Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Nereis Nymph Neri’s Melancholy

The Passos Island’s Harbor.

The bustling dock, busy with the Seeding Festival, turned into a sea of tears in no time.

“Uwaaah!! Don’t go! You can’t go! You absolutely can’t go!”

“Neri... Please listen to me... Aagh! Don’t pull my hair, my hair!”

“I don’t care! I don’t care! I don’t care!! Dianes can’t go! You have to stay here and live with me!!”

A young nymph with shimmering silver hair, like the morning stream, continuously burst into tears while a young boy, trying to console her, screamed as his hair was pulled.

Even Chiron, the mentor of many heroes, and the highly respected high priest Efaros of Passos Island smiled bitterly, and those diligently carrying luggage passed by warmly.

The young nymph, almost wailing, grabbed and swung the boy’s head around.

“I’ll come back! I’ll be back soon!”

“Lie! The older sisters told me everything! They say human men promise to come back soon, but once they go out to sea, they never come back!”

“I swear I’ll come back! Ouch! My hair, my hair is being pulled out!”

“I don’t care! Don’t go! Live here with meee!!”

True to her name as a sea nymph, Neri was shedding tears so profusely that it was hard to believe she was crying from such a small body.

“Haha. They say heroes are charming. You’ve already captured the heart of a sea sister.”

“When Dianes came to our temple, Nesneria fell for him at first sight. Dianes didn’t show any displeasure and was especially generous to Nesneria. But I never imagined it would be to this extent...”

“Hey, elders! Don’t just watch. Help me out here!”

While the two old men were smiling warmly, seemingly seeing it as a childish love fight, I was having a really tough time.

When I was practicing martial arts, she found it fascinating and asked me to teach her as well. So, I taught her some basic techniques, like the Golden Palm and a few steps of footwork. But seeing how strong Neri was from practicing those moves, I realized it wasn’t just child’s play.

“A true hero not only embraces a woman but also takes responsibility for her. Since I haven’t seen my friend in a long time, I’ll go have a chat with him. Take care of it by then.”

“Then, let’s go to my study. I have a bottle of wine personally crafted by Dionysus. I saved it for a day like today.”

Surprisingly, it seemed that Grandpa Efaros and Chiron knew each other. With Grandpa’s suggestion, Chiron readily left, and I was left alone with Neri at the dock.

“Shit... Shit...”

“Hey... Neri?”

“I don’t know!”

Thud!

Out of breath, Neri, who had been panting, suddenly turned and kicked my shin with all her might before heading into the forest.

Well, my feet would probably hurt more anyway, being barefoot.

“...Sigh.“

“Hey, Dianes. What are you doing?”

“What do you mean, sir?”

The dockmaster, who had been silently watching, chuckled and smacked my back.

“Really, I don’t know which family you belong to, but sending a child alone into the forest on the night of the new moon? What were they thinking?”

Aren’t you a child, too?

The words rose up to her throat, but Nesneria barely held them back.

Since earlier, she had felt a strange aura prickling her skin, coming from the boy in front of her.

“Wh-who are you?”

“Me? Hmm...”

She had heard from her sisters.

They said that sometimes gods, when they see a beautiful girl like her, transform into humans or animals to try and take her away. Was it possible that a god had transformed to take her away?

“Are you... a god?”

“Eh? God? What is this nonsense? No, wait, even so, it’s not wrong to say that since I reached the peak and then became a child again...?”

The boy, frowning at the incomprehensible words, soon stared intently at her, trailing off as he slowly approached her.

“Uh. Uh uh?”

Tilting his head as if he found it amusing, the boy’s eyes sparkled as if he had realized something, and he looked directly at Nesneria.

“You’re not human? For a moment, I thought you were from the Southern Island Sect. Your pure qi is too much to compare with those dark guys.”

“Ah...”

Eyes more beautiful than the black ruby ring that her second sister received as a gift from a prince on the mainland.

Nesneria felt her heart drop with a thud at those beautiful eyes.

Interest and cunning, pride and admiration, memories and recollections.

The feelings of humans, which immortals who live eternally and those with ageless lives couldn’t possess, sparkled in his eyes like sunlight shimmering in the sea.

Fascinating.

They were more beautiful than any jewel she had received as a gift recently.

“A spirit or a fairy, maybe?”

“Y-Yes. I am Nereis nymph, Nesneria, from the Thetis Palace.”

“An elf?”

“A nymph.”

“Hmm... Ah, a nymph! I remember that bard talking about them. Nereis, so the sea? That’s why I felt a similar qi to the sea.”

The boy nodded, as if learning something new, and found it amusing.

Then, his face soon turned serious, and he bowed politely to introduce himself.

“I am Dianes, residing in the Temple of Zeus, the father of the great thunderbolt. Greetings to the nymph of the sea, sister of a thousand waves.”

It was as if she were looking at a prince from a kingdom with an elegant and disciplined posture.

As he bowed his head, his jet-black hair swayed like a veil, and Nesneria just stared blankly at the sight.

‘It looks so fluffy. His hair must feel nice to touch.’

“Eh?”

“Ah...?”

When Nesneria came to her senses, she was stroking that fluffy-looking hair.

Dianes looked up with a bewildered expression, as if asking what she was doing.

Nesneria, embarrassed, blushed like a red radish at those eyes.

Thus began the fate between the two.