In the Land of Leadale - Volume 2 - Chapter SS

Bonus Short Story – New Days 

Mimily looked up, and before she knew it, all the energy had drained from her tense body. She stretched out her lower half and sank beneath the hot water. 

“Sigh…” 

“Oh, what’s wrong?” 

“Ah, no, it’s nothing.” 

She put on a serene yet empty smile for the concerned woman bathing across from her. 

“You can always tell us if something’s the matter.” 

“She’s right. A backwoods village like ours may not have much to offer, but we do what we can.” 

“We owe a lot to you, too, Mimily.” 

The other older women soaking in the bathtub nodded. 

Mimily had never received such open gratitude and was at a loss on what to do. She had been treated as a pebble by the roadside back in her merpeople village, so she wasn’t the least bit used to the good-natured nosiness she experienced here. It was an unfamiliar sensation. 

“More than anything, we all depend a lot on Cayna.” 

“Definitely. After all, she’s the one who gave our village a luxurious bathhouse.” 

“She made it right then and there without even the teeniest reward. It’s a shame we can never truly express our thanks.” 

According to the ladies, Cayna had constructed this building in a single day. Furthermore, she didn’t do it because someone in the village asked her to; she did it “because having one would be convenient.” She heard that, thanks to this facility, the village had picked up the custom of bathing daily. Since bathing had constituted nothing more than pouring water over oneself in a washtub and wiping the body for as long as the villagers could remember, they had been shocked. For a mermaid like Mimily, who was constantly in water, it seemed unbelievable. 

“Where is Cayna from?” 

“Who knows?” 

“She just came to the village one day and started staying at Marelle’s.” 

“Come to think of it, Cayna doesn’t talk much about herself.” 

“But…” 

“““We do know she has three kids.””” 

This last one alone was declared in an amused chorus, and the effect was astounding. 

As far as Mimily knew, Cayna was frightfully strong, and at any rate, she was a rare high elf. In Mimily’s world, high elves were like characters in fairy tales. Weaker, lower-ranked races like mermaids couldn’t possibly compare. 

The practice seemed to be rather uncommon in this world, but from Mimily’s point of view, Cayna’s ability to employ spirits at will made her want to revere the girl as a sort of divine messenger. 

That point alone already made the differences between this world and her old one perfectly clear. 

However, Cayna was fervently searching for Mimily’s village. Now, she couldn’t just say, Our worlds are different, so you don’t have to keep looking. 

Even so, Mimily herself didn’t have many fond memories of her hometown and wasn’t particularly eager to go back. 

A certain common folklore had brought suffering to merpeople like Mimily for many years. This was the belief that “eating merpeople meat would grant one eternal life.” The merpeople themselves only lived around two hundred years, so the idea that consuming their meat would give one immortality was ridiculous. 

The merpeople had been protesting this rumor for many years, but even up until the present day, there was no sign of anything ever changing. Among humans and other land dwellers, it was said that the smallest piece of merperson meat was worth a fortune. The merpeople wanted to scream, What a bunch of crap! 

However, no amount of screaming would change anything. It wouldn’t sway human dominion over the world. Over the years, the merpeople were forced deeper and deeper into the ocean. Mimily and her sister, Lohli, who was one year older, were two of the very few children who would continue their bloodline. 

Their clan had placed excessive hopes on the girls and crammed their educations to the brim from the very start. The sisters were initially supposed to get along and learn from each other. They helped each other, taught each other, and absorbed everything they needed to know about the merpeople. 

It didn’t last long, however, and the first rip in the seam was because of Mimily. 

A shift occurred; she was constantly late to class, and Lohli ended up being the only one who did any studying. 

Of course, it wasn’t as if Mimily had simply given up. She fervently chased her sister and lost sleep as she poured over her studies. 

However, the difference between them was so great that it could never be overcome. 

It was amid this that Lohli confronted Mimily. 

“I’m sorry, Mimily.” 

“…Lohli.” 

“It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault. It’s what we merpeople must do to deal with these circumstances forced upon us.” 

“Don’t apologize, Lohli…” 

“I’m sorry. I truly am.” 

“…Lohli.” 

Lohli’s title as the next queen weighed heavily on her. The future of their people was at stake. 

She couldn’t afford to be looked down upon and cast Mimily aside. 

Lohli also loved her little sister and never wished to abandon her. It was easy to imagine this had been a bitter decision to make. If the two deliberated, there was a chance they’d both be cut off from the merpeople community. 

After that, Lohli prepared to be the future queen, and Mimily was excluded from any education that would teach her to carry on the next generation of the clan. 

However, despite having now found herself in a state of limbo, Mimily was made to cultivate seaweed for the time being. After all, the clan had no room to allow surplus members time to play. There were voices who labeled Mimily an embarrassment who failed to carry on the future of the clan and said she should be cast out as unnecessary. 

The one who put a stop to this in the form of an exchange was Lohli. She asked that they permit Mimily to stay in return for Lohli rising to the throne and giving birth to their future queen. Lohli could no longer speak with Mimily, but she was happy to know her little sister was there. A single glance at Mimily put her at ease and gave her the courage to steadfastly lead their people. 

Lohli then became queen at a young age, and she put forth measures to increase their continually declining population. At the very least, her reign slightly improved their prospects. The merpeople praised their queen, the queen supported her people, and they attained peace. Lohli was extolled as the savior of the merpeople. 

