Mermaid King Poseidon XIII.
He is the king and chieftain leading the few remaining merfolk on this continent.
...This man, currently in the parlor of the lord's mansion, occupying a portable bathtub, is receiving a hair arrangement from Aider.
The once disheveled blue hair is quickly being braided into stylish dreadlocks.
Just like when he did it for Nameless before, this director guy, why is he such a pro at trimming hair?
Seeing his reflection in the water, the Mermaid King, apparently very pleased, burst into a wide smile and gave a thumbs-up. Aider too, laughing merrily, returned the gesture.
'Is the thumbs-up gesture universal?'
The Mermaid King continued to pour out words in sign language, and Serenade translated them by his side.
From what I gathered...
After the racial war, most merfolk left this continent for new lands or deep-sea territories.
However, some who couldn't abandon their long-time home remained. King Poseidon XIII was their leader.
They were drifting along the ocean currents across the continent, and happened to be staying in the southern sea at the time.
Then, the gate of the 'Stormy Sea' suddenly opened in the southern sea, sucking in numerous marine creatures. Trying to forcefully close this gate, the Mermaid King was swept away by it.
Glancing at the Mermaid King's fluttering tail fin, I thought to myself.
'One of the pieces of the Fallen King plan just rolled in so easily.'
The Fallen King plan, or the Foreign Legion nurturing method.
A dream team recruitment strategy that mainly enlists wandering mercenaries with tags like 'king', 'chieftain', or 'monarch'.
If these 'Fallen Kings' can be assimilated into one organization, in game data terms, it becomes the strongest army. Theoretically, that is.
Of course, the hero parties of fallen kings are powerful in data terms. After all, they were the ones leading a country's forces until the end.
Moreover, the fallen kings lead their respective remaining forces. If their armies can be incorporated, it would rapidly increase in size.
...But integrating them into one army is another issue.
'Now that Fernandez has won the imperial succession battle, we also need to increase our power.'
Although it's still unclear, it's almost certain that Fernandez will be hostile towards us.
Having ended my half-year of wandering and returned, I must now accelerate this plan.
A fish... no, a Mermaid King has fallen into my lap like this.
'I must definitely grill and boil it!'
...Not in the culinary sense, but in a persuasive sense!
"I will take responsibility for transporting you to the southern sea. You need not worry."
As soon as the airship Geronimo is repaired, I decided to take him to the southern sea.
The airship only needs minor maintenance, and the southern sea isn't far via flight route, so it won't take long to return him to his sea.
I cautiously suggested to him, bowing his head in gratitude.
"How about it, King Poseidon. There's a banquet tonight, why not attend and grace the occasion?"
Upon my suggestion, King Poseidon readily nodded.
"A banquet! An offer a king cannot refuse. I will gladly attend."
Serenade, who took on the role of a temporary interpreter, relayed his words in a thick tone and then, caught by my staring, hurriedly turned away in embarrassment.
"...That's what he said..."
Her voice trailed off. No, it's fun, keep going like that.
'Things are going well.'
I grinned to myself.
Maybe it's time to kick start the Fallen King plan!
***
The defense battle had ended and not even half a day had passed before the citizens who had fled for refuge began to return.
As evening approached, the city was slowly regaining its vitality.
The returned citizens rejoiced at the successful defense, and were also astonished to hear of my return.
"Since that's the case, everyone come and take some fish! Let's have a seafood party tonight!"
Piles of fish, reclaimed, were stacked like mountains.
Although the magicians had applied cold magic to make preservation somewhat easier, they still needed to be consumed quickly. Otherwise, handling them would become increasingly difficult over time.
Not just chefs but also cooks and the returning citizens dove into the mountain of fish, preparing dishes for tonight's banquet.
And now, here I am, standing in front of the fish...
"Senior! What about sashimi?! Sashimi! Please give me sashimi!"
Lord's mansion. Kitchen.
Evangeline is pestering me fiercely right beside me. This kid, she must have been really looking forward to it since I mentioned sashimi...
But now, I've come to realize something.
Squish!
...I have no talent for actual knife work.
