24 - Can I trust you?

Krahs handed back the obsidian knife that Nexha had dropped the day before and said:

— I will follow your plan, little one, but keep an eye on her. Even tied up, she might try something.

He cast a serious look at Nalu, who was sleeping deeply. Her messy hair floated in the water, a bit of drool escaped from her mouth, and her snoring was soft, almost funny. She didn’t seem like a threat… But if Krahs told me to watch her, I wasn’t going to disobey.

After he left, I watched the two of them sleeping. Lilay, like any child, refused to wake up, and the prisoner was like a rock.

I sighed and had my breakfast: a bottle of milk mixed with lucky crab powder. Strangely, it tasted much sweeter than usual. I found it odd, but I kept drinking.

As soon as I finished, I started thinking of more ways to reinforce the nest’s defenses, but many traps simply don’t work underwater. I sighed, frustrated, and opened the shop, looking for something that could help me.

That’s when something new caught my attention.

— Tool Crafting (Beginner) — 2000 MD

My hands started itching. Something inside me screamed to buy it now, without thinking about the money. It was a strange feeling, as if Luna, through the system, was whispering in my ear, insisting over and over.

I hesitated for a moment, but the feeling wouldn’t go away. I gave in easily.

— My money… Now I only have 948 MD.

I sighed, sad. At least no one was awake to hear my frustration.

I closed my eyes and felt the familiar pain: like invisible needles piercing my brain as knowledge was imprinted into my mind. Luckily, it wasn’t as intense as the other times.

When I opened my eyes, new possibilities filled my head. I picked up a small obsidian stone that was in my hands and, without thinking much, opened the shop again.

I bought a piece of bone and, using some algae as rope, I firmly tied the obsidian to the bone, creating a makeshift knife.

I held the knife in my hands, spinning it between my fingers. The obsidian gleamed faintly under the filtered light of the nest. I knew it wasn’t a perfect weapon, but still, I felt… different. Like I had created something truly useful for the first time.

A shiver ran through my body.

"Will this be enough?"

I tried to push the doubt away. Krahs trusted me. But deep down, a voice whispered that I was still weak. That if something really happened, I wouldn’t be strong enough to protect anyone.

Stolen novel; please report.

I sighed and looked at Nalu.

She was awake now but said nothing. Her body was curled up, her arms still bound by the tough algae. She watched me out of the corner of her eye, looking away whenever I met her gaze.

She looked so scared…

— Hey.

She shrank even more.

— W-what?

I sat on the sand in front of her, setting my knife aside.

— Are you afraid of us?

Nalu’s eyes widened, surprised by the question.

— What do you think?! — she grumbled, clenching her hands. — Your father caught me like I was just some fish!

— He’s not my father.

She blinked, confused.

— What?

— Krahs. He’s not really my father.

Silence stretched between us. Nalu looked at me as if trying to understand something.

— But… then why does he protect you like that? Sharks don’t usually… care so much.

— I don’t know — I admitted. — I think he just… takes care of us.

Nalu looked away, biting her lips.

— I didn’t mean to scare you yesterday — she murmured. — I just… thought it was strange to see a pup alone so far from a nest. I didn’t want...

She stopped herself, frowning, as if she had said too much.

— Didn’t want what?

She hesitated. Then sighed.

— I didn’t want what happened to my clan to happen to you.

Her words hit me hard.

For a moment, I just sat there, feeling the water around me grow colder. She wasn’t just a prisoner. She was someone who had lost everything. Like Krahs.

I swallowed hard and looked at her more closely. Her body was tense, as if expecting me to attack her at any moment. Even tied up, even defenseless… she was still afraid. She was more like Krahs than I had imagined. While the old shark hid his trauma behind a layer of toughness, she exposed hers, not bothering to conceal them.

— Are you hungry?

— I am. I haven’t eaten anything since I found you yesterday.

I felt a little guilty. After all, she had watched everyone eat yesterday while drooling.

I grabbed some lucky crabs and cooked more than usual so everyone could eat. The system’s sound rang in my ears as soon as I finished killing the crabs.

{Congratulations, you’ve reached Level 3! Check your status for changes.}

While the crabs cooked, I opened my inventory to check my status.

[Crystal-Scaled Mermaid]

Name: Nexha

Age: Baby

Status: Normal

Lv: 3 XP: 80/0

HP: 35/35 | MP: 20/20 | Attack: 4(+1) | Defense: 33(+1) | Intelligence: 13(+1) | Luck: 7 | Beauty: 30

Title: First of Many

Skills: Analyze, System Shop Access, Passive Hardening

Seeing how many crabs I’d have to kill to level up again, I got discouraged. It seemed like reaching level 4 would take a while.

At that moment, the delicious smell of the cooking crabs made Nalu drool as she stared at the pot. The aroma also woke Lilay immediately.

— Hungry.

— I’m growing! It’s normal.

— I’m almost your age, and I don’t eat that much.

— That’s because... because...

He seemed to run out of arguments and pouted. We ate before any more fights could start.

Realizing that Nalu wouldn’t be able to eat with her hands tied, I untied her. We all ate together until Krahs returned.

He was angry. I got scolded.

— She could have hurt you and your brother. Just because she pretends to be pathetic and dumb doesn’t mean you can untie her.

— Hey!

Nalu got mad and wanted to argue back, but Krahs’ irritated glare made her shrink into the nest’s algae, trembling with fear. The old shark huffed angrily.

— If you ever take advantage of my children’s naivety, I’ll tear you apart, even if I have to cross oceans to do it. Do you hear me, sea wolf?

Nalu nodded, almost crying from fear. Krahs kept an eye on her for the rest of the day.

But that night, I heard her whisper softly to me.

— Hey, Nexha…

— Hm?

She hesitated.

— Thank you. For letting me eat.

Her smile shone under the moonlight, looking genuinely grateful.