who died and were hurt at my hands.”

They must have wished for this horrific sea monster to meet the most miserable death in the world, to atone while continuing days more terrible than death itself.

“But isn’t it a funny story? How can you expect human emotions from a monster like me.”

She briefly looked at the white-haired Hunter with an impassive expression.

Yu Seong-un, was it. Aria asked him.

“Do you Hunters want the monsters inhabiting dungeons to be judged by the law? Or do you want them to apologize or feel sad?”

“…Monsters are just targets for subjugation. We don’t engage in such emotional expenditure. Resources are too scarce to put even monsters, who aren't criminals, on the stand.”

“Yes, that’s it. Most humans exterminate monsters because it’s a mission, without emotion. I, too, have killed humans because I hate them.”

Aria looked at Jio.

“Why should someone like me take responsibility? Giovanni, you taught me as a human… but now, am I not just a monster?”

“Hearing you say that truly pains this priest’s heart. I taught a human who loved the sea, but you say you were, in fact, a monster.”

Giovanni said.

“You know this is all a tantrum.”

“It’s not that I don’t know.”

I know it well.

“I didn’t want to justify my actions with your death.”

“Thank you.”

“For that, you were… too merciful. You wouldn’t have wanted something like this.”

“I see.”

“It just wasn’t appropriate to use as an excuse.”

I asked, just to be sure.

“Do you still not resent them?”

“I resent and hate them.”

“Then how can you corner me?”

“Because I do not resent them enough to take responsibility for their deaths.”

He resented them, but he did not wish for their deaths.

It was an answer that only Giovanni, who believed that if you influence someone in any way, you must take responsibility for all their reactions, could give.

He said.

“Choose.”

“What on earth?”

“Are you a human, or a mermaid?”

“…What…”

It is a difficult question to understand.

I saw the sharp light of the sun.

It was ready to pierce Giovanni at any moment.

“Taking a hostage, that’s too cunning.”

“Since I am using myself, wouldn’t the responsibility I bear also be light?”

“You are right.”

There was nothing as cost-effective as consuming oneself.

Aria knew that too.

That was why she had instilled fear in countless humans by using herself until now.

This was not the first time she had seen a human make such a choice.

The number of humans who used themselves to make deals was just barely countable, it's just that they... were not Giovanni.

So I tormented them.

“……”

Naturally, I do not regret it.

Because Aria knew from the beginning that her and her brother’s actions were nothing but a tantrum built on favoritism and unfairness.

But I vaguely wished that one day, our teacher would come back to life, scold us harshly, and give us our punishment to end this long life.

Only Giovanni could do that.

If it wasn't him, it held no meaning for these merfolk.

‘…But it ended up like this. How has nothing changed.’

He was not one to be easily swayed by his students.

The scolding from my truly reunited benevolent teacher took a form quite different from what I had imagined, leaving me speechless.

“To be honest…”

“You can be honest.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Oh dear, you poor thing.”

“I was so full of confidence, you know.”

I felt empty.

Until the moment I forced a choice upon Giovanni, I was sure the ‘ending’ was right before my eyes.

“…Now I’m not sure what to do.”

Kwa-deu-deuk—!!

A spear fell.

“……”

“……”

Blood flowed from Giovanni’s shoulder.

Whether it was because she was his student or simply because Aria was sharp.

She instantly figured out the meaning of that action.

It meant it was not the right answer.

“What should I do?”

Kwa-deuk—!!

The second spear fell.

“Should I apologize for my rudeness…?”

Kwa-jeu-jeuk—!!

It was the third spear.

“Don’t die.”

“Wrong.”

Kwang!!

“Don’t die in front of me.”

“That’s wrong.”

Kka-deu-deuk—…!!

“I…”

“Are you now inclined to respect me?”

“…Are you angry, Giovanni?”

“Did you expect that I would not be angry?”

His voice was still gentle and soft, but Aria realized that he was very, very angry.

No, more than that.

“Did you expect I wouldn’t be disappointed?”

He seemed disappointed.

