Chapter 233: Western Region Coast Chronicles (1)

It was a week later that a new letter arrived from the kingdom. The letter bore the official seal of the Royal House. I frowned as I accepted it. Eve, who had trotted over to my side upon hearing the news of the letter's arrival, also openly displayed a sign of disgust when she saw the Royal House's official seal. It was because an easy task had never come from a letter sent by the royal palace.

"What is it this time?"

"Well..."

I trailed off as I opened the envelope. It was because I couldn't fathom what business they had to send a letter. It could have been a letter announcing that the Eastern Plains Region had been completely pacified, or perhaps a letter stating they had discovered important information from the executives of the Church of Love. I had decided not to expect any reward for my merit thus far.

"Isn't this another letter telling you to go somewhere?"

As Eve said, it could be a letter requiring me to go on a business trip to another place I knew nothing about. I stroked Eve's cheek and began to scan the letter. The letter started with "To Peta Lucius," as usual.

[To Peta Lucius.

Currently, entire cities are dying out due to the mermaid attacks in the Western Coastal Area. The mermaids are attacking everything floating on the sea, from fishing boats to warships, and half of the sea in the Western Coastal Region is now filled with corpses, while the other half is bloody fluid. Pieces of human flesh frequently wash up on the beach, and the pier is plagued by the smell of rotting corpses and plague, so there is no method to resolve this.

It is impossible to kill all the mermaids with the capacity of humans, and it is also impossible to abandon all the cities in the coastal area. Thus, we wish to delegate this matter to Peta Lucius, who established great merit in eliminating the beastfolk in the Eastern Plains Region.

You, Peta Lucius, have previously taken a mermaid as a wife, and we have heard that you have a hobby of periodically having sexual intercourse with beautiful female mermaids. Based on that skillful sociability, go to the Western Coastal Region and promote reconciliation between mermaids and humans.]

Eve read the king's words fluently by my side and then spoke with a frown.

"What is he talking about?"

"He's telling me to go to the Western Coastal Region and make the mermaids and humans reconcile."

"That won't work. He's spouting this unconvincing bullshit that will fall on deaf ears because he doesn't know the actual situation. Reconcile the Western Coastal Region and the mermaids? Doesn't he know that sailors try to kill mermaids by any means the moment they see them because they're worth money? Fuck, do you think those kids who have lived their whole lives being struck by harpoons will just believe it and reconcile if you say, 'Let's make peace!'?"

Eve coldly shook her head. I couldn't help but frown as well. The mermaids were running rampant in the Western Coastal Region, so I was supposed to make them reconcile? It would have been great for me if mermaids and humans got along well, but this was an impossible mission. I couldn't speak for the grudge of the mermaids who had suffered slaughter for many long years, nor was I in a position to soothe the shattered public sentiment of the Western Coastal Region.

"I know. But there really isn't any other method."

However, that didn't mean there was another method. It might have been different if it were freshwater like rivers or lakes, but killing all the mermaids living in the sea would consume an immense cost. Mermaids were overwhelmingly strong in the sea, and a human's movement is restricted the moment they fall into the water.

"Then are you really going? Husband. If you go, you'll be met with swears from the mermaids and insults from the people there too."

Even for a mage, there was no method to cast magic on mermaids unless they lifted the seawater entirely, and the ferocious mermaids could destroy a ship just by resolving to ram it with their bodies. If they were to recklessly send the hero to sweep them all away, they must have also been conscious of my feelings, being a mermaid lover.

I shook my head at Eve's attempt to dissuade me.

"Still, if I don't go, all the mermaids will probably die."

This was a proposal the king brought up for show, being mindful of my reaction. He had made a preemptive move to prevent me from lodging a complaint or holding bad feelings toward the royal palace over this matter. If I accepted this and went, and failed to reconcile the mermaids and humans, the royal palace would act as if it were unavoidable and pour their all-out effort into crushing the mermaids.

Eradicating the mermaids was impossible, but reducing their population to the point where they could no longer attack the Western Coastal Region was entirely possible as long as they invested the time and money. Rather than to sit idly by and have all the mermaids killed, it was better for me to go there personally and at least try talking to them. Of course, whether this issue had been discussed with the lords of the Western Coastal Region was another matter.

"Do you want to go too?"

I asked Eve.

"What?"

Eve narrowed her eyes and looked at me as if it were absurd. It must have been an incomprehensible proposal for her as well. One of the reasons I hadn't taken Eve to the Northern Region right away was because people's perception of mermaids was hitting rock bottom. Yet I was asking her to go to the Western Coastal Region, where public opinion toward mermaids was the worst? To Eve, it was clear that there could be no proposal more unreasonable than this.

"No, even if you don't go all the way to the Western Coastal Region. I still have to go over there at least once."

