TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 86

Albin choked on a few mouthfuls of seawater. He was pulled out of the water, droplets still clinging to his eyelashes, his vision a little blurred.

But he heard it clearly—the voice that spoke was gentle and tolerant, yet carried a quiet strength. It belonged to a woman.

She clearly didn’t expect him to answer in his current state and simply carried him toward the nearest shore.

Wiping the seawater from his face, Albin finally managed to make out the woman who had saved him.

She had long, wavy sea-blue hair, and droplets slid down her strikingly beautiful face, giving her a bold, radiant allure.

For some reason, Albin felt a sense of familiarity.

Come to think of it… he thought he had just seen a fish tail. Was she a mermaid?

He had heard that mermaids sometimes appeared in these waters.

Amid the surging waves, the woman moved effortlessly through the sea, and before long, she brought Albin safely ashore.

“Thank you, big sister!” Albin stood firmly on the sand and gratefully thanked her.

If she really was a mermaid, she probably couldn’t come onto land, right?

“Wait here a moment!” Albin ran, still dripping wet, back to where he had entered the water, grabbed a coconut, and turned to give it to her—only to freeze in surprise.

She had walked onto the shore on two legs.

Staring at her elegant blue fishtail-like dress, Albin was puzzled for a moment.

Had he imagined the tail earlier?

But the dress looked strangely familiar… as if he had seen it somewhere before.

For a moment, he couldn’t recall where.

“This is for you, big sister!” He handed her the coconut.

“Such a good child.” The blue-haired woman accepted it and asked with concern, “Where are your parents? How could they let a child go into the water alone? What if something had happened?”

Her tone toward Albin was gentle, but when mentioning his negligent guardians, it grew noticeably sharper.

Albin quickly explained, “I came here to play by myself. My family doesn’t know.”

“You’re just as mischievous as my younger brother,” she sighed helplessly, patting his head. “Don’t do this again next time. I’ll take you back—the sea is too dangerous for a child like you.”

Holding his coconut and shells, Albin obediently walked back with her.

Curious, he asked, “Did your younger brother run off too?”

“Yes…” The woman sighed, her expression tinged with worry. “Some children from our clan went missing. My brother ran off without a word to look for them—and ended up disappearing as well.”

As she spoke, concern clouded her brow.

Albin looked up at her. “Who are you looking for? I can help too!”

She shook her head.

“I have a friend who’s missing too, and I’m really worried about him. So I understand how you feel—I want to help.”

The woman hesitated, recalling something, and her expression turned complicated.

“I’m not really worried about his safety…”

With her brother’s abilities, it was unlikely anything had happened to him. If anything, others were the ones who should be worried.

“?” Albin was taken aback.

Didn’t she care about her brother? It didn’t sound like they had a bad relationship…

“But you’re right—I do need to find him as soon as possible.”

Her tone grew faintly uneasy. “If I’m too late, I’m afraid he’ll… have an episode.”

“?”

The wording sounded a bit odd, but she must have meant she was worried about him falling ill.

If so, it must be urgent.

“Then I’ll—”

Before Albin could finish, she firmly refused him.

“No. Thank you for your kindness, but he’s very dangerous. I can’t let you get near him.”

Albin didn’t quite understand, but by then they had already reached the carriage. Seeing him soaked through, the knights rushed over in alarm.

“Your Highness—”

Albin waved to show he was fine.

Seeing the strong, capable attendants around him, the woman relaxed and stopped walking.

“Little one, go back now—and remember, don’t run off again.”

Surrounded by the knights, Albin waved to her.

“I’m leaving! Big sister, my name is Albin—I’m the Sun’s chosen from the Sun Temple. I’m currently staying at No. 1 Shell Street. If you need help, you can come find me anytime these days!”

“The Sun’s chosen…” Watching the carriage depart, the blue-haired woman murmured softly, coming back to her senses. “Can monsters and humans really coexist peacefully?”

Had that child noticed her identity?

She looked down at the coconut in her hand.

Her blue nails sharpened, slicing through the hard shell in an instant, revealing pure white flesh and clear, sloshing coconut water.

Could this be poison given to her by a human?

Tilting her head back, she drank it in one go.

“…It’s sweet.” She wiped the coconut water from her lips, a smile spreading in her eyes.

—

Inside the carriage, it finally dawned on Albin.

Sea-blue wavy hair plus a blue fishtail dress—wasn’t that the exact look of the sea demon “big sister” from before?

Because there were slight differences in appearance, he hadn’t recognized her immediately.

That meant she hadn’t crossed over like his brother had. The one he had just met must have been the original sea demon queen from the story.

Sea demons… Albin remembered they were a special type of aquatic magical creature.

Ordinary magical creatures lived on land, and their offspring could take on different beastly forms—but sea demons were different.

They lived in the water, and no matter how they reproduced, their offspring would always be born with human upper bodies and fish tails.

Someone who saved a drowning child like that must be a good person!

If only humans and magical creatures could live together in peace…

—

No. 1 Shell Street was a rented seaside villa. After all, this trip was officially a diplomatic visit—it wouldn’t do to stay in an ordinary inn.

After returning to the temporary residence, Albin took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and, seeing that it was about time, got into a carriage and headed to the Sea Temple.

Dinner went very smoothly. Gold, acting as the intermediary who knew both sides, kept the atmosphere lively at the table and even managed to secure a maritime navigation permit from the Sea Temple’s chosen. It was a thoroughly pleasant evening for hosts and guests alike.

