Demon Lord: Erotic Adventure in Another World - Chapter 689

689: The Tragedy of Mermaids 689: The Tragedy of Mermaids Asmodeus travelled east after clearing the Iron Maw and resting for several days.

To his surprise, most of their group followed him.

In the meantime, the relationship between the empire and Lumeria soured.  ‘I wonder how my girls are doing.’ He walked along the paved roads, glancing at the huge trees that resembled evergreens and the English walnut tree which wrapped their path, only splitting every few miles to branch into dungeons, villages or key detours.  “This feels almost artificial.” He mumbled while glancing at the sudden increased density once they passed a passage or crossroad.

Nerim walked a step behind him, her ocean blue eyes occasionally flicking to Asmodeus, who wore a loose barbarian styled outfit.

Ryuji’s tanned muscles looked polished, along with his ink black tattoos under the sunlight.

The young mermaid’s gills flickered as her eyes drifted up and down his back and abdomen.

“W-Well, that’s because they are.” She spoke with a slight stutter before turning away the moment he glanced at her.

The colour of her scales and cheeks deepened because of the heat building in her chest.

‘This girl’s been strange since the dungeon.’ “Really?”  He genuinely wanted to know and wondered how they did it.

‘I would love to do this in my Empire, the twin willows and sakura tree are a symbol of our people.

If I were to line the roads with blue, red, pink and black trees…

would it be this beautiful?’ In his past world, there were talented people, be they an engineer, an interior designer or an architect.

After becoming a king and emperor, Asmodeus realised just how skilled those people were in designing and creating unique and pleasing creations.

‘Can I find someone skilled enough, would the elves be able to help?’  He remembered the Elven Empire, but it lacked the order and beauty that this path and continent carried.

“Originally, the western and northern parts of the mainland were corrupt and desolate places without hope.” Nerim’s voice became softer; the more she spoke, the more pleasant and happy her expression seemed.

“Can you tell me more?” He shifted his gaze and saw Zahir, Logan and even Thorim glanced back, listening to their conversation.

“Of course!”  Their party was headed to the city of Francel early, because Logan wanted to repay Ryuji and attend the auction with him.

Thanks to the pristine state of the metal and other items that Logan mined from the dungeon, their profit could be called amazing, and after sharing the set amount, it left Ryuji with a large amount for the auction.

‘Though I don’t plan to use my gold to win…’ He listened to Nerim speaking of the history of the north while they enjoyed a boring march.

This place was once the land of the Sirens, the ancestors and bloodline that created the mermaids and murlogs.

Murlogs were more violent, selfish and corrupted by the energies of the abyss, according to Nerim.  “The Murlogs grew in number faster than the Siren or Mermaid races, and thus tired of following the beautiful Sirens.

They formed an army of thousands and corrupted the land, using poison and a strange magic to usurp the Sirens power.” Nerim’s voice cracked as she grit her teeth at points, but Ryuji listened quietly.

He could sense the anger, the frustration and the deep grudge she held towards the Murlogs, which still reigned as the rulers in the far north to this day.  “Those filthy pirates allied and supported the Murlogs in capturing and selling the mermaids as slaves over the past five hundred years.” Although most Murlogs were stupid, there were special Murlogs, born with a specific role and ability, be they a shaman to lead a small village, or a hero to gather them together.

Now, the Murlog king ruled the northern coast of the mainland.

“Then why doesn’t the king of humanity help slay them, wouldn’t they prefer to be around the beautiful mermaids than monsters?” Ryuji asked.  The party suddenly stopped and turned to look at him, with a strange sense of tension in the air, while Logan cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Ahem, Lad…

you see.

How can I say it?” Even Zahir’s face changed as he glanced at Nerim before snapping his head away with a blushed face and increasing his pace.

‘Hm?’ Ryuji turned to Nerim with a curious glance, but found her expression rather cute.

Eyes opened wide, with dilated pupils, her scales bright blue, along with her gills shimmering with the same pink hue as her hair.

She twisted her body and bit her lips while glancing briefly at Ryuji before turning away.  ‘Why is she so embarrassed?’ He knew desired mermaids for their beautiful appearance, smooth skin and their charming voices, but the elves were no different to him.

Rather, his wives blinded him to most beauty or honey traps…

‘Though Nerim is really pretty.’ Ryuji couldn’t deny that Nerim was on par with his wives, and that was before she underwent sublimation as a demon.

“It’s related to something unique about our bodies.

W-Well…

two things.” Nerim finally answered after they had walked for ten minutes and reached a resting point.

