Yeonhwa, the daughter of the Yeon Family and an S-grade Hunter, wants to join the Fishing Club.
Members of the Fishing Club, including the head of the Industry-Academia Cooperation Group, reacted quite positively to Yeonhwa’s intention to join their gathering.
Of course, there were those who suspected that Yeonhwa might have a change of heart or ulterior motives.
They were worried that she might use her exclusive rights over the Deep Sea Flower to drag them all into court, but if that were her plan, she would have already thrown the head of the Industry-Academia Cooperation Group into prison the moment she discovered the Deep Sea Flower storage.
Despite still standing in stark opposition to Yeonseo, accepting Yeonhwa would mean gaining the enormous backing of the Yeon Family, which felt like a sure way to extend their political lives flexibly.
In fact, the Fishing Club already wielded influence over three major Hunter guilds and various sectors of government and business. If they gained the Yeon Family as a new ally, they might attain unimaginable wealth and power that could be passed down through generations.
Then not only would they benefit, but their children and distant relatives, with whom they shared little relation, would also be able to share in that power—a dream come true.
Thus, the 13 heads of government departments and National Assembly members mostly received Yeonhwa’s membership in the Fishing Club positively.
“But why the heck won’t that broadcast turn off?! sigh”
However, before accepting Yeonhwa’s proposal, a secretary reported that a broadcaster was live-streaming from the Deep Sea Palace of the mermaids.
At first, they thought it was no big deal. Why report such things?
What does it matter if a broadcaster is doing something?
Yet soon they understood why the secretary had hurriedly reported it.
The Fishing Club had been building its influence through the exclusive distribution and sale of the Deep Sea Flower.
The Deep Sea Flower was a strategic resource for the Fishing Club, the source of their wealth and power. To ensure a stable supply, they needed to control the mermaids who lived in the Deep Sea Palace where the flowers grew.
Long ago, they had classified mermaids as monsters to eradicate any public information about them, even fabricating their educational content in the textbooks used at the Hunter Academy, completely omitting any information on the Deep Sea Palace from the dungeon maps.
The Deep Sea Palace itself was vast, like another ocean. For years, the mermaids had been sending dimension-crash machines to harvest the Deep Sea Flower, never considering they might be caught by other Hunters or civilians.
But now that a live broadcast was happening from there and the reality of the mermaids was being unveiled to the public, it would surely be a thorn in the side for the politicians affiliated with the Fishing Club.
“Tell them to shut the broadcast down immediately.”
“Hahaha, why bother?”
“It can’t hurt to be cautious, can it?”
“As a matter of fact, my cousin has just taken a director position at the Switch platform.”
“That’s great. Since Yeonhwa is saying she wants to join us, why should we make a fuss? These days, welcoming ceremonies are low-key and simple, you know?”
“Of course, someone like Yeonhwa would likely prefer a quiet yet clear celebration. Shouldn’t we prepare a bouquet made entirely of Deep Sea Flowers?”
—
The situation was critical; they didn’t know if the influential figure Yeonhwa would align with them.
They needed to create as little noise as possible.
Shortly after a brief meeting concluded, it was coffee time, and Im Taek-ki, the president of the Korea Resource Management Corporation, called his cousin, who held the position at the Switch platform.
“What do you mean, no? What the heck is that supposed to mean?!”
The abrupt and blunt rejection took him by surprise.
“The Switch director position means stopping broadcasts is child’s play! Just either remove the member or suspend the broadcast rights; do something!”
But the management AI has rejected it. If that’s the case, then there mustn’t be any disqualifying reasons for the broadcast, and stopping it without cause…
In fact, Switch was more than just a civilian platform; it was deeply intertwined with the Hunter network.
The vast majority of viewers might be civilians, but the broadcasters raking in money were mostly Hunters who collaborated directly with guilds.
Stopping a Hunter’s broadcast for no good reason could result in a significant backlash, but Im Taek-ki seemed completely oblivious to the inner workings of the industry, making it even harder for him to understand why the broadcast couldn’t just be shut down.
“What does it matter what the reason is! Ultimately, management is in your hands! Just cut it off! What time do you think it is right now?!”
That’s not possible…
“Why the heck not?!”
The director at Switch found himself in quite a predicament.
He was well aware that his cousin was the president of the Korea Resource Management Corporation and that they were exploiting the Deep Sea Flower. He also knew that disseminating information about mermaids to the public wouldn’t be beneficial.
So before this call, the director had planned to instruct his team to block the broadcast featuring Shia.
But Switch had never been the top platform in the Hunter broadcast industry.
Before Switch claimed its exclusive market, another platform named Soara dominated the broadcasting market with higher shares and revenue.
However, Soara faced serious backlash for exploiting its Hunter broadcasters, manipulating profit distributions, and wasting funds by over-investing in non-Hunter entertainers. After the platform’s office was blown up in anger by a disgruntled Hunter, Soara began to get shunned by Hunters altogether.
