Chapter 24: 24

Instead of rushing inside, Rayan looked and felt around. It was hard. He had seen one drifting from afar once. However, when he had seen it floating in the sea, it had not been damaged into such a disastrous state..

“What’s this?”

‘I saw it while passing by before. It’s a treasure ship. That’s why, unlike the ships I’ve seen so far, there are a lot of interesting things here. I thought Rayan would like it. I had been thinking about telling you, but then I forgot.’

Treasures? Rayan was tempted.

‘Why don’t you go in and see?’

At Yuri’s suggestion, Rayan pretended to be reluctant and went into the ship. He trudged through the tangled rope and carefully entered inside, it was already occupied by moss. There were a lot of things inside covered in green. Rayan swept his hand and looked around meticulously. There was something that caught Rayan’s eyes as he looked around.

“This is…”

Rayan grabbed it. The jewels dangling under the long, slippery ropes were scarlet. Aside from that, weren’t they just things you could find anywhere in Atisa? He couldn’t even count with his fingers the things scattered around the place. This treasure ship didn’t seem like one at all.

“It’s just common stuff.”

A ship from the Surface World that had sunk in the deep sea was a little interesting, but there was nothing much to see. Oh! But seeing the things humans had probably used was fascinating. There was something like a trident the size of the palm of his hand, there was also something elongated with a rounded top. He cut his finger while touching the elongated one. His skin ripped open and red blood spurted out.

‘Are you okay, Rayan?’

Yuri, who reacted promptly to the smell of scattered blood, suddenly approached him.

“It’s nothing.”

‘What do you mean it’s nothing. Besides, you know how keen sharks’ sense of smell is when it comes to blood, if they start targeting us in a group, I won’t be able to fend them off by myself.’

Those sharks wouldn’t attack him now. But that was a truth Yuri should not know. There wasn’t much blood, Rayan murmured vaguely, pressing the wound firmly. It tingled. The trident-like thing looked blunt in appearance but it was quite sharp.

“What else is more valuable to humans here? Is this it?”

Rayan asked, lifting what he had cut himself with a while ago. Yuri only shook his head with a mischievous expression.

‘Come on. Look.’

“Mhm.”

What are the most abundant things here?

“Those.”

Rayan pointed to the jewels.

That’s right.’

“Hm?”

‘Humans consider such things to be very precious and valuable.’

“…”

“So are the tears you shed. So you can’t cry in front of humans, you wouldn’t have to anyway.>

He gently rubbed the corners of his dry, tearless eyes. Rayan’s eyes, as he rubbed their corners with his hand, possessed a little immature vitality. That meant he could happily buy whatever he wanted with just one or two of those things rolling around in his room. But his bright expression didn’t last long. Once one problem was solved, another challenge was set in front of him.

So now, Alle was probably the biggest problem.

He couldn’t even dream of going out without Alle. What should he do? He didn’t know when a day like this would come anew if he let this opportunity slip by. How was it common for a festival to be held on a full moon?

He got impatient.

Around that time, Alle might go back to his clan again, but he couldn’t be sure about it. Of course, these days he had been back to his clan more often than before. He didn’t know the reason, because he hadn’t told him.

‘More than that, Rayan. Are you okay?’

“About what?”

To Rayan, who had been engrossed in his thoughts, Yuri asked a somewhat contextless question. When Rayan questioned him, he let out a groan.

‘Alle… Um, never mind.’

Yuri hesitated, said some words, then swallowed them hastily. Rayan tilted his head and pondered his words slowly. They were all fragments, but they were also clues. Yuri suddenly asked him if he was okay. And Alle was the subject of it all. Oh! Rayan quickly found the answer.

Alle might be convinced they had gone to the surface today, even though they hadn’t. Yuri told him stories of the surface and often gave him illusions, but it wasn’t like he was completely the reason why Rayan left Atisa’s barrier. Not to mention that after a long time away, Yuri had brought him out to cheer him up, as soon as he came back..

“Let’s look around a little bit more. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, but I think there are a lot of interesting things.”

However, instead of giving anything away with his expression, Rayan acted as usual. He asked him what this and that were, sometimes guessing. As usual, a look of relief passed over Yuri’s face, who was looking at him.

By the time he returned to Atisa after exploring the treasure ship with Yuri a little more, bringing just a few things that had seemed fascinating, Alle was already waiting for him.

“Rayan.”

Alle, who examined Rayan as soon as he arrived, noticed that he was injured and grabbed his hand. It was a mistake, and a minor wound. As he was embarrassed by Alle’s overreaction, he struggled to free his hand while Alle gave Yuri a sharp gaze.

“He got pricked. Didn’t you say that he would come back safely?”

“He came back safely.”

“…”

“Right, Rayan?”

He winked one eye and jabbed him in the back, as if asking for a corroboration.

""

“Yes.”