And obviously, I've never learned how to prepare sashimi. I thought it would be enough to just thinly slice the fish flesh, filleted...
From basic preparations like removing innards, to skillfully separating flesh from bones without ruining it... I have no experience at all! I've never even gone fishing in my life!
Eventually, my first attempt at preparing sashimi ended in utter failure. A poor fish was brutally mutilated, nothing more.
"..."
Evangeline's gaze beside me is becoming increasingly suspicious.
Damn it, this won't do! I have a culinary obligation to pass on the taste of sashimi to my junior!
I gave up on using the knife directly and instead took out my staff [Maestro], summoning a magical blade. At least I'm more confident in controlling this!
"Haap!"
Crack!
But the magical blade, once swung, split both the chopping board and table in half. Kyaaaak!
"...Senior, by any chance."
With an even more suspicious look, Evangeline asked.
"Is the toast you made before the only thing you know how to cook?"
"No, no! That's not it! Are you doubting me now?!"
I can cook ramen quite well! Fried rice too! And I'm confident in kimchi stew! They're just things I can't make in this world!
In the end, I gave up on direct knife work. I decided to switch to assistance cooking mode.
So, I shouted.
"Lucas! Help me out!"
"Just leave it to me, my lord."
Lucas, who was standing by, rolled up his sleeves and walked up to me.
Lucas drew the [Bestowed Sword] from his waist, forged a knife out of light, and then-
"Haap!"
Boom!
The blade of light hit the chopping board and exploded, reducing the new fish to dust without leaving a trace.
Lucas furrowed his brow looking at the blade of light in his hand.
"...Hmm. Cooking is difficult."
"Don't destroy it! Just slice the fish!"
Could it be that [Strike of Will] is automatically activated when he swings his sword?!
After Lucas put away the [Bestowed Sword] and took another kitchen knife, the result was much the same.
With each strike, the fish was obliterated without a trace.
After turning the fifth fish into mush, Lucas murmured with a serious face.
"I guess I'm not talented in cooking...?"
"It's okay. At least you have a definite talent for destruction with a sword."
"Out of the way! Step aside! Let me try."
Evangeline pushed us aside and rolled up her sleeves.
And a moment later.
Boom-!
"Aaaack!"
"Kyaaa!"
We three narrowly escaped from the exploding kitchen.
Evangeline, who had boldly stepped forward, hesitated to put the knife into the fish, her hand trembling. When she finally brought the knife down awkwardly,
The misaligned scales flew up.
Panicked by the scales flying towards her face, Evangeline jumped back.
And just like that, [Unstoppable] was activated. She crashed into the stove and hearth with the momentum of her leap, destroying everything-
Boom!
The entire kitchen was engulfed in an explosion and collapse...
Staring dumbfounded at the wrecked kitchen, I couldn't help but scream.
"How the hell does cooking end up like this?! You catastrophic culinary beginners!"
"Se, Senior! You're hardly one to talk! All confident about sashimi, and look what happened!"
"...To think the lord's mansion, which even monsters couldn't destroy, has come to this by our hands..."
We hurriedly put out the fire and sorted out the situation, and I felt a wave of exhaustion hit me.
What good is a mountain of fish if we can't even properly slice one piece of sashimi, and all we have are complete novices...
That's when Mermaid King Poseidon, half submerged in his portable bathtub, came towards us, having heard the commotion outside.
"..."
He looked over the chaos in the kitchen and our disheveled state, then extended his hand and motioned to me.
I was holding a kitchen knife, dumbfounded, and handed it to him.
"Huh? Should I give you the knife...?"
Nodding, he took it.
Mermaid King Poseidon, with the knife in hand, skillfully sliced sashimi from a fish he picked out from a basket in the corner of what used to be the kitchen.
In no time, the bones were removed, the innards were cleared, and only the flesh remained on the cutting board.
We all stood in awe, for different reasons, watching his waste-free knife skills.
"...Do mermaids eat fish?"
"...Isn't that like cannibalism?"
"Well, fish eat fish, so..."
Anyway, in front of us, Mermaid King Poseidon suddenly presented a plate of neatly sliced sashimi and nodded.
