F-Rank Puppeteer!! But I'll be Queen, and I'm not a narcissist!!!!! Chapter 278: Nerina

"...Ugh..." I push myself up, a terrible headache pounding behind my eyes as I feel sand sticking to my skin. I look down and realize I’m completely naked, which makes my tail curl around my thigh.

"H-Huh?" I glance around, seeing a calm beach, but what shocks most is when I look down and see a girl. She sends strange chills down my spine.

She’s tall, maybe around two ters, with enormous breasts and a sharp-featured face. Her eyes are a deep crimson, and her skin is a soft cyan blue. Her long hair is a dark shade of blue, and her overall figure is voluptuous, yet she radiates a strange, unsettling aura. On top of that, she has a strong scent of blood about her, and a long, blue, scaly tail. Like , she’s naked.

"W-Who are you?...Wait...who...who am I?" I stare at my hands in confusion, but when I try to rember, my head throbs with pain.

"Glad you’re awake. Your na is Evelyn... Evelyn... Evelyn Ashcroft, that’s it." She speaks with a small smile, stepping a little closer. Her body is slightly translucent in so places, as if made of water.

’[Evelyn, don’t trust her! She’s locking your mories away with magic so you can’t rember!!]’ A strange buzzing echoes in my head, but it sounds so distant I can barely make it out.

’[EVELYN!! She’s dangerous!! Listen to !!! No one knows you’re missing! All because you told Eve not to look for you!! For at least three months, no one will notice you’re gone! At most, they’ll get suspicious, but no one will co after you!!]’

’[She can only block your mories temporarily! But you’ll only rember if you fight her!! Evelyn, you have to resist!! She’s even worse than I am! I’m Arial! Rember!! She’s-]’ The buzzing turns into static, and I can no longer understand it until it fades away completely.

"Y-You didn’t answer ." I say to her. She stares at for a mont, then suddenly a small, glowing screen appears before .

[Na = Nerina Thalassa

Race = Nymph / Oceanid

Title = Devourer of the Ocean

Status Classification =

Strength = SSS

Stamina = SSS

Defense = SSS

Physical Defense = SSS

Magic = SSS

Magic Defense = SSS

Vitality = SSS ]

"As you can see, I’m Nerina, a nymph like you. Just look at your own Status." As she speaks, I eye her with suspicion, but I obey. To my surprise, a flood of information appears before .

’So that’s... ? Oh... I look pretty strong.’ There are so skills listed there that make smile.

"How... do you know I’m a nymph?"

"Oh, because we’re friends, obviously. How else would I know? But you had an accident at sea, so I brought you safely to this island... Doesn’t thinking about the past make you sad?" As she says this, a wave of nausea hits .

"..." I feel tears streaming down my face, but I don’t understand. I can’t rember why, but sothing about the past makes uncomfortable, sad, and it hurts so much.

"You had a terrible past, but don’t worry. I’m here to help you, Evelyn." She steps toward as I back away.

"D-Don’t co closer. You didn’t seem to know my full na earlier. How can you claim to know ?"

"It’s because you never fully introduced yourself to . But tell , don’t you feel anything when you look at ?" She spreads her arms, showing off her body, which makes blush and look away.

"...W-What about my clothes?" I cover my breasts and private parts with my hands, dying of embarrassnt.

"They were destroyed by the sea. Besides, I’ve been protecting you for about three days now. Look." She approaches before I can retreat, spins around in the sand, and makes look out at the ocean. When I do, I shudder violently. There are dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of monsters in the water.

"..." I retreat weakly behind this nymph who claims to know . But looking at my own skills, I can’t understand one thing.

’If I really am a puppet, as my skills describe, why can’t I rember anything?’ It’s not as if my body even needs a brain.

"...Evelyn, you don’t trust , do you? But I can prove we’re friends. Tell , doesn’t your sadness feel like it’s because soone important betrayed you? Because soone you loved destroyed the little life that was growing inside you?" She turns to , caressing my stomach.

When she says that, I feel like there’s so truth to it. The more I think about it, the more nauseous and angry I beco.

’[Evelyn... she’s-... using-... magic... she doesn’t really know... —--... s-she’s just reading your em-emotions-... a-and feeding —- on your sadness...]’ The buzzing returns, but even fainter and more garbled than before.

’How does she know that?’ I look into this girl’s eyes. She seems to truly know . How else would she know sothing like that?

’So I was pregnant, and soone killed my baby?... Who would be the monster to do that...’ The thought makes incredibly sad.

"H-How should I address you? And can you tell about my past?" I ask her, still wary.

