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Chapter 56: Masks
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Kiramekineko
Norman didn’t think this would work. The little mermaid spent most of the day with the mermaids, and if he went back to the palace and communicated with the mermaids, the time he spent with the little mermaid would be even shorter!
He pondered for a moment and said, “An An, I think after the mermaids have terminals, we can open a chat room for them so they can chat anytime, what do you think?”
An Jin didn’t notice Norman’s small mind. His eyes lit up. “Very good! They can also help each other when they encounter problems.” He said with a pause, eyebrows arched, “If there are some things mermaids find not easy to deal with, I can help!”
Norman looked into the blue eyes of the little mermaid and said seriously, “There are a lot of mermaids, you can’t do it alone. Connect the mermaid’s communicator to the mermaid protection association, so that if the mermaid is in danger, or encounters unfriendly treatment, it can be dealt with in time.”
An Jin’s eyes lit up and he thought Norman was very thorough and couldn’t help but say, “You’re great! I’ll teach the mermaids how to contact the Mermaid Protection Association tomorrow.”
“I will inform the association and let them cooperate.”
The two were finishing their discussion when they received a reminder from the chef that dinner would be served in three minutes.
An Jin turned his tail into legs and walked up the ramp from the corner to the mobility scooter. His eyes swept over Norman, but he saw Norman had turned around at some point and was standing with his back to the sink, facing the door.
He didn’t think much of it, voice control of the mobility scooter, “Turn on.”
The control panel of the mobility scooter flashed green and at the same time Norman turned around and faced him. Norman’s eyes swept over his feet, then quickly moved away and turned again, his voice seeming a little unnatural. “Let’s go.”
An Jin suddenly realized something and looked down. The wet fishtail skirt clung to his lower body, and the outline was so obvious that it was hard to say which was more embarrassing, wearing or not wearing.
He hurriedly used his ability, the fishtail skirt quickly became dry, and when he looked again, he was relieved and just a little embarrassed by his previous carelessness. He drove his mobility scooter and went with Norman to the dining room.
When they arrived at the restaurant, he checked the hem of the skirt and saw that the folded up bottom end had not slipped before stepping out of the mobility scooter. Norman was happy to see the little mermaid sitting independently on the seat, but also a little disappointed that he didn’t need his help.
An Jin sat at the table with both feet tilted up and down in small increments, the feeling of his heels resting on the ground was obvious and made him feel grounded and very happy.
Norman easily noticed the little mermaid’s cute little behavior and felt that the little mermaid was in a happy mood, so the loss in his heart immediately dissipated. He sat next to the little mermaid, and after the chef served the food, he served the food and poured juice for the little mermaid.
An Jin’s blue eyes shone brightly, and he turned his head, about to say thank you to Norman, when he thought of the scene before when Norman stopped him from saying thank you. So his eyes curved and he gave Norman a bright smile, and used the public chopsticks to put a piece of sweet and sour pork in Norman’s bowl. “You eat too, you don’t always have to take care of me.”
Previously, he ate in mermaid form, sitting unsteadily, his left hand had to keep gripping the edge of the table, and his right hand didn’t dare to move too much for fear of slipping under the table, so he seldom gave Norman a piece of food.
Now it was very convenient!
Norman’s heart was slightly warm. The little mermaid was eating next to him, giving him sweet and sour pork, making his heart fill with sweetness. After eating, Norman suggested that An Jin should go back to the mermaid’s room to rest.
An Jin shook his head. “I want to practice walking on my feet.”
He used to practice secretly before he went to bed, but now that Norman knew, it was more appropriate to take a walk after dinner. Norman looked down at the little mermaid’s white feet on the solid wood floor; the edges of the feet were flushed pink, looking extra soft and fragile.
“Wait here for me.” Norman finished getting up and left the dining room.
An Jin was a little confused, not knowing what Norman was going to do, but still sat obediently on the seat and waited. After sitting for a couple of seconds, he decided that it was better to sit dry than to exercise, so he lifted his calves in the sitting position and then lowered them again, and so on.
Soon, Norman came back with a pair of large slippers with soft fabric.
Norman bent down, put the slippers on the floor, and caught a glimpse of the little mermaid’s little legs raised, with the rounded nail heads cocked up in a very playful manner. An Jin hurriedly put down his legs and turned sideways to look at Norman.
Norman said, “Wear mine first, the ones for you won’t arrive until later.”
