After finally spending over ten minutes, the mermaids managed to put on the small dresses. The dress, made of overlapping black veils, wasn’t very long, but due to being soaked in water, it hung heavily at their ankles. Because of the wet fabric, the curves of the mermaid sisters’ bodies were clearly visible beneath the dresses. However, this appearance didn’t evoke any thoughts of indecency or obscenity. Instead, it exuded an elegant and naturally unpretentious beauty.
Suddenly, one on each side, the two sisters linked their arms with Ellyad’s, sandwiching him in between. They walked in a casual manner, pulling him in a certain direction. Their bare feet on the muddy ground quickly became covered in dirt.
“May I ask…” Ellyad was about to inquire when Rasi and Sai preemptively spoke:
“The reason we can’t accept the rings is that we’ve already ‘worn’ them.” “You might not see it, but we are indeed wearing them on our ring fingers.”
Left, Rasi extended her hand toward the sky, fingers spread wide, but there was nothing on them.
“Because what we’re wearing is the ‘eternal love.'” Finishing her words, right, Sai also raised her hand, spreading her five fingers into the air, similarly showing nothing.
“So, you can take them.” “Perhaps those rings belong to you.”
The two let go of Ellyad’s arms, smiling at him. Without giving him time to understand their words, they suddenly stopped walking.
“Right here.” “We’ve arrived.”
Ellyad looked around and found himself in a well-organized cemetery. Simple crosses stood on the elevated slope, as if keeping watch over the town below. The mermaid sisters stood in front of a particular cross.
Rasi picked up her wet dress hem and wiped the surface of the cross in front of her, while Sai gathered various wildflowers nearby. Using the black satin ribbons from her waist, she tied them into two messy bouquets. Every move they made was filled with longing and affection.
Ellyad instantly understood.
This was where they were, and this was why they came.
This was the real grave of Samorei Chax, and the mermaid sisters came to pay their respects. Seeing their skilled actions, he knew this wasn’t their first time here, performing these rituals.
It turned out that the two of them were not unaware of the truth. However, after years of waiting, they could no longer bear the loneliness. They chose to pretend that nothing had happened, as if they didn’t know about the tragedy that had long taken place.
Perhaps even when Samorei died, the two sisters had already sensed that their beloved would never come to marry them. In the end, they were willing to leave the Mirror Lake with the man, just to find Samorei’s grave.
Ellyad couldn’t help but feel melancholic for the two women’s enduring and tragic love. Consequently, he wore a saddened expression.
Seeing Ellyad furrow his brow, the sisters quickly smiled and said, “Why does the human seem so unhappy?” “Seems quite sad, doesn’t he?”
“Even though today is such a joyful day.” “A day for our secret rendezvous.”
“Ah, maybe the human feels guilty for disturbing us?” “Probably, yeah. Disturbing our secret meeting, so he feels guilty.”
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.
“No worries, no worries. Just follow the stairs down here, and you’ll return to the town.” “Hurry back, and it won’t be considered disturbing our secret meeting. We’ll forgive you.”
“Vjl obgulnfr sbe abb, rb ub yjmx delmxis.” “Kjxf atf glcu jcv ub yjmx.”
Qlat j abcf atja rffwfv ilxf egulcu, Siisjv cbvvfv. Ciatbeut tf vlvc’a ecvfgrajcv kts atf wfgwjlvr ygbeuta tlw tfgf lc atf olgra qijmf, tf vfmlvfv ab gfaegc ab atf abkc jcv wffa eq klat Ktgfaa jr rbbc jr qbrrlyif. Ktlr kjr rbwfatlcu tf rtbeivc’a tjnf lcafgofgfv klat ogbw atf yfulcclcu.
“Yeah, then I’ll leave first.” Ellyad didn’t insist further. He put away the ring, bid farewell to the sisters, and walked down the stairs alone.
It wasn’t until Ellyad’s figure disappeared at the bottom of the stairs that the elder sister, Rasi, chuckled and said, “For the hero and the demon king —” “We offer the mermaids’ blessings.”
“Hey, sister, when did you notice?” “I could feel it when the demon king got angry. What about you, sis?”
“I knew when the hero swung his blood red sword. They’re quite amusing.” “Ah, let’s also offer blessings to those foolish brothers.”
“Foolish, foolish, foolishly clueless brothers.” “Haha, yes.” “Hehe, indeed.”
The laughter of the two mermaids gradually faded away as they closed their eyes.
The black mourning dresses still had glistening water droplets hanging from the hem of the skirts. Their light pink long hair clung to their faces, and their bare feet were already covered in a thick layer of dry mud. Each of them held a bouquet made of wildflowers, and they began to sing a dirge softly.
In the posture of two-legged beings, they sang the favorite song of the one who slept beneath the ground, their beloved.
He had always been proud to fall in love with their singing voices. Likewise, they, too, felt an immense pride in being able to sing for their beloved.
—
May we transform into tiny water droplets,
Seeping into the earth below,
Forever accompanying you by your side.
—
For you and for ourselves, we offer the blessing of the mermaids. ──
—
Walking down the stairs, Ellyad noticed that Thrett had already changed into a new cloak and was waiting there.
“Why are you here? Didn’t we agree to meet at…” Ellyad began.
Thrett replied, “I quickly bought one and didn’t see you on the way back, so I came to find you.” In reality, he was just nervous, but he refused to articulate why. He couldn’t admit that he was afraid of being left behind, much like what Ellyad had feared initially.
“I’m impressed that you managed to find me,” Ellyad said in admiration.
