The Main Character is the Villain

Whale Reef. The place we arrived at was called the Whale Reef. True to its name, there was a rock shaped like a whale, appearing as if it was embracing a massive rocky island. The rock was covered in moss and barnacles. Small crabs and lugworms crawled over the coral. Mermaids clinging to various parts of the rock watched us with anxious eyes.

"Hello~."

Eve waved her hand and greeted them once more. However, the mermaids merely exchanged glances and did not easily approach. Not a single mermaid waved back or pretended to know Eve and Cellu.

"I said fucking hello. Aren't you going to greet me?"

"Eeek! It really is Eve!"

"S-Scary! It's Eve..."

With just one shout from Eve, the atmosphere, which had been illogically stiff, was dyed with fear. Eve clicked her tongue as she looked at the mermaids who were terrified of her. Cellu spoke.

"Eve was the troublemaker of Mermaid Island since she was young. There are still many girls who are afraid of Eve. Eve has a good heart, though."

"I know, right. They are absolute fucking bitches."

"We came here to find out about the monsters that appeared here, do any mermaids know about them?"

No mermaids answered Cellu's question. Cellu stuck her tongue out slightly and waited. However, even as she waited, the answer she wanted did not return. Eve spoke.

"If we catch one and beat her up..."

"Heh, that's too violent. Who is the captain now? I want to see the leader's face."

At Cellu's question, the mermaids looked at each other and hesitated. Among those mermaids, I spotted one who was trembling particularly hard and couldn't look in this direction.

"Ann?"

"H-Huh! A-Ah, hello!"

Ann was startled when I pretended to know her and greeted me back. Bowing her head, she trembled but blushed slightly. The mermaid I had fucked during my past expedition to the northern region was now living on this mermaid island. I approached Ann and spoke.

"Have you been well? I'm glad to see you arrived safely."

"Yes... so-so, um... I've been well."

Ann shyly held my hand when I reached out to her. I slowly pulled Ann toward me. The other mermaids were murmuring. Cellu spoke.

"So, aren't you going to introduce me to the leader now?"

The mermaids still maintained their silence. Eve clicked her tongue and sat down on the ground. Cellu began to persuade the mermaids again.

"Heh, I was your captain in the past, but it makes me sad to receive such a cold reception. Why won't you call the captain? Hmm?"

I asked Ann.

"Ann. Who is the leader right now?"

Ann clearly showed signs of conflict as well. The mermaids here wore expressions filled more with fear toward Eve and Cellu than hatred toward me, a human. Cellu was smiling slyly while looking around at the other mermaids.

"What is it. You're not going to tell me?"

"N-No..."

Ann opened her mouth. Her gaze was avoiding my eyes. Because Ann had seen me torture people, she knew very well what kind of threat lurked if I was crossed. However, she kept her mouth shut tight and shook her head. Cellu, Eve, and I couldn't help but be a little flustered by her words. Ann continued speaking while stealing glances at me.

"U-Um, Sir Priest... you came to hunt... that person, didn't you? So, no. Please. Just, just go back. We let you in because it's Eve and Lady Cellu. Other humans aren't even allowed to enter here originally. Please. Just go back."

"Humans are suffering damage. The fact that your captain is using dark magic right now. Do you know about it?"

"...W-Why does that matter? She is our captain. Mermaids do not abandon their captain. Please, I'm begging you. Go back."

From beyond the reef, the fish-men revealed themselves. Climbing up through the crevices in the rocks and rising from the bottom of the water, the fish-men saw me and the fisherman and began to go berserk, breathing roughly.

"Keuheuk! Keheuk!"

"Uwaaaaagh!"

The fisherman screamed and clung tightly to me. I raised my mace and Cellu lowered her posture. Eve drew her scimitar. Panicking, Ann hugged me tight and shouted.

"N-No!"

At the same time, the mermaids grabbed the fish-men and began to stop them. The fish-men let out strange screams and wildly swung their weapons in the air. However, that only lasted a moment before the fish-men lowered their weapons and calmed down. They were muttering something while looking at the mermaids.

"Keheuk! Keuheuk! Kek!"

"Right, right, um... you shouldn't attack. They are, um... the former boss's friends? People like that. Okay? They're people we know."

"Keheuk! Kek!"

The fish-men spat out a dissatisfied tone and rolled their eyes back and forth. With dead fish eyes that lacked any focus, it felt like corpses were walking around. They rolled their eyes in entirely different directions before losing interest in us and scattering in all directions again. The breathing sounds they let out intermittently were rough.

Ann hugged me tight again and spoke. I pushed away the fisherman who was clinging to me and hugged Ann even tighter. Ann spoke in a small voice from within my embrace.

