ITHMF 01

Chapter 01

“And so, the human and the mermaid lived happily ever after.”

With those final, gentle words, the fairy tale of love between a human and a mermaid came to its end. I kept my eyes closed, deliberately breathing evenly as if I were already asleep.

After a moment, I heard the careful closing of a book and felt Maya tidying up my rumpled blankets.

“Sweet dreams, Princess.”

Maya gently stroked my head a couple of times before quietly leaving the room.

I focused all my senses on my ears, listening intently to the sound of Maya’s retreating footsteps. Just in case she might come back, I made sure to keep up the sleeping act for a good ten minutes.

She should be gone by now…?

With a mixture of doubt and hope, I cautiously cracked my eyes open.

“Looks like she’s not coming back.”

Fortunately, the surroundings were silent, as if no one was there.

I could see my room, cozily decorated with colorful corals and various-sized seashells. Outside the window, seaweed swayed back and forth, following the ocean currents.

After confirming that the outside was still quiet, I kicked off the blankets with my tail. Then, roughly straightening the messy bedding, I got out of bed and hurried over to the vanity.

“I’ve got about eight hours before Maya comes back, so I need to go and come back quickly before then!”

They say the surface world is full of all kinds of dangers, unlike the sea, so I needed to pack some protection for myself.

As I tucked the self-defense magical tool my brother had given me into my small handbag, I glanced at the book on the table, *Love of the Century*.

This book, which I read every night before falling asleep, is a romance novel about the love between a mermaid living in the sea and a human living on land. It’s my favorite book these days, and also the reason I’m sneaking up to the surface tonight.

“Just like in the book, the surface world must be really, really splendid, right?”

My heart pounded with excitement, and I cupped my cheeks in my hands.

Thinking about the surface naturally brought the scenes from the novel to mind. If I ever get the chance, I’d love to go to a human party or something like that.

For now, I can’t go to the surface freely, which is why I’m sneaking out at night like this…

With a long, frustrated sigh, I grumbled in dissatisfaction.

“I’m thirteen, isn’t that old enough? Adult mermaids are seriously overprotective.”

Mermaids who haven’t come of age are physically weak, so they can’t go to the surface alone. I can take care of myself now. I just can’t understand grown-ups. I shook my head.

Ah! This isn’t the time to be standing around. If I want to see more of the surface world, I need to move faster.

Slinging my handbag over my shoulder, I carefully slipped out of my room. After making sure the hallway was empty, I used a secret passage to safely make it to the back garden.

Now, where’s that hole?

If I just swam out, I’d likely trigger the barrier protecting the castle. Then, my surface trip would be over before it started, and I’d end up waking everyone up in the middle of the night.

It was dark all around, making it hard to see. As I looked around, I spotted a hole hidden by seaweed in one corner of the castle wall.

The hole, created by eroded sand, had been left unrepaired. Afraid someone might catch me, I threw dignity to the wind and shoved myself through the hole.

“Phew… I think I’ve made it safely out of the castle.”

I brushed the sand off my body and looked around. Perhaps because it was time for everyone to be asleep, the streets, like the castle, were very quiet.

After glancing around cautiously, I clutched my handbag tightly and swam quickly towards the surface. Since the mermaid kingdom was located in the deep sea, it wasn’t until the castle town was no bigger than a dot, and then completely out of sight, that I could finally surface.

“Pwah!”

As soon as I broke the surface, unfamiliar air invaded my lungs. Startled, I quickly clasped my throat and held my breath.

Wha-What is this? This heavy feeling?

The air I breathed in was so different from the air underwater. Feeling flustered, I rolled my eyes and quickly ducked back under the water.

I can’t just go back now…

I hadn’t imagined the air would be this different, so I was a bit taken aback. After some thought, I cautiously poked just my face above the surface and took in tiny sips of the surface air.

“Huff, hoo… Huhh! Ha…”

Thankfully, after several deep breaths, I was able to adjust to the surface air. At first, I thought my lungs were rotting… but once I got used to it, it wasn’t so bad.

Rising to the surface again, I slowly looked around. Beyond the rolling waves, I could see land shrouded in darkness. Since I was in the middle of the sea, the land looked really far away.

“Should I get a little closer?”

Wary of any humans nearby, I moved forward cautiously.

Fortunately, the beach was deserted.

So that’s what human buildings look like. They’re not that different from where mermaids live, are they?

I looked at the buildings visible beyond the beach, tapped on a small anchored boat, and explored various places.

“I’d like to go outside the beach too…”

I wanted to go beyond the beach, but unfortunately, I still couldn’t take human form. Usually, young mermaids can transform at fifteen.

