The Little Merman Demands Legs from the Sea Witch - Chapter 10
II.
Iko squinted as she looked at Kashmir, who had a tablecloth wrapped around his waist like a skirt.
Why was he wearing a tablecloth, one might ask, and the reason was simple—there were no men’s clothes in the witch’s house. If his frame had been smaller and more delicate, she might have offered him some of her own clothes, but with his size, that was impossible.
She couldn’t leave him naked, though. The presence of his dangling male anatomy was too conspicuous. So, the tablecloth had been sacrificed to cover him up.
“Why do I have to wear something like this?” Kashmir grumbled, ungrateful, complaining that it felt strange.
“When you go to a human village, you need to wear clothes. Otherwise, they’ll think you’re a madman and drag you away before you even get a glimpse of food or drink.”
“Humans really do the most bothersome things.”
Kashmir didn’t understand and disliked the idea, but seeing that Iko was covered from neck to toe, he accepted the tablecloth without further complaint.
“So how am I supposed to walk?”
“First, stand up.”
Kashmir took a deep breath and grabbed Iko’s arm to pull himself up. It felt like he was trying to leap out of the water. Earlier, he could barely manage to lift his hips, but this time, he succeeded in standing.
However, as soon as his feet touched the ground, he felt a shock running through his body, causing him to stagger.
“Stand up straight.”
Iko grabbed his arm as he began to fall. Kashmir tried to regain his balance, but the more he tried, the more his feet wobbled beneath him.
“You’re shaking like a newborn fawn.”
Kashmir didn’t know what a fawn was, but he could tell that the witch was mocking him. He had never been accused of weakness in his life, so her words were a shock to him.
“Can’t even stand properly, let alone walk?”
But Iko wasn’t the type of teacher to kindly understand his feelings and patiently guide him. She continued to lash at Kashmir’s pride, which was already deeply wounded.
“Even a one-year-old can stand.”
“Wait. I can do it.”
Kashmir exhaled heavily through his nose. Despite his inability to stand steadily, he tried to move his legs.
But his legs only twitched and refused to move forward.
“Just wait a moment. I’ll walk… right… now!”
Determined to prove himself, he tried to force his uncooperative legs forward, but instead, he tipped forward.
Iko, who had been supporting him, suddenly found herself having to bear the weight of a man more than twice her size.
“What are you doing? Stand up properly!”
Iko flapped her hands against his back. Kashmir wanted nothing more than to stand properly, but his legs wouldn’t cooperate.
As Kashmir’s weight pushed her backward, Iko’s waist started to bend under the pressure. Not wanting to be crushed, she urgently shouted at him to move.
Thankfully, just before Iko was overwhelmed by his weight, Kashmir’s legs finally gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.
“Why isn’t this working?”
Kashmir was bewildered, sitting there holding onto Iko’s arm.
He was the fastest swimmer in the sea, strong enough to lift boulders. But he couldn’t even manage the simple act of walking.
“This doesn’t make sense. Your potion must be flawed.”
Kashmir glared at Iko suspiciously. Iko scoffed and shook off his arm.
“Blaming others because you’re too pathetic to manage on your own? How noble of you, Prince.”
Iko’s sarcastic remark left Kashmir’s mouth hanging open. Having never been ridiculed by a witch before, he remained frozen in shock.
Iko felt no sympathy for him. She only wanted to get rid of him as quickly as possible.
“I’ve shown you how to walk and helped you practice, so that should be enough, right?”
“Enough? Are you serious?”
Kashmir snapped out of his stupor and glared at Iko.
Ignoring his defiance, Iko pushed his shoulder.
“I’m not leaving until you teach me the right way.”
“I already did,” Iko insisted.
When her hand failed to move him, she tried pushing him with her knee. But this time, Kashmir grabbed her leg as she kept trying to push him away.
“Teach me more actively. For example, let me touch your legs.”
Iko’s eyes widened in shock at his suggestion.
“Why does it have to be my legs?”
Startled, Iko tried to pull away, but her leg was already in his grasp, causing her to lose her balance and fall backward. Kashmir leaned in closer, using his arms to move toward her.
“To figure out how the muscles move.”
“No.”
Iko shook her head repeatedly. She wasn’t comfortable with physical contact. She was already acutely aware of his warm arm and chest pressing against her leg. She had expected his body to be cold since he was a sea creature, but it wasn’t at all.
“You want me to master walking quickly and leave your house, don’t you? Then cooperate a little.”
“Find another human to help you with that!”
“Who else is there? The only weird humans who live in a fishbowl in the sea is you and your master.”
