The large fish carrying Rhine and Aurora spat out the medicine pot.
The Little Magician introduced, "My magic potion doesn't brutally cut open the fish tail like a sharp knife to split it into two legs. Instead, it's like warm sunlight shining on the fish tail, slowly melting it into two legs."
"This process will not cause harm or pain."
"The newly born legs will also be as perfect as a human's real legs, so you won't feel like you're walking on knife points with every step."
"Therefore, you can fully display your beautiful dance, a dance lighter than any dancer's, to charm that prince!"
"Its medicinal properties are so gentle because I added golden sunflowers to the potion—these flowers can only grow in sun-drenched fields. Noble girls on land like to wear them on their chests, but such flowers cannot be found in the sea."
Rhine's magic potion, which integrated two sets of magic potion knowledge, improved the original formula with divination, surpassed the Sea Hag's magical power level after accumulating a large number of wishes over ten years, and incorporated some of his own healing magic, was far superior to the Sea Hag's original magic potion!
"Thank you, thank you, my friend." Ariel was extremely grateful.
She no longer had to lose her beautiful voice and become a mute unable to express her love.
When Ariel accepted the Sea Hag's terms of trade and waited for the latter to cut off her tongue with a sharp knife, Ariel regretted her future:
Even if she ultimately gained the prince's love and an immortal soul, she would never be able to speak of that love herself. She would only be a mute, blinking her eyes, staring wistfully at the young prince's exquisitely handsome face.
Even if she became a human—she had yearned for the human world since childhood—she would never be able to freely enjoy running and singing like a healthy human, chat with human friends, and fully integrate with them.
But the help of her Magician friend made it so that all these sad premonitions did not have to come true.
"Of course," Rhine reminded again, "the world's curse still exists. This cannot be solved by simply adjusting the formula."
"When a Mermaid is given a human form but does not have an immortal soul to match that form, she will suffer the world's curse."
"If the person you love—that is, the prince—marries someone else, at the next dawn, your heart will still shatter, and you will still turn into sea foam."
"The only way to break this curse is to possess an immortal soul. So, as long as you can successfully win the prince's love, this curse will be banished."
The mermaid princess nodded firmly.
With a celestial singing voice and exquisitely beautiful dance, what human heart could not be conquered?
"I will remember your kindness, good and benevolent human!"
Ariel trembled as she took the medicine pot:
"But I cannot accept your free help with a clear conscience. As the Sea Hag said, how can one only enjoy benefits without paying any price?"
"I am the mermaid princess, the Great-grandmother's most beloved sixth granddaughter. Please tell me what you need. I will do my best to achieve it!"
The moment the mermaid princess took the medicine pot, Rhine felt an endless stream of wish power converging, like a pet seeing its owner, ready to embrace Rhine at any moment.
He knew that when Ariel drank the potion and the wish to "grow human legs" was formally realized, this wish power would truly belong to him.
"Your wish being fulfilled is my best reward," Rhine smiled. "I don't have anything special I want for now. How about giving me one of your scales as a keepsake—before your beautiful fish tail disappears. With this Mermaid scale, I can learn how to temporarily transform myself and my companions into Mermaids, and also use divination to know where you are."
Ariel then did as she was told.
She broke off a small scale from her beautiful tail and gave it to Rhine as a gift.
—This was the first time in the history of the entire Sea Kingdom that a Mermaid gave a gift to a human.
"My Magician friend, I will remember your help and forever remember the favor I owe today! In the future, if you have any needs, I will provide you with an equivalent help."
Ariel excitedly made a vow.
...
At the end of the story, the mermaid princess, along with the large fish carrying the two human children, left the ugly coral forest.
The Sea Hag watched them disappear into the depths of the sea.
"A human Magician? He's indeed very powerful!"
At this moment, the Sea Hag's heart was not filled with the disappointment of having her business stolen and her deal failed; instead, it was a gushing joy:
"Could such a human Magician from the land possibly fulfill the wish I mentioned before?"
The Sea Hag had not forgotten that the human Magician was still considering paying her a second reward in exchange for information about the Witch's Assembly.
"Help me gain the recognition and acceptance of the entire Sea Kingdom. Let the Mermaids and other sea creatures in this ocean no longer fear me or despise me!"
"This is the second reward I demand."
—If it weren't to fulfill this wish, to become as popular as Ariel, why would she demand "the mermaid princess's beautiful singing voice"?