Home/I was reincarnated as a mermaid, but I ended up imprinting the shadowy Grand Duke/ch 3

Chapter 3: Life Never Goes According to Plan (2)

My instincts are screaming at me.

Get out of here as fast as possible.

That sinister smile! Those piercing eyes!

I'm a hundred percent certain. If I get caught, I'm dead.

After confirming the grand duke was still eating, I quickly slipped out of the kitchen and handed the resignation letter I'd been keeping in my pocket to the head chef.

I didn't bear any ill will toward my employer, but perhaps because of the memory of dying without ever getting to submit a resignation in my past life, I'd always wanted to do this.

'Of course, I never imagined it would come in handy so urgently!'

Shoving the envelope toward the flustered restaurant owner, I said my goodbyes.

"Boss, it's been a pleasure working with you! Thank you so much! I have an urgent matter, so I'll have to quit. You don't have to pay me for today!"

"Huh? What? What are you saying all of a sudden...?"

"Thank you! Goodbye!"

Dodging the head chef's hand as he tried to grab me, I escaped through the back door and ran toward the beach.

'Surely, he's not chasing me, right?'

I hadn't done anything wrong, so why was my heart pounding like this?

'...Will I be able to meet the main characters safely?'

Even as I ran, I kept glancing back at the restaurant, checking to see if he was following.

"The moment I get caught, it's over! Who knows what that arsonist villain might do!"

For reference, the reason he was the villainous grand duke in the original story was because he suddenly burned down the entire country.

If I saved you from drowning, you should be grateful and go on your way, not throw a tantrum trying to find me!

It's already hard enough finding a job, and now that grand duke is making it even harder!

"Will I... ever make it to the capital?"

At this rate, I might fail my mission before even reaching the capital.

Running hard on my human legs, which lacked the muscle of my tail, I grumbled.

"If I'd known this would happen, I never should have saved him!"

As I approached the shoreline, I saw the grand duke burst out of the restaurant entrance in the distance.

From his fierce expression, he seemed to have finally realized I'd escaped.

He started sprinting toward me at an incredible speed, but it was already too late.

I laughed at him and shouted.

Of course, this was also payback for making it harder for me to save up for travel expenses.

"Did you really think a mere human could catch me!"

It was oddly thrilling to actually say a line I'd only ever seen in animations or comics.

And with that, I leaped joyfully off the coastal cliff toward the sea.

Splash!

With a perfect dive, small ripples spread across the surface.

Riding the welcoming currents, I quickly sank into the ocean depths.

In an instant, my long legs transformed into white fins, and my blue hair and blue eyes shimmered like jewels in the sunlight filtering through the water.

In a relaxed pose, I watched the grand duke staring down at me helplessly from the cliff's edge. Then, with a satisfied flick of my tail, I swam deeper into the sea.

"Jellyfish!"

I found the giant pink jellyfish that had drifted in with the currents a month ago and lay down on top of it.

Pressing my cheek against its soft, squishy texture and lazily nuzzling into it was always the best.

"Resigning without notice and submitting a resignation letter! This is so good. I'm happy."

I've fulfilled my past life's grudge!

I even escaped from that wicked villainous grand duke's clutches!

"I'll never get involved with him! I'll quickly make this story end happily and go back to playing freely!"

"Grrruuu..."

The jellyfish's snoring was none of my concern.

---

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha"

I've been troubled lately.

Every time I tried to go to the village to find work, wanted posters were plastered everywhere looking for someone with blue hair and blue eyes, so I couldn't even move around.

But if I just sat still and let the original story end in tragedy like it was meant to, I'd turn into seafoam!

"That wicked villainous grand duke!"

I seethed, thinking of a way out of this situation.

"...What if I just went to a different region?"

I mean, the empire is vast. If I followed the coast, wouldn't I eventually reach another village?

Yes, exactly that. Clap, I smacked my hands together.

"Then I can find a job there, save up travel money, and head to the capital!"

Wow, this is great. I'm a genius after all!

