ITHMF 29

Chapter 29

Here it is!

I pulled out the book and sat down wherever.

It was noticeably thinner than the other books, but I liked that it dealt exclusively with purification abilities.

—

[The purification ability is an ability that only a small number of mermaids can possess, and it mainly appeared among the royal family. They seemed, in a way, like special mermaids chosen by the gods, but in fact, the appearance of the purification ability meant that a calamity would soon befall the world.]

—

“Calamity?”

My eyes widened at the word I’d never even imagined.

What is this? A calamity? And right here is a mermaid about to awaken with the purification ability!

Flustered, I quickly read on.

—

[When the purification ability appears, a corresponding calamity always accompanies it. That calamity may be a calamity on land, or it may be a calamity of the mermaid kingdom.

What is certain is that no matter where it starts, it will affect the mermaid kingdom as well. That’s why mermaids began to call the purification ability an “ominous ability.”]

—

“…Ominous ability.”

A thought came to me.

Maybe that’s why Serenel in the original story gave her ability to Flora. The situation was so unexpected that my head felt numb, as if I’d been struck.

—

[A mermaid with the purification ability must eliminate that calamity.

In fact, they have resolved many such calamities. Ironically, the purification ability, called an “ominous ability,” is in fact an ability directly tied to the survival of mermaids.]

—

“Don’t tell me I’m supposed to resolve this calamity?”

Anyway, I’m going to pass the ability to the female lead later, so it shouldn’t apply to me.

But for some reason, a corner of my heart felt uneasy. Would everything really be over once I handed it over? They said it would affect the mermaid kingdom too…

Even though it wasn’t a problem I could solve right away, various things kept weighing on my mind.

Couldn’t I just ask the female lead somehow? If we become friends, maybe she’d at least listen to that much…

It seemed I now had a good reason to win over the female lead.

I continued reading the book.

—

[The purification ability is, literally, the ability to purify evil things around you. At the most basic level, it can purify things like poison or contaminated land, and at a higher level, it can purify black magic and even the malignancies of transcendents.

Mermaids with the purification ability can visually see “evil energy.” It is said to usually appear as black smoke. However, “evil energy” that has been deliberately concealed cannot be easily detected.]

—

“Evil energy…”

With this, the black smoke following Riose was confirmed to be something harmful.

So it really is poison.

Riose, who was thought to have died from illness, was only revealed later in the original story to have actually been murdered by poison. And I clearly remembered who had poisoned Riose.

“Maybe I’ll meet them sooner or later.”

I had to finish all my preparations before the culprit came here.

“Serenel, do you have something on your mind?”

“No, nothing.”

At Kairaan’s question, I stopped quietly observing the mansion’s surroundings and shook my head.

This habit of constantly scanning my surroundings started as soon as it was confirmed that Riose was being poisoned. I thought the culprit’s agents must definitely be nearby.

Kairaan’s gaze on me held concern.

“It’s really nothing. I’m fine.”

I smiled to reassure him. Payron approached us.

“You’re sad because I’m leaving, right?”

Looking at him asking with a grin, I shook my head with an expression that said “as if.”

Today was finally the day Payron returned to the capital.

I hadn’t thought we were that close, but knowing I wouldn’t see him often from now on made me a little regretful.

“It’s not that I’m sad, though?”

“Then are you going to miss me?”

“…No comment.”

“So you do miss me. You’re totally into me, aren’t you?”

Payron, grinning slyly, tried to pat my head. Kairaan naturally blocked his hand and gestured with his chin toward the carriage being loaded.

“Go check if there’s anything missing.”

“If something’s missing, you can just bring it.”

“And when exactly do you think I’m going to the capital?”

“You’ll come eventually anyway, right? Nothing’s that urgent, so you can bring it whenever.”

Kairaan sighed and nodded as if to say fine. Even though they bickered, it seemed he felt a little regretful about his friend leaving too.

Payron suddenly clung to Kairaan, whining.

“I don’t want to leave even more now that you take care of me.”

“I’ve never taken care of you.”

“You have! You totally have! I want to stay here and play more!”

“If you want to get kicked out of the imperial palace, go ahead.”

“Ugh, so heartless.”

Payron, having detached himself from Kairaan, came over to me.

He openly badmouthed Kairaan right in front of me. Since it was awkward to agree with gossip happening right under my nose, I just smiled.

“Don’t you think he’s too cold to his only friend?”

“Well, I guess that’s Ian’s charm.”

“That’s true. But on days like this, he could at least pretend to be a little sad.”

“I’ll be sad for you. I’m going to miss you leaving.”

So could you please stop this uncomfortable gossip?

Whether my feelings reached him or not, Payron smiled brightly.

“There’s no one like you, Serenel.”

He hugged me with a moved expression.

Normally, Kairaan would have pulled him off immediately, but this time he stayed still. It seemed he was letting it slide since it was the last time.

Even while holding me, Payron didn’t hide his regret.

“You’re coming to the capital too, right, Serenel?”

“The capital? Well… I’ve never thought about it, so I’m not sure.”

“Come see me! Or come up with Ian when he comes.”

“Hmm… I’ll think about it.”

