Chapter 109 - The Old Fisherman's Love (8)
“Gasp!”
The young fisherman Agni opened his eyes wide and inhaled.
The fresh air that couldn’t be felt in the rough sea stimulated his lungs and made him fully alert.
“…An island?”
Looking around, it was the beach of some island.
The sky was high and blue without a single cloud, fickle as if there had never been a storm.
Judging from the peaks of the Socre Mountains visible very small beyond the horizon in the distance, it seemed he had drifted to one of the islands of the White Wave Archipelago.
The young fisherman was relieved.
It wouldn’t have been strange if he had drowned when caught in the waves, so he was grateful to be alive.
There were many reefs around this area, so fishing boats didn’t come often, but it wasn’t that they never came at all.
If he survived for a couple months, he could be rescued.
“Mother must be worried.”
The only problem was that through his colleagues, the news that he had died would be delivered.
Sighing, the young fisherman turned his head at the faint singing carried by the wind.
Could there be people living on this island?
With that hope, Agni moved towards the singing voice.
Cautiously approaching, there was a beautiful woman sitting on a seaside rock, humming a song.
“Endlessly draped field of clover flowers, strolling with you…”
As he approached, the singing woman was startled and hid behind the rock.
“Ah! I’m sorry if I startled you! It’s just that your singing was so beautiful…”
Come to think of it, he had heard that singing voice somewhere before.
Just as he was about to think that, the woman singing showed her upper body above the rock and spoke.
“You’re awake? I was worried you weren’t waking up. I was told you were breathing so it was fine, but people pulled from the sea sometimes look fine then drown on land.”
The young fisherman’s heart beat fast at her brightly smiling face.
The woman’s words implied the existence of someone else, but perhaps due to his rapidly pounding heart, blood rushed to his head, and he couldn’t think properly.
“I-is that so? By any chance, the one who saved… no, nevermind.”
Agni, about to ask if she was the one who saved him, waved his hand thinking it was a foolish question even to himself.
The woman smiled at the innocent fisherman’s appearance and said:
“If you mean the person who saved you, that would be me.”
“What?”
At Agni’s dumbfounded response, she sat back on the rock and showed her legs.
Where her legs should be, there was a large fish tail attached.
“It is me.”
“Ah…!”
If she was the mermaid of legend, saving just him amidst the rough waves wouldn’t be difficult.
Realizing that fact, there was one thing Agni couldn’t help but ask.
“My senior! What happened to the fisherman who fell with me?”
At his question, the mermaid looked slightly surprised then soon grinned.
“As I thought, you are a kind person as I imagined. Your senior was saved by his colleagues on the boat pulling him up with a rope. They did blame themselves for a while calling your name, but the boat returned to port safely.”
“Ah, that’s a relief.”
As he was sincerely relieved, the mermaid smiled contentedly and nodded.
“Do you not worry about yourself? You’ve been stranded.”
At the mermaid’s question, the young fisherman shrugged.
“I would have worried if I were alone, but isn’t such a lovely person with me?”
At Agni’s words, the mermaid giggled.
“Usually people worry about their own situation or ask why a cautious mermaid saved them. You’re not like that.”
“Ah! That’s right. Why did you save me…?”
At the young fisherman’s naive behavior that he hadn’t thought of, the mermaid used magic to turn her lower body into human legs and approached him.
“The reason I saved you is because I like you. I often enjoy going near fishing boats to hear news of humans or work songs. I especially like your singing.”
“What?!”
As she drew close and said she liked him, the young fisherman reacted sensitively.
Seeing his flustered appearance, the mermaid giggled and backed away slightly.
Then she began to sing.
Sitting by the window draped in moonlight
I wish for someone to knock on my door
My castle, my room, my window
Who would be that brave soul?
The mermaid held out her hand to the young fisherman. The song the mermaid sang was one he was also well familiar with.
The young fisherman sang the following verse.
Standing before the window lit by moonlight
Should I try knocking on her window?
Holding flowers like a knight of romance
I try to confess with courage
“Knock knock knock.”
Imitating the sound of knocking with their mouths at the same time, the mermaid and young fisherman laughed.
And then the mermaid continued the song first.
Ah, the man knocking at my window
The faint moonlight can’t illuminate his face
Who could it be? Sir knight, prince, or wealthy man?
Red roses go well with the sun
So come see me in broad daylight
Discouraged by her words of rejection
I can’t stand right under the scorching sun
A shabby youth alone, unable to hide my appearance
Then with a flower that pairs well with the moon
I’ll bring baby-breaths and go see her
It was a song about a vain but shy girl longing for bashful love having her heart drawn to the continued love confessions of a poor but pure-hearted young man.
The song ends with the youth mustering courage to ride a donkey instead of a splendid white horse and confess to her in front of her house under the sun.
The two sang the song to the fullest and laughed for a while, chatting about how the girl might have accepted the young man’s love after the song.
“I think that girl would have rejected him one more time then accepted his heart.”
“Oh my, you think so? I feel like she would have accepted right away.”
As they were happily chatting with slight differences in opinion, the mermaid looked at the sky a bit off from the island.
Dark clouds were gathering high there.
