The mermaids who had been waiting there knew what to do when they heard the flute.
Mermaids regarded the fish in the sea much like humans on land regarded cattle and sheep. The difference was that it was much easier for them to tame fish than for humans to domesticate livestock, because mermaids only needed to sing, and the fish in the sea would obey their call.
The mermaids from Sea Country greeted each other.
"It's the signal from Mage Rhine. As agreed, it's our turn to act!"
"We must help the mermaid princess gain the Prince's love and an immortal soul!"
The mermaids hummed beautiful melodies in the sea, herding the fish like shepherds herding sheep on a grassland. They drove all the fish into the net.
Rhine picked up another shell, cast a spell, and threw it into the sea. As soon as it fell into the sea, the shell opened its mouth and sang a beautiful song, which echoed through the sea, attracting more fish.
"The mermaid princess's song!"
After a while, Rhine said, "Alright, now you can pull up the net."
The fishermen began to pull in the net, but they failed.
They exerted all their strength but could not pull up the net full of fish.
"Prince, it's too heavy. There are too many fish! I've been fishing for many years and have never seen so many fish!" the fishermen exclaimed in unison.
Rhine clapped his hands, infusing life and magic into the fishing net, and pulled up the loaded fish, causing gasps of astonishment from the surrounding crowd.
...
The final winner, of course, was Rhine.
Prince Eric held Rhine's hand, congratulating him on becoming the winner.
The mage who called himself Maglido never expected to lose to a child.
He glared at Rhine and said fiercely, "You only won against me once. This is nothing at all!"
"You wait, until I find the treasure that will make me the most powerful mage. Remember me, my name will echo throughout the continent in the future!"
Rhine ignored him, watching the furious Maglido disappear into the crowd.
Just then, a guard ran to the Prince and whispered a few words in his ear.
The Prince's gaze towards Rhine immediately held a few more hints of awe.
"So that's it, Your Excellency is the Sage of Rose Kingdom, a court mage with exquisite magic! I heard that Rose Kingdom is a prosperous northern country, and I've always wanted to see it with my own eyes."
"Respected Mage, please follow me," the Prince took Rhine's hand.
"Mage, your task is: to divine the origins of an amnesiac girl of mysterious background..."
Prince Eric led Rhine to the palace room where Ariel was, with Aurora following behind her teacher.
...
In the palace.
Princess Ariel was extremely nervous.
She heard that many powerful diviners had come to apply, and her heart was uneasy.
"What if I'm discovered to be a mermaid? What should I do?"
She listened to the maids report on the competition from inside the palace, hearing that powerful contestants were overcoming challenges and standing out.
She finally learned that the winner was a court mage from a northern kingdom, a well-known Sage.
"Oh my goodness, such a famous and powerful person has come, no wonder he could pass such difficult assessment stages!"
"Since he is a well-known, true mage—just like the Sea Hag—then perhaps he really can know my origins."
Ariel grew increasingly afraid, worried that the mage, upon discovering she was a monster, would mercilessly accuse her of being a monster and cruelly kill her. Worse than that would be not doing it himself, but making the Prince do it.
These days, Ariel had already understood that in the eyes of humans on land, mermaids were monsters symbolizing shipwrecks, storms, disasters, temptation, and curses!
...
On the way to Ariel's room, the Prince explained the task in detail.
"Respected Mage, as I just said, my father recruited diviners to ascertain the origins of a girl with a beautiful singing voice who has lost her memory.
"And my father also specifically emphasized that it must be found out how she obtained such a beautiful singing voice.
"Besides that, I personally have a special request. It relates to a voyage I took some time ago."
At this point, the Prince slightly raised his chin.
He recalled that terrifying yet heartwarming night.
"Please speak, Prince. Whether it is the task entrusted by His Majesty your country, or your personal request, I will fulfill it," Rhine responded with a smile.
Aurora, who was following behind, remained silent.
After mutual communication and planning, they had already guessed what the Prince's request was, but they tacitly kept it to themselves.
The Prince recounted that stormy night:
"A month ago, I set sail on a ship.
"Before setting sail, the sailors on board said that if mermaids were seen surfacing and singing cursed songs, the ship would encounter misfortune and be caught in a terrifying storm;
"If no trace of mermaids was seen during the voyage, it meant that the journey would most likely be calm, and bright sunshine would fall upon the sea."
"That's just a superstition," Rhine said.
He seized the opportunity to find an entry point and lay the groundwork for more important information:
"Sometimes, rumors are not necessarily true. As a prophet and diviner, I know very well that eyes often deceive humans. The truth may be far from what people know, even completely opposite.
"I have thoroughly researched mermaids and spoken with many of them.
"I know very well that mermaid songs cannot summon storms, nor will they intentionally lead sailors into dangerous waters filled with reefs and strong currents.
"In fact, quite the opposite, mermaids like to sing when a storm is about to arrive, in the darkening sky, accompanied by the storm.
"Their beautiful songs are precisely a warning, helping sailors bypass storms."
Prince Eric nodded gently:
"So that's it. Thank you for the guidance, noble Mage."
He did not doubt the truthfulness of what Rhine said.
The Sage of a certain kingdom, a diviner who had just proven his abilities, such a distinguished identity naturally gave authority to the young man's words.
The Prince continued:
"Yes. We didn't see any singing mermaids along the way, but the storm still came.
"It was a night of disaster, too terrible to recall:
"The sky was terrifyingly dark, silver lightning streaked between the black clouds, the fierce wind carried cold rain, the howling of the wind swallowed the sailors' shouts, and the sound of thunder almost shattered our eardrums.
"The waves crashed down like massive black mountains. Our ship was like a toy in that storm, constantly being tossed to the crest of a wave and then plummeting down.
"Finally, I lost consciousness and fell into the sea."
Recounting this unbearable memory, the still-young Prince's face couldn't help but turn a little pale, as if he was reliving that disastrous night.
But immediately, this handsome Prince smiled again:
"Fortunately, the huge waves carried me to the shore.
"A beautiful girl saved me, woke me up in the dawn's light, gave me food and water, and found the people nearby.
"I was disoriented at the time, but that girl's smile and figure were still imprinted in my mind.
"Coincidentally, the girl who saved me seems somewhat similar to the amnesiac girl with the beautiful singing voice.
"But I am certain they are not the same person. The girl who saved me spoke a few words to me, and she did not have such a beautiful voice. After saving me, that girl left and went to a temple in a forest.
"Respected Mage, can you help me find that girl? Can you let me know her identity?"