Mermaid Welcomed

Vol. 3 - Chapter 16 - Mermaid Welcomed

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Stepping once again on the private chambers of the Count's Castle, along with Joram, Vlad was briefing the innkeeper on some basic things he would have to keep in mind after he now held the title of Governor.

"Simply put, Joram, you will only answer to me or the King, but my grandfather is quite old so I will not stress him to give tasks to all Governors of the Kingdom. You will find it easy anyway with your business experience and helping out the people of your community."

"I will try my best, Your Highness. But where are we going right now?"

"The private chambers of the Counts, that would be the treasury of this region."

It didn't take long for Vlad and Joram to arrive at Grailly's private chambers, and later on, getting inside the treasury room. Vlad explained to the new Governor the way to open the library passage, when the two stared at the gold in the room, he began briefing Joram.

"You have here about 350.000.000 𝔅 in their raw form. This money will be plenty enough for you to adjust the climate inside the city and the region. I don't know about the neighbouring villages inside the region, but if you have, start campaigning of bringing everyone to a place, like Grailline and start growing the population of your city."

"Indeed, with this money, everything is possible. I will not disappoint you, Your Highness." said Joram looking at the gold and pieces of art which signified money, with double feelings, disappointed by the nobles but also elevated because he could put these funds to good use.

"We will see. You just have to follow the main national plan and assure those things are built, such as schools, medical care, canal system and the aqueducts, as for what you are doing beside the main plan, I can only hope it is in the interest of people. Do you have any questions?"

"Your Highness, one if I may."

"Go ahead."

"Do I have a set standard, a target that I have to reach in a range of years? Like how my tavern works and I have to note down my sales and supply amount."

"There is one, but it isn't formulated in that way. For example, you would need to reach a certain level of literacy in your community, that would be a standard. Apart from that you will get your list of requirements when my bureaucrats visit you. Anything else?

"No, I think I understand my role. Your Highness, this isn't a question about my job itself, but a curiosity. Couldn't it be that you will remove the nobles from power?"

Hearing that question from Joram, Vlad just gave him a small smile as he walked to put off the torches, and later as he walked out followed by the Governor, he told him.

"I still haven't finished drafting the legal act which would abolish the Feudal System, but in a sense, you are half right. Why half? Because there would be nobles that would still be in their territories administering the Kingdom. Understood?"

"I see, does that make me equal in status with them?"

"If you care about such insignificant things, it makes me believe you are still not fit for the job."

"No, no, I didn't imply it in such a way. I was just curious. Excuses, Your Highness." apologized quickly the innkeeper, before Vlad nodded his head in acknowledgement.

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Stepping back to the main room with Joram, he saw Robert and Aerius talk with the mermaid Kaia, and Joram also seemed interested in this foreigner guest.

"Your Highness, is that really a mermaid as in the actual stories?"

"I don't know what stories you've read in your childhood, but that is a mermaid. What about it? You got something against the merfolk?" inquired Vlad in a casual, amicable manner when hearing Joram's words.

"Not at all, I see them just like us humans, with the only difference they have tails for legs. Right, I heard that there are also fishman with legs, so the rule doesn't always apply like in the mermaid case."

"You didn't hear wrong. Now if you excuse me Joram, but since I finished all my business here, and also settled down the problem of this region, I will return home."

"Understood, Your Highness. There's nothing to worry now that the problem of those criminals attacking us has been solved, and the nobles are no more. I, Joram, can only wish you a safe journey home."

"You know it does take me about one hour, so I can jump around whenever I feel like, so be good."

Walking away from Joram and getting toward Kaia who seemed to be intrigued by Aerius, he told them in his casual tone.

"We can go home now. It seems you three got along decently while I was away."

"Obviously, any lady regardless of race would be intrigued by my beautiful feathers, isn't that right mermaid miss?"

*Chuckle* "What a silly creature. It's the first time in my life when I see something like you, a talking creature." said Kaia while gazing at Aerius, before turning her attention to Vlad.

"Is he bothering you? Trying to make you do something uncomfortable?"

