The Price the Sea Hag Demanded

The Sea Hag sat before her house, feeding a toad and a fat Water Snake—just as humans fed canaries.

Unlike mermaids, she had no beautiful fish tail. Her limbs were more human-like, making her resemble an old woman covered in wrinkles, though she had tangled seaweed-green hair and sickly sea-blue skin.

When she saw the giant Lantern Fish containing Rhine and Aurora, the Sea Hag raised her head. "Oh, two humans inside the belly of a Transparent Belly Fish, and they're still alive? What a rare sight!"

Under other circumstances, if Ariel, the Sixth Princess and the Old Grandmother's favorite mermaid, had come to see her, it would certainly have been a matter important enough for the Sea Hag to give her full attention!

But today, the sight was so bizarre that the Sea Hag even overlooked the presence of Ariel, the Mermaid Princess!

"Hello, Witch of the sea," Rhine said. "I came here to ask a question. You are a learned sage of the sea, so you must know the answer."

"Nothing in this world is free. Human, if you have heard of my rules, you should understand that even for answering a single question, I demand payment!" the Sea Hag said.

"State your question. I'll decide the price of your payment based on how valuable it is!"

Rhine smiled knowingly. "I heard that you and Black Witch Maleficent belong to the same Witch organization, and that you sometimes use magic to communicate over long distances. Do you know where Maleficent is now? Please tell me. And what other information do you know about Black Witch Maleficent or that Witch organization of yours? For instance, what weaknesses does the dragon Maleficent transforms into have, and how can she be defeated? For instance, how many members are there in your Witch Coven, who are they, and where are they? I want to know all of that! As for the price of each piece of information, name whatever you like."

What? The Sea Hag was startled by Rhine's questions. Her cloudy eyes widened at once, and she even shook her pet toad off her thigh.

"Madman! You madman!"

The Sea Hag waved her hand roughly.

"Go away, human. I can't tell you! If I reveal Black Witch Maleficent's secrets, or the secrets of our coven, Maleficent and the others will surely kill me once they find out!

"Those people are practically legendary masters of magic who have lived for who knew how many centuries. Destroying a powerful kingdom would be as easy as breathing or drinking water.

"Are you insane, human? You actually want to pry into their secrets."

Those people... What a strange way to describe them. Aren't you one of them? Do you lack any sense of belonging to that group? Are you merely a peripheral member? Rhine vaguely guessed something.

The Sea Hag's blunt refusal left Rhine feeling slightly troubled.

His original plan had been for the Sea Hag to name an unbelievably exorbitant price for that information, then have Aurora, with her extraordinary charisma, force the price down.

Yet the Sea Hag had refused the deal outright! It seems the Witch Coven Maleficent belongs to truly is unusual. It feels like some cross-continental dark villain organization, Rhine thought.

Ariel was equally shocked.

She had heard too many terrifying stories about little mermaids seeking out this Witch of the sea to fulfill their wishes. No matter how bizarre the wish, the Sea Hag could grant it—at least in the literal sense. But those whose wishes were granted always had to pay a horrifying price.

She had originally thought that the two humans were only asking a question, hardly an especially great wish, so the price the Sea Hag demanded should have been relatively bearable.

Unexpectedly, after hearing the question, the Sea Hag had been so frightened that she did not even name a price, refusing the deal outright.

This was probably the first time in Sea Country's history! "Destroying a powerful kingdom as easily as breathing or drinking water! What a terrifying group!"

Ariel grew more alarmed as she listened.

"Did these two human friends come here for such a dangerous purpose?"

Thinking of this, the Mermaid Princess became even more curious about the origins of her two human friends—what sort of identities did they have in the human world?

"Dear Sea Witch," Rhine persuaded her, "before I came here, I had heard of your rules. No matter what kind of wish it is, you can always find a way to grant it—at least partly.

"In those legends, you only ever ask for a steep price. You never refuse a deal itself."

If they could not get the Sea Hag's answer, then their lead on Black Witch Maleficent and the coven behind her would be cut off entirely! The Sea Hag fell silent and lowered her head in thought.

