Unification of the South

by Hyougetsu

  Garsh let his subordinates handle the details of his trade deal with Mao and returned to his seat.

  “Sorry ’bout that. But I’ve gotta hand it to you, that’s some interesting sauce you’ve got there. Thanks for showing it to me.”

  “Oh, it was nothing.”

  To be honest, I was kind of regretting showing it to Garsh, but seeing how happy he was I couldn’t bring myself to say that.

  “I’m impressed ya knew it would go well with food you’ve never even tried before.”

  “Well, that sauce goes with pretty much everything.”

  “If you say so.” Garsh folded his arms. “I always thought you demons were a barbaric lot, but it seems I’ve misjudged ya. Sorry ‘bout that.”

  Actually, we are pretty barbaric. But if Garsh wanted to believe that, I wasn’t going to correct him.

  “We did live far from civilization until recently, so I don’t blame you for thinking that. That being said, we’d like to live together in prosperity with humans from now on.”

  Garsh nodded in response.

  “Looks I don’t hafta worry about the demon army. Besides, you lot seem way more fun than to be with than the north. Assuming you’re tellin’ me the truth, that is.”

  He made sure to emphasize those last few words. It appeared he was still suspecting us of being the culprits behind his troubles at sea. I couldn’t really blame him. We were demons after all. Either way, it looked like we definitely needed to have a chat with the mermaids. As I was musing over how best to approach them, Parker voiced a suggestion, “By the Demon Lord’s command, I have spent the past few months negotiating with the mermaids. And in that time, they made no suspicious moves. Do you happen to have a map?”

  “Yeah, give me a second.”

  Garsh brought over the map that was hanging on the restaurant’s wall and spread it out on the table. Parker pointed to a section of shoreline southwest of the city and said, “I believe it’s around here that the tide becomes gentler. There’s also a coral reef and a few small islands, which is why the mermaids have made it their primary habitat.”

  “Hm?” Garsh looked puzzled. “That’s nowhere near most of our sea routes. No sailor worth their salt would sail through a reef anyway. The ships we’ve lost were ones headed east to Lotz.”

  “Which is why I suspect that the mermaids are not the cause of your problem. They’re wary of ships, so they tend to avoid the more populated sea routes.” Parker said with a shrug. Garsh’s expression grew pensive.

  “Hmm... Hey, Veight. Can we trust this guy?”

  You definitely can’t. That being said, it didn’t look like Parker was pulling this information out of his ass. I knew from experience that when he was serious, he never joked around or lied. Loathsome as it was, I had to back him up here.

  “Parker has both my trust and the trust of the Demon Lord. He wouldn’t report information he hasn’t first verified.”

  Parker turned to me with a grin. God, I never thought I’d say those words.

  “Regardless, I’ll meet with the mermaids as soon as possible. If they are behind your missing ships I’ll convince them to lift the blockade. And if they refuse to listen, I promise the demon army will cooperate with you in full no matter which action you choose to take.”

  I was pretty sure this was just a misunderstanding. Garsh nodded and brought over a tankard of mead from the bar counter.

  “Drink, kid.”

  “Huh?”

  The old viceroy grinned and continued, “We’re done negotiating for the day. Now it’s time to party. So unless you’ve got a problem with booze, drink up.”

  “Ah, you don’t say.” I took the proffered tankard and smiled. “I hope you’ve got food that goes well with alcohol, then.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ve got enough food for you, kid.”

  Looks like I’m getting a free buffet tonight. If Garsh was offering, I had no reason to turn down his hospitality.

  The next morning, Parker and I headed to a beach on the outskirts of the city. The beach was a short distance away from the bay that made up Beluza’s main harbor.

  “Let’s go see these mermaids, shall we?”

  Parker got into the tiny rowboat we’d been given and turned back to me with a smile.

  “We’re sailing there in this?” I asked.

  “The seas around here are calm, and I don’t need food or water. As long as we hit the right currents, we should drift there in three days.”

  I had a bad feeling about this.

  “And what exactly am I supposed to eat in those three days?”

  “Whoops, I nearly forgot! In that case, how about we do this?”

  As if he’d been waiting for me to ask that question, Parker drew a strange symbol in the air and began to chant, “Arise from the dark gates of Gevina, my sworn friend.”

  His tone was cold enough to make me shiver. Mana twisted the space around Parker, and a pocket of air suddenly grew dark. The same process repeated itself in a few other locations, and a few undead skeletons appeared from the rifts Parker had created. There were four in total, and each skeleton was wearing a tattered sailor’s uniform. Parker continued in the same cold tone that was so different from his usual cheery self.

  “Brave sailors, there is no time for you to rest. You must row.”

  The skeletons boarded our tiny craft and picked up the oars with practiced movements. Once they were in position, they began to row. I hurriedly jumped into the boat before it got too far from shore. Though this was a rather gloomy way to travel, at least it would be fast.

