「However, it is not complete. It has been shattered.」
“I’ve never seen a shattered Eternal Compass before.”
「Of course. No ordinary land dweller could break it.」
“Then who could?”
「Your king. Only he could destroy it.」
‘The king of the land…’
The Western Continent, the Eastern Continent, and numerous island nations—all of them had many kings. However, when the Mermaid Queen, Amphitrite, spoke of a ‘king,’ there were only two figures who truly fit that title.
‘Nihir, the emperor of the Western Continent and ruler of the Sixth House, and Mahot, the origin of all magic and wisdom.’
The weakest, yet the one who gathered the Sixth House through wisdom. The ruler who never stepped outside Centrum, the central nation of the empire in the Western Continent. But if he did, he would be protected by the entire Sixth House.
And then there was the Golden Hand of the Eastern Continent, the cycle of all wisdom. In a barren land devoid of seers, he gathered the wisdom of the weak and led magical technology as the founding ancestor of magitech—King Mahot.
‘It had to be one of them.’
More precisely, it was one of their ancestors who had shattered the Eternal Compass. But the reason remained unknown. Was it an act of goodwill or malice?
‘Maybe they destroyed it to monopolize the End of the Sea.’
If someone had reached that destination once, they could find it again even without the Eternal Compass—provided they had a navigator as skilled as Nereus.
「More importantly, I sense another presence within you, beyond the sea.」
Amphitrite gently brushed my cheek with her fingertip and murmured.
「…I see.」
Then her hand halted as she whispered softly.
「It’s the scent of another time.」
“……….!”
She had realized that I had returned to the past.
‘Did she sense it because she’s the Mermaid Queen?’
I swallowed hard and hesitated before finally speaking the words I had been debating.
“Please move the cradle near the Eastern Continent.”
「Hm?」
The cradle was where young mermaids were raised. Unlike humans, mermaids had an entirely different birth and growth process. They were hidden in deep sea sanctuaries known as cradles, where they were nurtured.
“In a few years, the location of the cradle will be exposed. I don’t know exactly where near the Eastern Continent, but…”
A wealthy merchant from the Eastern Continent had once discovered the cradle and sold off the young mermaids. This enraged all the mermaids of the sea, and they took revenge on him.
The problem was that this merchant had been on his way to Conferencia, an island where representatives of nations allied under the ‘Maritime Alliance’ gathered for an annual summit.
The ‘Maritime Alliance’ was a coalition formed to unite the Western and Eastern Continents. Member nations paid annual tribute in exchange for protection from the Sixth House and the Tower of Magitech.
‘That’s why, in the future, half of the mermaids were slaughtered by Hyperion.’
Hyperion, the heir of Pharus, a legendary warrior, had been summoned—and he had massacred countless mermaids. And because of me, the method of capturing mermaids had spread across the world… until hardly any remained.
‘Those that survived must have lived solely for revenge, their lives no longer truly lives at all.’
A heavy weight settled in my heart. It was a guilt I had never felt during my time in the navy.
‘What if they don’t believe me?’
Even if I was young enough that mermaids did not find me threatening, I was still human. If they doubted my words, the outcome could be far worse.
「If that is what you say, then trusting you wouldn’t be a bad idea.」
“…What?”
「Why are you so surprised, child? You were the one who said it.」
“Oh, no, it’s just… strange that you believe me.”
「Well, I have heard that land dwellers deceive one another constantly.」
Amphitrite chuckled.
「We do not deceive each other.」
“But I’m not a mermaid.”
「And yet, child, you carry the scent of the sea, which we love dearly.」
‘By that logic, shouldn’t pirates be just as favored?’
I suspected their goodwill toward me had something to do with the Compass Piece I had. That place, often referred to as the Land of the Gods, held deep significance. And Amphitrite had introduced herself as a servant of Cormare, one of the two gods.
‘This is just a fragment, yet it carries more of the sea’s energy than any Eternal Compass.’
A relic tied to the gods. This was an era where divine energy was gradually fading from the world. Perhaps possessing it had lowered the mermaids’ wariness of me even further.
‘And the fact that I’m young probably helped.’
「Very well, I shall give you this as a gift. Carrying that fragment as it is must be inconvenient.」
A droplet of water formed at the tip of Amphitrite’s finger. Plop—when it fell onto my palm, it refracted the light seeping into the cave and shimmered.
“Wow…”
Sparkle.
The droplet began to glow golden and soon transformed into a slightly oversized compass in my hand.
「Oh dear, is it too big? But you are still young—it will fit you once you’ve grown. Open it.」
‘Open it?’
Upon closer inspection, I noticed a button on the top of the compass. When I pressed it, the inside revealed an empty space, resembling the locket that Nereus always wore around his neck.
「This compass is different—it carries my blessing. When you collect all the Compass Pieces, it will show you the way to Caerula.」
‘Caerula… That means the End of the Sea, doesn’t it?’