"Hey! Do you look at me so low?" asked Aerius, raising his voice a notch while Vlad just gave him a subtle mocking expression which triggered Aerius even more.

Robert, seeing Aerius puff his fur and feathers slapped him on the head, while telling him.

"Stop making a scene you moron. Just by acting like this, you are giving away the fact that you are a perverted gryphon."

"I am not perverted! This is in my blood to be attracted by beautiful maidens. You tell them Vlad."

"What I know is only legends and myths, not facts."

"Well those legends and myths you know are right!" said Aerius, while moving toward Vlad and getting off the couch.

"Okay, okay, now quiet down. We will go home, and on the ship, you can mess around however much you want. Ready, Kaia?"

"Yes, let me see the outside before I return home." responded the mermaid, getting on her fish lower body, trying to stand upright and with some act of balance from her, she started moving toward Vlad like a snake, but soon she lost balance.

"Easy now, don't force yourself to try to imitate us humans, when you are limited by your body functions."

"I know I can walk too, let me try it for a bit more."

"Sure, but let's get on the greenfield, maybe there will be another feeling for yourself. Joram, I will leave this region in your care, you will get a dial snail, and the contact number so don't worry about not being able to contact me." said Vlad as he was supporting Kaia upright, while his gaze was on Joram who watched from distance, nodding his head at the message.

"Safe journey home, Your Highness."

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Vlad held Kaia in his arms as he walked out from the castle, bypassing the citizens who were still touring the castle assisted by the castle workers. Their departure was a blessed one by the citizens, who didn't forget to thank Vlad, Robert and Aerius for everything they did for them until they saw them off from the castle area.

"Hehe, this is what I like, being well received by the people and girls. Being the Sky Guardian of Kaysang really isn't half-bad as I thought." commented Aerius who waved his wings at the people.

"I can agree with that. I wonder how I will feel when I return home." blurted Robert with emotion in his tone, while contemplating his natal home, the Kingdom of Antulumn.

"You will get there, if Boss gave his word, it means we will get there. I hope I am not disappointed by the maidens of that place. Right, you said you have a little sister, how is she looking?"

"Little Lily? By now she should have grown big and no longer be a crybaby, following in all my footsteps. She should be 11 this year." added Robert with a melancholic tone which shut Aerius from trying to poke fun at him in a cheeky manner.

On another hand Vlad was looking at Kaia trying to move by herself using her mermaid fishtail, being supported by the greenfield outside of the city, but she rapidly tired down, falling on the ground, tightening her grip on the grass. She could feel that Vlad just observed her quietly without trying to stop her from what she was doing, and so she continued.

The boys could see her make some progress, but Robert whispered to Vlad a question that was heard by Kaia.

"Big brother, sure she can move on her own but this is on the condition the ground allows it. What if she encounters rough terrain with sharp stones, or a road full of glass like in the Kalerna Camp?"

"It is fine letting her try, like a child who would have to struggle learning to walk. I don't have much anatomical information on the fishman and merfolk, but I can't say for certain that I will put my hand on fire with the fact they can't evolve to be walking on the ground with generations of breeding with humans or living on a certain condition."

"Big brother, you know I got lost the moment you brought up those in-depth subjects." commented Robert, looking at Kaia move slowly upright, as if she was a model pulling the book walk.

"I can't do much about it. Just remember that the human body is full of mysteries even for me who has access to the source of life."

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Waiting for about 30 minutes, looking in the distance at the sea and the scenery, Vlad rose on his feet, and extended his hand toward Kaia who was having an inner conflict with herself, blood began pouring, moving toward the mermaid. It got toward her lower body which scared her, seeing herself having attached two blood-forming structures.

"What is this?"

"Just a bit of help for you, which would allow you to walk like us humans." said Vlad, casually, closing his eyes, visualizing the construct he had in mind to help Kaia.

The mermaid, who began standing upright because of the way the blood started to solidify, she could feel herself being balanced by this weird looking object that was exactly a walker wrapped around her like a belt containing wheels at the end of the legs.

"Go on, try to see if there's any difference. Support yourself on the walker, and move your tail."

