HTWBB Chapter 37

"You didn't drive me away because I'm connected to Rietta."

"She's not one to carelessly form ties with just anyone. In any case, we're going to be bound by 'contract' from now on, so I can at least provide this much for her, right?"

Though it sounded like she was asking, her tone already had the answer decided. Her confident smile was bright, as if she'd never considered refusal.

Abel was at a loss for words. Watching him with amusement, El Nas spoke again.

"Our precious one has suffered quite a bit up there. A familiar from 'another place' would be better than the humans of this land, wouldn't it?"

"You seem to know what I am."

"I'm sensitive to such things. Before I was stuck in a corner of the sea, there was a time when I was called The Guardian."

"What exactly is this 'Guardian'?"

"Hmm? You seem to know a lot about mermaids?"

"Hardly. I heard it from the gatekeeper you set up."

"Ah, Theodore. So you met him."

Her trailing red tail swayed as if delighted. El Nas said she'd embedded a magic stone filled with her power into the half-rotted captain's corpse.

Because the source of the magic power was what it was, Theodore's already sensitive perception had been amplified, which pleased her greatly.

Abel knew her boasting wasn't entirely hot air. The mermaid standing before him didn't exist in this world now. She'd died long ago, and just before death, she'd constructed this magic for one person alone.

It was complex, delicate, high-level magic that ordinary knowledge couldn't even dream of. El Nas shrugged.

"I'd like to tell you, but... the story's too long. When you get out of here, ask Rietta. I really don't have time anymore."

"How arbitrary."

"What does it matter? I'm not even alive."

El Nas laughed lightly. Abel decided to ask just one question among his many.

"Why the voice, of all things?"

"You mean what I took as payment from Rietta?"

"Yes. There were many other things you could have taken."

"It wasn't much of a reason. Actually, the left air bure is close to the vocal cords. Take that, and naturally the voice is lost."

It could be considered a side effect, so it couldn't even really be called payment. It was a condition she didn't need to demand. She sighed softly and continued.

"I asked just in case. She loved talking, so I wondered if she might reconsider."

"...I see."

"Did that satisfy some curiosity?"

He nodded. El Nas, who'd been observing Abel with obvious interest, suddenly waved through the air.

"Anyway, please take good care of Rietta, exalted being from another world."

Rietta frowned slightly.

"What are you even talking about?"

"The eyes were truly beautiful. Like the night sky."

When El Nas said night sky, she meant purple. Currently, only one pair of purple eyes existed around Rietta. Because she'd been distracted by El Nas's reappearance, she belatedly thought of him.

"You mean Abel. What happened to him?"

"You call him that? Such an unbecoming thing to do."

The way she clicked her tongue sounded as if she knew him well. El Nas had often said incomprehensible things since long ago, so Rietta didn't attach much meaning to it this time either. Her words always provided enlightenment only after time had passed.

"That fellow is fine. Though I don't know how much longer he'll wait."

"...What did you do again?"

"I didn't do anything harmful, okay? You think I'm like those sea nymphs who only play tricks."

So, she did something that wasn't harmful, Rietta thought. She smiled faintly at the grumbling El Nas.

In reality, she'd pulled mischievous pranks more wicked than sea nymphs quite often. They'd broken into a sweat together many times cleaning up after her.

Rietta's thoughts suddenly turned to the forest nymph she'd left at the inn. Perhaps the sea witch, who'd studied all manner of miscellaneous knowledge, might have an answer.

"Do you happen to know about nymphs' coming-of-age ceremonies?"

"Depends on what kind of nymph."

"Forest. I heard they have to unite with their companion somehow."

"Oh, yes. But if it's forest, that's not all. There are the wings."

Wings? Rietta leaned her upper body closer to her. El Nas narrowed her eyes and searched her memory.

"Of their two pairs of wings, they must exchange one pair with each other. The ones attached below are solely for the ritual—they don't function as wings."

"...What about half-blood nymphs?"

"Even half-bloods without main wings would have auxiliary wings very small on their backs, right? If they're different species, they can give tokens. Of course, the companion must remove them."

"Do they just need to perform that ceremony?"

"If it's not for having children, the union can be skipped."

It was an answer where the categorized bookshelves shone.

She'd thought it would be a ceremony requiring complex processes, but surprisingly it didn't need much preparation. If he found a proper companion, the coming-of-age ceremony wouldn't be a problem. It was news Melian would be quite happy about.

