What Are Humans?

The sight here was truly magnificent! Seagrass and strange trees with unnameable species grew across the seabed. Their branches and leaves were soft as silk, gently swaying with the currents as though they were alive. Looking up, Aurora could see brightly colored fish darting through the waters above, like birds seen flying through the sky from the ground.

"Oh, heavens, heavens, it's so beautiful!"

Aurora looked left and right, her eyes wider than they had ever been since her birth.

What she had seen in these few short seconds was more astonishing than all the beautiful sights she had witnessed in her life combined. She believed it surpassed the total splendor that nearly everyone in the Rose Kingdom would see from birth to death!

In that instant, Aurora felt a strange emotion stir within her:

If, when she had been born, her teacher had not changed the course of fate, and the witches had chosen another path for her—the path toward her destined slumber—then she certainly would never have seen such a magnificent, dreamlike sight.

At this very moment, she would surely still be locked inside a palace cast from brass.

The square patch of blue sky beyond the window and a few white clouds of different shapes would have been her entire world.

The more she thought about it, the more grateful she became that, ten years ago, the kingdom's sage had chosen another path for her.

The great fish carried Rhine and Aurora in its belly for a while longer, until they saw a palace—a magnificent structure built from coral, amber, and pearls.

"This is the first time I've seen so many beautiful, enormous pearls. Any one of them is rounder and lovelier than the pearls on Mother's hat!"

Aurora pressed her palm against the great fish's transparent belly, staring wide-eyed as she could not help exclaiming.

"That is the Sea King's palace. The gardens outside are divided into many sections, each belonging to one of the Mermaid Princesses," Rhine said. "We have arrived in the Mermaid Kingdom."

Aurora curiously studied her teacher, who had grown increasingly close to her own height.

This is our first time here too, isn't it? How do you know this place so well, like a guide revisiting familiar ground?

But Aurora quickly accepted the idea—perhaps mages were simply this knowledgeable. As a warrior, she did not need to concern herself with such matters.

It really is so much like the scenes described in books from my previous life. No, seeing it with my own eyes is even more magnificent and beautiful than words... Rhine thought.

A gigantic Lantern Fish had two humans inside its transparent belly. Such a strange sight immediately drew the attention of the nearby little Mermaids! From all directions, dozens of little Mermaids swam toward the great fish carrying Rhine and Aurora.

"This is bad. The Mermaids are coming."

Aurora warily watched the Mermaids swimming toward them from all directions and swiftly drew the sword at her waist—it was the finest sword in the Rose Kingdom, specially forged for her by master craftsmen at the request of the King and Queen.

Yet the moment the sword left its sheath, Aurora immediately realized that her action seemed rather meaningless.

"What should we do if the Mermaids attack us with magic or weapons? Inside a great fish's belly, I can't fight at all! If I tear open its belly, we'll just sink into the deep sea."

Aurora panicked as terrifying tales of Mermaid curses from the kingdom's records and folk legends echoed in her mind.

Yet in those stories, merely four or five Mermaids singing were enough to bring apocalyptic storms and destroy great ships.

And now, they were in the Mermaid Kingdom deep beneath the sea, facing dozens of Mermaids at once!

"There is no need to panic." Rhine remained perfectly composed and smiled. "In truth, Mermaids should be a relatively peaceful race. Those terrifying curses and legends are probably only misunderstandings about them."

Aurora looked doubtfully at the Silver-haired Boy beside her. Though she still felt uneasy, she chose to trust her teacher.

Before long, dozens of little Mermaids had all swum over and gathered around the large Lantern Fish, curiously examining the two people inside its belly.

Aurora was surprised to discover that, upon seeing the humans inside the transparent belly, none of the Mermaids drew weapons, cast magic, or began singing the songs from legend that could summon towering waves and storms.

These strange creatures with fish tails were actually being quite friendly! "See? I told you so," Rhine said with a smile.

The Mermaids pressed themselves against the great fish's transparent belly, peering at the two humanoid creatures within, their eyes filled with amazement and curiosity.

This made Aurora feel rather strange, as if they were animals in a circus, put on display behind glass for others to gawk at.

"Come look, everyone! This Lantern Fish has a transparent belly, and there are two humanoid creatures inside!"

"Huh? It's true!"

"These two look so ugly and terrifying! Their upper bodies look almost like ours, but everything below their waists is completely deformed! I don't even dare look twice!"

"Were the tails beneath their waists cut apart into two ugly, strange flesh pillars?"

"What do you know? Those are called legs. They are humans from the upper world! Human anatomy is just that strange."

"Humans? Are they really humans? How could humans come into the water?"

"I heard Mother say that only sailors in distress can come to palaces beneath the sea, and only as dead people. Could these two humans be dead?"

"Of course they're dead. Isn't that obvious? Look, they've both been eaten by this great fish."

"..."

The little Mermaids chattered among themselves.

This was their first time seeing a great fish carry humans into the sea! Oh no, we've attracted a crowd... And who are they calling ugly for not having tails? Tails are the ugly ones... Wait, no, no—who are they calling dead...?

Aurora wanted to argue with the Mermaids, but when the words reached her lips, she did not know where to begin.

Before Aurora could speak, Rhine naturally struck up a conversation with the Mermaids:

"Yes, we came from the upper world."