When the youth touched his forehead with his fingertips, the warmth clearly transmitted to his forehead made the mermaid, who hated physical contact, stiffen up.
But it was not annoying.
Whether it was his hair or ear fins from before, or being gently touched on the middle of his forehead like now, he didn't hate it.
Xie Luan also sensed the mermaid's reaction. Before speaking to him, Xie Luan raised his hand a little more and placed it on the other's head.
Unlike the short hair of the mermaid cub in Xie Luan's memory, the hair of this adult mermaid was much longer, but the soft blond hair still felt the same to the touch.
That exceptionally beautiful face, Xie Luan could easily match it to the delicate appearance of this mermaid when he was a cub.
The little mermaid had a pair of azure eyes, they were just like the blue ocean, so very beautiful.
Perhaps it was simply a subconscious action for the youth, but Gale felt a sense of comfort from the youth touching his hair.
Just as if he was also valued and loved by the other.
"Can't say it?" Xie Luan paused his hand and slowly said this after having waited a long time for him to answer.
The tone Xie Luan used at this time was no different from a parent who was coaxing a cub to tell him the truth, although the person himself was not aware of this.
The soft comforting strokes on his head stopped, the mermaid with no expression on his face subconsciously moved the ice-blue fins beside his ears slightly.
"I used a dagger, to remove it."
This answer rang particularly clear in the quiet room. Due to their race, mermaids' voices were generally very pleasing to the ear, but this could not change the fact that what the other said was a painful thing..
Xie Luan's body went rigid, he couldn't respond for several seconds.
It was not that his brain didn't respond. Xie Luan clearly understood what the other was saying, but it was precisely because he understood, he froze like this.
It had not been forcibly removed by others, the mark on the forehead was something the mermaid himself did not want.
They deliberately abandoned the cub on land, out of water. Their way of handling it made Gale understand that his so-called family did not wish for him to survive, but he nevertheless lived.
To abandon him when he was found to have a defect, and once again wanting to exploit him when he was found to have other worth. Everything about this family disgusted Gale.
However, the Houdie family already no longer existed, it was destroyed by his own hands.
If there was something about that family deserving of any nostalgia, it was only after reading the memories of the youth.
「They both love you.」
A gentle voice told him, no... it was telling the "self" in the other world.
He hadn't allowed the mermaid cub to experience unpleasant things related to that family, the cub still didn't understand anything. The owner of this voice was like a big sheltering umbrella, blocking all the outside wind and rain for the mermaid cub.
And afterwards even let the cub know that his parents loved him.
To be loved.
What kind of feeling was this... Through the memories of the youth, he saw that his other world's self was loved. Nevertheless, Gale, who resided in the current world, still couldn't truly experience it through these memories.
But just as he was thinking about it like this, a sudden hug made this cold mermaid's expression blank for a moment. After he managed to recover, he didn't know what he should do.
If he didn't move, would the youth continue to hold him a bit longer... Because of this thought, the mermaid was still motionless, even now.
He spoke of using a sharp weapon to cut out a layer of skin and flesh in a light tone, as if it was nothing. Even if it was a simple sentence without much added description, Xie Luan still felt a dull pain in his chest when hearing it. Then a kind of sour and astringent feeling.
In this world line where he wasn't present, had anyone been good to this little mermaid? Did anyone love this cub? Just thinking about it like this, that sourness seemed to gradually spread from his chest to Xie Luan's throat, blocking his throat as well.
"Gale be good."
As soon as he felt he could use his voice, Xie Luan's hand once more touched the soft blond head of the mermaid. When petting his hair this time, he couldn't help using a part of his spiritual power, similar to humming a lullaby to soothe a cub.
Hearing these three words, the originally motionless mermaid seemed to be stunned for a second, and his eyes widened slightly.
He accepted the comfort without resisting. It was also at this time Gale clearly sensed that the youth who held him actually possessed a large amount of spiritual power.
At the same time he also understood that Xie Luan must completely lack defense against him, otherwise, with this level of spiritual power, he would not have been able to so easily read the memories of the other earlier.
"Pa..." He only made a weak sound just like the cub had when he was unable to speak at first. For this mermaid with azure eyes, the word he wanted to say now also required great effort.
"...Papa?" This name, could he also call him that?
He wasn't sure about this. When the mermaid uttered these two syllables, his low voice was a little hard to hear.
But just like he saw when reading his memories, no matter how low and weak the little mermaid's voice was when he said these two syllables, the youth who heard the call would always immediately respond.
"En."
Xie Luan quickly responded, and added warmly, "I am here."
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Translator's note:
To be loved.
What kind of feeling was this...
Pa... Papa?
I'm here.
Ugh, shit, my heart can't take this.
G-Gale...!!! 。・°°・(＞_＜)・°°・。