Is that…

Being as smart as dolphins?

Okihiro had never seen a dolphin. He knew there were sea creatures that could be surprisingly smart, yet he was starting to wonder how exactly ‘intelligence’ was measured.

‘You are in front of Eirin, the first princess of the great Palace of Pearls of the Undisonus Sea. Rejoice!’

Those were the words Eirin wrote on the piece of paper Okihiro himself provided.

'ৎ❨ ◯⌣ ⃤ ⋆ ୨ৎ☽゛◯⌣ ⃤⃝-⃤ .─⌣✴𓎟 ˚｡⋆◉⃝◉'

This is what Okihiro saw.

His eyes went from the symbols written with ink to the mermaid who stared at him with sheer expectancy.

This is probably their language, right?

Though they did resemble humans—at least from the waist up—people saw the merfolk form of speech as crude and primitive. ‘They are still fish’, that was what anyone would say in the end, when asked what they thought of merfolk. Even with their apparent intelligence, beauty, and distinct nature, they were just one more type of fish in the sea.

Okihiro was not sure what made a fish a fish, yet somehow to him it felt wrong to dismiss merfolk as such.

Still, it would be easier if I could understand what she is drawing…

When the man asked for the notebook again—or, as Eirin called it, the ‘writing board’—he tried writing something on himself.

‘Hello. My name is Kojin Okihiro. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.’

Yet all Eirin could see were meaningless scribbles.

A new sense of dread washed over her as she pathetically stared at the page.

Apparently, him being deaf was not the only problem she had… The human not being able to understand her speech was…not something she had planned. It just made everything even more troublesome. Not only did she have to try to communicate with him without using her voice, she needed to find an entirely brand-new way for him to understand her?

…is it even worth all this trouble? A petty, shiny, human trinket?

Should I really just…go back?

The princess’ eyes took on a sorrowful glow as her shoulders slumped. Okihiro was briefly taken aback, feeling something tug at his heart as he watched the mermaid’s excitement be replaced by a deep sadness. Was she so upset about them not understanding each other?

That was not quite right, but almost.

Sensing the mermaid’s shift in humor, Okirin perked his ears.

Since Okirin was a good boy, he always knew when his master was sad. And as he watched his master’s new lady, he saw she was sad even though she was with Okirin and his master. So Okirin did what any good boy would do.

He called her and wagged his tail so they could play.

Eirin furrowed her eyebrows, trying to decipher what the furry beast wanted.

The dog barked again, lowering his body as he called Eirin so he could properly cheer her up. Unfortunately, Okirin was not aware that Eirin’s tail would get in the way of her playing with him. So he kept waiting for her to make the first move.

Does he want me to touch him again? My, what a greedy beast.

She patted the dog, which was not what Okirin wanted, yet since he was a good boy, he let her pet him all she wanted.

Okihiro watched how the sadness, although not completely lifted, did fade a bit from the mermaid’s gaze.

Is there something I could do...?

Then his eyes sparkled, as an idea surfaced in his mind.

Eirin saw as the sailor suddenly dropped the writing board on the floor and began scribbling furiously.

What has gotten into him?

When he finally finished, the man had this eager glow spreading within his green gaze. Something that was almost too distracting, something that almost made her heart skip a beat as he stared so deep into her eyes. Then she finally saw what he was pointing at—a drawing.

When she still didn’t seem to get it, Okihiro tapped into his drawing and then pointed at its source of inspiration; Okirin.

Eirin widened her eyes in surprise at first, but then she was overwhelmed with horror.

Was this supposed to be a depiction of the furry beast?

Indeed, it was.

Yet as Eirin came to realize, Kojin Okihiro…

Was atrociously bad at drawing.

So much so, Okihiro was forced to give up on communicating with others through illustrations after the second try and learned how to write instead, since not a single person could ever understand what he drew.

Princess Eirin, though not as talented at painting and craft work, was still a proud [temporary] resident of the Palace of Corals and was in constant contact with insane geniuses like her cousins Hin and Kei.

Which made her personally offended by Okihiro’s abysmal attempt at drawing.

She took Okihiro’s notebook from his hands, picking a blank page. She hadn’t brought a lot of ink, but it should be enough [it wasn’t, and she ended up having to take a quick break to fetch some more]. Though it was weird for her to draw outside the water, eventually she got the hang of it.

Twenty minutes later, Okihiro was gaping at Eirin’s portrait of his dog as he held the notebook with shaking hands. Although it was still a simple painting in many ways, and while she mainly worked with black ink, the mermaid’s control of contrast and shadows was beyond impressive.

How is she so good?! This doesn’t even make sense.

When their eyes met again, the mermaid had a smug air around her as she smirked at him, her gaze seeming to be saying 'Go on. Say how amazing I am' [he was 100% correct]. Yet Okihiro was not upset or annoyed.

Hah.

She’s so odd.

He actually smiled, despite himself. Because with all her oddities, the mermaid’s presence was becoming almost…refreshing, in a way.

Then he glanced at the horizon, finally realizing how late it was. Soon enough, it would be nighttime.

The mermaid seemed to conclude the same thing, for she pressed her lips together before meeting his gaze again with a weak flush on her cheeks.

She pointed at the setting sun, made a circular motion with her fingers, then pointed at the boat where they were both standing.

‘Let’s meet again tomorrow.’

It was what she meant to say.

She is saying we should do this again...tomorrow…right?

And somehow, Okihiro understood.

This is my chance to apologize for before, and ask her to stop bothering me.

The man opened his mouth, as if the words he wished to say would be magically conveyed. Yet once again, he met her eyes. And to Okihiro, there was so much anticipation in them. A wild and joyous shine simply waiting for his reply.

When Princess Eirin saw the man nod once, she found herself letting out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding before the smile melted on her face. That had been the first time she formally asked him to wait for her.

Without saying anything else, Eirin gave him a brief wave and jumped back into the ocean. Communicating with that man had proved way more challenging than she had previously anticipated, yet… in the end, it had been fun. Finding ways to communicate with him. And since she knew the man could also understand drawings, perhaps this could make things easier.

Before she realized it, Princess Eirin was no longer considering the idea of giving up and going back home. And the lone shadow that kept hiding within her gaze was buried so deep, she barely noticed its cold presence.

And as Kojin Okihiro made his way back, he found himself gazing back every now and then.

Looking forward, for the first time, to the mermaid’s next visit.