7th Wave - The Song That Longs to be Sung [3]

On the day of the ball, in a drier place...

Who is she?

Kojin Okihiro asked himself that question almost every time he saw Tomi-san, after that day. Yet not only did he find it something rude to ask, he was certain Tomi-san would not give him an answer.

Not a complete version, at least.

“You see this, right here? This is how the speaker would refer to themselves if they are from noble birth—it is very similar to their word for ‘treasure’.”

For the past days, Okihiro had been visiting Tomi Seina every day. He would arrive early in the morning and stay until late afternoon, since the woman herself insisted. In exchange for the lessons, the young man would help her prepare her meals, clean the house, and do some other chores.

“Yes, this is how you would write it. Now, pay closer attention to how my lips move when I speak.”

He was quite surprised by how great Tomi-san was at teaching. The first two days had been quite overwhelming, yet after Okihiro understood the language structure and its basic rules, memorizing the symbols became easier.

The merfolk speech was far from being complex. Though the glyphs used could scare at first, the way they made sentences was not that different from what Okihiro was used to, and he had always been praised for having a good memory.

The problem was the speaking bit.

Since Okihiro lost his hearing when he was twelve, he already knew how to speak. In fact, he only learned how to write because he lost his hearing—so he already knew how the words were pronounced when he started learning how to read lips.

However, for the merfolk speech, he had nothing to compare or base the words on. So after learning almost all the symbols and being able to [mostly] recognize them on paper, Tomi-san had been helping him learn how to recognize the words once spoken.

And it was absurdly hard.

Many of the sounds they used did not exist in human speech, so if Okihiro was to learn how to speak the language himself, the young man would likely lose his mind. Yet even when he didn’t have to produce the sounds himself, trying to identify words he had no idea how they sounded by lipreading…

He let out a frustrated sigh, his head sliding and hitting the table.

I’m going nowhere…

Okihiro felt a light tap on his head, forcing him to raise his gaze. Tomi-san was holding a warm cup of tea in front of him, which he politely accepted.

“Don’t feel so discouraged, boy. You have no idea how fast you are progressing—you even managed to impress this old woman!”

Tomi-san laughed, taking back her seat. Yet when she saw how low the boy’s spirit was, her smile slowly faded.

Hah…there are so many similarities, it’s uncanny. Seriously, what is this?

Tomi Seina took a few sips of her tea, letting nostalgia take her away for a few moments. And as she searched within her memories—through the many similarities and dualities—for something that could help the boy in front of her, the young man pushed his notebook in her direction.

‘Tomi-san, could you translate something for me?’

With slightly flushed cheeks and a hesitant gaze, Okihiro waited for a reply.

Seina hid a torn smile with the teacup, closing her eyes briefly. Even with so many similarities, he’s still his own person, huh? This shy, brave boy.

 “Show me.”

Okihiro searched through the notebook pages, stopping when he spotted the odd symbols. It had slipped his mind, somehow. How the mermaid had written something that day. The calligraphy made it more difficult for him to identify the symbols, still…it was pretty.

Her handwriting…it’s so warm.

As soon as Tomi-san read the sentence, she widened her eyes with a chuckle.

“Hah! Quite cheeky, this one.” The old woman turned the notebook toward him, her finger following the words as she spoke them.

Kojin Okihiro suspected the sentence would reveal the mermaid’s name, yet he hoped it could give him more information. Something to help him know her better.

“‘You are in front of Eirin, the first princess of the great Palace of Pearls of the Undisonus Sea. Rejoice!’, is what it says here.”

Okihiro lost all color.

“I must say, you really have your priorities straight, boy. You want to live a comfortable life, I see.”

Though Okihiro read Tomi-san’s lips, his brain didn’t really process her words.

…a…

…princess?

Yet before his mind would completely shut down and send him on a spiral, something sparked within. Okihiro didn’t even realize he spoke the words out loud. All he could feel was his heart, its beats racing and thumping against his chest, stronger by the second.

“What’s her name?”

The boy could not, yet Tomi Seina heard the desperate anticipation being carried by the boy’s voice. With a smile, she pointed to her own lips.

“Watch closely.”

E

I
RI
N

Okihiro’s face got warmer, his hand going for his chest as if the gesture would make his heart calm down.

Eirin…

Princess Eirin…

He finally knew her name.

                                                                   𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼

“Merfolk of Pearls, behold your graceful sovereigns!”

The moment Prince Seikan heard the announcement, he let out a sigh.

“At long last...”

"Manners,” his brother mumbled at his side, poking him in the rib. “It hasn’t been that long.”

To him, it certainly had.

 “Princess Reika, Princess Eirin, and Queen Yūritsu!”

As the main doors to the ballroom opened, the three mermaids stole many breaths and many hearts as they swam closer.

The youngest princess; wearing a delicate tiara that complemented her short, wavy, grayish hair. Many would see her strong resemblances with the late king—the darker tail, the strong and piercing gaze, the fierce features.

