Chapter 127: Mermaids Aren't Really Lewd, Are They? (1)
Splash...
As I scooped water to wash myself, a mix of seawater and clumps of semen spilled into the bathtub.
I had originally intended to wash myself with clean water, but since the only fresh water available was in the bathtub where the mermaid was sitting, I had no other choice. Besides, it wasn't like saltwater would harm her, so the saline mixture wouldn't be an issue.
"Ugh..."
Watching the mermaid sit there, covering her pussy with her hands and looking like she was about to cry, made me feel like some kind of villain.
'I need to wash my clothes too...'
I could handle the laundry downstairs later, but for now, I had to get rid of the salt sticking to my skin. That meant I had no choice but to strip in front of the mermaid.
"Eek! What are you doing?!"
"I need to take off my clothes to wash properly. If you don't want to see, you can turn around or wait on the bed for a while."
"Ugh... You're doing this on purpose because you know I can't move, aren't you?"
That wasn't entirely true, but I couldn't deny that watching her whimper and squirm like that was a bit cute, which made me want to tease her just a little. So, I didn't hold back entirely.
I removed my shirt and poured water over my upper body. When I reached for my pants, the mermaid quickly covered her eyes with her hands.
'Let's get this over with.'
Her tail fin swishing between my legs was a bit stimulating, but I had no intention of saying something ridiculous like, "It's your fault I'm hard, so take responsibility." I stripped off my pants, leaving me completely naked, and used the water to wash my lower half. The area between my legs was still coated in thick clumps of semen, far more concentrated than before, and it slowly washed away as I cleaned myself.
"Ah!"
As I rinsed my glans, a chunk of semen clung to it and fell, sliding down onto the mermaid's stomach. The sight was oddly lewd, and I couldn't suppress my arousal.
'Even after cumming all night, it's still not enough...?'
Back in the day, jerking off three times in a row would leave me exhausted. Now, after ejaculating at least eight times, I was still ready to go. They say a knight's body grows stronger with use, but it felt like my lower half was the only thing that kept getting stronger recently.
"All done."
"Ugh... There's so much semen... I feel like I'm going to get pregnant..."
The mermaid was trying her best to lift her tail and keep her pussy out of the semen-filled water. Watching her struggle made me feel a little guilty, but there wasn't much I could do. If I didn't clean myself, I wouldn't be able to do anything else.
"Alright, let's get you out of here."
I scooped up the curled-up mermaid and carried her to the bed.
"I'll go down and get some fresh water. Please wait a moment."
"Wait... Something's poking me from behind...?"
"Don't mind that."
I placed her on the bed without bothering to dry her off, then grabbed my clothes.
'Let's wrap her tail with a towel to keep it from drying out too quickly...'
Using a towel from yesterday, I wrapped her tail to help retain moisture. It wouldn't last long, but it would buy her some time.
"Hurry back before my body dries out..."
I rushed to the store below the villa to buy fresh water. Unlike cities with proper water facilities or kingdoms where you could draw water from wells and rivers for free, this place charged 200 gold per barrel of water.
'Tourist spots are always ridiculously expensive.'
One barrel would've been enough for just me, but since the mermaid required much more water, I bought two barrels, tied them with ropes, and hauled them back to the villa.
'This whole ordeal with the mermaid is such a headache...'
After dumping out the semen-filled water from the bathtub and refilling it with fresh water, I turned to find the mermaid watching my every move with sparkling eyes. Once I placed her back in the clean water, she finally relaxed and let her body float.
"Thank you..."
"It's nothing. I was the one who washed myself in the water you were sitting in, so this is the least I could do."
Besides, if mermaids were capable of external fertilization, leaving things as they were could've resulted in unintended consequences. Changing the water quickly was essential.
'From what I've learned, the dolphin-mermaids around here are involved in prostitution...'
However, unlike mermaids, dolphins didn't lay eggs—they gave birth to live offspring. This meant they couldn't provide eggs.
Considering how sexually uninhibited dolphin-mermaids were, if they did lay eggs, they probably wouldn't hesitate to sell them. But as mammals that gave birth to live young and nursed them, they obviously didn't lay eggs.
'Which leaves mermaids...'
"You're looking at me with those lewd eyes again, aren't you?"
"No, I'm not."
I had indeed been thinking about whether mermaids laid eggs while staring at her tail, but I quickly denied it.
"If we're going to be stuck together until your injuries heal, we might as well introduce ourselves. Don't you think?"
"Introduce ourselves...?"
"Yes. I'm Ban, a merchant from the kingdom."
"My family calls me Mary... I'm a mermaid, and..."
Mary hesitated, looking unsure of how to continue, before abruptly changing the subject.
"So, what are you here to buy...?"
"I came to purchase mermaid eggs."
At that, Mary quickly covered her lower abdomen with her hands.
"See? Humans are all perverts!"
"No, that's just the name of the product. I need to verify whether they're real mermaid eggs or not."
I pulled out the "mermaid egg" from my bag. It was a product officially imported into the kingdom, preserved with magic by Seyra, who had warned me not to break the seal on the container unless necessary.
Still, with a mermaid right in front of me, what better way to confirm its authenticity?
