ITHMF 07

Chapter 07

An eerie energy emanated from the entrance. Before entering the village, Maya took out a light ball from her bag. It was the size of a small marble at first, but it quickly swelled to the size of a soccer ball and began emitting a bright light.

“It’s nice and bright, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. It’s like a flashlight, I like it.”

“A flashlight?”

“Oh, it’s something similar to this.”

I poked at the floating sphere with my finger.

Oh, it’s squishy?

It yielded to my touch, feeling very pleasant. It was strangely addictive, so I kept fiddling with the light ball.

It’s not even hot on the surface. How fascinating.

Marveling at its soft texture, Maya and I stepped into the eastern village. The village still preserved traces of the sirens who once lived there. But having been neglected for a long time, there were almost no intact houses left.

“It looks like a pretty ordinary village, all things considered.”

“Well, sirens were mutants, but they were still mermaids like us.”

“Maya, have you ever seen a siren in person?”

“Just once, when I was very young. Usually, we don’t like each other, so we rarely cross paths.”

“Then how did you see one?”

“Ah, I happened to play near the eastern village with my friends once. That’s where I met one. She warned me not to come any further. I remember running back quickly.”

“I see. But why were sirens born different from us?”

“There were many theories about that, but the most plausible one is that someone recklessly killed humans to gain more power and was punished by Lady Heldia.”

If that was the case, it made sense why their abilities were opposite even though they were the same race.

“If it were me, I would have just taken all their abilities away.”

“Even fallen mermaids are loved by Lady Heldia, so she showed them mercy.”

“Then why did they all suddenly disappear together?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure. I don’t know anything about that either. The fact that they disappeared was reported much later, wasn’t it? Unless it’s the sirens themselves, there’s probably no mermaid who knows for sure.”

So even Maya, who had actually seen sirens, didn’t know why they disappeared.

As Maya said, no mermaid really knew why the sirens had suddenly vanished. There were only speculations. Since they had split their territories, they hadn’t even interacted with each other as if they weren’t the same species, so it was natural.

All those sirens couldn’t have just died of natural causes all at once…

I thought of various possibilities as we passed by the now old and crumbling buildings.

“We’re here, Princess.”

At Maya’s voice, I looked up.

At the very depths of the eastern village. There stood the only house that seemed to have someone living in it.

Seeing the faint light coming through the window cracks, I swallowed dryly.

Finally, I might be able to get a healing potion!

Feeling a mix of anticipation and tension, I stared intently at the closed door. Maya, perhaps thinking I was scared, spoke with a worried expression.

“Should I go in alone and come back?”

“No, it’s fine! Let’s go in.”

I took a small deep breath and knocked on the door.

She’s in there, right?

Seeing the light on, there was definitely a mermaid inside. But no matter how long we waited, there was no significant response from inside.

“Hello. Is anyone there?”

I knocked a couple more times, but the house remained silent.

Did she step out for a bit?

Just as I was putting my ear to the door, a strong force suddenly pushed me. Someone inside seemed to have opened the door.

Having been standing close to the door, I was thrown backward towards the floor.

“Whoa!”

“Oh my, Princess! Are you alright?”

My butt hurt quite a bit from hitting the floor. Maya, startled, helped me up and fussed over me.

Just as I was holding back tears that were about to spill, a shadow fell over Maya and me.

Looking up, a mermaid with black hair was looking down at us expressionlessly. Even just her gaze was incredibly pressuring.

Wow, look at that aura…

I swallowed dryly and suppressed my tension.

“Are you… the Witch of the Deep Sea?”

“What if I am?”

Her answering voice was languid and a little slow.

Hmm, she seems a bit annoyed?

I wondered if I was imagining it, but after meeting the Witch’s eyes, I could tell for sure.

Ah, I wasn’t imagining it. She’s really annoyed right now!

When I didn’t respond, the Witch slightly frowned. She clearly looked like she didn’t want to repeat herself. Finally coming to my senses, I looked straight at the Witch.

“I came to buy a potion.”

The Witch, who had been looking down at me with a nonchalant expression and her arms crossed, turned and went back inside the house at my words.

Realizing it was a sign of permission, I quickly followed her inside with Maya.

As soon as Maya and I entered the house, the door slammed shut. The sound was so loud that my shoulders jumped involuntarily.

The Witch’s house looked like something straight out of a fairy tale.

There was a large cauldron with an unidentified liquid bubbling inside, dead loaches that looked like they were being experimented on, and many other fear-inducing elements.

As I thought the nickname ‘Witch of the Deep Sea’ was well-deserved, I felt a piercing gaze from somewhere.

“Why… are you staring like that?”

The Witch, who had entered first, was looking at me from the shadows without a sound.

Her gaze was so intense that I almost screamed the moment our eyes met.

She stared intently at my face, wearing an expression as if she was trying to remember something. After frowning and looking back and forth between me and Maya for a while, the Witch eventually let out a sound of realization, as if she’d figured something out.

“Ah.”

“What is it?”

“I thought I’d seen you somewhere before, but you’re Her Highness the Princess. I apologize for not recognizing you. Please forgive my earlier rudeness.”

Rudeness? What rudeness…

Ah. She spoke informally to me earlier.

Only after receiving her apology did I realize that the Witch’s attitude earlier had been inappropriate. I was so focused on the potion that I hadn’t even noticed.

