‘If you regain the heart of a human who has lost his memory of you before the life I give you is over, I will return you your guardian stone. How about it, Rayan? If the love between you and that child is so great, or if it is fate, it should not be difficult. On the contrary, it’s a bet I will lose.’
At the whispered words, Rayan did not have the ability to refuse. It was a sweet temptation. Maybe Erich would not remember him, but the hope of ‘what if’ made a corner of his heart swell.
Rayan, who lost his guardian stone but managed to survive thanks to Asha, had to suffer for a long time. He couldn’t regain consciousness for nearly a hundred days. Without Asha’s help, Rayan wouldn’t have survived.
Moreover, the sea rejected him. It was the price of leaving Atisa.
Mer did not allow him anywhere in the Elev Sea, not just in Atisa. The water, which had always been so familiar to him when he swam, now pushed him away. After Rayan recovered to some extent in Asha’s realm, he had to go up to the ground. He didn’t have enough energy to hold on to the place that pushed him away.
And apart from that, Rayan couldn’t stay there any longer. He didn’t want to show his state to those who cared for and loved him, or he was afraid that they would try to convince him otherwise.
“… Erich is here.”
But the humans were not friendly to him even though he was also a human being. They were wary of unidentified strangers who could have risen from the earth or fallen from the sky. Rayan took up residence in a cave and sold his own tears from time to time, and after adapting to the human world a little, he realized that they liked his singing voice and so he sold that too.
After walking around with his face uncovered ignorantly and almost getting into trouble, he didn’t forget to fasten his robe. As Rayan endured in that place, he had to admit that humans weren’t all that good, and that, as the mermaids described, there were cunning, bad guys.
‘You mean the human Rayan loves?’
But if that didn’t mean he hated them, he didn’t. Just as not all things that have settled in the sea were good, humans were like that too. And often he met good humans too.
There were people who praised him, saying that they liked the songs he sang, and those who couldn’t see him selling the jewels he retrieved from the sea at a bargain price clicked their tongue and offered a helping hand.
Through the goodwill and the bad of humans, Rayan endured and waited.
May Erich come.
May Erich come find him.
“Mm.”
‘Then you can finally break free from the evil curse, right?’
Even though he knew that Rayan was exiled, the letan, who often chatted with him instead of staying away from him, chirped with excitement. It was a fish, so its expression couldn’t be seen well, but it was obvious how excited it was as it flapped its fins.
“Curse….”
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.
‘It’s a curse. Rayan, you’re getting more and more…’
Ktf ifajc mbeivc’a yfjg ab rqfjx. Dea tf xcfk ktja atf bwlaafv kbgvr kfgf. Llr vfjat kjr vfijsfv, yea la kjr ribkis jqqgbjmtlcu. Dfobgf, tf ugfk eq ribkfg atjc batfgr, yea tf vlvc’a ufa rlmx, yea tf uba rlmx fjrlis ktfcfnfg tf qertfv tlwrfio.
Cr j gfreia, tf njuefis atbeuta atja tf kbeiv cba yf jyif ab wjxf la atgbeut atlr sfjg.
He continued to live a life that should have been extinguished anyway, so it was not unfair or scary to die. But he regretted not being able to see Erich.
The initial pact with Asha had many restrictions. Even if Rayan revealed his identity first, he couldn’t find him. So he was regretful that he couldn’t go find Erich, and he was sad that he wouldn’t remember him. He was also concerned that he might remember him only after he was gone.
‘But you can live now. With the human Rayan loves.’
“But he doesn’t remember me.”
‘Eh?’
“Erich doesn’t remember me.”
Rayan thought back to earlier.
Brilliant golden hair fluttering in the wind and blue eyes as the robe came off. He had grown up a lot, but Rayan could tell. It was Erich. It was his El. He must have been looking for him. Joy spread, and joy filled a stomach that had always been filled with sadness.
‘Who are you?’
And what Rayan had to face was the blue eyes that were devoid of even a bit of warmth.
“I guess he wasn’t looking for me.”
Rayan couldn’t answer when he asked who he was. It was an act against the pact made with Asha. And even if it wasn’t, Rayan couldn’t figure out how or what to say to Erich, who didn’t remember him.
“He doesn’t remember me…”
Rayan muttered again and buried his head between his crossed arms.
Right after he ran away today, he was in this state the whole time. Erich, who asked him who he was with cold eyes and warned him not to approach him with something aimed at him, occupied his mind and he was unable to do anything.
