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Chapter : 03
“Are you saying you consider land dwellers to be good neighbors to live alongside, Miss Marina?”
Sharkrof asked.
“Most of the people around me are good neighbors, I think. I like this town. The people are kind.”
“So that’s why you don’t want to go to the Sea Kingdom. Because you like the people on land.”
“Well… I suppose that’s one reason.”
“In other words, if you were to like me more than the land dwellers, your mind might change. You would follow me to the Sea Kingdom.”
“Well…”
“I see hope.”
Sharkrof’s eyes sparkled in a way that was almost foolish.
“I’ll have to research how to capture the hearts of land dwellers. Then I’ll capture yours as well, Miss Marina. Even if showing off my swordfish-hunting skills is useless, there must be some universal standard on land for evaluating a suitable mate.”
It seemed Sharkrof had not given up on his dream of taking me beneath the sea.
He was surprisingly persistent.
I had once heard a rumor.
They say sharks that live in warm waters are especially dangerous because of their tenacity.
Such sharks are always ready to feed, and once they bite their prey, they never stop attacking.
Perhaps that stubborn nature applies not only to hunting, but to everything else as well…
Sharkrof spoke again.
“By the way, Miss Marina. You mustn’t tell anyone about my true identity or about the sea people. Promise me. It’s a secret we’ve protected for a very long time.”
“All right.”
“As long as you don’t speak of it, no one will know. My concealment was perfect from the moment I came ashore. I guarantee no one saw me—”
At that moment, hurried footsteps rang out, and a man came rushing toward us in a fluster.
I turned around.
His familiar reddish hair, like wet seaweed, was tousled by the wind. He looked as though he had run all the way here.
His pale neck heaved as he struggled for breath.
He was someone I knew.
In fact, someone I had been waiting for.
It was Phineas, an employee at my café.
“Miss Marina! This is terrible! Some suspicious guy in a sailor outfit has come to the shop—”
Phineas stopped awkwardly when he saw Sharkrof standing beside me.
Sharkrof turned to look at him.
Eyes as hollow as a shark’s met Phineas’s flustered green ones.
Phineas jumped and shouted,
“That’s him! That’s the suspicious one!”
“I’m not suspicious.”
Sharkrof muttered calmly.
“He’s a monster!”
“I’m not a monster.”
Sharkrof added quietly, almost too softly to hear.
“I’m a shark.”
“Why are you calling Sharkrof a monster?”
I asked Phineas.
“Sharkrof? That monster has a name?”
“You’re reacting exactly like I did earlier, Phineas.”
It felt like a repeat of this morning.
Phineas continued urgently,
“Anyway, he’s definitely a monster! He’s dangerous, so get away from him! You might think I’m crazy, but I saw it clearly. I saw him transform!”
“Transform?”
“I’m telling you! In the water he was clearly a shark. Then his fins turned into arms and legs, and he became completely human and walked up onto the sand. What in the world—”
He couldn’t finish.
Sharkrof suddenly lunged at him with merciless speed and knocked him to the ground.
“Don’t shout.”
Sharkrof whispered as he slowly reached toward Phineas’s throat.
“If you keep yelling about my identity, I’ll silence you—even if I have to kill you.”
Poor Phineas was utterly terrified.
It was time for me to intervene.
“Sharkrof! Stop it!”
I rushed over and pulled him away.
“But he’s trying to expose my identity. It’s an extremely important secret.”
“He’s not saying anything right now. Let him go first.”
“So it’s true—you do favor land dwellers.”
Sharkrof looked faintly disappointed.
Still, he released his grip.
Phineas struggled to his feet, still dazed, and collapsed into a nearby chair.
“What in the world is going on?”
“Well… I only heard about it myself this morning, so I’m not sure I can explain it properly…”
I glanced at Sharkrof.
“Sharkrof, it seems our café employee already knows your identity.”
It had been less than five minutes since he had proudly declared that no one could possibly have seen him.
His pride in his perfect concealment had shattered with humiliating ease.
It was almost pitiful.
Sharkrof seemed to feel the same about himself. His bright blue eyes were full of dejection.
“I thought no one saw me. But it seems I was easily discovered by a careless land dweller. My pride has shattered like sea foam.”
He muttered weakly.
“Don’t be too upset… Anyway, since he’s already seen you, wouldn’t it be fine to explain the situation properly now?”
“Do as you please.”
Sharkrof nodded gloomily.
I did my best to explain everything that had happened.
From rescuing him as a baby shark long ago to his unbelievable claims about sea people.
Phineas reacted much like I had that morning.
“You expect me to believe something so ridiculous?”
“Well, I can’t exactly tell you to believe it. Because I’m not sure I believe it myself.”
I admitted uncertainly.
“But it’s true that I saw him transform from a fish into a human… I have no idea what kind of situation I’ve gotten myself into.”
Phineas stared at Sharkrof as if he were staring at a monster.
Sharkrof, however, seemed utterly uninterested in our stares.
He sat slumped in a chair, shoulders drooping.
He looked like someone disillusioned with the world.
“To have my identity exposed so easily… It’s despairing. Only minutes after boasting about my flawless disguise.”
He spoke weakly.
“This is shameful for a sea person. I would be better off dead. I’ll bury my gills in the sand and dry out in the sun.”
He stood up and walked out of the café.
“Where are you going?”
I hurried after him.
“To dry out my gills.”
“What? Wait!”
Phineas and I rushed after him.
Outside, we caught a glimpse of Sharkrof disappearing into the shadows of the palm trees.
Judging by his direction, he was heading for the beach.
Though we ran as fast as we could, Sharkrof was astonishingly swift and quickly outpaced us.
Fortunately, we found him again once we reached the crowded shore.
A large man in a sailor outfit stood out even among the tourists.
Sharkrof had wedged himself among sunbathers and was lying there with his eyes closed, as if dead.
He didn’t care in the slightest about the curious glances from others.
Even when we approached, he didn’t turn his head. He didn’t open his eyes.
“Sharkrof, what are you doing?”
“I’m waiting for my gills to dry in the sun. I think it would be better to die that way. I told you—my pride has shattered like sea foam. I have no reason to live.”
He murmured sorrowfully, eyes still closed.
I felt I should comfort him a little.
“But if you die like this, won’t you lose your chance to win my heart?”
“…That’s true.”
Sharkrof’s eyes snapped open.
“I absolutely cannot lose that chance. I must not die before winning your heart, Miss Marina.”
He immediately sprang back to life.
It seemed Sharkrof was not the type to overcomplicate things.
In any case, he was persuaded surprisingly easily.
The three of us began walking back toward the café.
Sharkrof trailed slightly behind.
Phineas leaned closer to me and whispered,
“Miss Marina, I don’t know if he’s really some sea person or whatever, but one thing is certain. He’s extremely dangerous.”
He sounded displeased.
“You saw how he lunged at me earlier, right? He shoved me so hard I thought my shoulder bone would break. I’ll probably wake up covered in bruises tomorrow.”
He rubbed the shoulder that had hit the ground.
“How are we supposed to drive away such a violent monster? And of all fish, he claims to be a shark. That’s especially worrying.”
“Why is being a shark worrying?”
