The group was taken aboard a ship pulled by a Capricorn.
Speaking of which, Mizukazu had said he was a Merman, and it seemed to be true, as he was pulling the ship along with them. If you looked closely, you could see the faint shadows of fish tails appearing and disappearing on the surface of the water. He had said that he turned into a merman when he submerged himself in water, but how did he transform?
“You really are a Merman, but where did your human legs go? Don’t tell me some evil witch changed them or something?”
“An evil witch? No, when I submerge myself in water, my legs fuse together and become fins. I don’t really understand how it works, but we Wajinryo can come ashore. Although, we can’t stand up immediately.”
Being able to live in both land and sea! It was an ability that all creatures would surely envy. But unfortunately, it seemed that their race prohibited them from coming ashore.
“Hey, do I still have to do this? Ugh, so boring.”
My daughter let out a big sigh next to me.
“Hush, this is your job…”
“Ugh, I already look terrible enough. If I keep doing this, I won’t have any friends. Seriously, I’m so uncool. I’m so sick of everyone laughing at me, calling me a lame Goat Woman.”
Her father tried to calm her, but his daughter continued to complain. Well, I couldn’t entirely blame her; she probably hated resembling a goat. They were cute creatures, but rather than cool, they conjured an image of livestock munching on grass.
“Anyway, what are you guys? Explorers? Why are there so many different races here?”
I told her the story of our adventures so far to entertain her while she was bored. At first, she looked suspicious, but gradually she started asking more questions.
“Oh, so? You were almost eaten by that Gryphon thing? That sounds fun! I want to see one too. Ah, if I had legs, I’d just get out of this place quickly.”
“I wouldn’t recommend it. You’re less likely to encounter a Gryphon at sea, at least.”
She gave me a puzzled look, but I hoped she would believe me. Once you met one, you probably wouldn’t return alive. As we were talking, an island covered in lush greenery came into view ahead.
“Look, customers, that’s Sheep Island.”
It wasn’t large, but it looked quite promising. The man guided the ship to a nearby shore. After paying the fare, I gave money to two children and a tip to Mizukazu.
“Oh, no, that’s okay. We were helped by you, after all.”
“No, I was helped by you too. Please give my regards to your grandfather.”
Mizukazu bowed deeply. It was then that the expressionless boy spoke for the first time.
“Um… silver rusts in water, you know. Can you change it to gold for me?”
Honestly, he was quite sly. I wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth, but I had no choice, so I exchanged it for gold coins. The four of them said their goodbyes and returned to the water. As they were leaving, the boy suddenly stopped and looked back a little.
“You should leave Sheep Island quickly.”
He muttered before sinking back into the sea.
