I Became My Healer Elf Character-Chapter 85: Forbidden Fruit

Long ago, mermaids traveled freely throughout the ocean. Their kingdom gained several trading partners among the land dwellers. They braved The Deep whenever they wanted, and they built their livelihood in the trench. Their people were both feared and respected throughout the ocean and the continent.

Sailors did their best to placate the tribe in the open ocean. They made treaties of non-aggression to allow for safer passage in the waters. Having the mermaids on your side would inevitably be a free ticket to wherever you needed to go. The tribe could easily turn the tides against you if you became their enemy.

Yet, some hundreds of years ago, all of that started to change. A large Mosasuar settled in The Deep.

This creature was not friendly. Lord Mosa consumed any mermaid that crossed his path. However, all mermaids had in order to enter the rest of the sea. With each of their tribe eaten, the mermaids began fearing for their safety.

Many of them would no longer leave their trench. This angered Lord Mosa. He'd already grown fond of their taste.

During this time, a subjugation team was sent out, but all of them were eaten by the great beast. None lived to tell about it. Even as people waited for them to come back, they never did.

The whole of the tribe lived in fear, clinging to their homes and staying in their kingdom. It was during this time that Lord Mosa would offer them a deal.

He'd provide the mermaids protection from outside threats. In exchange, they could never leave the trench, and they'd be forced to provide a generational sacrifice to Lord Mosa.

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"I see," Hikari said, "and how do the elders fit into this whole thing?"

"Us elders are the ones who made the deal on behalf of the tribesmen. All of it is detailed on this tablet."

Hikari gazed at the pearl tablet the elder handed her. It told a rough account of the lives of their people. What was interesting about their written language were the glyphs that told the story. A single glyph could represent whole sentences or ideas. Concepts like "fear of The Deep" were told with one character.

It was very much unlike the alphabets used in the Empire and Amalin. It was closer to what Hikari knew from Earth, yet it was very different at the same time. It sort of resembled the kana she was used to, but the meanings were more vast.

The elf nodded and handed the tablet back to him. "Why did Lord Mosa even want to eat your tribe specifically?"

"And that is the ancient mystery. The elders who made the deal believed it was something to do with our magic power. There was no telling if this gave him some benefit, or if it simply made us taste better. After all, the way of life is eat or be eaten. It's possible Lord Mosa simply liked how we tasted more than the other creatures that call these waters home."

Miliana shook her head in disbelief. "It's hard to believe my fate was decided by some ancestors I've never met, and it was all caused by someone with an appetite for my people."

"Unfortunately, this is something we'll never know the answer to as Lord Mosa has perished." The elder looked pointedly at Hikari. "Though, maybe it's possible this goddess knows the answer."

The elven goddess in question shrugged. "History becomes muddied over time. Many details are left out of your story. For example, the tablet never detailed why the elders chose the first princess. It also never stated why people began worshiping him as a god. An entire shrine and statue were erected in his dedication, and there was even a ceremony to celebrate. Yet, I could find no words saying why they should worship him."

Elder Daryu nodded and gave the elf a cheeky smile. "I've fulfilled two of your requests. Originally, it was only supposed to be one. Will you uphold your end of the bargain?"

Hikari sighed and reached into her inventory. She produced eight of the apples she'd gotten from the elven forest. As a serial hoarder, her instincts were screaming at her to pocket the apples and run. Besides that, she was also very fond of their taste. It was one of the best tasting delicacies she'd encountered in this world, and she wanted to keep them all for herself.

With much reluctance, she shielded the apples in a small barrier, protecting them from the ocean environment and making them edible to the mermaids. Each of the elders got one, and the queen and princess got the last two. Hikari frowned at the dwindling number of apples in her inventory. She made a mental note to send for more of them as soon as possible.

Each of the mermaids stared at the apples handed to them. The elders who'd read about them in their scriptures viewed the objects as something sacred. It was as if they were about to taste divinity.

Hikari wondered if she even needed to shield these apples from the water in the first place. They were full of spiritual magic power. It was likely the shields were unnecessary. With that thought in mind, she produced one for herself.

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The elf was awed by the apples once more, they could simply remain intact, even without her shields.

After taking their time to inspect the fruit, the elders began to take their first bites. The other two mermaids watched them hesitantly, seemingly waiting to see if they were poisoned.

Hikari wanted to berate this royal pair. Do I really look like someone who would poison mermaids? She looked at her dragon who appeared bored and dozing off. Maybe she'd be the one to poison them out of boredom?

As Elder Daryu finally decided to take his first bite, his eyes widened. He bit down into the forbidden fruit and chewed with delight.

The other elders noticed his expression and immediately followed, biting into the apples as if their lives depended on it.

"I finally understand the scriptures!" Elder Daryu yelled. "These are truly divine!" Tears filled his eyes, and he kept eating. He sobbed tears of joy. "Thank you for this blessing, My Goddess."

Hikari felt strange watching the turn of events. The other elders followed their leader, singing praises of the apples' taste and texture. Even worse was when they finished the apples. The elders kowtowed before her in reverie.

"What's gotten into all of you?" Miliana asked. "They're just food. They can't be that tasty!"

A crunch resounded beside the princess and Miliyu had begun eating hers.

"Oh my, Miliana! This is to die for!"

"Not you too, Mother…" The mermaid princess glared at the fruit in her hands. "I'll take a bite and prove to you that it's not even that good."

The princess took a bite, her expression unchanging. She took another bite. "Yeah, as I thought, it's simply food."

Yet, after she spoke those words, the princess did not stop eating the apple. Bite after bite, she quickly devoured it. While the others took their time, Miliana ate the entire thing in less than a minute. Her eyes stared hungrily at the elders' apples.

Hikari sighed and handed the silly princes the apple she'd gotten out for herself.

"T-thank you, Goddess. These apples might be a little better than I thought."

Elder Daryu stared between the princess and Hikari after finally finishing his apple. "My Goddess? Do we get another apple?"

Hikari crossed her arms and frowned. "No, no one is getting anymore. The only reason she gets two is because she's the one who suffered the most. I'd have not even given the queen one if I didn't hear directly from you that she tried to stop the ritual."

The queen looked down at the ground in shame.

"Don't worry, I'm not blaming anyone here. I'm not some arbiter of justice. You all made the difficult choice of choosing one for the safety of your tribe. While it's not a choice I agree with, I can understand it. Now then, there are two more matters we should address."

Miliana devoured her apple and tilted her head. "What matters are those, My Lady?"

"That's exactly the first matter. You needn't worship me…"

Elder Daryu cut the goddess off. "If we're not to worship you, who will we worship? Lord Mosa is dead, and we can hardly worship him anymore."

"Master, I think it's better if you allow these people to worship you. While they're not really anything special, they clearly know their place, and I find them to be more likable than the presumptuous humans on the surface."

Hikari breathed a deep sigh and nodded reluctantly. "Fine, you may worship me as you please. But know this, I will not be handing out blessings freely, nor will it be my duty to protect all of you every time."

"We'd never ask that of you, My Lady!"

"Good, now then, it's the second matter. What will all of you do now? Your lord is perished, and the people need to know where they stand."

"That's a simple matter," Miliana said. "Why don't we just let everyone know in the upcoming ceremony?"