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, it’s time to depart.”

Payron glanced at the attendant who had approached and made a sulky face.

He clung to us until the very last moment. Seeing this, Riose looked pleased, saying their friendship was so warm.

“Serenel, you have to come to the capital, okay? Ian, you have to bring Serenel for sure.”

“You don’t have to tell me that.”

Kairaan pried Payron off as if telling him to stop and get on the carriage already.

Payron, now moving away, waved his hand. Though he tried to look composed, his eyes were dripping with reluctance.

He walked the short distance to the carriage very, very slowly. He’d take a step, look back, take a step, look back—his goodbyes had been going on for almost fifteen minutes.

“Are you going or not?”

Unable to stand it any longer, Kairaan frowned and said in a low voice. His voice was full of irritation.

Kairaan even waved his hand at Payron, who instantly turned pitiful.

“It’s not like we’ll never see each other again. Stop it and just go.”

“So heartless. You have no blood or tears!”

“You’re the one being too clingy.”

“I am not! I’m not!”

Because those two wouldn’t back down an inch, the departure time kept getting delayed.

We’re going to lose daylight at this rate, you guys…

In the end, I stepped in to settle things.

“Alright, alright. Still, since we won’t see each other for a while, let’s not fight.”

At my words, both of them shut their mouths tightly.

After waiting for their emotions to calm down, I waved to Payron.

“Everyone’s waiting, so let’s stop the goodbyes here. See you next time, Payron.”

Payron, who had looked around and confirmed the servants waiting for him, finally nodded. He climbed onto the carriage with a sulky expression, as if forcing his reluctant feet to move.

Sticking his head out the window, Payron made a final earnest request that we absolutely must see each other in the capital, and then left. Only after the Crown Prince had finally departed did everyone return to their own business.

In the meantime, Kairaan, who had very naturally taken my hand, whispered quietly.

“Even if you go to the capital, don’t meet that guy.”

It seemed he had been very annoyed by that long farewell.

Another few days passed.

After class, Lovelle, who had finished organizing the books, greeted me and said she’d see me in the next lesson.

I urgently stopped Lovelle as she was about to leave.

“Wait!”

“Yes?”

Lovelle, who had been about to go out, turned her head to look at me. Since it seemed like it would be a long conversation, I gestured for her to come closer.

“Do you have something to ask me?”

Lovelle, standing in front of me, glanced at the books. Since I wasn’t going to ask about the lesson, I lightly shook my head.

“I wanted to ask about something else.”

“What is it?”

“Do you know if there’s a way to transfer an ability to someone else?”

At that, Lovelle’s body froze.

I’d been looking into purification abilities for the past few days and had also searched for ways to pass on abilities, but nothing was written anywhere.

But why is she staring at me like that?

As I blinked blankly, Lovelle frowned slightly.

“What kind of ability? Are you talking about magic?”

“Hmm, more precisely, the royal family’s unique ability. I’m about to awaken an ability soon, you know.”

“Ah, I heard that a mark appeared on your forehead. But who are you planning to give that ability to?”

“Well… it’s not that I’m going to give it right away, I was just curious if it was even possible!”

I hurriedly waved my hands. But Lovelle’s expression remained stern.

Is giving an ability difficult? Or does it look like I’m trying to pass my fate onto someone else?

To be honest, half of it was passing it on. It was a shame to give away the purification ability, but if I handed it over to Flora, the female lead, I could escape the duty of saving the world.

I didn’t want to take on such a grand mission. That was something only someone with a good heart, like the female lead, could do.

“Are you worried you might awaken with the purification ability?”

Lovelle asked after a moment of seeming deep in thought.

It wasn’t that I was worried—I was actually going to awaken with the purification ability…

I rolled my eyes briefly and, having nothing good to say, nodded vaguely to indicate “more or less.”

“Well… that’s not entirely without reason. But I’m really not planning to give it to anyone, I’m just curious if there’s a method.”

However, Lovelle already seemed convinced that I wanted to pass my ability on to someone else.

That was true, but could she at least tell me the method first?

Contrary to my hopes, Lovelle spoke as if trying to persuade and soothe me.

“Since it’s not even certain what ability it is yet, I don’t think you need to worry about that, do you? And even if it really is the purification ability, maybe this time there won’t be a calamity.”

“But the book said that whenever the purification ability appeared, a calamity followed… I hope not, but I’m worried I might really awaken the purification ability.”

“Maybe someone exaggerated it. Or maybe it was something that was supposed to happen anyway, and they blamed the ability for it.”

“That could be. But what I’m curious about isn’t that, Lovelle—it’s whether an ability can be given to someone else.”

When persuasion didn’t work, Lovelle rubbed her forehead as if troubled. Uncharacteristically, she hesitated to speak.

But I couldn’t let this opportunity slip.

If I didn’t get an answer here, I’d have to frantically search the entire library!

With its long history, the amount of materials was enormous—I’d probably be stuck in the library for days and might barely find what I was looking for. To avoid that tedious journey, I absolutely had to hear the method from Lovelle.

When I urged her to tell me quickly, Lovelle sighed as if she had no choice.