An Jin hesitated for a moment, trying to lift his feet to see if the soles were dirty, but his feet were bound by the fishtail skirt, so he couldn’t do the crossing of his feet.
He thought about it for a moment, and lifted his feet together to the side, bending over to look at his body. The soles of his feet looked white and clean, but in the end his feet were bare on the ground. He straightened his upper body, drew a piece of paper, and again held his waist sideways, wiping the soles of his feet in a slightly awkward position.
Norman saw his unstable body, supported his shoulders, squatted down, took the paper in his hand, and gently held his ankle with one hand.
An Jin’s toes curled uncontrollably, his cheeks burned, and he whispered, “I can do it myself.”
Norman did not give him a chance to wipe himself. He carefully wiped the soles of his feet and threw the toilet paper into the trash. As he withdrew his eyes, Norman swept over the round, cute nailheads, rolled his throat and averted his eyes. “There, now they’re clean.”
He let go of the little mermaid’s ankle and got up and took a step back. An Jin put his feet into the slippers, which were large and set off his small feet, a bit like a child stealing adult shoes. He stood up, Norman standing in front of him, and he was noticeably aware of the difference in height between the two. Norman was almost a full size larger than him, and he could only see Norman’s chin when he looked level.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“You’re welcome, try walking?”
An Jin walked slowly, but steadily, and Norman followed him patiently, his eyes falling on him at all times, worried that he might fall. An Jin thought about it, and since he had to record later, he simply walked directly to the living room and walked slowly around it.
Norman saw that the little mermaid was slow but steady, so he put his mind at ease, stood on the sofa, and contacted Dean Yuna.
Yuna quickly connected to the communication, and with a worried tone, asked, “Your Majesty, is An An not feeling well?”
He couldn’t imagine His Majesty contacting him at night for anything else.
“He is fine.” Norman opened the door. “I have something to discuss with you. Set up a confidential research team as soon as possible to conduct research on mermaid memories.”
Yuna sighed. “There have been researchers working on it, it’s just not going as well as it should.”
“Try again with mermaid’s genes compared to An An’s genes. To keep An An’s safety experiment confidential, take a little blood tomorrow morning when Hornád examines An An’s body.”
Yuna froze and sounded excited. “It’s great that An An is willing to support this! He can master interstellar quickly, his memory is obviously normal, and we’ve been discussing asking An An for help recently.” He sounded expectant. “If we can solve the mermaid’s memory problem, the breeders won’t have to worry about being forgotten by the mermaid when they travel or go out to fight, and it will be more beneficial for humans and mermaids to develop a relationship and trust each other.”
Norman added, “In addition to the memory gene, if there are other differences, pay more attention to it.”
Yuna froze, then asked excitedly and curiously, “What else is special about An An?”
Norman did not tell Yuna that mermaids could become human; the impact of this news was too big, it was not appropriate to reveal now. His eyes flashed with thought and he decided to contact the historian to check the information of the expedition and investigate the clues of the mermaid planet.
Yuna heard that Norman did not say, understood Norman’s meaning, and did not pursue it. “I will set up the team as soon as possible, I personally lead the team.”
Norman hung up the communication.
An Jin walked for about a quarter of an hour, walked back to the sofa, and sat down to rest.
Norman looked down at him. “Already discussed with Yuna, tomorrow morning Hornád will take a little bit of your blood.” He rubbed the little mermaid’s hair. “Do not be afraid.”
An Jin felt the warmth coming from the top of his head and his eyes curved. “I’m not scared.” He opened the terminal. “I’m ready to record.”
Norman sat down next to him. “Ask me if you don’t know something.”
An Jin nodded, let go of the file, turned on the recording, and translated carefully.
Norman looked at the little mermaid, who looked serious, and his eyelashes looked sideways, making them even longer and more curved.
Soon, he noticed that the little mermaid’s cheeks were slightly puffed up, his lips were pursed, and his eyelashes also blinked.
He immediately knew that the little mermaid was disturbed by his sight. He thought the little mermaid was really sensitive. He averted his eyes, opened the terminal, and flipped through the list of teen favorites.
The underwear he bought for the little mermaid before was bought from the ranking, and just now time was too short, so he went straight into the usual store and bought slippers for the little mermaid, considering only the comfort, the style, and nothing else.