For some reason, Amphitrite seemed to want me to reach the sea’s end. But it felt strange. No matter how young I was, I was still human.
‘She despises humans, so why would she want one to reach the Land of the Gods?’
Especially since she introduced herself as a servant of Cormare. If she spoke of the Land of the Gods, that meant divine relics—or perhaps a god itself—resided there.
Click!
Despite the thoughts filling my mind, the Compass Piece I held fit perfectly into the empty slot inside the compass.
‘It looks like an ordinary compass.’
No one would ever suspect that an Eternal Compass was hidden inside. Even more so, no one could imagine that it was a broken fragment, and that once all the pieces were gathered, it would point to the End of the Sea.
“Someone’s coming.”
“Yeah? That’s not a mermaid’s presence.”
The mermaids below started murmuring. Amphitrite spoke softly.
「He’s here.」
‘…Huh?’
「The one who reached the end.」
The end.
When Amphitrite spoke of the end, she must have meant the End of the Sea. But someone who had already reached it?
‘If someone like that existed, the whole world would have known by now.’
「Hahaha, it’s almost time for you to return.」
As soon as Amphitrite gently set me back down on the ground, a familiar voice called out from a distance.
“Lala!”
“……..!”
“Lala! Are you here?!”
Dripping wet, Nereus appeared before me.
‘How did he even get here?!’
Had he swum all the way alone? That was impossible for a human. If the pirate ship had arrived instead, the mermaids would have noticed it long ago.
‘Did he seriously swim here by himself?’
I stood there, stunned by Nereus’s sheer determination and skill, watching as he strode towards me. The mermaids remained still, merely observing us under Amphitrite’s command.
“A land dweller who isn’t enchanted by our song?”
“That can’t be. Didn’t he get lured here?”
“If so, he doesn’t seem interested in us at all.”
‘That’s because he plugged his ears, obviously.’
At this point in time, mermaids still didn’t understand how humans could resist the enchantment of their songs. They all murmured among themselves, eyes fixed on Nereus.
I figured he would take the wax out of his ears any moment now… but instead—
“You idiot!”
“Huh? What?”
Nereus shouted loudly without removing anything from his ears.
“Dad, can you hear me?”
“What are you talking about?!”
His face was a mix of shock and anger. The deep shadows cast by his fury made it clear—no matter what I said, he wasn’t going to listen.
Suddenly, a wave of unease washed over me.
A suffocating feeling rose in my throat, my breathing growing rapid.
Something was wrong… No, was I the one who was wrong?
Before I realized it, Nereus had grabbed both my shoulders tightly.
‘Ow… it hurts.’
Nereus had never shown this much emotion toward me before.
“Why were you there?! I told you to stay somewhere safe!”
“T-That’s…”
Normally, I would have snapped back with something like, “But you didn’t say anything at the time!” But right now, even moving my lips felt impossible.
‘Why… Why is this happening?’
No sound came out. My throat was locked up.
Nereus’s shadow loomed larger, as if he were about to swallow me whole—as if it would choke the air out of my lungs.
“Lala, you…”
“…….…”
“Lala?”
I could see his lips moving, but a loud ringing filled my ears, making it impossible to understand what he was saying.
“Gasp… huff…”
Beeeeeeeeep— A piercing, deafening ringing filled my head.
And suddenly, I was back in that dark, cramped room. The reason was obvious—I had disobeyed orders from my superiors. It didn’t matter what I thought. To protect people, to uphold justice, my opinions didn’t matter.
“Lala!”
Because of my actions, the mission failed, and my father was put in a difficult position. I had tainted the Mare Akera name. My father had always wanted me to be a perfect navy officer. But I kept… I kept questioning them.
‘I… I’m scared.’
Whenever I spoke out or disobeyed orders, they locked me in that dark, silent room. The only way I could tell time was by when they brought me food. I counted—three meals a day. Twelve meals.
‘How… how do I earn their forgiveness?’
And when I finally got out… Six days had passed.
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Hey? Polaris?”
“I-I’m sorry. I’ll correct my behavior. I was wrong. From now on, I will follow every order…”
Why…?
Why had I disagreed with them in the first place?
‘Right…’
So much had happened that my memories felt foggy.
As my vision spun, I saw the mermaids watching me.
Ah… that’s right. They were the reason it all began.
“Mare Akera… before you became a navy officer, you already gave away information on how to capture mermaids, didn’t you?”
“Huh?”
“You have a promising future…”
“I’m sorry, Captain Burkin. I have no knowledge of that.”
“…..……”
“They saved my life. The reason mermaids attack humans is because of the slave trade—they’ve been hunted for generations. If we just stopped hunting them, then—”
“Mare Akera. Are you defying orders?”
………
Right.
That was where it all began.
