#703 Attendant Strife at the Mermaid Palace

Queen Puffer, you seem pretty confident fighting on your own turf, don’t you?

Too naïve.

These are the candidates I, the Head Attendant of the Mermaid Palace, Clam, carefully picked.

They’re not just of noble blood, their skills are undoubtedly above a certain level.

After all, they’re graduates from the Mermaid Kingdom’s top educational institution, Mermaid Witch Academia.

Of course, their knowledge is profound, and their abilities are incomparable to any ordinary town doctor.

No, the greater the ability, the more it aligns with the nobility of the bloodline.

I shall teach this fact to you, a queen born of commoners.

“Hmm, who should I choose...?”

Queen Puffer looks over the dumb-looking girls she brought...

“Okay, I choose you,” she says, calling on... “Merluza. She’s one of the mermaids who studied at the farm. By the way, she’s from the Cod family.”

“The Cod family...?! Isn’t that...?!”

“As I thought, our ambitious head attendant has heard of them, huh? It’s one of the families that joined the anti-royal faction around the time I got married and were purged.”

So she’s related to rebels?!

How reckless of you to keep such a dangerous person by your side! You truly are naïve and a commoner, Queen Puffer!

“True, her family plotted a rebellion, but she went against her family’s orders and sided with the royal family. A girl with such loyalty is surely suitable to be by my side.”

I cannot accept this!

If such a traitor is easily forgiven, what about the houses that remained loyal and did not join the rebellion? They are not prioritized and rewarded!!!

“The way you say ‘remained loyal’ sounds good, but weren’t many houses on the fence because they didn’t know who would win? Rather than choosing them, shouldn’t we reward those who cut off ties with their family and fulfilled their obligations to us?”

“That’s ridiculous, Your Majesty! I will assign an attendant more suitable for the queen than such a traitor!”

I call out to the group of attendants I’ve selected.

“She is a paragon of grace, entrusted to us by a prestigious mernoble family! A house that remained silent and unflinching during the purge of the rebellion!”

“Again, doesn’t ‘unflinching’ mean they were sitting on the fence...?!”

“Go! Show Her Majesty how a true mernoble engages in battle!”

The match begins.

The young mermaids, recommended by the queen and me, face each other. In their hands are test tubes filled with magic potions. In general, a mermaid’s battle comes down to a competition of magic potions they’ve concocted themselves!

“Hehehe, this match is as good as won...!”

After all, all the young mermaids I selected are talented women who graduated from the prestigious Mermaid Witch Academia with excellent grades.

I’ve never heard of this branch school, but they were probably kicked out of the main school because they were incompetent dropouts and sent to a branch school, right?

The strong always take the main path!

There’s no chance a dropout mermaid who’s strayed off the beaten path could win, not even 1%!

“Begin the match!”

“Ngyaaaaaaaa! I looooooooooooooooooooost!!!”

...Huh?

The mermaid I endorsed lost...?! And in one shot...?!

It’s one thing for the match to be concluded instantly, but why is it that the one who won is the mermaid recommended by the queen?!

Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

“Hahaha, too easy. Dealing with elites from prestigious families is nothing.”

What was that?!

That’s a very immodest provocation from you, Your Majesty!

“Listen, the mermaids trained at the farm were directly instructed by witches like Platy and me. That’s why they’re particularly well-trained in handling one-on-one fights. Deception and tactics are their specialties.”

“Wha...?!”

“For them, the elites raised in prestigious families are the easiest to trick. They’re all rule-abiding girls, even going along with their opponent’s plans, falling straight into the trap. In short, they’re easy targets.”

How...How vulgar...!

Such unseemly ways of fighting... indeed, a queen born of commoners is not fit to be the Mermaid Queen!!!

“Oh? Still unsatisfied?”

“Of course I am, Your Majesty! I demand another round! The mermaid I just introduced was nothing more than a newbie to gauge the situation! This time, I will showcase the most magnificent mermaid attendant!”

“Well, if you insist. I suppose it’s time to bring out my proteges. Discus, Veiltail, Heckelii, Batrachus.”

What? Why is the queen calling so many names at once?

“Come.”

“YES, YOUR MAJESTY!!!”

Four mermaids rush forward. 

What is this?! They’re all young, but their auras are clearly different. 

“These are the most promising individuals among the mermaids raised at the farm. We have recognized them and allowed them to bear the title of Witch.”

What?!

The title of Witch, given only to the most formidable and notorious potion compounders?!

