Chapter 47 Ariel’s Request
Ariel took a deep breath of the cold water.
This was something she had planned for a long time, but when she actually faced the sea witch, her heart was still beating fast.
In order to realize their wishes, the two human friends went through all the obstacles and answered three questions that she thought were incredibly difficult as a reward.
What price will she pay?
Ariel swam in front of the sea hag, hesitating, wanting to express her wish, but feeling a little shy.
"My silly princess, you don't have to say anything, I know what you are here to ask for." said the sea hag.
She has a powerful magic - when a sea creature wants her help from the bottom of his heart and stands upright in front of her, the sea hag can know what the petitioner wants as long as he stares at it for a while. .
For a sea witch who always fulfills other people's wishes, this is really a useful magic.
But I don’t know why, this mind-reading skill is useless to humans.
Perhaps, the sea hag thought, the wishes of mermaids are only in their heads and hearts, while humans with immortal souls hide their wishes deep in their immortal souls - where not even she can see.
"My beautiful princess, hahahahaha, your wish is really stupid!
"You actually want to remove your fish tail, grow two human legs, turn into a human deformity, go ashore, and join human society!
"You want a beautiful prince to fall in love with you, pour his fiery thoughts and emotions into you, and thereby gain an immortal soul.
"I have never heard of such a thing. A human falling in love with a creature in the sea is such a ridiculous fantasy."
The sea hag laughed a lot after seeing the mermaid princess's wish.
After laughing, the sea witch felt a hint of regret:
It turns out that as long as she looks at the wish of the mermaid princess, she will naturally know how the mermaid can obtain an immortal soul.
There is no need to get the answer from two humans!
The sea hag said to the mermaid princess again:
"Silly thing, although this is a stupid wish, I will realize it. Even if it cannot have a good result.
"I can boil a potion for you to drink. You take this potion, swim to the beach at night, and eat it before the first light of dawn.
"Then, your tail will be split in half and twisted into what humans call beautiful legs. It's like a sharp knife brutally cutting off your fish tail and splitting it into two. This must be very painful!
"Because those legs are transformed from your tail, you will also keep the steps you used when swimming, and your dance will be lighter than any dancer!"
Ariel was very happy when she heard this.
Little did she know that her wish would come true with just a dose of magic potion.
But what the sea hag told was all about benefits, which made her worried and asked:
"So, what price do I have to pay for these legs?"
Sea Hag said:
"Where in this world can you only get benefits without paying the price?
"After all, your transformed legs are not natural human legs, but imitations cut with sharp medicinal properties. Therefore, every step you take will be like walking on sharp knives!
"If you can endure the pain, I can help you."
Before the little mermaid princess could respond, Aurora defended her:
"Why is there such a side effect? I can dance gracefully, but I can't step on the ground and dance naturally. This is just like playing tricks on people."
The mermaid princess regarded them as friends, and Aurora returned the same favor. From the bottom of her heart, she didn't want Ariel to endure the unbearable pain.
Aurora looked at Rhine, remembered the teacher's transformation technique, and muttered:
"However, I have seen that magicians can transform one creature into another without any side effects. Your potion must be defective!"
The sea hag retorted angrily:
"This is not a short-lived transformation magic. Everything in the world always has their original appearance. The transformation magic only adds a layer of makeup to them, but does not change their essence.
"Magicians turn one thing into another. It looks so magical, but it's just a deceptive illusion!
"It won't be long before things return to their original appearance.
"But the medicine I made can bring about long-lasting changes!"
Rhine nodded lightly, knowing that what the sea hag said was absolutely true.
Just like in the Cinderella story, when the clock strikes midnight, everything changes back to the way it was before.
Transformation magic will eventually end.
——Maybe it was because the time was up, or maybe it was dispelled by some other magic-breaking gadget.
According to previous tabletop games such as "Dungeons and Dragons", only effects with "immediate" duration are non-dispellable.
Ariel was afraid that the sea hag would quarrel with her human friends, so she quickly said to the sea hag:
"No problem. I can live with it!"
Her voice was trembling but firm.
Because she thought of the handsome prince and her ambition to obtain an immortal soul.
"This is not over yet. A mermaid without an immortal soul becomes a human being, which violates the laws of nature and will be cursed by the world!" the sea hag said, "If you fail to gain the love of that prince and obtain an immortal soul. On the morning when he gets married to someone else, when the first ray of dawn shines on the earth and the sea, your heart will break and you will become foam in the water."
Aurora couldn't accept it anymore and defended her mermaid friend:
"Why? That sounds too strange. You just gave her a potion that made her legs grow. Why would her life or death depend on the prince she loved?
"If, I mean if, that prince failed to be with Ariel in the end, why did she have to die? Can't she change her pursuit and find someone else who loves her?
"Ariel is so beautiful, she will definitely attract a flood of admirers after she turns into a human.
"There are so many handsome and beautiful humans in this world. Ariel can also gain an immortal soul from another person who truly loves her and cares about her!"
When Ariel heard Aurora's words, her heart felt partly warmed by concern, and partly surprised by the specialness of Aurora's thoughts.
She had never considered such a possibility.
Without even thinking about it!
"Can I get an immortal soul from another human being, someone other than that handsome prince?"
These two new human friends gave her some completely different insights and thinking directions from before, which always shocked Ariel.
(End of chapter)