After some time, a total of thirty-six mermaids, including Melro, settled into August's small world.
August had successfully taken in this unusual cohort of thirty-six mermaid sisters, a rather formidable assembly, especially considering that each one of them desired a child.
Even as he returned, August couldn't shake the feeling that this was all surreal—had he truly acquired so many mermaids?
Upon his arrival, he immediately noticed the disheartened faces of Stunk and his companions.
"What happened to you guys? You just got back?" he asked, puzzled.
"Don't even get me started! We rented a small boat and went out to sea, only to realize how vast the ocean is. Where were we supposed to find sea beasts? We had no choice but to catch some fish and come back," Stunk lamented.
"Uh, well…" August found himself speechless. These four were truly something else.
"Pretty mermaids? None left, none left!" one of them groaned.
"Such a wasted trip," another added.
"I'm the one who should be complaining! You guys had fun last night while I didn't get to!" one of them whined.
In contrast to the three lamenting friends, Bruz remained unusually quiet, having given up from the start. With no expectations, there was no disappointment.
"Alright, I'll lend you some gold. I won't be joining you tonight; you can figure out how to repay me when we get back," August said, pulling out three bags, each containing five thousand gold coins.
He casually tossed out a total of fifteen thousand gold coins, leaving the three of them stunned.
"August, you're giving us that? What about you?" Stunk asked, concern lacing his voice. He couldn't just let his friends bear the burden alone.
It wasn't just him; they all felt the same way. The charm shop visit was merely for a bit of fun, not a necessity. They certainly didn't want their friend to suffer a loss.
"As for me? I have a date tonight," August replied nonchalantly.
"A date?"
"Yeah, the beautiful mermaid from last night. A long night of conversation, you know?"
As they stared at the smug August, the three fell silent, quickly pocketing the gold coins.
Their gazes turned toward him, filled with an unmistakable aura of envy.
"Damn it, you lucky bastard! He's got a real-life girlfriend!" one of them grumbled, jealousy oozing from his tone.
"Seriously! We all came here together; why didn't any mermaids approach me?" another lamented.
"I'm so envious~ truly so envious~" the last one chimed in.
Faced with the antics of his friends, August chose to ignore them. Since he had handed over the coins, it was clear they understood the situation; he wouldn't leave them with regrets, and they wouldn't hold back either.
Besides, given the high quality of the mermaids he was dealing with, and the fact that it wouldn't cost him a dime, he had an entire night ahead of him. Who knew what kind of fun they would share?
Meanwhile, the others needed to cough up five thousand gold coins each just to gain an hour's worth of entertainment.
Finding a moment to himself, August decided to take Melro out for a stroll. Wandering alone was dull; it was far more enjoyable with a beautiful companion by his side.
"So, you're saying your friends are going to the Deep Sea Paradise?" he asked Melro as their conversation turned to Stunk and the others.
"How do you know about that place?" she asked, intrigued.
"Of course! I know the owner of that shop. They even invited me and my sisters once, but we turned them down," she explained.
"They invited you?"
"Yeah, don't let my appearance fool you; I'm quite the catch around here too," she boasted, her grip on August's arm tightening.
As August felt the warmth of her presence, he couldn't help but notice how her bold personality contrasted with her graceful appearance.
When silent, Melro resembled a princess of the sea, but once she spoke, her demeanor shifted entirely.
"I visited the seaside and lured back thirty-six mermaids. If this gets out, I'll undoubtedly be the winner in life," August said with a chuckle.
"Hehe, of course! You are the man I've chosen," Melro replied, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. August was even better than she had imagined.
He possessed a world of his own, a realm that expanded daily—such a prospect was almost unbelievable. In a few years, would a new world truly come into existence? And the man she had chosen would be the ruler of this new realm.
With this thought, Melro felt she had struck gold.
For an entire day, August explored the local customs and culture under Melro's guidance, who was very much a "local."
As evening fell, August intended to return to his small world; after all, he had so many mermaids to "cherish," and he needed to put in some effort these next few days.
However, Melro stopped him, refusing to let him leave.
"Even if it's just once, even if it's only for one day, I want to keep you all to myself, August."
"The days ahead are long; how could it be just once?"
"The number of women around you will only increase, not decrease, right?"
Her words left August momentarily speechless, for it was undeniably true.
Melro smiled softly. Although she had already decided to share August with all her sisters, her possessiveness made her desire just one night with him—just once.
"Tonight, as your older sister, I'm being selfish. Just once."
"Alright," August agreed, and Melro's face lit up with joy.
They headed to an inn, renting a room where she intended to give August everything she had, greedily wanting to monopolize him for the night.
In this world, mermaids didn't transform their tails into legs.
And August found nothing wrong with that; in fact, he felt a thrill—after all, she was a mermaid.
While others might see it differently, to August, once a mermaid's tail became legs, she no longer embodied the true essence of a mermaid.
As for how to please a man, August had previously been unsure, but now he understood. Mermaids were simply lacking legs; it didn't mean they were without their feminine attributes. They were just like humans.
"My king, love me~"
"Melro~"
...
The night was filled with unspoken madness as August experienced what it meant to be utterly consumed.
It felt as if Melro aimed to exhaust him completely; all night long, she didn't pause, even when he felt his strength waning.
Only around dawn did they finally settle down to rest.
August realized that although she was with her sisters, Melro was not entirely indifferent.
No woman could be entirely unconcerned; if she was, there was always a reason behind it.
This realization made August feel a sense of pity for Melro. As the eldest sister, the burden on her shoulders seemed rather heavy.
