Chapter 262 There’s a Mermaid at Home (10.23)
Inside an elegant cafe on Fashion Street, XunMi was sitting and enjoying the warm sunlight.
Compared to her world where the heat of July and August caused people to be drenched in sweat, this world’s hot weather was less intense.
“Sorry, I’m late.” A gentle male voice sounded just as XunMi’s eyes were closing in drowsiness.
XunMi tilted her head and opened her watery peach-blossom eyes. She did not seem surprised at the appearance of the person in front of her.
“Your Majesty, you are finally here.” It was just a simple conversation, but the two people were well aware.
“First let me formally introduce myself. My name is Anson Nerites.”
Anson sat down opposite XunMi in the booth. This was their first formal meeting.
He also finally knew why he was confused when he heard the name Thetis. It was because they shared the same origins.[1]
Some fluctuations appeared in XunMi’s eyes. She had considered many different possibilities, but not this one.
“You are the Emperor of the Sea’s son? Who is your father?!”
She really didn’t mean to be so surprised, but she couldn’t help it. There was no such thing in her inherited memory.
It was impossible for the Emperor of the Sea to have offspring unless they used all their power to self-conceive. Once the offspring was born, it also meant that the Emperor would soon wither up and die.
Could it be that all the previous emperors had met their ends due to such circ.u.mstances?
“No, I don’t have a father. I only have a mother. My mother was a beautiful and gentle mermaid, a deep sea mermaid.”
Anson seemed to have sunk into his memories, and his countenance overflowed with tenderness that could not be ignored.
“Ever since I could remember, she had been by my side. Then she disappeared and I was sent to the palace. I became the next heir. Then there were many younger sisters that they said were all born of my mother. They also said that my mother was occupied with other matters, and that was why she couldn’t be with me.”
“I was still young at the time, so I believed their words. As I gradually grew up, I still never saw my mother.”
“My doubts continued to grow, so I stealthily followed the doctor from the Mermaid Research Inst.i.tute who had taken care of me as I grew up. I had found that he would sometimes avoid me to go somewhere in secret. That place happened to be the former Mermaid Research Inst.i.tute, which is now the Mermaid Academy. I thought that my mother had fallen ill and needed rehabilitation.”
“Since then, I have studied hard and made efforts to mature quickly. Eventually, I felt I had the ability to take care of my mother and sisters. However, at that time the people at the Mermaid Research Inst.i.tute told me that my mother had already left. Left for eternity.”
“Well, that was it then. To be born, to grow old, to get sick and die, this is a concept I can understand. After all, my education taught me to learn to let go.”
“Yet I never expected to accidentally see that kind of scene. My mother, who had already stopped breathing, was chained to the experimental platform, and all of the scales on her tail were gone. There wasn’t one place on her body that was completely intact. Her hair, which had been the most beautiful violet color, had become dry, yellow, and withered.”
As Anson spoke, his eyes were already bright red, not even trying to suppress his bitter hatred.
XunMi could understand this feeling. She thought, Perhaps the enmity between deep sea mermaids and humanity is even greater than I thought.
But it was not the entire human race, but rather just the people causing this!
“I rushed up to question them, but they told me that my mother had volunteered.”
“I didn’t believe them. Although my mother was gentle and kindhearted, I know how much she cherished her fishtail. She would never have permitted anyone to do such cruel things to her fishtail. So I used my power to go on a rampage.”
“Rising directly from S level mental strength and physique to 2S, I destroyed the laboratory.”
XunMi observed as Anson’s face displayed delight and happiness, then abruptly returned to the previous look of resentment.
“While those people were temporarily unconscious, I took my mother away. At that time, I inadvertently saw the name hanging on the bed. It was then that I learned that my mother’s last name was Nerites, but I didn’t know what it meant.”
“I just silently put it away in my mind. It wasn’t until I met you that your name and other things stimulated my memory, and I went to consult the restricted books.”
“That included the military department’s files on deep sea mermaids. That’s where I learned that Nerites originally means the sea G.o.d. And Thetis means sea G.o.ddess. You, XunMi Thetis, are this generation’s Emperor of the Sea, and also the sea G.o.ddess.”
Anson’s eyes blazed, and the cup clenched tightly in his hand began to crack.
“What do you want to say?” XunMi picked up her coffee and elegantly took a small sip.
Machine-made coffee didn’t have the same taste as that made by hand. It was somewhat astringent, and adding toffee didn’t make it much better.[2]
“I want revenge. Let’s cooperate.” Anson didn’t hide it. He wanted vengeance.
XunMi lowered her cup and raised an eyebrow. “Your Majesty, allow me to remind you. You are, at present, the crown prince of this empire. You represent the entire empire. You say you want revenge. En, give me a reason that will convince me. Also, no empress exists in my memory. Your mother may have been a deep sea mermaid, but it’s impossible that she was Emperor of the Sea.”[3]
Of course, there was one possible situation that XunMi did not say, that is, that mermaids who betrayed the deep sea would have their names eliminated.
If so, then the ident.i.ty of Anson’s mother would be even more worthy of investigation.
There was also the matter of Anson’s objective. She could believe about fifty percent, but he hadn’t spoken the entire truth.
However, he dared to invite her out, and to expose his knowledge of the deep sea mermaids and the Emperor of the Sea. This all showed he had done his homework.
Originally, XunMi had no plans to be identified so early. After being pressed down and eaten by August for one night last night, she slept until the afternoon.
Then she received a strange invitation, which referred to Thetis as the sea G.o.ddess.
XunMi immediately informed August. After receiving the reply, she came out to see who this person hiding in the dark really was.
Anson immediately exploded, “It’s impossible, my mother’s name can’t be wrong! What if I tell you that the royal family is not as strong as they seem, and they have no right to independence at all.”
He took a deep breath. Now was still not the best time. He has to wait, wait.
XunMi raised her lips into a shallow curve and narrowed her eyes, concealing the sharp light inside.
“Anson, do you think I’m stupid or that I really don’t understand anything? Are you trying to tell me the royal family only looks impressive on the outside, but is in fact controlled by the Research Inst.i.tute?”
She tapped her fingers lightly on the table, seemingly careless, as if right now they were merely discussing what to eat.
The Research Inst.i.tute… She needed to go see this place herself. It may reveal unexpected rewards.
“Huh… as expected, you are worthy to become the sea G.o.ddess of the mermaids. But right now we’re in the same boat. I didn’t lie to you. You can check it out yourself. The result will definitely be the same as what I’ve said.”
Anson admired XunMi’s clear-headedness, but he was also resentful.
Translator’s Notes
[1] Quick Greek mythology lesson: The nereids were sea nymphs that liked to hang out with Poseidon, G.o.d of the sea. There were fifty nereids (all female), one of whom was named Thetis (she was also the mother of Achilles). The nereids had one brother, named Nerites.
[2] Author… are you just trying to fulfill your word count?
[3] I don’t think Anson ever said she was; that was all just XunMi’s conclusion jumping?