The Little Merman Demands Legs from the Sea Witch - Chapter 43
VII.
Iko had no appetite, so she skipped dinner and went to bed early. Of course, it wasn’t really time to sleep yet, but there wasn’t much else she could do by staying awake. The letters in the book blurred before her eyes, and she couldn’t focus on her potion research. She even tried cleaning, but after breaking several potion bottles while spacing out with the broom in hand, she gave up on that too.
Iko closed her eyes and thought back. This had happened once before—when Dalibaya died. She had been so grief-stricken that she couldn’t do anything for three days and just lay in bed.
On the fourth day, she managed to eat a little breakfast, though it barely went down. Then, she tended to the neglected garden. By noon, she had lunch, which went down a bit easier than breakfast.
In this way, Iko set a schedule and carried out her tasks step by step. By adhering to a routine without dwelling in her thoughts, she slowly began to overcome her sadness.
“So I can do it this time, too.”
Iko spoke aloud as if casting a spell. She couldn’t quite remember what she usually did when she was alone, but she figured she would gradually recall it. The mer-prince who used to disrupt her routine was too busy playing in Kokoya Village to interfere with her daily life anymore.
Iko took a long, deep breath in through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. It was a very quiet night, with only her breathing to break the silence. No one was there to poke her in the side and ask if she was already asleep, or to sneak a kiss when she wasn’t paying attention.
Brrring.
Just as she was getting used to the awkward peace she hadn’t felt in a while, an alarm suddenly went off. Iko’s eyes shot open. Bolo never came at night, and even if he had, he wouldn’t confuse day and night.
Iko glanced at the glass orb on the table. Despite her warning that she would curse him if he showed up, Kashmir had come.
“Witch, let’s make a deal.”
He called out, knowing she could hear him. She could have just covered the orb with a cloth and pretended not to hear him.
But seeing his face, she found herself unable to move. Iko held her breath and watched him.
“If you agree to my deal, I’ll give you a merperson’s tear.”
Kashmir held up a small bead. Iko, who had resolved not to respond to anything he said, flinched in surprise. He didn’t seem to be deceiving her with a fake, but where could he have gotten that?
“It’s a freshly shed tear, just moments ago. Don’t you want it?”
Of course, she wanted it. But before that, did Kashmir just say he had cried? Iko blinked rapidly in shock. What could have happened to make him cry?
Forgetting her decision not to love him anymore, Iko rushed outside. She pushed a small boat into the water, climbed in, and started rowing. She rowed so hard that she was gasping for breath, but the boat didn’t move as fast as her anxious heart wanted it to.
When she turned the handle to open the sluice gate, she heard the inner gate creak open. Iko caught her breath as she scanned the water’s surface, wary that he might pop up and capsize the boat.
“Too late!”
But Kashmir approached slowly, careful not to rock the boat, and leaned in. When he saw Iko in her nightgown, he rested his arms on the side of the boat.
“Were you sleeping?”
He was crying because he missed her, and yet this carefree witch was…
Kashmir glared at her in anger. But only for a moment. When Iko looked at him with concern, his anger melted away like snow falling into the sea.
“You were lying about crying, weren’t you?”
“I’m not a liar like someone I know.”
“Then the tear you just showed me, that’s fake?”
“I’m not a fraud, either.”
Kashmir leaned his head against his arm and looked at her. She was treating him like a lying scammer, but for some reason, he felt like laughing. He was just happy to see her.
“It’s real.”
“Then which merperson did you steal it from?”
“Would you know if I told you which one?”
“So it’s not your tear, is it?”
Iko grumbled, saying he’d picked up a bad habit from her, but she sighed in relief, glad it was just a lie. Kashmir remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking again.
“Let me ask you one thing. Do you hate me?”
The direct question left Iko momentarily speechless. She wanted to answer quickly, but the sincerity in his eyes made it hard to lie.
“…I hate you.”
“Do you hate me so much that you can’t even stand to look at me?”
She managed to force out the first lie, but the second one was much harder. Iko’s lips moved, but no sound came out. Seeing this, Kashmir’s expression turned sorrowful.
Kashmir, who had thought he could stay by her side even if she hated him, realized how naive that thought was. Hearing her say she hated him just once felt like his heart was being torn apart. Tears welled up in his eyes again.
“There’s this terrible witch who won’t show her face unless I bring her something really precious. But I feel like I’ll die if I don’t see her, so I cried. Because I missed her.”