As they lost sponsors and collaborative relationships with guilds, Switch claimed the throne of the Hunter streaming world.
If Switch followed the same path as Soara, its corporate value could plummet drastically.
‘If things go wrong, regardless of familial ties, my livelihood may be cut off, and I could face the wrath of angry major shareholders…’
In truth, nothing could be worse for a director than inciting the anger of major shareholders, who were often from Korea’s colossal guilds.
Thus, the decision made by the Switch director was to turn a blind eye.
It’s just a broadcast… Why are we reacting so sensitively to something so trivial?
Of course, from Im Taek-ki’s perspective, this was a vital, fragile situation, especially with Yeonhwa from the Yeon Family coming into the mix.
“This isn’t the time for broadcasts! I can’t go into detail, but this is a critical moment…!”
No matter the timing, I have no authority to stop this. Once the broadcast management AI rejects it, it’s out of my hands…
“Why can’t we just manually hit the button and turn it off?!”
Please don’t make me repeat myself, sir. It is impossible. Moreover, the broadcaster is related to Yeonseo.
“What?!”
The broadcaster in question is a Hunter named Isia, who is a Returnee. I’ve seen that she appears to be quite friendly with Yeonseo. There’s a log showing they’ve been on broadcasts together a couple of times.
“……..”
While he couldn’t ascertain much else, Im Taek-ki went silent after learning about the connection with Yeonseo.
What is this?
Yeonhwa had expressed her desire to join the Fishing Club, and just so happened, a broadcaster was doing a live stream with mermaids from the Deep Sea Palace—and this broadcaster was close with Yeonhwa’s grandmother, Yeonseo?
That felt unsettling.
‘Then again, there have long been rumors that Yeonhwa and Yeonseo were rather cold toward each other. Yeonhwa seemed to have become a dungeon addict without a care for her life, while there were whispers of Yeonseo wishing she’d give up being a Hunter even in casual conversations…’
While the reality was somewhat different, such rumors circulated a few years back.
‘If their relationship is merely cool, then… okay, maybe it’s just coincidence.’
“Fine. I get it. But still, do something. Hide the banner from the main view or at least lessen that broadcast’s visibility.”
I will do my best.
“Now hang up!”
Yes, take care, sir.
With a deep breath, Im Taek-ki ended the call.
“Haha, you see? Mermaids are strange; they’re weak and don’t die, yet they tolerate being touched and even stabbed without resistance.”
“Really?”
“They’re so submissive and foolish; why can they only use machinery now?”
“Ah, you’re still young enough to not know. One day, a mutant mermaid appeared, drove away all the Awakened Ones, and locked the dungeon door. It was said that in the past, everyone could have five mermaids like a Dutch wife in their homes…”
“Oh… how unfortunate.”
“I must admit, I was hoping for a mermaid brothel. Given the mermaids’ personalities, they’d surely make ideal workers…”
“We tried to erase information about mermaids even in the Academy’s educational materials. What would be the point of opening a brothel?”
“True, while mermaids might be good, securing a steady supply of Deep Sea Flowers to buy even more expensive women makes more sense. Humans should embrace humans, shouldn’t we? Hahaha.”
“That’s a wise saying, sir.”
Fortunately, the other Fishing Club members seemed too engrossed in their chit-chat to notice him.
As Im Taek-ki rejoined the group, one of the newly-elected members of the National Assembly approached him.
“Im Taek-ki, how’s the broadcast situation?”
“Ah… I’m sorry, but…”
“Not going well? Well, it can’t be helped.”
“I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to be so anxious over just one broadcast, right? It’ll only get a bit bothersome later.”
The implied ‘Can’t you even handle something that simple, you fool?’ was clear, but it wasn’t delivered harshly.
Yeah, it really is just a broadcast.
What we’re worried about is the long-term public perception of mermaids gradually surfacing. It’s nothing that would greatly affect Yeonhwa’s anticipated entry into the club.
“Then what kind of achievement should we present to Miss Yeonhwa?”
“Achievement… achievement? How about showing her the Deep Sea Flower storage?”
“Is that really sufficient? After all, she’s from the Yeon Family.”
Agreeing with that member’s comment, the other Fishing Club members nodded.
“True… if we just tell her she can join, it wouldn’t look too great, right? Companies review financial statements when merging or acquiring, so we should show her our financial situation for her to respond positively.”
—
While they wouldn’t explicitly mention it, the relationship between the Fishing Club and Yeonhwa could be understood as Yeonhwa being in a position of power.
For the Fishing Club, simply having Yeonhwa join would be cause for celebration, necessitating proper preparations to welcome her.
We have this much on hand.
We possess this many Deep Sea Flowers.
We have promising development ahead.
If Miss Yeonhwa joins us, we can grow even further.
“Ha, it’d be nice to have a fresh face like Miss Yeonhwa joining us with all these old folks in the mix.”
“Now that I think about it, I guess being an S-grade Hunter means she has quite the figure…”
“Hey, watch it, or you’ll get caught.”
