Chapter 24: An Unpleasant Morning

I hauled everything into the boat. Before I hopped on, I noticed Sae. She was naked.

“Does your kind know what clothes are?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Did you bring any?”

“Are we expecting a fight?”

I sighed. Her pussy was covered by scales but if I stared enough, I could make out the cheeks and crevice.

“Okay, so clothes are for covering your private parts – meaning your tits and pussy. Armors are different.”

Sae swept her hair away with confidence, revealing her tits. It bounced delightfully.

“What’s wrong with this? And you’re naked, too.”

I looked down to my dick hanging limply. Right, I ditched my clothes during the battle. Weirdly enough, I felt comfortably warm. This island was supposed to be cold. Was it thanks to my new attributes?

Before any tempting thoughts dominate me, I searched for the spare clothes I brought. It was slightly wet, but not too much of a problem.

I tossed the extra shirt to Sae. It should be large enough to cover her body down to her crotch.

“Just wear that, okay? No questions asked.”

She sighed, but wore the shirt anyway. It hid just enough of her body.

I pushed the boat offshore and began rowing. Then I remembered I had no damn clue where I was supposed to row towards.

“How do we get to the next island now?” I asked.

“Just keep rowing, you’ll eventually reach your destination.”

“That doesn’t really help.”

She sighed. Then, she turned back into her mermaid form and jumped down. She began pushing the boat. Mermaids sure were strong.

“It’s a mermaid boat now. Good job, Sae.”

She didn’t say anything.

I sat back and let myself rest. I was exhausted and hopefully I could get at least a few hours of nap. Then I remembered about her being a mermaid. I wouldn’t want Rulof seeing her like that.

“Make sure you hop back into your serpentine form once we’re out of this island. I have a friend waiting on the next island.”

“Got it.”

***

I found myself standing inside the six-pointed star within a circle again. The sky was just as dark, and the stars twinkled in tranquility.

Whenever I stepped outside the circle, it would stop glowing and the starry night turned into an eerie foggy morning.

But stepping back inside felt like I was being watched.

“Hello?” I called out.

No response. The first that came to mind was the Prince of Lust, so I called out to her. She didn’t answer, either.

I stepped outside the circle again and called out. A surge of heat washed over my whole body. The sound of slapping waves gave life to the mist. I looked down, but I was standing on a dark, shallow, and still waters that barely submerged my whole feet. It felt cold and alive.

“What the hell is going on?”

Darkness gradually consumed the remaining light that illuminated the fog. It was coming from all directions. But this darkness felt different from the starry night inside the circle. It felt malicious and hungry, like a beast.

I rushed back to the circle. The darkness from inside here felt safe. I tried stepping out again, but the golden light erected an invisible wall that trapped me inside.

Slowly, my body turned gold. My body heat gradually increased until I felt like I was being burned alive. Even if I screamed nothing came out. It was a torturous agony, but I couldn’t do anything about it.

The heat painfully gathered behind my neck. It clung like a bug that slowly buried into my spine.

***

*Slap*

I woke up to a painful sting behind my neck. Weirdly enough I slapped it while I was sleep, thinking it was a bug. But I found no splattered insect on my palm.

“What the fuck was that?”

It didn’t take long before the pain subsided. But it sure left a hard bump that gave a dull ache when I pressed it. Probably just an acne or something.

“Bad dream?” Sae said. She was sitting across me, back in her serpentine form. “You were flapping around like a fish.”

“I’m not sure,” I said as I looked around.

The mist thinned out. Finally, the blue sea appeared, but the visibility was still shit. It was enough to make out the shallow seafloor which signaled we were close to the next island.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Half-life of a red pheshet, maybe.”

“What the hell was that supposed to mean?”

She opened her mouth, then shut it. “I’ve lived all my life underwater. You think I’d know how you landers tell time?”

Well, that made sense. I really wasn’t thinking when I asked her.

Not before long, the island finally came into view. I started rowing as soon as the mist revealed the shores.

