“Hah, Yeonhwa. I never thought I’d hear that name here.”
Cheon Danaa, who had just hung up a call from Korea, adjusted her blindfolded eyes.
The public reason the San Guild collaborated with Korea’s Industry-Academia Cooperation Group and the Fishing Club was ‘byproduct import.’
Although the Fishing Club exploited the mermaids’ dungeon and maintained exclusive rights to the Deep Sea Flower, it seemed the San Guild had little interest in the ‘Deep Sea Flower’ despite being the biggest supporter providing cooperation and capital.
However, there was one thing the San Guild wanted.
“If a decent mermaid gets caught, prioritize sending her over.”
Once the anti-mana levels surrounding the Deep Sea Palace decreased enough to use the [Dimensional Shock Anchor], they would lower the anchor and begin operations. The anchor would primarily harvest the Deep Sea Flower, but there were often cases where curious mermaids touched the anchor and got dragged out.
“Eating mermaid meat grants immortality… What a boring joke.”
The higher-ups of the party believed in such old superstitions, so occasionally the San Guild would pass mermaids to elderly men who wanted them as per the wishes of the party’s senior officials.
Though they didn’t have loyalty to the party anymore, they wouldn’t spend money to raise mermaids that were of no use anyway.
Mermaids were undeniably beautiful, unlikely to get hurt, and obedient enough to be considered foolish.
While they didn’t hold much value as slaves, compared to the scarce resource that was the Deep Sea Flower, their economic value was practically negligible.
Mermaids were merely regarded as a kind of byproduct or bonus that came along during the process of harvesting the Deep Sea Flower.
Of course, no one really knew what intentions the San Guild had in prioritizing the acquisition of mermaids.
However, from the Fishing Club’s perspective, with the San Guild providing the most support, they were clearly the boss. Over time, the San Guild had purchased numerous mermaids from the Fishing Club, and once a mermaid fell into the hands of the San Guild, she would never return to the sea.
The reason the San Guild and Cheon Danaa went to such lengths to acquire mermaids while supporting Korea’s corrupt governmental departments was one.
The mermaid’s pearl.
The treasure that a mermaid dedicates her life to creating by gathering magical power, karma, mystery, and vitality throughout her life.
The pearl itself was a highly valuable jewel with immeasurable worth, but the San Guild knew the proper way to use this ‘pearl.’
It was food for the Fragment of the Demon King.
By feeding the mermaid’s lifetime vitality and magical power to the fragment, it would dramatically grow.
Such a fragment would also become easier to control, allowing the entire legion to share it, significantly contributing to the San Guild’s power and Cheon Danaa’s goals.
Furthermore, Cheon Danaa had recently heard that unregistered research institutes had been popping up in large numbers thanks to Yeonseo, and the most important industrial complex, the Qingzhou Wanshe Research Institute, had been destroyed beyond recovery by an Elf’s Spirit Nuke, resulting in the loss of internal research findings and a significant amount of property.
In such a situation, the opportunity to obtain a mermaid’s pearl was something Cheon Danaa couldn’t afford to miss.
However, these foolish mermaids didn’t even know how to create a pearl themselves.
Whether by chance or through a rare coincidence, it was a destined accident.
But after several years, the anti-mana levels in the Deep Sea Palace had decreased, making it possible for humans to enter.
Of course, actually entering would be impossible even for an A-grade Hunter, but it was possible for Cheon Danaa.
Thus, she decided to directly move her hidden physique in Korea.
She couldn’t just let the opportunity to obtain the pearl slip away.
“Alright, before starting work, I need to meet that Yeonhwa once.”
—
Ahem, while the clam that the mermaid held was quite intriguing, the preparation for the Feast Ceremony was the priority for now.
The taste of mermaid meat was more rich and oily than fish. Thinking back to Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess who had cut off her own tail to apologize to me, the texture was somewhat akin to that of mackerel or tuna, but the flavor was something that could never come from fish.
The moment it touched the tongue, a fragrant and deep flavor similar to beef spread forth. It wasn’t greasy or unpleasant in odor either.
To make it easier to understand the scent, it was filled with the savory aroma of chicken right after frying. This Deep Sea Palace’s mermaids seemed to eat apple coral or crystal coral, as there was even a subtle sweetness filling my mouth at the end.
