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It seemed that helping the mermaid escape would be something that remains with Lil for the rest of her life. 

‘It may have started as a ridiculous idea, but now I think we might have changed the history of a civilization.’

While Lil was losing herself in her emotions, she suddenly heard the sound of a rattling chain. It was the ship’s anchor being winded up.

‘Is it already this late?’

Even though they were underwater, Lil habitually looked up to the sky. However, there was no sun nor moon, only a large silver fish passing overhead. Its ventral fin that received the light of Bellus shined like jewel powder before it disappeared.

“Necesse est regredi.”

Bellus understood what Ed meant and opened its mouth wide, looking somewhere in the darkness. It seemed like the mermaid could produce high-pitched noises. Not long after, Bellus had them grab its shoulder again and swam upwards. Lil was disappointedly escorted by Bellus but screamed in astonishment at the huge ‘mouth’ appearing from the front.

“Aack!”

As it approached the light, it became evident that it was indeed the mouth of some creature. The massive, circle-shaped black hole opened and closed. Little eyes looked like buttons on the edges of the broad front. Lil screamed once more. 

Despite Lil’s fuss, Bellus twisted its body peacefully. The movement caused Lil’s body to rise a bit higher and smoothly adjust in the right direction. Eventually, Bellus swam in a curved line and climbed on the creature’s back.

Its back, the size of a small island, was covered in a white spotted pattern. Bellus sat calmly, holding the creature’s front dorsal fin. Even though Lil sat closely next to the mermaid, her heart kept racing. Water rushed down her cheeks as she tightly held on to its fin. It almost felt like she was riding a horse. Her hair scattered when the current passed through it just like the wind would do. Only then did Lil raise her head a little.

“It’s a whale shark.”

Even without looking, Lil could already guess what Ed’s expression was like. Still, she cast a peek at him. As expected, he was smiling as though he found her reaction amusing. Curiosity drove Ed to perform the bizarre act of caressing the shark’s back before gripping its dorsal fin with one hand and moving to the side to examine its other parts. Of course, he didn’t forget to look at the shark’s gills, which gasped and breathed.

Lil only partly loosened her grip on the fin, still too afraid to fall off. However, the feeling was all too familiar. The water clung to her hands holding the shark’s fin. The cool flow that ran up her arms from the back of her hand was similar to the wind when she would grab the reins of a horse. Lil squinted her eyes and looked ahead, feeling the water rushing past her body. A floating sleeping fish appeared but disappeared just as quickly. And when she thought she saw a creeping octopus, they had already passed it. It felt familiar but different. It was a scene similar to riding a horse while holding a lantern in the middle of the night. Lil looked at Bellus, who laughed while sweeping away her fluttering hair. The mermaid seemed to like this freedom, too.

“Orsayus sit tibi praesidium.”

“…”

Bellus spoke to Ed even though he hadn’t fully climbed back up yet. Lil shook her head, not knowing what to do. Nevertheless, Bellus stretched out Lil’s arm and placed her palm on its chest. And it equally placed its palms on Lil’s chest.

“Orsayus sit tibi praesidium.”

“…”

Holding the fin with only one hand, Lil tightened her grip again.

“Ecce tibi benedictio Formae.”

“Gr… Gratias.”

Lil didn’t understand what Bellus said, but she nodded nonetheless. Bellus also didn’t seem to be asking for a response as it already knew Lil couldn’t communicate using sign language or Goe. When Bellus removed its hand from Lil’s chest, the mermaid smiled and slowly pointed above. When Lil noticed the shadows of the two ships, she squeezed Ed’s knee, whose legs were draped over the shark’s caudal fin. Ed climbed back up and followed her gaze.

After a moment of contemplation, Lil gently embraced Bellus. 

‘Seeing that Bellus touched my body without hesitation just now, I guess that this kind of contact is okay.’

Perhaps the mermaid was a bit bewildered at first, seeing the bright light emitted from its body, but that faded quickly. Lil mumbled ‘Gratias’ once more before letting go. This time, Ed asked for a handshake from the perplexed Bellus. As Bellus glanced at him, the mermaid placed its strangely twisted fingers on his forehead, then changed them into another shape, and brought them to his chin. Soon after, Bellus reached out its hand. Ed took the hand and shook it with a satisfied expression. Not knowing what to do with Ed’s gesture, Bellus’s arm fluttered like a mollusc. 

