Translator: Pai_

When encountering myths, one of the most common stories is about treasures used by the gods.

A staff that could summon flames strong enough to dry up a river with a single swing, armor so impenetrable that even a god could not harm the wearer, and a bottle that endlessly poured out an elixir capable of reviving the dead...

Such magical artifacts of the Preah God Tribe, otherwise known as "Sacred Relics", numbered only a few dozen across the entire world.

Of course, not all of these items were immensely powerful, but some were treasures so valuable that even the heads of great noble families guarded them with their lives and passed them down through generations.

But for a mere mermaid, who had been captured by pirates, to claim to possess something like that?

"How impressive. If the prince has something like that, I wonder what kind of amazing treasures the Mermaid King must possess?"

Sensing the sarcasm in Turan's tone, the mermaid's distinctive blue skin turned a shade of purple.

It seemed to be a reaction similar to how humans flush red with anger or embarrassment.

The self-proclaimed prince, Armani, shouted.

"I'm not lying! I really discovered it in a cave where one of your gods had died in battle! I originally intended to report it to my father, but I got caught because I was tricked by you lot…"

"You discovered a god that died in battle? Explain in more detail."

When Turan glared at him with a serious expression, Armani, looking frightened, stammered as he answered.

"A-a man with blue hair… His body had been pierced by the fang of a giant sea serpent, and he was dead. But he had also pierced the enemy's head with his hand. Everything else had decayed over time, but the round metal object he wore on his waist had no rust and remained perfectly intact. It must be a treasure among treasures."

"Why didn’t you take the object right away?"

"I couldn’t touch it. Whenever I tried to approach, some unknown force pushed my body away…"

"Why are you so sure it was a god?"

"Only a god among you would be capable of killing and being killed by a giant sea serpent!"

The giant sea serpent was a species that mermaid in the past revered as gods, a massive snake whose body was dozens of meters long, as its name suggested.

Of course, it had long since disappeared into the annals of history.

Still, to be locked in mortal combat with a monster once worshipped as a god and remain preserved in that state underwater without decay-

Even if it wasn’t truly the remains of a god, if Armani’s words were true, something extraordinary undoubtedly existed.

Realizing he was growing excited, Turan took a deep breath to calm himself, then carefully reviewed his thoughts.

Was it possible he had been bewitched by the voice of the mermaid? Would his judgment remain the same in a clear-headed state?

As he organized his thoughts, a question suddenly came to mind.

"Now that I think about it, you said you were tricked and captured? How exactly did that happen?"

At this question, Armani abruptly shut his mouth and lowered his head.

Though they were different species, their facial features weren’t so different, so Turan could discern a faint trace of shame in Armani’s expression.

"Y-you know how your people have that trick to lure out those who live in the water, using metal hooks tied to strings?"

"You mean fishing?"

"Yeah, that. Normally, I could easily recognize such a thing, but in my transformed state, my instincts got the better of me…"

In other words, this Mermaid Prince had been caught by pirates while transformed into a fish.

It was an utterly ridiculous story, but somehow, it made sense after hearing it.

The pirates had probably been startled when the fish they caught suddenly turned into a mermaid, and they decided to capture him.

Even if they were ignorant fools, as sailors, they would have heard that royal mermaid fetched an exorbitantly high price.

Whether it was true or just an excuse, the only plausible reason to imprison a male mermaid who couldn’t even demonstrate his transformation abilities was that.

"Did you perhaps tell the pirates about all of this too?"

"I did, but none of them listened. They just said, ‘Don’t talk nonsense about a dead god’s corpse’, and laughed it off."

That was the most normal reaction.

Turan, having personally interacted with the librarian at Orem’s library, could sense the existence of the Preah God Tribe. However, for ordinary people, gods were nothing more than mythological beings found in scriptures.

Even Turan himself wasn’t entirely convinced whether the mermaid’s words were genuine or just random lies spun in desperation to save his own life. So why would anyone abandon a safe profit to take a dangerous gamble?

"What about the sailors who discovered you earlier?"

"I didn’t… no, I couldn’t. The moment they saw me, they shouted that there was a mermaid and ran off."

This meant that the only ones aware of this information were him and Captain Pires.

Turan glanced at Pires, who had been listening to the conversation with a blank expression. Feeling Turan’s gaze, Pires spoke with a stiff face.

"I didn’t hear a thing."

It was as if he feared Turan might kill him for spreading the information around.

Of course, Turan had no such intention.

It wasn’t that he trusted Pires’s integrity, but rather his own strength.

On land, there were many nobles stronger than Turan, but on this sea, he was one of the absolute strongest.

That is, unless he suddenly ran into someone from the House Carmine or a similarly powerful bloodline.

"You don’t need to be so tense. For now, I’d like to keep this guy alive for a little longer. What do you think?"

"It shouldn’t be a problem. If it were, those pirate bastards wouldn’t have been able to keep this mermaid imprisoned in the first place."

Pires, still with a grave expression, calmly offered his opinion.

He had a point. The fact that an ordinary human group of pirates had captured him suggested that this mermaid boy didn’t possess any notable combat abilities.

"Come to think of it, those pirates are ridiculous. They could’ve gotten rich just by selling this mermaid, but they had to lose their lives while pirating instead."

"Greed is what drives those scum, after all. Besides, they likely never imagined that a ship of this size would have not only a knight but also a noble on board."

Turan tilted his head slightly at Pires’s remark and then asked in return.

"Was I too much?"

"Yes. The others may not realize it since they’ve rarely, if ever, seen a knight in battle, but I know. It’s not easy to come out unscathed against that many opponents."

Why was Pires suddenly hinting that he’d realized Turan’s true identity?

It was clearly a plea: I know how powerful you are, so I wouldn’t dare attempt something foolish like coveting a legendary treasure in your presence.

