See end of chapter for announcements.
Translated by Eve
Edited by Sora, Cat & Bear
Although he was very discontented with his family’s boss, as a responsible and diligent deputy, Dima had no choice but to obey his superior’s orders and take care of the merman who refused to eat.
"I don’t want to eat merman food," Ya, the red merman, had a face full of loathing as he glared at Dima who had placed who-knows-what onto the plate. He spoke out his thoughts adamantly, "I want to eat what you guys eat."
"You’re unable to eat what we eat," Dima sat by Ya’s side, softly persuading him. Dima had already long gotten used to this sort of temperament. Compared to the cold-faced Max who didn’t hold even the slightest bit of patience towards things he disliked, Ya’s attitude couldn’t be better, "The stomachs of mermen are far more delicate than ours. You’ll only hurt your stomach if you eat our food. You could get indigestion, fall ill, or, in a serious case, even die."
Ya hesitated for a moment. Although he outwardly seemed to loathe the mermen food and yearned for human food, as a newcomer, he still didn’t have the faintest idea about the mermen’s circumstances. If he were to actually hurt his stomach by eating human food, then the one to suffer would surely be him.
Upon seeing that Ya had begun to waver, Dima, who had seen the light, continued to persuade with the utmost patience. Using a spoon to scoop a bit of the food and placing it before Ya’s lips, he gently enticed him, "In fact, the taste isn’t bad. Max has definitely bought you the highest quality food. Just try a bite, hm?"
As someone who used to be a genuine man, Ya simply could not bear Dima’s method of coaxing him like a 3-4 year old child with such a soft and patient tone. He felt goosebumps all over his body! Upon discovering that they would remain in this sort of deadlock if he didn’t eat, Ya had no choice but to awkwardly open his lips and take the spoon into his mouth.
Seeing that Ya had finally begun to eat, Dima let out a long sigh, as if it had been some incredibly important mission— yesterday, even coaxing his own merman to eat hadn’t been this tedious!
He impatiently turned his head to look at Max, wanting him to take over in feeding Ya. Dima, however, discovered that his boss had already reached Dima’s own merman’s side, and had carefully collected him into his arms. Max was fully concentrated on feeding him.
His merman looked stiff all over, obediently not making any sounds whatsoever, just letting whatever would happen, happen. It was even to the point in which no trace of his earlier, unhappy tears could be seen— upon witnessing this, Dima simply felt miserable! Max’s power made his Lan completely not dare to cry!
"M-Max?" Dima immediately put down the plate in his hand. The young deputy, who was bursting with a sense of responsibility, cautiously approached his boss. He attempted to rescue his family’s pitiful merman from his boss, who had been acting strangely all day.
"You... What are you doing?"
"Feeding."
Max glanced at Dima a bit condescendingly, donning a face that expressed, ’Asking such a stupid question, do you have neither eyes nor brain?’
"Didn’t you say that those with mermen must learn to take care of them? I saw that your merman is much more obedient, so I took him to practice with first."
It was a reasonable response. This was the first time that Max had straightforwardly accepted Dima’s suggestion, making the latter feel a bit flattered. Looking at this, although he appeared indifferent, Max did care about his merman. This made Dima let out a small sigh of relief— after all, such a precious merman was not some cat or dog. Dima had truly been afraid that his boss would carelessly cause his pet to die. That would definitely result in a strict punishment!
"Ya is now eating. You can go take care of him."
Although his family’s boss had painstakingly "progressed" a bit, Dima did not like seeing his own merman sitting lovably in another’s embrace and touch. Dima walked over and silently informed Max that it was time for him to scram.
Max lowered his head to look at Sui Yuan like he was struggling slightly. Eventually, he admitted defeat to the other’s seemingly pitiful gaze (which actually held a menacing threat), and reluctantly stood up.
Once he left Sui Yuan’s side and saw that Dima had taken his place, Max’s expression immediately became gloomy. It had only taken a second for the lovely spring sunshine to become covered in dark clouds!
