When the Contract Fails
—
Thrett had a dream.
In the audience hall of the Demon King’s Castle, a golden fringe carpet stretched straight down the entire aisle. He wore a black ceremonial robe, and a massive throne adorned the background, exuding solemnity and dignity.
Someone stood before him, raising a blood-red broadsword high, glaring at him with anger.
In his heart, a strong sense of panic, unease, and above all, fear, swirled. But what was he afraid of?
As the Demon King, what could possibly instill fear in him?
The blade shimmered with a blood-red glow, pointing directly at him.
What was he afraid of?
He was afraid that he would despise him from now on, staring at him with anger in his eyes──
—
Thrett quietly opened his eyes, having slept through the night and feeling less fatigued than yesterday.
With a vague recollection of having spoken a few words to Ellyad in a hazy consciousness yesterday, he had a rough idea why his body felt unusually tired. He rolled up the sleeve of his left arm, and the totem of the hero pulsed with a blood-red glow, the totem gradually eroding him.
After breaking seven hundred and seventy-seven seals, his resistance to the hero’s totem weakened, leading to such noticeable effects.
Of course, Thrett wouldn’t tell Ellyad about this; he was certain Ellyad would feel self-blame. Not only that, but he might also retract the hero’s totem, severing their connection.
Besides their names, the totem was a shared bond between them that Thrett didn’t want to lose. Moreover, when things really became unbearable, he could easily solve the issue by releasing the seals and letting magic eliminate the erosion of the hero’s totem. So, Thrett wasn’t concerned at all.
Outside the window, the sky was gray, and it was impossible to determine whether it was dawn or an overcast day. Only then did he realize the room was empty; Ellyad had probably gone out.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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—
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He could already see the colorful tent tops, but the circus hadn’t started operating yet, so there was no one around. All he needed to do was be cautious and go around the back of the circus to find the mermaid sisters.
While looking for a concealed passage, Ellyad happened to notice a figure moving among the trees.
‘Oh no, it’s the man from yesterday.’
Ellyad hid behind a tree, waiting for the unreasonable and uncommunicative man from yesterday to leave before passing by. If he were discovered, he would surely shout loudly, attracting many people.
But Ellyad had always been curious. How did the circus manage to lure the mermaid sisters ashore? If the mermaids’ nature was to marry, there was no reason for the sisters to run away.
Ellyad secretly observed the man’s actions. The man was moving back and forth between the bushes, seemingly picking something. Upon closer inspection, Ellyad realized he was gathering winter wildflowers.
His expression was gloomy, but when he picked the flowers, he reluctantly revealed a faint smile. After quickly collecting the flowers, he left in a hurry. As he left, a small brown bag accidentally fell from his pocket, but the man didn’t notice. Of course, Ellyad couldn’t jump out and remind him at this point.
After the man went far away, Ellyad came out to check. It was a small deerhide drawstring bag.
Ellyad squatted down to pick up the bag, and its contents spilled out. Two identical and elegant white gold rings, their platinum luster shining on the smooth ring bodies. Although they were not adorned with any patterns, they gave off an image of something precious.
On the Sipistole continent, the value of platinum far exceeded that of gold or diamonds. This was clearly recorded in the Goddess Temple, stating that platinum was the favorite material of the goddess Elena for jewelry. Many myths described Her wearing platinum accessories, so people considered platinum jewelry the best choice for gifting to women.
Simultaneously, due to the high price of platinum, the meaning behind giving a platinum ring was often associated with proposing marriage.
‘I’ll have to find a way to return them later.’
Ellyad decided to head to the circus first to find the mermaid sisters. He was confident that he would encounter the man again, and then he could return the items to him. However, before that, the real challenge was how to convince the circus to release the mermaids and bring them back to the lake.
Contemplating the issue as he left the woods, Ellyad quickly arrived at the back of the circus. The mermaids’ water tank was still in the same position, and it seemed like the circus members hadn’t started their day yet. Feeling reassured, Ellyad approached the water tank.
The two mermaids were still playing at the edge of the tank, wearing floral crowns on their heads. A few petals had fallen onto the water. When they noticed Ellyad, they energetically greeted him.