“Platy wanted to keep them at the farm since they had grown so well. They’re currently in the Mermaid Kingdom for their homecoming, however... By the way, they all come from common or low-rank noble families.”

No way...!

It’s unthinkable that commoners could be recognized as Witches and surpass the nobles of the Mermaid Kingdom!

“Elites tend to have a narrow perspective because they only learn what they’re told. Let’s give these sheltered individuals a bit of a field trip today, my dear students.”

“YES, YOUR MAJESTY!!!”

“You are now fully-fledged killers. My proud disciples. Show them the abilities we’ve instilled in you. Demonstrate the power of the strongest potion magic cultivated at the farm!!!”

Nghhhhhhhhhhh!

How dare they!

If that’s the case, I won’t show any mercy!

I will smash these cheap mermaids nurtured by the commoner queen and demonstrate the actual merit of our nation’s noble mermaids!

Go!

Soar!

The nobility of blood will solve everything!

After three minutes...

What lay before my eyes was a devastating scene of my defeated candidates.

The culprits of this massacre were the four witches summoned by Queen Puffer.

Not one of them had a scratch, standing firmly in the aftermath of the tragedy, tailfins swaying.

What’s going on?

The match was supposed to be a one-on-one between the representatives we selected. But before I knew it, all the attendants I had prepared were drawn into the fray, and none survived...!

This is truly a one-sided defeat.

Could it be that the four commoner mermaids summoned by Queen Puffer surpassed my hand-picked fifty elite mermaids...?!

“Didn’t I tell you? They’re my proud disciples,” triumphantly says Queen Puffer.

Ugh! She and her infuriating attitude!!!

“The Witch of Refrigeration, Discus!”

“The Witch of Flame Control, Veiltail!”

“The Witch of Fermenting, Heckelii!”

“The Witch of Orderliness, Batrachus!”

“The future of potion magic will be led by these four, guaranteed! They will take our places as we senior witches become busy with parenting! They were just little girls when we first met... But now, they’ve grown so much...! Uhuhuhuhuhuhu!!!”

The Queen started shedding tears of joy out of nowhere!

How unsightly!

However, I can’t stand to see the palace controlled by these plebeian mermaids!

Watch. I’ll appeal to the noble families who sent these prospective attendants and pressure them to reluctantly accept my demands!

They, too, seek to use the connection with the Queen for their own prosperity!

Isn’t it the Queen’s role to generously share that? She shouldn’t be so selfish and cause a ruckus!

“Isn’t the one being selfish you, Clam dear?”

Eek!

The voice that pierces through my thoughts...! It can’t be...!

“Mermaid Queen Mahi Kanne...?!”

“Oh my, I’ve long since passed the throne to Puffer dear. I’m a queen mother now. You’re known for being thorough with rules, Clam dear, you can’t make such a mistake.”

“E-Eeeeeeek...!”

The wife of the former Mermaid King Nagus, Mahi Kanne...!

She is an abhorrent existence unfit to be a queen, with her origins and upbringing being completely unknown. Just like Puffer, the current queen.

Yet, she managed to fulfill her royal role until the end because she could outwit and overcome any adversary with her unparalleled intelligence and strength.

“I allowed you to hold the position of Head Attendant because you couldn’t stand up to me. But just as I expected, you’ve become finicky the moment I retired.”

“No, Queen Mother, I only...!”

“Don’t you think Puffer is doing a great job? She’s dutifully performing her public duties and even gave birth to a healthy grandchild. On top of that, she’s raising such exceptional children. Of course, there’s also the fact that she’s a witch. Nfufu…” 

Oh no...

Whenever the former queen giggles like “nfufu,” someone disappears from the Mermaid Palace within a week and never returns.

As the head attendant of the Mermaid Palace, I’ve encountered such scenes several times!

“I was also devoted like her when I first married Darling… wasn’t I, Clam dear?”

“U-Um...!”

“Be careful when answering, okay? Answer as if your life depends on it.”

“Y-Yes, Queen Mother...!”

W-What’s going on?!

I heard that Queen Puffer and Queen Mother Mahi were on bad terms. Was that a lie?!

That’s why I tried to curry favor and expand my influence in the palace!

“Do you really think there’s such a thing as a good relationship between the mother and daughter-in-law? Nonetheless, we have to make compromises for the sake of the family. You should do the same, continue to be a competent head attendant, and diligently carry out your tasks. You can do that, can’t you, Clam dear?”

And so, my plan to expand my influence by leveraging the generational change was thwarted almost immediately.

The maids surrounding Queen Puffer were exclusively those mysterious individuals who graduated from the farm school.