As soon as the water turned lighter, Lil let go of the fin and swam upwards. Bellus remained motionless as they left. Lil waved her hand and gazed down one final time before raising to the water’s surface. The last thing she saw was Bellus sitting gracefully like a lady on the back of a horse, waving its hand. A dense afterimage of light was still present along the movement of its hand.

When Lil raised her head above the surface of the water, fresh air tickled her nostrils.

“Phwaa!”

Lil spouted water and opened her eyes after wiping her face. The sea was almost blood-red, and the Bell Rock had already hung up its lanterns. Lil shouted toward the top of the main deck.

“Jericho!”

Jericho, who was pacing in front of the railing, looked down. When he found them, he made a fuss and grabbed the closest sailor by the collar. The sailor dully turned his head and confirmed their identities before disappearing from sight.

“Captain! Doctor! What are you doing there? We were looking for you!”

“It just kinda… happened. Are we that late?”

“Not really, but… hold on! Where’s the rope ladder… Hey! Hey!”

Jericho quickly moved from the railing. Lil and Ed had to swim against the current for a bit to stay close to the hull. Ed smirked as he caught up with her.

“So, how was it?”

“…”

Instead of answering, Lil flicked her finger to shoot drops of water at him. Ed laughed heartily at her gesture, judging it was a positive response. Lil ended up laughing along due to his contagious energy. Ed, noticing the change, became visibly excited.

“Was it that great?”

Lil replied with a broad grin.

“Yeah.”

“I had no idea it would be like that! Really! Really. Not even in my wildest dreams.”

Ed expressed his joy as freely as he did with his curiosity. He overtook Lil and turned himself toward her. They then began to move in this position. Lil eventually suppressed her urge to frown, when she saw Ed swimming backwards. He already did several bizarre things today, so she grew tired of reacting to each and every one of them. Instead, Lil decided to ask something she had been curious about.

“But why was she especially nice to me?”

Ed bit his tongue, almost answering instinctively. He carefully picked his words, making him speak with difficulty.

“…I guess she liked your long hair.”

Lil looked at the pearls hanging from the tips of her hair. How Bellus managed to attach them to her hair remained a mystery. Ed, who was watching her, moved his gaze towards the open sea. 

‘…Dei filia… Bellus certainly called Liloa that. But those words mean the daughter of God. So she knew that Liloa is a woman.’

Of course, Ed didn’t tell Lil that. He changed the subject by giving her a rough interpretation of what Bellus said. Ed told Lil that it was Bellus’ way of expressing its gratitude. The decision was inevitable because there was a good chance her identity would be revealed if Ed interpreted it truthfully. He didn’t want Lil to know that he was well aware of the existence of divine abilities and artefacts. 

‘Just now, right in front of me, Liloa is beaming so brilliantly.’

He finally managed to make her smile, so he didn’t think it was time for him to tell her the truth.

Ed pondered over the doubts that began when they were underwater. 

‘Apparently, Bellus felt the energy of Liloa’s necklace. I don’t know how Bellus noticed the divine power, but she may have seen it as a power inherited from a God. In other words, Bellus regarded Liloa as a daughter of God and treated her particularly well. Her necklace truly was instrumental in dissolving Bellus’ initial hostility…’

“Hey!”

A sailor threw the rope ladder over the railing. After Ed gestured for her to go up first, Lil accepted the favour without hesitation and asked upon stepping up her foot.

“Are mermaids usually kind to humans? At first, wasn’t she ferocious?”

“It’s because she was locked up. In the old days, they often took humans to see the sea.”

“How do you know? Are there murals about that painted somewhere? Did you pick it up at the Imperial Clairaut?”

Lil was the first to climb onto the deck and reached out to Ed. Ed took her hand, and after fully stepping on deck, dug water out of his ear when he answered.

“There’s Bell Rock as proof, he…”

“…What?”

But he didn’t respond and Lil couldn’t ask any further, because Cesar was discovered by the both of them at the same time. He was seen leaning against the main mast. Expressionless.

Translator’s Note:

“Necesse est regredi.” = “It’s necessary to go back.”
“Orsayus sit tibi praesidium.” = “May Orsay be your protection.”
“Ecce tibi benedictio Formae.”= “Here is the blessing of forma for you.”