  Parker’s greatest strength as a necromancer was his ability to directly summon undead from the underworld. Since he didn’t have to create his own, he could summon a large number in a short period of time. However, they weren’t “his” undead; he was effectively renting them. Because he had to choose from the available spirits of whatever location he was in, he couldn’t choose what traits and abilities they had. Near a coast like this, most of the spirits would be fishermen or sailors who’d met their demise nearby. I watched the skeletons silently row and asked Parker, “Do these guys have any feelings or sentience?”

  “My method of summoning them only allows me to give them orders, so I’m not sure. However, I imagine if they do, the only feelings that remain are lingering regrets.” Parker’s voice softened and he added, “I’m not too different from these poor souls, which is why I suspect I can summon them.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just silently watched the shore recede in the distance.

  After a few hours, I noticed something was off. The surrounding mana was punctuated with ripples. That meant that someone nearby was using magic. Come to think of it, aren’t most mermaids able to use magic? They were primarily skilled in magic that affected one’s senses and emotions. Before long, I felt a desire to return home growing within me. I began to miss Ryunheit, Grenschtat, and the old village I’d grown up in. Whoever was casting this spell on me had to be close. I ignored these implanted emotions and turned to Parker.

  “We’re close.”

  “You feel it as well?”

  “Yeah. Even if they’re not making any noise, I can see the ripples in the flow of mana. It’s emotion manipulating magic of some sort.”

  “Indeed. This is the enchanting melody of the mermaids that convinces travelers to turn back.”

  According to Parker, mermaids could use their song to both lure people in or drive them away.

  “Though it has no effect on me, and it appears little effect on you. It works well enough on humans, of course.”

  As our rowers were undead, they remained unaffected as well.

  “If we row toward the source of the song we’ll reach the mermaids’ village before long.”

  “I see.”

  I kept my gaze fixed straight ahead, ignoring the voice in my head whispering to me to turn back. Around the time the shoreline dipped below the horizon, we arrived at the coral reef Parker had ment
ioned. Ripples appeared around the boat, indicating that something was moving beneath the surface of the water. A second later, a group of beautiful half-naked women surfaced all around us.

  So these are mermaids. This was my first time seeing them. They were all smiling amicably, which I hadn’t expected. Parker removed his cap and bowed to the women.

  “Long time no see, ladies. How do you do?”

  The mermaids answered in voices clear as crystal.

  “We’re doing well, Mr. Parker.”

  “Who is that man traveling with you?”

  “My, he looks rather handsome.”

  As the boat’s only other passengers were undead, everyone’s gazes focused on me. It made me feel a little self-conscious. I nodded to the mermaids and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am the Demon Lord Gomoviroa’s Vice-Commander, Veight.”

  “Oh, so you’re the man Mr. Parker spoke of!”

  Why’re they all so surprised? The mermaids crowded around the boat and started staring even more intently at me. I grabbed Parker’s skull and brought my face inches away from his.

  “What the hell did you tell them about me?”

  “J-Just that you were my little brother...”

  “You mean your junior disciple. Anything else?”

  Parker dropped to the ground like a sack of bones and pretended to be just a skeleton.

  “Oi, answer me.”

  Giggling, the mermaids answered for him.

  “Mr. Parker was always praising you, Mr. Veight. He told us that out of all the wonderful, talented people the demon army had, you were the most amazing.”

  “Mr. Veight, is it true that you can understand the thoughts of humans? I’ve heard that even humans follow you because of that.”

  Judging by their tones, it didn’t look like the mermaids were lying. I looked down at Parker, and he bashfully turned away.

  “I never imagined my doting side would come to light like this.”

  “Don’t tell me you’ve been singing my praises everywhere you went?”

  Parker grew even more flustered as he tried to talk his way out.

  “I-I didn’t talk about only you. All of my fellow disciples are precious to me. I’ve long since lost my birth family, and all of you are like family to me. I can’t help but want to tell everyone about you guys!”

  I never knew he was this easily embarrassed. Parker had self-destructed thanks to his own embarrassment, so I turned back to the mermaids.

  “Sorry my fellow disciple is such a nuisance. It must have been painful, listening to him.”

  “Oh, not at all. Fufufu.”

  What are they all so happy about?

  “It sounds wonderful, having siblings you can rely on...”

  “How dreamy.”

  The mermaids excitedly splashed their tails in the water. I wasn’t sure how to respond to this. Personally, I’d prefer to get down to business right away, but these mermaids didn’t seem the type to take things too seriously. Since we weren’t pressed for time, I decided to let them dictate the flow of the conversation. That being said, I still wanted to properly apologize.

  “Parker’s a good guy, but his frivolous attitude makes him easily misunderstood. So if he was rude to you at all, I apologize on his behalf.”

  The mermaids swished their tails from left to right.

  “Oh, not at all! Mr. Parker is a true gentleman! In fact, he’s saved us on multiple occasions.”

  A true gentleman? Now that I found hard to believe.

  “But didn’t he tell you horrible jokes like ‘If you can’t leave the water just bring your upper halves to the demon army?’”

  “He never made such jokes, no.”

  The mermaids tilted their heads quizzically.

  “Even though we refused his invitation to join the demon army, Mr. Parker still continued to assist us. He’s a very sincere man.”

  This guy? Sincere? I could hardly believe it, but the mermaids just kept on talking about how amazing he was.

