9. Two Important Scales

Ursilla took a deep breath to calm her brain, which was suddenly hot in the midst of the cold she was feeling. Antares was still crying, even though Ursilla had said many times that she would not die from a sneeze. But, it appears that it is not easy to make that one merman understand. Maybe it's because Antares has been lied to so often that he considers everything other people say a new lie.

"Antares, calm down, okay? First, can you take me to the edge?" Ursilla's hand was on Antares's shoulder and squeezed tightly to attract the merman's attention.

Antares's breath hitched, the arm that was originally used to cover his eyes had now been lowered. Antares's ears, which are like butterfly wings, look down as if they have no spirit. Antares's face was puffy and Ursilla couldn't bear to look at him.

Antares glanced at Ursilla. "Human, will you be okay if I take you over the edge?"

Ursilla immediately nodded her head. Finally, there was one remark that was taken seriously by Antares. "I'll feel better. It's cold in the water."

Antares tilted his head and plunged his hand into the water. "Cold?"

Ursilla put on a smile, trying to be patient with Antares's attitude. "Yeah, it's cold. I'm cold. So please take me to the edge."

Antares nodded in understanding. "All right, Human. You're asking too much, but I'll comply."

Antares's arms that were wrapped around Ursilla's waist tightened. Antares's tail moved slowly and his hand reached the edge of the swamp. They finally arrived at the edge and Antares immediately lifted Ursilla's tiny body to sit in the rock crevices surrounding the swamp.

"Thank you." Ursilla smiled sweetly, creating a blush on Antares's cheeks. Antares's ears even moved up and down as if to express the pleasure, he was feeling.

Seeing such a cute sight, Ursilla couldn't help but touch the unique ears she had seen for the first time. "Were your ears like this from the start?"

Antares frowned in surprise at the question Ursilla asked. According to Antares, isn't it normal for sirens to have ears like butterfly wings?

Ursilla grimaced when she realized that her question was a little unreasonable. "Please don't answer my previous question."

Again, Antares just nodded in agreement. It seems Antares is a man who always obeys the words of the surrounding people. It is his submissive attitude that is one of the reasons Antares has no friends among the sirens.

Siren. This one race lives in groups in the deepest sea along with other sea creatures. Even though they live in groupsin fact, they only care about their beauty. Always competing to show who is the prettiest among the rest.

If you can't determine who is the prettiest, there will be a fierce battle. No wonder death often occurs in the siren race and their existence is only a few because the cause of the extinction of merman and mermaids is from their people.

Selfish, arrogant, arrogant, high competition and feel the most powerful among other races. Those are the traits of the sirens that they always have. However, Antares does not have such a trait. Seen from anywhere, Antares is a merman who has a kind and innocent nature.

Instead of competing, Antares might become the subject of bullying. Antares's innocent faces did ask to be bullied so that he was alienated from his people. After all, the fact that Antares is a half-human merman makes it impossible for Antares to linger in the deepest ocean.

On a night like this, Antares's vision in the water is drastically reduced. The pupil of the eye that should be able to see in the dark water in the deepest sea, is increasingly restricted as the day approaches. So, Antares will stop in the swamps every night. Then, the next morning, he would return to the deepest sea to receive lessons from his grandfather.

"Antares, isn't it difficult to live alone?" Ursilla suddenly became upset because the past flashed through her mind. Thinking of Antares's miserable fate made Ursilla feel sympathy for herself as well.

Antares winked at the bitter expression on Ursilla's face. A second later, Antares nodded his head in agreement with Ursilla's words. "Yeah, it's hard, Human! I probably wouldn't have been able to live if Grandpa wasn't around. Mother always rejected my presence, but she would get furious if I disappeared too far."

Ursilla's head quickly turned towards Antares when she heard Antares's life story that came out of the merman's own mouth. Ursilla actually knew without Antares telling her. But, hearing the sad tone in his voice, Ursilla couldn't bear to stop Antares from telling her about his sadness. "Why does your mother get angry every time you disappear? Hasn't she rejected you from the start?"

Antares's lips curved downwards, his ears drooping following his deteriorating mood. "At first I thought Mom loved me somehow. But, it turns out she's worried about the beauty I have. She said to take care of my beauty so that one day mom can take it from me for herself."

Ursilla's breath hitched for a moment. Her head suddenly remembered the sentences in the novel Love to Ursilla which explained about the life history of Antares.

{ Antares Ocean, the half-human merman has a beauty that is not inferior to the original merman. That beauty gave his mother the envy of his own. When Antares grew up, his beauty scales were taken by his mother so that Antares had to become a disabled merman. The scales on his tail are peeling off and no longer look as beautiful as before because the mother has taken his beauty scales for herself. }

Basically, sirens have two scales that are essential for their survival. One, beauty scales, in the form of an object that is often used by merman and mermaids to make them look superior to others. Beauty scales are connected with the beauty possessed by the sirens. If the scales are taken from them, then their beauty will disappear. Their shiny scales will peel off little by little until leaving the flesh without skin.

Second, the scales of life. The scales of life are not the same as the scales of beauty in the form of an object. The scales of life are golden and are well hidden by their owners.

As the name implies, the scales of life mean the life of the siren itself. If their life scales were taken to give to others or crushed into water foam, then they would be destroyed at that very moment. So, sirens are very sensitive with their two important scales.

From what Antares had said earlier, Ursilla could conclude that a situation where Antares would lose her beauty as a siren like in a novel could happen. Antares might be able to turn into a full human at will without the help of a magician because he is a half-human merman. However, basically, Antares's identity is still a merman. If her beauty is taken away, then Antares will be the ridicule of all the sirens and maybe even Antares will be expelled from his place of residence.

Ursilla couldn't let such a tragic thing happen to her favorite character. Ursilla put her hand on Antares's slippery shoulder. "Antares Ocean, listen to me! You know that I know you. So, I ask that you listen to me from now on!"