Chapter 37

"Who Says That a Tragic Romance Isn't Built Upon True Love...?" is the 37th chapter of "Daily Life With A Monster Girl" or "Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou".

Plot
Kimihito and his group, now accompanied by Oct, return to the mermaid resort to clear up the misunderstanding that Oct is causing the Mermaid Kingdon's elopement problem. When they arrive Rachnera and Oct force Potemkinme and Sebastian to show them a non-underwater way into Meroune's Mother's chambers. Upon entering they are attacked by piranhas known as "Fin Eaters" which are known for eating fine minerals, such as the girls' bathing suits and the fins of fish. When the piranhas try to eat Mero's fins, Kimihtio tries to get her to safety, only for both of them to be propelled into the water by a spring loaded platform.

When Kimihito and Mero resurface they find themselves in another room with Mero's mother. Mero tries to explain Oct's inncocene but is cut off when the mermaid queen explains that she knew Oct was not responsible, as she was the one who spread the rumors of the elopement problem and of the declining diplomatic relations between humans and mermaids and was just using Oct as a scapegoat. When asked why she spread the rumors Mero's mother explains she was trying to create "the ulitmate tragedy." Her plan was to ruin the relationship between human society and the Mermaid Kingdom so that her human lover could not stay with her and she could not go with him because of her duties as queen. Upon hearing this Mero is upset that her mother is cheating on her husband, but the queen reveals she has been doing so for years and it is part of the reason the king ran off.

Mero's mother then accuses Mero of not loving tragedy anymore and will make her remember by casuing Kimihito's death. The mermaid queen uses a tablet device to start flooding the room causing Kimihito to start drowning. Mero asks her mother to spare Kimihito's life as she wants to have a "happily ever after story with him." The queen agrees to save his life if Mero will return home, to which Mero agrees even if it means leaving Kimihito. However, when Mero's mother tries to drain the room she finds the tablet device damaged, causing the ceiling to collapse, strong underwater currents, more Fin Eater piranhas to appear, and for spikes to protrude from the bottom of the room.

Kimihito's foot becomes trapped under the rubble of the collapsed ceiling and he is unable to reach the surface for air. Mero trys to free him but is unable to as her fins were damaged by the piranhas and strong currents, leaving her unable to move. She trys using her mother's trident to pry to rubble loose but finds she is too weak. Just as she is about to give up Miia's tail wraps around the trident and starts prying. The other girls are still on the platform from earlier but Miia can now get to Kimihito and Mero as the collapsed ceiling was the floor of the room they were in and her tail can stretch the necessary 20 feet.

Seeing that Kimihito has passed out Mero decides that he will die without oxygen soon and that Miia is taking to long to release him. She kisses him giving him the air that was stored in her swim bladders. This revives Kimihito long enough for Miia to free him and start pulling him towards the surface. With the air from her swim bladders gone and her fins damaged, Mero is unable to float or swim and begins to fall twards the spikes at the bottom of the room. Mero begins to think that a tragic death might be the fate of a mermaid and resigns herself to dying. But she starts getting pulled along by Kimihito who had tied some of Rachnera's thread that he had with him around her wrist. The other girls struggle to pull Miia's tail, along with Kimihito and Mero to the surface, but ultimately succeed in saving both of their lives.

Later Mero's mother broadcasts a message to the Mermaid Kingdom saying that there is no elopement problem and that human relations are fine, thus exonerating Oct of all crimes. She also introduces the kingdom to her human lover, but leaves out that all the rumors were her doing, as there would be a revolt if anyone knew the truth.

Back at the Kurusu House, Centorea is reading the newspaper about the queen's actions. She confides in Rachnera that she is worried because Mero is now actively trying to become Kimihito's wife, instead of his mistress, and that the two shared a kiss (even though it was CPR) when Mero was trying to save his life. Rachnera tells her to relax as it was probably not Kimihito's first kiss to the centaur's frustration. Close by Mero, now with a bandaged tail, is talking to Miia about her decision to pursue Kimihito. She then starts molesting the lamia, saying that Miia should become Kimihito's mistress when he marries the mermaid and that she still loves tragedy, much to Miia's displeasure.

Key Events

 * Kimihito and his group confront Meroune's Mother.
 * Meroune's Mother reveals she is behind framing Oct & rumors of an elopement problem and bad relations with humans. She also reveals she has been cheating on her husband with a human man.
 * Mero states she now wants to be Kimihito's wife and not just his mistress like she originally planned.