Thrett found it peculiar as well. He hadn’t used any magic, just followed his instincts to locate Ellyad. “Well, it’s probably just a coincidence,” Thrett mumbled, attributing this coincidence to the additional effect of the covenant magic.
Ellyad informed Thrett that the situation had been resolved, and they could move on to the next place.
“The weather is getting colder,” Thrett suddenly mentioned, recalling something Lena had said about rain and winter not long ago. He brought up the topic abruptly, even though temperature had no effect on him. His intention was to extract information from Ellyad about the cause of his previous unconsciousness.
“Will you feel cold?” Ellyad asked, while unwinding a scarf and draping it around Thrett’s neck, completely oblivious to Thrett’s hidden intentions.
“It’s actually fine, but thanks for the scarf,” Thrett replied. Feeling that his roundabout questioning was somewhat awkward, Thrett decided to drop the probing.
Walking side by side, the two left the deserted stairs of the small town. The terraced fields on either side were bare and desolate.
“…,” Ellyad seemed like he wanted to say something but fell into silence before speaking.
“Why suddenly quiet?”
“I…”
Ellyad suddenly stopped, turned to face Thrett, and took his right hand, declaring loudly, “I swear, with my life as a sacrifice, from now on, under any circumstances, facing any confusion, I will never turn my blade toward Thrett Fyndrilval Ellyad. In my lifetime… or until you grow tired of me, I will be with you, bound by the name Ellyad.”
The content this time was a bit different from before, as Ellyad added a vow. He took out the two rings, placed one in Thrett’s palm, and said, “For humans, a ring is the most tangible oath.” Unfortunately, the rings were not the right size for their fingers, originally meant for women.
“Then…” Ellyad suddenly grabbed the scarf hanging around Thrett’s neck and brought his face close.
“Uh.”
The meeting of their lips was chilly yet soft, and for a moment, the thumping of the heart and the rhythm of breath stopped at their ears.
So this is how his lips feel when you kiss him?
After a gentle peck, Ellyad immediately moved his face away. Uncertain about his current expression, he covered his face with one hand, hanging his head low.
On the surface, it was under the pretext of a vow, but in reality, he just really, really wanted to kiss this person.
No one is allowed to take you away from me.
This was Ellyad’s response to those words. He, too, would do everything in his power to snatch Thrett back if anyone tried to take him away.
Thrett didn’t say a word, and Ellyad anxiously peeked at Thrett’s reaction through the gaps between his fingers.
‘He wouldn’t dislike being kissed by a man, or…’ While he was anxiously contemplating, at the moment he saw Thrett’s expression, his concerns automatically vanished.
Although Thrett’s expression was somewhat stiff and surprised, his entire face was even more flushed.
“Is this… a vow kiss?” Thrett managed to squeeze out a sentence, his voice somewhat hoarse.
“Ah, yeah.” Seeing his reaction, Ellyad also became awkward and stammered.
“Oh, I see. But, Ell, do you know,” Thrett’s voice quickly returned to its usual calm, and he asked Ellyad, “For demons, if it’s a vow kiss on the lips, it has to be returned.”
As he spoke, he instantly forcefully embraced Ellyad, who didn’t have time to react. Their lips met again, but this time, the sensation was fiery. Thrett’s tongue forcefully intruded, deeply exploring Ellyad. Breathing became uncontrollably chaotic, and the heart pounded irregularly.
Only moments before suffocating, he was liberated from Thrett’s embrace. Gasping for breath, Ellyad asked with force, “Demons… is there really such a rule?”
Forgetting the shy emotions from earlier, Ellyad earnestly asked, not expecting that a vow kiss would require reciprocity. If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have chosen to kiss on the lips. After all, Thrett’s “reciprocity” was too stimulating for Ellyad.
“Who knows,” Thrett laughed. After all, he was the Demon King, and he could change any demon’s rules as he pleased.
Ellyad glared at Thrett sideways.
Still smiling, Thrett took off the scarf and put it back around Ellyad’s neck. “This scarf suits you better. Wear it.”
Ellyad first averted his gaze, but soon couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Although the deep kiss had surprised him, he didn’t dislike it. Besides, he was the one who had initiated the kiss.
At this moment, he suddenly remembered Rasi and Sai, so he said to Thrett, “If there’s a chance, I plan to visit those sisters again.”
Thinking of their harmonious way of speaking and their innocent views on love, Ellyad felt a fondness for them. Moreover, the courage to bring up the contract vow again to Thrett, who was unwilling to trust him, was partly thanks to what they had said to Ellyad.
There are no unattainable partners, and there are no objects that cannot be deeply loved.
For this sentiment, Ellyad wanted to personally express his gratitude to them. However, he had to postpone it until the next meeting, as they currently had other goals.
Thrett hesitated for a moment at Ellyad’s words but immediately caught on. Humans couldn’t hear magical sounds, so Ellyad hadn’t heard it just now. While Thrett was waiting for Ellyad to arrive, a powerful magical dirge emanated from the slope.
Merfolk absolutely couldn’t sing while in their bipedal form, or they would turn into a puddle of foam. Thrett scoffed at this taboo, as it was a completely misguided belief.
The real reason was that merfolk used their own magic to turn themselves into foam. Without dispelling this notion, Thrett simply watched Ellyad with a smile on his face.
😱😢…Too much tears for this one chapter…
I hope the sisters live happily ever after 😭😭 This was a perfect way to spend the morning!
This is my New Year gift to you all! Have a Happy New Year!
Thank you for your efforts, you too 😘
ˁ•ᴗ•ˀつ～ 💞
So it wasn’t a weird kind of love, it was the tragic kind 😥😭
ahhh