She nodded her head, and holding tight on the crimson handle that supported her weight, she started to use her fishtail to do steps forward, which went so smooth she was surprised and even shocked.

"I can walk without feeling my balance is lost. What magical item is this Your Highness?"

"No idea, this is just something I thought about when seeing you struggle to walk. Now, since you played enough and the three of us took our time to relax a bit watching the scenery, let's get to the ship."

"Hm, I can't wait to see for myself the capital city."

"Hehe, depending on what side you stumble upon, you might be surprised or disappointed. Fuck, stop giving me that stare, it is true." commented Aerius, after Vlad gave him a sharp stare when he brought up the fact that Dawn was still under reconstruction.

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After 15 minutes the boy walked slowly toward the ship, giving Kaia the chance to look around Grailline curious about the architecture of the city, constantly asking questions about why there weren't people, yet when she found the reason she started cursing Count Grailly with vigour.

"Curse him and all his family for treating even their own people like this. I hope they rot in the water abyss."

"They will, no doubt about it. Now let's see how you will react when you see my ship and the scenery toward Sagletius."

Then not long after he said that, getting to the small harbor of the city, and helping Kaia to get inside his ship, she was staring around like a curious little girl, pointing at the blood turbine while saying.

"I have never seen such a thing, not even when I would gaze at Sabaody Archipelago or on my journey to find a location for my people. What does it do?"

"The wind machine? As the name implies, it creates a strong gust of wind which would propel my ship faster than any other ship. Probably my ship is the only one in existence, and I could proudly say my ship is the fastest in the entire world."

"Stop boasting, Boss. This ship is unstable and will collapse on itself at any given time."

"Hmph, has anyone asked you something? Go play with sand if you don't like Faust and my invention." scoffed Vlad at Aerius comment, while looking at Kaia who was staring at things from the main deck, before he signalled Robert to help the mermaid when he would start the ship.

Using his blood powers he unfurled the sails, and shifting the direction of the wind turbine and kickstarting the mechanism, it began blowing some wind, enough to help him steer the ship out of the harbor.

"Ohh, it is moving. This is my first conscious journey on a human ship. Robert, should I be scared of something?"

"Ahem, if you can manage the speed, you will be fine. However, don't worry, I am here to help you in case you lose balance."

She wanted to ask what he meant by that statement, but she turned her head toward the turbines who switched sides, being moved to the back of the ship, and instantly the winds began blowing her hair in all directions, scaring her.

Afterwards, the ship started moving toward a set target where she could see Grailline getting away from her vision, and with the winds remaining at a stable level, she adjusted to the speed rather rapidly.

"She can adapt fast to the winds. Probably she had her fair share of encounters and training inside the sea, with wind currents and sea waves." commented Vlad watching Kaia from the captain's cabin zone where the steering wheel was placed.

On this journey, Kaia could enjoy a smooth journey toward Sagletius, with Vlad slowing down when passing on some impressive sceneries with coast villages that were lively, with villagers waving their hands at Vlad ship with enthusiasm. This welcoming from the people from the side of the kingdom that was under his influence for 3 years was visible, with a difference in building and environment being marked even by the foreigner mermaid.

'It is like he said, the part of the kingdom which supported him in the War, prospered while the one controlled by the nobles was only abused. Prince Vermilion truly seems the type of person to care about his people.' thought Kaia when passing by those coastal villages that would have some people wave at Vlad.

Along her journey to Sagletius, Kaia went through many states of mind, from sadness, to curiosity, enthusiasm, and amazement. The amazement began when she started to enter the inner seas of Sagletius, where the Navy Ships were patrolling diligently, assuring the safety of the waters, showing some intricate marine ship movements to welcome Vlad, opening the path to Sagletius.

"Are you ready, mermaid miss?" asked Aerius who jumped on her shoulder, seeing from the distance Sagletius, ahead of the mermaid.

"For what?"

"Look ahead at the view." said Aerius while pointing with one of his four wings ahead.

She turned her head ahead, and she still couldn't see Sagletius, but minutes later, the shadow of the Wisdom Palace entered her sight which shocked her.

"Such a big castle. Almost like the Great Castle from Tiger stories."

