Meroune Lorelei

Meroune Lorelei (メロウヌ・ローレライ), also known as Mero (メロ) for short, is a Mermaid bound to a wheelchair. While she is the fourth girl to officially move in with Kimihito, she is technically the fifth girl to move in with him (after Suu). Her full name is Meroune Lorelei Du Neptune (メロウヌ・ローレライ・ド・ネプチューン).

Appearance
Meroune is an attractive, well-endowed young woman with blue eyes, fin-like ears and long light-pink hair, which is separated in four strands curled into drills on their lower parts, with two in front of her shoulders and other two at her back. As a Mermaid, she has a pink fish-tail with pelvic fins rather than legs. To allow her to survive underwater, she has gills on the sides of her torso and webbed hands.

When outside or in public company, she usually dresses in a gothic lolita style, with a barrette having seashell designs on both sides and her tail is usually covered with a dress. However, when in private company or in the water, she merely wears a bikini.

Since her lower-half is unsuitable for traversing land, she normally gets around on a wheelchair, with Kimihito or the other girls pushing her. Recently her mother had bought Meroune a state-of-the-art motorized wheelchair, though Meroune did not want it.

Personality
See Also: Meroune's Tragic Romances Mero has a very warm and friendly personality and is always very polite. Due to her mannerisms, Centorea (correctly) believes she might be of noble or royal lineage.

As a young girl, she had a fascination with the "tragic love" story of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, and wants to experience it in real life, even up the point of turning into sea foam. After realizing that this isn't what she truly wants, she now wants a "happily ever after" much like in the more modern adaptations of the same story.

She loves to be a victim of tragedy in general, whether it's unrequited love, her lover dying, or herself dying and leaving her lover behind. Miia even calls her a "tragedy freak". However, after seeing Miia and Kimihto have an intimate moment, Mero started to realize her fantasy may not be so fulfilling in real life as she thought it would be. After voicing her full interest in courting Kimihito, it is revealed that she also wishes to be in a somewhat open relationship where Miia is Kimihito's side girl, a different kind of tragedy from her earlier wishes.

It is implied that she is a masochist, since after eating some of Miia's cooking, it brought to mind her fins painfully splitting apart into legs. Afterwards, she is seen collapsed on the floor smiling about it, despite foaming at the mouth. Another example is that when Rachnera bound her and the other girls for getting too intimate with a shapeshifted Suu, her expression showed a kind of enjoyment.

Despite being of royal descent, Mero is very humble and in fact seems very uncomfortable and embarrassed when someone treats her different because of her status. This can be seen from the fact that Mero has kept her noble lineage secret from Kimihito and the other homestay girls for a long time. When Sebasstian and Flounnder finally revealed to the other homestay girls in Chapter 35 that Mero is a princess and that they should therefore show her respect, Mero even knocked out the two butlers (which she usually never does) and asked Kimihito and the other girls to continuing to call her just Mero, as the Mermaid Kingdom "is but a small kingdom in a sea of many", again showing her humble side.

Although Mero is a very friendly person, she can sometimes be noticeably tactless towards the feelings of others which leads to her offending others without wanting to. A good example of this is when she compared Miia's swimming skills to an eel in Chapter 17 without realizing that this comparison can also be viewed as an insult. This could also be seen in Chapter 19, when Mero did not realize that her explanation was an obstacle to the romantic moment between Miia and Kimihito.

As revealed in Monster Musume: Monster Girls on the Job!, while being a part of human society and having the full exchange student experience is important to Mero, it is not nearly as important to her as supporting Kimihito is. However, being used to being overruled by her mother, she is often forced to stand aside and watch as Miia, Centorea and the other girls support Kimihito in ways she cannot. That's why every chance she gets to support Kimihito is very important to her.

As later revealed in Chapter 81, since her time in the swim club at the Grimoire High School, Mero has developed a greater, more enthusiastic passion and competitive side for water sports activities. As a result, Mero is also a bit disappointed that there are not many facilities for serious training at the Black Lily Waterpark. She also seems to have developed a somewhat risk-taking side through this training, as when Suu's mother accidentally caused a current in the "lazy river", Mero came to the rescue of the other bathers without worrying about what might happen to her personally (although the risk for her as Mermaid was rather low).

