The half-fish tied to San is docile and unresisting.

"Now, you are going to explain to me how this happened."



　After all of us pretended not to have seen the crack in the red and black ball, we were to interrogate him.



　Domorte's undersea cracking magic is said to be very consuming to the magic stone, so I asked him to quit for now.

"So, what's your name?"

"Pedro."



　Pedro is one size smaller than the other half-fish.



Why are you doing this?

"I was an outcast in this half-breed village. See that dorsal fin on my back?　They say the bigger the dorsal fin, the stronger the magic. So you can tell who's strong and who's weak by their appearance."



　Petro's dorsal fin was so small that it would be no exaggeration to say it was almost nonexistent.



"In the village I was bullied, always excluded and despised. When I walked down the street, I would be hit from behind with a magic trick called "water stream". It was a small village and there was no entertainment. I think the adults and the children were somewhat balanced in the village by the hierarchy."



"So, how did you get that ball?"



"It was about a week ago. I was sitting on the beach looking at the moon because I didn't want to be in the village when a strange woman and a merchant came to me. They told me that if I brought them a mermaid, they would teach me how to get back at the villagers."



　These two are apparently the main culprits in this incident.

　The merchant must be the man who laughed on the boat.



You fell for it, didn't you?



"Yes, I did. I felt sorry for the mermaid. I couldn't resist that all-powerful feeling. The guy who's been taking me under his chin all this time, now he's got the power to make me do his bidding."



"How do you use those balls?"



"I don't know the theory behind it, but if you hold the ball in your opponent's hand while he's asleep and put magic power into it, the magic power will flow from the ball into him. After that, they're at your mercy and will follow simple instructions."



"Can't you give him hard commands?"



"I've tried several times, but they often get stuck in place. So I can't just bite or restrain anyone who comes into the house."



"Where were the mermaids taken to?"



"I don't know the details, but I was approached at a place the humans call Starry Cove. I think it was near there.



　Then the mermaids were interrogating me when Domorte came to me with a jade.

"Locke, this jade, it seems that some of my research is being used. The wavelength of the magic is similar to Lydia's magic wavelength. I don't know if the information leaked out somewhere or if it was stolen, but you should be careful. Whoever made this ball seems to have the magical power of a person about ten years old when I was alive."



"Ten years old?　Is that strong?"



"That's rude. I peaked in my later years, but by the time I was ten, I already had no enemies in the city. That's how good I am. Not world-class, but good enough. I don't think they're as naive as the half-breeds."



　It's a very subtle but cautionary note.



"Okay. So you figured out how to get the half-breeds back?"

Yeah, I figured it out, but it's very tricky.



What's the problem?

I've been trying to disarm it, but I can't seem to do it fast enough. There's a very complicated magic formula built into it, and for some reason it's cracked and partially broken, so I'm going to have to re-fill in the blanks. So I'm going to have to fill in the blanks again."



　Domorte emphasizes the "why" part.

　I'm not complaining either.

　It's not anyone's fault.



"Can you do it right away?"

"Not right away. But I can do it if I take my time.



"Well, then we'll have to go our separate ways from here. Domorte will come back via the box yard as soon as he can disarm it. We'll go get the mermaids.



Okay. Be careful.



Yeah, and Domorte. Anybody need any help?



No, I'm good. I don't think we'll be in trouble, but you never know what it's like in the city."



　Domorte didn't seem too worried, but he seemed surprisingly attentive.



"Take more magic stones with you. The next time you go back to the box yard, it will be on my side.



"Thanks."



　I let the half-fish sit tied up for a while, since they were going to stay there for a while. There was some disagreement as to what to do with Pedro, but it was decided to take him with us so that we could judge the merchant's face, etc. As Pedro had said himself, "I'll take him with me.



　As Pedro had said himself, without his balls, he had almost no magic power and could not be resisted.

　We decided to go after the mermaids who had been taken away.