Chapter 54

"Nina! Nina!"

The man is flailing about. It seems he can't swim. He looks at the mermaid Nina, wondering what to do. Nina sighs deeply and starts walking. With a splash, she drops into the water. In no time, she surfaces beside the man.

"Nya!"

She punches the man, who was about to cling to her, and pulls him into a headlock, dragging herself along with him.

She tosses him aside. It’s so effortless; she throws the adult male with one arm in the water. What’s with the strength of mermaids? And she’s supposed to be in a state where she can’t brace herself in the water.

The man lands with a splash on the ground, water plants, snot, and tears streaming from his mouth and nose.

"Uu~ ni, ni, nya-"

It’s hard to tell if he’s groaning, crying, or meowing, but he seems to be okay. He’s posing like a tragic heroine, saying "hauu."

Nina doesn’t come out of the water. Leaning against the shore, she says with a sigh,

"No matter how many times you come, I have no intention of being your mate."

"What? Why?"

"I’ve explained it to you many times. Our living environments are too different. I spend most of my day in the water. You can’t swim. How can we be together?"

"Love is enough."

"It’s not. To begin with, I don’t have any affection for you."

"Hauu"

It’s brutal. It’s like she’s cutting him off cleanly.

Anyway, I want to leave. But I should thank her, so what should I do?

"Hey! What do you think?!"

The man turns to me sharply. You were just wary of me a moment ago, don’t drag me into this.

"Ah, um, Nina-san? Thank you for the fish! I’m going home now."

I bow to Nina and she grins,

"It would be nice if you could take this too,"

she says, looking at the man, who is still crying and meowing.

"It looks like there’s no hope. Persistent guys are just annoying."

And she delivers the final blow.

"Ah, ah, so I really can’t be with her if I can’t swim?"

Worried about the man who has collapsed, Rada tilts her head.

"No. It doesn’t matter."

"Then..."

"As I said, the difference in living environments is too big."

Nina shrugs and explains.

Merfolk spend most of their lives in the water. They work, eat, socialize, and even get intimate in the water. They only come to the surface for brief breaths and sleep. For example, they use the edges of the Lelcata turtles as pillows when they sleep. For this reason, it’s rare for them to marry other races.

It’s rare, but it has happened.

There was a woman who went to live on land with a human. But she couldn’t last more than two days; her skin dried out and she couldn’t take it.

There was also someone who lived on a Lelcata turtle. But the turtle doesn’t like having buildings built on it, so they had to live in the open. Moreover, their loved one only showed up a few times a day. They had nothing to do on the isolated island and gradually went mad.

Even serious merfolk have their breaks. They sometimes come up, chat, and spend time together. If that’s enough, there’s no problem.

"So, you mean it’s okay to be a visiting spouse?"

"No, Reit. Your wording."

Cokushin frowns and warns him in a stern voice.

"Hahaha. It sounds simple when you say it, but it’s not that easy. Desires grow over time. Eventually, you’ll start to feel dissatisfied with only short meetings."

After laughing, Nina tilts her head, looking a bit troubled.

"Merfolk value time with the community more than with their partner, and time with their family more than with their partner. It’s hard for humans who prefer being alone together to understand."

I guess it depends on the person, but it means their living environments and views on love are different.

"Besides, I just saved him when he fell into the lake drunk. I don’t understand why he’s so obsessed with me."

Nina shrugs.

"But, but you were beautiful! The water-dripping Nina! The way you lifted me up with such strength and looked into my eyes with those big, sparkling eyes!"

The man revives.

"Don’t make things up. I just threw you the same way as before. I wasn’t worried about you."

It sounds a bit tsundere. But it’s okay. Her face shows no interest in the man. She’s actually glancing at Cokushin. She seems to have a type. The man... well, he’s covered in all sorts of things...

"Such! That’s mean, Nina. I’m doing this for you..."

The man stands up and then stops.

What, are you going to destroy the world for her?

"I’m trying hard to find a job for you..."

Ah, a job near the lake?

"What are you talking about? You got fired for being drunk and slacking off. Who do you think you are, saying it’s for me?"

This is hopeless.

However, this is a problem. If left alone, he might become a stalker. Maybe he already is. Hmm... but it’s probably okay. Nina is strong, and he doesn’t seem like he’d do anything major. Well, you never know with these types...

"Nina, together..."

The man moves, approaching Nina,

plop

...and falls into the lake.

Of course, Nina is in the water.

"Ni, ni-nya, ni-, ta, ta-shu-ke!"

He’s flailing, but Nina is just watching from a distance. I thought for a moment he might actually be able to swim and was doing it on purpose to be saved, but it seems he really can’t.

"Glub glub glub"

When it starts to get dangerous, Nina grabs him and releases him to us.

We look down at the drenched man, at a loss.

"Shouldn’t we hand him over to the guards?"

Cokushin suggests, and I tilt my head.

"What’s the charge?"

"Harassment"

"Oh, that works too"

But, will he give up on her just like that?

"What about Rada?"

"Eh? Umm, she’ll reject him harshly?"

"Yeah, she already has."

"That’s true."

What should we do?

Just then, a savior appears.

"Hey! Stupid son!"

The man jumps at the loud voice.

"O, Oyaji!?"

The one who barged in was a muscular, sturdy father. He grabs the man by the collar and lifts him up.

"You quit the carpentry job I introduced you to and even tried to borrow money in my name, didn’t you? Huh?"

Wow, there’s no sympathy for him.

"N-no, they fired me..."

"Really? I heard you sold the equipment without permission. You’ve ruined my reputation. What are you going to do, stupid son?"

The father is scary.

He shakes the man, then notices us.

"Oh, sorry. Were you in the middle of something?"

"Ah, yeah, Oyaji! This is my girlfriend... no, she’s not my girlfriend or even a friend..."

"Ah, I see. Sorry, my stupid son seems to have caused trouble."

The father’s eyes widen as Nina firmly denies it, and he seems to understand everything.

He drags his crying son away, occasionally giving him a knuckle to the head, and the savior leaves.

"Anyway, that’s good, Nina."

"Ah, yeah. It was like a storm. But I feel relieved!"

Nina shows a refreshing smile. ...She really didn’t like it at all...