“But age doesn’t matter in love, right? No one can predict the future…”
“Man, you’re nuts.”
“Haha!”
“Ahem, anyway… Ah! How about showcasing our collaboration with the San Guild?”
“Will that be okay?”
“Of course. The San Guild is currently the largest guild in the world. You know how tough it is to collaborate with them. I’m sure Miss Yeonhwa would be impressed to see us partnering with them.”
Though publicly boasting about collaborating with the world’s largest guild would serve to showcase their influence, the truth was, the San Guild and the Yeon Family had a notorious grudge against each other since the first Great Rift, and sadly, the Fishing Club was completely unaware of these circumstances.
“Oh, then I’ll contact the San Guild.”
—
Regarding the relationship between the Feast ceremony and mermaid meat…
Honestly, there isn’t one.
I don’t know either.
It’s just that there’s a hint of mystery, yet it feels close to nonsense, and you could attach anything to the idea.
Mimicking a Feast ceremony might be similar to rituals performed to resolve the curse rooted deeply in this deep sea, almost feeling like a sacrificial rite.
An Eastern ritual.
A re-enactment of the biblical Feast.
Whether real mystery is applied or not, just by hearing it, it seems like it could be quite effective.
“So I’ll start by making the mermaid meat delicious.”
First, I need to find a spot in this deep sea where I can light a fire.
“But is it okay…?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“If we light a fire, a person can’t breathe…”
“Oh…”
Now that I think about it, lighting a fire in such an enclosed space, especially with a severely limited oxygen supply, would quickly deplete the oxygen.
Ordinary humans would be at great risk of dying from carbon dioxide poisoning.
Was it carbon monoxide? I can’t remember.
In any case, it wouldn’t just be dangerous for civilians but also for Hunters, but thankfully, I’m already dead!
And the Mermaid Princess from Hyung-An has half her body submerged in seawater, so breathing shouldn’t be an issue. If the oxygen runs out in this abyssal cave, I’m still fine.
The fire I create is a miracle that burns from the divine energy.
Come to think of it, Lirisia claimed to be the ‘Princess of Fire and Steel,’ right?
Perhaps I too possess the ability to wield the miracle of fire.
“It’s alright. I’m the Mangja Seongnyeo, after all.”
“Mangja Seongnyeo? What does that mean…”
“It means a very, very great, beautiful, strong, and sacred woman.”
“………”
Hearing that, the Mermaid Princess eyed me suspiciously from top to bottom.
Even though my eyes were covered by a blindfold, it seemed like there was no issue with seeing straight ahead.
“Okay, you’re the outsider that my sister brought. Then surely that’s true. I’ll choose to believe you.”
“What? You don’t believe me?”
“No, I will try my best to believe.”
– Hahaha
– Streamer, but she’s pretty, that’s true.
– Nah, first impressions matter. She looks like a pig chewing on a giant salmon, though, LOL.
– Water pig? Orca?
– Dolphin!
Those rotten, malicious viewers kept spouting about how pretty I was, but when it came to poking fun at me, they were all in perfect sync.
Sure, I’m a benevolent princess, so I’ll try to tolerate it.
“Let’s start by boiling some seawater.”
– What?
– Why?
“Because we have to add salt…”
Honestly, even though I’m not a chef, I don’t know if it’s the most fundamental thing to do with fish dishes, but at least I know that spices and seasonings are essential.
Yet at this moment, I had no seasonings whatsoever.
I didn’t even have the most basic ingredient, salt.
So that meant I needed to make salt.
“Can’t we just grill it?”
“I guess not knowing is a mermaid thing, but there’s no such thing as ‘just’ when it comes to cooking. Cooking is a process birthed from the land that nurtured the rice, the sunlight of nature, and the sacrifice of someone’s life, all intertwined into a feast dancing on the taste buds of someone else.”
– The saintly praise of meat…
– But, but, you despise vegans…
I wonder how they figured that out?
“…I don’t really understand, but is it something precious then?”
“Umm… yes, that’s right. The food we encounter, the dishes we make must be done with all our heart and effort. Simply grilling it is an insult to the art of cooking!”
– But you insult vegans…?
– Weren’t you complaining last time in the Elf Great Forest about only being given greens?
– There’s even a collection of clips about you hating on vegans!
Vegan, stop! Enough!
Ignoring those malicious little punks while simultaneously fetching seawater, I decided to use a huge clam shell I found at the bottom of the abyss since I couldn’t find a suitable vessel.
As a side note, this shell was so enormous that I could have lain inside it without issues.
“Other kin also sometimes sleep inside clam shells.”
“Oh… that sounds like a fairy tale.”
“But some kin don’t know there’s a clam inside and end up sleeping there, only to…”
“Ah, ah! Did they get eaten…?!”
That’s a big deal!
“No, they ended up nurturing clam babies.”
“…?”
– Huh?
– What?
– ???
– ?
– Today’s the day for that?
– Whoa…
Honestly, I grew a bit curious about what mermaid-nurtured clams might taste like.
