Chapter 130: The Secret of the rman Island (1)
"Just as Father said, all humans are perverts..."
Mary, trembling with tears welling up in her eyes, glared at . Feeling guilty, I zipped up without making any excuses.
"I'll find my way back, so feel free to leave first."
"Isn't that obvious...?"
Ugh. Her voice dropped to a chilling tone, as cold as the seawater at night. I had the feeling I'd be swimming back stark naked.
"I'll share the information once I return."
"......"
Leaving Mary behind, who was still glaring at with suspicion, I swam as quietly as possible toward the back of the island.
'There's a light.'
There had been no light near the harbor of the Baran Duchy, but on the back side of the island... over there, sailors were working with brightly lit torches.
"Ugh, damn it... How much more of this slimy crap do we have to dig up?"
"Thoroughly. You know what'll happen if even one of these things gets left behind, right?"
Holding torches in their hands, they were combing through the seaweed on the shore, collecting sothing.
Hiding among the low bushes growing on the island, I stayed in a low crawl, infusing mana into my eyes to observe the scene more clearly.
'rmaid eggs?'
Though they hadn't been salted yet and were still fresh and plump, the black, large, round shapes were unmistakably rmaid eggs.
If they were salted and fernted, they would undoubtedly beco the "rmaid eggs" sold in the market.
"Why do we have to keep this a secret? Couldn't we just gather a bunch of people and finish this all at once?"
"I don’t know. Sothing about so interspecies protection law or whatever. Damn fish-head rn can’t even speak or think like real people. They're basically just fish, so why are they classified as an intelligent species?"
"Those landlubbers probably lumped rmaids and rn together as the sa thing since they don’t know jack about rmaid legends. They've probably never even seen a real rmaid, let alone protected one. So, rn get thrown under the sa umbrella as rmaids. Typical."
'rn... Are those rn eggs?'
The difference between rmaids and rn was clear.
rmaids had human upper bodies and fish tails for lower bodies, while rn had fish heads and human-like lower bodies.
Like in the fairy tale of the Little rmaid, it was said that rmaids could gain human legs through a deal with a sea witch. But in reality, rn and rmaids seed to be entirely different species.
"Hey, hey. They're coming again."
"Ah, damn it... How many of these things show up in a single day?"
The sailors grumbled as they drew their weapons. At that mont, a few large fish flopped onto the shore, then suddenly lifted their heads toward the sky and began charging forward.
How the hell were fish running? Even Mary, a rmaid with a fish tail, struggled to crawl on land without my help. Her human-like upper body might resemble ours, but her heavy fish tail made moving on land almost impossible.
In contrast, these creatures had fish bodies for their upper halves, with only small pectoral fins attached. Their lower halves, however, looked vaguely human, allowing them to charge forward.
"Kill them! Don’t let those bastards get away!!"
"Argh! This bastard’s spraying sen everywhere!!"
It was utter chaos.
No, chaos would have been an understatent.
The rn that erged from the sea were scattering eggs everywhere and spraying sen over them to fertilize them. The sailors were desperately trying to fight them off by smashing their fish heads with hamrs. However, their heads were so damn tough that it took three or four sailors to kill just one.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
One rman charged toward . Cautiously, I drew my knife, which had been treated to avoid reflecting light. The mont it tried to step on my back to leap forward, I ambushed it, stabbing my knife into its spine.
'So that’s how it is. Since the Baran Duchy is subject to the kingdom’s laws, they can’t indiscriminately kill rn, even if they cause harm. That’s why they secretly hire local sailors to handle the rn during their breeding season, while exporting the eggs as a byproduct.'
This explained why the rmaid eggs were distributed through smaller trading guilds rather than a central one. If the Baran Duchy’s rulers—the Duke and the Elder Council—were officially removing the eggs as part of a national policy, it made sense that the distribution network would be fragnted among smaller guilds.
'If rn were truly intelligent beings, this would count as illegal slaughter. But if they’re not... then it’s not exactly wrong either.'
Crack!
'They’re not human.'
I had deliberately stabbed near its lower body, yet the sensation of piercing flesh was entirely different. Instead of feeling like I was cutting into a spine or nerves, it felt more like stabbing a thick fishbone—a texture closer to cartilage than bone.
'And their legs aren’t human either.'
At first glance, their lower halves appeared human-like, similar to rmaids. But upon closer inspection, their toes were absurdly long, almost like fingers, with webbing stretched between them. No matter how you looked at it, those weren’t human legs.
Just to be sure, I sliced into its thigh. Instead of the red muscle typical of land animals, I found the pale, flaky flesh characteristic of fish. Its skin might resemble human skin, but underneath, it was nothing more than a fish’s tail split into two.
Rattle!
Even as it was dying, the rman began releasing eggs from its lower body. But instead of a proper reproductive organ like those of intelligent humanoid species, the eggs just dribbled out of a hole in its fish-like abdon.
'I feel like throwing up.'
I couldn’t believe I had eaten that.
On top of that, rmaid eggs were technically rman eggs. These half-human, half-fish creatures were nothing more than walking fish with vaguely human-shaped lower bodies.
Gulp. Gulp.
Their intelligence didn’t seem high either. Even as their comrades were having their heads smashed in with hamrs or their bones shattered by scimitars, they continued charging forward, releasing eggs and sen.
