Siren Lullaby

He probably didn't understand Delphi's words, but Rubros, who was silently observing the behavior of the dolphin that revealed itself and threatened him, raised one corner of his mouth and said,

"As expected, God's representative doesn't seem to like me."

Then he turned around and walked to the place where the carriage was parked.

When he moved away from Iran, Delphi stopped its anger and asked in a worried voice.

「Are you okay? Did that human being do something bad?」

Iran burst into laughter, without realizing it, at the sight of a puppy growling at someone trying to harm it's owner. Delphi is wailing? With that sound, she shook his head.

She laughed so much she was hugging her stomach. She shook her head to reassure Delphi.

"I'm fine because he swore in the name of God Mare that he would never harm me."

As she recalled his words, she felt a tingling sensation in her chest, but Iran quickly erased the thought from her mind. And when she met Delphi, she brought out the words she really wanted to ask.

"Besides that, Delphi, there's something I want to ask you."

「What is it? Ask me anything.」

Delphi looked at Iran with her eyes wide open, as if she would really answer anything.

"You said it was the will of God Mare that made me come here, right?"

「To be exact, the child of God who prayed to God Mare wanted it, but it also contains the will of God Mare.」

"But why can't I hear the voice of God Mare?"

According to her maid, while she was locked in the stone chamber, the priests of the temple heard the shouts of God Mare and it became the crucial moment for her to come out of the stone chamber.

But when she was locked up in the stone chamber, of course, she had never heard God Mare's voice ever since she came here.

「Um…. In order for humans to hear God's voice, they have to receive God in their bodies…. I mean.... ritual! They say they have to do a ritual. So, among humans, only priests and priestesses can hear the voice of God Mare. Sirens aren't human, but you have a human soul, so you have to perform a ritual to receive God.」

'Then, in order to know the intentions of God Mare, I have to become a Goddess or something.'

Iran sighed briefly at a time when the situation was getting more and more complicated. In her mind, she just wanted to ignore Anima's anger and live a normal life.

'But if it's a real God who brought me here, I don't know what the consequences will be if I don't do it.'

I was grateful for getting my voice back, but the price was too harsh. She fell alone in an unknown place and was asked to silence the wrath of an unknown person.

'I feel like I've been given a fraudulent contract.'

But if she could turn back time and find herself in the same situation, she would probably have made the same choice. For Iran, the meaning of her voice was very special.

'Anyway, it was unavoidable, so I have no choice but to face it head-on.'

Iran clenched her fists, strengthening her will, and stood up with Delphi behind her, saying that she would come again.

* * * *

In the carriage returning to the castle, Iran reflected on her conversation with Delphi.

'But what is the ritual to receive God in my body? Since Delphi doesn't know about human rituals, I can't ask further.'

With the sound of the bell in her head, Iran glanced at Rubros through the window. She doesn't want to depend on him, but right now, there's no one else to ask. If she asked the talkative maid who was on her side, it was obvious that the suspicion that had barely been resolved would be focused on again.

'I can't do it.'

Thinking that it would at least be better than her maid, she cautiously called out to Rubros.

"Uh…. Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

The sound was small enough to be buried in the noise around him but he managed to recognize her voice and spoke towards the side of the carriage. When he approached her, she hesitated for a moment.

"That….. What should I do to become a Goddess?"

Did I ask too straightforwardly?

Iran immediately regretted what she said and bit her lower lip, but it was already too late.

As expected, Rubros paused for a moment at her question. Then, he asked back with an incomprehensible look.

"Aren't you the child of God?"

"It's true that God Mare brought me here, but I'm a person who lived in a different world than here. So I don't know the rules of this world."

Of course, It was hard to believe, but…..

While hastily adding words in case he misunderstood again, she muttered in a crackling voice as time went by. They were words that were difficult to accept even when she thought about it.

But instead of laughing at Iran's words, he thought about something for a while and soon nodded.

"The place that is called [Jeju Island]......"

To be precise, she wanted to add that it was Korea and not Jeju Island, but she simply nodded her head without saying anything else. It didn't change the fact that it is a world that is difficult for him to understand anyway.

"Then, did the dolphin tell you about the Goddess?"

"That's right, so I want to ask you a favor."

Until she left the castle, she thought it was a little shameless for her to criticize him and now ask for a favor, but now it was *not the time to cover up cold rice and hot rice.

(TL/N : *It's similar to 'beggars can't be choosers.' This proverb has been around since the mid-1500s. It means people who need something but have little or no control over their situation can't choose what they want.)

Rubros looked at her and made an expression asking her to say it.

"As I just said, I know very little about this world. There's also a limit to what Delphi can tell me. Is there anyone who can tell me more about this place?"

".....that means you need a teacher."

"Yes. If possible, someone that doesn't have a temper, can tell me things step by step and….. Someone I can trust."

She implicitly expressed her meaning of 'not you' by mentioning his feisty temper, but he was thinking for a while, whether knowing her innermost feelings or not. Then, as if remembering someone, he raised one corner of his mouth.

"There's one right person. Someone who can teach you 'step by step' and doesn't have a temper, as you say."

