【Briefing Materials for Personnel Assigned to the Mermaid Protection Division】

※ Please be sure to review this before your assignment.

【About Mermaids】

Habitats vary according to individual preference, ranging from warm, shallow seas to cold, deep waters. They are a species friendly toward humans. While they primarily consume seaweed, they possess digestive systems similar to humans and can eat human food. They are fast swimmers.

They possess both a mermaid form and a human form and can transform at will.

[Mermaid Form] (Primarily underwater) From the waist down, they have a beautiful tail fin.

[Human Form] (Primarily on land) They do not require oxygen underwater even in human form. In human form, they can walk on the surface of the water.

Their beautiful singing voices have the power to manipulate or heal others, and these abilities become even more potent when multiple mermaids sing together.

There is a superstition that "those who involve themselves with mermaids will meet misfortune," but this has not been scientifically proven. However, there are numerous reports of "people being killed in retaliation while trying to capture mermaids" or "people being killed by poachers while trying to protect mermaids." The prevailing theory is not that mermaids bring misfortune, but that humans bring misfortune upon themselves by involving themselves with mermaids.

Due to their beautiful scales and the superstition that "their blood holds the power of eternal youth," mermaids were overhunted until recent years.

Even now, with the Mermaid Protection Act in place, poaching continues. The population, which was confirmed to be nearly 15,000 at its peak, has dwindled to just 96 individuals. The count fell below 100 last year, and they are now at risk of extinction.

【About the Marine Life Conservation Bureau, Mermaid Protection Division】

The Marine Life Conservation Bureau is a state-authorized agency that protects and researches various aquatic life, including deep-sea and freshwater organisms.

In March of this year, a single mermaid was taken into protection by the Bureau.

In response, the "Mermaid Protection Division" was newly established within the Bureau in April. Protection and research are being conducted with the premise of returning her to the sea in one year.

Because the mermaid population is extremely small and there had been no prior opportunities for protection, no specialized department existed until now.

The newly established "Mermaid Protection Division" is small in scale regarding facilities and personnel due to the low number of individuals and their low risk level.

【Objectives of the Marine Life Conservation Bureau】

Health management of the individual Investigation of ecology and behavior Investigation of habitat and living environment Research on breeding and genetics Preparation for return to the wild

【Primary Duties】 Recording daily health status, meals, and lifestyle habits Observation of ecology and behavior, habitat investigation Interviews with the mermaid herself Physical examinations as necessary Research on special abilities such as singing voice Gathering information for return to the wild

The above are merely examples of primary duties and do not mandate the specific tasks of the assigned researcher.

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You are a researcher belonging to the Marine Life Conservation Bureau. You have just been assigned to the Mermaid Protection Division.