The firstborn Princess Eirin; with her hair styled in a high bun, silver locks falling onto her shoulders, wearing a beautiful blue dress glistening with pearl dust, and a long silver necklace. 

A princess that only had the age of one, yet carried the air of a ruler.

Then, the Queen herself. A hair as white as snow styled in intrinsic braids, revealing her collarbone and long neck. A long veil attached to the back of her dress, dancing alongside her whenever she moved. A corset dress that almost blended with her tail, mixing the glow and beauty of the white and black pearls her scales replicated so beautifully.

Prince Seikan blinked.

Only once.

In that moment—

“Eirin, come. Let me introduce you to your fiancé.”

“Follow me, Sei. Your introduction is long overdue.”

Both mother and older brother called for the future bride and groom.

Eirin held her breath, clenched her fists.

Seikan nothing said or did, letting Ryousuke drag him along.

The second Prince of Cobalts glanced over the queen and the princess.

Around them, the crowd watched the exchange with eager eyes and curious glances.

The first Princess of Pearls first noticed the elder brother, before her eyes locked on the youngest.

Where the merfolk of the Undisonus Sea had delicate tails, with short fins that covered their ears and part of their arms, merfolk of the Caeruleus were different. Their tails were sharper, their scales covered their arms and part of their neck and back.

The gills on their neck were a lot more prominent, and they had long and dark nails that almost resembled thorns or stingers. Their colors were darker, both in skin and scales, yet there would be a certain light emanating from their eyes. A bright glow that made their eyes pop, enhancing their colors.

Merfolk from Caerulus saw the ones from Undisonus as gentle and soft, at times even fragile-looking.

Merfolk from Undisonus thought of their distant cousins’ traits as somewhat intimidating, if not a little dangerous and exciting.

Both thought of the other as exotic and refreshing.

However, as Eirin stared at her future husband, her heart felt dead. The merman in front of her was certainly handsome. With a strong jawline, high cheekbones, a piercing gaze. Yet though she was not aware, the princess was comparing Prince Seikan with someone else.

Someone with a lot fewer scales, and a couple more legs.

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m Eirin.”

Seikan gave a short nod, his voice taking a few moments to find itself.

“T-the pleasure is all mine.”

Queen Yūritsu turned to the youngest prince, her face impassive, her voice even.

“Do apologize us for the lateness in arranging this encounter. I hope you won’t think we value our partnership any less. I am glad we could finally meet face to face.”

“Of course! We are aware how these negotiations can take time, worry not. Since things are more settled now, we can start moving forward with our plans, in the course of this year,” Ryousuke replied with a bright smile, holding his brother by the shoulder by habit.

The Queen of Pearls gave a short nod, turning her head when her name was called by a very excited, and somewhat anxious, merman.

“I must excuse myself for a moment. Yet do let me know if there is anything you need—you are our esteemed guests, after all.”

With nothing else to say, the older mermaid swam away.

Then—

Prince Ryousuke noticed two things.

How nervous and awkward Princess Eirin was, her gaze going in all directions without ever landing in one.

An expression on his brother’s face he hadn’t seen in a very long time.

The merman grinned.

“You two will have plenty of time to talk, won’t you?!” They both turned to the elder prince. “Why don’t you join your sister or your mother, or some of your old acquaintances? I heard you were away for quite a while, there must be a lot you want to discuss with them.”

Eirin’s rigid muscles melted away as relief poured from within.

“Yes…! Exactly. If you both excuse me.”

With a short bow, the silver-haired princess was gone in a blink.

And Prince Ryousuke wasted no time as he pulled his brother into a corner, barely containing the smugness in his smile.

“Don’t you hate when your old brother is right? You are fortunate I won’t actually have you kiss my fins.”

Seikan, however, was barely listening.

“I will kiss them if you wish. Whatever you say.”

His voice was distant, his gaze yearning.

Ryousuke’s grin got wider. “What did I tell you, huh? Once I feel it in my gills, I’m never wrong. But you were quite lucky, brother. Princess Eirin is certainly a true beauty.”

The merman remarked, glancing toward the eldest princess.

It took a few moments for his brother to reply.

“…huh? Oh, yes, indeed she is.”

“Hah, the princess certainly got you—”

“Yet the queen is far more beautiful.”

Prince Ryousuke began to laugh, waiting for his brother to join him.

Seikan didn't.

Ryousuke saw his brother's love-stricken expression. Later, the direction of his gaze.

The first thing that died was his laughter.

“What do you mean, Sei?”

A new flame crossed Seikan’s eyes. A fierce determination. A burning desire.

"Sei. What do you mean?"

“Excuse me, brother. I have somewhere to be.”

The second thing to die was his smile. “No, wait, Sei—what did you mean? Sei!”

And before Ryousuke could get a hold of his brother, the merman was already swimming away.

Going toward Queen Yūritsu herself.

The last thing to die was Prince Ryosuke’s peace of mind.

“…Oh, dear.”

For he realized—

They had a new problem.