#396 Expo Attendees: Part 4

My name is Gomame, and I am a mermaid.

...Or maybe I should say was a mermaid?

I no longer have that graceful, shimmering, scale-covered tail fin.

Only two ugly legs extend from my hips.

I live not in the sea filled with beautiful seawater but on hell-like land.

The reason why I live here is that I’m a criminal.

I committed a certain crime and was permanently banished to the land.

It’s a punishment recently established in the Mermaid Kingdom. Princess Platy, the genius of the royal family, developed a humanizing potion with semi-permanent effects.

I guess you could say I’m the first convict to receive this punishment.

Are you wondering what crime I committed to receive such a harsh punishment?

...Hm. In hindsight, I might have done something crazy.

I posed as royalty and dined in food establishments without paying.

We’re not talking about simple dining and dashing here, okay?

At Tookie’s Market, the largest fish market in the nation, I ate every bit of freshly caught seafood I could get my hands on.

Unfortunately, among those was metallic platinum silver sea urchin—a super-rare, high-end food meant to be offered to the royal family.

It was super delicious.

However, Princess Platy, looking forward to eating the said delicacy, was fuming mad.

She imposed a heavy sentence of exile to land.

According to a theory, the princess’s rage made her perfect the humanizing potion.

Either way, I’ve leveled up from a cheap bilker to a serious offender.

I am forced to live a completely different life on land than I did at sea.

But once you get used to it, life here isn’t as hard as you might think.

As a mermaid, I know how to compound potions. Though they’re not as good as those who are called witches.

My potions still sell like hotcakes to the land dwellers clueless about medicine, and I’m able to earn good money.

Now, I have my store in the Demon Kingdom’s capital, the most prosperous place on land.

I even deliver products to their castle.

Just when my life on land is becoming smooth sailing...

***

I heard a strange rumor.

Mermaid medicine is being sold at an expo held recently on the capital's outskirts.

“At the Mermaid Pavilion, yeah? They explain the process of making medicines quick and easy.”

“They’re even selling their finished products there, I hear. Apparently, they’re more effective than the ones at this store, so this one’s probably on the verge of bankruptcy.”

Since I run an apothecary, rumors like that come from time to time.

I was skeptical. As a mermaid, I know better than anyone how strange it is that mermaid potions appear on land.

Are there other mermaids like me who have been banished here?

To be honest, I can’t think of any other way to explain the potions’ appearance.

I decided to take a day off to visit the expo and see if there was any truth to the rumors.

It’s a bigger event than I expected.

The space is packed with visitors, and the pavilions are all high-level.

Which of these sells mermaid potions?

I think it’s called the Mermaid Pavilion or something...

Oh, this one’s the Natto Pavilion. Whoops.

But the natto is delicious.

I eventually found the Mermaid Pavilion despite the detours along the way.

The exterior is very exquisite, with a design that reminds me of the bottom of the sea.

...

Ugh, the homesickness is killing me.

No matter how much life on land is going well, I can’t erase my nostalgia.

I want to eat sea urchins.

I wonder what kind of outcast mermaids run this place?

I went into the pavilion to check.

The inside is even more mermaid-like than I thought.

The explanation of the displayed potions is spot on.

It’s like I’m in a mermaid school of magic.

Can they really present this to foreign nations so casually? The detailed explanations worried me, but it was also no wonder this place was packed day after day.

And then, there’s the souvenir corner.

As if to confirm the rumors, mermaid potions are lined up everywhere.

To conclude...

“It’s reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!!!”

Potions only mermaid compounders can make.

Both the ingredients and the compounder’s magic are indispensable to create this unique concoction. That’s why it’s impossible for any other race to imitate the potions.

No doubt mermaids are involved in this!

But just who is operating behind the scenes?

It’s obvious at a glance. The high quality of the potions in the souvenir section reflects the skill of the mermaid who made it.

The person who concocted these potions is definitely a compounder with much higher skills than me.