Just in time, while he had the time, he could buy shoes for the little mermaid: not only slippers, but also shoes for going out. His eyesight quickly swept the little mermaid’s feet, this was only a subconscious action. In fact, just when he wiped the soles of the little mermaid’s feet, he was already very clear about the little mermaid’s shoe size.
He found the list of footwear, removed the exaggerated styles, and bought three pairs of each of the rest that looked good, making up the most common black and white colors and adding blue.
An Jin breathed a sigh of relief. Not knowing why, as long as he felt Norman’s gaze, his heart always beat fast and he couldn’t concentrate. He used to be uncomfortable and nervous about being watched, but it was a negative dislike, not the same as when he felt Norman’s gaze. He thought for a moment about what the mermaids were expecting from the translator, and he collected his mind and concentrated on the translation.
The atmosphere in the living room was very cozy, each of them doing their own thing. Occasionally, An Jin asked about a word he didn’t know, and their arms touched, they whispered a few words, and then parted again.
An Jin was so focused that when Norman got up, he only raised his eyes slightly and didn’t pay too much attention.
When he finished translating all the documents, Norman took a pair of blue cotton slippers and put them by his feet. “Try them on.”
An Jin put them on and they fit perfectly. The fabric felt very soft against his skin. He was a little surprised. “How do you know what size shoes I wear?”
“I can tell by looking at them.” Norman paused. “Besides, I’ve touched them.”
An Jin’s eyelashes fluttered and his toes pawed at the soles of his shoes, thankful that they weren’t open toed. Norman’s eyes flashed with laughter, the little mermaid was really easy to make shy, this reaction did not mean…
He had a bright light in his eyes and was not anxious to pursue the question.
He said to the little mermaid, “The shoes for going out and waterproof shoes are put into the shoe cupboard, later go to see the position of the shoe cupboard, if it feels inconvenient, you can change position.”
An Jin froze, nodded, and passed the translated document and the previously translated sea documentary to Norman. “It’s already translated.”
Norman received it and was about to forward it to the technical department when his fingers paused. He copied the recording file, then saved the original file and converted the copied file to the system voice before forwarding it to the technical department.
He didn’t want the little mermaid’s voice to get out and be heard by others at any time. He got up and went to the mermaid’s room with the little mermaid.
When An Jin entered, he saw a new shoe cabinet on his right side, with three pairs of waterproof slippers above and a variety of men’s shoes below, including sneakers, flats, tennis shoes, and Martin boots, all in three colors.
Norman asked, “Do you want to change the position?”
An Jin shook his head. “Just put it here,” he said seriously after a pause, “I like it, thanks.”
Norman’s eyes flashed with a smile. “Good, if you like it. Rest early, tomorrow I will take you to customize the capsule mask.”
An Jin’s blue eyes suddenly lit up. “You’re off tomorrow?”
Norman nodded his head.
An Jin was so happy and looking forward to it. “What time do you want to go tomorrow?”
“What do you think about going out at nine?”
“A little earlier is fine.” An Jin, thinking of Norman’s vacation, said immediately, “Nine is fine, you can rest a little more, get up later, and go out later.”
Norman rubbed the little mermaid’s hair. “I’m used to getting up early, so I’ll book ahead for nine?”
An Jin nodded.
They agreed, said good night to each other, and Norman left the mermaid’s room.
An Jin washed up and wanted to exercise his ability, but sensing that Norman was on the second floor, hesitated and did not go to the holographic world so that Norman would not find out that he was not resting honestly. He worked out directly in the pool, and with a thought, two walls rose up in front and behind him, while a film of water covered his arms.
At first glance, it would only seem that the arms were bright, and only when he looked closely did he realize that there was water flowing rapidly. He kept compressing the thickness of the water wall and water film, and the more he practiced, the more precise his control of the water became, and in the end, almost instantly, the water wall and the water film could reach the best defense state.
A pleased look flashed in his eyes, his control of water was almost at the peak of level three, it wouldn’t be long before he could upgrade again!
—
In the morning, Norman stood outside the mermaid’s room, knocked on the door, and the next moment heard the little mermaid say, “Come in.”
He pushed the door, saw the little mermaid sitting in a wheelchair, and froze.
An Jin maneuvered the wheelchair, came to Norman, and controlled the wheelchair to turn around 360 degrees. He sat steadily, tilted his head, and looked at Norman with arched eyebrows. “After it was done yesterday, I asked for improvements, and it was delivered in the morning.”
