I am the daughter of a venerable mermaid nobleman.
　My name is Black Bass.

　I'm very uncomfortable today, and I can't stand it.

　I was born into one of the most prominent mermaid families in all of mermaid country. It has strong ties to the royal family and wields absolute power.

　Since I was born into this family, I should be in the highest position in the world.

　Namely, the Mermaid Queen.

　The Mermaid King's wife, who holds the highest position in the land of mermaids, is the one who is most suitable for me.

　I am the best in family, bloodline, and rank, so it is only natural that she would come and ask for your hand in marriage.

　The current Mermaid King is too old to be married to an old man, so I'll leave it off....

　I heard that his son, the first prince Arowana, is quite handsome.

　The first prince will eventually become the mermaid king.
　I have a feeling that if he's in that kind of position, he'll be able to match me.

　Very well.
　Prince Arowana, I'm ready to declare you my future mate.

　But don't be too happy about it yet.
　I'm not a cheap woman who will go snogging just because I've decided to.

　If you really want me, you have to come to me to ask for me.

　It's important to take the initiative in love affairs.
　The difference between the two is the difference between the two of you in terms of how you show your love for each other first.

　Love is a go!
　Whoever likes it loses!

　That's why I must get Prince Arowana to like me.

　You can't marry me until the prince has made his bones to me and is willing to give up all the wealth in the country to marry me.

　Fortunately, I am the daughter of the best and most prominent family in the mermaid country.

　When that fame is conveyed, I am sure that the other side will come to claim me.

　All I have to do is wait and wait for the right moment and wait gracefully.
　I will wait and wait for the time to come and watch my prey fall into the trap.

　And so time passed as the prince waited and waited for his future betrothed to visit.

　A year passed....
　Two years passed.....
　Three years went by.....
　Four years went by.....
　Five years passed..........

　　　　* * * *

　It has been twelve years now.
　And yet, Prince Arowana is still not here.

　Why?

　I've been waiting for him for a long time and I'm the daughter of the best and most respected family in the mermaid kingdom, so why hasn't he come?

　Doesn't he have barnacles in his eyes?

　Thanks to this, I'm at the end of my marriage season, and my parents have been urging me to marry anyone and everyone by the time my next birthday comes.

　Even if I said that, even if my marriage is not yet at the end of its life, the last minute is already half over!
　It's like 70 percent done!

　I don't know if I'll ever get a good deal on a woman like that!

　No!　I can't believe I'm marrying a lowly middle-class nobleman!

　No!　Before that, it's Prince Arowana!
　You've lost over a decade of waiting for him to ask you to marry him, so you have to be responsible for him!

　Where the hell is this guy taking his time?
　If he was a man, he should have just come over and asked you to marry him!
　I'm not going to marry you until he gets down on his knees and asks for your hand!
　This is punishment for keeping me waiting for so long!

　Just as I was feeling so indignant, I heard something I couldn't believe from my father.

"Oh, by the way, His Royal Highness Prince Arowana...

　Prince Arowana?
　What?
　And now he's finally going to propose to me and give me half the country as a wedding gift?

I hear he's getting married.

　With me?

How could it be you?　No.

　Why?　If a prince is going to marry a woman, it will have to be the right one.
　Like this me!

Who's the best woman?　A rotting bad stock like you...!

　Shut up, old man!

　...but it's inexcusable!
　Prince Arowana, you wait for me long enough and then you turn your back on me!

　You play with a woman's innocence.
　If they're on board, I have an idea!

　My pride!　My fame!　And most importantly, I'm going to make you pay for the decades of work you've done with your stick!

　　　　* * *

　And when I got into action, I met my friends.
　What friends?

"We were tricked by Prince Arowana!
I adored you so much and you didn't even give me a second thought.
So do I!　I used to do a spell every night to make sure my thoughts got through to them before I went to bed.　It didn't work at all!

　and lamenting that none of these women have made any effort to be adored by the other.

　Adoring, reminding, or a spell.
　That's not enough to get the other person to love you!
　Even if I say so myself!

Ah, you mean........all of you who are here now.......?

　Those who, like me, harbored feelings for Prince Arowana, but in the end never reached them and scattered!
　Those who were broken in love?

　There were so many of them?
　Prince Arowana is popular after all, isn't he, Prince Arowana?

　Here in the secret underground meeting place, dozens of the heartbroken fiancées of Prince Arowana (self-proclaimed) are here....
　I'm tempted to say that I'm surprised that they've gathered so much.

　Well, I'm one of them.
　I'm sure that none of the people here have made the same approach as I did.

'.........we're comrades.

　He speaks to unite us all.

'We have been betrayed. We adored Prince Arowana so much, and he trampled on our feelings. And he chose a woman whom he did not know. ...when it was I who should have been chosen!
What?　What do you think you're talking about?
I'm the one who should be chosen by my prince.　Don't let an old lady like you get out of line!
You're so presumptuous!

　We are not united at all!
　They think they're number one and they look down on everyone around them.

　What a bunch of self-centered people...?
　That's why Prince Arowana won't give you the attention you deserve.

'....No, now is not the time to break ranks. The enemy is so clearly defined...!
Enemies?
Yes, me... or the hateful slope-brained cat lady who stole Prince Arowana from us!

　I'm not here to do anything ill-advised!
　We already have all the information on our enemies to defeat!

This Puffa, or whatever the hell her name is, who is about to marry Prince Arowana, is a commoner. She's not from a very famous family.
Commoner woman!
I won't stand for this!　Such a lowlife stealing the Prince's favor!
"I'm a nobleman, and I am worthy to be the prince's wife!

　Apparently, the only people gathered here are the daughters of the noble class in the mermaid country.
　I'm one of them.
　Well, of course. If you want to win the love of a prince, it's not even worth it for less than a commoner to want it.

　That Puffa woman was actually chosen by the prince instead of wishing for it.
　A commoner woman.
　This is unforgivable disrespect!

'I guess we, the nobility, will have to teach you a lesson here. That to get the benefit, you have to be qualified...!
Come on!
"Commoner women are unforgivable!
'Let's all pull that commoner girl down and have Prince Arowana re-select a truly deserving queen!

　Everyone's minds are made up!
　Use of force!

　It's the prince's fault. He chose a commoner over a nobleman like me.
　You have to fix what's wrong.

The day of the ceremony!　Now is as good a time as any to kick off a commoner girl and marry her instead!　Somebody in here, and Prince Arowana!

　Well, I'm the one who will be chosen in the end.

'Let's head in with one mind!　For our future!
""For the sake of our happiness!"

　This is how the conversation was settled, right after.

''Um.........do you have a minute?''

　It's not a good idea," the feeble-looking female mermaid informs us at a leisurely pace.

"I'm just wondering, is your marriage partner, Puffa, one of the Six Mad Demonesses, 'Frozen Cold Witch' Puffa-sama...?
?

　Who is the Mad Six Demoness?
　The worst potion user in the mermaid world. And Princess Platy is one of them...?

　With that word, a third of the assembled women gave up and left.