The Little Merman Demands Legs from the Sea Witch - Chapter 44
Tears still streamed down his face. As Kashmir blinked, a tear rolled down his arm and fell into the small boat. Iko watched the tear roll across the boat’s floor, mesmerized.
“Give me your hand.”
When Iko cautiously extended her hand, Kashmir poured all the tears he had collected into her palm. There were so many that they overflowed, spilling onto the boat’s floor.
“This is the price for showing you my face one last time.”
“Kashmir.”
“Goodnight. Don’t worry. I won’t come looking for you again.”
“Kashmir, do you love me?”
Iko asked loudly, her chest rising and falling with excitement as she panted. Kashmir nodded his head, acknowledging her question.
“Then let’s change the terms of the deal.”
Iko slowly let the mermaid’s tears slip from her hand onto the floor. Kashmir, who had been about to leave the boat, turned back to her side.
“How are you going to change it?”
Even in the dark, his black eyes seemed to shine. As he gripped the edge of the boat with both hands, it tilted slightly, but he was so focused on the deal that he didn’t notice.
“What you want is too little for what you’re offering. It’s not fair.”
Iko, who had always been taught to negotiate for something bigger, was surprised to hear herself speaking about fairness.
“So?”
“So, instead of just showing you my face once, I was thinking I could show you it more often.”
“How many times are we talking about?”
“…Isn’t the boat tilting?”
Not knowing how to respond, Iko tried to change the subject. Kashmir, who had a gentle heart, tried to stand up while holding onto the boat, causing it to tip over. As Iko floundered in the water, Kashmir quickly grabbed hold of her.
“You’re right. Even I think showing my face just once for that amount of tears is too little. Those tears came from someone very special.”
Though his tone was confident, tears continued to fall from Kashmir’s eyes, transforming into shining beads as they hit the water and sank.
“Witch, let’s change the deal. I’ll give you all my tears if you show me your face. Forever.”
“Wait. Kashmir, stop crying. If you’re going to cry, do it out of the water! They’re all sinking!”
Iko shouted as she tried to catch the tears falling from his eyes with her hands. The tears she had previously collected had already sunk to the bottom when the boat tipped over, and now she was clinging to Kashmir’s neck in frustration.
“What are we going to do about all those wasted tears? You, Prince, go and retrieve them all.”
“I’ll pick up every single one if you agree to my terms.”
The man who had been content to leave after seeing her face just once was now making demands, refusing to negotiate.
Iko hesitated. Seeing him cry because he missed her had softened her heart, and his confession of love had made it race. Her resolve to forget him over time now seemed laughable.
But there was something troubling about giving in so easily.
“A lifetime is too long. The idea of having to look at a man who drools over every woman’s chest sounds terrible.”
“The only chest I’ve ever drooled over is yours. I’ve kissed, sucked, and licked it…”
Iko quickly covered his mouth with her hand. His shameless talk made her cheeks flush with embarrassment.
She glanced at him, feeling her resolve weaken.
“If you ever drool over another woman’s chest, I’ll turn you into a pig.”
The witch warned, casting a sidelong glance at the merman. Kashmir blinked at her, then stared.
Removing her hand from his mouth, Iko waited for his answer.
“What’s a pig?”
“Bacon.”
“Oh.”
A brutal, witch-like threat, suggesting she would cook him if he strayed. It was a terrifyingly harsh warning.
“Fine. Go ahead, turn me into a pig.”
Kashmir accepted her condition without hesitation. He was confident that as long as he had Iko, he wouldn’t be tempted to stray.
“But do people usually turn someone they dislike into a pig just because they get distracted?”
Iko’s lips twitched as she flinched. She rolled her eyes, searching for an excuse.
“It was just because it was so annoying.”
“Witch, are you jealous?”
“I said it was annoying.”
“So, you actually like me too?”
Iko was at a loss for words. Kashmir’s heart pounded as he waited for her lips to move.
“Now go pick up those tears. You promised you would.”
“You’re dodging the question, which means I’m right. So, you do love me.”
Feeling triumphant, Kashmir laughed out loud, teasing her. He cheerfully accepted her scolding, telling him to hurry and pick up the tears.
