One day, the young mermaid said,
“I’m going to eat you.”
“…….”
Giovanni smiled awkwardly.
“…Is that really what you say to someone who has just returned from the market?”
“I said I’m going to eat you.”
“It seems you did not like being left alone while I went to the market, Aria.”
“That’s right. I didn’t like it.”
“But you were the one who became absorbed in your book and said you wanted to stay home alone, Aria.”
“I’m going to ea—”
“Understood. Next time, we shall go together.”
Giovanni patted Iser, who had been hovering behind him and anxiously watching for signs that his sister was angry, then handed the child a bag of groceries. It was not particularly heavy.
“Could you take this to the kitchen?”
“Ah, yes. I will.”
“Thank you for always helping, Iser.”
Giovanni watched Iser head to the kitchen, then sat beside Aria.
“Looking at you now, you do not seem terribly angry.”
“Is this what humans describe as being angry?”
“Merfolk truly are insensitive to emotion. Might it be because you ordinarily live among sea creatures that rarely communicate?”
“Sea creatures certainly do communicate. Foolish humans simply fail to recognize it.”
“Is that so? Even so, its nature must differ from communication among creatures on land.”
Her vivid blue eyes curved.
“I believe what you are feeling now, Aria, may be anger.”
“The idea of a mermaid becoming angry sounds rather unfamiliar.”
“This is my first time seeing an angry mermaid as well. Merfolk were always expressionless, even when they fought humans.”
“I suppose they were.”
Even when humans killed merfolk young, the merfolk did not grow angry. They merely retaliated with cold, expressionless faces, and people called them monsters who did not care even when their own children died.
“Come to think of it, I heard humans and merfolk fought again in the neighboring village. Did you see it, Teacher?”
“I did not, but all the merfolk I have seen throughout my life have shown no emotion.”
He smiled.
“As you know, Aria, the conflict between humans and merfolk is so ancient that no one knows which side began it.”
Not even they knew who had started the conflict. Humans simply saw merfolk as eerie monsters of the sea, while merfolk regarded humans as foolish, threatening beasts.
The conflict was steadily escalating. Merfolk now dragged innocent humans into the sea and drowned them, while humans dried innocent merfolk to death in the public square.
And as they watched, both sides cried out the same thing.
“Everyone says it. The merfolk must die. The humans must die…. They ask how anyone but a devil could have created such a terrible state of affairs.”
“…….”
“I have witnessed the conflict between humans and merfolk with my own eyes. I traveled from place to place as a son of the Sun, and met many merfolk along the way.”
“And so you pride yourself on knowing merfolk well?”
“That confidence may indeed have been inappropriate to…