It had been half a day since Shia had followed the mermaids to the Deep Sea Palace.
“Then are you sure there are no real issues?”
“Don’t worry, Mother. As you can see, Shia is just having a normal, fun time, right?”
At those words, Yoonjeong continued to watch Shia’s image broadcasting live.
Dressed as a mermaid, Shia looked quite seductive even to Yoonjeong. Thanks to Shia’s bright and saintly aura, the viewers shifted their focus away from Shia’s appearance to the endless, chaotic colors of the deep sea surrounding the mermaids, often resembling innocent children.
Perhaps they had become somewhat immune to Shia’s Seongnyeok pouch and broadcasts. After all, no matter how beautiful and pretty Shia was, it wouldn’t be strange if she brought chaos in five seconds, so viewers and even the malicious ones might have adapted to Shia’s broadcasts in their own ways.
“Shia also asked me to tell you that she’s really sorry for not saying goodbye in advance.”
“Actually, I shouldn’t be worried about her…”
“I understand perfectly well that, as a mother, you would naturally be concerned. Please relax and enjoy your summer here.”
“Hmm, I got it. It’s strange to interfere with a grown child all the time… I guess I should go check on Yane.”
With that, Yoonjeong moved to comfort Yane, who was wagging her tail while watching TV from a distance.
Whether it was from the sadness of the mermaid leaving or not, Yane was still sitting on the sofa, occasionally sobbing while watching TV.
Menelapie, who had reassured Yoonjeong, headed towards Yeonhwa in the next room.
Upon opening the door, Menelapie saw Yeonhwa surrounded by holograms of various Hunter Drones, examining pieces of data.
“Did you have any harvest?”
“Oh, Menelapie.”
At Menelapie’s question, Yeonhwa shifted her gaze from the database.
Even though Shia teased her daily, she was an S-grade Hunter and the young lady of the Yeon Family.
With enough prowess and experience as a Hunter, Yeonhwa, who was known as an elite since her academy days, was the first to realize the peculiarity of the sea dungeon Shia was heading to.
“The content taught in the academy about mermaids is only that they are F-grade monsters with low risk and cannot communicate due to their lack of intelligence. That was all.”
“Right, that’s what you told Shia.”
Among Hunters who graduated from the academy, many people couldn’t remember information about mermaids, and few actual Hunters had seen one.
Well, that could happen.
There are many F-grade monsters that are rare.
However, what troubled Yeonhwa was the condition of the mermaids.
“Menelapie, do you know the most definitive criteria for being classified as a monster?”
“A definitive criterion? There may be various ones, but… I think it’s whether they pose a threat to humans.”
“You’re spot on. The most basic criterion for being a monster is whether it has hostility towards humans.”
An F-grade goblin has at most the strength of a five-year-old human and can be easily hunted by anyone, even a regular person, if they try.
Another F-grade monster, the insect hunting soldier, is so weak that it can be killed with a single hit by an adult man.
However, they all have a human-like form.
They appear to have some intelligence, though weak… but they harbor absolute hostility towards humans.
“The classification as a monster is determined not by reason or intelligence but by unconditional hostility towards humans.”
“Otherwise, elves and dwarves, who have made various treaties with humans, and transformed beings and mutations living amongst humans as Hunters could also be classified as monsters.”
“Exactly. So all monsters have absolute hostility towards humans, and the higher their strength and intelligence, the more dangerous they are to humans. The Doppleganger is a prime example, just like the Shiplani monster that Shia ate recently.”
Yeonhwa let out a slight sigh and looked back at Shia’s broadcast.
“However, the mermaids in the current broadcast of my older sister seem a bit… no, very strange.”
Upon hearing the word ‘strange,’ Menelapie looked over at the broadcast displayed by the drone.
On the screen, Shia could be seen catching a massive salmon and tearing it apart with the mermaids.
If a viewer happened to tune in without understanding the context, they might mistakenly think that Shia didn’t enter a mermaid dungeon but was showing the mundane and happy lives of those who were originally mermaids.
And Menelapie quickly realized what Yeonhwa meant by ‘strange.’
“The mermaids don’t show any hostility towards Shia at all.”
Of course, it wasn’t all the mermaids. Some mermaids couldn’t approach Shia easily and displayed minimal caution upon seeing a stranger.
However, inherently, they didn’t feel the typical hostility and hatred towards humans that were characteristic of monsters like goblins or werewolves.
This was something that not only Menelapie but also the ordinary viewers watching the broadcast could easily perceive.
