He's not a Merman

Chapter 12 Pose for The Posters

Chapter 12 

I never thought that Zen would offer to head to the market, but thanks to that, I managed to get some new clothes to wear outside. Zen already has a camp set up in a nearby cave. Apparently, he has stashed some food and clothes there since the day he crashed on this island.

He allowed me to borrow some of his clothes. They were all so loose that we had to tie ropes around my waist.

"Stop touching the ropes. Yer' damagin' the fabric of my pants." Zen looks at me with annoyance. The pants, which I was wearing, are actually Zen's spare. The shirt that I have one are plaid white v-neck that we had to pull and tie at the back so it would not reveal my chest. Right over our clothes, Zen and I are wearing old, raggedy clothes, making us look like traveling beggars instead of regular travelers.

"Relax. We're going to the market. We can buy new ones." I look over at him carrying a heavy sack of treasures, which were all provided by Myrr. "Do you think that it is enough to get us supplies?"

"It's more than enough to get us some spare clothes, medicine, and even a small boat." Zen readjusts his hold on the heavy treasure behind him. It just occurred to me that he is still wounded, yet he is forcing himself to carry all the gold behind his back. It must be difficult for him to be carrying such a heavy load when he isn't feeling well.

Maybe I can provide a little bit of distraction to take his mind off the pain.

"Hey, Zen, aren't you a pirate? Where's your ship?" The words spilled out of my mouth, as the question has been bothering me the entire time. I just didn't seem to find the right opportunity to ask it.

Looking at Zen, I seem to realize that I asked the wrong question to distract him because he seems to have grown tense. His brows were knitted in anger and he was grinding his teeth while glaring at the ground.

"Princess, we don't need some idle chat. We need ta' hurry back and get these gold exchanged." He starts to walk ahead, not daring to look back to check if I was following him.

It seems like I have asked about a sensitive topic. This makes me wonder what actually happened between him and his crew.

I recalled the wreckage by the shore where I met Zen and remembered all the wounds on his body. It might not be appropriate for me to draw conclusions from it, but did his crew perhaps die from the wreckage and he is the only survivor?

If that's true, then why does he look angry?

I push the thoughts back and hastily run over to follow him.

Zen led us to a merchant's building, where he was presenting the gold to the clerk. I left the haggling job to Zen, as he is more accustomed to the job. While he was busy, I decided to check the bulletin board to read some articles.

Part of me is curious to see what they post here since it is my first time going inside this place. I spot a picture of Zen in the middle. My hand picked up a pen at the bottom of the board used for signing requests and began to doodle on Zen's poster. I drew devil horns and a mustache before adding a very detailed eye patch on his left eye. Although Zen is a wanted pirate, he does possess a charming face, so women tend to steal his posters whenever they get the chance. Newspapers with his face is always sold out at the earliest dawn. Seeing a poster of Zen out in public is rare, so I am just taking this opportunity to alter his image based on his personality.

"Havin' fun?"

I gasp, hiding the pen behind my back as I turn around, when Zen slams his hand beside my face. He has a smile on his lips, but every second that passes, I begin to notice that they are forming into a sneer.