If these potions were to be sold in the capital, my store would surely go out of business...!

Seriously, who made these?!

“Excuse meee!”

“Yeees?”

One of the pavilion people comes running up to me, baby in her arms.

Entertaining customers while babysitting?

Oh, well...

“These potions look like they were carefully made! Not many potions of this level exist even in the Mermaid Kingdom!”

“My, you can tell? You have quite the discerning eye, ma’am.”

Why does she look so happy, as if she’s being praised?

“I’m surprised I’m meeting a customer who can tell the difference. You must be very knowledgeable to have gained that much insight on land, aren’t you?”

“Oh, no. I was a former mermaid, you see.”

“Pardon?”

I should be allowed to say that I’m a former mermaid, as a potion forcefully transformed my tail fin into a hip with two legs.

“But it’s been so long since I’ve encountered things that remind me of home that I can hardly contain my homesickness...! Is it possible to meet the creator of this potion by any chance? At least interacting with one of my kind would suffice...”

“Wait, you’re...”

“Hm?”

“You’re that bilker who drank and ate your way through the market by impersonating me.”

Hm?!

Now that she mentions it...

Her face, her huge chest, and her sublime genius aura!

This very person is...

Princess Platy?!

“Why are you here, princess?!”

“I’m the organizer of this pavilion. The other pavilions aside, this is the only place where we sell medicines directly to the public.”

No, before that!

Why is the princess of the Mermaid Kingdom, Platy, on land?

The potions in this souvenir shop were made by the princess? No wonder they’re so high quality!

But should she really be selling these priceless goods as mere souvenirs?!

“Sorry, I didn’t recognize you at a glance. It happened so long ago that I forgot about it.”

“Likewise, princess...!”

I didn’t expect to see Princess Platy on land.

And the baby she is carrying is... hers?!

“Huh? You live in the Demon Capital now? That’s admirable, living well on your own while exiled on land.”

“No, princess, I uh... I just got lucky...”

What is this turn of events?

“I was young back then, and I was so mad at someone for stealing my food that I banished them from the country. But they’re delicious, aren’t they? The metallic platinum silver sea urchins.”

“Yes...! Yes, they were!”

“I’ve gone through a lot since then. I’ve learned that there are many other delicious foods besides sea urchins. Stir-fried vegetables... pork cutlets... meeting my husband was quite the eye-opener.”

Um, princess...

You’re drooling... And it’s getting all over your child...

“Anyway, the present me now has the capacity to forgive what happened in the past! Let’s get you out of banishment!”

Huuuuuuuh?!

I never thought that my dream of returning to the Mermaid Kingdom would be realized here! 

I guess hope just comes knocking at your doorstep one day!

“Yay!”

“Or not...”

Huh?

“I just remembered something. When I got word that the Demon Kingdom wanted to arrange a marriage with me, I wondered where they got the information. I mean, communication doesn’t come and go between land and sea very easily, does it?”

Ah.

Right. I think Princess Platy was involved in a marriage controversy.

I heard rumors about it, though I did not know the outcome.

“I guessed some banished mermaid was talking bad about me on land. Hm...”

She looks at me, a resident of the Demon Capital.

“It was you, wasn’t it?”

Wait!

No, princess! I think I have an idea!

Every time I drank at the bar, I felt like I was bad-mouthing Princess Platy, who sentenced me to exile!

And that story somehow ended up with the demon bigwigs!

Wait... it was just on impulse!

But why would they use trash-talking as an indicator of finding a bride?

“Anyway, my pavilion is in need of more staff. Especially in the souvenir section, which requires a lot of expertise. We were relying on our mermaid students, but Teach Carp said the school prohibits part-time jobs...”

Princess Platy firmly grabs me by the shoulders.

“Aren’t you free right now?”

I got a “my condolences” look from the baby.

From then on, I closed my store and worked part-time at the pavilion until the expo was over. 

If I work hard here, I might be able to see my way back to the sea!