The sudden burst of cold air scared the other three people into silence. Upon discovering that Max, who was giving off an extremely dangerous aura, was approaching him, as well as considering the gentle, sweet-as-honey manner with which he had just used to hold and feed Sui Yuan, Ya immediately recovered the plate that he had abandoned, "No need to feed me! I can eat on my own!"
"Eat by yourself?" Max stood before Ya, arrogantly looking at the other, eyebrow raised.
Ya nodded his head repeatedly, not hesitating in the least to scoop some food into his mouth, spooning several mouthfuls down his throat hurriedly. Exceptionally blunt!
Max was obviously satisfied, expression softening after much difficulty, and nodded his head with praise. Soon after, he turned his gaze towards Sui Yuan and Dima who had already assumed a posture of being ready to feed.
Sui Yuan and Dima: ".................."
"......I......I can also eat by myself...... QAQ"
This time, there was no need to conjure up any emotions. Sui Yuan’s eyes were brimming with tears. Under Max’s extremely intimidating gaze, he timidly reached out a hand, wanting to take the spoon from Dima’s hands.
Dima hesitated for a moment. On one hand was his boss’ pressure, and on the other was his own interest (?). This made him fall into a dilemma.
"You’re a military man. You can’t stay at home to take care of your merman forever," Max said. "You should train him on how to take care of himself now."
Dima muttered to himself for a moment. Persuaded, he sighed. He then placed the spoon into Sui Yuan’s hands and gazed at his merman, who had fallen into silent concentration while eating, with a look of tenderness.
The originally chaotic, war-like feeding time had ended up passing by harmoniously. Although Dima had been ordered to come help, he had to admit, Max had a good idea on how to handle the delicate mermen. Using a militaristic manner to discipline the merman was not something that should be done, but all living beings had an instinct to "go after profit while avoiding harm". The mermen were no exception.
After lunch was the time set aside for the mermen to immerse themselves in water. Mermen, after all, were more reliant on water than humans. Noon was the the hottest time of the day, so they liked to stay in the cooler water.
Seeing that Sui Yuan and Ya had finished eating, Max exerted a great deal of patience to control himself and forced his feet to bring him towards Ya, not Sui Yuan.
Ya obviously did not like being carried by a man. When Max approached, he couldn’t help resisting.
Max immediately stopped his actions and furrowed his brows a bit, "You don’t like being held by me?"
Max’s expression was a bit ugly, making Ya rather timid, but he overcame this feeling and nodded with great courage.
Dima also stopped his action of wanting to carry Sui Yuan. He worriedly looked at the deadlocked Max and Ya , breaking a sweat towards this sort of unyielding and stiff "mate". Only, what happened next taught him a bitter lesson—even the spectators would suffer from what happened next. He watched as Max muttered to himself for a moment, then turned to look at Dima and raised his chin, "You go carry him."
Dima immediately was dumbfounded, "Me? You’re his owner!"
"Although I am his owner, he doesn’t like me getting close to him."
Max’s tone was cold and harsh, his displeasure evident, "The instructions say that one must not force a merman to do anything he does not want to do, right?"
Dima: ".................."
——Although what he said was not incorrect, how come he felt that something was not right?!
"....... If I were to help you, then Lan..." Dima lowered his head, a bit unwilling as he looked at his own blue merman.
Max did not let him waver for even a moment. Without fooling around, he walked towards Sui Yan, lowered his own body, and said oppressively, "You want me to hold you, right?"
Sui Yuan... with great difficulty and teary eyes... nodded his head......
Dima: "...... You’re not fooling anyone. You’re completely threatening my merman!"
However, Dima would not disobey his family’s self-absorbed and willful boss. He had no choice but to let him hold Sui Yuan while he himself walked towards Ya.
Ya still didn’t want to be held by a man, but he didn’t have any other method of moving. FInally, he had no choice but to give in. The two mermen were carried to the pool, then carefully placed into the water.