“……”

“…That’s quite eerie.”

With just a few gestures, Giovanni became covered in blood.

There were many holes, and many parts were severed. It was a frail body unbecoming of the new sun god’s honor.

So it was scary.

There was a terrible smell of flesh cooking before the sun’s fire.

It was a stench announcing that the mermaid’s old friend was becoming a mere lump of meat.

“…Was it like this back then too?”

Seeing him so injured, especially by the sun’s light, reminded me of that day.

“You said you were tortured.”

“I was.”

“Did it hurt as much as it does now?”

“I believe it hurts more now.”

“Then you can just stop. It’s not wise.”

“An emotionally driven human is never wise.”

“That’s…”

“Aren’t you the same, Aria.”

“……”

“That’s why you’ve done such cruel things.”

It was so absurd and I was so speechless that I had no choice but to laugh.

“…Why are you…”

“……”

“Still seeing me as a human…”

But I was crying.

“How can you do that?”

Pearls fell to the floor, onto the hem of my dress.

“Why haven’t you changed one bit.”

We’ve changed so much.

“Is this not a deception towards the humans who died because of me, because of my brother? How can you be so kind?”

“It is not because I am kind that I see you as human. I simply treat you as such because that is the truth.”

“How truly funny. A ridiculous story. No one sees us as human. Therefore, you are still kind.”

Perhaps because of the pearls falling from the corners of her eyes, which remained pale as wax instead of turning red, she did not look particularly sad.

It just looked like an ornament.

“I am not human, Giovanni.”

Aria thought that was a bit unpleasant.

She didn’t like it.

She wanted to feel at ease, even if it meant eating everything.

“But you could be.”

“It’s only natural for a monster to eat and torment humans, isn’t it.”

“Saying that monstrous evil deeds are natural because you are called a monster is nothing but an excuse.”

Giovanni still had a smiling face and his voice was gentle.

The smile that did not falter even as he was broken and disheveled looked like a taxidermied painting, feeling eerie.

It was like watching a portrait whose expression did not change even as it burned in fire.

The blood-soaked body, which held something that was neither life nor death, continued to speak.

“You could have chosen not to eat humans, and you could have chosen not to torment them.”

“……”

“You could have chosen not to be called a monster, Aria. You were capable of that.”

The mermaid, unaccustomed to fear and anxiety, did not know exactly what emotion she was feeling.

She had never felt this way, not even when her teacher, the sole meaning in her long life, had died.

She simply pleaded.

Because her opponent happened to be Aria's only meaning, she looked uncharacteristically foolish.

“Don’t be angry at me.”

“Aria, you are my student.”

“…Still?”

“Still, you are.”

If you are this angry because I am still your student.

“…Then isn’t that too cruel?”

I know.

It is not right to say such a thing when I pride myself on being a monster.

Those who died at her hands would scoff and despise me.

But if I had followed the right path, I would not have thought of becoming a monster in the first place.

Aria only cherished her own heart and repeated.

You know, I missed you for a time so long I couldn't even count.

“Don’t be in so much pain in front of me, you shouldn’t.”

“If you are a monster, then this is fine.”

“……”

The mermaid finally had to admit it.

“…That I am still your student.”

“That is correct.”

“As someone who is not a monster, can I be scolded in a different way?”

“Of course. This is a human conversation, after all.”

With a teacher-like gentle yet firm voice, Giovanni spoke.

“I have always treated you as humans. As beings like myself.”

“……”

“I know you are merfolk and I know the difference, but that doesn't mean you are monsters.”

I thought it was the perfect moment to end what had been a very long story, but it seemed Giovanni had no intention of concluding it here.

“Why is killing me not the perfect ending?”

“Because that, too, is a choice to evade responsibility. It is a cowardly act.”

“I will never consider my sins as sins for the rest of my life.”

“But as long as you are by my side, you will come to regard your sins as sins.”

“To be able to remain by my old friend’s side is a great honor.”

Finding it amusing, I asked.

“Do you think that can be a sufficient punishment? To return to me someone precious?”