Personal Skills

 * Herbalism: Mero knows about many of the cures and remedies that mermaids use to treat illnesses. Her knowledge includes which medicinal herbs, when laced in pools of water, can cure almost any sicknesses.
 * Marine Biology: Since Mero has spent most of her life living in water she is familiar with many different types of marine life. However, her knowledge is not perfect when it comes to organisms that are not fish, an example being not knowing the difference between a crab and a spider.
 * Royal Aura: Because of her upbringing Mero has a regal demeanour. This includes the use of a highly formal way of speaking to people and very dignified behaviour. When she wants to she can play up her more refined mannerisms to make others feel like they are speaking to royalty. She finds this to be particularly effective against species, like centaurs, who have a historical reverence towards nobility, and individuals who work with marine life, such as fishmongers and aquarium workers.
 * Beautiful singing voice: As revealed in Monster Musume: Monster Girls on the Job!, Mero possesses a beautiful singing voice, which is due to having been taught the skills expected of a princess from a very young age. This had included singing lessons, including the kind of singing that could entrance the listeners. Through this extensive training, Mero has learned to detect even minuscule changes in her voice.
 * However, it is necessary for Mero's voice to keep her gills wet as continued singing with dried out gills would cause her voice to suffer lasting damage. This proved to be a great risk for Mero's performance at the Tomas Theater, since no one had considered that intense heat from the theatre's spotlight would dry out Mero's gills much more faster than normal light. Fortunately, Kimihito was able to prevent this by turning on the Tomas Theater's sprinkler system.

Physical Traits

 * Mermaid Physiology:
 * Amphibious: As a mermaid, Meroune possesses gills on the side of her torso, which allow her to breathe water. She also has a humanoid respiratory system that enables vocalisation and breathing through the mouth. However, if she breathes chlorinated water it can be dangerous for her health. As long as her gills remain moist (which is easy because of her slimy skin) she can breathe on land.
 * Cold Resistance: Because mermaids' natural homes at the bottom of the ocean are very cold, Meroune is naturally resistant against cold water and air. However, Mero is not totally immune to cold weather as temperatures below freezing will cause her discomfort.
 * Swim Bladder: Located inside her chest is a sac of air that allows Meroune to control her buoyancy in water, allowing her to sink or rise. However, should she expel all the air in that bladder, such as when she needed to give Kimihito the air to survive, she will sink fast underwater.
 * Mermaid Tail: Because of her fish tail, Mero is naturally an expert swimmer. Her tail is strong enough that it can propel her several meters out of the water. She can swim at a speed of 50km/h. A powerful mass of muscle, it can knock a person out cold in one strike.
 * Slimy Skin: Her body naturally secretes a slimy substance to keep her skin moist, which can cause wardrobe malfunctions and can sometimes attract Suu when she's nearby. Because of this, she has to wear special clothing that doesn't easily slide off. If not properly clothed in cold weather, the coating will cause her to freeze quite quickly.
 * Water Sensing: Mero is somehow capable of sensing water from great distances, and quite possibly the water inside living creatures as well, since she had Kurusu avoid the escorts that were pursuing her without Kurusu noticing.
 * Swimming: Since she is part fish swimming is as natural as breathing for Mero. In fact, since she has gills swimming does indeed play a role in her natural breathing and not requiring to resurface at all. She is able to out perform Olympic class swimmers as she has incredible stamina, and can reach speeds of 50 kilometres per hour when in the water. She is also capable of propelling herself out of the water and high into the air so she may do tricks and flips.

Skills and Statistics
Main: Meroune Lorelei/Game Stats

Plot


Wheelchair-bound due to her lower-half being a tail, she first met Kimihito when she lost control of her chair while going down a hill and he saved her. After she helped him find the other girls, it was revealed that Smith had a waterproof room built in the Kurusu House for her.

Later on, Kimihito made several changes to the house to make her comfortable. This however, spiked Miia's jealousy, causing her to go through extreme lengths to get his attention. Later on, she had a calm talk with Miia, who revealed that Miia saw her as a rival for Kimihito's affection, only for her to reveal that she wanted anyone but herself to be with him.

One day, Meroune, along with Papi, Suu, Centorea, and their beloved host, received food poisoning from Miia's cooking.

When Kimihito returned home in the evening of the next day, Mero asked, "Did you stop by the supermarket today?". He confirmed and said that a big sale occurred. Just then Papi announced that she was going to lay an egg, which startled her fellow houseguests who beat him up until they realized that the egg was unfertilized. A man who claimed to be a film director barges into the Kurusu household without Kimihito's permission to do a documentary on interspecies exchange. Kasegi noted that the mermaid liked Gothic Lolita fashion and asked her an uncomfortable question. After she leapt out of the pool, she jumped back into the water when she noticed that Kasegi was filming her nearly-exposed chest. When Kimihito prepared to help Papi with the egg laying; Suu used mind-reading to blow Kasegi's cover, broadcasting his true sinister intention, angering Miia, Centorea, and Meroune. Before the three demi-human girls attack, Kimihito used a normal chicken egg he purchased from the supermarket to trick the conman whom he then punches in the face. Kimihito also destroyed Kasegi's camera and the footage during the process. Meroune made a reminder, "Pardon me, everyone. I believe the real egg is on its way now." After Miia blindfolds Kimihito so that Papi could complete the egg laying, Smith later informed him that the self-proclaimed director's name and card were fake. Miia boiled the harpy egg for dinner to everybody else's horror.

One day, Meroune and the rest of the Kurusu household watched Smith and her Interspecies Exchange security squad (a.k.a. Monster's New Law or M.O.N. for short) deal with the Orc threat in a Doujin shop.