“The weather has been quite fickle lately, so for a few days, neither fishing boats nor passenger ships will be able to come near here. In fact, the fishing boat you were on shouldn’t have come either… Well, thanks to that, I got to meet you directly, so is it alright?”
The mermaid smiled optimistically and introduced herself.
“I’m Aili. And you?”
“Agni.”
Aili, a pretty name.
The young fisherman thought so.
It felt like he was under some kind of spell, but he didn’t care.
“Actually, I already knew your name, Agni. It was my joy to listen to the songs you sang out at sea. Ah! That’s right, I’ll guide you to a place to avoid the morning dew.”
With the mermaid’s guidance, the young fisherman followed her without much suspicion.
He thought it was only natural to trust his savior since his life would have ended at sea anyway.
The place the mermaid led him to was a cave.
There were animal skins of unknown origin laid out, along with a dagger, flint, and dry firewood prepared.
It seemed difficult to live there for long, but plenty possible to stay for a few days.
Come to think of it, unlike the mermaids of legend, the one before his eyes was wearing human clothes.
Perhaps sensing the young fisherman’s gaze, the mermaid smiled mischievously and asked:
“Where are you looking?”
“Ah, no! I’m sorry!”
At the sudden apology, the mermaid laughed. The more they talked, the more she liked the innocent fisherman.
“If you’re sorry, sing with me again. I like your singing after all.”
“I-I like your singing too.”
Agni spoke as if confessing with all his heart.
What was this feeling?
Was it love, or an arrhythmia?
At the young fisherman’s confession, the mermaid said she was glad he liked her and showed him around the island.
Places to get drinking water, places where edible fruits grew, and even a spot with a beautiful sunset view.
Most daily necessities could be obtained.
And so, the young fisherman who ended up living on a remote island with the mermaid ate meals with her, sang songs with her, and slept together with her.
On cloudy days, the mermaid would sometimes say she had an errand and go into the sea, returning after a long while.
Left alone, the fisherman did necessary tasks like picking fruits or fishing.
And when the mermaid returned from her errands, she would bring back things one by one that couldn’t be found on the island.
He didn’t know how she got them, but the young fisherman spent happy times with the mermaid, wearing the clothes she brought, playing instruments and singing.
It was an unfilial thought, but in his youth, Agni wished he could spend his whole life like this.
It wasn’t that he didn’t worry about his mother being left alone.
But his colleagues who were on the same boat would surely support her.
Whenever he sang with the mermaid who had become his lover, he could forget all his worries about the world.
However, that happiness didn’t last very long either.
It was just shy of half a year since he had been stranded on the island.
“Agni, I spotted a fishing boat nearby.”
The mermaid spoke with a strained smile, but the young fisherman could easily read the meaning of the sorrow contained in that smile.
He could return now.
See his mother and friends again.
But the young fisherman held his lover’s hand and said:
“Aili, if you want, I won’t go. No, I don’t want to leave your side.”
The mermaid was overjoyed at her lover’s words, but at the same time saddened.
“I… want you to leave. I want you to be happy with your family and friends. You were looking towards land last night too, right? You miss them, don’t you?”
“No, it’s not that I don’t miss them, but!”
“Humans are meant to be happy with other humans. You don’t have to give up all of that for me.”
The young fisherman was at a loss for words at his lover’s resolute words. Then, after thinking for a bit, he said:
“If you insist that much, I’ll just go say hello and come back. With my navigation skills, I can easily return here even with a small boat.”
So wait for me for just a few days, he whispered.
At the young fisherman’s words, the mermaid embraced her lover.
“Alright, I’ll wait. Even if years pass.”
Because she was hugging him, the young fisherman couldn’t see his lover’s expression.
And so, the young fisherman made a choice he would regret for life.
“That’s all I experienced.”
The old fisherman sighed with a mix of regret and looked at the Whirlpool Archipelago not far off.
“There probably aren’t any mermaids left there now, but this old man’s wish is still to be buried there.”
His voice was parched without a hint of moisture.
As if he had no tears left to shed.
I spoke as I cast the fishing rod.
“The mermaid is probably still there. Fighting hard even now.”
At my words, Agni looked at me.
“Honestly, I can’t believe what you’re saying. No, I don’t want to believe it.”
“But if you combine the given information, isn’t it a plausible conclusion?”
The seasoned fisherman who was the captain leading him in his youth had said there was ‘something big’ under the sea.
And the mermaid had a ‘collaborator’ who procured things for her.
“Jade, how are the whirlpools?”
“Yes, they’re not natural phenomena. If you give me a bit more time, I can break through.”
And the ‘whirlpools’ before our eyes are artificial.
“Silua, what did your father say was the reason he lost medium-sized and above amphibious puppets?”
“Um… because of a kraken!”
According to Twilight Trading’s information, there are records of Geor Philip and Jaoelin Philip in their youth staying here.
Aggregating all the information, the conclusion I reached was one.
“Not only the mermaid, but the ‘defiler of the sea’, the kraken is probably there too.”
Otherwise, there’s no way this artificial barrier would still be maintained.
I don’t know why they couldn’t completely defeat it.
I planned to hear that from the mermaid beyond those whirlpools.