Part 2

Back at a cliff overlooking the sea, the woman was suspended in her cage by something like a crane, a ducking-stool, dangling over the cliff.
“It’s quite ingenious, really.” The woman in a headdress stated, strutting over to the crane’s lever, “After all, selkies are creatures of the sea. Unlike humans, they can survive under water. So no selkie will drown from sinking below the waves. All we have to do then, is dunk our dear Temperance here into the sea to see whether or not she can survive.”
Sir Wilfred stepped forward, “So… You are saying, if drowns in the sea, then that proves she is not a selkie.”
“Correct.”
“And if she does not drown, that does prove she is a monster?”
“Indeed.”
“And then you take her to the town to burn her?”
“You got it right precisely.”
“Ugh… That’s not a fair trial! Either she’s going to drown, or she’s going to burn. Either she’s dead, or she’s dead! You might as well have burned her at the stakes already!”
The crowd went silent.

…
Then, they erupted in booming cheers.
“Yes! That’s what we’ve been saying!”
Sir Wilfred shook his head, “Oh, Chief God… Help me.”
“Enough!” The woman in headdress yelled, “We have to do it! It’s for science! We had enough talk for now! It’s time for action!”

She flipped the lever.
“Noo!” Sir Wilfred ran to stop her, but it was too late. The cage dropped…

…
…
…
BONK!
“Oww!”

The crowd gathered around the cliff to look down at what happened. As did Sir Wilfred. As it turned out, she had crashed onto the frozen sea, and was stopped by the ice.
“...SELKIE!”
“SHE DIDN’T DROWN!”
“WE GOT HER! WE GOT A MONSTER!”

The villagers scrambled to run down and grab the monster, when Sir Wilfred stepped in their way.
“I have had enough! It took me three weeks to find this godsforsaken hamlet in the middle of nowhere! For goodness sake, I could be at court right now! Mingling with the cream of the crepe! Eating cured salmon and deviled eggs! And yet I find myself at the frozen dunghill at the end of the world trying to convince a bloodthirsty mob not to burn an innocent woman! If you can appreciate the sacrifice I and so many others have dedicated to making this settlement possible, then you can think things through for just one second before doing something horrible that you cannot undo. Otherwise, you can just go ahead and burn me instead!”
The villagers exchanged glances with one another…

Minutes later, Sir Wilfred was stripped of his armour and tied to the stakes.
“...I'm frankly just mad I didn't see this coming.”

“I hope you are ready, good sir knight!” The red-haired girl said, approaching with a torch, “Because this has been a long time coming!”
She crouched down to ignite the kindling.

The knight clenched his teeth, bracing himself to his fate.
He sighed. Content that at least, since he would not return back to report, his lord would realise that the place had been forsaken, and that no one should ever return there again.

FWOOSH!
A single pillar of fire shot up on contact with the flame, then vanished. Only a sliver of smoke remained.
“Huh?” He looked around confused.

The ropes that tied him hadn’t been so much as singed. But his clothes, his base layer, they were burned to cinders. Not so much as a scrap was left to cover himself up.
He looked between the ladies and the singed hay on which he stood, “What’s going on?”
“Ah,” The blonde one clapped her hands, “Looks like we’re about done!”

She dug through the hay, wherein red crystal vials protruded.
He blinked, “...What is that?”
“That? Oh, that’s just mamono rapeseed oil.” She explained, “Don’t want anyone to be hurt here, do we?”
“So… The woman was never in any danger?”

She ignored him, and continued to rummage through the hay at the stake’s base, “Ah, here we go!”
She pulled out a large fuzzy felt, in the form of a seal’s tail.
“Dry and crisp. Just how we like it.”
She handed the furs back to the villagers. Every single woman in the hamlet.
He looked at them, shocked and revolted.

Well, maybe not that shocked. Honestly, it explained quite a few things. He’d be more confused if these turned out to be normal villagers.
And revolted? Not quite that either. They looked really cute in their mascot outfits.
“Uhhh….”

“Oh, you have no idea how long we’ve waited for a man!”
“Ever since we came to this place, and the humans ran away!”
“We’ve got nothing to do here on our own. Nothing but come up with this test to see if when a guy finally comes, he’s exactly our type!”
“And you? You pass with flying colours. Headstrong. Clever. Wise. A natural leadertype!”
“Now let’s get to enjoy our prize!”
The ladies all swarmed over him, eager to get a taste.

Meanwhile, the woman who stumbled across that village and survived looked over her shoulder from atop on of the knight's horses as she heard his screams.
She shook her head, “Geez… Seems I’m the only sane person around here.”