I quickly grabbed a surviving fork and speared a piece of sashimi, popping it into my mouth.
"...!"
Wow, this is freaking delicious...!
Even without soy sauce or wasabi. The tangy taste of the fresh sashimi moved me to tears. This is it! This is the stuff! So damn tasty!
"...Are we really eating it raw?"
But Evangeline and Lucas looked at me as if I was bizarre.
In this world, where eating things raw is almost unheard of, they saw me as someone with strange eating habits.
No, hey! Really, if there was soy sauce, wasabi, or even ssamjang here, you guys would be blown away! Go get some soju!
On the contrary, Mermaid King Poseidon seemed impressed by me gobbling down the raw fish.
He gave me a thumbs-up, and I returned the gesture. Sashimi is the best!
Since Lucas and Evangeline still seemed hesitant to try, I rummaged through the half-destroyed kitchen for lemon juice, vinegar, and olive oil, and lightly seasoned the sashimi.
After hesitantly trying the sashimi, their expressions changed slightly.
"Ho... Definitely."
"The texture is interesting. Oh, it has an addictive taste..."
"Right? Right? Told you sashimi is delicious! Eat more, you guys!"
But they shook their heads and backed off.
"I'm sorry, my lord. This is as far as I go..."
"I prefer it well-cooked. Or maybe steamed..."
"Hey! Where are you going, hey! Do you think you'll get to eat sashimi this often?! Hey! Don't go!"
The two knights declared, 'We'll go wreak havoc at the victory banquet' and hurried off towards the central plaza.
You bastards! Ah, damn it! If I just had soy sauce and ssamjang, I could have made you all fall in love with this!
"Why can't you appreciate this deliciousness... *sob*..."
A hand landed on my shoulder as I sniffled.
Turning around, it was Mermaid King Poseidon. He had already prepared another fish entirely into sashimi.
Sparkle!
He showed a smile, revealing his pearly white teeth, and gave a thumbs-up with his other hand.
I was moved.
"Mermaid King...!"
I hurriedly grabbed a bottle of alcohol and a glass from the nearby cabinet.
"Fine! Let's forget those who don't know the real taste of fish! Let's have our own feast, Mermaid King Poseidon!"
Leaving behind the half-destroyed kitchen, we went back to the parlor.
And there, we had a grand time, sharing drinks and enjoying the sashimi.
Although we couldn't speak the same language, who cares when there are delicious drinks and snacks? We communicated through gestures and enjoyed our drinks.
Haha, good. I feel like I'm getting along with this man...
This should smoothly progress the Fallen King plan...
***
"...Huh?"
How much did I drink?
Feeling good from the sashimi I hadn't had in a long time, I kept drinking and must have lost consciousness.
I raised my heavy head, groaning. I should've drunk moderately.
And then.
"...?"
I finally noticed the kitchen knife touching my neck.
Chills ran down my spine from its cold touch. I slowly looked forward.
"Our race lost our homeland because of the Everblack Empire."
The man sitting in front of me.
The man pointing a knife at me.
Mermaid King Poseidon was slowly speaking.
"My father, mother, and siblings lost their lives to the soldiers of the Everblack Empire."
I heard mermaids communicate through sign language instead of vocalization, but his spoken language was very fluent.
Was his earlier clumsy appearance... all an act?
Swallowing dryly, I looked around. But there was no one, not even the servants. Perhaps they all went to the central square for the banquet night?
With his eyes shining like deep blue sapphires, Mermaid King Poseidon XIII gazed intently at me.
"So I ask you, Prince Ash."
He had been waiting for this opportunity.
For a moment when we were alone.
"Why should I, who lost everything to the Everblack Empire, spare your life?"
While threatening me with the knife in one hand, he held a half-empty bottle of alcohol in the other, taking occasional sips.
The friendly smile he had shown all this time seemed like a lie. Mermaid King Poseidon glared at me with a cold, hardened face.
"Convince me before this bottle runs out, Prince Ash."
That's when I remembered.
There is one very big problem with the Fallen King plan.
All the fallen kings are notoriously bad-tempered, unwilling to be under anyone, and crucially...
...Most have a grudge against the empire.