“You’re the strange human who wakes up early.” “You’re the speechless human. Good morning.”
‘Hello, I’m here to continue the questions from yesterday,’ Ellyad replied, initiating his task.
“What did he say? Can Rasi hear?” “Yes, I can hear, Sai can hear too.”
The two mermaids asked and answered each other, pretending not to understand Ellyad’s lip-reading, playfully teasing him.
“What does he want to say? Can you hear, Rasi?” “I can hear, Sai can hear too.”
“He’s quite persistent.” “Yeah.”
‘Why did you run away and leave Mirror Lake?’
Knowing he would ask this, the mermaid sisters exchanged glances and then looked at Ellyad. Suddenly, they burst into loud laughter, sharp and piercing, causing Ellyad to furrow his brow.
“He asked an interesting question.” “Yes, it’s an interesting question. Let’s tell him.”
The mermaids’ attitude changed abruptly. Though they grinned, it was no longer the innocent demeanor from before; instead, it was a sinister, mocking smile.
“We hate the mermaids in the lake!” “Even more, we hate those brothers!”
Hearing these words, Ellyad was greatly surprised. They were mermaids themselves, and at the same time, brides of those brothers. Yet, they expressed such disgust, completely contradicting the nature of mermaids.
“For reproduction, they only think about getting married, getting married.” “Continuously imitating the footsteps of their ancestors, unchangingly desiring only marriage.”
“They have long forgotten the pride of being mermaids.” “All the mermaids in the lake have forgotten.”
‘The pride of mermaids?’
“You see, even humans don’t know.” “They don’t know the pride of us mermaids.”
“Let me tell you, from the time when mermaids were symbols of ‘sacred beasts’ representing love, since the existence of gods. We possess the miraculous power to bless lovers to become spouses.”
The sacred beasts were creatures that coexisted with the gods in ancient times. According to the oldest hand-copied records of the Divine Elves, sacred beasts possessed a unique power to change the laws of the world. Many theological researchers even believed that with the power of sacred beasts, they could rival the other two main gods—the Earth Mother Goddess and the Night Dark God.
However, in reality, there are very few accounts of the deeds of sacred beasts, and as of today, sacred beasts have been extinct for hundreds of years, becoming nothing more than mythical beings.
Many magical beast groups considered themselves sacred beasts, but there was not enough written evidence to prove this claim. The only ones who could determine whether they were sacred beasts were the two gods who perished thousands of years ago. Therefore, when the mermaid sisters claimed to be sacred beasts, it was mostly a self-glorification of their racial consciousness.
“Those mermaids who only know about marriage have truly disgraced our ancestors!” “It’s a shame for mermaids; they are not worthy of being mermaids!”
“And yet, they dare to talk to us about marriage.” “They clearly don’t even understand love.”
“Mermaids are born to pursue true love, which is why we can be hermaphroditic.” “So, we are endowed with the ability to transform and stay on land.”
“For the purpose of being able to be with anyone we love.” “We have the right to love anyone; that is the pride of mermaids.”
“Do you understand, human?” “It means we won’t go back.”
As they spoke, the mermaids’ expressions softened gradually, radiating a trace of happiness. They said:
“Our beloved brought us here.” “We devoted ourselves to our beloved.”
“Even if in your eyes, we seem to be abducted and imprisoned.” “Even if we are just treated as performance props.”
“But we savor all of this; it’s the only thing we can do for him.” “If he has any wishes, we will do our best to fulfill them; it’s the only thing we can do for him.”
“Because we are born for love.” “And we die for love; that’s how mermaids are as a race.”
For a moment, Ellyad couldn’t come up with any words to refute or persuade them. They were not abducted; they willingly left Mirror Lake for someone.
For some reason, the first person he thought of in connection with this was the original owner of the platinum rings—the man from the circus. This would explain why he had to pick two identical bouquets of flowers and prepare two matching wedding rings.
Honestly pop off girlies but what are we to do with those mermaids who are forcefully going to take humans as brides? 😃
I hope that Ellyad won’t come to the conclusion to hand himself over as the “bride” to save Polon and to stay away from Thrett. Thrett would definitely object (meaning a “few” lives’d most likely be lost) 🤷🏻♀️
<3