The Sorcerer’s Receptionist: Volume 3, page 7
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“Rumor has it that the daughter of the Sea King eloped with a human man.”
The man’s brilliantly white royal garb stands in sharp contrast to his sun-darkened skin. He looks to be in his mid-fifties, and from the way in which he leans back into the throne, legs crossed, one knows at a glance that this is most certainly the master of the castle.
Zenon and Alois are the only ones from Doran to be allowed an audience with the King. As such, inside Palace Chamber Fourteen they are joined only by Bella and King Seleina. The other four subjects of Doran have been left sitting in the waiting room, looking none too happy about the situation. Before the glittering golden throne of the Seleinian King, Zenon and Alois bow low as they greet him.
He must have heard about the whole situation from Bella before they’d come in, since the very first words out of his mouth had been about the daughter of the Sea King.
“It all happened twenty years ago. They all searched high and low for her, but she was nowhere to be found. There is no spell that can turn a mermaid into a human, of course, but the Sea King believed there was, and it had been used on his precious daughter. That’s why he closed off his territorial waters to all humans, supposedly.”
“Twenty years ago, you say?”
The Sea King’s daughter had run away with a human man. The story sounded like something out of a fairytale. Zenon and Alois look at each other and tilt their heads to the side in thought. The creature from the sea had referred to Nanalie as “My Lady,” presumably mistaking her for the daughter of the Sea King. But Nanalie wasn’t his daughter, and neither was Bella.
Setting aside the matter of whether the rumors of elopement were true or not, Alois still needed to enter the Land of the Sea. “Might there be some way inside his Kingdom? Any way at all?”
“I would not object to loaning you Hownyok to help you get there. He lives under this very palace.”
“Hownyok?”
“Hownyok was a gift from the Sea King himself, given to an ancestor of mine as a symbol of their friendship. The creature has protected the waters around Seleina for many years, but even I find the Rogue Fish to be a bit...strange.”
Hownyok, “The Rogue Fish.” Should a human be covered with its phlegm, they would instantly become able to breathe underwater. The sea creature serves the Seleinian throne by saving drowning swimmers and shipwrecked crews off the coast.
The big fish that had almost eaten Bella is none other than Hownyok.
“Are you two familiar with the story of ‘Genesis’?”
“Yes,” Zenon says, “I have heard the tale before, sir.” Alois nods his head as well.
“Genesis” is a collection of stories that had been compiled and edited millennia ago by a bard. They were set in ages long past, when the only beings in the world had been those spirits said to be the distant ancestors of mages: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, and Ice.
The first chapter of the collection contained a story relating how five of the spirits had, while playing one day, created the Shadow Spirit. As a result, Ice, which had been the only spirit not to contribute to its creation, used all of her power to freeze it, shatter it, and send the shards flying to the four winds. These shards would later become the seeds for the demons that lurked in the dark corners of the world.
Bereft of her power, Ice died, and her spirit left this world, or so the first chapter concluded.
The author of this story, the poet Perieve, had included an attempt to explain why Ice-types were the rarest of all elemental affinities.
“That story was written thousands of years ago. Around here, however, there is another legend: Ice, the only one whose power the Dark Spirit did not possess, is not gone from this world, but merely in a deep sleep, slumbering down in the Land of the Sea. Just a rumor though, mind you.”
Bella, sitting next to the King, perks up when she hears this. Her mother told her the story of Genesis when she was little, but she hadn’t mentioned Ice sleeping at the bottom of the ocean. “Isn’t that just another fairytale?”
“The Land of the Sea is said to be the home of Water,” he says. “Why Ice should be said to be sleeping down there is a mystery to me. It is no fairytale, daughter, only a whispered rumor.”
He looks back at the two young men before him. “If this demon you tell me of, the one who spoke of a ‘Städal,’ truly went in search of the Land of the Sea, then ‘Städal’ is likely another demon. I believe it might even be in search of that power which slipped out of its grasp, all those years ago...
“King Celestial resides in a place entirely beyond our ken. Humanity cannot penetrate the defenses he has placed around his realm, nor can we reside there ourselves. From our perspective, then, he has all the power of some great beast, a force of nature...and he isn’t particularly old, from what I recall.”
King Seleina falls silent and motions for the kneeling Alois and Zenon to stand up. “Move near the walls,” he commands. Once they have done so, he grasps the left armrest of the throne—and pulls it upwards.
GRGRGRGR... The floor instantly begins to shake and rumble. A large round hole opens up in the center of Palace Chamber Fourteen, revealing—
“Water? Is that the sea?”
Zenon can’t believe his eyes. He squints down at the water. Beneath the surface, some great black shadow is moving.
King Seleina, having checked to see that the shadow has come to a halt in the center of the pool, points at the two young men and says:
“You must enter the belly of Hownyok. Don’t forget to swallow one of these Ames pearls first, however.”
KER-SPLASH!
The great fish erupts out of the water in a shower of droplets that pelt the ceiling. Keeping just its head above the surface, its two massive eyes look left and right as it watches Alois and Zenon.
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The world around me is wavering, uncertain.