Her choices represented the futures of all her sisters.
___
If you're interested in reading more, feel free to visit my patreon which already contains 30+ chapters:
https://www.patreon.com/XElenea
By the time the sun was high in the sky the next day, August and Melro finally woke up. They had spent the entire morning lazing in bed together.
After getting up, the two lingered with each other for a while before August sent Melro back to the inner world. After all, having a mermaid on land was far too inconvenient.
When August finally found Stunk and the others, he was surprised. What had happened to them?
They all looked drained, lacking any energy or spirit.
"Hey, what's going on?" August asked.
Stunk looked up at him briefly, then lowered his head again. Zel and Kanchal didn't even bother to lift their heads.
Left with no other choice, August turned his gaze to Brooz, who seemed to be the only one acting normally.
"Don't look at me. I don't know what's wrong with them either," Brooz said. "They've been like this since last night—haven't eaten, haven't drunk anything. It's like they're under some sort of curse."
August frowned at Brooz's words and examined the three more closely. He noticed faint wisps of black smoke swirling around them.
It was a curse. But that was odd. How could a visit to a seductress's shop result in a curse?
He extended a hand, covered in a dark aura, and drew the black mist out from their bodies. The three wisps of curse floated like strands of hair in his palm.
The darkness swallowed the curse, and August's expression darkened.
It was a curse of enchantment—not deadly, but its effects were clear. It made the cursed person become hopelessly obsessed with whoever cast it.
These three unlucky fools had become infatuated slaves to whoever cast the curse on them. August could guess why they looked so drained. They probably spent every last penny they had, and it wasn't unlikely that they had been manipulated as well.
Just like someone heartbroken after their idol shattered their illusions, they were left in this state.
"My head's spinning... What just happened?" Stunk muttered, rubbing his forehead, groggy and confused.
Zel and Kanchal were the same, feeling strange and disoriented.
"You three, tell me what happened last night," August asked.
"Last night? We went to the Deep Sea Paradise. There, we met this incredibly gorgeous mermaid. After that, I think I spent every bit of money I had on her," Stunk said, looking embarrassed.
"Spent it all?"
"Uh, yeah, gave it all to the mermaid."
"And then what happened?"
"After that? We just came back, didn't we?"
As soon as he said it, he realized how odd it sounded. He had spent thousands of gold coins, and there was no follow-up? It didn't make sense.
August looked at Zel and Kanchal. Both lowered their heads and nodded in agreement.
"Good thing I didn't go," Brooz said, sighing in relief. "That much money wasted—it's ridiculous."
"We must've been under some kind of spell last night," Zel said slowly. "But as an elf over two hundred years old, I didn't feel any magical fluctuations."
"It wasn't magic," August explained. "It was a curse—an enchantment curse. It's likely a special innate ability. It's not fatal, but it made you their captive. There's probably a time limit to it. Otherwise, they wouldn't have let you leave."
"A curse?"
"That's right. Who would've thought we'd run into something like this?" August's words made the three of them furious.
"Damn it! I have to go back and get my money back! They swindled over eight thousand gold coins out of us!" Stunk shouted.
"Yeah, we can't let this slide! We have to get it back," Zel added.
"But if we go back, won't we just fall under their spell again~?" Kanchal's voice trailed off, pouring cold water on their rage.
August, however, only smiled slightly. The curse of enchantment intrigued him; he had never heard of such a thing before.
"I'll go. You three stay here," August said.
"August? Are you sure? You better not get scammed like we did. We may have lost a lot, but you… If you get scammed, the loss will be huge," Stunk warned.
"It's fine. If it's just a curse on your level, it won't affect me."
That comment stung Stunk a bit. What did August mean by "your level"? Did that imply the curse was nothing to him?
With the four of them still somewhat concerned, August set off alone for the Deep Sea Paradise.
Since it was still late morning, almost noon, the place hadn't opened yet.
Nothing seemed off as he approached.
But appearances could be deceiving. August confidently strode inside.
"Sir, we're not open yet. Please come back later," a seductive aquatic woman said as she approached him. Her body had fins, but it wasn't clear exactly what species she was.
"I'm not here for entertainment. I came to ask about something. Yesterday, my three friends came here and were cursed. All their money was taken, and they spent the night in a daze. Is this how you do business?"
"Sir, please don't make false accusations. We've never had anything like that happen here," she replied, her tone polite but dismissive.
"Never happened? Then why am I here?"
"So, you've come looking for trouble, haven't you?" Her voice grew colder. From the next room, two massive sharkmen appeared. Both were built like tanks, clearly experienced fighters. The aquatic woman smiled as if she'd handled this situation many times before.
"Interesting. Very interesting. You think you can fight me?" August's eyes flashed with a cold light.
Swish. Swish.
Two black blades flickered, and in an instant, both sharkmen's arms were severed cleanly at the shoulder. Blood poured onto the floor.
Before they could even scream, their tongues and mouths were destroyed, leaving them writhing on the ground in agony.
The sudden brutality left the aquatic woman completely stunned.
In the hundreds of years since the world's races signed the Peace Pact, violence had become rare. Yet here was August, mercilessly dismembering her bodyguards as if it were nothing.
"Now, give me your answer," August said, as a black shadow blade extended from his feet to hover just above her head.
If he wanted, he could split her in two in an instant.
She was so terrified she almost lost control of her bladder. She had never encountered such a terrifying situation in her life.
___
If you're interested in reading more, feel free to visit my patreon which already contains 30+ chapters:
https://www.patreon.com/XElenea