008 Thumbelina

Seven or eight beautiful mermaid maidens danced upon the enormous branches of the Manhattos Grass, singing songs that echoed from the depths of the sea.

As they sang, they leapt gracefully into the lake of wine nestled within the soil of the flowerpot.

The mermaids twirled and fluttered endlessly, weaving through the branches of the Manhattos Grass and the wine lake below, their movements light and enchanting.

A few of the mermaids caught Roland’s dazed expression and mischievously beckoned to him.

“Foolish Roland, we are the fruits grown from the Manhattos Grass~~”

“Come on, come on, aren’t you eager to eat us?”

“Hehe... haha...”

(Singing and frolicking)

These mermaids were actually elemental spirits, summoned by the magic inherent in the Manhattos Grass!

Fond of pranks, they delighted in teasing Roland.

Unaware of this, Roland simply thought it impossible for mermaids to grow from herbs. He stared for a long while, doubting his own senses.

After a moment of contemplation, his gaze grew firm once more.

“Does it matter if it’s real or not?” he murmured. “What matters now is that I must eat the mermaid fruit. Even if I’m hallucinating, I must do this!”

He reached out fiercely to seize one mermaid maiden, declaring, “Once I’ve eaten you, I’ll know whether you’re fruit or mermaid!”

The maiden laughed and dodged, “You fool! Of course we are mermaids. Even if you eat me, I’m still a mermaid—everyone knows mermaids grow from grass!”

After a few evasive moves, Roland caught her in his palm. Calm and composed, she smoothed her long hair and blinked her large, watery eyes at him, teasing, “Don’t eat me, Roland. Your Thumbelina can cook, you know~”

Roland looked down at the living mermaid in his hand, a flicker of pity in his eyes, but still opened his mouth.

“Alright, alright, stop teasing, don’t eat me, Roland—look, I’ve prepared a gift for you.”

Roland blinked in surprise. “A gift?”

“Yes, look at this!” The mermaid, as if performing magic, produced a large sea clam from behind her back. “Ta-da—see for yourself.”

The clam was about the size of her tail, or rather, roughly the size of a fingernail.

Examining the clam closely, Roland was shocked to find it bore a striking resemblance to the “melon seed-shaped mermaid fruit” described in his books.

“Th-This is mermaid fruit?!”

Eyes wide, Roland asked the mermaid, “If this is the mermaid fruit, then who are you? Why do you grow from the grass?”

“I won’t tell you~~ silly!” The mermaid placed the clam in his palm, then smiled and vanished.

Perhaps, in the future, when Roland entered the Abyssal Sorcerer Academy and read about elemental spirits and magical fairies, he would finally understand. He would learn that when a potion matures to its peak, it can attract little sprites from the elemental realm.

But now, lacking formal training and cultural knowledge—being a ‘wild sorcerer’—he did not know this.

At this moment, after the little mermaid suddenly disappeared, Roland truly doubted his sanity.

From the flowerpot came the sounds of playful laughter. The mermaids leapt into the wine lake one by one and swam to the shore.

They placed the clams along the edge of the pot, then each transformed into glowing orbs and vanished.

“Goodbye, Roland~~”

“Goodbye, you fool~~~”

After the mermaids disappeared, a pile of sea clams remained by the pot’s edge.

Roland studied the clams intently, his heart pounding.

“Could it be that these sea clams are the mermaid fruits?”

He hurriedly searched through potion-making texts and soon found a description.

The pages read:

[...The shell emits a faintly sweet aroma. When opened, inside lies an irregularly round fruit, slightly smaller than the fleshy tip of the little finger, resembling a low-quality pearl.]

“This is truly the real mermaid fruit!” Roland rejoiced, sniffing the clam in his hand, then wearing an expression of both delight and confusion.

“Why does it smell fishy?”

“Mermaid fruit shouldn’t have a fishy smell! Only clams do!”

Grasping his hair, Roland felt overwhelmed.

Little did he know, this was another prank by the elemental sprites. To tease Roland, they disguised the mermaid fruit as clams, complete with clam-like aroma.

Even more astonishingly, when Roland pried open a clam with his fingernail, inside was a pearl—a genuine pearl!

Of course, this too was a trick of the elemental sprites. And an apprentice like Roland was no match for their mischief.

Roland stood dumbfounded for a long time.

“Am I... going mad?”

“Or perhaps the potion book is wrong?”

“Manhattos Grass doesn’t produce fruit when mature, but mermaids and pearls?!”

At this thought, Roland pressed his palm hard against his forehead.

The idea was utterly absurd.

“Whatever!” Roland tossed the pearl into his mouth.

He had two strengths: first, he always knew what he ought to do; second, once decided, even strange events wouldn’t shake his resolve.

So, though nearly driven mad by the sprites’ trickery, he kept his wits and made the best choice.

The pearl melted instantly on his tongue. As he swallowed, a powerful magic surged from his belly, brightening his eyes.

“Now’s the time to meditate,” Roland said, opening the “Alaya Manuscript” and turning to the page on visualization techniques. After reading, a peculiar expression crossed his face.

He suddenly realized a grave problem:

‘With my current mental state, following the foolish manual’s meditation method might cause me to lose control!’

‘That’s how my predecessor went mad...’

‘No matter!’

‘Better to be a troll’s dung or mad... Madness is the price for immortality. Being a deranged immortal is better than placing my life in others’ hands, better than being a slave to a mentor!’

Without hesitation, Roland began meditating as he remembered the visualization method. With a clear mind, he quickly entered the meditative realm.

Had he opened his eyes to the “Alaya Manuscript” now, he would see new words appearing:

[Roland’s magical talent is far inferior to his predecessor’s, but his comprehension surpasses all. What his predecessor never glimpsed, he now touches in an instant…]

[Within the meditation world, he senses the entire realm becoming clearer and more vivid, as if observing all from a higher vantage.]

[From the Valeria territory, the vast surrounding forests, to the bustling lives in the town at night—all appear unlike usual.]

[His perspective rises, revealing the entire province, the kingdom, the continent, the starry heavens—everything lies within his sight…]