Forgotten Sea: Chapter 6
MC: I just got distracted for a little while, and you’re upset already?
MC: Now now, don’t be angry, haven’t I come back?
MC: Look, I even bought some freshly made pomegranate wine, when the time comes we’ll bring it back and give it to the siblings Algie and Konche to drink–
Rafayel: I’m not upset, I’m just…
I’m speaking to Rafayel when behind me comes an intense commotion.
Guard: A few days ago the temple was burgled. The pearls in the Sea God’s eyes were dug out. It must have been you who stole them!
Peddler: I’m innocent, My Lord Emissary! This pearl’s owner is… is that unfamiliar customer over there! I wouldn’t dare to touch My Lord Sea God’s treasure!
The peddler points, and the gazes of the guard smoothly slide onto Rafayel and myself.
Guard: Over there! Catch them!
Rafayel: The people they want to catch are us? Whoa, we’ve been targeted.
MC: We weren’t careful…! Normal people would never have casually paid their bills with such high-quality deep sea pearls!
Rafayel: This is just something I casually grabbed from the sand before leaving–hey! Not so hard…
I hurriedly pull Rafayel, and before the guards manage to chase us down, dart into an unoccupied alleyway.
MC: It’s not safe here anymore, we need to quickly think of a way to get back.
Rafayel: Don’t you want to stay?
Rafayel suddenly interrupts me.
MC: … what?
Rafayel: If you want to stay on land, I’ll help you draw away those people.
Rafayel: The Tome of the Sea God says, if it is against the other person’s wishes, the bond is impossible to form.
He turns, kicks a pebble by his foot.
Rafayel: The follower I want to find, it’s not like it absolutely has to be you.
MC: …
MC: You’re so carefree, aren’t you afraid I’ll spread the word about Lemuria?
Rafayel: … but your wish, isn’t it to return to land?
He looks surprised. I shake my head and grab Rafayel’s hand.
MC: I don’t have any wishes, and this is not my festival.
Rafayel’s gaze looks startled. Standing beneath those lifelike, larger than life, fearsome Sea God statues, he suddenly breaks into a smile.
Rafayel: It’s not mine either.
Guard: —those two thieves are here! Catch them!
MC: Crap! They’ve found us!
Rafayel pushes me into the shadows, and lightly walks to the middle of the street.
Rafayel: You like the Sea God’s pearls this much?
Rafayel: I still have plenty here, I’ll give you a few.
He raises both arms high in a backhanded throw. Countless large and small pearls slide across the night sky, landing on the ground in a clatter.
The hawkers and passers-by pause in shock, and then begin to fight and scramble to grab them.
Grasping passer-by: Mine! Mine…!
Guard: No one is allowed to take them! These all belong to the Emissaries…!
Perhaps when the temptation is large enough and attractive enough, humans simply do not need any beliefs.
It turns out, for the Sea God to find a devout and pure faith, is such a difficult task.
Little girl: Big brother, I don’t want the Sea God’s pearls, can you give me the Sea God puppet you just bought?
Rafayel: Here you go, remember to let them be together.
Rafayel shoves the two puppets at her, pats her head, and then pulls my hand and runs into the endless night.
The city gates have been locked by decree. Rafayel and I follow the path along the hill, taking advantage of the dark night to run towards the highest point of the island,
But before us is just a cliff immediately overlooking the sea.
Rafayel: Jump.
MC: ?
The rocks at the base of the cliff are strewn every which way. If you jump in the wrong place, it’ll mean your life.
MC: What a joke, from this high a distance, you’ll die–ah!!!
Rafayel: With me here, I won’t let you drown.
Rafayel ignores my protest, directly kicking me downwards.
Splash–
The onrushing seawater washes me away from Rafayel. The fear of drowning attacks me again.
I flail both my arms, continuously struggling to try to float to the surface.
MC: Rafayel…!
Bobbing up and down in the ocean, it seems I can’t see anything clearly.
Dazed, it seems as if I’ve returned to the day I was first thrown into the sea.
Perhaps dying here is my real fate, and perhaps Lemuria was a beautiful dream I created for myself with the last thread of hope I harbored in my heart.
Ice cold seawater continuously gushes down my throat.
This is why of all the thousands, millions of gods in the world, no matter if they are legendary or really exist, I don’t believe in any of them.
If they really exist, why can’t they hear my prayer, or even hear my pleas for help in my dying moments?
Rafayel: Hold me tightly.
An urgent voice sounds next to my ear. I use all my energy to open my eyes, blurrily making out a familiar figure.
He grips my hand, as if using all his strength.
MC: Rafayel…
I suddenly remember. When I most hoped that this world truly had gods, it turned out someone had already heard my pleas for help.
He says nothing, but holds my face, and gently bends his head down.
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