Voices

As his voice fell, the courtyard instantly became silent.

Klein ignored the reactions of the others, merely looking at Aphros with a smile, as if showing off a novel toy.

“Are you ready to walk on land?”

Aphros’s deep blue eyes clearly reflected the beautiful crystal bottle. She certainly remembered that agreement.

She nodded vigorously.

The days trapped in this pool were boring, after all, even with company.

She wanted to see the sunlight Klein spoke of, to feel the wind, and to step on the thing called “soil.”

Aphros’s undisguised anticipation caused Diancie’s breath to hitch for a moment.

Turning a fish tail into a pair of legs.

It sounded simple when put that way, but phrased differently—

Limb regeneration.

No, this was even more incredible than limb regeneration. This was creating limbs out of thin air that hadn't existed before; it was changing the most fundamental morphological structure of a creature.

This was no longer within the realm of alchemy.

It was practically—a power belonging only to the gods.

Diancie instinctively gripped her skirt. She glanced at Ophelia beside her and found the legendary Knightess completely calm, as if what Klein had produced wasn't some world-shaking potion, but an ordinary glass of fruit juice.

Well, this couple truly were monsters.

The thought flashed through Diancie’s mind, but she forced herself to maintain the composure expected of a royal. She didn't speak up to question him, nor did she show excessive shock.

She simply watched quietly, her eyes a mix of curiosity, scrutiny, and a trace of awe she hadn't even noticed herself.

The royal guards behind her looked even more horrified.

As soldiers, they had seen the most horrific wounds and limbs severed by sharp blades. They knew better than anyone how distant a word “regeneration” was. Yet, this seemingly gentle and harmless alchemist was casually about to turn that word into reality.

The hand of one guard had already instinctively moved to the hilt of the sword at his waist. This wasn't hostility, but the body's most primal defensive reaction when facing the unknown and the unnatural.

But a warning sidelong glance from Diancie caused the guard’s hand to freeze immediately, and he stood straight once more.

Without the Princess’s command, they were not allowed any unnecessary movements.

Klein took in everyone’s reactions, but he didn't care.

He uncorked the crystal bottle, and a crisp, slightly sweet scent wafted out. He squatted down and held the bottle out to Aphros.

“Drink it.”

Aphros reached out with both hands, carefully taking the cold bottle.

She brought it to her nose and sniffed; the pleasant scent helped her relax. She looked at Klein, then at the encouraging Ophelia beside him.

She no longer hesitated. Tilting her head back, she drank the half-bottle of transparent blue liquid in one gulp.

As the potion entered her mouth, it wasn't bitter as she had imagined. Instead, it was like sweet spring water, sliding down her throat and into her stomach.

In the next second, a gentle surge of heat erupted from her lower abdomen, instantly flowing through her entire body.

Aphros let out a soft moan, her body instinctively curling up.

The water in the pool began to ripple in fine, dense circles, centered on her.

Then, an incredible scene unfolded.

A soft blue glow lit up from her lower abdomen, rapidly spreading downward and enveloping her massive fish tail.

Within the light, those beautiful, shimmering scales on her tail began to dissolve, turning into tiny specks of light that dissipated into the water.

The broad, fan-like, gossamer-thin fins also began to blur, decomposing into the purest elemental particles.

“This…” Diancie could no longer maintain her composure. She covered her mouth to prevent an exclamation from escaping.

Her guards were even more dumbfounded, their bodies as stiff as stone statues, their brains completely unable to process this scene that transcended common sense.

The light grew brighter and brighter.

Enveloped in the glow, the muscle tissue of the fish tail was rapidly reorganizing, and her bones emitted a faint, bone-chilling crackling sound.

The skeletal structure that originally belonged to a fish was being forcibly twisted, disassembled, and reconstructed into a human form.

Klein’s expression was focused.

He stared intently at the changes in the water, a torrent of data flashing through his mind. Concept replacement successful, structural reorganization stable, energy overflow rate within the safety threshold…

Everything was exactly as he had deduced in his experiments.