Because of sitting, he and Norman’s height difference was a lot. He pressed the button, and the wheelchair rose. “I can also adjust the height. Very good control, also very flexible!”
Norman met the little mermaid’s bright blue eyes and was in a particularly good mood, complementing, “That’s great.”
An Jin glanced at the ground and felt a little uneasy when he was suspended in the air, so he lowered the height again. “I’ll go out with you in the wheelchair today.” He lifted his hands and shook them from side to side. “It’s not convenient to let go of the mobility scooter.”
Norman agreed. “A wheelchair is more stable and safe.”
The wheelchair was very intelligent, and the mobility scooter was installed with an intelligent scanning system. If it encountered obstacles or sensed a height difference, it would intelligently avoid them.
Seeing the little mermaid’s expectant face, he said, “Eat your breakfast first.”
An Jin controlled the wheelchair and went to the restaurant with Norman.
After breakfast, the two arrived at the restaurant, and not long afterwards HornĂĄd arrived.
Hornád looked excited, his eyes were very bright, and with a serious face he said to An Jin, “I already know about your decision from Dean Yuna, An An, thank you.”
“I can only provide blood, and I can’t help with the rest.”
Hornád said seriously, “It is enough, the rest is up to the researchers.”
He checked An Jin’s body first, made sure it was healthy, and took out a syringe.
An Jin looked at the needle, breathed hard, and subconsciously tensed up.
Hornád reassured, “Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt at all.”
An Jin nodded with a stern face, hesitated, but tilted his head, not daring to look.
Suddenly, there was a gentle touch on the top of his head. He raised his eyes and met Norman’s brown eyes. Norman asked, “Is there anywhere you want to go?”
An Jin’s eyes were thoughtful and he shook his head after a while. “Nowhere in particular, I just want to do some random shopping.”
He did not know this world well enough to know what places there were, and would prefer to go shopping to get a general idea. At this point, he felt a slight tingling sensation in his hand, with a hint of coolness, and his eyelashes fluttered violently.
Norman couldn’t resist; his fingertips gently brushed his eyelashes and rubbed the end of his eyes. “I’ll take you shopping later.”
An Jin’s eyes blinked twice quickly, not yet embarrassed, and was filled with surprise at Norman’s words. “Really?”
Norman nodded his head.
At that moment, Hornád said, “Okay.”
He put away the retrieval tube and quickly treated the pinpoint wound on the little mermaid’s hand with the healer. An Jin froze and raised his hand to look at the spot where the slight pain had been before, and there was no trace of it, as if the previous sensation had been an illusion.
HornĂĄd looked at His Majesty and thought to himself that His Majesty was really getting the hang of it.
Even though he was still a single dog, because he was worried about An An being in pain, he found a way to distract An An! If it was before, he would have said “It doesn’t hurt at all.”
Hornád’s mind was wandering, but his expression was serious as he thanked An Jin once again. “Although not much blood was taken, eat more blood-supplementing food today.”
An Jin nodded and dutifully responded, “I’ll remember.”
HornĂĄd excused himself and left for the research institute.
Norman opened the terminal search and put the search results in front of An Jin. “What do you like to eat?”
The virtual screen was full of all kinds of blood-supplementing foods. An Jin thought about it and bought some red dates.
A quarter of an hour later, the robot came to An Jin with a bag of red dates, and after An Jin cleared the impurities, he asked Norman, “Do you want to eat them?”
Norman shook his head, so An Jin took one and put the rest in the terminal space for a snack. He looked at Norman expectantly. “Is it time to go out?”
Norman’s eyes flashed with a smile and he nodded his head, secretly remembering that he would go out more often with the little mermaid when he had time.
The two of them got into the hover car and arrived at their destination ten minutes later.
An Jin noticed that the security here was very tight, and Norman said, “Usually only people with special status make capsule masks.”
An Jin was surprised.
When the mask maker saw Norman had booked and then saw An Jin, his eyes lit up. “Your Majesty, I have found the material to fit the scales, but it will be more complicated to make.”
He raised his hand, originally wanting to point at An Jin, to meet His Majesty’s slightly sunken gaze, his fingertips pointed at himself. “The mermaid cheeks have scales, but the rest of the body does not, and the two materials are naturally joined to make a natural mask.”
Norman asked directly, “How long?”
The mask maker thought for a moment. “At least a week.”
