Home/The Only Sunshine in a Toxic Novel/ch32

Episode 32. Triton (2)

When I opened my eyes, a soft and warm sensation embraced my back, unlike before.

Judging by the blue ceiling and the dark surroundings, I didn't seem to be in the afterlife.

I survived… From the moment I met Lapin, I thought I wouldn't die, and my prediction was spot on.

"Lucy."

Lapin's voice came from right beside me.

His voice, trembling with anxiety, pierced my heart. There was no excuse — I'd made him worry.

He checked my face several times, gritting his teeth and holding back what he wanted to say. His Adam's apple moved several times, as if he wanted to speak sweet words rather than harsh ones. Holding back the flood of words, he finally gripped my hand tightly.

Not enough to hurt. His fingers, intertwining with mine, were persistent.

"Damn it…."

Then, Lapin covered my hand with his other hand as well.

He rested his head on top of it. This time, instead of getting angry, he trembled like a baby bird. I couldn't just slyly brush past the situation when Lapin was this scared.

Trembling with fear, he was always serious and gloomy.

"You'll never know how scared I was, even if you die."

I wanted to hug him so tightly that his body would break.

"From now on… I won't leave you alone, Lucy."

"Before that, I'd like to say hello to Lucy."

An unfamiliar voice interrupted without warning.

Deep blue hair falling to his waist, a clear forehead, a well-proportioned face, and a perfect physique — he looked like the statue I'd glimpsed earlier.

His muscular upper body sparkled like grains of sand, and his skirt-like fluttering pants seemed decorated with shells, shimmering with each movement.

His appearance and attire, something out of a myth, were astonishing, but somehow familiar. For example, the mole beneath his eye.

"Hello, Lucy."

Despite Lapin's fierce glare, the man's lips curved into a long, smiling arc.

He was the owner of the voice I'd heard last before losing consciousness. As I'd thought earlier, this man knew my name.

As far as I knew, there was only one merman who knew my name.

"Triton…."

Hearing my mutter, the man smiled brightly.

'It's really Triton?'

The Triton in my memory was a cute boy with short blue hair and a small stature. He was by no means a striking handsome man.

"Good. Your temperature has stabilized a lot."

…Wow. What a dramatic transformation.

"No discomfort, right? The environment here is very different from the mansion, so I'm not sure if it's comfortable for humans. Still, I'm glad your body has stabilized."

"You… remember me."

I'd only thought about wanting to meet Triton — I never dreamed I'd actually meet him. Unable to believe it, I blinked, and Triton approached me.

"Of course, Lucy."

Though his face and body had changed a lot, his personality was just as kind as before.

But Lapin beside me, not pleased with the situation, held my hand firmly. He even released his aura toward Triton.

"Ah."

Triton stopped moving and smiled awkwardly at Lapin.

"I'm sorry. As the chief of the Obum tribe, I apologize for our rudeness. Everyone's been on edge lately."

The chief of the Obum tribe?

"But you said you were a guard knight back then."

I remembered what happened ten years ago. Back then, he said he'd been selected for an expedition to this place because of me, the heir of the Ohan family, being of similar age.

"It's really you… Triton?"

"It is."

"Then everything about being a guard knight was a lie…?"

"Yes. A lie."

Wow, I didn't know.

"Back then, I wasn't the chief, but the heir, Lucy. My mother, the former chief, sent me there."

He added.

"I couldn't reveal my status as heir to humans who hadn't yet formed a contract, so I hid my identity. Sorry for lying. You're not disappointed in me, are you?"

"Why would I be?"

What's there to be disappointed about? He never harmed me. At my answer, Triton's face bloomed with a smile again.

"I never expected to meet you either. Especially not with you in such a dangerous state."

Now ignoring Lapin's aura, Triton reached out his arm to me.

"Don't touch her casually."

Lapin snatched his arm mid-air. Despite the threatening warning, Triton neither flinched nor panicked.

"Forgive me. I just wanted to confirm something."

"…."

"As expected, you're an incompetent one. The reason unbound familiars helped you is because you're incompetent."

He was talking about those turtles earlier. Even if not for today's incident, all the familiars at the Ohan mansion liked me.

"I thought I just had a face that familiars liked."

So it was all because I was incompetent.

"Pfft!"

"…?"

"You really haven't changed at all, Lucy."

Is that a compliment or an insult? At least it means I didn't change for the worse, so I should be relieved.

"Not all familiars follow an incompetent one. It's because you're pure. Your heart attracts them."

"I know everything I need to know."

"Your heart toward familiars is pure. I thought you came here knowing that advantage, to help the Obum tribe."

"Help?"

"Yes, I sent a letter to the Ohan family. …Didn't you come here knowing that?"

As I asked back, a troubled look passed over Triton's face. Come to think of it, Triton didn't know I'd left the Ohan family.

"Explain from the beginning."

I didn't fully understand, but it seemed a knot had become tightly tangled somewhere.

"…The Obum tribe is in crisis. A crisis caused by the sea, our very home."

Triton slowly explained to unravel the wrong knot.

If it was the sea, it must be those waves from earlier. I was in too much pain to look closely, but the merfolk had been moving urgently to block the seawater coming through the entrance.

"I decided to accept human help despite the elders' opposition. Specifically, from the Ohan family, where you are."

"…."

"Ten years ago, I proposed a trade to Ohan again, as the previous one fell through due to conflicting opinions. I offered ore in exchange for support. But no reply came, and a month later, here you are, Lucy. I thought you came to help the Obum tribe, unlike your father."

"I'm no longer Lucy Ohan."

Hearing his story, I answered clearly to clear the misunderstanding.

"And of course, I don't know why Ohan rejected your offer either."

But it was unexpected.

Like Director Damian, my father also desperately desired the Obum tribe's ore and power. The trade Triton proposed would have been favorable to him — why did he refuse?

"Lastly, I'm still an incompetent one, Triton."

Leaving Ohan aside now, this was the important part. I might be able to get swept away by waves, but I couldn't block them.

Hearing my story, Triton was silent for a moment, then smiled bitterly.

"…So that's why you don't carry Ohan's scent. Then who is the man beside you? Isn't he a mage?"

He glanced at Lapin.

"I'm now a member of the Bendon Guild, and I came here to trade with the Obum tribe. Lapin is also a guild member like me."

"…I see."

Triton held his head and muttered quietly. In the silent lull, the outside grew restless as waves surged beyond the window. Turning his gaze, Triton's expression stiffened slightly.

"It's probably best to talk after your body has healed."

Though he tried to act casual, the shaken Triton stood up.

"I also have something to ask of you. I'll come back after finishing up outside."

Rest well.

Triton left us behind and disappeared.

---

Is he okay?

After Triton left, I couldn't hide my uneasy feelings.

He had been waiting for a savior to rescue the endangered Obum tribe, but what appeared wasn't a hero. Before him stood me, someone who just wanted to get the Obum tribe's ore by any means.

I felt like I'd unintentionally deceived him.

"Lucy."

While I was lost in thought, Lapin purified the air. Just as I was about to thank him, his cold expression caught my eye.

"What's your relationship with that bastard?"

Unlike his warm mana, his voice carried thorns.

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