I hopped off the boat and pushed it ashore. Then, I ran into the abandoned lighthouse.

“Rulof! It’s me, Caesar!”

Heavy footsteps descended the stairs. It was Rulof, guarding himself with an iron rod.

“Sire? ‘Yer back?”

“Yeah and before you ask, no, I’m not a ghost. We gotta leave quick.”

“Why? Is someone chasin’ us?”

“No cause I wanna sleep on a decent bed. My entire body hurts.”

I quickly towed him back to the boat. When he saw Sae in the boat, he stopped in his tracks with a gaping jaw.

“A mermaid!”

“Relax, that’s a serpentine.”

“Serpentine?”

He got closer, still armed, to examine the girl. However, the contents of the boat shocked him more. His jaw almost reached the floor.

“Depths claim me… are those blacksteel?”

Rulof nervously reached for a chunk, but I grew impatient and passed him one. It bounced between his hands as if it was a very fragile thing.

“Yeah, the real deal.”

"So many!" he said, “and there’s a lotta iron, too. Did ‘ye really reach the fort?”

“I did, now hop on so we can go home.”

After pushing the boat back into the sea, I tossed the oars to Rulof. But instead of rowing he just stared at Sae. He leaned close to me to whisper.

"I have a feelin’ she's... ‘ya know…"

"A mermaid? With that tail?"

"Maybe she can change forms? Like hide her fins or somethin’?"

"Hey Sae," I called, and she twitched hearing that name, "tell him you're not a mermaid."

It took her a whole minute before she spoke. "I am… a serpentine."

"See? She is a serpentine. Now shut up and start rowing.”

Although he was still wary, he began rowing.

Sae leaned in to whisper to me. "You’re stripping my identity!"

"It comes with the job, unfortunately. Don't worry, I'll make sure to treat you to a feast."

Sae hummed in higher pitch. I shot her a glance. The frown on her face was replaced by a curious expression.

"Are there sweets?" she said.

I looked at her confused, then whispered. "Sweets? Like sugar? Doesn't that harm you?"

"Why would it?"

I looked at Rulof, then back to Sae. Of course it was just a myth.

I searched the boat for the bag of sugar I brought with me. It was tucked by the mast. I gave the whole bag to Sae.

"Here. I hope you’re not gonna devour the whole thing."

She opened the bag and smelled the content. "This is... this…"

Her face went red just from smelling the sugar as if it was cocaine. Then, she took a pinch and sprinkled it into her mouth. Her face melted, and a wide smile ran across it.

“After so long! I finally get to taste it again!"

I turned my attention to Rulof. "You see mermaids enjoying sugar like that?"

Rulof had been watching our exchange the entire time. He just shook his head. That should wash away any mermaid suspicions.

I couldn’t fall asleep. First thing was because of the rocking boat. Weirdly enough the sea was no longer as calm as it used to. And then the mermaid – *cough* a serpentine – moaning right next to me while devouring handfuls of pure brown sugar. I felt my teeth ache from watching her.

While rowing, I answered Rulof’s questions. But I omitted the fact that Agaphonet was still alive. So I just told him the island was real and I felt like being watched, so I grabbed as much blacksteel as I could and went back. Then I found Sae along the way.

“The mermaids are prolly watchin’ ya.”

“I bet.”

For lunch, Rulof speared fish for us to eat fresh. Sae ate hers covered in sugar like a freak. I winced every time I heard crunches while she chewed on the sugar-covered fish.

“Come on, you can’t put sugar in anything!” I said.

“Why would you care? I love sugar!”

I sighed.

“Sire, how long exactly had she been marooned?”

“Long enough to lose her sanity, I guess.”

The sun was close to setting by the time we arrived. Even ashore, the people at the port were staring at us. When we got close, though, everyone’s eyes were glued on the serpentine. Then it turned towards the blacksteel when light shone on it, revealing its beautiful violet sheen.