Norman nodded. “Okay.”
The mask maker said, “Your Majesty, I need to measure An An’s facial data.”
Each person’s facial structure was different; unless deliberately adjusted, a mask would only fit one person. Norman nodded and put his hand on the little mermaid’s shoulder. “Don’t be nervous, look at the camera of the measuring instrument, it will be ready soon.”
The mask maker opened his mouth and swallowed the words he was about to say to reassure the little mermaid.
Yes, with His Majesty around, it was not his turn to comfort him!
An Jin smiled at Norman. “Mn, I’m not afraid.”
The masked master listened to the little mermaid’s soft and clear voice, and understood why His Majesty was attracted to the little mermaid.
So good! Good-looking, though different from humans, but also pleasing to the eye, and could provide spiritual power, and the voice was so good!
Norman reminded him in a deep voice, “It’s time to start.”
The mask maker hurriedly took his eyes off the little mermaid and entered his work with a serious face. He was very professional; after measuring An Jin’s face data, he quickly analyzed the stereogram and quickly drew the line of demarcation between scales and skin.
After the drawing, he printed a disposable mask and let An Jin try it on.
The mask was like a piece of paper, it did not have the effect of changing the face, but it could measure the accuracy of the demarcation line drawn by the mask maker.
The mask maker asked him to tilt his head to the left, then to the right, modified the details and said, “You can take it off now, and try to make it in a week.”
An Jin raised his hand and was about to take off the mask when he felt the familiar scent of lime on his nose and the warm touch on his chin. His hand on his tail curled slightly and he raised his chin to make it easier for Norman to do so.
Norman lowered his eyes and saw the little mermaid’s eyes drooping, long and curved eyelashes trembling slightly, seemingly a little nervous, but still very good to turn his face to him. Norman’s hand paused, his fingers moved to the little mermaid’s forehead, lifting the mask from top to bottom.
An Jin closed his eyes when the mask slid down his eyebrows, felt the mask reach the bridge of his nose, and he opened his eyes. He subconsciously raised his eyes to look at Norman, but unexpectedly, his and Norman’s deep eyes met. He was slightly stunned, at this time, should not the line of sight follow the mask movement?
Norman saw himself and only himself in the little mermaid’s clear blue eyes, and his eyes moved slightly, and his heart inexplicably rose with a sense of satisfaction, and at the same time, dissatisfaction. He wanted to always be able to see him in the little mermaid’s eyes.
The masked man watched the two interact and screamed inwardly! He actually watched the first scene of His Majesty in love, live! Look at the atmosphere, it’s like a romance movie!
He was so tickled that he wanted to capture the scene on film, yet he didn’t dare to do anything because of His Majesty’s identity. He was excited and uncomfortable, and it was more than half the fun if he couldn’t share it with anyone!
Norman took the mask off, stepped back, and threw it into the trash.
The mask maker immediately regained a straight face. “If it’s ready in advance, you will be notified.”
Norman said, “Keep it a secret.”
The mask maker hurriedly said, “We are all professionals and will never divulge information about our clients except to the police.”
Norman nodded and took the little mermaid away.
An Jin looked at Norman and was a little confused, but didn’t ask right away, and only when he returned to the hover car did he ask, “Don’t they make masks that match human figures here?”
“To change family, human form for a new identity; it is separate and should not be easily exposed,” Norman responded.
An Jin suddenly understood and said, “You are very thoughtful!”
Norman said, “Because An An doesn’t know a lot of things.” He asked, “Now go shopping?”
An Jin nodded. However, without concealing their identities, he and Norman were conspicuous on the road and were surrounded by people in no time. The people were afraid of Norman’s identity and did not dare to get too close, but their eyes did not care.
Suddenly someone couldn’t resist his curiosity and asked loudly, “Your Majesty, are you in love?”
An Jin was stunned, then his cheeks burned, and he gave Norman a quick glance. Norman also looked at him, their eyes met, and the crowd immediately gathered. Norman noticed the little mermaid’s discomfort, and with a serious look at the crowd, he took the little mermaid back to the hover car.
An Jin breathed a sigh of relief. “Let’s go shopping again when the mask is ready!”
“Okay.”
An Jin thought about what the crowd was saying, and wanted to ask Norman how he was sure he liked him, but was a little embarrassed. He thought about it and decided to consult his friends who had relationship experience first.