"This is the Wisdom Palace, mermaid beauty. It is the residence of the Vermilions. The masters of the Kingdom. It might seem a bit shabby now because of the war, but it will soon be repaired, returning to its glorious form." said Aerius with a proud voice, as if he was talking about his own home, to which Kaia could just nod her head, agreeing with everything Aerius was mentioning.

She was stunned when she saw for her first time the 3 cities being linked at the Wisdom Palace by the Royal Bridge, captured by the landmarks of Sol, being the Hospital, University and the Opera House still under construction, but slowly rising up.

"There are so many people! Wow! I have never seen so many humans in my life."

"Haha, don't worry, we the people of Atlas are welcoming to anyone as long as they are our friends." said Aerius encouraging Kaia, who was staring with big eyes at the people doing their own activities.

She was amazed by the manner the people were working in reconstructing Dawn City, and was left without words.

Vlad, thinking about having the mermaid being introduced to his people, went to anchor his ship toward Sol's Harbor, creating agitation inside the harbor area who saw Vlad steering the ship having the blood turbines attacked at the side.

"Look, isn't the person steering that weird ship, His Highness Vlad?"

"Wait, let me see. Really?? It is him. Hmm, there's a woman that looks like the mermaid from the books my son reads for school."

"They are really real?? GATHER UP PEOPLE, HIS HIGHNESS RETURNED BRINGING UP A PRESTIGIOUS GUEST HOME! LET US WELCOME THEM!" shouted the people at the harbor, attracting the attention of the commoners, passing by the streets nearby.

As the people were gathered, the Black Army soldiers also made their appearance, finding out that Vlad returned back from his journey, bringing an important guest. The officers around the harbor went to work, with their respective teams, starting to create order in the harbor, and when Vlad's ship was anchored down, everyone turned silent at the harbor.

Vlad, who canceled his blood turbines, walked to the main deck and noticed Kaia tremble a bit when seeing this gathering of people at the harbor.

"Courage, little mermaid. If your people want to live on the surface, they need someone to teach them about how to interact with people. Now, come. Let my citizens greet you since they are really eager for me to bring someone important home."

Helping her out to step on the wooden platform of the harbor, while her walker was still attached to her, giving her support in her posture, she took some steps forward next to Vlad, who stopped to greet the people gathered at the harbor.

"Welcome to the mermaid visitor." said the gathered people, creating a grand welcoming for Kaia who was taken aback by such a gesture.

'I am not even the Queen, and those people greeted me with such respect. Just because I am someone brought by His Highness? How would those humans react if Her Majesty would visit the Kingdom?'

She felt Vlad's hand touch her back amicably and gathering her courage while facing this sea of people, she greeted them, before Vlad looked at the group, and asked them in a sarcastic manner.

"Heh, do you guys really have nothing better to do but wait for me like this just to say hello and scare off my guest?"

"Your Highness, we have to always show our gratitude for everything you have done for us. Also, it really wasn't our intention to scare the mermaid guest, we just turned like little kids curious to see things only told in the stories."

"That's right, Your Highness! Since at night I am learning to read and write with my kids, I can't get out of my head the idea that there are other people besides us, humans."

"Hahaha, good to hear that some of you older guys began to get curious about learning to write and read. It means I might have to build more schools that would also include you, latecomers."

*Crowd Laughter* "Your Highness, we have to. While we were impoverished and only had to think about surviving and putting some food on the table for our young, now thanks to your grace, everything has changed for the better."

"STOP LYING, YOU JUST WANT TO READ THE NEWSPAPER ABOUT HIS HIGHNESS!" shouted another guy from the crowd to the person who was talking with Vlad, creating a reaction from the crowd, even making Vlad chuckle a bit.

"Hey, that's just one reason. Is not like you morons who can't read, aren't trying to read because you want to read the newspaper dropped from the sky by those white gulls.

Kaia who felt much better when surrounded by this environment could only think in her mind, taking in this harmonious atmosphere.

'My Queen will be amazed by the stories I would bring to her when I return from my exploration of this Kingdom.'

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[A/N: Let's see what the next guest reaction would be when arriving at Sagletius]

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