The Mermaid Queen's choice did not disappoint Pan Long.
He had never cared much about the mermaids' fighting strength. As far as he was concerned, persuading them to keep to themselves and avoid further conflict with Hamlet Town would be enough.
And the Mermaid Queen's laid-back attitude suited him perfectly.
Sure enough, when he proposed that the mermaids and Hamlet Town live in peace and perhaps begin mutually beneficial trade someday, the Mermaid Queen agreed at once.
The mermaids had little need for resources from the land, and Hamlet Town had little need for resources from the sea. There had never been any substantial conflict between them.
If the Old Count had not wanted the mermaids to gather the wealth from shipwrecks that had accumulated on the seabed over the years, the two sides would never have had anything to do with each other.
Persuading the mermaids to remain neutral had been easy from the start.
With his goal accomplished, Pan Long took his leave and returned to Hamlet Town.
Count Hamlet was thoroughly pleased with the results of his mission. He did not mind in the least that the mermaids had declined to join their united front.
As a human, Count Hamlet had both Wisdom and a sense of morality, but he was not free of certain prejudices. In his view, humans and mermaids were best off having nothing to do with one another for the rest of their lives. One belonged on shore, the other in the water; each could live in peace.
As for cooperation... better forget it. If some fanatics decided he was colluding with monsters, he would be the one paying dearly for it!
He explained his thinking in detail and won Pan Long over.
The Mermaid Queen had not been particularly keen on trading