The Little Merman Demands Legs from the Sea Witch - Chapter 21
Kashmir knew that if he broke the fishbowl, he wouldn’t be able to remain friends with Iko. He also couldn’t genuinely fight with her because she might get hurt. He had to come up with another way to handle his emotions.
As Kashmir kept his mouth shut, deep in thought, Iko nervously observed him.
Up until now, she hadn’t felt guilty about lying to Kashmir in various ways. After all, whenever she lied, it was because she deemed it necessary—like when she had told him that Dalibaya was still alive.
“It would have been stranger if I had trusted you right from the start,” Iko said.
“Then what about afterward? Or even this morning? You had plenty of time and opportunities to tell me the truth,” Kashmir retorted, slapping his fin against the ground, causing sand to fly onto the mat.
Iko quickly shielded the tea and cookies with her hands to keep them clean.
“Why didn’t you tell me the truth? It’s because you don’t trust me at all, right?”
“That’s not it…”
Iko felt both guilty and embarrassed under Kashmir’s relentless questioning.
It wasn’t that she thought he would suddenly turn on her and start threatening her once he knew that Dalibaya had died. In fact, she had come to trust him somewhat after seeing how much calmer he was than the rumors had suggested.
But the reason she hadn’t told him was completely ridiculous.
“Then what is it?” Kashmir pressed.
“…I forgot.”
“What?”
“I honestly forgot that I had lied to you about Dalibaya’s death,” Iko admitted, her expression embarrassed.
Kashmir didn’t believe her. He accused her of lying again, refusing to believe she was being sincere.
“I’m telling the truth. I intended to tell you, but I just forgot.”
“So it wasn’t because you didn’t trust me?”
“By now, I see you as a reliable customer—no, a friend.”
Kashmir eyed her suspiciously, clearly unconvinced by her less-than-reassuring answer. He let out a short, scoffing breath, then turned and slid into the water, his body rippling as he moved.
“Then prove it,” he said, flipping over to expose his belly. He wanted her to climb onto his back. Iko hesitated.
“It’s tea time. Why now?”
Iko tried to refuse, explaining that she hadn’t planned on getting into the water, but Kashmir was insistent. In the end, she had to leave her untouched tea behind and dip her feet into the water. Carefully, she climbed onto his belly, and Kashmir began to swim slowly.
“See? It’s safe, isn’t it? That Bolo can’t give you a ride like this,” Kashmir said, swaying gently from side to side.
Iko, tense and nervous, barely managed to agree as she gripped his fin tightly.
She didn’t think he intended to harm her, but she feared that in his excitement, he might accidentally drop her into the water. Even though he had promised to rescue her if that happened, she couldn’t shake the thought that by the time he realized she was drowning, it might already be too late.
“This is much faster than rowing,” he said, picking up speed, just as Iko had feared.
“Kashmir!” she shouted, trying to get him to stop.
But Kashmir mistook her urgent tone for excitement, swimming even faster and cutting through the water with increasing speed.
If they were outside the fishbowl, he could go even faster, but the confined space limited him. Compared to the vast, endless ocean, the fishbowl felt cramped.
“Stop it! Ahhh!”
Iko, unable to keep up with the speed, slipped off his belly.
‘Curse that orca merman! If I die here, I’ll put an unbreakable curse on him!’ she thought angrily as she sank to the bottom of the fishbowl, unable to swim.
Covering her nose and mouth, she tried to hold her breath and kick her legs upward, but just as she reached her limit, something grabbed her arm.
“See? I saved you quickly, right? You didn’t even swallow any water,” Kashmir said, now back in his merman form, holding her waist as he lifted her to the surface, placing her on his tail.
Iko gasped for air, opening her eyes to see Kashmir grinning confidently as if nothing in the world could scare him.
“I believe you trust me now. So, how about we finally try those cookies?” Kashmir said, his earlier anger dissipating as quickly as it had come.
The sudden shift in his mood left Iko feeling both bewildered and relieved, bringing a smile to her face.