“What if a shark was lured by the smell of blood?”

Alle did not even pretend to have heard Rajan’s affirmation and rebuked Yuri.

“Ha. You don’t think I am able to deal with a few sharks?”

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Even though you said it would be difficult to fend off by yourself earlier.. He swallowed it into his mouth, because it didn’t seem like something he should say in this atmosphere. It was at this moment that Rayan had to wave his hands to mediate between the two..

“Fine. You’d be able to get out safely. But how about Rayan’s safety?”

“…”

“Rayan’s safety. Can you guarantee it?”

Alle’s annoyed words were directed at Yuri, but strangely, they came and stuck to Rayan. He put his hands back down. It was Yuri, who was standing opposite to him, who noticed the change in his behavior. He beckoned to Alle. Alle’s gaze thus fell on Rayan, as he frowned with a puzzled expression.

“I have to go see Mer.”

Meanwhile, Yuri took advantage of Alle’s distraction and quickly ran away. Alle, who would normally nag at Yuri asking where he was going, still did not take his eyes off Rajan.

“That… Shall we go in, Rayan?”

“Mhm. let’s go.”

Rayan quickly nodded his head casually.

***

Rayan returned to the palace and laid out the things he had brought from the treasure ship in a conspicuous place. If the crystal ball Erich gave him was discovered, he might have to confess where it came from and, in the worst case scenario, that he was frequently going to and fro the Surface World.

Anyway, there was a limited number of people entering Rayan’s room, and they all knew how much he cared about the Surface World, so they would see the collection as part of his interest. Even if it wasn’t for those items, there were a lot of things that he had already put on display, such as those that he had collected before or had been brought by Yuri.

As he was arranging the items, Alle looked at him with a terrifying look, and as soon as he turned around, he corrected his expression.

“Alle. Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

“Yeah.”

“…”

“No. How was it? Was it interesting to go?”

Alle shook his head and turned around. Rayan nodded his head enthusiastically.

“Yes. But Alle. Humans value things like that very much. Later, if I were to go to the human world, and had nothing, I could take my own tears and sell them. Right?”

“It won’t happen anyway, so don’t even dream of it. You didn’t tell that human, did you?”

His tone was resolute, as if he wouldn’t let him off even if he were to stab him.

“Answer me quickly.”

“I didn’t say anything to Erich.”

Rayan pouted and then explained in a detailed manner the things he had seen on the treasure ship one by one. When he showed him a sharp object and said his hand had been cut because of it, he frowned and questioned his reason for doing that. Alle didn’t seem very interested in what he had brought, but he responded with some sincerity nonetheless. That’s what he was like.

“I’ll ask Erich what this is later.”

“Ah.”

For a moment, a look of worry and concern appeared on Alle’s face.

“Rayan. I think going out will be difficult for a while.”

“…”

“I think I should go back. I will try, but it will take days.”

Although he didn’t like Rayan going out or meeting Erich, Alle, who knew well he had been happy meeting Erich over the past two years, spoke with a bit of hesitation.

Had their brief farewell, which overlapped with the full moon, been like the usual ones, it would have been fun. Had that been the case, he would have had to struggle to hold down the corners of her lips, which would be twitching with the joy of being able to go to the festival with Erich.

But Rayan didn’t try to lower the corners of his lips. No, he had to pull up the corners of his mouth and try to pretend it’s okay.

“No. Take your time.”

“Rayan?”

Alle didn’t finish the sentence, but Rayan could quickly discern what was hidden in his words.

“It’s okay if you don’t come.”

The killer whale clan hated their successor being the guardian of a half mermaid. It had been years already. Among his peers, all the mermaids who became adults completed their second growth and fulfilled their respective duties according to their unique abilities. Even the younger mermaids became adults, only Rayan remained stagnant.

So there was nothing he wasn’t able to understand.

“Rayan.”

“You will have to get married like Yuri. You can’t stay with me forever.”

The role of a guardian originally meant nothing more than an eternal alliance and pact. Since the mermaids did not have any power before becoming adults, they had to protect them from any danger. However, usually when the Simer finished growing, they would return to their clan’s realm and make visits only when necessary. So Alle had to go back, marry, and prepare for succession as an heir.

He should have let him go sooner.

Instead of putting Alle under the pressure of his clan, he should have let him go first. However, he had only wondered about how frequently he would return, and had not thought deeply about it.

“No. This time, I will definitely break off the will.”

“Don’t do that. Alle.”

Alle’s face contorted into wretchedness, having a fierce internal battle like never never before.

“Really, don’t.”

“…”

Alle licked his lips and turned away. He was rarely angry, but Rayan didn’t follow him as usual.

Rayan’s gaze stayed in the place where he left, then moved aside. He took out the crystal ball he had hidden in a corner and held it tightly in his hand. The smile that had lingered like a faint mark evaporated without a trace.

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