“Firstly, I am not in a position to punish you, and secondly, I will not return anything to you.”

“But if you’re not going to punish me, why are you keeping me alive? You say you won’t return anything, so how do you intend to stay by my side.”

“My existence will be a punishment to you. Since I like good things, you will take an interest in good deeds and one day, you will be influenced.”

“That can never be a hell for me. The people I’ve killed and tormented would shed tears of blood if they found out. This kind of thing, any punishment…”

“I will say it again, I am not in a position to punish you. I have neither the responsibility nor the duty to do so. Is that not right?”

He continued.

“However, as time passes, one day you will see yourselves as humans, not monsters.”

“That’s absurd.”

“When that day comes, you will find your own hell without anyone needing to step in. You will punish yourselves.”

“How do you know that?”

“I raised you. I taught you, and I watched over you. I know what good children you are when you are by my side.”

Giovanni spoke nonchalantly, as if discussing the very obvious fact that the sun is hot.

“You two are very curious and clever. You have the will to improve and you are not afraid of new attempts.”

“……”

“That is the you I know. So stay by my side. You must take responsibility for what has passed.”

In the banquet hall, ruined by the noble priest’s blood and the sun’s fire, Aria conveyed her surrender.

“…Then that’s enough.”

I admitted defeat.

There were no regrets for the meaningless, long-drawn-out tantrum, but it had been too long.

Yet, the hatred and anger wouldn’t cease, so I couldn't stop, nor did I want to.

So, if possible, I hoped that you, Giovanni, would return and give an ending to the mermaid’s story.

Only you could end the mermaid’s life.

Only he had the right to conclude this insane living story.

“I wanted to win, but I’ve lost.”

“I suppose it’s because I am, for what it’s worth, a teacher.”

“So give me time.”

“Time, you say.”

“I need time to think, in what form I will remain by my teacher’s side.”

“I do as well.”

At that moment, the few remaining spears of light vanished.

Aria looked up at the empty air with a lingering sense of regret on her face.

“…You should have killed the monster.”

“As I keep saying, that is not my part to play. Why do you seek punishment from me?”

“Are you going to call me a coward?”

“Yes, do not act cowardly. I’m telling you to stop dwelling in the time of my death and conduct yourself properly like an adult.”

“What will you do if I continue to kill people?”

“That is also none of my business. I have never encouraged you to murder, nor have I ever stopped you.”

“Then how can you call this an ending? Nothing has ended.”

“But now, I am by your side. Nothing may have ended, but it won’t be that nothing changes, either. Right?”

“I won’t deny it.”

“Personally, I think this is not too bad an ending. Do you know?”

Giovanni smiled.

“The mermaid princess in Earth's fairy tales sometimes disappears into sea foam, but she also becomes human and lives happily with the prince.”

“Yes, my prince. I thought of you that way from the first time I saw you. So, will you live happily with me now?”

“If you wish to do so, you may. The end of anger can be reconciliation, it can be forgiveness, or it can be ruin. That depends on how and how much responsibility you take.”

“And it will be a story unrelated to you, teacher? I can’t tell if you’re kind or indifferent.”

“Ah, my goodness. I’m sorry to say this, but I’ve done my part. If it were up to me, I would have just cut ties and lived as if I didn’t know you, but you caused trouble in every direction, so I endured my loss of affection and came to see your face.”

“How heartless of you.”

“So… let’s take our time to think about the rest. What kind of story we create from now on depends on your choices.”

Jio concluded.

“Because we have a lot of time.”

“……”

“Right?”

***

An Ending for the Mermaid Princess (1/1)

Synchronization Rate 100.0%

Acquired Batlan Giovanni

Linkage: ‘Kingdom of the Deep Sea’ and ‘Breathing Sea’

Palette Residents: Aria, Iseur

Linkage successfully completed

Achievement: Law of Equivalent Exchange

Achievement: The Painter in the Painting

Achievement: The Painting in the Painting

Achievement: The Human in the Frame

Achievement: ….

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