Admiring my perfect plan, I spun around happily underwater.

---

Humans have flesh.

You know, the part made of muscles and fat that covers the bones and forms the body.

Yes, humans are all 'flesh' from head to toe.

...So then, what about mermaids?

Upper body human, lower body fish. A mysterious race.

A legendary mermaid surrounded by strange rumors, so rare and precious that eating one is said to grant eternal life.

So, if you were to prepare and cut a mermaid, would it become sashimi or just regular meat?

'Maybe it's because I was working at that raw fish restaurant until recently?'

This was a useless thought that popped into my head.

"Ah, me as sashimi!"

Was it a mistake to recall my past life as a human?

I briefly forgot the advice passed down among mermaids: 'Never go near humans!' I had only wanted to save one poor pink beluga that had gotten caught in a net.

Glancing down at my poor mermaid tail, pierced by a harpoon.

"Hoo! My pitiful tail!"

It hurts so much.

The harpoon had a rope attached, so I couldn't escape, and they were pulling so hard from the other side that I couldn't even pull the harpoon out.

I thrashed with all my might.

But the taut rope, along with the harpoon, seemed to only give them a satisfying tug, and the pulling force only grew stronger.

Desperately, I swam for my life.

"Sashimi!! I'm going to become sashimiiii!"

That's right. I'm currently running from poachers trying to hunt me.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

My desperate scream echoed through the shimmering emerald-blue sea.

"White-fleshed fish have so little muscle!!"

I cried, looking at the white flesh visible between my platinum-colored tail scales where the harpoon had pierced through.

Tuna, a red-fleshed fish, travels over 40,000 kilometers a year, so of all the fish in the sea, why did I have to be a white-fleshed fish with such poor endurance?

To put it in human terms, red-fleshed fish are marathon runners, while white-fleshed fish are sprinters.

Which means I'm at a huge disadvantage in a prolonged chase.

"Aaaaaah!"

I'd always been frustrated by how slow I was as a mermaid, and now I finally understood the reason while running for my life, which made me very sad.

Tears streaming internally, I swam desperately.

Of course, it was futile resistance...

I darted through the seaweed, tried to dive deep, but they showed no signs of giving up.

"Is this really how I die? Caught like this?"

Huh? Is my short mermaid life ending like this? Even before I turn to seafoam?

No, I haven't even come close to changing the original story yet!

"Help...! Somebody help me!!"

I flailed through the water.

They were pulling the rope so hard from the other side that it felt like my tail was about to snap off any moment.

At this rate, I'd just exhaust myself and be dragged away helplessly!

Tears of pain streamed down, and a wave of sorrow surged inside me.

"I just moved to a different sea to avoid that grand duke, so why am I the one in danger!"

That grand duke, you bastard! Handsome but a total jerk!

I saved him, and he throws a wrench in my plans! A piece of trash who repays kindness with enmity!

Cursing him out, I sobbed loudly.

With my numb tail losing sensation, my bleak future seemed to loom before my eyes.

My future, served raw on a plate full of fruit on humans' dining tables!

"Hahahaha..."

I squeezed my eyes shut.

"I heard humans believe that eating a mermaid grants eternal life?"

"............"

Then I flinched, arriving at a rather plausible hypothesis.

"Wait, is that villainous grand duke also desperate to catch me because of that rumor?"

Huh? The branding be damned—there's no way a man with that personality could actually fall in love!

He's just trying to use me more effectively to bring the empire to ruin!

Yeah, my guess was very realistic.

"Hoo, I don't know anymore, I'm sorry. Please spare me. Waaah. My tail feels like it's going to tear off. It hurts so much... Save the mermaid, waaah..."

Whatever the reason, it was over. I was truly doomed.

I swam desperately.

But soon, I reached a state of resignation.

"The moment I'm caught, I'll either be fresh sashimi, a pet mermaid, a test subject... or in a circus? What else was there... Haha."

Ah, this really makes me cry.

"Aaaaaaaaaaah!"

Save the mermaid! I said save the mermaid!

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