Seizing the opportunity, I showed the "mermaid egg" to Mary.
"Is this really a mermaid egg?"
"Mermaids don't lay eggs..."
"What?"
I froze, my hand on the container's lid.
"But mermaids reproduce through external fertilization, don't they? Since their lower halves are like fish, wouldn't they release eggs first and then sperm over them, like most fish?"
As my gaze shifted to her lower half, Mary panicked and covered her pussy, drawing even more attention to it.
"We don't do that! That's such a lewd act—we're not like that!"
"Then how do you reproduce?"
"W-we give birth to babies..."
It made sense. If they nursed their young, their breasts wouldn't exist unless they served a purpose. The presence of a bellybutton also suggested they were born from wombs, not eggs. Mermaids, it seemed, gave birth much like humans.
'Then is it just regular fish eggs?'
Hearing directly from Mary's mouth that mermaids didn't lay eggs left me feeling utterly deflated.
"Ugh... Are all humans such perverts? Asking a grown virgin if she lays eggs and staring at me with those weird eyes..."
"So, it's just fish eggs after all."
"What kind of eggs are being sold as mermaid eggs anyway...?"
I opened the lid of the so-called "mermaid eggs," breaking the preservation magic, and showed them to Mary.
"What is this?"
"These are fish eggs being marketed under the name 'mermaid eggs.'"
"This isn't fish eggs."
Mary poked at the eggs with her fingers, examining them closely. Then, she picked one up, sniffing it curiously. If even a mermaid who lives in the sea couldn't identify the source, what kind of fish could these eggs belong to?
"Who's impersonating us mermaids like this?"
"I don't know. I'm still gathering information."
"I can't forgive this! How could anyone impersonate mermaids and sell fake eggs... I'll help you!"
'Can she really be of help?'
Considering she couldn't even move on land without my assistance, I doubted how much use she'd be. But when it came to knowledge of the marine ecosystem, she'd likely know more than I did. Since she offered, there was no reason to refuse.
"Well then, I'll be counting on you."
---
Three days had passed since I'd settled in the villa.
Every evening, I went out to gather information, but being a lone man wandering around seemed to make people assume I was here for prostitution. Every night, I heard nothing but talk about mermaid pussies.
Even when I switched taverns, the same conversations came up. It seemed like dolphin-mermaid prostitution had become well-established within Baran Duchy's ports.
'Well, considering how crowded it was when I visited, that makes sense...'
While I managed to last all night with Fiona due to my strong stamina, I'd seen plenty of men groaning and being carried home by the dolphin-mermaids. Judging by the frequency of these incidents, at least 20 men must have visited during the night.
Anyway, I didn't need to revisit the dolphins. Instead, I focused on taverns where talk of "mermaid eggs" occasionally came up. Rumors suggested that a new batch of eggs would soon hit the market, with claims about abundant quantities and excellent quality this year.
'Judging by the locations mentioned, it's near the shipyard by the coast...'
Baran Duchy had two shipyards. One was a bustling hub constantly producing intercontinental vessels, while the other was an old, barely-used shipyard that mostly handled small boats and fishing vessels in the past.
'Tonight, I'll investigate the abandoned shipyard.'
Rather than collecting information in taverns, I planned to infiltrate the shipyard directly. I prepared by packing black clothing, a headscarf to wrap around my hair, a mask to cover my face, and a mixture of ash and water to disguise my skin tone.
I also checked the fresh water barrels delivered to the villa yesterday. After letting the water settle for 12 hours, I replaced half of the water in Mary's bathtub. Her minor abrasions, treated with healing potions, had healed completely, leaving her skin smooth again.
"Uh... another one died."
During her stay at the villa, Mary faced one recurring issue: starfish kept falling off her body and dying due to the fresh water in the tub.
Mary tried her best to avoid letting the starfish touch the water by propping herself up carefully, but the problem was that they inevitably got wet whenever I changed the water.
'I can always catch more starfish, but...'
I couldn't stop thinking about Mary's nipples.
For some reason, every time the starfish detached, her nipples looked slightly eroded, as if they were melting. Even now, while she covered her chest with her hands, I noticed a few drops of blood falling from them. This didn't seem normal at all.
Moreover, her entire chest was swollen and red, with clear signs of irritation from the suction marks left by the starfish. It didn't look healthy in the slightest.
"Are you sure it's okay to keep attaching these? It looks extremely painful."
"Well..."
Mary hesitated, covering her nipples with her hands, before lowering her head, tears welling in her eyes.
"It hurts... You're not supposed to wear them for more than two hours..."
"Then why are you using them?"
"B-because... I can't let you see my breasts... I do take them off when I sleep, but..."
So, she'd been forcing herself to wear them just to avoid exposing her breasts to me.
"Oh, for crying out loud..."
I had assumed it was safe to use the starfish!
"Let me see your chest."
"I-I don't want to..."
Despite her efforts to hide her nipples, the starfish's digestive juices had already damaged them significantly. If left untreated, her nipples could end up permanently harmed. I grabbed her slender wrists with my left hand and gently but firmly pulled her hands away from her chest, lifting her arms above her head.