However, all was not positive. Naturally, there were also holes and downsides to her plan. The main reason these did not come to come the surface was because Mimily took the brunt of the attacks. 

“The queen’s leftovers.” 

“Lazy freeloader.” 

“Human spy.” 

“Useless.” 

“A sacrifice the queen uses to dump the people’s dissatisfaction.” 

They whispered these terrible things right in front of Mimily, and the heartless words struck her daily. The only reason she narrowly avoided being physically harmed was because of the people’s promise with the queen. 

Eventually, the risk of being poisoned became too great, and she was driven from her seaweed-cultivating job. Despite remaining in the village, she wasn’t needed, and she lost a home to return to. 

Mimily moved to the outskirts of the village and spent her days avoiding the eyes of others. She would only show up at a function if it was for the queen, and speaking with her was unforgivable. The merpeople spit venom right in front of her. If it earned them the queen’s royal gaze, they would drive her out further. Mimily’s heart grew more and more tired. 

Then it happened. The black hole right before her very eyes sucked her in. 

When she was tossed into that watering hole of unknown darkness and shallow freshwater, she thought it was some sort of curse. She ate rations of tiny fish and sung to pass the time. 

Even so, it was leagues better than the merpeople village. As long as she was determined to keep on living, it wasn’t so bad at all. However, the lack of exits did concern her. 

That was when Cayna appeared along with her powerful entity. She had given the astounded Mimily a sidelong glance and used the Water and Earth Spirits to bring her to the outside world. After that, she gave the mermaid a place to live in a human village. 

“Fortunately, I got some tickets for free nights at the inn, so I thought you could stay here in the village.” 

At first, Mimily feared she would become their next meal. However, the villagers greeted her warmly. 

“Oh, so you’re a mermaid?” 

“I’ve never seen one before.” 

“Can I call you Mimi?” 

They stayed this way even after Cayna left. Not one person treated her any differently. Mimily calmed down, but as she learned more about her situation, she fell into a depression. 

Her home was thanks to the villagers’ goodwill, and it was the money Cayna gave her that kept her fed. It would be strange if she didn’t feel uneasy. Wasn’t this the same as when she was called a lazy freeloader back in the merpeople village? 

That was why she wanted to be useful. She didn’t want a repeat of the last time. 

It was only by coincidence, but showing Lytt her magical ability to control water turned out to be a lifesaver. At Lytt’s and the village grannies’ insistence, she started a laundering business. The fee was one bronze coin for one full, family-sized basket. The women of the village thought that Mimily didn’t know the value of currency. The laundry fee was initially three bronze coins, but Mimily disapproved under the reasoning that she used borrowed items in addition to her own talents. The price was dropped to two bronze coins. 

Lytt was also brought on board to help, and they split the shares evenly. From a village child’s point of view, the pocket change was an extraordinary amount. 

“This won’t do. A little kid can’t go earnin’ that much. One bronze coin a day is enough.” 

“I agree. Earning so much makes me feel uneasy.” 

Both mother and daughter weren’t thrilled, so the changes were made. Mimily would receive one bronze coin for each load of laundry, and her part-time helper, Lytt, would receive one bronze coin per day. 

It started out as a convenience for the men and those living alone, but it soon caught on across the village. The work of a farmer’s wife clearly wasn’t an easy one, and half the village came to Mimily with laundry requests. 

Since the barrels rose above an adult’s waist, just peeking into the barrel was laborious work for someone like Mimily, who couldn’t stand up straight. 

However, that, too, was solved one day when Cayna suddenly dropped in. 

“What’re you doing?” 

“Hmm? Ah, Cayna. Hello. As you can see, I’m doing the laundry.” 

“The laundry?! Why’re you doing the laundry?” 

Seeing that she had upset her savior, Mimily gave an empty smile. 

After explaining the course of events, Cayna sank into thought. Meanwhile, Mimily’s mind raced with the fear that she shouldn’t have done such a thing in the bathhouse after all. 

“And to think I went and saved up all that money during my trip so I could help you. I guess things just didn’t work out.” 

“Huh? Please wait. Don’t make my debt any higher!” 

“Not to worry. I’m simply going to make a small room next to the bathhouse so you can do your laundry. A barrel with a bobbing neck like you see in those bamboo fountains would be good, too.” 

“Bamboo fountain? Please wait! Hey, are you listening to me?” 

“Yes, yes, I’m listening. You’ve got absolutely nothing to worry about. I’m going to make you a fabulous workplace!” 

“Whaaaaat?!” 

Wood material that appeared from out of nowhere floated in the sky and transformed. As Mimily looked on in bewilderment, a room was annexed to the outside of the women’s changing room. Four barrels that could be turned up, down, and sideways were put in place, and a magical device poured hot water into the barrel from high up. It was a perfect laundry room that even had a waterway for Mimily to move about with ease. 

The mermaid wanted to thank her, but she held her head in her hands at the thought of how much more debt she would be in. 

“…Honestly. If this is how it’s going to be, I’m going to work my tail off!” 

Burning with a sense of purpose, the mermaid may have reached an epiphany. 

Mimily’s emotions had dried up so much that she couldn’t even cry. However, whenever she was busy, she began to feel thankful for those difficult times and broke out into a pained smile. 

“I really do have to thank you, Cayna. Lytt and the other villagers as well.” 

After all, it was probably thanks to this warm place that she could tell herself it was okay to keep looking forward. 

The story of how her business later caught the eye of a certain merchant who spread it across the continent is another tale altogether.