Of course, the Sea Temple’s hospitality didn’t end there. After dinner, the Sea’s chosen invited Albin to attend a high-end auction later that night, and Albin gladly accepted.

He had never been to an auction before.

Most of his usual social engagements were limited to balls and hunting—this was something new.

Before setting off, Barney went to change clothes, while Albin and Gold took a walk in the courtyard.

With no one from the Sea Temple nearby, Albin rubbed his cheeks, dropped his polite façade, and began discussing plans to open a school with Gold.

“Indeed, the position of the school’s representative is no small matter. I would recommend you take it on personally. However…” Gold reminded him, “Education has always been monopolized by the temples and the nobility. And you’re planning to enroll magic students—that’s essentially taking people from them. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Of course!” Albin’s gaze was firm. “Isn’t it strange that children can’t go to school? I’ll start with a magic academy—but after that, I plan to open ordinary schools too.”

“I plan to establish the school in Thorn City at the center of the continent. The surrounding countries are already under control, and since I’ll initially only recruit students with average aptitude who weren’t accepted by the temples, it shouldn’t provoke too much backlash.”

After that, he could proceed gradually—like slicing a sausage. You take it one bite at a time; schools would be built one by one.

Come to think of it, perhaps because successive High Priests and Popes had been rather autocratic, the clergy and nobility rarely opposed their reforms openly.

Gold thought it over. “A god-forsaken land without faith, huh? That does sound suitable. Alright—I’ll arrange a false identity for you, ready whenever you need it. I’ll also reach out to nobles who might be interested in sponsoring this. Of course, I’m always willing to provide the first investment.”

Albin broke into a smile. “Gold, thank you for always standing by my side! I’m really glad I met you!”

“That’s my line.” Gold ruffled his hair.

He was grateful for the miracle that had brought Albin into his life.

He recalled a dream he’d had years ago.

It had felt incredibly real. In that dream, he had never met Albin at that time. He continued to suffer the backlash of a divine curse, living as a blind, deaf, and mute vagrant.

At first, he hoped someone would come to save him. But gradually, all hope faded. He struggled through each day in darkness, even forgetting the colors and sounds he once knew.

No one who could save him existed.

If such a person did exist, why had they never appeared before him?

Even he—so afraid of death—had begun to wish for it.

He hated humanity, hated the gods, hated the possible savior who might appear, and hated himself.

Until one day, he heard sound again. He saw color again.

Fourteen-year-old Albin had pulled him out of the darkness.

A miracle had descended.

By then, his wealth had long been devoured by others. He had nothing left—a complete vagrant.

His heart was filled with resentment. He resented everything—resented why that person hadn’t appeared sooner.

—Sorry I didn’t meet you earlier.

That boy accepted all his hatred, even accompanied him through rehabilitation step by step, teaching him how to speak again, dispelling the bitterness in his heart, bringing him back to life.

Until one day, he lost his miracle—his light—once again.

Later, Gold learned from Padma that everything in that dream had truly happened once before.

And this time, that boy had found him early.

—

Their walk came to an end, and one of Barney’s attendants arrived to inform Albin that the carriage was ready.

Gold said generously, “I hear there’ll be plenty of rare treasures. Go enjoy yourself—buy whatever you like. Money’s no issue for me.”

Albin shook his head. “I have money too.”

At that, Gold felt a bit dissatisfied.

Given another chance, he had finally been able to provide for his little miracle—only to find that Albin was surrounded by so many others that he rarely had the chance to do anything for him.

If only those people weren’t around…

After bidding farewell to Gold, Albin put on his noble, aloof expression again and followed the attendants to meet Barney.

That expression had been carefully designed by his older brother Padma specifically for dealing with nobles. During practice, Albin had tried again and again, only to be told his smile was too sweet. He had trained until his facial muscles were stiff for days—so much so that his father and brother almost thought he’d been bullied.

Still, it worked very well. For some reason, Barney would shudder a little every time he saw him.

Albin and Barney arrived at an opera house. Seated in a private box at the auction, they watched as one rare item after another was brought onto the stage.

Barney was thoroughly familiar with these items and enthusiastically introduced them to Albin.

Alongside ordinary jewelry and collectibles, there were also some unusual lots.

“What’s that?” Albin looked at one item on display, visibly surprised. “Why is there a magical creature?”

It was a horse’s head—but with a black horn growing from it, like a unicorn.

Its eyes bore a black cross-shaped star pattern—a clear mark of a magical creature.

Barney explained eagerly, “That’s a specimen of a nightmare beast—a very rare magical creature. They usually appear in pairs and are elusive, making them hard to capture. It’s said they have the ability to enter dreams, so their heads make excellent decorations for bedrooms.”

He added regretfully, “Unfortunately, there’s only one head here. They clearly didn’t catch the other one.”

—

Somewhere on the continent.

“Black, this is your training opponent for today—a nightmare beast.” As usual, the gray-robed figure supervised the black-haired boy’s training.

With his deep blue eyes, Black glanced casually at the creature before him. The pitch-black nightmare beast stood there, letting out a sound like a mournful cry.

“Nightmare beasts are among the few creatures capable of mental attacks. If not for the fact that this one lost its mate and has lost the will to live, it would’ve been difficult to find such a suitable opponent for training your resistance to mental assaults.”

“Mental attacks?” Black stepped forward, preparing for battle.

The next moment, thick smoke spread around him.

A white figure slowly appeared before his eyes.

Black’s pupils shrank.

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