The light lasted for a dozen seconds before it began to slowly recede.

When the last glimmer of blue light vanished into the water, Aphros’s beautiful fish tail had completely disappeared.

In its place were two long, fair, human legs.

The skin was smooth, the lines were fluid, the ankles were slender, and the toes were rounded. They were so perfect they didn't seem mortal, looking like a god’s most masterful sculpture.

The courtyard fell into a deathly silence.

There was only the rustling of leaves in the breeze.

Aphros slowly opened her eyes. She looked down, staring at her lower body in a bit of a daze.

Her tail… was gone.

It had turned into two very strange things.

She tried moving her toes, and a new, unfamiliar sensation traveled through her nerves back to her brain. She curled her toes, then spread them, repeating the action several times, her deep blue eyes filled with novelty.

She looked up at Klein, then at Ophelia, seemingly wanting to say something, but for a moment she didn't know how to describe the feeling.

Ophelia turned her head and glanced at Klein.

Klein responded with a smug, slight smile.

“Now, try to stand up,” Klein said to Aphros in the water.

Aphros nodded.

She tried to stand up in the shallow pool using her feet, just as she had observed others doing.

But her body, which had relied on a tail to swim for years, had no idea how to use these two brand-new limbs to find balance.

Her feet slipped, her muscles failed to exert force correctly, and her body lost balance, falling uncontrollably backward.

There was a dull thud, followed by a splash.

Aphros tumbled back into the pool water, kicking up a large spray.

Having lost that massive and powerful tail, she even forgot how to swim for a moment. Her body’s instincts were still searching for those familiar, swimmable fins, but all she got were two strange, uncooperative legs thrashing wildly in the water.

Panic seized her.

She instinctively waved her arms, trying to surface, but her movements were disorganized, causing her to spin several times underwater.

Fortunately, her respiratory system still allowed her to breathe underwater; otherwise, she might have become the first mermaid in history to drown.

Just as she was about to completely lose her sense of direction, a hand reached out and pulled her up from the chaos.

It was Ophelia.

She leaned halfway into the pool, effortlessly steadying Aphros and helping her stand on the bottom again.

“Don’t panic, take it slow,” Ophelia’s voice was steady, carrying a calming power.

Aphros leaned against the pool wall, panting heavily as water droplets slid down her pale cheeks. She didn't dare look at anyone, a visible blush rising on her fair skin.

This was too embarrassing.

That clumsy, flailing display in the water must have been seen by everyone.

The deathly silence in the courtyard was broken by this sudden interlude. However, no one laughed; no one even made a sound.

Diancie’s mouth was still slightly open. She froze in place, her mind a blank.

Changing biological forms, creating something from nothing.

No wonder… no wonder the Sage chose him.

Regenerating limbs? If this potion could be mass-produced… no, it wouldn't even need mass production. Just a few bottles could change the course of a battle. A legendary knight who had lost a hand or leg could return to their peak after drinking it.

Klein took all these reactions to heart.

He cleared his throat, breaking the stagnant atmosphere.

“It seems the potion’s effect is good, but some follow-up tests are needed to ensure the stability of her bodily functions.”

His tone was flat, as if he hadn't just accomplished some earth-shattering feat, but had merely finished an ordinary chemical experiment.

He turned to Diancie and her guards, offering a gentle but apologetic smile.

“The next tests might involve some… well, private data that isn't very convenient to display. So, could I trouble you all to excuse yourselves for a moment?”

Diancie snapped out of it. She looked at Aphros, who was still in a state of embarrassment in the pool, then at Klein. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she felt a bit self-conscious.

“Ah… right, of course! We’re the ones intruding!”

She really wanted to stay a bit longer and ask a few more questions, but her royal upbringing made her understand that prying into someone else’s research secrets was extremely rude.

And Ophelia understood his intention almost the moment Klein spoke.

Klein never avoided his own research—he was trying to dismiss the others.

Though she didn't know the reason, Ophelia naturally wouldn't expose her husband.

She walked to Diancie’s side and said naturally,

“Your Highness, let us head back first. Klein needs a quiet environment.”