Immediately upon entering the water, Sui Yuan flicked his tail and rushed forward several metres, directly reaching the pool’s other side, appearing visibly frightened. Dima glared at Max with reproach, but discovered that the other was absentmindedly rubbing his left index finger.
"...... What’s wrong?" Dima asked, puzzled.
"Nothing." Max smiled for the first time, looking as if his mood had suddenly become cheerful.
Dima felt that he should probably find a time to suggest that his boss go see a psychiatrist. What the hell was with this kind of angry to happy mood swing?!
"...... What’s wrong with you?"
In the pond, Ya swayed his tail not too proficiently and swam towards Sui Yuan, asking the same question that had been asked outside of the pool.
"......Nothing," Sui Yuan responded, similarly to Max. His pale skin flushed an attractive pink, causing Ya to fall into a daze.
"What did he say to you?" 5237 asked lightly, also feeling curious towards this issue.
"...... He said that he was curious about the mating organs of mermen."
Towards 5237, Sui Yuan was a lot more honest and spoke the truth, feeling a bit like he wanted to collapse.
5237: "....... F*ck, truly perverted!"
Sui Yuan, who had been molested while being carried, thrust his head into the water.
Fortunately, Sui Yuan had always been a "magnanimous" person, or, to put it another way, he had already gotten used to being taken advantage of by that fellow and was able to recover quickly.
Seeing that Sui Yuan had returned to normal, Ya sighed in relief. He appeared to just be a cowardly merman that had been frightened by Max. He had been thinking too much— moreover, who would have thought that the dignified Max would do such a thing in broad daylight!
When Sui Yan’s blue hair was soaked with water, it appeared even more lustrous, as if one with the pool’s water. It had to be said, aside from his gender, Sui Yuan, who was soft, lovable and obedient, looked just like Ya’s favourite kind of goddess. It was rare to be able to come into contact with this kind of goddess, making Ya feel very restless.
Beneath Sui Yuan’s innocent gaze, Ya cautiously extended his hand, wanting to pat his head. However, after stretching it out, he once again felt a burst of cold air behind him. Thinking about the previous experience of having been hit on the hand, Ya subconsciously turned his head to look at the poolside. As expected, Max’s sharp gaze held a concealed threat and warning.
Before transmigrating, Ya’s character was not that of the obedient type, but rebellious instead. When he first came to this world, he had no choice but to suppress his own personality in order to live. He was forced to completely adopt these kind of "habits" that he really disliked, causing him to become more and more depressed.
Luckily, Ya was still rational. The first time he brazenly resisted Max’s intimidation tactic was only to rub Sui Yuan’s hair, that’s all.
Sui Yuan gazed at Ya, flashing him a friendly smile. Ya relaxed upon seeing this pure smile, and couldn’t help but move closer to the other.
Next, as was described in the plot, Ya began to ask Sui Yuan about the matters of this world. Naturally, Sui Yuan knew everything and shared everything with him, complying with the scene as he spoke about everything pertaining to this world’s settings.
Although he had already understood most things about his own identity, after confirming it, Ya’s expression turned grim. He could not accept that he was able to give birth to a man’s children, and was even more incapable of accepting that aside from giving birth, mermen had no other capabilities whatsoever.
"Don’t you think that this is really strange?" Sui Yuan’s gentle temperament gave Ya the urge to spill everything on his mind, "Mermen’s existence is just to give birth, and they are reliant on other people for all of their basic needs. Isn’t this kind of lifestyle quite abnormal?"
"I don’t understand what you’re trying to say," Although he approved of Ya’s idea in his heart, Sui Yuan could only tilt his head to the side, "To have children is a very important thing. It’s our responsibility."
"I didn’t say that it wasn’t important. What I mean is...... except for giving birth, don’t tell me that mermen cannot do anything else? Independence.... I’m saying that there should be a certain level of independence, so that even if they were to leave their mates, they would be able to live on."