When Turan slightly nodded to signal that he understood the implied message, Pires visibly relaxed, his shoulders losing their tension.

After defusing the potential conflict, Turan turned his attention back to the mermaid boy.

"Do you happen to know where in the North Sea the remains of that god are? If I show you a map, could you point it out?"

Even as he asked, Turan doubted the mermaid would understand what "North Sea" meant.

There was no way they had ever seen a human map.

Contrary to his expectations, Armani tilted his head slightly and then straightforwardly revealed what he knew.

"It’s not that far. About 500 kilometers south of here?"

"Five hundred kilometers south?"

Turan’s eyes widened in surprise at the response.

First, how could a creature locked in the ship’s hold know their current location? Second… how was he using human measurements for direction and distance?

When Turan voiced his doubts, the reply he received was underwhelming.

"I’m not sure. It’s just the system we’ve always used. Was it something made by your people?"

"Probably. Captain, were you aware of this?"

"This is the first I’ve heard of it. We usually don’t ask mermaid such things. Perhaps those high-ranking individuals who keep mermaid as pets might know."

As far as Turan knew, the calendar system, measurement units, and other standards used by humans all originated from the old empire.

Perhaps such things were remnants from a time even earlier than the Ancient era, when humans were enslaved by other races.

There was almost no recorded history of that period, not even in Orem’s library.

It might also explain why these races used the same language as humans.

"Anyway, 500 kilometers to the south..."

"That would put it not too far from Miguel Island. Even accounting for some error, it shouldn’t be more than 100 kilometers off."

Miguel Island, one of the largest islands in the North Sea archipelago, was the location where the Blue Marlin was set to restock supplies and sell off the pirate ship.

In other words, it was within a distance that they could reasonably visit if they made the time.

"For now, let’s keep him confined a bit longer and think about it. There’s always the chance he might spread some strange story, so I’ll manage him myself."

After much deliberation, Turan decided to postpone making a decision.

He simply didn’t know enough about the mermaid yet to decide anything immediately.

*

In truth, Turan wasn’t entirely convinced by the words of the mermaid boy, Armani.

After all, weren’t their kind one of the races, like the Dark Elves, that had once enslaved and eaten humans in ancient times?

What he did trust, however, was the boy’s desperation.

For a being with intelligence comparable to humans, one’s life was often reason enough to offer anything.

"Here, it’s time for your meal."

"Thank you, kind devil."

It was the second day since they’d captured Armani.

After realizing that Turan was a wizard, and a noble at that, Armani had taken to calling him a "devil".

Come to think of it, the Dark Elf necromancers they had encountered before had also called Turan and Ashiz devils, hadn’t they?

When Turan asked what the term meant, he received a peculiar response.

"Your ancestors came from beyond and destroyed our once-perfect world. That’s why."

Yet, for someone who spoke of devils destroying his perfect world, Armani ate the food Turan brought him without much resistance.

Turan had initially wondered if he should catch some fish for him, assuming that might be a mermaid’s preference, but fortunately, Armani ate regular human food without issue.

"For someone who eats this just fine, why bother eating humans at all?"

"I’m not sure. I’ve never eaten humans before... Maybe the lower-class ones do it because they don’t have enough to eat? When I return, I’ll ask my father about it."

Though Turan had never promised to let him go, Armani spoke as if it were only natural that he’d return to the mermaid kingdom.

Every time he answered like this, Turan felt conflicted.

For a species that supposedly ate humans, Armani’s mannerisms and speech were surprisingly human-like.

He was nothing like the Dark Elves, who had immediately tried to kill Turan on sight.

From then on, Turan continued to converse with Armani about a wide range of topics.

From the differences between the customs and social systems of merpeople he had read about in books and reality, to the existence of the legendary mirror connecting the North and South Sea mermaid kingdoms, to stories about ancient mermaid mythology......

"Ah, by the way, how far is it now? From that place."

"About 65 kilometers west?"

Over the past few days of conversations, Turan had learned how Armani was able to know his location. The mermaid had an instinctive ability to sense directions and positions while at sea.

Once they remembered a place, they could always find their way back to it.

While they were deeply engrossed in their conversation, a knocking sound came from above, the wooden boards tapping softly.

"I’ll be back."

“Bye!”

With Armani waving him off cheerfully, anyone watching would never suspect that Turan had confined the mermaid in the hold of the ship.

When Turan climbed out of the hold, Osban, the first mate who had come aboard to oversee the pirate ship, greeted him.

"Sir Knight, we’ve arrived at Miguel Island!"

"Already? I guess it’s time to head up."

"Yes, sir!"

After securing the entrance to the hold where Armani was confined with thick chains, Turan climbed to the deck.

Beyond the dark night sea, he could see a large island and several sailing ships docked at the pier ahead of it.

*

After the two ships docked at the pier, Turan lightly leapt a few times toward the Blue Marlin.

Captain Pires, who had been staying on a different ship and hadn’t seen Turan for two days, greeted him briefly before getting straight to the point.

"Have you reached a decision?"

"Yes."

What he was asking was simple.

Would Turan trust the mermaid’s words and go searching for an unidentified treasure, or would he sell the creature to one of the island’s influential figures?

Instead of answering directly, Turan asked a question in return.

"How long do you plan to stay on this island?"

"Unless something unusual happens, about a day or two."

Allowing the crew to rest after the nine-day voyage was also an important task.

Though it wasn’t a concern with Turan onboard, it was common for overworked sailors to stage a mutiny, killing the captain and turning to piracy themselves.

"Perfect. Could you arrange for me to borrow a small boat? Just enough for two people."

"Don’t tell me..."

"Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be too far from here. I’ll go and check it out tonight."