The Youngest Member Filming a Parenting Show is Adorable - Chapter 178

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

【Interlude Chapter 10】
As I casually tossed it out, the children’s eyes lit up instantly.
Well, they were at that age.
Mikard and Elzen had never seen a Spiny-tailed Mermaid with their own eyes either.
“To summon them, you must sing the mermaid’s song. Try to follow along.”
“Wow, Father sings too?”
“From time to time.”
These days, my daughter alternated between formal and casual speech.
Since it was quite endearing, he simply let her be, regardless of what she said.
It was fine for her to feel comfortable with him, and it was equally fine for her to pretend to be grown up.
He couldn’t fathom what formal speech had to do with being grown up, but… wasn’t that just how children were?
They tried this way, then that way.
“Darkness cradled in the deep cavern, gentle waves of the abyss. Glowing holes and small underwater volcanoes that breathe fire. Please give us sweet cake, and we shall repay you with fresh shells.”
Diagon’s voice was low and mellifluous.
The gentle melody echoed softly, carried by the wind toward the sea.
Since the lyrics were simple, the children quickly memorized them and sang in unison, their voices growing louder with each verse.
Loud enough for the Mermaids in the deep sea to hear.
“Normally, this song should be sung in the middle of the sea.”
Once Diagon finished singing, he brushed the crumbs from his daughter’s mouth and continued speaking.
“Since we sang it from the beach, I’m not sure if they’ll come.”
“I hope they do!”
Superti, bouncing on her feet, cut a large piece of pork and ate it with gusto.
Sineria was quite a large resort city with four beaches, but this one belonged exclusively to Fasayen.
With no one around, they spent a comfortable family time without any worries.
It was the year Superti turned seven years old.
* * *
The weather in Sineria is temperamental.
It was sunny all day, but the moment night fell, rain poured down relentlessly.
We stayed in a house built in Sineria’s traditional style, and with a large palm leaf awning at the entrance, we could avoid getting wet.
I watched the flashing lightning with Father beneath the palm leaf awning.
Now I was too embarrassed to cling to Father like a baby, and since I was seven years old, I stood beside him with dignity.
Though I was still holding his hand, of course.
“Father, the lightning is incredible.”
“Have you ever wondered where the lightning that falls into the sea goes?”
“Um… well… no!”
“Try to imagine it.”
I still couldn’t quite figure it out.
As I gazed blankly at the sea, I suddenly thought of the Mermaids.
“Father, will the Mermaids be alright?”
“Of course. If they could be harmed by lightning, even ordinary fish would have to flip their bellies and float to the surface.”
“Ah, I see.”
Well, that’s a relief.
The Red Pearl Tribe, the Blue Crab Tribe.
The Green Auditory Tribe, the Spiny-tailed Mermaids.
I recalled the various mermaid tribes I’d learned about so far and slowly let my imagination paint the scene.
I pictured each mermaid tribe gathering lightning bolts to play with or use as weapons.
“Wait, Father. The Spiny-tailed Mermaids are the only ones whose tail color isn’t in their tribe name.”
“The Spiny-tailed Mermaids mostly have white tails. Sometimes they have spots, though.”
“Wow!”
“The more beautiful the spots, the more beautiful they’re considered among their own kind. But by human standards, the spines are more striking than the spots, so that’s how they came to be called the Spiny-tailed Mermaids.”
At Father’s explanation, the Spirit Kings sent sparkling messages.
[The Luck Spirit King ‘■■■■■■’ says that’s far too narrow-minded a human perspective.]
[The Chaos Spirit King ‘■■■■’ wishes the mermaid tribes would fight and clash with each other like they used to.]
[The Emotion Spirit King ‘■■■’ delivers a hand chop to the Chaos Spirit King’s head.]
In any case, I continued learning things I didn’t know today.
My belly was full and my heart was light.
Drowsy and content, I held Father’s hand as we returned inside, and I fell asleep dreaming eagerly of tomorrow.
Would I be able to meet a mermaid tomorrow?
* * *
