Berserk 313

01)
Chapter 313 - Fantasia Arc
Fairy Island Chapter
Beings of the Wicked Ocean

1: Woooow! Really?
2: So you're the witch friend Ishidoro was talking about!
3: My name is Schierke.
4: I'm Ivalera.
5(2b): Wooow, today really has been crazy! My house hasn't ever seen a witch or a fairy
visitor! Go on, eat up! All I have are potatoes, fish, seaweed, and soup, though!
6: Th-thanks...looks delicious.
7: I just finished hearing about the hero Ishidoro's great adventures!
8: Will you two tell me yours as well?!
9: The hero Ishidoro?
10: Excuse me, but before that...
11: Would you mind telling us a bit about yourself and this island instead?
12: Myself?

02)
1(2b): ...I dunno, I think it'd be pretty boring if I did.
2(2b): All I do is fish...and there isn't much to say about this washed-up island.
3(2b): That can't be so. Please, by all means...
4: This island is a solitary one removed from both the mainland and sea routes.
5: Since we don't even have enough water or food to appease the crews on big ships, the
only real visitors we get from outside are people riding on vessels just waiting to
shipwreck like you guys.
6: This rustic fishing village is our only town.
7: And the villagers don't take kindly to outsiders...
8: They're all a bunch of gloomy,
9: spiteful, irritating jerks!

03)
1: So then you're living here all by yourself, Isma?
2(2b): Well, sorta! Even if they asked me to, I'd refuse! I could never stand to live with
a bunch of rotten fish-eyed creeps like them!
3: ...well
4: That's one of my reasons.
5: There's actually another one...
6: I'm actually
7: being shunned.
8: Shunned...
9(2b): ...wait, why?!
10(2b): ...heheh. They're afraid.
11: All of 'em.

04)
1: I'm
2: a Merrow (*mermaid).
3: A Merrow...
4: Gotchaaa! Just kidding! You thought I was serious?! Was that funny?! Was that funny or
what?!
5: Oh, it was just a joke?
6: I just wanted to try and join in with you fairies and witches, that's all!
7: Forgive me, will ya?!
8: Is that really how they look?

05)
1: ...but it's true that I'm being shunned because of being a Merrow.
2: What do you mean?
3: My late father
4: was courting a Merrow.
5: T-then you really
6: are a...
7: Unfortunately, I'm all human.
8(2b): I'm as good as a Merrow when it comes to fishing, but even if I stay in the water
for an entire day, my legs never turn into fish scales or anything.
9: My mother has been gone ever since I was little, you know.
10: And dad would never tell me anything about her...

06)
1: Through dealing with the stupid kids who always used to tease me,
2: and hearing the adults gossip, though, I indirectly came to understand.
3: Four years ago, after his ship was capsized by raging waves,
4: my father told me on his deathbed
5: that someday, my mom would come for me.
6: Apparently, that ornament on the door to this house is a Merrow charm my mom used to
wear.
7: The shells and turtle carapaces lying around are also so. They supposedly ward off evil
spirits.
8: I've never seen a Merrow once myself, though.
9: So to be honest, I don't really know if I believe in them...
10: And so gradually, daily life caught up to me, and it all stopped mattering...
11: However! The fact that you people and your fairies are standing in front of me right
now!
12: ...means that it wouldn't be strange if Merrow really did exist, right?!
13(2b): But why, I wonder?

07)
1: Merrow are fairies of the sea, correct?
2: I've also heard that they are a race friendly toward humans. They should be good fortune
for fishermen...
3: What reason would they have to detest you so?
4: That's because of the legend of the Sea God
5: that has been passed down on this island since ancient times.
6: A long, long time ago, a frightening Sea God went wild in this ocean,
7(3b): attacking ships, eating people, and feasting on all the fish,
8: making it into a sea of death, void of all life.

08)
1: Unable to go on watching this, a group of fishermen declared war on the Sea God.
2: Countless months and days passed,
3: and after losing many comrades,
4: the Merrow finally sealed the Sea God on this island.
5: The war ended, the Merrow disappeared
6: and the fish returned to the sea.
7(2b): However, he power of the Sea God is strong, and when the full moon nears, long arms
and legs begin to stretch out from within the island's cave,
8: attacking the fisherman on this island and other boats that come near it, they say.

09)
1: The people of this island are afraid of incurring the wrath of the Sea God,
2(2b): and so as a result they abhor the Merrow, who they should rather be thanking.
They're sly little devils!
3: Hey, that Sea God...
4: Yes...
5: But lately, things have been getting a little weird around here.
6(2b): It looks like the villagers haven't been out fishing at all lately, and there aren't
any signs of people around the port. It's like everyone's holed up into their houses.
7: Sometimes, when I pass by, I can see eyes staring at me from behind cracked-open
windows...
8(2b): For some reason, they don't feel human to me...more like the eyes of fishes...
9: Also, once in a while,
10: I can hear the sound of something crawling from within the cave of the Sea God.

10)
1(2b): It isn't just this island. The sea also
2(2b): feels strange, and I sometimes hear voices there.
3: The last nail in the coffin, though,
4: is your arrival!
5: ...ever since that bizarre wind blew by, it feels like the world's been flooded with
mysteries.
11: ...wind?

11)
1: These are pretty meager rations, but I guess now's no time to be pining for luxury. I'll
just be happy if I can sleep one more night on a bed that doesn't shake.
2: Wouldn't that be a critical blow to your business, however? That predisposition of
yours...
3: Yes, you do have a point!
4: S-silence! It's my subordinates' jobs to go flying over the world!
5: The one in charge should keep his hips firm and give out orders instead!
6: Anyway, it's been bugging me as to how the ship's holding up, so we'll be heading out
now. I'll come back for you in the morning.
7: Make it noon, if possible.
8: Good night!
9: Good work, everyone.
10: ...hm?

14)
1: What? More customers? This place sure got crowded all of a sudden...
2(2b): Maybe we're the first visitors this place has had in a while, and so they've planned
to welcome us in proper? That's fine attention for such a bucolic place, but come on, if
they come to know that we are members of the one and only Vandimion Family, they'll fall
quaking on their knees!
3: ...that doesn't seem to be...
4(2b): No, no! We welcome you in, fine guests!
5(2b): Tonight's full moon is also a special one.

15)
1: It commemorates the revival ceremony
2(2b): of this island's master, the Sea God.

17)
1: And we're to be the offerings, eh?!
2: Stuffed foods, is it?
3: Again...?! Is this really happening again?! Give me a break alreadyyyyyy!

20)
1: The thing from this morning...!
2: ...which means
3: could it be, they're...
4: Well, well.
5: this really is turning out to be a passionate welcome.

21)
1: All of the villagers are tentacles!
2: But where is the main body of the Sea God?!