The two of them moved through the area where mermaids lived, continuing deeper into Fish-Man Street.
And the further they went, the fewer mermaids there were, and the more fish-men there were instead. The gazes directed at Otohime and Rosse also grew increasingly hostile.
Mermaids and humans, both races were objects of hatred for fish-men. These two walking together certainly wouldn't receive any kind looks.
"I was too protected in the past," While walking, Otohime suddenly spoke.
"What do you mean?", Rosse raised an eyebrow; it was rare for Otohime to say something like this.
Otohime glanced around. This time, Rosse hadn't blocked her Observation Haki, and thanks to his training, her sensing range had also become farther.
Back when she used to pass through Fish-Man Street, her Observation Haki could only sense what was immediately nearby, anything farther away didn't register.
But now, she could clearly sense the hostile stares around them, as well as the numerous negative emotions in the hearts of the fish-men.
Those fish-men's stares looked as if they wanted to devour them alive.
"In the past, I came here many times with the Ammo Knights and never felt this much malice," Otohime said softly.
If it were before, she'd definitely have thought that any hostile fish-men were isolated cases. The majority, she believed, were kind-hearted.
But after everything she had been through, she was no longer naive.
Perhaps long ago, the contradiction between fish-men and mermaids had already taken root deeply.
Mermaids looked down on fish-men, and fish-men wanted to rise above them.
If things continued this way, one day the hidden conflict between the two races would explode.
Many things don't cease to exist just because you can't see them.
In the past, those around her all knew of her abilities, so they never let her come into contact with any of this.
Otohime understood that Neptune might've meant well, but this kind of protection by covering things up wasn't something she liked.
She would rather be open and honest, and then work hard to solve problems, rather than keep hiding conflicts and blindly trust in the wisdom of future generations, convinced the conflicts wouldn't erupt during her own lifetime.
"If you don't like it, then why force yourself?", Rosse shrugged, narrowing his eyes as he glanced at a Fish-Man who wanted to approach them.
Just one glance, and those fish-men felt as if they'd fallen into an ice cellar, completely silenced and not daring to take another step forward.
Incidents like this had already happened about ten times in just ten or so minutes.
If Otohime had come here alone, who knows what might have happened.
Otohime's aura was too gentle, completely at odds with the rough style of Fish-Man Street. The fish-men all knew she was a wealthy mermaid. Robbing her once might be enough to live comfortably for years.
"I'm not forcing myself," Otohime sighed and gently shook her head, "I want to understand the essence of this matter. I don't believe any race has inherent evil. There are fish-men with gentle personalities too. So what has led them to this point?"
She looked at the fish-men nearby who didn't dare approach but were still lingering around, her eyes filled with sorrow.
Her Observation Haki's special ability let her sense it clearly.
These fish-men harbored hostility toward her, saw her as a pampered, naive rich girl out of touch with reality, and wanted to rob her, using the money for their own pleasures.
Now that Rosse had stopped them, they didn't choose to leave, but continued to loiter nearby.
They were waiting for the robbery to happen so they could get a share of the loot.
"The essence?", Rosse sneered and glanced at the surrounding fish-men, "It's a simple truth. Whether it's fish-men, mermen, or humans, at the core, they're all people. Survival is the most basic need. You're one of Fish-Man Island's rulers. So ask yourself honestly: have you achieved that?"
He wasn't exactly a good man, but among this world's rulers, you could call him a saint.
It's not the evil rulers who are most dangerous, it's the stupid ones.
Stupid people mess things up even more easily than evil ones.
And as it happens, this world is full of rulers of all kinds of stupidity.
In Rosse's eyes, Otohime used to be one of them.
"If it were before, I would definitely say I had done a good job. But now, whether I've done a good job or not isn't something I get to decide," Otohime gently shook her head and shifted her gaze to the Fish-Man who had just wanted to approach them.
He was an orca Fish-Man, standing a full 5 meters tall, wearing floral shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, his physique exuded intimidation.
"What's your name?", Otohime's voice carried a warm, spring-breeze-like kindness that made people unconsciously trust her.
Rosse watched with interest. He knew Otohime was already using her ability.
"Huge!"
The orca Fish-Man's originally fierce face softened greatly upon hearing Otohime's voice.
"Why do you rely on robbery to survive? Can't you work honestly to earn money and support your family?", Otohime asked softly. Even though she already had a rough idea of the answer, she still hoped Huge would say something different.
"Are you joking?"
Huge sneered. Otohime's special ability didn't change his thoughts, it just made him voice them.
Hearing her question, Huge looked at her like she was a fool.
That kind of look made Otohime feel a little hurt.
"All the decent jobs have been cut off by you mermaids. What do you expect us to do? Not even the docks need this many workers. If there were so many jobs, who would want to rob? Do you think it's easy money every day?", Huge snorted coldly and, under the influence of Otohime's Observation Haki, spilled out like pouring beans, "You mermaids look down on us fish-men and don't give us any chances. And then you blame us for not working hard?"
"Lately, there's that whole princess-selection thing by Neptune, making such a big fuss. But it's all about choosing a mermaid queen. Have you seen any fish-men in the running?"
"Fish-Man Island… Fish-Man Island, sounds nice, but to put it badly, it should be renamed Merfolk Island. We fish-men are just your slaves."
Huge looked mockingly at Otohime and continued brazenly, "Recently that Celestial Dragon or whatever, along with the former queen Otohime, issued some announcement about freeing slaves. I'd like to ask that Queen Otohime, why doesn't she free us fish-men first?"
"She keeps talking about coexistence between mermaids and humans. Why doesn't she first consider letting mermaids coexist with us?"
The more Huge spoke, the more silent Otohime became.
If Rosse weren't right next to her, someone she could lean on, she'd probably have already collapsed to her knees.
She had already learned from Rosse that the conflict between fish-men and mermaids was far deeper than she had thought.
The needs of mermaids were not the needs of fish-men.
The thoughts of mermaids were not the thoughts of fish-men.
First there was the matter with Damon, and now these words from Huge, Otohime felt even more disheartened.
She wasn't sad because she now recognized the conflict. She was sad because she had only just now recognized it.
She had been a mermaid queen, and many others already knew about the Fish-Man-merfolk conflict, but no one had ever tried to tell her.
She had learned all of this from Rosse, and then confirmed it bit by bit.
Thinking of this, Otohime's eyes held a trace of self-mockery.
'So the reason fish-men ended up like this… is all because of the merfolks.'
Since no one wanted to tell her, then she would do it her own way.
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