Princess Jinzhu looked at him too, and suddenly spoke.
"Ni weishenme kanzhei wo, renlei? Wo bu shi shiwu." She asked in that same gentle and polite tone.
Harker turned to Yan. 'Translation, please?'
[Translation: "Why are you looking at me, human? I'm not food, if that's what you're thinking."]
Harker couldn't help but think that this girl could say the rudest things and insults with the same mellow voice and expression. It's kind of impressive.
'She doesn't seem to notice you.' Harker said. 'Why isn't she talking about you or the holographic screen?'
"Oh, she could actually see me. It's just that we have already talked to each other before you woke up, Master."
'Eh??? Why didn't you tell me sooner!? You guys are buddies now, eh?'
Yan shook. "Not really. She tried to eat me when I appeared and asked if I'm some kind of jellyfish or one-eyed crab."
Harker did not know what to comment on that. He chose to instead focus on the important stuff before contemplating on how the hell could this eyeball with bat wings be mistaken as a jellyfish or crab.
'Then if you could talk to her, can you deliver this message? Tell her that I could get us out of here, I just need her help.' Harker told him.
Yan looked back at the 'shark girl' nervously, but still flew there with his holographic screen. There, it showed Harker's message in Mandarin Chinese. Princess Jinzhu read the contents out loud, then narrowed her eyes back at Harker.
[Translation: "How would you do that? We'll get electrocuted if we try to escape."]
'I have a plan. But I would need you to somehow give me one of your pearls. It's very important.' Harker told her.
The mermaid princess frowned. ["You also want to take away my pearls? What's so good about them anyway, they're just our tears."]
'Yeah, so can you give me just one? Just one is enough so we can test if this will work out.'
The mermaid princess thought about it, then said…
["No."]
Harker made a face. 'I thought you said it was nothing—'
["I won't cry for a stranger. Yes, I said it's just our tears. But it only works if they're tears that bear sadness. It means something emotionally and sentimentally for us, even when we don't see it as something for wealth. So it's not nothing, don't misunderstand."]
She said all this with the same soft voice, but the firmness in her decision was still there.
Harker's shoulders slumped, but that doesn't mean he gives up. He can understand the princess, he really was just a stranger to her. It's difficult to trust a stranger, especially after they have been fooled before by Mr. Xi.
'What's wrong with the other jiaorens? They're still alive, but…. They're not moving. Are they still sleeping right now?"
All the mermaids have the same golden hair and tail like Princess Jinzhu, but they have different tail patterns and features. Most of them seem older than her in appearance.
The princess suddenly looked defensive, then her eyebrows creased.
["They're my sisters. They….. have completely given up on life. They are waiting for the day they finally die."]
Harker felt his chest hurt, just like it did for those teenage boys in Miss Lovette's hidden room. They were the same thing. Being imprisoned, feeling helpless, like life had no meaning... It would truly be enough to make anyone want to just end their lives.
Freedom is the reason why we keep moving in life. The freedom to pursue our dreams, to be with the people we want to be with, and to live life unshackled by anyone else.
'I want to help them. I really do. If you can't cry any pearl for me, maybe they could. Please, Your Highness. A little bit would be enough for this plan. I will get us all out of here.'
Princess Jinzhu did not make any expression. Then, she tapped on the glass to her left in order to gain the attention of her sister sleeping on the tank next to her.
["Eldest Sister.... Eldest Sister, wake up. I want you to tell me what you feel about this man."]
The woman stirred awake. Her back was facing Harker, so he couldn't see her face. But based on her body structure, she looked like a woman in her late 20s. Her upper half, at least.
She turned around, her torso also filled with golden scales all the way to her collarbone. All of them had this same, armor-like clothing made of scales. But her breast was more pronounced than the younger Princess Jinzhu. Princess Jinzhu seemed like Harker's age, but she had a more petite body, though not too much. She looked 18 or 19, and her chest size was smaller.
The older mermaid was covering her face and rubbing her eyes, so Harker still can't tell what she looked like. But she seemed pretty just like her younger sister, albeit less confident and had a more reserved posture.
The system translated the older princess' words:
["What man? Can you tell him to make a sound so I can turn to him and see his soul?"]
When she took her hands off her face....
Harker's heart leapt up to his throat.
'Holy shit— Did she…?'
Princess Jinzhu nodded, sounding soft but there were hints of anger in her voice.
['Yes. This is what I meant about my sisters not wanting to live any longer. They would go through such lengths just to end this exploitation.']
The older princess smiled despite this reaction. ['It is not just that. We have lived long enough in this world, without our Mother and Father. We have ruled over the people as best as we can despite the problems. It was time to rest. There is nothing to cry for.']
Her eyes…..
Her eyes were missing. There were claw marks on her face, around the area of the eye sockets.
All of Princess Jinzhu's elder sisters woke up, and showed the same marks.
They have clawed out their own eyes so they won't have to cry pearls anymore.
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