"P-Please, I'm begging you. Ever since the boss came, humans don't mess with us either. We-We even made friends. Those fish-men might look a bit like that, but they have good hearts and treat us well. Please just let us live like this. Please don't take our boss away from us."

Ann was truly on the verge of tears. Cellu frowned. Eve scratched the back of her head with an awkward expression and put her scimitar away. I looked at Cellu. Cellu shook her head. I sighed as well. Ann and the mermaids' situation here was pitiful, but this was an issue that couldn't be compromised on. People had already died.

Once blood is spilled, blood must be spilled to resolve it.

If we didn't find a resolution here, even more people would die. And warships would depart from the kingdom, killing both mermaids and humans alike. There was no other way. We had to leave here with a definitive result. I spoke.

"Ann. Your boss right now isn't a mermaid, but..."

"I know."

Ann nodded her head. All the mermaids nodded as well. Eve clicked her tongue and sat down on the ground. The fish-men, who had been crawling around catching bugs, raised their heads in confusion at the suddenly solemn atmosphere. Cellu asked.

"You knew?"

"I know that she's not a mermaid. She can't swim, and she looks different, so there's no way we'd be confused. Our current boss is not a mermaid."

"She's using you. In my estimation, your boss is a subordinate of the Demon King and one of the Four Heavenly Kings..."

"It doesn't matter. Why does that matter? A subordinate of the Demon King or the justice of the world, why does any of that matter? Sir Priest. You're a hero, aren't you? A hero who loves mermaids. Is there no room for us in your justice? We who are dying at the hands of humans, do we now have to die falsely accused as subordinates of the Demon King? Lady Cellu. You know too, Lady Cellu. How many mermaids have died so far? The mermaids living in the rivers, the children living in the lakes, they're all dead. We are the only ones left now."

"Even so, you shouldn't do this. We, we can live a slightly better life now, right?"

Cellu's face turned pale. She even stuttered as she tried to persuade Ann. Ann argued back.

"A slightly better life? We always believed that and waited. But how did it end up? Humans do not change. If we don't fight back, we just become prey. Lady Cellu. You tried fighting back too, Lady Cellu. With just our strength, we can't do anything. We just die helplessly and become slaves again. I-I hate that."

"Lucius is different. Okay? It's not good to see it to the bitter end like this. Ann. Think about it carefully. If we push this to the extreme, everyone will die, you know? Even now, we can still say this. We didn't know. The lamias orchestrated everything."

"I don't want to. I can't sell out the person who fought for us."

"Please... Ann... please... you other girls too, okay? I used to be your boss too, right? Okay? We can live happily again... Okay? Please..."

Despite Cellu's persuasion, the mermaids showed absolutely no signs of giving in. Cellu teared up. They reluctantly lowered their heads, averting their gazes. Ann hugged me tight and began to sniffle.

"Please, I beg you. Sir Priest. I don't want my friends to die anymore. I don't want to be dragged off as slaves by humans either. Sir Priest. You love mermaids too, don't you, Sir Priest? Please love us a little more and protect us. You're Sir Hero, aren't you? If Sir Hero abandons us, why do we even exist? Who are we supposed to trust and live for?"

It was complicated. My head ached. The fish-men were letting out strange gurgling screams. Cellu bit her fingernails, her face turning pale. She also knew the current situation was bad. If we started fighting to find the lamia, in the worst-case scenario, the mermaids would join in too.

What should I do? What on earth should I do? What am I supposed to do? Who should I protect? I saw a mermaid secretly disappear into a crevice in the rocks. I gripped my mace tightly and looked around. When Cellu or Eve approached, the mermaids stealthily avoided them. The fish-men came next to me and sniffed before losing interest and disappearing again.

** **

"Boss!"

"Wh-Wh-What! I told you not to come close when I'm preparing magic!"

Lua was so startled that she almost dropped the reagent she was using to draw the magic circle. She tightly gripped the jar in her hand and looked at the mermaid again. The mermaid stared at Lua's tail and spoke.

"Boss. Your fin fell off."

"Huh? A-Ahahaha! A mixed-blood of a mermaid and a lamia like me! Yeah, my fins fall off often, so I have to stick them back on. Right? You know that, right?"

At Lua's words, the mermaid smiled shyly and nodded her head.

"Yes. Boss. Of course. That much is common sense among mermaids."

"Is something going on outside? There's a huge commotion."

The mermaid paused for a moment and shook her head.

"No. Nothing is going on. You shouldn't come out. Okay?"

"Well... I hate going into the water anyway... wait, no, I do like water! But I have a rather large build, so it's better if I don't go out. Right?"

"...Yes."

Lua started drawing the magic circle again. She would kill all the humans. The plan she had started with such an impulsive thought had gone strangely awry by this point. Lua recalled events from the past.

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