After leaving Tirna and her mother in the cove and returning to Ittle,
we hurriedly searched all over the town, but as we'd expected, the
woman was nowhere to be found.
But then again, if she really had clairvoyance skill of sorts, she
should have been able to foresee us come looking for her.
The possibility of finding her was low.
Unable to do anything about it, we spent the night at the inn before
going back to the cove again in the next day.
Our purpose was to meet with Seleia-san, the mermaid.
According to the old man's story, mermaids were the messengers of
god, so we figured we'd try asking her how to get to Sinus-sama's
place.
"—I see. So, you want to go to the 'Water God Shrine'."
"Water God Shrine? Is that the name of the shrine where Sinussama is residing?" Magmell asked.
"Yes, that's right," Seleia-san nodded and continued, "the Water God
Shrine is a shrine located in us mermaids' village. The goddess of
water—Sinus-sama watches over the peace of the sea every day
from there."
"In other words, you of course know where that place is, don't you?"
asked Arca.
"Certainly. It's just…"
"""""?"""""
As we tilted our heads, Seleia-san said with apologetic face, "I broke
a taboo of the village in the past, and have been exiled ever since…"
"Could that taboo be…"
When I took a glance at Tirna, Seleia-san nodded and said, "It is as
you've guessed. I fell in love with a human male and went ashore for
one night using a forbidden magic. Of course, I was immediately
taken back by the villagers, but a while after that, I realized that I was
pregnant."
"I see. And the one you gave birth to then must be that shorty over
there." Ophir pointed to Tirna with her chin.
Tirna said with a sullen face, "Don't call me shorty. Or rather, I'm
much older than you."
"Eh, for real!? Ain't you a hag, then!?"
"Don't call me hag (angry)."
I didn't know which one was better between being called shorty or
hag but, I did hear that mermaids had far longer lifespan than
humans. It wouldn't be weird even if Tirna, who had mermaid blood
running in her vein, was older than us.
But well, she seemed to be four or five years younger than me from
her outward appearance, so I couldn't help but having mixed
feelings.
"But it's so wonderful… to went so far so as to be with the man you
loved…"
And Magmell seemed to be moved for some reason, I wondered if
she was okay.
Mm yeah, let's just say she was okay.
Seleia-san had a bitter smile, though. "In any case, the villagers
couldn't forgive me for not only using the forbidden magic to go
ashore, but also for having a child with a human. Originally, I was
supposed to be executed along with Tirna, however, thanks to the
appeal Sinus-sama made after she had heard of the matter, the
punishment was changed to 'expulsion' from the village."
"Is that so… it must have been hard…" said Magmell with a sad look
on her face.
"Not at all. After all, I had this child—and my husband."
At the end of the line of sight of Seleia-san who smiled gently, there
was a tombstone, which was probably the grave of her husband.
Beautiful flowers adorned it; they must be taking care of it every day.
Even though it was only temporary, I was glad they were able to be
together as a family.
"But if that's the case, this is troubling. If Seleia-san can't take us,
then we'll have to find another mermaid," said Zana.
"Indeed. That means we're back to square one.
"Hmm." Arca fell into thought.
But then, "You don't need to," Seleia-san shook her head and said, "I
owe a debt of gratitude to you too, so I will guide you to the village."
"Eh, is that okay!?" I was surprised.
Seleia-san nodded to me with a smile, "Of course. But as I've said, I
can't enter the village, so it is only up to the entrance, however…"
"No, that's plenty enough! Thank you, Seleia-san!"
"Oh my."
As I unconsciously took her hands and thanked her, Seleia-san
seemed to have become bashful, but still she smiled happily and
said, "Fufu, it's been a long while since I had my hands held by a
man. A man's hands sure are very warm."
"Oh, I-I'm sorry!?" I let her hand go in a hurry.
Seleia-san laughed at me as though she found me funny but,
"...New father?" Tirna tilted her head.
""""!?""""
The girls were frozen with a startled expression on their faces for
some reason.