Mermaids were the scourge of the western and eastern continents, as well as every island in between.
‘Well, that’s because they attack people on sight.’
With their enchanting songs, they lured sailors into the sea or made ships crash into reefs, causing shipwrecks. To humans, they were mortal enemies.
The first way to avoid their attacks was simple: block your ears.
‘But if that worked, all ten ships passing through would remain unscathed.’
Unfortunately, mermaids were intelligent creatures. If their songs didn’t work, some of the more aggressive ones would directly attack the ships to sink them.
In some cases, however, the mermaids were captured instead. When that happened, they were sold at slave auctions for incredibly high prices. Because of this, some merchant and pirate ships deliberately roamed the mermaid straits, hoping to capture them.
Ultimately, protecting a ship from mermaids was both simple and difficult. It depended entirely on how adaptable and experienced the leader was in dealing with them.
‘And if I remember correctly, Caelum has never suffered losses in the mermaid straits.’
I crossed my arms and recalled my memories from before my regression. A member of Pharus had once pursued Caelum but failed because they had crossed the mermaid straits.
‘That was under Nereus’ orders too.’
Even though he was my dad, he was a surprisingly resourceful and capable man. He could issue precise orders even when everyone had their hearing completely blocked.
I glanced around at the busy ship. Even Ethan, who usually looked after me, had left to assist the other crew members.
‘I just have to stay put, right?’
“…Hmm.”
I quietly observed my surroundings before removing the wax that had been blocking my ears. If anyone had seen me, they would’ve called me insane, but I had my reasons.
‘It doesn’t work on children anyway.’
A mermaid’s song couldn’t mesmerize children or women who had never taken a life. To me, it was nothing more than a beautiful melody.
Leaning against the railing, I made eye contact with passing families and waved to encourage them.
‘They know I won’t fall into the sea anyway.’
Nereus also briefly glanced at me before looking away. That meant he wasn’t concerned.
In fact, it would take about ten years for people to discover that mermaid songs had no effect on children or innocent women.
‘And I was the one who found out.’
At the time, I had fallen into the sea while being rescued from an uninhabited island. Coincidentally, that island was near the mermaid straits.
When the mermaids—who were known to despise humans—rescued me, many researchers tried to figure out why. Eventually, they discovered that mermaids were completely powerless against children and innocent women.
After that, many merchant ships began using a cruel tactic: they would purchase young slaves and throw them into the sea to safely cross the mermaid straits.
‘Or they would use the slaves as bait to capture mermaids.’
The value of a slave varied, but the time saved by crossing the mermaid straits—or the high price a mermaid could fetch—always outweighed it.
Eventually, the mermaids caught on to these human tricks and started attacking every passing ship indiscriminately.
‘Still, at least this time, I won’t be the one thrown into the sea. So it should be fine.’
The navy existed for humans. They always had to follow the orders of their superiors, moving as one to uphold justice.
Since I was once part of the navy, I knew that prioritizing humans over mermaids was the rule.
‘But I’m a pirate now, so I don’t really need to concern myself with that anymore.’
Since I wouldn’t be interfering, more mermaids might survive in this lifetime. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, but recalling the countless enslaved mermaids I had encountered during my naval missions made my heart feel lighter.
Just then, a beautiful song began to echo in the distance. It was almost a shame that no one else could hear it.
‘I wonder how long it will take to pass through the straits.’
Leaning fully against the railing, I peered down at the sea. Faint silhouettes of mermaids occasionally appeared near the ship.
– “…..…Oh?”
“Oh my..…Help….”
“Huh?”
Amidst the singing, a faint voice mixed in. Before I could grasp what it was, a massive column of water shot up before me.
“What the—?!”
“Come here!”
A mermaid reached out and pulled me toward them.
“W-Wait…!”
“Lala—!!”
Splash!
The sound of the crashing waves filled my ears as the salty, bitter seawater rushed into my mouth.
‘Mermaid fins….’
The last thing I saw was the graceful movement of a mermaid’s tail gliding through the sea.
***
Cough! Cough, cough!
“Oh dear, are you alright?”
“Humans can’t breathe underwater, so we had to be careful.”
“That’s why we hurried.”
Fortunately, there was an underwater cave beneath the reefs near the mermaid straits. The mermaids had dragged me there, now watching as I tried to catch my breath.
‘Is this… a kidnapping?’
“Hey, you were captured by pirates, weren’t you?”
“Do you have no guardian? Then why don’t you stay with us? We’ll take good care of you.”
The mermaids seemed to believe that I had been kidnapped by pirates.
