The perpetrator who cut the nets was a monster named Uduras.
The next morning, I woke up to the sound of waves and Mizukazu was nowhere to be seen. Had she already returned to the sea? I looked around the sandy beach and saw her picking up shells. On the quiet, modest beach, her red stood out as if it were the only splash of color.
I washed my face and decided to prepare breakfast. While I was warming up the dried meat, Mizukazu returned with her shells in a bag.
“Good morning, what are you doing?”
“I’m grilling meat. Want some if you’d like?”
I handed her a piece of meat, and she hesitantly began to eat. It seemed mermaids don’t eat much on land.
“If you have shells, I might as well go pick some up too.”
“Ah, then this way.”
She happily ran towards the sandy beach.
“They’re under this hole.”
With practiced movements, she dug a hole and took out the shells. They were a size larger than what I usually saw at the supermarket. Moreover, they came out easily, making it more rewarding than clam digging. With this many, I’m sure a delicious miso soup could be made. Come to think of it, I hadn’t had miso soup in a long time, and I suddenly missed it.
As I was about to turn around, lost in thought, I carelessly tripped over Mizukazu’s foot. I lost my balance and couldn’t recover, falling onto the sandy beach. Fortunately, it seemed I managed to avoid crushing Mizukazu at the last moment.
“Ah, you startled me. Sorry, are you okay?!”
“Y-yes… but, um…”
I put strength into my hands to get up. With a soft feel… A soft feel? What is this? Looking down, my hand had touched her groin.
“D-daaaamn! I’m sorry! It wasn’t on purpose! Really,”
“Hahaha, it’s fine. More importantly, please get up quickly.”
That’s right, I need to get off her quickly. I scrambled to my feet. I never expected something like this to happen. I was probably bright red with embarrassment.
Come to think of it, I felt a soft sensation earlier. Could it be…?
“Um, you’re a girl, right?”
“No, I’m a boy. What are you talking about? Ahaha, that’s funny. Come to think of it, I haven’t even asked for your name yet.”
I had assumed she was a girl all this time. Now that I think about it, she did have somewhat sharp features for a girl, but she was slender and her voice was high, so anyone would mistake her. Besides, those clothes clearly looked like women’s clothing.
“Ah, Arisugawa Hiroaki…”
This is the worst. To introduce myself at a time like this. I wanted to sink to the bottom of the sea.
“Ah, found you! Mizukazu, where were you?”
I looked up at an unfamiliar voice and saw someone with long hair, wearing a kimono similar to his, standing there. Was it a girl? She had blonde hair and a blue kimono. She hugged Mizukazu tightly.
“Geez, where were you? I was worried. You’re not supposed to be on land.”
“It’s okay, I’m just getting some fish.”
“No! Weird guys will flock to you, Mizukazu. Look, there’s a perverted old man right in front of you now!”
The long-haired girl glared at me as she said that. I never thought I’d be called an old man at this age. It stung more than I expected.
