Chapter 160 - "The Mermaid Servant And The Luminous Pearl" (extra)

One night at Emeraldia Town, Preston and Mermaine were resting in his room after traveling from Valios City. Preston's 21st birthday is in two days, and they always travel back to his hometown for his birthday. 

However, her Mermaid Servant hadn't bought anything for him yet. She had been thinking about it for days now, but she had a hard time choosing what he'd like for his birthday. 

"Master," she hopped towards where he was seated, "What do you want for your birthday?"

Preston pretended to think, "Hmmm…"

"Hmmm?" the Mermaid Servant's face lit up. If he'd give her a specific answer, she wouldn't have a hard time thinking of a gift to give him.

"Nothing. I really don't need anything, Mermaine," he told her.

"Really? Nothing?" she pouted..

The Master with black medium length hair nodded, and the Mermaid pouted once more.

"Don't waste your time and don't think too much. Your presence is enough," Preston patted her head before stroking her long, plum purple-colored hair. 

Despite that, Mermaine still wanted to give his Master a present on his birthday. Out of all the three past Masters she served, Preston was the kindest, even though he gets upset easily. He even gives her an allowance of one silver coin per day!

And so, the night before her Master's birthday, she secretly went out of the Bronzelain mansion and explored Emeraldia Town, while Preston was busy sparring with his General Brother, Peter Bronzelain. Taking with her a small pouch of silver coins for her allowance that she had been saving these past few weeks, she wore a hooded cloak and searched for a place where she could get a wonderful present. 

High walls and towers atop hills surrounding the town. Inside the walls were military houses where the soldiers dwell in, so it took her some time to find a tavern to listen to gossip. She sat on a table near a group of noisy men.

"Have you heard about the legend of the Luminous Pearl?" the oldest man opened up.

"I've heard about it many times, but it's only a legend, nothing more," the other bearded man answered.

"What's the legend about?" the youngest lad asked before drinking from his glass of beer.

"Well, according to the legend…" as he started to explain, almost everyone in the pub listened to him in their seats. 

He continued, "It is an enchanted pearl which the first Silverblade king acquired when he defeated a gigantic sea monster. It is a special artifact of the Silverblades. Once acquired, it will be embedded in a person's skin, and he or she will have ten times more power. But once removed, the power will disappear and the pearl will be turned into ashes. That is why it can only be used once, and only by one person."

There were murmurs heard as other customers reacted differently to what he just narrated.

The waitress serving the other table heard them and approached the group. "It was said that the late king gave the artifact to his nephew. Unfortunately, he lost it in a house fire," she said, gaining the attention of the customers, "There are rumors lately that it appeared in the Marketplace at Rubia Town, and they said someone bought it."

The old man nodded, "Guess what, the person is said to be headed here in our Town."

The customers gossiped among themselves, and when Mermaine heard about it, she immediately stood up. She decided to try to find the rumored person, but when she was about to reach the exit, she bumped into a drunk guy.

"What the hell, woman! Watch where you're going!" he shouted at her. 

But Mermaine only covered her face with the cloak and waited for the man to leave. Unfortunately, he did not move an inch!

"What are you doing? Move!" he pushed her shoulder, and when he saw her not following his demand, he pushed her hard on the table. 

Fortunately, a brown-haired young man caught her, preventing her from hitting the table. The drunk man was fuming mad, that he didn't care who he was speaking to. He balled up his fist and was about to punch her in the face, but the young man was swift enough to shove him to the side. He grabbed Mermaine's wrist and dashed out of the tavern. They ran away from the place and turned to the corner of the street.

Before they stopped their tracks, the man glanced over his shoulder to check if they were being followed. Since they were already safe, he asked as his calm indigo blue eyes gazed at her, "Are you alright, miss?" He recognized her to be a woman because she's wearing a skirt that could be seen under the hem of the hooded cloak.

"I am alright. Thank you for saving me, mister," she fixed her cloak. 

"What are you doing inside a place like that, by the way?" 

"I am looking for something that my Master would like for his birthday," she sighed. 

"Ah, so you're a Servant? You should always stay with your Master and not leave without permission," he glanced at her. "Anyway, have you thought of a gift for him?"

