Shattered Memories

t/n: im so sorry, i accidentally uploaded c12 yesterday lol TT this is the actual c11

him. The mermaid, whom he had thought was rather naive, was surprisingly quick to notice.

But apart from admiration, Erhart didn’t know what to say to Rayan.

He was distracted by the endless worries and useless promises that the Emperor was still paying attention to him, so he should refrain from acting up and wait a little longer. As he met Rayan and started to enjoy each day, the diluted emotions were briefly revived in a clear light for a moment, and he wondered whether he should tell him so that they do not fade again.

“It’s strange. Nothing much happened.”

But Erhart chose to just pretend that he didn’t know. No matter how you think about it, the story of a father trying to kill his son was not beautiful. It was not a story worth telling to an innocent mermaid who was wary of humans but also had curiosity.

Unsure of what he was thinking, Rayan tilted his head. When he described the taste of food today, it was strangely succinct, and it seemed like something was going on, but it was strange to say that there was nothing going on. It was dubious.

‘Humans are good at lying and also bad at lying. Rayan. Please don’t wonder about the world they live in.’

When he was curious about the world outside for a while, he suddenly remembered Alle’s words of persuasion with a hardened face. Alle had thought such a thing wouldn’t happen, but cautioned him if he ever had to face a human. It was as if he had foreseen the image of Rayan who would let his guard down and approach them.

But after seeing him for a while, Erich didn’t look like a bad person. He sometimes had a fussy personality— sometimes he gave Rayan weird stuff, but usually he brought him delicious things and explained things well. But also lied.

“…”

Whether he was good at it, Rayan didn’t know. Rayan had lied to only a handful of times in his life, and he was so careless that anyone who knew him quickly noticed. Alle, Yuri and Ayla were also not of the kind that spoke lies.

“I just look like this because I was tired every day because our mermaid only came to see me at night like this.”

“You feel tired?”

“Human beings must sleep at this time.”

Ah. Rayan soon agreed.

“So that they will grow? That’s right, Erich is a young and small human being. Then, shall we meet every two nights from now on?”

Erich looked at Rayan. He couldn’t really define his eyes, but he looked a little startled.

“That’s fine, but Rayan, who the hell is younger than whom?”

“But Erich is young.”

Small and fragile, Rayan said without hesitation. Erich’s eyes narrowed at the assertion without even the slightest hesitation. It was obvious that he was dissatisfied. This has often been the case since they revealed their age to each other a few days ago.

‘How old are you?’

Erich had asked.

’50 years old.’

‘Don’t lie.’

Rayan, who carefully counted the units, answered. Meanwhile, Erich stared back as if it was unbelievable. Rayan simply stated the facts, but he could not understand the dissatisfaction that was being revealed.

“Erich is young. Small.”

It was true that he was actually smaller than him, so when Rayan nailed that fact in again, a crack was drawn on Erich’s forehead. But he couldn’t deny it so he kept his mouth shut and didn’t even think to open it.

Rayan tilted his head. He had only told a young human being that he was young, but the other showed signs of unwillingness when Rayan treated him as a child. Originally, he couldn’t ask anyone if humans hated being treated like a child, so only curiosity remained in Rayan’s thoughts.

But he doesn’t seem to be in a good mood, so should I comfort him? Ayla would sulk for a long time if he didn’t placate her. It was the same for Alle, if he was angry with him, he acted indifferent until Rayan had to give in. For example, he seldom cooperated in going out with Rayan.

So Erich might not bring that delicious food in the future. The food of the human world consisted of many strange things. When Rayan thought about it like that, he felt regretful and thought he should comfort him.

To comfort him, Rayan was in agony. Erich knew how to do a lot. He was able to embody the human world in a small crystal ball, and brought delicious things. And he knew a lot of things.

On the other hand, all Rayan can do was…

“…”

Was there anything he could do?

Rayan pointed out one by one in his head and fell into serious trouble for a moment.

“Rayan?”

“… ”

“Rayan.”

As Rayan pondered, Erich called out his name. But Rayan was so lost in thoughts that he could not hear the call. Rayan’s face, which had been contemplating for a long time, became more and more serious, and Erich looked at him with serious eyes.

“Ah!”

Just as Erich’s lips were about to open, Rayan let out a small cry. Rayan turned his head and looked at Erich. Green eyes filled with the reflection of the water in the moonlight glistened. There was one thing he was good at.

“Erich. Erich. Would you like to see the sea?”

“The sea can still be seen clearly enough.”

“No. Under the sea.”

Rayan’s voice rose by one note. On the other hand, Erich looked a little startled.

“But I can’t breathe underwater.”

“I know.”

“So what are you going to do?”