The next day, we amicably shared a chicken panini before heading straight to the Sea.
Sineria’s waters were so clear that while the sea’s characteristic saltiness was abundant, there wasn’t a hint of that fishy smell.
So the oysters here were incredibly fresh!
“Got another one!”
“Wow, Older Brother! It’s huge!”
I dove with Mikard, diligently harvesting oysters.
Truly fresh oysters have a milky sweetness to them. A light squeeze of lemon juice and they slide down like honey.
“We’ve filled one basket, but… it still won’t be enough, will it? To feed our gluttonous youngest.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Right, I’ll do my best. We need to go further out. It’s dangerous, so Tosil stays here.”
How disappointing.
If I could breathe underwater as easily as he could, I could have followed him.
I smacked my lips as I watched Mikard disappear into the distance.
Fasayen doesn’t just swim ‘well.’
They’re one with the sea itself.
A life lived in the sea, a being of the sea, and part of it.
So no matter how young, they couldn’t be compared to an ordinary human.
‘And I’m just a baby who swims reasonably well, that’s all.’
With a sigh, I sprawled out and sang the song Father had taught me yesterday.
“Give us sweet cake, and we’ll repay you with fresh clams!”
I quite liked the chorus, so I sang while keeping rhythm with my feet splashing in the water.
But that was when it happened.
[The Water Spirit King, Aurora, tells me to look over there.]
Huh? Over there?
My eyes widened in confusion, and the shimmering letters scattered like sand before flowing away somewhere.
I turned my head cautiously toward the East District and spotted something in that instant.
Splash!
‘A tail?!’
It was definitely a spotted tail just now?
I couldn’t rub my eyes since that would sting, so instead I opened them wide.
Was it a trick of the sunlight, or not?
Perhaps the water spirit was showing me a mirage.
The moment I doubted, the tail appeared and vanished again with another splash!
“Mother, look over there!”
[The Water Spirit King, Aurora, says it’s still a young Spiny-tailed Mermaid.]
A mermaid!!
Splash!
Splash!
Splash!
With each splash, the tail drew closer and closer to me.
I held my breath and waited.
I didn’t want to startle my new mermaid friend.
“Huff!”
When I felt the mermaid was close enough, I took a deep breath and dove into the water.
The first thing I saw was the spotted tail.
Where the tail fin should have been, there were spines instead.
‘Ah, so that’s why she’s called a Spiny-tailed Mermaid.’
The mermaid, who appeared to be about ten years old in human terms, had emerald-colored hair and cat-like green eyes.
‘Hello!’
As I opened my mouth, bubbles streamed out.
I traced a greeting with my lips and waved my hand.
The mermaid, who had been watching me with curious eyes, waved her hand in return.
She didn’t seem to understand what it meant, but she recognized the ‘friendly feeling’ behind it.
‘What’s your name?’
In Cedric’s etiquette class, I had learned sign language that could be used to communicate with mermaids.
As I conveyed my message earnestly through gestures and head movements, the young mermaid answered me with sign language in return.
‘Rasaeri, daughter of Tolga.’
So her name was Rasaeri!
‘I’m Superti Fasayen.’
After our conversation reached this point, I ran out of breath and quickly swam back to the water surface.
“Gasp!”
This is so unfair!
I can’t have long conversations like this.
But the moment I poked my head out, Rasaeri peeked hers out alongside mine.
After glancing around nervously, Rasaeri suddenly turned her head and swam toward the beach.
On the sandy beach, Father and Elzen along with several others were gathered, and the sweet grapefruit cake was today’s main treat.
‘Could she want that?’
That must be it. The song even said that if you give cake to a mermaid, she’ll repay you with shells.
Acting on this hunch, I swam closer to Rasaeri and asked her a question.
“Would you like some cake?”
Since there was no mermaid sign language for cake, I simply said it aloud and mimicked eating with a fork.
“A spiny-tailed mermaid, I see.”
“Oh, Father! It seems she wants to try some cake too.”
“Hmm, that could be problematic.”

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————