Atlantis continent, deep sea palace.
"Mom, can I go out and play?" Noel clung to his mother Afu's arm and acted coquettishly.
"Okay, I'll go out with you."
Noel blinked his blue eyes innocently, looking as if he was thinking about his mother. "No need. Just let Lanlan go out with me. Mom, why don't you go talk to your friend? Lanlan is also very capable. He will look after me."
Ah Fu caressed her son's chubby face lovingly and said with a smile, "No. I know you want to trick Lan Lan into taking you far away, but you can't just give up. Either I go out with you, or you stay in the palace. If you dare to sneak out, be careful that your father will come back and beat you up."
The truth is, mermaid babies aren't that fragile. Noel was almost three months old, so it wasn't a bad thing for her to run around in the sea under the care of a mermaid. It's just that the mermaids have been keeping a secret from Noel lately, and she, her husband, and the high priest don't want Noel to discover it.
They knew the truth could not be concealed for long, but they all hoped that day would come slower and slower.
Afu smoothed Noel's long hair with her fingers and patted his back gently. "Noel, be good. Mommy will take you out to catch sea monsters, okay? Don't you want to give your teacher a weapon? Mommy can help you catch one."
The place where the sea monster lives is very far from the shore, and there are not many mermaids around, which is perfect for her to take Noel out to play.
Why capture sea monsters? It all has to do with Noel. Not long ago, upon his return, Noel went to his father, the king, to inquire about any sea materials suitable for crafting weapons. He wanted to forge a weapon for his teacher to defend himself.
There was no reason for them to refuse such a small favor. When her husband, Corvia, heard it was for a human teacher, he immediately opened the palace's treasury of successive kings and let Noel choose. You know, there were not only items from Atlantis, but also artifacts from other continents. With five full treasuries, Noel had more than enough to choose from.
But who knew that after Noel took a look around, he came out and said that nothing inside was suitable. She suspected that Noel had not looked carefully at all, and when asked again, he just stammered and said that it was not good. He insisted on finding a sea monster in the deep sea, preferably an ugly one.
After just two days, he changed his mind and decided not to do it.
Now she has taken the initiative to bring up the idea of taking Noel to catch sea monsters, but she doesn't know if she can still arouse Noel's interest.
Noel was stunned, and his cheeks turned red.
He did want to give his teacher a weapon because of Zhuo Feng, and he was very active in looking for it after he came back, but things always turn out to be unexpected.
The long and sincere explanatory text and video sent to him by Teacher Yan Jue not only stunned him, but also made him realize how much trouble he had caused the teacher when he made a solemn promise to Zhuo Feng and A Qing.
Noel blushed at the mere thought of the word "gift," his tail wagging in embarrassment. Seriously, with so many beautiful gifts, why did the teacher give him such an ugly one? It had caused him to misunderstand for so long, and he even made the mistake of giving it to his brother.
Well, we can’t blame him entirely. It’s the teacher’s fault for having such a bad taste.
"Noel?"
Noel came back to his senses, shook his head, put his face on his mother's arm and whispered, "No need, it's not necessary to use sea monster bones as weapons..."
Afraid his mother would ask him why, Noel quickly changed the subject. "Mom, can you help me think about what's the most appropriate gift for the teacher? I'm overwhelmed and don't know what to give."
"Those in the treasury are fine too, as long as they look good."
Given Noel's previous behavior, Afu had no doubt that Noel didn't want the sea monster or the ugly one. As a youngster, he always had his way, which was normal. As long as he didn't always think about sneaking out to play, she would agree with him in other aspects.
Afu thought for a moment and said, "Your teacher is a weak human, so you can't give him flashy weapons. You have to give him something useful."
Noel added: "The teacher is already able to practice. He will be very powerful in the future when he has the power."
Afu and the others had already learned about the situation in Yan Jue's world from Noel, and were not unfamiliar with the word "cultivation". To put it simply, it was similar to the humans with magic on other continents in their world.
"Okay, your teacher will be very powerful in the future." Afu did not refute and continued, "In our world, apart from ordinary swords and personal talents, only weapons with magic are the most powerful. But your teacher can't use magic, and ordinary weapons are even more useless..."