"Yes… I've actually heard of the legend of the Luminous Pearl, but it was just from the gossip mongers, so… " she shrugged her shoulders.

"If you do not mind, may I ask who's your Master?" 

"He's Sir Preston Bronzelain, the brother of General Peter Bronzelain ."

"Brother of a General, huh?" he crossed his arms and rubbed his chin while thinking. If her Master is part of an influential and powerful family, then he would be a great help in reclaiming his throne. Now, he just had to persuade this Mermaid Servant to be on his side. "And your name, please?"

"I'm Mermaine," she looked up to him. "Do you perhaps know my Master?"

He shook his head, "But I hope to meet him soon," and he continued walking. He led her to an alley and checked if they were safe. 

Mermaine looked at him confusingly. Since he saved her, she somewhat felt that he's a kind man, so she still followed him. 

"I will give you a gift that he might like, but you should promise me one thing," the young man took out something from his knapsack, and it was wrapped in a blue velvet cloth. He handed it to her small hands. "Promise me that your Master will be my ally."

"Ally? What do you mean, Sir?" her forehead creased while also trying to figure out what's under the cloth. 

"I would need several allies soon, and I need you and your Master to be on my side," he said with all seriousness in his voice.

"But, how could I trust you if we just met?" she looked at him. 

"Take a look at it," he pointed at what she was holding. 

The Mermaid Servant carefully removed the velvet cloth covering the object, and her eyes widened upon seeing the bluish glow coming out of the pearl, "This… this is the-"

"Yes, it's the Luminous Pearl," he uttered.

"Why do you have this?" she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"You'll know soon enough," he patted her shoulder. "Send my birthday greetings to your Master. I will be off now." 

"Wait!" she grabbed her arm. "Who are you?"

"I'm Levi," he gave her a kind smile. He remembered that he needed to leave Emeraldia town to meet Xenos in Valios City, because he found the other two luminous pearls. He said goodbye to Mermaine, walking out of that narrow alley.

The following day, which was her Master's birthday, Preston was waiting for her at the entrance of the Bronzelain mansion. He has been looking for her since last night. He only thought that his Mermaid Servant went to swim at the lake, but she was not in his room as soon as he woke up that morning. 

"Master Preston!" Mermaine called out, and when Preston saw her, he quickly ran to her.

"You're late! I've been looking for you since last night after my training!" he told her sternly as he grabbed her arm. "Where have you been?"

The Mermaine Servant saw how his jaw was clenching his jaw, so she quickly knelt down in front of him. "I am deeply sorry for being late, Master! I just explored the town last night, but I lost my way?," she bluffed. 

"What are you doing? Stand up," he helped her stand up. "And you lost your way?"

She only nodded and stood up.

"Fine," he turned his back on her. "Let's go inside. They're' waiting-" 

She took something from her bag when he was not looking, and pulled his arm, "Master!"

"What is it?"

And when Peter looked at her, his eyes widened in surprise. Mermaine was holding a clam shell wrapped in velvet cloth embroidered with the crest of the Silverblades.

"Ta-da!" the Mermaid Servant beamed a smile at him. 

"What is this?" he took it and stared at her.

"A gift!"

"I told you I don't need anything! You even made me worried-"

"Just open the shell, Master," she told him, waiting in anticipation.

Preston removed the cloth and opened the shell, revealing the luminous pearl given by the young man last night to the Mermaid Servant. He knew it was genuine based on the crest embroidered on the cover cloth. As he covered the pearl partly with his hand, a bluish glow was emitted, which was a distinct feature of the luminous pearl according to what he read from the old reference scroll in his brother's library.

"Mermaine…"

"Happy birthday, Master Preston!" she gave him a quick hug. "I hope you like my present!"

"Of course, it's from you," he finally showed her a warm smile, touched with the sweet gesture of his Mermaid Servant. After re-wrapping the shell with the velvet cloth, he placed it in his pocket. "Come on, let's get inside. Everyone's waiting." 

And so, the two of them started to walk towards the mansion. Mermaine was happy that her Master liked her gift, but she didn't know that for him, she's worth more than a thousand pearls.