Ya was very distressed, but upon seeing Sui Yuan’s unchanging confusion, he couldn’t help but be discouraged. "Forget it. What’s the use of saying this to you......"
Sui Yuan held onto Ya’s hand. According to his character settings, although he did not understand Ya’s worries, he could see that he felt vexed. So, he used this kind of method to comfort him.
Ya smiled at Sui Yuan in gratitude.
In this world, the relationship between humans and mermen was abnormal. Humans needed mermen to give birth, so they had long begun to conscientiously raise them. They completely took away their independence, making it so that mermen would be unable to live without humankind. Over time— and for a long time— no matter if it were humans or mermen, all were imperceptibly influenced to come to accept this kind of relationship, and stopped questioning it.
Ya was the only merman to call these kinds of rules to question. Max was also one of those rare kinds of human.
Max didn’t like mermen because he thought that they were too weak, apathetic, uninspired, and without any innate desire to pursue anything. He believed that these kind of intelligent creatures were quite lamentable and had no worth. Even if they were capable of producing offspring, they were still not worthy of being revered and cherished. And so, it was fortunate that he had met a merman that shared a similar opinion; A merman who was strong, had a goal, and was unwilling to accept the current situation of his kind.
As they interacted, and as Ya’s nature gradually revealed itself, Max’s initial apathy towards him became one of concern. Eventually, their relationship evolved into one of mutual affections. Both of them were both classified as oddballs in this world. However, they understood one another.
—Of course, as long as it’s according to the original plot...... all of this would only be logical.....
"Mechas? Did you just say mechas?!" Since the subject that had just been discussed was too grave, Sui Yuan and Ya both quickly changed directions. When he heard from Sui Yuan that this world had mechas, Ya became very excited.
It was practically every man’s dream to have a mecha, and naturally Ya was no exception. "The kind like Transformers? Like Gundams?"
"Transformers? Gundams?" Sui Yuan, who expressed his confusion, soon after confirmed, "Yes, it’s that kind of tall, large, fast, pilot-controlled combat robot with high combative ability."
"Where are they?" Ya asked in detail.
Sui Yuan hesitated. "Only military men are permitted to use mechas. Dima and Max...... should probably have them?"
"Are you guys willing to take me to see them?" Ya’s eyes shone with longing.
Sui Yuan shook his head. "I don’t know. You...... go ask and see?"
Ya hesitated for a second. However, his thirst for mechas quickly overcame his fear of Max. He suddenly turned his body and swam over rapidly, making a beeline towards Max and Dima who were still standing by the pool’s edge.
Sui Yuan also hesitated for a moment before following, worried. At that moment, Ya had long since made an unhappy face and nagged at Max, asking him to take him to go see the army’s mechas.
Sui Yuan silently laid on his stomach at the pool’s edge as a spectator. He had to say, seeing Ya tangled up with Max made him a bit displeased.
Max had originally planned to not answer but, under Dima and Ya’s combined persuasion, he ultimately relented. Casting his gaze on Sui Yuan, he asked, "Do you want to go see too?"
Sui Yuan stared blankly, as this time’s plot did not require his input. Disregarding this fact, Sui Yuan quickly responded, nodding his head happily.
—Yes, he was only curious about the mechas. It wasn’t because of the fact that Max never neglected him that he felt happy!
The author has something to say:
Although mechas were mentioned, but here, mechas are not the focus......In the future, I’ll probably specifically write a story about mechas!!>////<
Eve: Sui Yuan, baby, you’ve fallen. Oh my poor baby.
Bear: there is no escape from your man’s clutches, fighting against it is futile ʕÒ(ꈊ)Óʔ
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
IANEWtbaSML’s release schedule will change as of this week. It’ll now be 3x on Wed/Fri/Sun.I picked up a new project! Check out Strategy to Capture that Scum Gong . Releases will be every Monday.
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