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After careful negotiations between Ekati and Amphitrite, it was decided that the core of the Mermaid Cradle would be relocated to Terminus Castle.
As time passed, the mermaid population grew, and it became impossible to keep all the young mermaids in a single location.
'Still, thanks to that, we’ll definitely be able to avoid the disaster from before.'
What’s more, it turned out that the young mermaid who was here originated from the cradle located in the very waters that had been attacked in the past. The humans who had once enjoyed capturing the young mermaids tracked the cradle's location and launched an assault.
'I welcome this kind of butterfly effect, though…'
Now, the problem is Nereus. He continues to evade me in the most unexpected ways. Somehow, it feels like a déjà vu from my childhood.
'Come to think of it, this was how things were with Nereus back then, too.'
The distance between us kept growing. Things felt more awkward. And as we grew up, Nereus started to seem... intimidating. Maybe it was because I assumed he didn’t like me.
I sighed softly and called out to the person next to me, who was skillfully peeling fruit.
“Dad Gilbert.”
“What is it?”
“Can’t you say something to Nereus?”
I felt his gaze from afar. Gilbert seemed to notice it too, as the hand carving a flower out of a strawberry began to slow down.
“If that kid listened to me, I’d be the captain.”
“……”
“Why?”
“Now that I think about it, you and Nereus have known each other for a really long time. So why is he the captain?”
To be honest, there didn’t seem to be a strict hierarchy between them. They even used nicknames with each other. Though Caelum was a place where everyone acted freely and informally, the bond between Gilbert and Nereus seemed unusually close.
It was a bond built on years of deep trust, something others could never intrude upon.
“Let me think…”
Gilbert put down the knife and wiped his hands. After a brief moment of contemplation, he replied.
“Out of 50 matches, it was 46 wins, 1 loss, and 3 draws.”
“Huh?”
“In short, that bastard Ner just fought better than me, so he claimed the captain's spot.”
“…I see.”
“That record, to begin with, is a bit biased and unfair but what can you do? We just stuck to what each of us was best at.”
“Uh-huh.”
“He’s the one who dragged along someone like me, who had no sense of direction in life, so, in the end, it had nothing to do with actual combat skills.”
“I… I see…”
It felt like Gilbert was trying to assert he was stronger than Nereus, but I decided to brush it off as my imagination.
“In the end, the reason we roam the seas as Caelum now is because of that guy’s stubbornness. And I could never break, no, that bastard’s stubbornness.”
He'd apparently told Nereus several times already, to no avail, which meant saying anything now wouldn’t make a difference.
'This is seriously troubling.'
Navigators might find the way across the sea, but the final say in the route always belonged to Nereus. On top of that, Nereus was Caelum’s chief navigator, you couldn’t just ignore his authority.
After my conversation with Amphitrite yesterday, on the way back I asked Ekati if she knew anything about the 'stone fragment.'
She didn’t seem to have ever seen the contents of the box, but… still, it had been protected by the Terminus family for generations. There’s no way they were guarding it blindly.
'So, at the very least, she must have known it was a fragment of something larger.'
And my guess was right. According to Ekati, it was quite possible that the other Sixth Houses also possessed fragments like this.
And that implies what I’ve obtained could be a shard once possessed by a now-vanished family, one that perished, leaving behind the civilization of Ophium and the ancient scriptures of the West.
'Though this is all still just speculation.'
There was only one place that could definitively verify this: Amid Academy. The pinnacle of academic exchange between the Western and Eastern continents, and the repository of all records.
All historical records are preserved there, and they are maintained from a completely neutral standpoint.
Even if there is no precise description of the 'End of the Sea,' there should at least be some record indicating that something was divided.
'Because the records there aren’t maintained by humans.'
Technically, yes, human records were stored there too but something else also existed.
A massive archive powered by magical mechanisms, the very essence of magitechnology.
Created in ancient times, it was a magical artifact so advanced that even the Mahot, masters of magic at the pinnacle of the Eastern Continent’s magical arts, cannot replicate it today. It is no exaggeration to say that the Academy was founded by scholars who sought to study this very archive.
But to access it, one had to be a registered member of Amid Academy and not just that, but an outstanding one.
Or maybe I should just sneak in.
'Honestly, it’d be most efficient if I just enrolled for a short while myself.'
But this was something that required Nereus’s permission and right now, that wasn't going to happen. He wouldn’t even come near me, let alone approve anything.
'Though... I get the feeling if I said I was enrolling now, he’d immediately give permission.'
And that exact thought sent a chill down my spine.
While I normally made decisions rationally, ignoring gut feelings, this one was too intense. If I ignored it, I felt like I’d drown in a sea of regret.
There was, of course, the idea of approaching another family instead of going to Amid Academy…
But without knowing for sure if they even had fragments, that kind of move was far too risky.
It’d be like poking a quiet campfire and starting a wildfire, if they didn’t have it, it’d cause unnecessary trouble.
