Chapter 44

Of course, Sante had already thought of a good excuse for this, but it seemed like Ophelia had yet to notice it because she was so preoccupied with other things.

Or, she didn’t care that much even if she did notice it.

Anyway, he came to Ophelia’s room while trying to avoid the mage, and if he were to have encountered Alei, Sante would be at a loss.

However, their reunion here didn’t seem to be very bad, compared to how he was trying to avoid it.

‘Is it because he lost his memories?’

Sante recalled meeting Alei just before he was exiled.

To be exact, should he say that this meeting was a thorough beating the moment he stepped over the threshold?

—Get out! Leave immediately. I’m not in any condition to talk to you right now. Please, get out. Just leave…

Sante had never seen Alei so unstable.

At first glance, the man he saw through the door seemed to have been crying.

However, without any time to check properly, Alei closed the door. Then, the next day Sante visited the tower, he heard that Alei had been exiled for infringing the taboo.

There were not many things considered taboo.

Usually, this implied the use of black magic.

It was the act of lacing human souls instead of one’s own magic power in order to overcome humanity’s limitations.

It was powerful yet destructive as the components were different. And it was dangerous.

The caster would quickly collapse and become unstable.

In other words, there’s a reason why a taboo was considered taboo.

And the problem was that the surroundings of those who used black magic were also affected.

There would be no problem for most people, but it had a significant impact over mages and other species who were sensitive to mana.

Because of this reason, those who had touched black magic were not detained but instead wiped of their memories and exiled.

So far, Sante had tried not to meet Alei as much as possible.

Because he couldn’t risk getting affected for no reason just to meet him. He wasn’t sure what condition Alei was in yet.

‘But he looks more stable than I expected.’

There were no signs of the instability he saw in Alei just before he left the tower. Rather, he clearly seemed very normal.

It was fortunate but, at the same time, odd.

If Alei didn’t touch black magic, then what the hell kind of taboo did he touch?

‘Even people in the tower seem to think that he nearly touched black magic.’

Seeing as how everyone except the man named Cornelli wanted to see Alei, Sante was perplexed.

If he knew more about the tower’s rules, he could have thought more about it. But Sante was not interested in human affairs.

For that matter, he didn’t seem to realize how improper it was for him to come to Ophelia’s room day after day.

Well, this might be a good thing. It wasn’t something he planned, but Sante managed to check Alei’s condition, which was his biggest concern.

Once again, Sante shot a smile full of familiarity at Alei.

Alei looked even more repelled by this. However, the more Alei showed his dislike, the deeper Sante’s smile became.

It was Ophelia who cut off the subtle war of nerves between the two.

Inwardly, she welcomed Sante’s presence.

‘I was going to call him, but he’s here right on time.’

She also thought about his reaction yesterday, which made her nervous. That’s why it’s good for Ophelia that he came first.

“Then Sante. What’s going on this time? I haven’t even broken any feathers yet.”

“I came here because I had something to tell you, but I stuck my nose into something I couldn’t get out of.”

Sante complained as though he was whining, then he went over to the desk where the other two had been sitting a while ago. He took out a chair haphazardly and sat down.

“When I passed over the nearby waters earlier, I saw mermaids kicking up a racket. They’re a closed group, and they rarely come up to the surface and make a commotion, but they’re doing that now.”

At the mention of mermaids, Ophelia’s eyes lit up.

“Mermaids over the surface?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t just one or two. They were huddled together while talking about the youngest mermaid princess—that kid we met yesterday.”

Sante’s explanation continued.

Since water itself was a substance in which aquatic lifeforms breathed, water itself contained information, so word would spread very quickly.

That’s why it was customary for mermaids to come to the surface whenever they wanted to keep whatever they were talking about a secret.

But wasn’t there an old saying like that?

During the day, birds would listen. During the night, the rats would hear.

“Ariel seems to be thinking of stepping onto land.”

Sante recalled what he witnessed while he was flying near the shore a while ago.

The mermaids were hiding behind the reef, whispering in very small voices.

They were trying to minimize the volume of their words, but Sante was someone who could hear even the rustling of leaves with just a slight gust of wind.

—This is where Ariel went?

—I’m sure. An oyster saw it. She saved a male human being who fell into the sea.

—Then is he the problem? It’s dangerous for a mermaid to even think of going on land!

—I just know it’ll be a mess the moment Father finds out. We can never let him know. We have to figure it out ourselves.

—But how? You know how stubborn she is. Ahh, land. Ariel! She knows that all mermaids who’ve gone to land have died!

For mermaids, saying that they would go to land was tantamount to a human saying they’d jump into the sea.

So how could Ariel’s sisters not be sad?

Sante understood how they felt, but he couldn’t sympathize.

Understanding their emotions could be attributed to his age, but there were also some emotions he couldn’t feel on his own because they were fundamentally different species.

And Sante’s thoughts were always occupied with interesting things.

‘No matter how long I’ve lived, I can’t feel that.’

Giving deep affection to someone and being bound by them was too farfetched for Sante.

Sirens were free beings as they were unrivaled in their abilities, with nothing out of their reach.

As such, he continued to spend his life focusing on interesting or pleasurable things, and he had a strong sense of independence.

So if it had been another time, Sante wouldn’t have listened to what the mermaids said and just minded his own business.

Hearing about whether a mermaid would suddenly jump onto land or not was a conversation that he personally didn’t find interesting.

However.

“I listened to them so I could tell you.”

Somehow, he couldn’t just pass through because he thought that it was something that Ophelia would deem important.

For over a hundred years, she was the most interesting human he had come across.

And somehow, she became the target of his attention. To the point that it was strange how he felt somewhat uncomfortable.

What was the cause, he wondered.

‘At first, I wanted to know because of Dian.’

But as time went by, he became more interested in Ophelia herself.

Even if she wasn’t someone who came back to the past, she would have been the same to him.

Sante was curious about the blue flames ignited within her azure eyes.

For what reason did they burn?

After Ariel went back yesterday, Sante asked a sudden question.

—Ophelia. The answer you were going to say earlier, I want to hear it.

—Answer?

—I want to know what you’re jealous of.

—Oh, it’s nothing.

Ophelia answered as though it was unimportant.

—I envy people who aren’t terrified of freedom. It would be nice if I could also be like that.

Sante didn’t know why this answer might sway him, and it was ironic enough that he was afraid of something he didn’t know when her answer was this plain.

How could he not be interested?

Sante said in return.

—Then you should envy me.

Instead of answering, Ophelia smiled. In an instant, he knew that it wasn’t a positive response. If he were a different species, would it have been possible for him to understand her?

Listening silently, Ophelia slightly nodded when Sante stopped talking. She was lost in thought.

“So that’s what happened. Thank you for letting me know.”

“…Don’t mention it. Will you go again? They’re nearby. There’s a forest in that direction.”

“I’m not sure. I don’t have much to do with the older sisters. Though of course, I need to meet Ariel again.”

What Sante said about the mermaids wasn’t news to Ophelia.

Unfortunately for Sante, Ophelia already knew Ariel’s decision.

And Ophelia thought that there was something that Sante overlooked while recounting this story.

And it could be…

“…If you’re talking about the part of the shore beside the forest, then it’s the uninhabited place, right?”

“Ah, if you’re talking about that side where the cliff is, you’re right.”

“It’s a place where no one passes through. Why did you go there?”