However, unlike my oblivious self, Maya was nodding beside me as if an apology was only natural.

Hmm, isn’t it weirder that all the mermaids in the world recognize me on sight?

I waved my hand as if to say it was fine.

“It’s okay. It’s not like you did it on purpose.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

The Witch bowed her head politely.

From the moment she realized I was the Princess, her attitude had subtly changed.

The most noticeable change was her eyes.

Where did that ‘I can’t be bothered’ expression go?

Her eyes, which had seemed to say ‘I wish you’d just go away,’ had softened a little. However, she couldn’t completely hide her annoyance, so despite her polite tone, her actions lacked sincerity.

Well, this is fine. Earlier, it felt like she’d just ignore me and kick me out.

At least I can probably talk to her now, I thought with relief as I sat down on the guest sofa.

“You said you came to buy a potion, right? If you need something, you could have just gone to the ‘Witch of the Deep Sea Potion Shop’ in the kingdom. What brings you all the way here?”

“Hmm, I wanted to meet you in person.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. I also have a favor to ask.”

“A favor, you say…?”

The Witch looked at me with a very indifferent gaze. It seemed like she was already preparing to refuse before I even said anything.

…This won’t do. Let me start with the easier thing first.

If I asked her to be my teacher right off the bat, she’d probably run away. I waved my hand as if to say it was nothing.

“Let me tell you what I need first. The favor comes after that.”

“Ah, yes. What kind of potion do you need?”

“A healing potion.”

“…You seem perfectly fine. Are you unwell somewhere?”

The Witch tilted her head, seemingly surprised that I was looking for a healing potion.

It was understandable, because even mermaids who had no interest in magic could use basic healing magic. A mermaid would only seek a healing potion if they were severely injured and couldn’t use magic.

At her worried look, I shook my head and said it wasn’t that.

“It’s not for me.”

“Hmm, then is it a gift? It wouldn’t be particularly necessary for a mermaid… so it must be for another species. A human, perhaps?”

Her words struck home, and I felt a pang in my chest.

I naturally glanced at Maya. She was looking at me with wide, surprised eyes, as if to ask what she was talking about.

Maya probably thought I was looking for potions as part of my magic studies. This is a problem…

Feeling cold sweat forming, I quickly explained.

“No, I’ve just been really interested in potions lately! I wanted to buy a well-made sample.”

But the Witch didn’t seem convinced by my answer. She looked at me with a face that said, ‘That can’t be right.’

Of course, what I was buying now was for a gift, but it wasn’t a lie that I was interested in potions. When I met her eyes confidently, perhaps finding it troublesome to pry further, the Witch nodded in understanding.

“Well, I suppose there’s no reason for a Princess who hasn’t come of age to go to the surface. I was overthinking.”

“Right! So, can I buy a healing potion?”

“Hmm, just wait a moment.”

The Witch rose from the sofa and went into the back room.

I glanced sideways at the various colored potions displayed around the house, hoping there was a healing potion left.

What if she didn’t make any because there was no demand…!

I was so anxious that even my tail started trembling. Maya, sitting next to me, pressed my tail down as if to tell me to calm down.

Trying hard to suppress my anxiety, I snapped at Maya for no reason.

“Why is she taking so long to find it? Does she not have any?”

“Maybe she keeps them in the back?”

“I hope so.”

Clasping my hands together, I stared intently at the door the Witch had gone through.

The Witch reappeared about seven minutes later. Returning to the sofa, she set down a bottle filled with a deep purple liquid on the table.

“There were only two left.”

“I’ll buy both!”

“Oh my, really? An excellent choice!”

When I declared I’d buy them without hesitation, a smile appeared on the Witch’s lips. It was the brightest expression I’d seen since entering this house.

Watching the Witch put the potions into a dust bag, I took out my pouch filled with jewelry. When I opened it and placed it on the table, the Witch’s eyes sparkled.

“As expected of the Princess. To have such a large collection of high-quality gems!”

“Really? I wouldn’t know.”

I knew gems were expensive, but aside from diamonds, I didn’t know which ones were valuable. I couldn’t even distinguish flaws or fakes, making me easy to scam.

Of course, there probably wasn’t a mermaid bold enough to sell such things to a princess anyway.

Seeing a topic she was familiar with, the Witch gazed at the pouch of gems with an enchanted look.

“Look at this. The color isn’t murky at all; it’s incredibly vivid and brilliant. This kind is extremely valuable. Since the only gems you can find in the sea are pearls and Redflowers, it’s even more precious.”

The piece of jewelry the Witch picked up featured a large, prominent sapphire with a striking blue hue.

She seems to really like it.

Seeing her hold the gem up to the floating light balls scattered around the house, I said quietly.

“If you like it, we can settle with that.”

“Really? The potions aren’t worth this much though…”

“It’s just my gesture of goodwill. Please accept it.”

“But…”

Her expression became subtle, as if joy and unease coexisted within her.

I repeatedly emphasized that it was truly fine to the hesitant Witch. After agonizing for a while, the Witch said she would gratefully accept it and tucked the sapphire-adorned jewelry into her bosom.

At the same time, I handed the dust bag with the potions to Maya.

“Well, that takes care of the urgent business…”

“Is there something else you need?”

“This time, I have a proposition.”

“A proposition?”

The Witch looked at me with a puzzled expression.