The Wizard of Fairy Tale World

Chapter 38: Is This What Humans Are Like?

The scene was truly spectacular!

The seabed was alive with seagrasses and strange trees whose names Aurora couldn’t even guess. The branches and leaves of these plants were as soft as silk, swaying gently in the underwater currents as if imbued with life. Looking up, one could see schools of vibrant fish darting through the upper layers of the sea, resembling birds soaring in the skies above the ground.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, this is so beautiful!"

Aurora turned her head from side to side, her eyes opening wider than they ever had since the day she was born.

In just these few seconds, the sights before her surpassed all the beauty she had ever witnessed in her life. She believed this view would astonish anyone in the Rose Kingdom, far exceeding the sum of the magnificent sights most people there would see in their entire lifetime.

For a moment, a strange feeling surged in Aurora's heart:

If her destiny had not been altered by her teacher when she was born, if the witches had chosen a different path for her—the one leading to her destined slumber—she would never have had the chance to witness this dreamlike wonder.

At this very moment, she would surely still be locked within the brass-forged palace, with a square patch of blue sky and a few shapely white clouds outside her window representing her entire world.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt grateful. Grateful that ten years ago, on that fateful night, the Sage of the Kingdom had chosen a different path for her.

The giant fish carrying Rhine and Aurora in its translucent belly swam onward for a while longer until they came upon a palace—a splendid structure built from coral, amber, and pearls.

"This is my first time seeing so many large and beautiful pearls. Any one of them is more lustrous and flawless than the pearls on my mother’s crown!"

Pressing her hand against the translucent belly of the giant fish, Aurora exclaimed in awe.

"That’s the Sea King’s palace," Rhine explained. "The gardens outside the palace are divided into sections, each belonging to a mermaid princess. We’ve entered the Mermaid Kingdom."

Aurora glanced curiously at her teacher, who was rapidly catching up to her in height.

We’re both visiting here for the first time, right? How does he seem so familiar, like a guide returning to an old haunt?

Then again, Aurora quickly accepted this notion. Maybe mages are just that knowledgeable. As a warrior, I don’t need to concern myself with such things.

It’s just like the scenes described in books from my past life. No, seeing it with my own eyes is even more breathtaking... Rhine thought to himself.

The sight of a giant anglerfish with two humans visible inside its transparent belly was so bizarre that it immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding mermaids!

From all directions, dozens of young mermaids swam toward the giant fish carrying Rhine and Aurora.

"Oh no, the mermaids are coming," Aurora muttered, her gaze sharpening as she instinctively reached for the sword at her waist—a masterpiece crafted by the finest artisans of the Rose Kingdom at the behest of the King and Queen themselves.

But as the sword left its sheath, Aurora quickly realized that her action might be futile.

"If the mermaids attack us with magic or weapons, what can I do inside the belly of a giant fish? If I tear through the fish’s belly, we’ll plunge into the depths of the sea."

A flurry of terrifying stories about mermaid curses, as told in both royal archives and folklore, filled her mind.

After all, those stories claimed that it took just four or five mermaids’ songs to summon apocalyptic storms and shatter mighty ships.

But here they were, in the heart of the Mermaid Kingdom, facing dozens of mermaids at once!

"Don’t panic," Rhine said calmly, his smile reassuring. "Actually, mermaids are a relatively peaceful race. Those scary curses and legends are likely just misunderstandings about them."

Aurora glanced at the silver-haired youth beside her. Though still anxious, she chose to trust her teacher.

Within moments, all the mermaids had surrounded the giant anglerfish, curiously observing the two humans inside its transparent belly.

Aurora was surprised to find that, upon seeing the humans, none of the mermaids drew weapons, cast spells, or sang storm-summoning songs as the legends suggested.

These strange creatures with fish tails seemed to be acting quite amicably!

"See? I told you," Rhine said with a grin.

The mermaids pressed against the translucent fish belly, peering at the two humans inside with wide, curious eyes.

—Aurora felt a little weird about this. It was as if they were animals in a circus, being ogled through a glass cage.

"Everyone, come look! This anglerfish has a transparent belly, and there are two human-like creatures inside!"

"Wow, it’s true!"

"These two look so ugly and scary! Their upper halves are just like ours, but below the waist, they’re completely deformed! I can’t bear to look!"

"Are their tails cut off? They’ve been turned into two ugly, strange fleshy stumps?"

"You don’t understand. Those are called legs. Humans from the surface world are just built that way."

"Humans? Are they really humans? How did humans end up in the sea?"

"My mother said only drowned sailors come to the palace beneath the waves. Are these two humans dead?"

"Of course they’re dead! Why even ask? Look, they’ve been swallowed by a giant fish."

The young mermaids chattered noisily.

Oh no, we’ve attracted a crowd... And wait, who are they calling ugly? You’re the ones with tails! And dead? Who’s dead here?

Aurora wanted to argue with the mermaids but didn’t know where to start.

Before she could say anything, Rhine naturally joined the conversation with the mermaids:

"Yes, we’re from the surface world."

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