I feel as though I’m sleeping in a cradle once again, or even back inside my mother’s belly, surrounded by a calm, comforting warmth.
Something gently rubs my cheek. Slowly, I feel myself rise to the surface of consciousness.
The lethargy in my bones makes it feel like I’ve been asleep for a long, long time in complete darkness, but am now taking my first step back out into the light.
I blink several times as I focus my gaze on my surroundings.
I’m lying down. I am resting on something soft beneath me...not cloth, but as comfortable and gentle as a baby’s cheek. It’s as red as my lips.
I slowly sit up and look around.
What I see is a beautiful, blue world, dappled with light. The blue color is not the same as the sky above, but just as brilliant and clear.
I’m resting on what appears to be a bed. The bed frame seems to be made of seashells, just like those I’d seen on the beach.
Around me I see strange shapes, star-like objects lying here and there, and everywhere else, long swaying strands of...“grass” are growing.
That said, I am certainly in a room, inside. Indoor grass...?
The room’s white walls have a glossy luster to them, as if I had fallen asleep inside a conch shell.
I look up at the ceiling. Up there, I spot fishes and other animals swimming, swimming, swimming, like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
My hair, which had been tied up in a bun, is now hanging loose...but the weight of it feels different than before.
It’s floating freely around my head, like it would if I was underwater.
“......”
I think to myself for a moment, then try forcefully waving my arms around from side to side.
—swishswishswish.
There’s some resistance, and a few bubbles.
That doesn’t feel like air against my skin. It feels like my arms are submerged in lukewarm water—
“Huh? —Huuuuuuh?!”
I’m underwater.
“What is this place?”
Every time I open my mouth, bubbles slip out.
I’ve no idea what happened after I was dragged into the sea. I’m not seeing that freaky beast lurking around here either.
The moment I realized I was underwater, I clamped my hands over my mouth. Well, I relax, slowly lowering them, it does seem like I can breathe down here, somehow, so I guess there’s no need to worry about that.
I’m so glad I’m not dead. There are still so many things I want to do that I haven’t done yet. It’d be totally awful to die in a weird place like this.
I wonder how Nikeh and Benjamine are doing now. Right when we finally managed to go on a vacation together, here I am, getting myself kidnapped. How inconvenient for them.
“Oh, shoot! I didn’t finish organizing the materials room before I left!”
My job! What am I going to do about work! It’s only been one year since I started working as a receptionist lady. What if I can’t get out of here? How am I going to explain my absence to the Director? She asked me directly to relabel all of the books in the materials room, and I’d planned on finishing up when I got back, but now—! She’s gonna kill me...
I only have three more days off, and I still haven’t bought any souvenirs for Zozo or any of the others at Harré. I also haven’t collected any of the colorful shells from the Seleinian beach Cheena said she wanted. Then there’s ‘Pirkl Milk,’ that Seleina Kingdom specialty dessert that the Director told me she wanted. Haven’t got that either...
In just a few more months, I would’ve saved up enough money to be financially secure, too. I let out a sigh. I can’t stand the idea that I’m never going to accomplish that savings goal—but I’m not about to let myself die in a place like this!
Or so I think to myself, but I still have absolutely no idea where I am, or what direction home might be. I try using a bit of magic, just to see if anything happens—nothing.
“Shhhhhshshsh.”
I’m sitting stock still, lost in my thoughts, when I hear a—sound? voice?—something coming from the hole in the ceiling.
I look up and see an animal with the torso of a human man, but the head and tail of a fish. It descends to float before me, and I feel myself pushed back a little by the currents caused by its forceful strokes through the water.
“A fish?”
Or is this perhaps a merperson? It’s quite different from anything I ever heard about in stories, or saw in picture books or thoughtographs.
Both of its eyes swerve around to goggle at me.
“Shshh, shhsh.”
It’s opening and closing its mouth. I do believe it is trying to talk to me. The only thing I can hear is that “shhh” sound, though. With those gestures it’s making with its arms, it’s obvious it wants to tell me something, but I’ve no idea what that might be with all that “shhhh”-ing.
“Sh? Shh!”
I tilt my head to one side in confusion. Damn, I forgot, or so his facial expression seems to say, as he—the fishperson?—claps his hands together and then pulls out a small white marble from somewhere. He holds it out to me.
Take it, he seems to be saying, gesturing repeatedly with his other hand. When I do so, he points at me, then mimes something with his throat. Am I supposed to swallow this? Some mysterious marble handed to me by a stranger? What if it’s poison?
“Nglp?!” The fishperson forced the marble into my mouth and without intending to, I swallowed it. This sucks. Is this how I die?
“Shshshh! Shshhhhurry up and eat it!”
“Ah! You made me swallow that thing! Ug! Wait, hold on—”
The creature’s voice, which up until a moment ago had sounded like an irritable librarian shushing the life out of me, now sounded like actual, normal words. He was speaking with a man’s—boy’s?—voice.
I draw back in surprise—but the fishperson grabs my arm and pulls me towards him. My loose, waving hair floats in front of my face.
“You look like my older sister, but you aren’t her.”