  “Mr. Parker exorcized all of the nearby spirits for us. It’s thanks to him that we can live in this coral reef.”

  “Were it not for his assistance, we would still be aimlessly wandering the ocean, awaiting our inevitable demise.”

  According to the mermaids, they’d lived a nomadic lifestyle until recently. However, they hadn’t originally been nomads. Though they were hunter-gatherers, they preferred to settle in permanent locations. That was why Parker had exorcized the reef; so that it was habitable again.

  “Those who die at sea long for land, and they often wander the waves searching for shore. Most spirits who fail to pass on drift to islands and reefs like these.”

  Parker chimed in with a supplemental explanation, but he was still covering his face with his hands. So that’s what he was up to the whole time he was gone. I looked back down at Parker, and he scratched his skull awkwardly.

  “Hahahaha. I suppose the cat’s out of the bag now. As you can see, I was slacking off! However, it turned out to be great exorcism practice! You would not believe how many spirits this reef had attracted.”

  “Parker.”

  “Yes?”

  I smiled.

  “Thank you. You did everyone a service.”

  Parker scooted backward until his back was to the railing.

  “You can’t just praise me openly like that! It’s embarrassing!”

  “I’m serious. The demon army’s goal is to save demons everywhere. As the Demon Lord’s vice-commander, it would set a bad precedent if I didn’t commend you for your actions.”

  “B-But, even after negotiations failed I remained here instead of returning as per orders!”

  Wow, Parker really doesn’t handle compliments well, huh. Guess I better compliment him more.

  “Don’t worry about that. How could I not be proud of what my wonderful older brother has achieved?”

  “R-Really? Well, at any rate, we really should return to negotiating with the mermaids.”

  “I aspire to become as admirable a man as you, Parker.”

  “S-Seriously, give it a rest already...”

  Parker squeezed himself into a ball and tried to make himself as small as possible. Finally, I had a way of dealing with him if he started spouting bad puns. I should probably let Melaine know, too. Once I’d silenced my annoying partner, I returned to my conversation with the mermaids.

  “So you see, the reason I’ve come here is because the humans living in Beluza think you’re responsible for attacking their ships.”

  The mermaids started muttering worriedly to each other. Legends had it that mermaids could control the seas and call down curses capable of burying frigates, but I somehow doubted these girls could do that. After all, there were plenty of stupid rumors about vampires and canines too. Humans had overactive imaginations, so they tended to come up with a lot of outlandish tales.

  “We haven’t attacked any human ships. The most we’ve done is use our songs to get human fishermen to turn back from our reefs.”

  “In fact, we believe the humans are the ones who’ve captured a few of our kind.”

  What’s going on here? Parker clattered to his feet and explained, “If you recall, I used to be human myself. Many human villages believe that mermaids hold the secret to immortality. Mermaids always look young, which is why that rumor started.”

  That, combined with the fact that they were all women probably gave humans the mistaken impression that they never died. And there were more than a few unscrupulous humans who were willing to kidnap mermaids to steal the secrets of immortality for themselves.

  “It’s true that our appearances seldom change, but we age just like anyone else. It just so happens that the older mermaids rarely leave their homes. The open sea is too dangerous for the elderly to swim in.”

  The mermaids looked down sadly as they said that. Though they all looked like they were in their late teens or early twenties, apparently some of the mermaids around us were over fo
rty. Personally, they all looked the same to me.

  “Many brutal monsters live in the sea. While we are fast swimmers and can use our songs to evade most creatures, there are some who our songs don’t work on.”

  Which was why as mermaids got older and slower, they retired from an active life and focused on passing down their songs to the new generation and looking after the children. Meaning there were old mermaids, they just never showed their faces. Also, it appeared mermen existed too, but they were more skilled at swimming than singing, so they were often out of the villages hunting for food. It appeared the mermaids had a hard time getting enough seafood to feed their village, so the men were almost always gone.

  To make matters worse, many mermen died to monster attacks or went missing, so there was always a shortage of males. As a fellow male, I felt bad for them. At any rate, like all other demons, it appeared mermaids were neither as mysterious or as amazing as humans made them out to be. I understood why Parker had stayed behind to help them now.

  “Young mermaids like us are both good swimmers and singers. But quite a few of our generation went missing when we still lived in our old home.”

  “None of them were particularly solitary mermaids, so we can only assume that they were killed by monsters or captured by humans...”

  The mermaids’ expressions grew glum.

  “We don’t possess the strength to fight humans, but even if we did we don’t wish to fight. That was why we left our old home in search of a new one.”

  I see. And that was when this bag of bones found you guys. Previously the mermaids had lived much closer to Beluza, which was why they’d been wary of humans. But the new coral reef they’d found had been haunted by the undead, and their songs hadn’t been able to chase those spirits away. The mermaid’s old home had been east of Beluza, smack in the middle of one of their sea lanes. Both the humans and the mermaids were claiming that they hadn’t attacked the other. If both sides were telling the truth, it meant there was a third party attacking both of them. Chances were, that third party was either some kind of monster, or a group of humans from somewhere else.