"Just call Nerina. And don’t worry, I’ll protect you. That’s what friends do, right? I’m sure you’ll find a way off this island soon enough. But flying with those fragile wings isn’t an option. And I won’t talk about your past, since it only hurts you. I’m sorry."

"So, for now, do you want sothing to eat? Luckily, this island is full of resources, and the monsters won’t co ashore while I’m here." As she speaks, I glance back at the sea.

"Are you... a very strong nymph?"

"Ah, yes, little one. I am. I’m sort of your superior? I’m quite old, so I can teach a young nymph like you a lot. After all, nymphs should always stick together, shouldn’t we? Most people hate nymphs."

"...You seem suspicious... if you’re so powerful, why can’t you take off this island?"

"I can take you off. But Evelyn, do you want to go back to the people who hurt you?"

"...I-I..."

’[Evelyn! A-agree!!-----... say you want—... to leave!!]’

"I-I don’t think so..." Why would I want to go back to a place where my body seems to feel so much pain and sorrow? I wish I could rember, but I don’t... I feel like I’m losing sothing.

’[Esther!! Re-rember E-Esther!!--... V-You love... love her-... Evelyn... you want to go back–... just rember Esther...]’ The persistent buzzing is starting to get annoying.

"Nerina... who hurt ?..."

"..." Nerina stares into my eyes for far too long.

"Hehehe, that’s a secret, Evelyn. I won’t tell you about that. After all, that person hurt you very badly, and it’s not good to force your brain too hard. If you forgot, maybe it was for the best, don’t you think?"

"Maybe... but I don’t want to forget everything..."

"...Why?"

"W-Well, forgetting is bad... even if they did wrong, forgetting is just running away, isn’t it? B-Besides, didn’t I have anything good?"

"No, you didn’t have anything good, Evelyn. Only bad people who were taking advantage of you. If you had anything good, you wouldn’t be radiating so much sadness right now."

"But if you want, I’ll take you now. I’ll return you to the people who hurt you." She takes my hand.

"W-Wait, n-no... I-I just said forgetting wasn’t good... b-but I don’t know if I want to go back..." I pull my hand back, startled by what I feel.

"That’s fine. So you want to stay? Make up your mind, Evelyn. I’m your friend, and I’ll respect your choice. But if you want to go back, I can’t protect you anymore. I can only live near the ocean. If I take you back, I won’t be able to be there to protect you."

"..." My heart aches. I feel like I’m letting sothing incredibly important slip away. Maybe soone special. But the thought of being hurt again is terrifying.

"I-I’ll... I’ll stay... b-but only for a while, okay?" I don’t fully accept, but I don’t refuse either. I need to think. I need to be sure about what I want. This is too important a decision to make when I’m so confused about everything.

"Of course. It’s your life, friend! You decide. But while you’re with , I’ll help you be happier..."

’[Evelyn!! Stop being fooled!... she-... just wants to feed... on your—... emotions... a-and she’s blocking out... s-she knows I’m in here... s-soon I won’t be able to communicate... j-just resist! Once!------... Th-that’s all it will take and you’ll rember... g-good luck]’ The buzzing finally fades completely.

"W-Well, I guess that’s okay... so, could you help learn to use my powers? I don’t really know how..." Demon Queen. That title intrigues . I was a queen? But I decide not to ntion it yet.

"Yes, I’ll help you. After all, you’re my junior. Besides, I see great potential in you as a nymph. You know, I’ve only seen nymphs a few tis in my entire life, so eting another is a rarity." She takes my hand and gently pulls along, making walk across the sand.

"What were we before? Just friends?" I ask her, using my tail to cover my private parts while my remaining hand covers my breasts.

"Hmmm, we were a little more. But I’ll keep that for the future. For now, how about I help you get settled on the island and heal your poor, broken little heart?"

"Heal...?"

"Of course. I don’t want to see you sad. Your joy will be my joy. The lack of mories is what’s protecting you. But anything from the past will just make you sad, so I’ll make the past not matter anymore."

’Is anyone worried about ?’ I don’t rember how I got to this island, and I don’t know if anyone noticed I disappeared.

’Nerina is my friend...’ I don’t feel anything bad when I think about friends. That only leaves two possibilities: either Nerina really was my friend, or I had zero friends in the past, so thinking about a "friend" doesn’t trigger any bad feelings.

I’d rather believe Nerina really was my friend. She’s a bit suspicious, but if she wanted to do sothing, she would have already, right? I was defenseless and unconscious on the beach.

"Nerina... thank you for protecting ..." I thank her timidly. She turns to and gives a sweet smile, even if her gaze is a little frightening, a little wild.

"It was nothing. I’m just glad you weren’t hurt."