“That’s right. Those mermaids have no hostility towards my older sister Shia. They are just like us.”
“Is it possible they accepted Shia, who transformed into a mermaid, as one of their own?”
“Maybe so. But I saw my sister transform in front of the mermaids. No, before that, the mermaids were… kissing my sister…”
Dramatic music plays
“W-What did you just say?”
Boom!!
Silence…
In an instant, a massive aura overwhelming the room left Yeonhwa dazed.
Menelapie likely hadn’t meant to do so, but in moments related to Shia, her inhibitions seemed to slip for a second.
Quickly using her mana to resist and shaking her head, Yeonhwa gathered her wits. Menelapie soon realized what she had done and sealed her aura.
“…Ahem, I apologize.”
“Thank goodness you realized quickly. Anyway, what you think is not what… The mermaids were trying to give air bubbles to my older sister because they were worried she couldn’t breathe.”
Menelapie’s face turned a little red from the brief misunderstanding.
“Right, then to summarize… If there’s no hostility and the mermaids are passing (gulp)… air bubbles to Shia through their mouths, it means there’s a concern and goodwill present. And, those feelings of concern and goodwill can only be possessed by creatures with a certain level of intelligence. At the very least, they should possess the intelligence of a child, and we should also consider the possibility of a small society existing.”
“That makes sense. If the mermaids were the kind of monsters we know, they would have attacked the moment they saw Shia.”
Of course, considering the massive variety of monsters discovered in 2088, it could be hard to make a definitive conclusion, but there was clearly something about the mermaids that deviated from the typical monster.
“What we can think of is… that.”
“What?”
“That the government intentionally classified mermaids as monsters.”
“The government? No way.”
Despite her appearance, Yeonhwa was the young lady of the Yeon Family, a family of heroes; thus, she frowned when Menelapie openly criticized the Korean government.
However, seeing Yeonhwa’s expression, Menelapie smirked and raised her lips.
“Think about it. Mermaids are not humans. They come from another world through dungeons where the gates opened, and their intelligence maxes out at the level of a baby. They don’t possess great strength.”
Though Yeonhwa seemed resilient, Menelapie found her to still be a bit childlike in her thoughts from her perspective.
“Humans have a tendency to create those weaker than themselves. Regardless of race, disability, ability, appearance, culture, or language. So wouldn’t it be easy to label those weak mermaids as monsters?”
“That’s quite extreme, Menelapie. Individuals with hatred for non-humans or differing races may dislike mermaids due to preference or ideology, but labeling them as monsters is the job of a governing institution. Such an official body would not arbitrarily label mermaids as monsters without reason.”
She wasn’t wrong.
It’s not like a classroom is where bullying is formed. A government body wouldn’t make such a trivial label without any legitimate reason.
“Moreover, if they label a being so similar to a human as a monster and hunt it down, just imagine how citizens and public opinion would react! The government cannot arbitrarily label something as a monster. It’s determined through committees that include Hunters, experts, and researchers with solid justifications.”
“You’ve made a good point.”
“Eh?”
“Let’s think about it the other way. If the government or Hunter Association were to classify a non-hostile race, that resembles humans, as a monster, would there be a reason?”
“Why would that…?”
“If there were byproducts obtainable only from mermaids, or resources from the dungeon they inhabit…”
“………”
Yeonhwa sealed her lips in response to Menelapie’s statement.
There was no need to even go far.
A byproduct.
Or resources.
Upon hearing that, Yeonhwa instinctively accepted Menelapie’s reasoning.
“Perhaps during the process of classifying mermaids as monsters, someone with a hatred for non-humans intervened… But, every action has a reason. Non-hostile mermaids cannot arbitrarily be labeled as monsters.”
If it pertains to money or resources, the rationale becomes even clearer. Adding that remark, Menelapie shrugged her shoulders.
Even as an emperor, she hadn’t always engaged in only virtuous actions.
“Of course, what I stated is merely a hypothesis without sufficient evidence.”
“…It exists.”
“What?”
“Since the Great Rift opened, strategic resources known as the ‘Simhaeui Kkot’ have been occasionally discovered in the sea. They are incredibly hard to obtain and efficient as a power source. If there’s a lot of ‘Simhaeui Kkot’ resources in the mermaids’ dungeon, it might make some sense.”
The term strategic resource is usually sufficient reason for government intervention.
However, even after hearing Yeonhwa’s words, Menelapie tilted her head as if sensing something odd.