‘Then make him remember!’
The letan jumped up and down, indignant. Rayan raised his head again. The letan was furious, complaining how he couldn’t remember Rayan. The fins that had been flapping with joy earlier were flapping with anger this time.
It seemed to want to slap Erich on the cheek with his tail if Erich was in front of it. Even so, since its body was only a little bigger than the palm of his hand, it must be painful.
“… Right?”
Rayan, who had been sinking all the time, also began to spring up with unfounded courage. He was buried in the fact that he couldn’t remember him, but maybe Erich would remember if he saw him a few times.
Surely. What did the time they had spent together, what did each day mean to each other? Just as Rayan filled the void with him, Erich also said that he enjoyed being with Rayan.
He seemed to be different from before, and that worried him, but he didn’t think he would ever change his original kind nature. Rayan jumped up to his feet.
“I’ll be back!”
Shouting out in a loud voice as if trying to shake off its worries, Rayan waved wildly at the letan and ran off. He had to move before his courage wore off. No, the desire to see Erich was greater.
* * *
Or so he did, but when he came near the castle, he was at a loss what to do.
Seeing the lights were on, it was clear that Erich was staying here, but since he didn’t remember him, he didn’t know how to get to him. In the past, Erich would come to him when he sat down in front of the castle gate and counted to ten, but this time it was clear that he wouldn’t.
What to do.
Not knowing when Erhart would leave made him even more impatient. It could be a long time before he left, but maybe he’d leave tomorrow. Rayan continued to pace nearby.
“…”
Busy trying to figure out how to meet Erich, and what to do if he did meet him, Rayan belatedly recognized people approaching me. By the time he realized it, he was already surrounded without a gap.
Rayan bit his lip hard, wondering what to do. Even though he didn’t have a guardian stone, it’s not that big of a problem to deal with a few humans. But he wasn’t sure if he would be able to get out safely against several people. Rayan looked at the gap here and there, but it was not easy.
“What were you looking at the castle for?”
“…”
“And with your robe covering your entire body. To wear such an inappropriate outfit in the place where His Majesty resides.”
‘His Majesty?’ Rayan quietly counted the titles the man was referring to. Wasn’t that what you call the highest person in the surface world? Why did Erich come with such a person? Had he become a high-ranking person? Or had he always been one, perhaps.
“If you don’t want to get hurt, surrender obediently.”
Rayan’s musings could not continue for long.
“…”
Rayan now knew the circumstances of this world in his own way. Even if he said he was just passing by, they wouldn’t believe it, and if he didn’t resist and complied obediently, who knows what would happen.
Rayan remembered very clearly the incident in the past when he almost got into trouble ignorantly, hence why he’d kept his face so tightly hidden.
Of course, getting caught while wandering around Erich’s castle was different from what he was doing back then, so it wasn’t something to compare, but he didn’t want to be misunderstood as a suspicious person by Erich.
Rayan inspected each sword pointed at him. At the same time, he also looked for a way out. As he moved slightly, the men too began to narrow the encirclement.
In response, Rayan bent down and jumped up flexibly. It was an unexpected move, and the ranks of people were disturbed as they were bewildered. Besides, they only drew their swords at him and were not trying to harm him. So there was a gap. He was about to step forward when he realized it was his only chance when,
Bang-!
A shrill, violent sound that seemed deafening swayed through the air.
“You’re struggling with one mere person?”
A familiar voice echoed through his ears. Even in the midst of being nervous and frozen for a moment, he reacted naturally. Rayan turned his head. In Erich’s hand was the same thing he’d pointed at him earlier.
“…”
Erich, who had been watching with indifferent eyes, suddenly turned around. Rayan turned to look at him and touched his tingling cheek. A light stain of blood came out. Rayan let out a sigh, ‘ah’. At the same time, those who came to their senses bound him quickly.
The gates closed behind him.
T/N: Just wanna let yall know that I made a discord server for my novels! Just a casual thing, to chat with readers and etc., and a back-up in case any of my projects get taken down. Join if you’d like!
Link in my profile below 🙂
Thanks for the chapter 🙏 🙂
».. Rayan belatedly recognized people approaching me.« approaching him
Well… not as planned, I guess.
Thx for the ch ٩(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )و
Did he shoot Rayan in the face? I hope you regret it a lot in the future!