“You guys go and set up camp, i’ll tell him.” “A-Ah…

sorry, Lass.” “Sorry, Big Sis.” “It’s fine.” Thorim and Logan bowed their heads and wandered off with Zahir while Nerim set down a portable table and chairs she bought with the reward.

The smooth wood and surface soon clattered with jugs of beer and simple food.

“Well, take a sip, it’s quite cold and delicious.” She then sat down and leaned on her palm, watching Ryuji, who followed her words.

He grabbed a mug and downed it, his throat sounding with loud gulps.

The delicious beer carried a light and citrus taste; the lemon and lime warmed his throat as he glanced at her over the mug.

“It’s good.” He didn’t need to compliment it because this beer reminded him of home.  “I’m glad, hehe.” She smiled back at him as he watched her shoulders loosen and her eyes dart between the forest, his lips and face.  “If you don’t want to say, I won’t force you.

Nerim.”  Her body trembled when he said her name.

She looked at him with faint red cheeks before grabbing her own mug and downing it in a few seconds, her cheeks puffing out as the pale ale filled her throat.  However, the moment she gulped the last bit of foamy suds, her atmosphere transformed.

Then she slammed her mug and brushed her fluffy pink hair back, revealing two scars across her temples and into her hairline.

“A blade?” “Mm.

When I was younger, events like mermaid hunts still existed in the north.” She paused for a moment, biting her lip as her hand shook slightly.

“But those have stopped now…” Though it should be a fortunate thing, her tone remained solemn and empty.

Nerim took a deep breath, and as she closed her eyes, the sunlight reflected off her scales, creating a beautiful illusion of blue and pink colours.

“Because the mermaid kingdom Atlantis no longer exists.” ‘Hmmm?’  Ryuji’s eyes lifted because he knew his world had a similar place, the underwater city, the sunken city…

it was a place that people wanted to search for treasure.

Some believed it was a hoax.

But he was sure someone had found it when he was younger, but at the time his mother passed, and so his memories of it became fuzzy.

“Why did they hunt your kind?” Ryuji couldn’t understand why, when humans normally obsessed over beauty like the woman before him, even the elves…

he made hypotheses in his mind, but none of them seemed to be correct.

“Because of greed, there are treasures embedded in our bodies…” Nerim blushed, but she didn’t avoid the topic…

she drew circles on the table before showing a weary smile.

“Mermaids have a special pearl.” Her fingers moved faster along with her flapping gills.

It was clearly something private.

“Those pearls are an intimate part of our bodies…

however, they can be removed.” Ryuji nodded and asked a blunt question, “what can those pearls do?” Nerim coughed as she drank from her mug, the beer spilling onto the table and down her chest, but she wiped it and returned to normal.

“The pearl’s main usage is to increase our affinity with water magic greatly.” Yet Ryuji tilted his head in curiosity.

It might be enough for mages to become obsessed, but…

an empire?.

‘Couldn’t they just employ them as warriors or mages alive?’ However, there were secondary usages that twisted his expression.

“The humans discovered something when experimenting on my kin.

That those pearls carried another usage…

if one were to swallow or consume them.” She paused, and the faint tears welling beneath her eyes almost made Ryuji pull back.  But he chose not to.

“Can you please tell me the effects?” Nerim gripped her mug tight before she nodded slowly, her smile barely a smile…

it was like someone who’d given up on life.  “The primary effect of swallowing a mermaid’s pearl increases a person’s lifespan by five years.

A person can use the pearls three times.

The secondary effects include minor beautification and also…” She blushed and covered her face, while the scales along her cheeks, belly and arms all turned deep blue.

“It cures a man’s…

issues.” “Issues?” Ryuji tilted his head, trying to think of a male’s issues that might cause this response, then after two seconds, he gasped.

“Oh!” “Fifteen years of life, beautification and…

curing erectile disfunction or infertility?” “All of those.” She gave a bitter smile.

“Because the first two were extremely popular for female nobles…

they sent mercenaries and armies in droves.

I lived in a small village, but because of my mixed blood and young age, I avoided capture.” “…” The pair stopped speaking for a while, as he observed the woman before him, her body and mind covered in wounds that would never heal.  And yet he couldn’t help but find her beautiful and admirable.

“Do you seek revenge?”  Ryuji didn’t ask this in jest or while fooling around; his stomach churned.

His daughters and wives’ blood could achieve a similar effect.  He was filled with anger at the future if he vanished.

However, Nerim just looked at him with an empty smile once again.

“How can I get revenge on a god?” The words she spoke shook Ryuji as his heart began to pound.

A sixth sense warned that he wouldn’t be short of opponents on the mainland.