In simpler terms, regarding cooking ingredients, it was a meat that could be treated as premium beef and could provide an incredibly delicious and luxurious flavor. Even what I had grilled earlier did not require proper cooking, simply being seared over an open flame to achieve such flavor.
If a proper chef had the right seasonings and tools, I imagined that they could create something truly amazing with this mermaid meat.
But all I had on hand were the flames of Seongnyeok.
“Sizz, sizz, you know…”
Thus, before seriously grilling the meat, I decided to fetch seawater from the Deep Sea Palace to obtain salt.
To directly obtain salt from seawater, it would need to be boiled for at least four hours without resting.
As a note, attempting to obtain salt involves a method called pre-contamination. Originally, instead of scooping up the seawater whole and boiling it, you would leave seawater in a specific spot, letting time cause natural evaporation before putting it into a cauldron to boil for salt.
The currents being weak in this deep-sea cave meant it could be deemed still.
Of course, normally, boiling seawater would not yield much true salt.
Selecting impurities through various filtration systems and creating a hygienic refining environment was crucial to making salt, but that didn’t concern me.
“Then, in the name of the Father. The Son. In the names of salmon and mermaids…”
[Miracle – Purification]
“Purificaaaaation!!”
– Purificaaaaaaaaation!
– Every time I see that, I want to see more, haha
– It still looks like a destructive ray.
Alright. Having poured this much power into performing the purification miracle, all the dust and dirty impurities in the seawater should have been removed.
In fact, the most critical part of making salt is purification and filtration.
I could skip that process under the guise of a miracle, so if I simply continued like this, I figured there wouldn’t be any issues obtaining salt.
– Sizz!
The flames burning fueled by Seongnyeok were incredibly hot, causing the seawater contained in the clam shell to start evaporating, leaving a whitish powder behind on the surface.
“Eh? Why is the quantity so little…?”
However, even boiling what seemed to be dozens of liters of seawater didn’t produce much salt.
I scraped up the white salt crystals and powder stuck to the clam shell, but it barely filled one or two paper cups’ worth.
Considering the mermaid tail meat made quite a mound, boiling a giant clam shell full of seawater, I concluded I would need to repeat this process multiple times to get a decent amount of salt.
—
– ooo It really doesn’t yield that much when boiling seawater.
– Still, it yielded more than I thought.
[‘Switch Exorcist’ has donated 6,100 won!]
Let’s call the hero now.
“Oh, calling Menelapie is only for emergencies.”
Menelapie would probably be happy whenever I called, but unfortunately, the current environment would be tough for her.
While I burned the fire, I had likely depleted the oxygen in this deep-sea cave almost completely. Transforming Menelapie into a mermaid would also seem a bit improper… No, it would be nice and beautiful, but I didn’t want to show her to those malicious viewers.
“By the way, outsider… I mean, Saint Shia.”
“Yeah?”
Suddenly, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess spoke up, tilting her head as she looked at the boiling seawater.
“To give fish to the mermaids, I would have to return to the sea anyway. So, if the fish gets soaked and submerged in seawater again, is there any meaning in this act of cooking?”
“Ah…”
“No, even if grilling is one thing… salt would dissolve in seawater when it goes back, making this cooking act seem meaningless.”
—
– What? Why is Dongsaeng Ineo so smart?
– LOL
– ?
– True, right?
– So what was the streamer doing? haha
– LOL
“Oh, no! No! We can just call all the mermaids to this deep-sea cave!”
“There might be injured ones.”
“I applied a healing spell to all of them while wandering around from a few days ago. They should be fine.”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
Phew, thank goodness.
I almost let all the effort I put into making salt go to waste.
“If I make salt and put it in the meat, will it become tastier?”
“That’s right.”
For Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess, ‘cooking’ was probably a novel experience.
She probably only knew how to rip coral off and eat it whole deep down in the sea, having never experienced lighting a fire or tasting seasonings throughout her life. So I completely understood why all my culinary actions and processes seemed foreign like a new invention to her.
“Originally, it would be great to have not just salt but also soy sauce, pepper, or apple juice… but given the situation, we need to simplify things.”
“…Hmm.”
“Why? Do you want to try it too?”
“No. I’ll leave cooking to you. I’ll step out for a moment.”
“Okay.”
She was probably going out to check on the others.
While Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess was the party that rendered countless mermaids into idiots, as time passed, she felt distinct guilt and cared for them enough to be referred to as their elder sister and princess.
