Gion sat on the beach at Mermaid Bay, hugging her knees.
In the sea before her, beautiful mermaid ladies laughed as they splashed and played.
She had long known about this place and had even been here before, but now that she had come with a calmer mindset, she still found it astonishing.
What a beautiful place. What beautiful mermaids.
There was even a sea at the bottom of the deep ocean, complete with sunlight, white clouds, and sandy beaches. It was truly wondrous.
It had already been several days since she had arrived at Fish-Man Island with that transport convoy. Back when her injuries had only just begun to heal, Gion had declined the fishmen's request to accompany her.
Although she was grateful to them and no longer held any hostility toward them, Gion felt that her tastes had not yet shifted toward fishmen. Their fervent gazes were honestly a little too much for her.
Over the past few days, Gion had traveled around Fish-Man Island like an ordinary tourist.
Whenever she ran out of money, she tried taking on odd jobs. With economic development and accelerating urbanization, such work was not uncommon on Fish-Man Island.
Although she had no identification, making up an excuse about being an outsider was enough to fool people.
And so, Gion worked while traveling around Fish-Man Island.
She visited many places: Fish-Man Island's most famous tourist attractions, its bustling commercial districts, and even its utterly ordinary residential neighborhoods.
She measured the island with her own two feet.
Once she stopped looking at the city with hostile eyes, the prejudice that had clouded her vision vanished, and Fish-Man Island's beauty was finally laid fully before her.
Prosperous, inclusive, wealthy, secure—if this were not a nation led by fishmen and mermaids, and if its leader