"Damn it! Their numbers keep increasing!"
"Retreat! Fall back!!"
"Goddamn bastards!"
The sailors, who had initially been handling the rn well, began to struggle as more and more of them appeared. It was as if the entire sea was filled with rn. They sward the island, scattering eggs and sen everywhere. I managed to take out the ones near by severing their spines with my dagger, but their numbers kept growing. There was a limit to how much I could handle on my own.
‘I need to get out of here now that I know what’s going on...’
But there were too many of them.
The sailors were already in a frantic struggle to board their boat, but more and more rn were swarming them. The creatures grabbed at the sailors trying to climb aboard and tried to tear into them with their sharp, fish-like teeth. Only the sailors’ thick clothing and leather armor saved them—otherwise, there would already be casualties in this life-or-death situation.
"Ahhh!!"
'Damn it.'
Even so, as a knight, I couldn’t just stand by and watch. I stood up, determined to reduce the number of rn attacking the sailors so they could escape safely.
Clang, clang!
I struck my dagger against the pebbles scattered on the island, creating weak sparks and noise to draw so of the rn toward .
‘Just from the looks of it, this entire island is filled with rn. If I fight them head-on, there’s no way I’ll co out of this intact.’
I tried to cut the thighs of the rn blocking my path, aiming to slow them down. But unlike human legs, their legs were just split tail fins. Even if I slashed at them, it didn’t have much effect—they kept moving as if nothing had happened.
‘And their eyes... they’re terrifying!’
It was unsettling enough looking at fish eyes on a dinner table. But seeing massive, fist-sized, hollow eyes staring directly at was downright horrifying.
"Alright! Pull up the ladder!"
The sailors, fending off the rn with their oars, climbed into the boat and began leaving the island.
Watching them depart, I let out a sigh of relief and prepared to escape myself...
Splash!
"Ahhh!!"
Suddenly, countless rn burst out of the sea, leaping onto the sailors' boat and launching an attack.
Even the waters around this area were teeming with rn!
"Knock them off!"
"Quick, escape! Signal the other boats to retreat and prepare defenses on the shoreline!"
Fortunately, the sailors on the boat were holding their ground, striking down the rn with their harpoons and hamrs. But the problem was —standing at the very edge of the island.
‘What about ?’
There was nothing.
If I had a boat, I could focus on fending off the rn leaping onto it. But the real issue was that I had to face hundreds, perhaps thousands, of rn while treading water.
If I had a mana saber, I could cut down several of these mindless creatures in one swing and hold my ground. But all I had was a single special-issue knife treated to avoid reflecting light.
‘If I go into the water, I’ll be attacked by the rn before I can defend myself. If I stay on land, I’ll have to fight off an endless assault alone, with no way to escape.’
Even with a knight’s armor, being surrounded and outnumbered like this was a hopeless situation. Without a clear escape route, no amount of skill could overco these numbers.
If I could at least secure a way out and retreat, I could handle dozens or even hundreds one by one. But now...
"Damn it. The sun’s coming up."
I had only one thing to rely on.
As sunlight began to reflect on the surface of the water, creating a beautiful shimr, I reached out and grabbed the nearest rman’s gills.
"Glrk!!"
Plunging my arm deep into its gills up to my elbow, I shredded its internal organs. Then, as another rman approached, I drove my knife into its abdon and slashed downward.
Squelch!!
This one must have been male because sen spilled from its lower body. Disgusted by the sight, I kicked it away and drove my knife deep into the eye of the last rman that approached .
Squish!!
The rman’s eyeball burst, releasing sticky, revolting fluid. Abandoning the knife now coated in the creature’s bodily fluids, I spread my arms and dove into the sea.
Though I gave up my weapon for a brief opening, it was a calculated risk...
Because I saw sothing.
Splash!!
As I entered the water, I saw countless rn heading toward the island or scattering eggs and sen among the nearby seaweed. The water was turning white, as if the entire sea was being consud by their frenzy.
And then...
[Grab on, quickly!]
I felt a hand reach out toward . Seizing it, I found myself being pulled along at breakneck speed, enough to make my shoulder feel like it might dislocate. She swam with all her might.
Splash!!
Mary zigzagged through the water, avoiding the charging rn as she swam toward deeper waters. But despite their appearance of having legs, the rn’s lower halves were actually just tail fins. Using their split fins, they chased after Mary, who was dragging —a heavy burden—slowing her down.
As the nearest rman closed in, I kicked at its open mouth.
Thwack!!
I guarded Mary’s rear, making sure no one could reach her. Holding my breath, I felt my consciousness fading as the seconds ticked by.
Mary frantically checked my breathing while trying to swim upward. But the surface was already swarming with rn.
‘I think it’s been over two minutes...’
I had held my breath as much as I could before diving in and minimized my movents to conserve oxygen. But I was at my limit.
My strength was draining from my body. My head was spinning, and it was becoming harder and harder to stay conscious.
‘At least... it’s better to leave behind a corpse. Thanks to Mary...’
[No, please... Wake up... Don’t die on , please!]
I could hear Mary’s desperate voice calling out to , but I couldn’t respond.
I only had enough air left to say a single word. As I looked at Mary’s tearful face, clearly distressed even underwater, I managed to utter one last thing.
‘Earlier...’
"Bub... ble..."
The last bit of air left in my lungs escaped as I blacked out.
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