Though she resolved to become evil, her inherent nature likely prevented her from crossing the line.
‘If she had crossed that line, if she still hated the other mermaids, would I have to kill the princess…’
While she didn’t possess a fragment of the Demon King, she bore a hatred and curse comparable to that of a fragment.
If left unchecked or if it worsened, she could very well have become a demon lord herself. In fact, even before hearing her story, I had considered killing her.
No, even the corpse of the starlight residing inside me seemed to view Dongsaeng Ineo as a malign entity to be eradicated.
‘Thank goodness… I’m really glad that didn’t happen.’
If she regretted her actions and was willing to take responsibility, that alone left room for salvation.
Though I would assist in saving her, ultimately, the most crucial factor would be her own will and choices, even if consumed by hatred.
Well, for now, boiling seawater was more important…
Boom!
In that moment, a tremendous noise resonating throughout the surroundings erupted from outside.
– Oh my!
– What’s that sound?
– What?
– That startled me so much!
– What’s happening?!
At first, I didn’t think much of it.
This was deep inside the ocean, within a deep-sea dungeon.
While there were no A-grade or higher dangerous monsters, large fish or whales existed, and dungeons were unknown spaces where anything could happen.
So it wasn’t strange for a loud noise to suddenly burst forth.
“…That smells… Malicious?”
However, the pungent, dark, and terrible odor assailing my nose was more than enough reason to stop preparing my holy Feast Ceremony.
I extinguished the flames I kindled with Seongnyeok and slowly turned my gaze around.
The softly glowing light of coral spread across the deep-sea cave, which was terrifyingly quiet.
Not even the sound of waves from the seawater passage connecting to the cave could be heard.
Crunch!
Crack!
Then again, another strange sound echoed.
This time, the sound was much closer.
It wasn’t from the outside.
The source of the sound seemed to be somewhere within this deep-sea cave.
It was no ordinary sound.
It sounded like a paper tearing, but the jarring sound that struck my brain continued to resonate.
Creak!
Snap!
Only then did I realize what the sound nearby was.
It was the sound of space breaking apart.
Forcing open, prying, and tearing open dimensional fissures that should only be small holes produced this eerie noise in the process.
Naturally, breaking space was not something that would occur through mere natural reaction or the ordinary physiology of a dungeon.
Someone was intentionally breaking through space.
The crack began to widen.
And from amidst that space poured a rotting stench, causing me to squint and gaze beyond.
I sensed a presence lurking in the shadows.
Someone appeared to be walking—or perhaps crawling.
I still couldn’t completely understand what was happening.
Grasp!
A hand emerged from beyond the broken space.
One hand appeared, and with it, an eye opened.
The eye on the hand stared directly at me.
Its gaze felt as uncomfortable as that of a merchant appraising the value of goods.
Simultaneously, an overwhelming malice emanated from the hand.
But that wasn’t the end.
Another hand emerged.
This time, it bore a mouth.
The hand connected to yet another hand pried open the space further and tore it apart.
Emerging hands commenced tearing the space apart like a shattered window.
Opening, revealing.
The eye on the hand fixated on me.
And the teeth protruding from the hand gazed at me hungrily.
Hands, hands, everywhere were hands.
Bizarre hands tearing through space gazed at me, leading me to finally meet their owner.
Grind…!
– Who is that?
– Who is it??
– What is this?
“Been a long time since I’ve been here.”
She looked at me.
I gazed back at her.
Her demeanor felt remarkably emotionless, and an overpowering malicious energy radiated from her.
Though we merely stared at each other, one thing was clear.
Even though it was the first time meeting her today, I found myself intensely disliking her.
The unidentified malevolence emanating from her wasn’t the only reason; her hands resembled my tentacles, which only added to my unease.
Thud…!
And suddenly, without me realizing, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess emerged from the water behind me, staring at the woman who had torn apart the space.
Upon closer examination, I noticed the princess’s shoulders trembling.
“Ah…”
In the princess’s hands were various shaped apple coral and crystal coral, likely meant to support my cooking, but upon seeing that woman with those countless hands, she dropped them all.
I understood that feeling.
Her fingertips trembled incessantly with anger, sorrow, fear, and hatred.
“You… what are you doing here?”
“Mm?”
The woman with a multitude of hands briefly glanced at Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess before losing interest and refocusing on me.
“Why are you here, Cheon Danaa!!”
