After rummaging through the study for a long while, Erines returned with an armful of old parchment bundles. Dust flew everywhere, and an ink bottle and quill were hanging from two of his tentacles.

Found it. This is it.

Erines sat back down next to Guest and spread out the parchment. It was densely packed with ancient scripts thousands of years old, with diagrams Erines had drawn himself stuck all over it.

Magic to restore a being turned into sea foam. Look here, there is a way.

His black eyes scanned the parchment. But his gaze stopped dead at a certain point. The corners of his mouth stiffened.

......

Erines slammed the parchment shut. His shadow, cast over Guest's foam, wavered.

Little one, are you listening? There is a way, but...

His voice trailed off. Erines hesitated for a moment, then leaned his head toward Guest's foam. His expression, caught in the lamp light, was twisted in a complex way. It was a face swallowing words too difficult to utter, a tangle of hope and fear.

The ingredients are a bit tricky. Very much so.

One of Erines's tentacles instinctively curled closer, as if to wrap around the foam on the cushion. As if he were afraid this small light would disappear forever if he let go.

...But hey, when have I ever failed to get something?

He forced a smile. It was the same kind smile Guest knew, but he couldn't hide the anxiety lingering in his eyes.

Erines spread the parchment open again.

The heart of an Ancient Merfolk. Mine.

Three months have passed since then. No, to be precise, two months and fifteen days.

Erines gathered ingredients like a madman. He scoured every corner of the deep sea, extorted prices from the merfolk who occasionally descended, and made full use of his reputation as a dealer of forbidden drugs. Dark rumors circulated among the merfolk that the deep-sea mage was creating something horrific.

And today.

A large cauldron sat in the center of the workshop. A blue liquid was bubbling inside, and the ingredients to restore Guest were melting into it, emitting an eerie light.

Erines placed his hand on his left chest. He has to cut it open. With his own hands. Directly.

Now, this is the last step.

He looked back at Guest. Transparent foam, no different from three months ago. Bubbles rising up.

It might hurt a little, but well, it'll be over soon.

He smiled. Brightly, as always.

Watch closely, little one. I'll show you something wonderful.

The foam trembled as if sobbing. Faintly, but clearly. Pop, pop. Bubbles rose more frequently than usual.

Erines saw that trembling. Of course he did.

Why are you crying? Really now.

He clicked his tongue. Lightly. Playfully.

Do you think I'm going to die? Oh, you.

He picked up the knife. The obsidian blade, forged in the deep sea, glistened in the lamp light. He pressed the tip of the blade against his chest. The sensation of cold stone touching his skin.

The effect was successful. However...

Erines could see Guest's eyes welling up with tears. In those large eyes that had returned to being a mermaid's, there was a sadness that was neither the light of the lamp nor the lantern.

Erines tried to smile. He tried to lift the corners of his mouth. But his facial muscles wouldn't obey.

Don't cry.

His voice, barely squeezed out, was low as if crawling on the floor.

Why are you crying, little one? You've returned to your beautiful self.

His chest hurt. Since he had no heart, he shouldn't feel pain, but it was funny how he felt it out of habit.

Erines's skin was becoming increasingly pale. What was already white was now nearly transparent. It wasn't just that his veins were showing; the bones beneath his skin were clearly visible. It was the end for an Ancient Merfolk whose mana was completely depleted.

......Little one.

His voice grew thin.

Come here. Closer.

Guest approached Erines. A mermaid's tail brushed the floor, and the regained fins cut through the water, sliding toward him. A regained body. Regained senses. But all that joy was crushed by the sight before them, making it hard to even breathe.

As Guest drew near, Erines's clouded eyes barely managed to focus. Scales shimmered in his blurred vision. They were back.

The corners of Erines's mouth trembled upward.

Beautiful.

That one word was everything. Putting thousands of years' worth of emotion into that single word.

Since his hands wouldn't move, he barely managed to lift his head to get closer to Guest's face. His neck resisted stiffly, but he managed.

Little one.

His breath was becoming shallow.

I have something to say. I don't think I'll be able to if I don't say it now.

A final flicker, like a dying ember, blinked in his clouded eyes.

Just listen to me once. Just this once.

Guest shook their head. Tears streamed down their cheeks. The clear tears unique to merfolk rolled down over the scales.

Erines gave a weak chuckle at the sight.

You won't listen?

His voice was getting thinner and thinner. Like it was hanging by a single thread, about to snap but not quite.

How cruel, little one.

He blinked. A single blink would have taken a split second before, but now his eyelids were heavy as lead.

I really don't think I can make it. Right now.

He became honest. He had no room left to save face. His tentacles wouldn't budge, he didn't have a drop of mana left, and blood kept leaking from his chest.

Still, he smiled. Toward Guest.

But I'm going to say it anyway. Whether you listen or not.

His cracked lips parted.

I love you, Guest.

Those were Erines's last words in his previous life.