Noel was anxious and couldn't help but interrupt: "Yes, yes, what should we do then?"
Afu pinched Noel's nose: "Have you forgotten what our mermaids' talents are?"
As for proper weapons, Afu herself couldn't think of any useful ones. Mermen relied on their own strength, sharp claws, and powerful tails to fight and hunt in the sea, occasionally using their songs to deal with other races. So in her opinion, no weapon was more useful than the mermaid's song.
Noel's eyes lit up: "Teacher's world has a tape recorder, I can record a few more different songs and send them to the teacher!"
Although he can attack by reciting poetry, his singing is also very nice. It would be boring to just listen to poetry. And the mermaid's singing is so useful. It can attack as soon as it is released without any effort on your part, which makes the teacher feel more relaxed.
Besides, the teacher's world also has swords and firearms. The most unique magic items in their world can only be used as decorations when given away. The mermaid's singing is the most practical.
Is this too simple? Noel thought secretly. Maybe he could add some beautiful pearls and shells as a souvenir to the teacher?
Noel did what he said. He no longer wanted to go out to play. He said goodbye to his mother and returned to the kindergarten to ask the teacher for a tape recorder and a waterproof bag to pack it up. Then he returned to reality.
Before going to find his mother, Noel suddenly thought: maybe he could use this opportunity to confess to his parents that he could use poetry to inspire strength? He didn't have to wait for others to discuss poetry or something before pretending to be curious and asking about it. He could just ask.
What reason should I find?
He begged his mother to sing a short song with the tape recorder, and then asked several servants working in the palace to sing a short song as well. Then Noel found his mother and played the recording for her. At the end, he said, "It seems that the songs we all know are similar. Mom, do you know any other songs?"
Afu shook her head: "The songs of our mermaid club have been passed down from a long, long time ago. Our ancestors have used these songs for generations."
Noel knew that his mother had told him this when she first tried to teach him to sing, and she was just bringing it up now. After hearing it, he said innocently, "That's a shame. Mom has a beautiful voice."
"My teacher used to praise me, saying that just listening to my voice would make me feel better. My mother feels the same way. It's a shame to use such a beautiful voice only for singing."
Afu was amused: "Did you just learn how to praise people from your teacher?"
"No, I even learned storytelling from my teacher!" Noel groaned, "I just can't remember it very well... My teacher also read me novels. Mom, do you know what a novel is?"
"Novel?" Afu repeated the word silently. "Is it something like a biography?"
"I guess so. Sensei's world is filled with many interesting stories, short poems, TV dramas, operas, and stage plays..."
Afu listened quietly, and after Noel finished speaking, she said, "Our mermaids' entertainment methods are somewhat different from humans', but the palace also contains the notes of wandering poets and the librettos of some famous operas on the continent."
The mermaids have to learn their own language and the common language of the mainland, but they themselves are not good at culture and entertainment. It is not that they have no artistic attainments, but they live in the deep sea and face countless dangers every day. After all, only a few of them have the leisure time to study a hobby.
Less does not mean none.
"There are also some poems and books written by mermaids in the palace."
Noel's eyes lit up, his heart leaping with joy, yet he tried to suppress his emotions. He said with a bit of restraint, "I want to see it. Mom, can you take me to see it?"
"Do you understand?" Afu teased her son without any burden. She covered her mouth with her hands and smiled, then took Noel's hand and swam with him to the library.
The library was engraved with a magic circle, said to have been created by a magician who had once traveled to Atlantis. A magic circle, as long as the magic core remained intact, could be used forever. Therefore, after thousands of years, the magic circle continued to work diligently, leaving the library completely dry.
Using her tail fin to support herself, Afu held Noel in her arms as she pulled out a magic scroll from the library doorway and tore it open. The scroll's use was straightforward; simply tearing it would take effect. She enveloped herself and Noel in a round bubble filled with water and guided it to a bookshelf that filled an entire wall.
"All that's stored here are newly translated. Some records of the early mermaids are on objects like stone, which takes up a lot of space, so they're placed in another palace."
It was Noel's first time here. He looked up with his mouth open, and his shock was no less than the first time he came to Yan Jue's world.
