The Apple Grotto Nymph (Dungeon Core Fairy Tale)

The merman stared at the human who was sitting next to Theanore. He was sipping tea. Marinus had his own cup in his hand. He rather liked the strange brew, especially the sweet fruits that floated in his cup.

"So, what are your intentions for my daughter?" Crassus asked. Marinus met his stern gaze with a grin.

"I plan to marry her when she gets older," that had been Marinus' plan ever since he had seen her reflection in the pool. The little nymph was adorable with her strawberry-blonde curls. As if the sun itself was captured so that it could be spun into her hair.

"How old are you, boy?" the man asked, nose held high at Marinus. The merman thought he didn't like this expression at all.

"I am five years old," the merman said. There were only five years of a difference between them. Surely, her father would see that.

"You are too old," the merchant dashed Marius hopes without any mercy. "And my little nymph is too precious for a merman. She needs a nice male nymph. A strong oak or a sweet peach."

"I am not too old! I am good enough!" Marinus protested. His eyes looked stormy.

Merfolk didn't like humans, and humans didn't like merfolk. The two species hunted each other with a passion. That they were having a conversation in such a civil manner was a miracle.

"Then prove it. Give my daughter that which would help her the most in her life."

That crafty human! He knew the legend. And Marinus did have his very own sea horn, just like every member of his species. But a sea horn was linked to the life of a merman. If it broke, then Marinus would turn into sea foam.

"Father, what are you talking about?" Theanore asked, confused. Why did Marinus look so pale?

"About the sea horn of his. You can order any sea creature you want to follow your orders with it."

"I don't want it. System, why is Marinus so pale?"

The sea horn is linked to a merman's soul. The merman dies upon its destruction.

"Father, how could you ask for something that can kill my friend?" She asked, and the man looked down in shame.

"Mermen are dangerous, little nymph. They are tricksters that cause storms that sink ships. They kill people, Theanore."

But Theanore wasn't listening. She jumped into the pool and showed her back to her father.

"I will not speak with someone who tried to kill a child," she said. Had she looked back, she would have seen the hurt expression on her father's face. But her eyes were locked on Marinus' own. And the gratitude that radiated from them.

"Theanore, I have spoken with some of the villagers back home. They say that a lot of merfolk were seen around this cave by fishermen. He will bring his kind to you, and you will be defenseless."

"I will welcome more friends," the nymph said stubbornly.

"I won't bring anyone to her. She is a dungeon core," Marinus said with a frown, and it was the merchant's turn to pale.

"Truly? I thought all nymphs could grow plants and command animals," Crassus knew of the ant colony that followed Theanore's orders. She had even made them dance for him. It had been a strange sight to see waltzing ants around his feet.

Warning:

The knowledge of your dungeon core status has been made known to a human. What would you like to do?

Eliminate the threat.

Ban the human from the grotto and prepare to defend the apple tree.

Swear the human to secrecy using a soul vow.

"The third option! System, this human is my father!"

 No answer came from the system for a while. Then a piece of paper appeared out of nowhere into the hands of the merchant. He began to read it, his brows furrowing more and more as he did so.

I, Crassus, hereby swear that I will keep the secret of Theanore the nymph. Her grotto would remain out of any conversation that I hold. When the conversation is not held with her, of course.

I, Crassus, hereby swear that I will keep supplying Theanore the nymph with quality-of-life items common to a human settlement. That would be done as a penalty for trying to trick Marinus the merman, also known as the boss of the silver longtail poolroom…

"A boss mob? Theanore, get away from him! He is a boss monster!"

Marinus looked at the little nymph, who looked equally confused.

You didn't use your mana on anything today, so I took the liberty to upgrade Marinus from a laborer to a boss mob.

Oh, no! Marinus was going to hate her now. This was enslavement!

"System, how do I undo it?" Theanore asked, biting her lower lip.

You can't. Boss monsters live for the dungeon and if their level is high enough, they become dungeon cores after the original dungeon core is destroyed.

"Theanore, did you make me into a boss monster?" Marinus asked, looking hurt. She shook her head, tears falling from her eyes.

"The system did it without asking me," she tried to defend herself, but Marinus was already swimming away through the tunnel. He, too, was crying. When he couldn't go into the open sea, he wailed.

His freedom was gone, and he was betrayed. He might as well give Theanore his sea horn. Swimming to his hiding place, he took the stone carving of a horn. One couldn't blow air through it and make sounds, but it was powerful all the same.

When he swam back into the pool, he saw that Theanore was still in it. She wasn't afraid of him. He placed the sea horn below her nose and waited for her to command him.

"I'll make this right. You'll see." She said, taking the horn. Marinus watched as his first love dug an even greater wound in his heart by getting out of the pool and rushing down a tunnel.

Theanore ran, and her father followed close behind. She reached her apple tree and began to dig around its roots. Not close enough to uproot the sapling, but close enough to hide the sea horn into its roots.

Hands helped her dig. She blinked back tears as Crassus upturned more of the soil than she could have on her own. Once they had a big enough hole, her father stopped her.

"Theanore, your roots are not very strong now, but soon they will be. They will break the horn. Let us put it in the silver jewelry box I brought you today."

Theanore hadn't thought about that. That her own growth could mean Marinus' death. She had only wanted to hide this piece of his soul away. To protect it. For if someone wanted to get at it, they needed to uproot her. She would do much and more to protect both herself and Marinus.

Crassus placed the sea horn into the box carefully. Then they buried it into the roots of Theanore's apple tree. Getting some water on top of the soil and the tree's stem shot up to a full meter.

Level gained: The sea guardian.

Theanore has chosen to protect her first real friend's life with her own. As such, her apple tree grows so it can better serve as a distraction to anyone who knows of the sea horn in its roots.

Additionally, as it was done without permission, the status of Marinus as a boss monster is revoked until further notice.

Theanore whooped with joy at this, and she told her father what the system had told her. Crassus was relieved that the merman boy was no longer a boss mob.

Boss mobs gave out a lot of mana. More than even a core could give. The boy could have attracted unspeakable horrors to his daughter's grotto.

They returned to the pool cavern and saw a relieved Marinus.

"I saw the letters. They are real," he said, then he looked down. "I am sorry for doubting you. I should have known you would have never enslaved me."

"You can leave if you want," Theanore said, blinking back tears. It would kill her if Marinus swam away now, but she would understand. What if the system went back on its word and enslaved Marinus again?

"I would never. If you protect my sea horn, it is only right that I protect you. Just not as a monster mob," Marinus smiled.

 Theanore was suddenly in the pool, paddling towards her friend. Soon she was hugging him and crying on his shoulder.

"If you ever leave me, all my leaves on my apple tree would feel like they have dried up!" She said, hiccuping.

"If I ever leave you, my scales are going to dry up and nothing I do will ever make them healthy again," Marinus said.

Then they looked at each other, sharing a laugh. All was forgiven, all was mended and healed.

Just as it should be.