He smiled raising the of his lips while subtly emphasizing the words 'step by step', There was an unknown anxiety, but Iran tried to ignore it and turned to other matters.

"And, is the maid….. necessary to be present?"

"You don't like the current maid?"

"No, It's not that I don't like her….. To be honest, it's a little burdensome."

Iran didn't even bother to add that she could not trust the maid because she could not do the same for him.

After falling into another world by a God named Mare, Delphi was the only one she could trust until now.

"Then, I'll take care of it."

He ended the conversation by saying that he'll take care of it, overshadowing her concern that she might find something wrong. His attitude made Iran speechless again.

'His conversational skills are very sweet.'

She wanted to ask what he was going to do, but before she knew it, the carriage was almost reaching the castle.

'Is he a person with a high position?'

No matter how ignorant Iran is here, it was quite predictable that he was a person with considerable power in the castle if he had the authority to replace her maids. Come to think of it, from the beginning, he was treating Iran casually.

'When I was first brought here, I was standing right in front of a man who seemed to be the king.'

There's a possibility that he might be the king's close aide or maybe a bodyguard. Iran nodded for a moment, then cleared the thought from her mind.

4. The Meaning Of Being a Goddess.

The next morning, Iran struggled to hide her smile and looked at the two women standing in front of her.

"Nice to meet you. I am Misagio de Sirena, the handmaiden of Coral Palace. I will be serving Miss Iran from today. Please call her Misagio. And this is Shinoe, who will become Miss Iran's new maid of honor."

"I look forward to your kind cooperation, Miss Iran. I'm Shinoe. I'll serve you with all my heart."

Iran sent one away and came back with two. She probably had to ask exactly what it was like when he said he was going to take action.

'This guy is really…! Don't you have any consideration of my feelings? Didn't you hear it when I said that I feel pressured?'

Iran, who couldn't get the swear words out of her mouth, still chewed it hard inside herself.

The woman who introduced herself as Misagio, had a gentle impression on her face and looked to be in her mid-40s. In addition, the maid of honor, standing next to her and looking at Iran with sparkling eyes, looked so young that Iran thought she was only a high school student.

'They're not even housekeepers, but is it alright for me to be served by a mother-balanced person and a young girl for the sake of my convenience?'

Even when she was active as a singer in Korea, Iran managed all her schedules by herself without hiring a manager. Unless it was really inevitable, her belief was to solve things on her own without the help of others as much as possible.

While Iran was thinking about how to send them back, Misagio explained the situation as if she noticed her confused expression.

"I heard that you are not yet familiar with the culture of the Orca Empire, so he asked me to assist you and give you answers to your questions."

"Ah, then perhaps….. A reliable teacher…."

However, Misagio shook her head slightly at Iran's question and said,

"I can tell you simple things such as the imperial etiquette and high society, but Baron Alcheron, who will come in the afternoon, will educate you on details such as the history of the empire and the genealogy of the Gods."'

Perhaps there was no word such as 'appropriately' in that man's dictionary. When Iran asked for one, he gave her a box full.

'It's a great scale.'

Things seemed to have gotten bigger than she first thought, but she decided to be grateful for what was given to her. At least he didn't come forward to teach in person. It seemed to have had the effect of hitting an iron wall the day before.

Then this time, she became interested in the person who was said to come in the afternoon.

"Uh…. What kind of person is Baron Alcheron?"

"He is called the genius of the century when it comes to alchemy and learning; he, more so, became the chief alchemist of the imperial family with only one skill. He is even from the Palena family who have produced competent alchemists from generation to generation."

"That's an incredible description. No, he's someone with an incredible experience..... He's here to be my teacher?"

"Rubros…. He specifically requested it."

It was getting worse and worse.

He can just replace a maid in a single day, or tell the imperial alchemist, the genius of the century, to come and go with a few words.

'Who is this guy?'

"It's an honor to meet someone who I've only heard from rumors in person. It's Alcheron de Palena."

After a brief lunch, while Iran was drinking tea in the drawing room, the alchemist of the Imperial Palace, who was waiting for us, announced his visit.

Iran, who was curious about who he would be, was surprised that the man who opened the door and came in was surprisingly young.

'I thought he would be a scholar-type grandfather being the chief alchemist of the imperial family…..'

His hair had a unique part, which began with a dark gray color close to black, gradually becoming lighter towards the end. His two eyes seen through the gorgeous gilt-rimmed, half-glass spectacles were bright silver gray.

He had a scholar-like impression to match the word alchemist, but no matter how old he was, he was unlikely to be in his 30s.

Iran, who had been glancing at his face for a while, belatedly realized that she was being rude and recommended a seat in a hurry.

"Ah……! I made a mistake. Please take a seat. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Seo Iran."

Alcheron sat down on the sofa silently after receiving her greeting with a light bow. Iran, who was looking at him drinking a sip of tea given by Misagio, said in a strange way.

"I was surprised. I didn't expect you to be so young….. I have heard that you're an outstanding alchemist who is called the genius of the century."

"I was surprised, too."

Putting down the teacup with a clicking sound, he said with a strange smile around his mouth.

"I never thought that His Majesty Rubros would give me this order himself. I think Iran, who is being protected by God Mare, is a great person."