A farming master in Stardew Valley

Chapter 174 The Secret of the Mermaid
"Please come with me."

The queen-like mermaid who spoke made an invitation gesture, and then swam towards the town in the water, shaking her tail. Her movements were very graceful, and the agile tail swayed back and forth, which made Leon very curious. If he didn't know it was inappropriate, he really wanted to touch the tail.

However, seeing the other party swimming, Leon also realized that he was in the deep sea at the moment, but he could breathe fresh air and did not feel the pressure of the deep sea, but he was not surprised by this. After all, he came with Lasmodes, and all this was obviously the work of Lasmodes.

Just when Leon was about to try to move his limbs and swim to catch up with the mermaid leading the way, Rasmodesmata grabbed Leon's shoulders in time.

"Don't move, I'll take you there."

After that, the two began to float in the sea, following behind her at a speed no less than that of the mermaid, as if they had thrusters installed behind them.

Feeling the wonderful touch of the water flowing past him, Leon found that even his clothes were not wet, but his skin could clearly feel the feedback of the sea water flowing past as he moved forward, which was very wonderful.

While following the mermaid girl, Leon also noticed that there were many mermaid girls with the same long blue hair nearby. They all looked good, and each had their own facial features, so it was easy to tell the differences.

The hundreds of mermaids he saw along the way all had beautiful faces that were unique and had their own merits. Leon couldn't help but sigh that this species really deserves to be called mermaid.

If this world had channels like live broadcast or short videos, these mermaid sisters would definitely be top internet celebrities. Moreover, they are all natural beauties who don't need filters or makeup to look good. This kind of natural beauty without any Hextech technology would definitely be stunning on Earth.

"It's rare to see you so quiet and not asking any questions."

Lyon didn't say anything or ask any questions along the way, which made Lasmodes a little uncomfortable. He was ready to help Lyon with science, but this kid didn't play by the rules.

"Ah? Linus told me that I should watch more and do less on this trip. I was ridiculed before for not knowing the etiquette of wizards. I can't continue to embarrass myself because of my ignorance. After all, I have to save face." Leon came back to his senses after hearing this and explained to Rasmodes.

"That's not wrong, but this is a rare opportunity. If you have any questions, you'd better ask them as soon as possible. Otherwise, I won't have time to answer your questions after we enter the palace." Rasmodes reminded Leon.

"Can she hear us talking?" Leon subconsciously pointed at the mermaid leading the way and asked.

"No," Rasmodes confirmed. "Okay, then my first question is, why are there no male mermaids among these mermaids?" Knowing that the mermaid leading the way couldn't hear their conversation, Leon couldn't wait to ask the question he'd been holding back for a long time. After all, he hadn't seen a single male mermaid so far.

"It's a characteristic of their race; they can only give birth to females," Rasmodes explained simply. "I'm not sure the specific reason, but it's probably related to the history of mermaid evolution and Yuba's blessing. There's so much to it, I won't go into it, because it would take at least a whole day."

"Then how do they reproduce the next generation?" Lyon continued to ask.

"This question is a secret of the mermaids, but I can tell you. However, you just need to remember it and don't tell anyone else." Rasmodesmide first reminded Leon, and then explained.

"Mermaid reproduction is actually very simple. When they reach adulthood, they naturally produce an embryo, similar to a fish egg. This embryo is then placed in a mermaid-exclusive incubation pool. When the embryo matures, which is when the mother who gave birth to the embryo ages and is nearing death, the mother will infuse all of her power into the embryo, passing on the knowledge and magic accumulated during the mermaid era to the new generation of mermaids, completing the cycle of life and death."

"If that's the case, the mermaid clan should have disappeared long ago. After all, not all mermaids can grow old peacefully. For example, the mermaid warrior who died in this incident, would the accidental death of her mother affect the birth of the embryo?" Leon asked Rasmodes in confusion.

"This brings us to another method of mermaid reproduction, which is natural conception. The advantage of this method is that it allows for the production of naturally grown embryos without sacrificing the mother. The method of gestation varies depending on the race of the father involved in the natural conception. However, whether oviparous or viviparous, the child ultimately is of the mermaid race, not the father's."

Rasmodis added.

"Natural conception?" Leon raised his eyebrows when he heard this. He found that the chances of him and the mermaid developing a relationship beyond friendship seemed to be greater.

"Well, but the conditions are quite harsh. Most mermaids don't like this method. They think it will pollute their pure blood. Although there is basically no difference between mermaids born naturally and mermaids through inheritance, the former need to undergo cultural education to grow into qualified mermaids. But this only takes a little time, which is not worth mentioning compared to the mermaid's lifespan of four to five hundred years." Rasmodes said, and also reminded Leon.

"Don't even think about having sex with a mermaid. Not to mention that their aesthetics are vastly different from humans', and whether they'd even consider you is a question. The most important point is that any man who mates with a mermaid will almost certainly be infected by her unique physique and begin to develop gills and fins similar to those that allow them to live underwater, ultimately losing the ability to survive on land."

"Hiss" Hearing this, Leon instantly dismissed the idea in his mind. He was indeed greedy for the mermaid girl, but if he could only be a fish in the water for the rest of his life, then forget it.

Seeing Leon's obviously frightened expression, Rasmodes couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth. In fact, there was one thing he hadn't told Leon, that is, if Leon and the mermaid really fell in love and got together, then he also had a way to help Leon isolate this genetic infection.

(End of this chapter)