“Huh?”
“Since Nanyok brought you, though, you must’ve smelled the same... Are you related to her? Did she get married? Did she abandon me for a human man?!”
I understand the words he’s saying, but I have no idea what he’s trying to communicate.
“Well, whatever. Father says that I’ve got to mate with you instead.”
“Um, I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
I pick up a large shell lying nearby and throw it at him, creating an opening for me to escape.
Good grief! Give me a break with all this kidnapping nonsense! If I can breathe, it seems like now’s the only chance I’ve got to run away—in a flurry, I kick, kick, kick my legs as I swim away from him.
He grabs my legs tightly. I’m not escaping him. I should’ve known better than to try something stupid like swimming away from a fishperson. Damn those fast flippy fins!
“I’m taking you to see the Sea King.”
“The Sea King? Do you mean—King Celestial?”
That monster fish had mentioned the Sea King as well.
Based on what I’ve read, if I can assume that I am now in the Land of the Sea, where the mermaids live, and this guy’s referring to the lord who rules the sea, then he’s probably—no, definitely—talking about the Sea King, King Celestial.
Once I’d seen a book that described how the “tempests and tranquilities of the sea turned in time to the tune of his tempers.” Should he get angry, the seas would get rough; should he be happy, the waves would be gentle; should he be sad, all the waters would still, and so on and so forth. “The soul of the sea and the soul of its King are one,” or so I’d read.
“Oh, you know about King Celestial? Good. That means I don’t have to explain. Let’s go.”
“W-W-Wait up there! I’m pretty sure you’ve got the wrong person? And where am I, anyway?”
“You’re in my older sister’s room.”
“That’s not what I’m asking! Hold on, who’s your older—ahh!”
The fishperson yanks on my arm and pulls me right out of the room through the hole in the roof.
What the hell is this guy’s problem? He’s not answering any of my questions! Bubbles of air burble out of my mouth as he drags me out the ceiling, but once I see what’s outside, I’m completely taken aback.
“What...is all this?”
There’s a white palace glowing before me, bigger than any castle I’ve ever seen before. What kind of people can create such massive works of art? Several colossal pillars ring the mountainous, seashell-like tower that spirals upwards, golden dots of light leaking out from the oval windows and passageways dotting its exterior. The structure appears to have gemstones laid into its walls, for they take the light falling from the sea above and reflect it in every direction, glittering rainbows fluttering across the sea floor. Massive shells can be seen attached to the palace here and there, some tight spirals, some thin and flat. Around the entire structure grow pale blue and red weeds, as well as some golden ones arranged all in some careful design, as if they were the King’s flower garden.
In the distance, I hear what sounds like music, beautiful notes trilling up and down the scales. A school of fish zooms across our path as we approach the palace.
“Don’t you get it?” the fishperson said. “That room you were in is a part of all this.”
The room I was in...is merely one room of this giant, giant castle.
“Welcome,” he says, puffing out his chest in pride as he continues to pull me along, “to the Hidden Castle of the Lord of the Sea, my great father, King Celestial. Welcome to Palace Oceanus.”
The Sea. It’s everything I’ve always dreamed of.
I look down at my left hand, the hand the fishperson is grabbing onto. Still on my ring finger is that loop of gold Rockmann had put there before letting me go.
If only I were here sightseeing, I think. My friends and I could have had so much fun here.
And so I’m taken by the hand, by some mysterious fishperson, to the King of it all.
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Frankly, I must say I have neither a particular like nor dislike for fish. What I like and dislike is a bit of a moot point anyway, as Doran doesn’t border a sea, which means there are not too many fish to be eaten back home.
I do, however, often see fish in the river that runs through town, and there are fish sold in the markets. When I haven’t felt like eating meat, I have whipped up a seafood dish or two for myself, from scratch. If it’s available, I’ll eat it, if not, I won’t make a fuss. It’s nice but not necessary.
Starting today, though, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat fish again. I rub one hand against my exposed belly. I think it’s a sign just how overwhelming the current situation is that it’s making me consider swearing off a whole category of food.
“My son, will you never learn?” A deep, deep voice resounds in the waters around me. I don’t so much as hear the voice as I feel it, all the way down in my gut. I tilt my head upwards to make out the speaker.
I look up to see the (human) face of a merman, with thick, regal eyebrows and a beard that stretches all the way down to his waist. This is no “fishperson”—this is a merman, just like the ones I’ve seen in picture books.
The man—merman—is sitting on something that looks like a throne, and is looking down at me from his seat. The merman looks to be about three times as large as I am.
Not only is he tall, but his throne is so much higher than I am.
He’s unquestionably larger than the fishperson who brought me here. I don’t think it’s physically possible for a human to even be that large.
I just hope he lets me go back to Seleina, or anywhere above water, as soon as possible. It’s all just a big mistake that I’m here after all. I look up at the big merman, praying that he can see my request written across my face.
I can’t use any magic, so I’ve got to rely on the merpeople if I’m ever going to get out of here. Of course, I’d really rather not rely on them, but it doesn’t look like I’ve got any other options.
