Chapter 326: The White-Haired Old Mother Still Has to Save the Day

Before Jhin could even open the door to see who had slipped a note like this into his room, the paper dissolved into points of light that gathered in the air into an arrow, pointing straight at the dormitory window.

Following the direction of the arrow, he saw the window had become a projection screen playing a strange scene.

On a lonely island rising slowly from the sea, the Headmistress led a crowd of people in black robes holding torches, clustering around Kyaru at their center as they moved toward the cliff. In the scene she had changed into a spotless white robe, walking barefoot on her pale, delicate feet, a look of firm resolve in her eyes, like a devout martyr.

Starting from the base of the cliff, every five meters two black-robed figures would stop, standing on either side with torches that had suddenly turned the color of seawater, like induction lamps flickering on one by one in the dark of night, escorting Kyaru toward the very edge of the cliff.

This single scene, so much like a cult's ritual sacrifice, was already enough to leave Jhin deeply unsettled — yet the moment he laid eyes on the projected image he found himself unable to move, unable to so much as turn his eyes, forced to stand where he was and watch events unfold.

The Headmistress still wore her sharp business suit, a composed victor's smile on her face as she led the way at the front. Reaching the cliff's edge, she gazed out at the pitch-black sea beneath the night sky and, without turning her head, asked, "My child, are you ready to receive the mermaids' true blessing?"

"Headmistress, can't I really say goodbye to him?" Kyaru said, turning to look off into the distance, her gaze seeming to want to pierce through the very concept of "distance" to reach the one she loved.

"Time is precious. We can't waste a single moment. If we miss this chance, there won't be a second one."

"But... can I really bring a true mermaid back to Lan Hai?"

"Of course you can, so long as you willingly become the mermaid's... offering."

Facing the sea, the Headmistress's shoulders trembled slightly twice, as if she were weeping, so no one could see her expression clearly at that moment. But the scene before Jhin's eyes faced her directly, and there was not the slightest trace of grief on her face — the corners of her mouth split into a grin brimming with a churning, pitch-black emotion named "malice."

The Merfolk's Blessing was a lie, and so was this whole story about coaxing Kyaru into resurrecting the mermaids. The Headmistress was surely carrying out this rite for some hidden purpose of her own.

The little tricks at the competition stalls, deliberately handing Kyaru a high ranking, must have been done at her behest as well — all to make certain the champion this time would be Kyaru. It seemed her plan had reached its most crucial step.

In that instant, Jhin thought of the fourth incomplete rule: "Stop ___, it is the source!"

If he filled in the blank with "the rite" or "the Headmistress" and analyzed it against the scene he was now witnessing, the latter seemed far more likely.

The story in the scene went on. A look of grim determination came over Kyaru's face. "If... if the mermaids can let him live a better life, then I'm willing to become the offering!"

"Very good! All of Lan Hai will remember the contribution you've made, my child. Even if you cannot return, your story will be passed down for generations to come."

"Headmistress... at the end of the mermaid legend, did the prince really rescue the princess?"

"Of course, just like the story I've always told you."

"I'm ready." Kyaru walked to the cliff's edge and sat down, her legs swinging gently in the air. Softly she hummed a mournful song, and as the melody echoed over the sea, the Headmistress slowly stepped back, leaving this space to her alone.

A whale formed of seawater leapt high and swallowed Kyaru whole where she sat on the cliff. Her song cut off abruptly, and it was as if she had never existed at all. At the same instant, the flames on either side of the cliff blazed more fiercely still, even setting the black-robed figures who held the torches alight as fuel.

The Headmistress threw back her head in mad laughter. "Mermaid! Mermaid! At last I can resurrect you from the endless sea, hear once more that exquisite song of yours, strip away those sapphire scales, gouge out those golden eyes, drink that sea-blue blood... and become a truly perfect woman!"

The scene shattered with a roar amid her deranged laughter, and Jhin could move his body again. He slammed a furious fist into the wall. "Damn it, I knew anyone who could make a gesture like that couldn't be a good person."

The glowing arrow now pointed toward the pillow on Kyaru's bed. Whether that scene was a prophecy or something that had already happened, Jhin couldn't tell. He didn't bother with the arrow and rushed straight to the door, meaning to go find Kyaru. He turned the handle twice, and an eerie message rang out in his mind.

[The door seems fixed together with space itself. It won't budge an inch.]

"Bang!" Beside himself with rage, Jhin kicked the door — and beyond jolting his own foot into aching pain, it had no effect at all. He could only run to Kyaru's bedside and lift the pillow. A length of blood-stained white cloth and a pair of scissors appeared before his eyes.

—

He closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and drew a deep breath, forcing his mind free of the scorching flames of anger.

Calm down, calm down, think carefully — what other options are there? If it won't open from the inside, then call Sachi over to try opening it from the outside. As the dormitory manager, there was no way she'd lack even the authority to open a dorm room door.

Slipping the things from under the pillow into his pocket, Jhin pressed the call button. Almost at once, Sachi's footsteps — as steady and precise as clockwork, exact to the second — sounded from the corridor.

"Knock, knock." After two polite knocks, there was no further movement.

Jhin knew she was right behind the door and shouted, "Sachi! Help me open the door, I need to get out!"

"But... it's already past lights-out, you know."

"What!? That's impossible!" He clearly remembered getting back to the dorm at only around seven. How could it possibly be lights-out already in the blink of an eye?

Could it be that time had raced forward while he was watching that projection?

"I have a night-leave permission slip. Open the door, hurry, it's urgent!"

"Oh, so you have a permission slip. No problem, then."

A crisp "click" sounded, and the dorm door was opened by Sachi with the greatest ease. She held out her palm toward Jhin. "Let me see the permission slip first."

"Here!"

Sachi took the slip, her blue eyes sweeping over it once, then nodded and tucked it into her pocket. "The slip's in order. For the whole night ahead, I'll be staying right by your side."

On an ordinary day, Jhin might have tossed off a flirty remark or two, but right now he was in no mood for that. In an anxious tone he asked, "Sachi, can you take me to find the Headmistress, or straight to the place where they receive the Merfolk's Blessing?"

"The Headmistress? Didn't she leave here five years ago? As for the Merfolk's Blessing, I've never heard of it."

The more he asked, the more questions there were. Just as Jhin was about to simply have her lead him to the Headmistress's office, a familiar figure appeared at the foot of the dormitory building — the white-haired little girl who had slipped him the note in the first place. Now he could say her name for certain.

"Kokkoro!!!"

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