"Thank you. That helps."

"Hmm. You must have a forest nymph nearby. If the face is decent enough, not bad as groom material."

"It's not like that."

"Sure, sure. My mind's at ease knowing someone's by your side."

The way she nodded randomly showed she wasn't listening properly at all. Any explanation would only invite bigger misunderstandings.

El Nas, who'd been muttering to herself that being too popular was also trouble, suddenly dropped the hand that had been cupping her cheek and pointed at Rietta's teacup.

"Are you done asking everything? Then hurry and drink. I prepared it nicely for you."

"...It's not just tea."

It had been suspicious from the start with all the urging. Rietta grasped the handle of the still-warm teacup. Since she said there was no time, she had to drink as intended.

El Nas had never once done anything harmful to Rietta, even if she might to others.

"Right. It's your left 'air bure.'"

Rietta, who'd brought the cup close to her lips, stopped abruptly. The world seemed to freeze; even breathing fell silent. Rietta's face reflected in the surface of the tea was utterly expressionless.

However, her eyes, without even a small blink, soon wavered lost like meeting rough seas. The tea rippled once.

Rietta slowly focused on El Nas, who was smiling gently.

"But I gave that to you."

"You certainly did. But I died, and our deal became void."

"But Auntie."

El Nas stood up with an affectionate look in her eyes.

"Yes, my precious one. I wondered when you'd call me that again."

"What I was originally looking for wasn't the left one. So this..."

"I know. Do you remember what I said?"

"...As if I could forget."

Rietta nodded weakly. She'd never forgotten for even a moment. But she couldn't bring herself to act on those words.

Because she was a sinner. El Nas pulled Rietta into a tight embrace, leaving no gap.

"I told you to return to the sea anytime. What's a mermaid to do without their air bure? So I won't accept refusal."

Only then did Rietta understand the reason for all those troublesome traps and barriers on the shipwreck, and Theodore revived as a corpse. The meaning of 'contingency plan.'

Until her death, El Nas had worried about her eventual return. Though she'd given permanent legs unable to resist her niece's pleading, she'd prepared a device to return the air bure somehow.

Rietta ended up burying her face in her aunt's embrace. She felt like crying, but having forgotten how to cry for so long, tears wouldn't come.

"Now, it's really late. Hurry and take it."

El Nas, who'd slowly pulled Rietta from her embrace, held out Rietta's teacup that she'd somehow been holding.

Drinking this would truly be farewell. She'd be left alone in the world again.

She'd always acted spoiled in front of El Nas. The desire to plead with this mental fragment of the already-dead El Nas to take her along surged up to the tip of her tongue.

But El Nas was cruelly telling her with her whole body to survive. Rietta took in the sight of her blood relative for the last time.

"...You weren't murdered, right?"

"What do you take me for? I lived my fill and returned to the water."

Rietta, who finally broke her firmly set lips, emptied the cup in one gulp.

El Nas, stroking her cheek as if she were a small child, gently covered her eyes. Drowsiness rushed in like a lie.

"Just sleep and wake up. Your so-not-cute errand boy will come soon, so don't worry."

"El, I, you know, back then..."

"Shh. You don't need to say it. None of it was your fault."

"I'm sorry."

"Yes. I love you too, my precious one."

Me too. The answer that couldn't form due to the encroaching drowsiness lingered in her mouth.

Rietta closed her eyes, reassured by the hand patting her back. She felt someone firmly catch her as she tilted.

Abel calmed the slight queasiness and surveyed his surroundings. It was dark enough that he could barely see ahead. When he summoned a small light, the space hidden in darkness finally revealed itself.

An old bed that wouldn't be strange to collapse at any moment stood diagonally against the wall. To the side, a wooden desk covered in moss so thick its original color was unrecognizable and an upside-down lamp floated through the water.

This place, with one side partially destroyed and a hole punched through, was clearly the shipwreck's captain's quarters. The space maintained by El Nas's magic had returned to its original form when the magic disappeared.

He lowered his gaze to Rietta in his arms.

'Now, take your master and get out of here quickly.'

'You summon me arbitrarily and now tell me to leave on my own.'

'My work is done. I have no strength left to open the door.'

El Nas looked somewhat coldly at Abel, who'd caught the collapsing Rietta.