After calming down a little, the leader of the merfolk tribe, Micro, kept nervously shaking his legs as he stared at the people sitting across from him.
Two children, a man exuding an unusual atmosphere, and a priest wearing priestly robes.
It was an inexplicable combination. Micro whispered to his confidant, Frosch, who was sitting next to him.
“Are you sure they’re not lying?”
“That’s how it seems.”
“If they’re fooling even you, what are we supposed to do?”
“Then I’ll offer up my head.”
“Your head is worthless, though.”
“…That’s harsh.”
As usual, the two exchanged quips, but soon, they sensed the gazes of those staring at them and snapped back to attention.
“Ahem.”
Micro cleared his throat and tried to calm his mind.
The priest was a being he didn’t even want to look at. But turning to speak to the man next to him, for some reason, felt like a terrible idea.
Instinctively, he knew he shouldn’t converse with that man. One misstep, and it could lead to disaster…
He glanced at the young boy but remembered the glare that had felt like it would tear him apart earlier. So, he averted his eyes once again. Instead, he focused on the person who seemed the most harmless and likely to understand him — Shekina.
“Uh, so… You said you could help us… What do you mean by that?”
Without realizing it, Micro’s voice trailed off. It was because he could feel the intense glare of the scary man directed at him.
“…Lady?”
He spoke more politely for that reason. The way the child in front of him glared made it seem like they expected him to show respect
Shekina tilted her head briefly before letting out an “Ah!” and nudging the person next to her, Lucart, with her elbow.
“Boss, your eyes.”
“…Yeah.”
Lucart muttered something about how even helping them was a hassle, crossing his legs and folding his arms. It was his way of telling Shekina to handle it herself.
“Just like I said. We can help you.”
Shekina looked at the bewildered Micro and spoke.
“You’re all doing this because of the Pope, right?”
“How do you know that?”
“Well, no matter how he looks, that guy’s still a high-ranking priest. He can easily sense the presence of someone like the Pope.”
“How he looks…?”
Yuriel let out a pained groan and drooped his head.
“Anyway, that’s how we found out the Pope is here. We’ve also been tracking that guy. So it worked out well for you, right?”
“But!”
Micro raised his voice.
“They’re unbelievably strong! …Lady.”
He quickly added the honorific, once again mindful of the gazes on him.
But he never forgot to maintain a respectful tone. The man’s gaze was truly terrifying.
“That doesn’t matter at all.”
The man — Lucart — lazily lifted his head and spoke.
“The real issue is what they were trying to take from you.”
Micro’s eyes wavered.
Take something from us?
They wanted our blood.
They said they were going to use it as a material for something. I don’t know what kind of material they were going to make, but one thing was certain: they coveted our blood. They wanted it so badly that they were even willing to exterminate the entire merfolk tribe.
If I tell these people about it…
How do I know they won’t covet our blood too?
I can’t trust them.
Absolutely not.
Micro shook his head.
“Why do you want to know that? It has nothing to do with you.”
“Nothing to do with us? We have to stop that bastard Luci — I mean, the Pope — so we do need to know.”
Lucart narrowed his eyes and stared at Frosch.
“They didn’t withdraw because you beat them. It’s more likely a temporary truce. They probably just needed a chance to test whatever they extracted from you.”
“…….….”
“Am I wrong?”
His argument was so logical that Micro couldn’t deny it. Even Micro himself didn’t believe they had driven them away with their own strength.
This is just a lull.
Soon, they’ll invade again.
If we sit back and do nothing, we’ll be wiped out.
At that moment, Frosch, who had been silent all this time, raised his hand and spoke up.
“Are you planning to use us?”
Lucart’s lips curled into a sly smile.
“That’s exactly why we came.”
“Wh-what…?!”
“But—”
Lucart continued, ignoring their growing agitation.
“—this kid wouldn’t like it, so I’ll stop.”
With a light thud, he placed his hand on top of Shekina’s head. Shekina’s eyes went wide as she looked up at Lucart.
“What are you staring at? A true adult listens to the voice of a child.”
Oh…
What is this?
Shekina felt goosebumps travel up her arms. She remembered hearing that when people start doing things they’ve never done before, it means they’re close to death… Is Boss going to die?!
Shekina scrunched her face but shook her head a couple of times to snap herself out of it. The two merfolks looking at he4 with eyes filled with hope made her feel self-conscious.
“W-well, I guess I’ll explain then.”
Shekina tried her best to ignore Lucart’s hand on her head as she stared at the merfolks.
“The Pope trying to take something from you is a big deal for us too. If we want to stop him in the future, we need to be prepared as well.”
“But…”
“Yes, I know. You’re feeling uneasy, right? So, I won’t ask you to tell me right now. It’s still too early for you to trust us,”
Said Shekina, folding her arms and tilting her chin up with confidence.
“For now, we’ll handle those guys for you. Once it’s all over, you can tell us then.”
Shekina was definitely a child. A very small, seemingly weak child.
But why?
Why does she seem like the biggest person in the room?
Why does she feel so reliable?
“They…”
Micro’s mouth opened slowly after a brief moment of silence.
“They killed my son.”
He gritted his teeth.
“After my wife died, I raised him alone.”
He paused and lowered his head.
“I didn’t want people saying he was a disgrace just because he grew up under a useless father. So I raised him strictly. I never once told him I loved him.”
Even though his head was lowered, everyone in the room could see his expression clearly.
He was crying.
He wasn’t shedding big tears, but he was definitely crying.
“The only time I told him I loved him… was after he had already died. By then, he couldn’t hear me anymore. No matter how much I spoke to him, he wouldn’t come back.”
Micro clenched his fists tightly and bent his back low.
“Please, help us.”
“…….….”
A heavy silence fell over the room.
It wasn’t because a leader of a tribe had bowed his head to make a request.
It was because no one knew how to console him for the terrible reality he was facing.
At the same time, a spark of rage ignited in each of their hearts. Especially for Dehan.
He saw himself in Micro.
Dehan also had words he failed to convey properly to the people of his village.
He swallowed his grief with a heavy gulp, then suddenly stood up.
“I’m going to practice my swordsmanship.”
With that, he stormed out of the room.
Lucart, who was quietly watching Dehan leave, let out a short laugh.
“You’ll be the one to take the Pope’s head.”
Lucart turned his gaze to the trembling Micro and threw out a blunt statement.
“That will be how you honor your son.”
***
Later that night.
Under the light of the moon, Lucart sat atop the highest point of the merfolk island, gazing up at the sky.
– I never once told him I loved him.
– The only time I told him I loved him… was after he had already died.
– No matter how much I spoke to him, he wouldn’t come back.
Lucart blinked slowly.
When he heard those words, for some reason, he thought of Shekina.
She was sitting right next to him, yet at the same time, she was floating in his mind.
He didn’t know why.
But there was one thing he did realize.
If Shekina were to die due to some unavoidable fate, what would he do then?
What would I… do?
