Chapter 3962: Wise Ruler (Part 1)

"What I’m saying is that what you consider an act of kindness is going to backfire in the long run." Salaark replied. "It’s been countless millennia since the merfolk have set foot on dry land for longer than a few minutes."

"They claim they want to be here and recreate the glory of their past, but they have yet to fully grasp the price that fulfilling the dream of their ancestors demands. The merfolk have lived all their lives in the dark, surrounded by the roiling tides of the oceans that carried their songs.

"In more ways than one, they are like newborns, but with the mind of an adult. Our world is bright, dry, and noisy to them. They don’t like wearing clothes, everything is a mystery to them, and the only thing they really like about this place is the food."

"They do sound like Elysia." Lith couldn’t help but smile at the memory of the baby girl shredding her clothes with claws and fangs until he had covered her with a Skinwalker armor.

"The merfolk are much more reasonable than your daughter, but they are still tourists to the Blood Desert, Lith. They don’t belong here, and they never will unless they are willing to make sacrifices, compromise, and accept that life here is always going to be different from what they are used to.

"More importantly, merfolk are not humans, but they are still people. And people can never truly appreciate something that’s just gifted to them. To learn to value their place on the surface, they have to earn it. Fight for it.

"The merfolk must face every challenge that this new reality throws at them and decide for themselves if getting out of their comfort zone is worth so much effort. If I step in every time they face a hurdle and solve it for them, I’ll make them happy only in the short term.

"In the long term, the merfolk will come to resent all the small inconveniences that not even a Guardian’s power can fix. At that point, they’ll return to the ocean because they never felt like proud citizens of the Blood Desert, but as eternal guests in someone else’s home."

"I can see that happen." Lith nodded. "Do you want me to tell Rem I can’t help her with the Sea Heart?"

"I didn’t say that, Featherling." Salaark gave him a warm smile, hoping he would treasure that lesson. "Helping the merfolk is fine. I only suggested that you don’t solve the problem for them. There’s a big difference."

Salaark put her index and middle fingers on Lith’s forehead, sharing a detailed image of the first village the merfolk had built in the oasis with Lith via a mind link. The current one looked like the fever dream of an architect, but it was a work of art compared to the first.

The mere sight of those architectural monstrosities made Lith recoil.

"Ugly, I know, but it served my purpose." Salaark explained. "As I said, the merfolk are adults, but here on the surface, they are as naïve as newborns. It’s the reason I provided them with an empty oasis they could shape however they wanted instead of building a nice-looking village with perfect acoustics for them.

"Sure, it would have helped the merfolk to acclimate to the Desert by making them feel at home, but it would have also reinforced their status as guests and taught them nothing about how to earn their place in our world.

"They would have shut their brains and followed my lead. This way, instead, the merfolk made a mistake and didn’t need any external input to understand how big it was. Their own eyes did all the work, and the following visits to the cities did the rest.

"It became an opportunity for the merfolk to expand their horizon and let them discover what they liked and disliked about their new home. The village is still a mess, but in time, the merfolk will grow as a community and realize they need standards for their buildings.

"I’m stepping away, not because I don’t care for them, Featherling, but because I’m giving the merfolk the opportunity to grow. Every decision they make is their decision. When something goes wrong, they have only themselves to blame.

"When something goes right, instead, they feel proud of themselves. Every achievement they make reassures the merfolk that no obstacle is insurmountable and strengthens their resolve to stay here.

"They conquer this place bit by bit, and it’s overcoming the struggles that will make this place their home. Without these small victories, no matter in what country the merfolk try to settle down, our world would always be an unpleasant place full of jerks."

"I’m new to this weird wise ruler role you are assigning me, Grandma." Lith said. "How can I help the merfolk with their Sea Heart problem without becoming their savior?"

"Just treat them like your students at the White Griffon." Salaark replied. "Explain the problem to the merfolk, give them the means to solve it, and then wait for them to do the rest. Be their teacher, not their nanny."

"Thanks, Grandma." Lith gave her a small bow as she lifted the Scrambler spell.

"No problem." She said with a smile. "I’m always happy to exchange cooking recipes with you."

The last phrase helped him to decipher the baffled gazes of the people around him.

’They must have heard us talk about food the whole time. The kind of conversation you don’t expect an Overlord and a Magus to have.’ Lith thought, and he was right.

"I agree with Overlord Salaark." A young merfolk with a thick mane of yellow hair said. "Ice cream is one of your greatest achievements, Magus Verhen."

The man took a huge spoonful of chocolate-chip ice cream and shuddered.

"It’s painful to eat, but delicious. It’s worth every headache."

"Thank you, but there’s a misunderstanding." Lith was flabbergasted by the naivety that the man and many other merfolk shared. "Eating ice cream isn’t supposed to be painful. Slow down a bit and take smaller bites."

The merfolk followed the advice, and the brain freeze passed, leaving only the sweetness of the dessert filling his mouth.

"By the sea gods, ice cream is even better without the headache." He said.

"I’m glad it helped." Lith needed sheer willpower to keep smiling and not slap his forehead. "Do you mind showing me the Sea Heart? Rem asked me to take a look at it and see if I can figure out what’s wrong with it."

The stone seashell was perfectly visible at the center of the village, and Lith needed no help to find it. Yet he knew the Sea Heart’s importance for the merfolk community and requested a chaperon in deference to his hosts.

"Sure." The merfolk’s joyous expression soured in a heartbeat. "Just be careful not to sound it. It produces a terrible noise that would ruin everyone’s mood."

"Is it so bad?" Lith asked after noticing many merfolk grimacing at the mention of the Sea Heart.

"Yes, but that’s not the problem." The man said. "A Sea Heart is more than a musical instrument. It represents the soul of our people and allows us to communicate underwater from a distance.

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