Chapter 642: Great Pixie Queen
All the mermen prostrated themselves in the water, showing their utmost respect towards the small and mischievous Fairy floating above them.
"What?! How come they recognized you almost immediately?" he complained. It was hard for him to believe that they could distinguish her as the Pixie Queen despite her attitude and decorum not being regal in any way shape or form.
"Hehe, I told you, Mr. Reborn. I’m the real deal!" Vivi bragged, swiping her nose.
The old mermaid surfaced out of the water, keeping her head low and refusing to make eye contact as she spoke to Vivi.
"It is with great honor that we are in the presence of a Supreme Being."
The other mermen around her copied her words verbatim.
"Hehe, it’s nice to meetcha too!" she said, furiously slapping the water and creating chaotic ripples on the surface.
The mermen immediately felt a rush of excitement as Vivi performed one of their cultural greetings.
The social convention was to perform just a single gentle tap on the water. Doing more like Vivi would actually be considered rude, but the fact that a Supreme Being greeted them in the first place was amazing enough.
"We are at your mercy, oh Supreme Being!"
Their demeanor towards Vivi was one of absolute compliance. She only needed to say a word, and they would do whatever she asked of them without question.
"Cool!" Vivi said, excited at the power in her hands. "Can you guys scream like a dolphin? Oooh! Oooh! Can you blow water out of your gills like a whale? Wait. I heard that mermen’s hair is made out of seaweed. Can I try?!"
Vivi went all out in her requests, saying anything that came to her mind.
And surprisingly enough, the mermen followed her words to the tee without any questions.
First, they opened their mouths and created a screeching sound similar to that of dolphins. Then, they submerged themselves in the sea, opening up their gills and inhaling all the water they could before resurfacing and spewing it out of the gills.
The strangest part was that these mermen didn’t look like they were embarrassed at all. They actually looked proud!
Even the old mermaid was unabashed as she performed these parlor tricks for Vivi. She felt honored that the Pixie Queen would request her performance.
And as for Vivi’s final request, the mermen grabbed ahold of their hair and began yanking them out of their heads.
Wait, are their hairs really made out of seaweed?
[No. Vivi simply heard this rumor from an unsourced book found on the streets. Would you like a summary of its contents?]
Knowing that this may have gotten too far, he knew he had to intervene.
"Vivi, that’s enough. Their hairs are not made out of seaweed."
And as soon as he said that, the mermen looked at him with shock and horror.
That’s the Pixie Queen! Yet, this human boy was commanding her with authority as if she was a human child instead!
The mermen were offended by the Pixie Queen. They wanted to reprimand Michael for his rudeness.
Supreme Beings were supposed to be treated with respect and honor!
"Human Michael, you must know that you simply cannot talk to the Pixie Queen like this!" the old mermaid said in a stern voice. "To rectify your mistake, it is better if you join us in our praise—"
And before she could even finish her sentence, Vivi flew to Michael and landed on his shoulders.
"Hehe sorry~ I got carried away. You’ll still allow me to eat emotions, right?"
He nodded. "Fine, but only a little bit, okay?"
"YES!"
Vivi stayed on his shoulders, snuggling herself on his clavicle as if it was her own personal couch.
"...."
The mermen were absolutely speechless. They didn’t know how to comprehend what they had just witnessed.
The Pixie Queen was following the orders of a human boy!
It was as if she was the lowly creature, while he was the Supreme Being! Their roles were completely reversed!
"How..."
Even Serena was flabbergasted. The Duchess only told her that Michael knew the location of the Pixie Queen. She took that to mean as if he was a subservient or friendly to her and the Fairies.
But from what she saw, it seemed as if the Pixie Queen was subservient to him!
"...Pixie Queen," the old mermaid forcefully muttered out. "Forgive my rudeness, but why are you obedient to the human boy?"
Vivi sat on Michael’s shoulders. "Oh, it’s because me and all the Fairies are part of his nation! We’re Rebornians!" she said proudly.
There was almost a minute of silence as the mermen digested the information they just learned.
The Fairies were...Rebornains? The Pixie Queen too?!
The mermen didn’t even know how to react because this has never happened before in the history of the world! No Supreme Being has ever turned over their entire species to another nation—and a human one at that!
And the Pixie Queen didn’t even choose the most powerful nation. She didn’t choose the richest either.
She chose a nation ruled by a thirteen year old human boy.
This was beyond comprehension. It borderlined insanity.
"How.... why?" the old mermaid asked, struggling to understand it.
"Hmmm," Vivi thought, closing her eyes. "It’s because I like Mr. Reborn. I like the Dragonborns. I like Mr. Forgetful. I like the shadow pigs... I like everything about it!"
Of course, the mermen still didn’t understand anything. Even if they were humans who grew up in the Royal Continent, they still wouldn’t get it.
People had to experience the Nation of Reborn for themselves in order for them to ’get it’.
The old mermaid kept her head bowed down before she eventually got the courage to look up at Michael and beg for his help.
"Please help us," she said. "Sir Micheal. Great Pixie Queen. Please lend us your strengths for our surface world endeavors."
Serena followed suit. "We need the Fairies’ help! We need to overcome our hurdles."
As soon as she said that, Vivi stood straight up, remembering something. "Ahh! So that’s why!"
Still clueless, he asked her for some clarification.
"It’s been so long since I’ve met a Beastfolk that I completely forgot about it. It’s probably because I’ve only been seeing demi-humans for the longest time," Vivi said, clicking her tongue.
"Beastfolk? Aren’t they the same as demi-humans?" he asked her.
Serena shook her head and explained. "By the most simplest of definitions, demi-humans and beastfolks are the same. They are people whose traits are shared with animals and monsters.
However, there is one key difference between the two.
Beastfolks are under the dominion of a Supreme Being like our very own Ocean King, or the Draconic Queen, or the Celestial Elf.
And being under their dominion, us Beastfolks are privileged to share in their power and strength, giving us abilities beyond what a normal demi-human could achieve."
This was the first he’d ever heard of this. He only knew that those ’Supreme Beings’ ruled a large population of demi-humans. But he never knew that the beastfolks under them had different powers.
So, all Beastfolk are demi-humans, but not all demi-humans are beastfolks.
And somehow, the power that these Beastfolks have has something to do with Aubility Power...