Taking advantage of the moment, Rhine lightly kicked Aurora on his left with his right foot, just as children often did.

Aurora immediately understood and began negotiating with the Sea Hag.

A girl with extraordinary charm was skilled at everything, whether leading troops into battle, bargaining, or persuading others! Her voice held magic in the most literal sense.

She first lavishly praised the Sea Hag's vast abilities, then expressed disappointment at the cowardice the Sea Hag was displaying now, so unlike the legends.

Only then did the Mermaid Princess beside them realize that the blonde girl, who had remained silent most of the time and only occasionally spoken a word or two, had such a beautiful voice. Every word was as lovely as a song from heaven.

Ariel had once believed that no human could ever rival a mermaid's beautiful singing voice—not even the most ordinary little mermaid in Sea Kingdom.

Only now did she reproach herself for how arrogant that former judgment had been.

"There are truly hidden talents everywhere among the humans on land! Of these two human children, one is a learned scholar, and the other has such a beautiful voice."

Ariel thought this and felt an even stronger urge to protect the two pretty, slender children.

At last, the Sea Hag was persuaded.

"Fine. I agree. I cannot break my own rules!

"Let's do this. Your request is actually two requests, so I will demand two payments! Once you pay the first payment, I'll tell you everything I know about Maleficent, including where she and her ancient castle are, the powers she possesses, and her possible weaknesses.

"If you can pay the second payment, I'll tell you the other matters concerning our Witch Coven."

Rhine was delighted and smiled.

"Please, tell us. What kind of payment must we make?"

Rhine believed Aurora had already done her best to use her natural charm to bargain, so the Sea Hag would offer a price that could barely be called fair.

"First, the first payment. The answer is a precious gift, and precious gifts require an equal exchange. Since you are asking me questions, I should ask you questions in return," the Sea Hag said.

"I'll ask you three questions. If you can give me satisfactory answers, that will count as paying the first price! I'll tell you everything about Maleficent!"

Questions in exchange for questions? That really is a common form of challenge in fairy-tale worlds, Rhine thought.

From "The King and the Little Shepherd" to "The Clever Farmer's Daughter," being able to answer difficult questions was practically standard equipment for a wise person!

"It's a quiz? That's wonderful!"

Delighted, Ariel confidently introduced Rhine to the Sea Hag. "This silver-haired human boy is an incredibly knowledgeable human scholar. I'm afraid there is hardly any question that could stump him."

At least she isn't demanding that the two children fight sea monsters or gouge out their eyes... the Mermaid Princess thought.

The Sea Hag laughed disdainfully.

"I have met many learned human scholars. Nearly all of them were white-haired old men and stubborn pedants.

"I have asked hundreds of scholars who claimed to know everything the very riddle I am about to ask you.

"No one could answer my riddle. No one could give me the answer I wanted! They all fell at the first question."

"Looks like the first question will be difficult." Rhine's expression turned grave.

The Sea Hag cleared her throat and stroked the fat sea snake.

"First comes the first question. It is a riddle. If you cannot answer even the first question, then the questions that follow are meaningless, because they all build upon it."

The Sea Hag asked her first question. "In the human world, there is a precious treasure:

"No one can see it, yet countless poems and writings praise it;

"No one can touch it, yet it can be polluted and cleansed;

"It is lighter than the wind, yet more precious than gold;

"It is softer than mist, yet endures through the years and never perishes;

"Humans on land possess it, but mermaids and other intelligent creatures of the sea do not;

"Of all the strange and extraordinary things about this precious treasure, the strangest of all is this—it is more important to the dead than to the living!

"Now, my wise friends, tell me: what exactly is this treasure?"

The Sea Hag recited the riddle as though chanting poetry.

Then she smiled.

She did not expect the two humans to give her the answer.

To solve the riddle, intelligence alone was far from enough. One also had to possess certain prior knowledge. Yet only a few wise people in Sea Country knew that knowledge. How could humans from the world above possibly know it?