Rayan, who was leaning against a rock, pulled him up and dragged him into the sea. Erich’s body, which had lost his center, collapsed and he fell into the sea. There was a splash, a sound, and his body was submerged.

“I can’t swim.”

With his body half wrapped around Rayan, Erich wrinkled his nose. Rayan stretched out his hands and grabbed Erich’s cheek, pulling him towards me. The color of the sea and the color resembling the grass were intertwined and mixed.

As Erich’s eyes blinked, Rayan moved closer to his face, kissed him, and breathed in. It was moist, but it felt a little rough on the lips.

“What are you doing now?”

Erich hurriedly parted his lips and said. The tips of his ears were red.

“What?”

Rayan was puzzled. The only way to allow humans to breathe in the sea was for a mermaid to breathe into them. So he just gave him a breath, but Erich’s reaction was sensitive.

“Kissing is… no. It’s nothing.”

Erich covered his mouth and touched his forehead. He hadn’t had time to panic because he was pulled into the water suddenly. Rayan, tilting his head at the unresolved sentence, did what he was supposed to do, and didn’t think he needed to explain it.

He pulled Erich into the water and went deeper. Erich, who was suddenly submerged in water up to his head, unconsciously grabbed his nose and lips. Erich’s body paused as he kicked his feet to rise above his water surface. He muttered as he lifted his hands covering his nose and lips.

""

“I’m breathing.”

“Of course. I just breathed in.”

But it’s only for a moment. At most an hour or so. If it wasn’t enough, Rayan could just breathe in again at that time, but he couldn’t stay for long anyway. Because as a human Erich was too vulnerable to stay in the sea for a long time.

“Ah, that’s why…”

A little embarrassment was heard as Erich indicated understanding of the previous action.

Rayan shook his head and immersed himself in the water. Feeling the small gills growing back on his neck, he reached out to Erich. Even under the dark blue water, Erich’s shiny blonde hair could be seen very clearly.

“Erich. Just as I showed you your world, I will show you my world.”

He looked a little nervous, but soon nodded his head and took Rayan’s hand. His body temperature in the water was moderately warm, so it was possible to hold him. It’s not enough to get burned, but it’s still too hot to hold for a long time.

Rayan, who was still fiddling with the human hand with smooth joints without webs between his fingers, came to his senses and led him slowly.

Swimming in the water was not difficult for Rayan. From the moment he breathed, he belonged to the sea, and the sea was friendly to their guardian, the mermaid, so he parted the waters easily. So, while glancing at his fins, he stretched out, but Erich was at a loss for what to do.

He tried to move his leg haphazardly, then repeated the stiff movements. Rayan glanced back and burst into laughter. The intermittent laughter burst out with air bubbles.

“Why are you laughing.”

Erich’s tone was flat, as if his laugh was quite dissatisfying. Rayan, who slowed his pace and then stopped, turned to look at him.

“Just because.”

He suddenly remembered his reaction when he showed him the crystal ball of the outside world. And looking back, Erich had laughed at that time. In other words, there was no difference between the two. But he didn’t bother to point it out.

“Oh, yes. Too dark for El.”

Rayan was used to the darkness, but Erich was not. Rayan, who was looking around, noticed something and beckoned. The things that were sneaking around and snooping around came to him as if they were called by hand gestures. They were the beings responsible for Atisa’s undying light, flowing everywhere. As Rayan whispered to them, the surroundings lit up with light. The flickering gold light wasn’t too bad to discern right in front.

Erich’s gaze shifted here and there, perhaps thanks to the fact that he could see his surroundings well.

It was not comparable to Atisa, but the sea full of water plants and corals was beautiful.

“That’s like a firefly.”

“Firefly?”

“It can be found on land. It flies in the dark night air and shines like that.”

It was strange that there was something similar in the outside world. It was just a pity Rayan couldn’t see it with his own eyes. Swallowing regret, Rayan released Erich’s hand he was still holding. Erich shook his leg at the sudden release, realizing that he could swim in the water without sinking easily, and corrected his balance.

He struggled a bit, but his body eventually acclimated and naturally floated in the sea. Rayan had planned to hold his hand again just in case he kept floundering but it was useless now.

It would be okay if he couldn’t do some things. When Rayan was feeling disappointed, Erich looked at him and asked.

“What’s wrong. When we meet next time, why don’t we catch fireflies?”

He misunderstood the cause of his disappointment as not being able to see the fireflies. It was a valid and reasonable inference because Rayan had always been curious and longing for anything from the outside world.

“No, it’s okay.”

Shaking his head and pushing his back to look around, Erich began to glance around. It was quite pleasant to see him marvel at the sea.

“What do you think?”

“…Beautiful. Without a lie, sincerely.”

There was no exaggeration, but his heart fluttered at the sincerity conveyed.