The Knight from the Fairytales

Chapter 51: The Underwater Kingdom

Legend has it that deep within the ocean, there exist kingdoms different from those in the human world.

What's even more interesting is that these kingdoms are somewhat larger than the human world, though different seas have different Sea Kings.

They generally reside in the deepest parts of the ocean. Legend says no iron anchor can ever reach the depths of the undersea kingdoms. In this era, anchors are typically tools for mooring ships, needing to hook onto seabed rocks or sink into sand. They are very long and very heavy.

Within these magical undersea kingdoms, there exists a unique ecological environment.

And within them, there are not only the Sea King, but also six princesses, and a grandmother.

Each princess is very beautiful, but here comes the classic part: among these six princesses, the youngest is the most beloved and the most beautiful.

Her favorite thing, the thing that could make her heart feel joyful, was listening to stories of the human world.

The grandmother was knowledgeable and well-traveled. For the sake of her daughters' interests, she had no choice but to tell them all she knew about human cities.

Naturally, among these five, her favorite was the youngest princess.

Flowers on land have fragrance, but those under the sea do not. Forests on land are green, and people see fish swimming among the trees singing crisp, pleasant songs.The grandmother told them that the fish swimming in the forests were a kind of bird.

For their safety, the grandmother made a promise: when they reached the age of 15, she would allow them to rise to the sea's surface. Then they could sit on rocks under the moonlight, watch huge ships pass by their sides, and also go see the forests and cities.

As time slowly passed, soon the eldest daughter turned 15.

When she returned, she had countless things to talk about.

However, she said the most beautiful thing was when the sea was calm, the wind gently blowing, and the sea surface was like a mirror.

Lying on a beach under the moonlight, pressing close to the shore, gazing at a city within, where the stars were very bright, their stars seeming just like ones on the ground.

Quietly listening to the music, the noise, the sound of human carriages, and the chirping of some insects.

With the eldest princess's experience as a precedent, the remaining five grew even more filled with longing for the outside world.

The next year, the second sister received permission to rise to the surface and swim wherever she pleased.

When she leaped out of the water, the sun had just set; she felt the scene was truly magnificent.

She said the entire sky at that moment looked like a piece of Gold, and the clouds—she didn't know how to describe them—were plump and white, whiter than the pearls at the bottom of the sea.

Sometimes these clouds would also emit different lights, varying with the time, sometimes red, sometimes even yellow.

There were also some fish flying in the sky, very long and white, different from us who have tails.

They were flying toward the sun, and she was swimming toward the sun.

Then the sun set.

A rosy evening glow slowly faded away between the sea and the cloud layers.

Another year passed, and the third sister rose to the surface. She was the bravest among them.

She saw some beautiful green mountains, planted full of strange flowers and fruits.

Palaces and manors faintly revealed themselves within the dense woods; she heard all kinds of birds singing, and she even greeted these lovely little creatures.

The sun shone so warmly that she sometimes had to sink back into the water, bringing a wave of coolness while also seeing a different kind of sun in the sea surface.

In a small river inlet, she encountered a group of human children; they were naked, swimming in the water.

She really wanted to play with them for a while, but they got frightened and fled in a panic.

Then a small black animal came over—this was a little dog, a creature she had never seen before.

This little dog seemed to be protecting its master, misunderstanding something, and began barking fiercely at her, which scared her so much she quickly fled back into the sea.

Yet she could never forget the magnificent forests, the beautiful mountain peaks, those adorable little babies who could swim in the water—even though they didn't have tails like fish.

The fourth sister wasn't so bold. She lingered over the desolate expanse of the sea.

She said the most beautiful thing was stopping on the sea: because from there you could look out to places very, very far in all directions, while the sky hung above like a giant glass bell.

She had seen ships, but these ships were very far from her, looking like seagulls.

She had seen joyful dolphins turning over, and enormous whales spraying water from their nostrils, as if countless fountains were surrounding them.

Now it was the fifth sister's turn. Her birthday happened to be in winter, so she could see things the other sisters hadn't seen during their first trips to the surface.

The sea was dyed a sky blue; massive icebergs moved all around.

She said each iceberg looked like a pearl, yet was much larger than the church towers humans built. They appeared in all sorts of strange and wondrous shapes; they shone with a brilliance like Diamonds.

She had once sat on the largest iceberg, letting the sea breeze blow through her slender hair. All the ships, detouring around the place where she sat, avoided it in alarm from afar.

However, at dusk, the sky was suddenly covered by a mass of dark clouds.

Lightning flashed, thunder roared. Black giant waves lifted entire sheets of ice, making them glitter in the blood-red lightning.

All the ships lowered their sails, creating an atmosphere of alarm and terror; yet she sat quietly on that floating iceberg, watching the blue lightning zigzag down into the reflective sea.

As time passed, whenever these sisters told their stories, the youngest one always felt a heartfelt longing. Slowly, this longing, pressed down by time and the tales of her several sisters, grew heavier and heavier.

In the end, the little Princess fulfilled her wish. When she went out, it was out of fondness. The grandmother doted on this little Princess immensely, dressing her up beautifully.

When she went out, she played with the ocean waves. She saw a large human ship and felt amazement in her heart. It was her first time seeing things from the outside world, just as her sisters had described.

She saw the large ship tossed about on the sea. She thought this was an interesting way to sail, but for humans, it was completely not.

When the sea prepared to gently caress the ship—at least for the Mermaid, this was indeed the sea's caress.

Finally, a soaring crimson radiance rose into the sky. Finally, the mischievous sea calmed.

They felt astonishment, having never seen such a thing outside before. If you said it was the sun, the sun would not be like this.

The ship did not avoid it from afar; it even continued sailing peacefully, and was even discovered by people.

(Regarding the female lead's matter, how should I put it? I habitually write relationships with a bit of ambiguity, just in case, but more often than not, there won't be any.)