Indeed.
A fish washed ashore on the coast of Leila.
To be precise, the identity of the person with the lower half of a fish was none other than a fish beastkin, a mermaid.
The mermaid, who appeared to be of an age between a girl and a woman, possessed a beauty as legendary as the tales of old, and despite the biting cold of midwinter, she wore a somewhat provocative outfit based on seashells.
…Wait. What did I just say?
I never imagined I’d encounter a mermaid in such a place, so I didn’t pay much attention, but I definitely just…
“I’m not tasty! Well, actually, no one has ever tasted me, so I don’t know how I taste, but please don’t eat me!”
“Eek! Mr. Kurt, surely the special dish you mentioned for tonight isn’t…”
“I won’t eat you! No matter how serious I am about cooking, I don’t cook humans!”
What do you take Lizardmen for!
Did she hear me?
“Kyaaa… Huh? Now that I think about it, I’ve never heard of a sea serpent monster with limbs, nor of a monster that can talk… Are you perhaps not a monster…?”
“That’s right. I’m a Lizardman.”
“Lizardman… I’ve heard stories, but this is the first time I’ve seen one…”
“You’re the first mermaid I’ve ever met in my life.”
The mermaid, who had been frightened upon seeing me, quickly calmed down once she realized I wasn’t a monster.
Fortunately, while sea serpents might be scary, the Lizardman race isn’t particularly frightening, so instead of being scared, she looked at me with curiosity.
I pretended not to notice and kept glancing at her, fascinated by her curious gaze.
Beastkin, in general, are not outnumbered by other humanoid races, but that’s only when you consider them all together.
In reality, if you break them down by individual races, their numbers are quite small.
Take my race, the Lizardmen, for example. Even in Astram, where all sorts of races gather, our numbers are few, and in other cities, it’s common for people to have never seen a Lizardman before.
But compared to mermaids, even Lizardmen are as common as pebbles on the road.
Mermaids, being fish-like beastkin, have a completely different habitat from ordinary humanoids, making it impossible to encounter them inland. Even in coastal areas, interactions with mermaids are rare, and even sailors who frequently travel the seas rarely meet them.
To ordinary people, mermaids are a race that exists only in legends and old tales.
Sometimes guiding sailors lost at sea to safety, other times luring them to their doom beneath the waves—a mysterious and enchanting race.
I never thought I’d encounter a mermaid like this.
“I’m relieved… If you’re just a regular Lizardman, you won’t eat a kind mermaid like me, right…?”
“Hahaha. People often find Mr. Kurt intimidating at first because he’s a Lizardman.”
“Don’t tease me.”
“I was really surprised… Kyaaa!! A human! Please don’t eat me!”
And I never thought the mermaid would be this foolish.
After confirming I wasn’t a monster but a Lizardman, the mermaid screamed even louder upon seeing Mari.
“Wha, what!? Why are you more scared of me than Mr. Kurt!? This is unfair!”
“Because humans are a race that eats mermaids! Kyaaa! I’m going to be eaten!”
“I won’t eat you! No matter how serious I am about cooking, I don’t eat humanoids!”
“The elders of my village told me! Humans see us mermaids not as equal intelligent beings but as rare and delicious ingredients! Kyaaa!”
The mermaid screamed even louder than when she saw me.
“Hahaha. You seem even more scared than when you mistook me for a monster. You must be really terrifying.”
“Mr. Kurt, be quiet! And I’m not a human, I’m an elf!”
“An elf…? Ah! Your ears are really pointy! Phew. What a relief. If you’re an elf, you’re probably vegetarian and won’t eat me!”
The mermaid, who had been screaming, quickly calmed down upon noticing Mari’s pointed ears.
She screamed, then calmed down, then screamed again, then calmed down.
If this weren’t a somewhat remote coastal area, people would have gathered upon hearing the screams.
“That’s right! I’m an elf! A half-elf, but…”
“Huh? What did you just say?”
“Ah, nothing. But are you relieved because elves are vegetarian?”
“Of course. The land is full of humanoids with gleaming eyes, ready to eat mermaids.”
“I’ve never heard of that!”
I’ve never heard of that either.