It might seem plausible that there’s a strategic resource worth labeling mermaids as monsters to obtain, but if there isn’t any particular reason, would there still be a necessity to classify mermaids as monsters just to obtain the ‘Simhaeui Kkot’?
‘If the intention was merely to acquire strategic resources, there’d be no need to create them as monsters to kill. Since they’re generally harmless to humans, they could easily just harvest the strategic resources dwelling in the dungeon. If that’s the case, then the motivation for classifying them as monsters might not stem from the ‘Simhaeui Kkot’ but something else altogether…’
The information was too insufficient at the moment.
“It’s gotten quite late. It’s already dinner time, so I should whip something up.”
“You can cook too? I thought you were an emperor!”
“When we went outside and slept, I had to take care of her meals.”
“Then I won’t refuse.”
“Why don’t you take a break for a while?”
“Just a bit longer to observe.”
Well, even with information, there wasn’t much to do at this point for either Menelapie or Yeonhwa.
Of course, if the situation worsened, they would pierce into the dimensional rift and head towards the place where Shia is. But because Shia trusts Menelapie as much as a Hero trusts the Mangja Seongnyeo.
Who else would believe in Shia if not someone like Menelapie, who had witnessed the demon lord’s downfall with her own eyes?
After all, it was Shia who directly went to the front lines asking for help.
‘Since Shia went herself as a saint… I have no doubt she’ll manage well on her own.’
Of course, like any mom, Menelapie wanted to dash right to Shia but knew that Shia would ultimately return to her.
She always acted as a saint and achieved the best results as one.
She had no doubt it would be the same this time.
If the situation turned dire, Shia would summon Menelapie to her side using the miracle of [Hero Summoning] anytime.
Right now, what Menelapie could do was watch Shia’s broadcasts from here, wishing for her safe return, while confirming whether the mermaids were truly monsters.
*
As Menelapie left to prepare some snacks, Yeonhwa snapped her fingers to summon the drone.
At that, a holographic document resembling a piece of paper emerged, displaying an official document titled [Order for the Annihilation of the Mermaid Tribe].
“…..”
It was the government’s order sent to Shia.
At the top, it bore the Hunter Association’s seal, and below were names and signatures of officials Yoonjeong also recognized.
Usually, government orders directed at Hunters come in forms of direct or indirect requests, but an order like this plays like a summons directed at soldiers, bearing a sense of compulsory authority.
Refusal could lead to fines or potential legal disputes depending on the circumstances.
Naturally, since it held legal force, the government usually didn’t send such order lightly.
“Ha, but I never expected a document telling my sister to kill mermaids would be sent to her. If it’s an official document, it could be sent through me as her legal representative. But to directly smack it in my sister’s personal drone? Who the hell sent this?”
The fact the government sent Shia a mandatory document was quite irritating, but it was a bizarre coincidence.
Since Shia was heading to the mermaids’ dungeon without a clue, she wouldn’t be obliged to kill the mermaids.
Without hesitation, Yeonhwa deleted the government-issued [Order for the Annihilation of the Mermaid Tribe], causing the holographic document to shatter like polygonal fragments.
Official documents require the owner’s fingerprint to be validated by the document courier.
However, in this case, Yeonhwa had deleted the order in the middle of its process, so since the document wasn’t delivered to the non-recipient, Shia became a non-recipient and wasn’t obliged to fulfill the order.
Maybe a day or two later, another document would arrive, but Yeonhwa planned to delete it again.
Now, the reason why a government order intended for Shia was in Yeonhwa’s possession was quite simple.
Shia’s Hunter Assistant Drone clearly belonged to her, recognized Shia as its master, and faithfully followed her commands, with an AI embedded in it.
But that AI was, in fact, implanted by Yeonhwa.
During the drone’s creation process, Yeonhwa had secretly asked the technician to do so.
In other words, the drone that Shia always carried around was also under Yeonhwa’s purview. Through this drone, Yeonhwa knew where Shia was heading. And occasionally, when Shia hadn’t turned on her broadcast, Yeonhwa had sl sneak peeks into Shia’s daily life through the drone’s camera.
Although she had no ulterior motives or unsavory intentions, she incidentally witnessed Shia eating, cooking, and even bathing…
Awkward noise
‘That wasn’t the intention…’
Ultimately, Yeonhwa’s actions held meaning.
In incidents like this one, where the government sent Shia a document that was, well, bothersome, Shia’s legal representative and guarantor, Yeonhwa, could respond accordingly.