The three dungeons marked on the dungeon map that Ati had given me. Excluding Ahildern, the two remaining dungeons were located in a Dwarf Dungeon and the Western Coastal Region, respectively. I planned to clear that dungeon in the Western Coastal Region at this opportunity. When I explained the whole story, Eve spoke in a worried tone.

"Will you be okay? Destroying a dungeon and fighting the mermaids too? What if something terrible happens from overworking yourself like that?"

"What could possibly be in the dungeon? Even if there is, we're invincible if you and I go together. You know that, right?"

"Still. That'll be hard on you."

I waved my hand dismissively once more at Eve's concern. In any case, I only planned to attempt the mermaid persuasion case for now, and if it seemed truly impossible, I had no intention of overdoing it. It was a pity that mermaids were dying, but I wasn't going to sacrifice my life to save them. Leaving Eve's worries behind, I summoned Sieri for the handover. I planned to leave Elsi behind just in case of an unforeseen situation.

"So Ms. Eve is going together with you."

Sieri looked somewhat displeased for some reason. I said to Sieri.

"Sieri. Do you want to go too?"

"...Yes."

Sieri nodded her head while avoiding my eyes. I, who hadn't expected her to answer this honestly, couldn't help but be flustered instead. I held Sieri's hand and spoke.

"Sieri. I understand you want to go together with me, but you cannot come. You know the reason well, right?"

"Is it because I'm weak?"

Sieri's self-deprecation knew no bounds. I shook my head and firmly massaged Sieri's hands. Sieri's hands were like a baby's, possessing a profound charm the more I kneaded them. Feeling the sensation her hands provided, I spoke.

"No. We're not going together because you're precious to me, Sieri."

"Ah, well..."

Sieri was startled and stammered. I could see her face turning red. She was weak to sudden straight talk like this. Since she was stammering with a flushed face, I poked her side.

"Kyaa!"

Sieri jumped in surprise and threw the documents she was holding. I snatched all the documents flying through the air and handed them back to Sieri. Sieri stared at the action in amazement, as if it were some circus acrobatics. I said to Sieri.

"Sieri. Do I look so weak that I couldn't even protect you?"

"No. It's not that, but..."

"Men all want to become shade. The shade of a large, lush giant tree. It firmly embraces people even in the scorching sunlight and the raging wind and rain. In that way, I protect and love the people who trust me."

I pulled Sieri into a hug and added.

"Sieri. If you don't rely on me, who am I supposed to be the shade for?"

"Ah, well... I mean..."

Seeing Sieri acting shy, strength returned to my lower body again. I stopped the handover and locked the door to the office. Young Lady Rosalyn Yuba had now moved to the mansion in the Delmon Territory, so there were no obstacles. I stood up from the office desk and approached Sieri. Sieri nodded at my eye signal and knelt before me.

She opened her small mouth and grabbed my pillar. I pulled down my pants and held Sieri's head. Due to the brightly burning light of the lamp, a shadow was cast over Sieri's body. I was now the giant tree. The giant tree that protected and embraced Sieri. Sieri opened her mouth to swallow the root of that giant tree and bobbed her head.

****

After a round of fellatio ended, Sieri wiped her mouth and stood up from her spot. We quickly finished the handover, and Sieri slightly lifted her skirt, looking forward to the night. I massaged her buttocks and kissed her. After doing so, I left the office to prepare my farewells to the others.

The first target I would bring this up to was Cellu. It was because the mermaid issue on the western coast was a very major issue for Cellu. When I went to find her, Cellu was leisurely spending her time swimming in the swimming pool again today.

"Cellu."

She quickly formed a smile when I called her name, then powerfully swung her tail and swam toward me. I could feel her gladness from the way the water current violently swayed. She swam right up to me and asked.

"What's the matter?"

"Cellu. I'm going to be going on a business trip this time."

"Again? It's only been a month since you got back."

"It cannot be helped. As you know, Cellu, I am extremely competent."

"Snicker. I like that shamelessness."

"It's not being shameless, it's a fact. Haven't you heard the saying? The era envies those with talent. Because the world envies me, it continuously hands down trials."

"I don't know such difficult words. So where are you going this time?"

"To the western coast."

At that moment, Cellu's facial expression coldly stiffened. I felt as if the water in the swimming pool had completely frozen over. Cellu also knew that the mermaids were destroying cities in the Western Coastal Region. She also knew the fact that the government was suffering a headache because of it. Seeing her facial expression, I realized my slip-up and added an explanation.

"Don't misunderstand, Cellu. I'm not going to kill the mermaids, I'm going to urge reconciliation. A reconciliation between humans and mermaids. You know what I mean, right?"

Cellu was still looking at me with an expressionless face. She slightly tilted her head to look me up and down before opening her mouth.

"Me too."

"Pardon?"

"I want to go too. It's about persuading the mermaids, isn't it? It will be much more helpful if I go. Let's go together."

Cellu's voice had sunk heavily, making her sound somewhat anxious.