And not just me and Mari, but Karina, the human the mermaid referred to, and Serena, who is quite knowledgeable despite her usual demeanor, also seemed to be hearing this for the first time.
But the mermaid ignored our questions and continued her story.
“Phew… I was really scared thinking you were human. So, are the other women here also elves?”
“No, I’m not an elf, I’m a dwarf…”
“A dwarf? Hmm… The elders of my village never mentioned dwarves, so it should be fine. And what about the other woman?”
“Ah, I’m human…”
“Huh? Hu… man…? Kyaaa! Please don’t eat me!!”
Upon hearing Karina was human, the mermaid threw the biggest fit since we met.
We hadn’t even properly introduced ourselves, and yet this level of chaos.
I never thought there’d be someone more dramatic than Mari in this world.
…
…Are all mermaids like this?
Maybe I shouldn’t have checked.
…
…
…
It took a while for the mermaid to calm down after begging for her life from Karina.
Once she realized we had no intention of eating her, she apologized for her misunderstanding and began introducing herself.
“Ah, so you all saved me!”
“More like found you.”
“You found me washed ashore and protected me from evil humans who might have cooked me until I woke up!”
“No, that’s not it…”
“You risked danger to protect me, and I misunderstood! I’m sorry! This is my first time on land. I’m Marin. As you can see, I’m a mermaid.”
“If it’s your first time on land, it’s understandable. I’m Kurt. As you can see, not a sea serpent monster but a Lizardman.”
“I’m Mari, a half-elf.”
“Ha, half-human!”
What’s a half-human?
“I’m Serena. A dwarf.”
“And my name is Karina. I’m human…”
“Eek…!”
“There’s no need to be that scared…”
And so, in an inexplicably exhausting atmosphere, we introduced ourselves.
Although she had calmed down, Marin was still tense, hiding her body and peeking out, flinching at every word from the three.
Especially Karina, the only human, whom Marin seemed to believe would eat her if she let her guard down, flinching and hiding every time Karina spoke. Karina, in turn, couldn’t hide her shock at Marin’s reactions.
Perhaps Marin’s behavior didn’t sit well with her?
Mari looked at her disapprovingly and spoke up.
“Ms. Marin, I understand you have some misconceptions about land-dwelling humanoids…”
“Eek…! Half-humans are scary…!”
“Don’t be too harsh. She’s just scared. Everything here is new to her.”
“But why is she hiding behind Mr. Kurt!? That’s weird! Objectively speaking, isn’t Mr. Kurt the scariest-looking one!?”
“Eeeek…!”
Marin, frightened by Mari’s outburst, hid behind me again.
What the…
“So that’s what you’re upset about?”
Did I hurt her pride as a quasi-capybara beastkin?
“It’s strange that you’re scared of us but not Mr. Kurt, the Lizardman! No offense, but I’m quite beautiful, aren’t I? I don’t understand!”
“That’s really something to say about yourself.”
But indeed, it was peculiar.
Among us, I’m clearly the most intimidating in appearance.
And in contrast, the three women, each with their own charm, are undeniably beautiful by human standards.
Yet, Marin feared them and saw me as her protector, hiding behind me.
“Well, of course. Lizardmen, like us mermaids, are beastkin. All beastkin have been exploited and tormented by greedy humans since ancient times!”
What nonsense is this?
“What are you talking about?”
Mari, feeling the same confusion, looked puzzled.
“It’s exactly as I said.”
“Exactly as you said…? No! More importantly, get away from Mr. Kurt! It’s shameless for a man and woman who just met to cling to each other like that! And your clothes are so provocative!”
“Kyaaa! Save me!”
And so, the situation began to spiral out of control again.
I couldn’t let it go on like this after just calming her down.
I quickly intervened between Mari, who was trying to pull Marin away from me, and Marin, who clung to me like a starfish.
“Let’s calm down and continue talking.”
“Mr. Kurt, surely you’re not falling for this mermaid’s charms…!”
“It’s not that. We don’t know anything about each other except our names. Arguing can wait until we’ve talked more.”
“Waaah… Ms. Karina! Mr. Kurt is siding with the mermaid!”
Ignoring Mari’s whining as she ran to Karina, I peeled Marin off me and asked,
“So, why did a mermaid so afraid of humans end up drifting into a human city?”