The Little Merman Demands Legs from the Sea Witch - Chapter 20
IV.
Iko had told Kashmir countless lies, both big and small, over time. Each time, Kashmir would look at her in disbelief, finding her audacity amusing, but he never really minded. After all, he always thought witches were supposed to be liars.
But today, the situation felt different.
“……”
He was clearly furious, glaring at Iko with his mouth firmly shut, even though the tea and cookies he had so eagerly wanted were right in front of him. Not that he could enjoy them in his orca form—he couldn’t even grasp a teacup or a cookie.
“Do you want a cookie?” Iko cautiously asked, holding one up for him.
After a long, tense silence, Kashmir finally spoke.
“No matter how many lies you tell, I usually don’t care. You’re a liar by nature, so I don’t even get mad.”
“You look angry right now…” Iko said, eyeing the round orca head before her.
Kashmir didn’t deny it. He was angry, and that was the undeniable truth. But he was struggling to find the right words to confront her because the reason for his anger wasn’t clear.
Kashmir often felt bored, and when he was bored, he got angry. He would break things, throw sea turtles’ shells, and that was just part of his daily routine.
But this wasn’t one of those times. So why did he feel so upset?
The reason wasn’t clear, but one thing was certain—it was because of Iko.
Normally, he would resolve his anger by tossing her around and forgetting about it.
But oddly, he didn’t want to do that to her. Was it because she couldn’t swim?
“I hid Dalibaya’s death for my own safety,” Iko said slowly, watching Kashmir’s reaction as she tried to explain.
His large mouth opened in disbelief.
“Safety? For your safety? How does telling me your master is dead put you in danger?”
Kashmir demanded, his voice rising with agitation. Iko felt flustered.
“If I told you Dalibaya was gone, then everyone would know I have no one to help me if I get into trouble,” Iko struggled to explain.
She wasn’t used to sharing her true feelings with others, so it was hard for her to put her thoughts into words.
“If you’re somehow put in danger while you’re here, the mer-king or your brothers would do anything to save you. But I don’t have anyone like that on my side.”
Instead, they’d probably be glad to see a witch like her die.
Iko suddenly felt a wave of self-pity for living in the sea despite being so hated by everyone. The truth was, she didn’t even love the sea enough to put up with all this, unlike Dalibaya.
“So when you say you have no one on your side, does that include me?” Kashmir asked, his voice suddenly softening.
Iko was taken aback, her mouth hanging open as she blinked at him.
Kashmir slapped his fin against the sand.
“It better not. I’m not the kind of person who would ignore a friend in danger.”
Kashmir declared with a warning tone, making it clear that he would be even angrier if she thought otherwise.
“Let’s say you lied out of fear. But why did you tell the truth to that Bolo?”
“Bolo isn’t a threat.”
Her words echoed in Kashmir’s mind. He had to admit that the fish who had panicked at the sight of him and fled was no real danger. But then, what about him? Was he considered a threat?
Kashmir felt wronged.
He had never actually threatened her—not once.
…Well, maybe that wasn’t true. He had threatened to break the fishbowl when they first met because she wanted to kick him out. And maybe he had done it a few more times after that.
But he hadn’t done that in a while. In fact, he had been very kind to her, even showing her parts of himself that he normally wouldn’t show anyone except family.
“I thought we had at least that much trust. Don’t you trust me at all?”
Kashmir recalled how she had refused his offer to ride on his back. Even though he had promised she wouldn’t fall into the water, she had firmly shaken her head.
He had thought she was just careful about owing favors, given how meticulously she calculated both giving and receiving. But that wasn’t it at all.
Kashmir felt hurt.
Yet the only ways he knew to deal with his emotions were either by breaking things or by fighting with his brothers until he was exhausted.