The next evening, Smith informed Meroune and her fellow houseguests about a non-human living with the conman director. Smith and the Kurusu houseguests were shocked to find that Kimihito had not returned, but there were food materials on the entrance.

The next morning, Meroune asked Rachnera (who recently moved into the Kurusu house), "Tell me, which ocean do you come from?" The arachne had to correct the mermaid.

When Kimihito became ill, Meroune at first reveled in the tragedy. Later on when Suu channeled her, she attempted to cure him was to have him soak in water laced with medicinal herbs, a traditional mermaid cure. However, Kimihito refused when he was told the process would take a whole week.

While Papi, Centorea, and Rachnera were horrified at Miia's white rice porridge; Meroune imagined a scenario from The Little Mermaid while getting food poisoning from it. Subsequently, Suu had to consume most of it before serving it to their bedridden host. When Miia, Papi, Centorea, and Meroune lost self-control due to their growing intimacy towards the shape-shifted Suu; Rachnera had to tie the four of them up. Though the slime nearly freaked him out, she eventually cured him with her own method before proclaiming her love towards him in front of her fellow houseguests. Afterwards, Smith caught his cold.

Later on, after a day of spying on Kimihito's "date" with Smith. Mero would partake in Miia's 'date' with their host. She tries to help make the date go smoothly, but ends up accidentally upstaging Miia at almost every turn with fish trivia and a show she had participated in to set the mood. After the lamia leaves in frustration and is nearly attacked by Draco, Mero would aid in the former's escape by taking the oars away from Draco's boat. As they leave the aquarium, Mero is happily looking at her handiwork, seeing Miia and Kimihito close together; however, her thoughts are interrupted by a pain in her chest.

After Kimihito's date with Centorea, she made dinner that was mainly salad to the dismay of Miia and Papi. Mero muttered before eating, "I don't mind the change. Salads are quite healthy."

Zoological Classification


The Mermaid (人魚族, Ningyo-zoku) is a humanoid liminal race with the upper body of a human and the tail of a fish.

Living beneath the sea, mermaids are protected from the interference of the other land-based races and as such have been free to establish their own civilization beneath the oceans of the world.

Trivia

 * She is the second among three Monster Girls to have a known last name; the first being Centorea Shianus and the third being Rachnera Arachnera.
 * Like the other girls, her name is derived from her species name: "Meroune" from Mermaid.
 * Meroune's last name, Lorelei, also refers to a famous siren from German folklore, which also has themes of tragic romance.
 * Her attire, which is that of a maid, is a pun on her species: Mermaid.
 * Meroune seems to have some sort of a masochistic side to her. Her dreams of having an unrequited love or the victim in an NTR situation and the small smile she had after tasting Miia's cooking seem to support this. In Chapter 23, Rachnera Arachnera practiced her daily webbing skills on the other female members including Mero, who had been tied in a lewd position. Mero appeared to enjoy being tied like that rather than feeling embarrassed.
 * Mero's fashion of choice is Goth Lolita. Her closet has many different dresses in this style.
 * Meroune had been tutored in the skills expected of a princess from a very young age. This included vocal lessons and "the kind of singing that could entrance the listener" (a reference to the mermaid legends of mermaids enrapturing sailors with their songs).
 * Following Chapter 24, after her attempt to get a child to remember Kimihito by (while under the belief that he was going to die) by having sex with him underwater and nearly drowning him, Meroune was quickly saddled with the Fan Nickname of "Murdermaid".
 * It is revealed in Chapter 34 that she is a princess.
 * In Chapter 35 it is revealed her full name is "Meroune Lorelei Du Neptune".
 * Neptune, the Roman equivalent of Poseidon and known as the King of the Sea, is a likely reference to Mero's species.
 * Mero is the first of the girls staying in the Kurusu House to kiss Kimihito, albeit through the process of CPR.
 * Although she is the fifth girl to move in, she is on the cover of the fourth collected volume of the manga. Suu taking Volume 5.
 * Profile Stickers and MonMusu Anime Twitter account revealed that her Birthday is February 28th.
 * Mero is currently the only one of the seven girls in Kimihito's household to have officially confirmed that both her mother and father are Liminals (in Chapter 36). The fathers of Miia, Papi, Rachnera and Centorea are human (the first three because their species are purely female and in the case of Centorea because their mother chose a human as a partner). As revealed in Chapter 81, Suu's Mother is an Undine, but it's not clear if she even has a "father". Nothing is known about Lala's parents, however, so both could be Dullahan.
 * As Kimihito admits, since he hears Mero's voice regularly, he's able to immediately recognize if her voice changes.
 * In Monster Musume: Monster Girls on the Job! it is stated that Mero also masters the style of singing that "could entrance the listener". It is possible that this formulation refers to the hypnotic song with which Mermaids (or especially Sirens) in myths put sailors into a trance, causing their ships to crash into cliffs. However, since Mero never used this ability in the manga series (perhaps due to its dangerous nature) this cannot be clearly confirmed.