I’m only thirteen now.

Having to wait another two years felt so daunting. It was disappointing, but it seemed I’d have to postpone exploring beyond the shore for now.

While looking at the surface from within the sea as much as possible, I soon discovered a cave.

“Wow, it’s a really pretty cave.”

It was a cave in a secluded corner of the beach, far from people.

Moonlight filtered through holes scattered here and there in the ceiling, illuminating the inside of the cave. There were several holes in the upper part of the cave, allowing the moonlight to stream directly inside.

The moonlight collided with minerals clinging to the cave walls, scattering brilliantly. Because of this, even though it was night, the inside was surprisingly bright, like daytime.

It was truly a scene straight out of a fairy tale.

I stared at the cave with my mouth agape, before finally coming to my senses.

“Wow. I’m mesmerized, completely mesmerized.”

I’d better look away quickly. I slapped my cheeks a couple of times with my hands and turned around.

Then, this time, the large full moon hanging in the sky instantly captured my attention. Staring at the huge full moon, I clasped my hands together.

Wow, so this is what the real moon looks like!

There was a moon in the mermaid kingdom too, but that was a fake moon my father had created for our safety. The artificial moon only emitted moonlight at night, so it wasn’t as clear as the real one, and it looked blurry on the water’s surface, not perfectly round.

Having only seen the magical fake moon, seeing the real one was incredibly fascinating.

“It’s exactly as described in the book!”

A large sphere shining with a soft, silvery light, the single light that brightly illuminates the darkness. The descriptions I’d read in the book flashed through my mind.

Come to think of it, doesn’t the protagonist of *Love of the Century* make a wish to the moon too? Wanting to try it out for fun, I clasped my hands together and closed my eyes.

Hmm, but what should I wish for? Ah! Please let my family be happy forever, and let me finish my surface sightseeing safely…

However, as I was earnestly praying, I suddenly heard footsteps and my eyes flew open.

Splash!

The water churned violently in response to my movement.

The moment I turned around, I locked eyes with a boy. He looked a few years older than me, a tall, blonde teenager in his mid-teens.

He seemed just as startled as I was, his eyes wide open.

A-A human!

We stared at each other dumbly until the water ripples calmed, then I hastily swam away from the cave.

“Wait—!”

A hand that tried to grab me stopped in mid-air.

I quickly put some distance between myself and the cave, stopping near a rock a bit further away. Swallowing dryly, I looked at him, standing frozen like a statue.

I came to the surface, but I hadn’t planned on meeting a human. Startled, my heart was pounding wildly, and my hands were trembling slightly.

The boy seemed a bit flustered as I swam away from the cave in an instant. He remained with his hand outstretched, his slightly pale face staring blankly at me.

And then, a moment later. Unlike me, still startled and anxious, the boy quickly calmed down and lowered his outstretched hand.

Then, in a calm manner, he asked me in a low voice.

“Is it deep there?”

His gaze briefly touched the dark seawater before returning to me.

“Huh? Oh, oh…”

“Yeah? It looks pretty deep, but I guess not.”

The boy chuckled lightly and settled into a spot in the cave.

What should I do?

Having missed my chance to escape, I ended up facing the human, caught in a stalemate.

The boy showed no signs of leaving, sitting on the cave rock and staring intently at me. He didn’t seem to be pressing me for anything in particular, but his silent gaze didn’t let up, and my anxiety grew.

He couldn’t have figured out I’m a mermaid, could he? That can’t be.

Just then, the boy tilted his head at my fidgeting.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing.”

I quickly shook my head.

Since we’d already started talking, it felt awkward to leave without a word. It would be a big problem if he found out I was a mermaid. I might even have to erase this human’s memory if things went badly.

But would I ever get another chance to talk to a human like this before coming of age?

Though the anxiety lingered, my curiosity about the first human I’d ever seen also grew stronger.

The thought that I should leave right now and the desire to satisfy my curiosity clashed violently within me.

Observing my ever-changing expressions, the boy let out an amused laugh.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

“Oh, just this and that?”

“Meaning you don’t want to tell me?”

“Hmm… it’s not really worth mentioning.”

“I see. But why are you here at this hour?”

That’s what I should be asking him. He’s the one out alone in a cave like this in the middle of the night.

I was relieved he didn’t press further, but the follow-up question was equally tricky. Rolling my eyes, I came up with a convenient answer.

“I came to look around.”

“You’re sightseeing in the water?”

“…”

“I thought you were a ghost.”

“What? Gh-Ghost?!”

I shrieked in shock at his nonchalant remark.