'Even the head of the Terminus family didn’t seem to know for sure whether the other Sixth Houses had boxes or not.'
In short, Amid Academy was the safest and most reliable place to gather more information about the remaining fragments. So, I had to go there. But to justify it, I needed to understand why Nereus was avoiding me and find a solid excuse.
“Ugh…”
While I was practically tearing at my hair in frustration, a sweet smell drifted by. Before I noticed, Gilbert had brought a sugar-coated fruit to my mouth.
“Say ah—”
“Ah…”
Crunch. The sweetness filled my mouth and calmed my nerves a little. Gilbert looked me square in the eyes and said.
“Breaking through Ner’s stubbornness is hard but there is a way to win him over.”
“What is it?”
“Want me to tell you?”
Gilbert paused, then gave a slow, sly smile. He didn’t smile often, and whenever he did, it made me very uneasy.
***
Thump, thump, thump, thump—!
The hallway of Terminus Castle echoed with heavy footsteps.
'Damn it!'
Nereus cursed as he moved quickly toward somewhere.
'I never should’ve left my post!'
Polaris always treated Nereus like a carefree fool, but he was still the proper captain of a pirate crew. With matters at Terminus mostly settled, it was finally time to discuss the rewards.
He had only left the castle briefly to give final instructions to the crew before departure.
He figured it would be fine, Polaris was with Gilbert, and no one could overpower Gilbert in a fight.
At most, maybe the head of Terminus herself? But considering how sweet her gaze became every time she looked at Polaris, like syrup and honey just poured from her eyes, there was probably no need to worry there either. You’d think Polaris had either saved her life or was a long-lost relative reunited after twenty years.
So, unusually for him, Nereus had relaxed. Now, he marched straight toward Polaris’s room.
He made it to the door in no time but then he froze.
He remembered that night.
[Polaris was unwell. She hadn’t recovered completely.]
He recalled the urgent letter Gilbert had sent. When they first met, she had seemed so fragile. Even Ethan had said she wouldn’t last a month and that had made Nereus care more than he expected.
If only she wouldn’t die, he would do anything.
Though they’d only just met, she had already filled up his heart.
Years had passed, and now Nereus considered her more precious than all the treasure he’d gathered in his lifetime. Even if the mood suddenly changed, even if she was hiding something from him…
Nereus still felt that way.
“…What are you doing just standing there? Come in already.”
“……”
There she was, his precious little girl, standing at the door, calmly holding the handle. She peeked her head through the slightly opened door.
Even Nereus, usually so confident, found himself at a loss for words. This kind of dissonance only happened around those he deeply cherished and Polaris was undoubtedly at the center of that.*
“La… Lala? That’s strange. Gilbert said you were...”
At that point, Nereus stopped mid-sentence, and realization hit him like lightning.
'That damn bastard!'
It was a setup. This whole thing was a trap. The only one who could’ve taught Polaris such a sneaky tactic was none other than Gilbert.
Nereus was soft on his people and especially soft on Polaris.
“Yeah, I’m sick.”
She answered casually, as if unaware of what she’d just triggered.
“My heart hurts, because you’ve been avoiding me. It felt like it was going to break.”
“……”
“What if… what if you were throwing me away?”
“Who said anything about throwing you away?!”
Nereus shouted, cutting her off mid-sentence. Polaris looked up at him with a deeply complex expression, not one a six-year-old should be capable of. But Nereus, flustered, didn’t even notice the subtlety of her face.
“Then why were you avoiding me?”
“That’s…”
He faltered at her direct question. His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. After a long pause, Polaris asked again.
“Is it because you don’t like me anymore?”
“Of course not!”
“Then tell me why.”
Her tiny hand reached out to him. He instinctively tried to step back, but before he could move, he saw it.
Her hand was trembling.
She was the same little girl who, after being chased and hunted on Odlo Island, had woken up and immediately declared she’d make the antidote herself, shaking her whole family with that calm resolution.
The same little girl who, in front of a room full of adults, explained without fear why she, a six-year-old, had to take on that burden.
Now, she was trembling, just because of him.
And that was more than enough to bring Nereus to a halt.
She reached out, not even with her hand, but just by grasping the edge of his clothes. Even that made it clear how tense she was.
He had spoiled her so much, raised her with such care. And yet a bit of distance was enough to terrify her like this?
“…The truth is.”
“Yeah?”
“I was just… afraid you might be scared of me.”
That was it.
He was afraid that Polaris might look at him with horror, see him as something monstrous.
He could endure that look from anyone else. He could ignore it, withstand it, dismiss it.
But not from her.
That was his weakness. The contradiction within the seemingly fearless Nereus.
He was terrified of Polaris looking at him like he was some terrible creature.
♡♡♡
🍓; *Nereus, who is normally confident and in control, becomes emotionally disoriented and speechless in the presence of Polaris, revealing how much she means to him. It's a subtle but powerful portrayal of love or deep emotional attachment.
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