It wasn’t an unreasonable assumption. In fact, it was far stranger for pirates to be traveling with a child like me.
‘Are they just being kind?’
“Cough, cough. Th-Thank you, but… those pirates… they’re my family.”
“Family?”
“A pirate family?”
All of the mermaids widened their eyes in disbelief.
‘More importantly, I never expected to meet them like this….’
They had gill-marked faces, fins on their arms, and eyes that shimmered like water-filled jewels. Their bluish skin seemed otherworldly, yet instead of feeling alien, I found them beautiful.
They were real mermaids.
Taking a deep breath, I spoke.
“My family is waiting for me. Please let me go back.”
“Hmm… but we don’t really want to go near that ship again.”
“Yeah. Land-dwellers always try to capture us.”
Rather than sending me back, the mermaids started suggesting that I stay with them. One of them even pulled out a collection of gleaming gems.
“We’ll even give you these, okay? Just stay with us.”
They were known as mermaid tears—jewel-like pearls that glowed softly with the light of the sea in the darkness. Incredibly rare and precious.
‘And, as its name suggests, it’s made from the literal tears of mermaids.’
The mermaids eagerly placed the precious gems into my hands, their eyes sparkling with excitement.
‘They… really don’t seem to want to let me go.’
I knew that mermaids were kind to children and women, but I hadn’t expected them to be this fond of me.
I simply stared at them in bewilderment. Water droplets from the stalactites dripped down, creating ripples in the lake inside the cave.
As the clear sound echoed, the laughter of the mermaids suddenly stopped.
‘What’s happening?’
「That’s enough, everyone.」
A warm and gentle voice reverberated through the cave, seamlessly entering my mind.
At that moment, all the mermaids withdrew and bowed their heads toward the lake.
Shaaah—!
A massive mermaid emerged from the center of the water.
「I am Amphitrite, mother of all mermaids and a loyal servant of Cormare, the god of the sea.」
‘The Mermaid Queen…!’
She was the legendary Amphitrite, said to be unseen by human eyes.
Her enormous form was adorned with shells and barnacles that resembled elaborate jewelry. Her hair and tail blended seamlessly with the water, making it impossible to distinguish where she ended and the lake began. Her large, jewel-like blue eyes shimmered with an ethereal glow.
「Let me see… Your voice reaches me so clearly, yet you are so small. Come closer.」
She extended her massive hand. As I stepped onto it, she gently lifted me into the air.
「Ah, now I understand why your voice resonates so well… You carry a part of the sea within you.」
“Are you referring to my hair color?”
「Hehe, your hair does remind me of a clear ocean, but that’s not what I meant.」
As she spoke, Amphitrite touched the damp hem of my dress with the tip of her finger.
“Ah!”
‘Did I carry that in my pocket all this time?’
She was pointing at something inside my pocket— a fragment of the Eternal Compass.
「How fascinating that you possess this.」
“Oh, uh… Do you know what this is? I just found it.”
Technically, that wasn’t a lie.
「This is a map leading to Caerula.」
“Caerula?”
「Hmm… Humans call it the ‘End of the Sea.’」
“………!”
‘A map to the End of the Sea?’
The Eternal Compass was visibly ancient. I could tell because it was made from Oceanis stone, which loses its vibrant sea-blue hue over time once processed.
The fragment I had now held only the faintest remnants of a wave, its glow nearly extinguished.
‘This doesn’t make sense.’
The End of the Sea was a place that only remained in legends, and the last pirate who claimed it was real had lived a long time ago.
‘If I calculate the year when the method to process Oceanis was discovered…’
It didn’t add up.
The technique to refine Oceanis into Compass was discovered long after that pirate had died. In other words, an Eternal Compass that pointed to the End of the Sea shouldn’t even exist. If someone had reached it afterward, the whole world would have known by now.
Moreover, processed Oceanis was supposed to be unbreakable. That alone contradicted everything I knew.
‘But there’s no reason for the Mermaid Queen to lie to me.’
That meant that, regardless of how it was made, this fragment truly served as a marker pointing toward the End of the Sea. Or at least, part of it.
「Hehe, you look confused.」
“Is this really a map to the End of the Sea?”
「Of course. Mermaids never get lost in the ocean.」
Amphitrite pointed at my hand. More specifically, at the broken piece of the Eternal Compass—or rather, the Compass Piece—that I was holding.
Then, as if reacting to her words, the dull and faded fragment suddenly shimmered with light.
“Whoa….”
It was the most beautiful glow I had ever seen from Oceanis.
So dazzling that it brought tears to my eyes.