“Mm…” Diancie was led away by Ophelia, looking back every other step, her mind filled with those perfectly flawless legs that had appeared out of nowhere.

The guards also bowed and silently followed the Princess out of the courtyard. Their footsteps were much heavier than when they arrived. A heavy weight had settled in each of their hearts.

The courtyard soon returned to silence.

Only Klein and Aphros, who was still soaking in the water trying to adapt to her new body, remained.

Klein walked to the edge of the pool and squatted down. His expression was no longer relaxed and easygoing; it had become more solemn than ever before.

The lighthearted atmosphere had been sucked away the moment Diancie and the others left.

Aphros seemed to sense this change as well. She held onto the pool wall, cautiously moving those legs that didn't yet feel like her own, her entire being becoming tense. The water rippled gently, lapping at her pale ankles.

“What… what data do you need to test?” she asked softly, with a hint of unease.

Klein didn't answer immediately. He just watched her quietly, that silence itself being a form of pressure.

“Before the tests,” he finally spoke, his words slow but deep, “can you answer a few questions for me?”

Aphros hesitated for a moment but still nodded.

Klein’s gaze moved slowly from her new legs to her face.

“In your eyes, what is Ophelia like?”

The question was unexpected. Aphros was stunned, her deep blue eyes full of confusion.

“A… very beautiful lady.” She thought for a moment and could only give the most direct answer. “Why?”

“No other feelings?” Klein pressed.

This question left Aphros even more baffled. She tried to recall Ophelia’s form when practicing her sword, her focus, and the kindness she showed her.

“She is a very good person and is very patient with me,” Aphros answered honestly, then asked back, “Should… should there be something else?”

Klein didn't speak, just watched her silently.

It was over.

Those three words surfaced in his mind.

Aphros’s reaction didn't seem faked. That pure confusion was no different from that of a newborn infant.

This was completely different from the reaction of the other sea folk. That sea folk imprisoned in the workshop had shown a near-instinctive, strong inclination toward Ophelia when sensing her, calling it the “smell of the sea.”

But Aphros, an individual born from the “siren” information and closer to the source, had a reaction toward Ophelia that was as flat as water.

Why?

Had that other sea folk lied? Or was the anomaly in Aphros being covered by some deeper power?

Klein’s heart sank slightly. He really hoped it was the former.

He changed the question, deciding to approach from another direction.

“In yourself,” he said each word clearly, “is there anything… different?”

This question, like a key, instantly opened the floodgates of Aphros’s memory.

She certainly had something different.

Just two days ago, a voice had appeared in her mind without warning. A grand, distant, yet omnipresent voice.

That voice called itself the “sea,” the “mother.”

Aphros was very afraid of that voice. She trusted the man before her more, the one who had given her legs and hope for a new world. She wanted to tell him; she wanted to speak that secret.

Perhaps this was the “test data” he wanted to know.

She plucked up her courage and opened her mouth.

“I…”

The instant she was about to say the words “there is a voice in my head,” an extreme cold seized her consciousness without warning.

It wasn't a physical low temperature, but a freezing originating from the depths of her soul. It was as if an invisible giant hand had pierced through her skull and tightly throttled her thoughts.

That grand voice rang out again, no longer a distant calling, but a cold command right beside her.

【Do not speak.】

Aphros wanted to struggle, to resist, but her tongue and her vocal cords completely lost control at that moment. Her own will was crudely pushed aside by a larger, more ancient power, leaving her to watch helplessly as her body became a marionette.

She wanted to shout “help,” to tell Klein she was being controlled.

But in the end, the only thing that escaped her lips was a dry, toneless syllable.

“—No.”

The moment the words fell, that cold sense of constriction vanished.

Control over her body returned to her.

Aphros froze in place, a massive fear making her entire body go cold. She looked at Klein, wanting to explain, wanting to say it again, but her throat felt as if it were stuffed with cotton; she couldn't make a single sound.

She could only maintain that calm, blank expression, playing the role of an innocent mermaid who knew nothing.