These flying rare birds and magical birds, along with the Harpies, dispersed and flew away. Fuldamantha said, “These birds are all intelligent. If they detect danger, they will return to the ship to notify the owner. I used to have one, but its effect is certainly not as good as a Harpy’s.”
“Hmph…” Flame Feather let out an displeased light snort. Those released were her kin, and they had been well-trained to follow the Master’s commands perfectly. Besides, even if they were released, they couldn’t escape, as they still had collars around their necks.
“It’s not just the Harpies. If I’m not mistaken, we are heading towards Azure Reef, where Calo will hire some guides. He has always been a very cautious person,” Fuldamantha said.
“Huh? What kind of place is Azure Reef? Is it a small island?” Bail Ding asked curiously. There are many reefs in the ocean where only a small part rises above the surface. Scholars believe that such small areas are too small to be called islands, so they can only be called reefs.
“It’s not exactly a reef or a small island in our concept. Please allow me to keep it a secret for now. You’ll know soon enough,” Fuldamantha said.
Was selling such a big secret intended to maintain surprise and suspense? Older Brother Jayad and I didn’t ask further and continued to tour the cruise ship, chatting with other merchants from time to time.
Not long after, the cruise ship arrived in a sea area filled with small reefs. Years of wind and rain had left these reefs pitted and rugged, covered in barnacles and shellfish.
Such small reefs were impossible to live on, and it was impossible to sail in this sea area; the ship would run aground with so many reefs.
Looking at the reefs before me, I mused and said, “This is the so-called Azure Reef, isn’t it?”
“Yes, this is it. Calo should be coming out soon,” Fuldamantha said, looking at the sea surface. At this moment, I was already looking at the seabed.
As expected, Calo came out. He stood on the corridor at the bow of the ship, holding a large conch in his hand. Then, he blew the conch, and a melodious sound spread out, even reaching into the ocean.
The conch shell emitted a faint Azure blue light. It was a Magic Apparatus, not too powerful, its function likely just to make the sound travel farther and penetrate deeper, and it seemed to be conveying something.
But as for its meaning, if I had to translate it, it would be something like: “Hello, is anyone there?”
The melodious conch sound spread throughout the reef-filled sea area. Something was moving under the sea, and soon, a beautiful girl’s head emerged from the water.
She was very beautiful, with wavy light blue curly long hair. She held a bronze trident in her hand. She appeared to be naked, with only two seashells covering her chest. She wore sapphire pendants in her ears.
Immediately after, two or three more beautiful girls leaped out of the sea, happily jumping on the surface of the sea around the cruise ship. This time, their full figures could be seen: their upper bodies were entirely like beautiful girls, but their lower bodies were long fish tails.
“Mermaids?!” Lorna shouted in surprise. She had only heard of such beautiful and mythical creatures in fairy tales but had never seen them with her own eyes. In fact, not many people had seen mermaids with their own eyes.
Many employees crowded behind the railings, eagerly watching the mermaids. The opportunity to witness them with their own eyes was extremely rare, and they had to consider if this was the only chance in their lives.
Compared to these employees, the merchants were much calmer. Only a few people, who likely hadn’t seen them before, came out to watch. Most other merchants had probably seen them before.
“Friendly merchant, sir, you’ve come again. Are you here seeking the help of my tribe today?” the mermaid asked. Her voice was like singing.
But most people were confused. To them, the mermaid was just singing; they couldn’t hear her speaking at all. Of course, I could understand her. This seemed to be the common language of the Sea Tribe.
Calo held the conch shell to his ear and listened for a few moments before nodding. Then, he picked up the conch shell and blew into it again. The music was loud and clear, and this time, the meaning was much clearer.
“My dear merfolk allies, I seek your help on this journey.” I translated for my companions. Calo’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw that I understood the Sea Tribe language.
This conch shell turned out to be a translation Magic Apparatus. As long as it was placed by the ear, one could understand the Sea Tribe language. As long as it was blown, one could transform their thoughts into the sea folk’s songs and send them out.
The mermaid began to sing. I continued, “We are happy to help, but the current situation in the sea is chaotic, and prices have risen sharply. Hiring guides will require a higher price.”
My mouth twitched slightly as I finished translating. Listening to the mermaid say that she needed more money in such a beautiful and melodious song felt incredibly absurd.
Calo frowned as he listened to the conch shell. But he quickly brought the conch shell to his mouth and blew into it again. “I have always paid my friends in the sea ten thousand seashells per mermaid. Now, I am willing to pay twelve thousand seashells for your help.”
“Now it costs fifteen thousand per mermaid. That is the rule set by our Queen,” I translated the mermaid’s words, frowning in confusion. “Queen? Which Queen?”
“She refers to the Mermaid Queen, who is also one of the kings of otherworldly beings enfeoffed by the Iberian Empire. That’s why we call mermaids our allies in the sea,” Fuldamantha explained. So that’s how it was.
“Fifteen thousand is too much. I didn’t bring that many seashells. Can I substitute with goods of equivalent value?” Calo blew the conch shell, producing a song.
Unexpectedly, the mermaid’s song this time was filled with joy. “Of course, you can, friends from the land. Following the old custom, we want food, clothing, and metal artifacts.”
Listening to this, I felt that their attitude had changed very quickly. At this time, Calo continued blowing, “You said earlier that supplies in the sea have increased in price. Then, a substitution shouldn’t be at the original price, should it?”
Only then did I realize. If calculated at the original price, the mermaid was profiting because prices had risen. I couldn’t help but twitch my mouth again. These legendary creatures were also so realistic.
“That’s true, but we hope to get more. How about this? We will send one more sister to guide you. Previously, it was four, but now it’s five,” the mermaid sang.
If it were purely for guidance or navigation, four or five would make no difference. But since they offered more, and for the sake of future cooperation, it might be necessary to take a small loss.
“Deal.” This time, Calo didn’t use the conch shell but spoke in Latin. The mermaid also replied in slightly accented Latin, “Deal.”