They surrounded us, murmuring as we packed the blacksteel into sacks. Some approached to ask questions, and I had Rulof push them away.

It was my fault for telling Rulof to dock here. It completely slipped my mind because I just wanna go to bed and sleep. But my exhaustion was replaced by alertness as I watched out for any daring thief to grab even just a speck of blacksteel.

Horeln arrived quickly and he had the same reaction.

“Grace of Arlenil, the myth is true…”

“Just help us here, Horeln.”

I gave Horeln some sacks. Before I left, I paid a group of men some coins to watch the scrap metal in the boat so no one could steal it.

“Hey Horeln, about the smith…”

It was one of the tasks I gave Horeln. I didn’t have time to find one so I gave him that job.

“I found him, master! He should be waiting for us in his smithy.”

We went west-side. Because of the spreading rumors about blacksteel, people were getting in our way to ask questions. And having a shiny serpentine around us didn’t help so we had to squeeze through.

Our group hopped off the platform and went a bit away from the town. Not to far deep into the woods was a hut with a stone forge next to it. There was also a small cassava garden on the other side.

Horeln knocked at the door. A messy-looking, middle-aged human with a slightly crooked neck appeared. He examined us for a few seconds.

“What’s with the audience? I only prepared coffee for three people.”

I looked behind my shoulder. There was a crowd that followed us all the way here.

“Make two more cup,” I said.

We got inside and it was pretty warm. There was nothing to expect aside from a bunch of tools sitting on a table at the corner.

The old man, who introduced himself as Oritz, inspected a chunk of blacksteel. But my eyes darted towards the window where people packed just to watch us. They sure lacked entertainment in this island.

“The properties match with the myth. I never thought I’d see one!”

I took a sip from the cup. It was too damn sweet. Sae sure loved it.

“Make me spears and arrowheads. I’ll handle all the fee and pay you a bonus.”

He hummed, but it didn’t sound positive.

“As much as I’d love to, I don’t have the skills and necessities to forge a blacksteel.”

“What did I come here for, then?”

He groaned. “You can’t just come here with a mythical metal and expect an old smith to forge it! And have you looked at my forge? The last time I made a decent sword was a decade ago!”

Well, he was right. Fuck, my exhaustion was dampening my cognitive abilities. I sat back and let myself relax.

"Tell me everything I should do next.”

"Well, if you don't mind journeying inland, check out Vonditz. That's the closest place I could think of with skilled smiths. And if travel time doesn’t matter, go to Orwen up north, they forge alvorim."

“Master, Vonditz is about three weeks of travel. But for Orwen, it’ll take you twice.”

I’d rather deal with this as soon as possible, so Vonditz was my best option.

“Let’s go with Vonditz, then. So do I just grab some smiths there and ask them to handle the job?”

“Yeah, and a lot of other things. I’m sure they’ll tell you. If they agree, that is.”

I had Oritz list down everything I needed to do in case I forgot. After that, I didn’t have the patience to stay any longer. So we headed straight for the inn so I could sleep. Sae wanted to keep eating more so I had Horeln pay for whatever she wanna eat. But I restricted her from going to the tavern.

As soon as I got into my room, I fell on my bed and slept like a log. I woke up the next day feeling fresh. My body was a bit sore, but I’d never slept so damn good in my entire life. The first thing that came to mind was the blacksteel. So I hurried with my companions back to the smithy.

Before we could even get inside, I had a feeling something was wrong.

“Please not now,” I said as I rushed to the smith.

I kicked the door open and found Oritz sitting dejectedly. The sacks were nowhere to be seen.

“Where the fuck are my blacksteel?”

“The uh…”

I approached him and grabbed his collar.

“The mayor! He took it! You know I can’t fight back!”

I felt my blood boil. I was expecting for my day to go well. And now someone stole the very thing I almost died for acquiring. I fought a fucking god for that and I almost died, just for them to waltz in and grab everything?

“That fucking mayor…” I hissed through my teeth.

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