He reached out and touched the aqua blue bubble. After carefully poking his finger out, he miraculously discovered that the exposed finger was dry and the bubble was not broken.
Afu casually took a book from the bookshelf and said, "The library is open to the entire mermaid race. Anyone who applies can come and read books. However, few people from the tribe come here."
The number of mermaids in a year can be counted on one hand.
"Why?" Noel was surprised: "Don't you all like reading?"
"It's true that we don't have time to read." Afu laughed and patted Noel's head to explain, "Everyone is busy getting food, chasing away sea monsters and schools of fish, fighting for territory, and gaining experience... Everyone is very busy."
The mermaids worship strength. Although they are intelligent and have their own culture, they still have the passion for battle and ferocity in their bones. Apart from their good-looking faces, none of their other qualities conform to the human imagination of "beauty".
Why do the mermaids look down on mermaids who can't sing? It's because once such mermaids leave the sea, they will become fish at the mercy of others, with no ability to protect themselves, and their life and death will be controlled by humans and other races.
Afu doesn't think there's anything wrong. If you can't sing, then just stay in the sea for the rest of your life. Why do you have to make an assumption? Other races won't have so much free time as to jump into the sea.
She spread the book out on a dedicated bookshelf, and only then did she clearly read the words on the cover: "It turns out to be a collection of poetry by a troubadour. This is the most common book in the library. I don't know why troubadours are so talented writers."
Afu whispered the last complaint between her lips so that Noel couldn't hear it.
Noel looked at the incomprehensible words on the cover through the sea bubbles and asked curiously, "Doesn't Mom have time to come to the library?"
Ah Fu paused while turning the pages of the book and said with a smile, "Yes, my mother is the king's wife and she is also very busy every day."
No wonder, she simply doesn't like reading, and neither does Corvia. Since ascending the throne, Corvia has never set foot inside unless it's to store books.
Noel was confused. Was his mother busy? How could he see her in the palace every day? Sometimes she'd even tell him she and her sisters were going somewhere to catch sea monsters? It must be because of him, to take care of him, that she stayed in the palace all the time.
It was he who tripped up his mother.
Noel was about to cry: "Mom, thank you for your hard work. Noel has caused you trouble."
Afu was confused and accepted the baby's concern: "Isn't it hard? Noel is very well behaved."
Mother and son chatted for a while, and Afu randomly picked a poem and read it to Noel. The whole time, Noel's heart was in a state of tension, waiting for his mother to notice that she could stimulate the energy in her body when she read the poem. However, after the poem was finished, nothing happened.
Noel panicked, fearing that he was just an exception in that he could generate power through reciting poetry.
He begged his mother to read him another poem, and this time, he repeated it sentence by sentence. Frustratingly, nothing happened again, and even after he finished reading, he felt no inspiration. Noel stared blankly at the page with his eyes blank, almost thinking that the joy he had felt before was all an illusion.
But, but the teacher had already confirmed that he could attack when reciting poetry, and he had helped the teacher, so the teacher would not lie to him. There must be something wrong.
He was panicking, but he suppressed his anxiety and asked, "Mom, what is the name of this book?"
"The Collected Poems of Chester Libecon"
"A minstrel, who is that?"
Afu was bewildered: "I don't know, I've never heard of it."
Noel had a little guess. He steadied his voice and asked, "Mom, is there any poetry collection you've heard of? The one you know must be the best. Noel wants to listen to that one."
He still remembers the name of the poetry collection he borrowed from Teacher 91, which is a collection of world-famous poems.
"Our Noel is quite picky." Afu pinched Noel's cheek. "The poetry collections that Mom has listened to are all world-famous. Not bad, you have good taste, just like Mom."
Afu took Noel to a book by a bard he'd heard of. She took it down and flipped through it, saying, "This bard was the most famous five hundred years ago. He once participated in a war between two bordering continents. The poems he wrote during that time are classics passed down through the ages. It's said that excerpts are used in textbooks in the human kingdom."
Noel listened to his mother reciting slowly with a feeling of nervousness and anticipation.
After three sentences, Afu stopped and looked at the words on the pages in disbelief, as if the characters had come alive.
In her opinion, this metaphor is not far from reality, because she actually stimulated her own energy in the process of reciting poetry!
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