Negotiation Calls for Courtesy Before Force / This Is How the Lord of the Black Lake Is Crowned

"Ma'am...?!"

Harry's face stiffened at those words. After instinctively glancing at Merkus again, he hurriedly turned his head away.

Damn it~

This merfolk leader, Merkus, who carried a weapon at all times, had six-pack abs, and even sported two long whiskers on her face...

And you were telling him she was a woman?

(P.S. The picture above showed what merfolk were supposed to look like; the one below... was what Black Lake merfolk looked like~)

Communication Required Courtesy Before Force

By the Black Lake, Harry felt as though thunder were rolling through his mind.

The merfolk leader, Merkus, was actually female?

She... well, she really was female.

After sneaking another look to confirm it, Harry finally accepted the fact.

If one looked closely, it was apparent that the merfolk leader had no Adam's apple. And the pecs Harry had instinctively assumed she had were actually...

Ahem, their shape was indeed a little too robust, so Harry had mistaken them earlier~

"You can relax. You're only a child, after all, and since we look like this, there's no need to care too much about such things."

Merkus seemed to know a fair bit about humans, so she understood exactly what Harry felt awkward about.

Though her words sounded open-minded and uninhibited, Harry still caught a faint trace of sorrow in the Voice of Magic.

But that was not what he should have been focusing on right now.

"Ms. Merkus, I came here this time because I have something I'd like to discuss with you." After the two sides had briefly introduced themselves, Harry got straight to the point. "I'd like to keep a Kelpie I'm currently caring for in the Black Lake, so I hope the merfolk community can accommodate us."

"What did you say... a Kelpie?"

Merkus's expression instantly tightened.