"Serune, can you get in first?" I asked her, gesturing toward the entrance while keeping my voice low enough that the people nearby wouldn't immediately notice us.
"Huh? Oh, sure..." Serune replied, giving me a slightly curious look before following my request. It seemed like she had noticed that I was about to do something, but she didn't question me about it, which was probably for the best because I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to explain what I had just overheard.
I decided to stay behind for a little while because I wanted to find out exactly what a soldier of the Republic was doing in a place like this. Something about the situation already felt wrong, and after hearing those voices from nearby, my curiosity had officially become impossible to ignore.
"Well, it was amazing," one of the men said with a laugh. "I never would have thought that having sex with a mermaid could be that good. Their pleats feel really incredible around the shaft, and I honestly couldn't get enough of it."
A mermaid?
I stopped for a moment after hearing that, wondering whether I had somehow misunderstood what he had just said. Unfortunately, judging from the conversation that followed, I hadn't misunderstood anything at all.
"Mermaids really are the best creatures to have sex with, second only to succubi," another man replied. "Although, if you try it with a succubus, there's a high chance you'll end up dead, so you should probably stick with the creature that's least likely to kill you afterward."
The man speaking looked like a merchant, at least judging from his appearance alone. He had a large, bulging belly, a wide face, and teeth that were noticeably yellowed in several places. Some of them weren't even naturally colored, because a few of his teeth appeared to have been replaced with gold.
He looked so much like a stereotypical merchant that I almost wondered whether someone had deliberately designed him for the role. If he had started rubbing his hands together and talking about profit, I probably wouldn't have been surprised.
So, if I understood the conversation correctly, this merchant had apparently caught a mermaid and was selling access to her to people who were interested in using her for sexual pleasure.
That was a genuinely disturbing thing to hear, and the casual way they were discussing it somehow made the whole situation feel even worse.
"Well, more than anything, I'm glad the Republic is helping us with this problem," the merchant continued. "Those mermaids are incredibly persistent about trying to keep the entire ocean for themselves. Do they not understand that the entire trade route used by merchants depends on the ocean? If they're going to block it, how the hell are we supposed to move forward with our business? At this point, it's only right for us to completely wipe them out and reduce the Mermaid Kingdom to ashes."
I narrowed my eyes slightly as I listened.
So this wasn't merely some isolated merchant doing something disgusting for profit. Apparently, there was a larger conflict happening between the Republic and the Mermaid Kingdom, and this merchant was using that conflict to justify whatever business he had going on here.
"You could even expand the mermaid sex slave business into a proper operation," the soldier said casually. "I'm sure plenty of people would love to have a go with a mermaid at least once."
"I'm glad you enjoyed our patronage," the merchant replied with an amused laugh.
That was enough.
I had heard more than enough of their conversation, and standing there quietly while they continued talking about mermaids as though they were nothing more than merchandise was starting to test my patience.
"Um..." I finally decided to speak up, stepping into their conversation. "Did I hear that correctly? You're selling mermaids' bodies for sexual pleasure?"
The merchant looked toward me, seemingly more surprised by my sudden appearance than by the accusation itself. His expression remained relatively relaxed, which told me that he didn't seem to realize how serious his situation had become.
"Well, yes," he replied without hesitation. "Mermaids have the perfect bodies, after all. Catching them is really difficult, but when you manage to catch one, it can be an incredible source of profit and pleasure."
That sounded absolutely horrible.
The fact that he could say something like that so casually made the whole thing even worse. He wasn't talking about some harmless commodity or ordinary business arrangement. He was talking about capturing intelligent beings, treating them like merchandise, and selling access to their bodies as though they were nothing more than another product sitting on a merchant's shelf.
"Alright, then..." I said, keeping my voice surprisingly calm despite how irritated I was becoming. "How many mermaids have you caught?"
"Just one," he replied. "That one is quite pretty, too. Although, to be fair, all mermaids are incredibly beautiful."
"That sounds interesting," I said, keeping my expression neutral.
The merchant seemed pleased that I hadn't immediately started arguing with him. He apparently mistook my calmness for interest, which was probably the biggest mistake he had made during this entire conversation.
"Where can I see this mermaid?"
"She's under that tent," he said, pointing toward a nearby tent. "Why? Do you want to have a go as well? Two gold pieces are all it takes!"
I looked toward the tent for a moment before turning my attention back toward him.
"Nah, I'm good," I replied, giving him a small shake of my head.
The merchant barely had time to react.
I drew Samui and struck him down in a single motion.
His head dropped to the ground with a dull thud, and for a brief moment, his eyes remained open as they stared toward me with an expression of pure confusion. His hands instinctively moved toward the place where his head had been, as though some part of him still hadn't understood what had happened.
His body then collapsed onto the ground.
The soldier who had been speaking with him froze for a moment, clearly unable to process what he had just witnessed. His confusion quickly turned into anger, and he immediately reached for his sword.
"What the fuck have you done?!" he shouted.
Before he could even draw it properly, I moved toward him and slammed his face against the table with enough force to knock him unconscious. The impact made the entire table shake, and the soldier went limp almost immediately.
I straightened myself and looked around.
It didn't take long before the commotion attracted attention.
Several guards and soldiers belonging to the merchant appeared from different directions, surrounding me within moments. Their hands were already moving toward their weapons, and judging from the expressions on their faces, they clearly had no intention of asking me what had happened before attacking.
I glanced around at the group surrounding me and tightened my grip around Samui.
So much for handling this quietly.
I had originally intended to investigate the situation and figure out what the Republic's soldiers were doing here, but apparently the investigation portion of my plan had lasted about five minutes before turning into a fight. At least things were straightforward now, because I no longer had to wonder whether these people were going to cause trouble.
The guards spread out around me, trying to make sure there wasn't an easy route for me to escape. Several of them raised their weapons, while others watched me carefully, apparently waiting for someone else to make the first move.
I took a slow breath and looked at the people surrounding me.
"Looks like it's a fight today," I said.