Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 106

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 106
In truth, it was not uncommon for succession candidates to die during the Orca Family’s heir competition.
However, they did not hold such grand funerals every time one of them perished.
Had they done so, how many funerals would the Aquasiadel family have conducted by now?
‘Assassinations, poisonings—such things are commonplace, so they’re simply handled within the family and forgotten. Or perhaps not even that.’
For instance, had I died around the time I entered the Elementary Institution, I would have been buried without a funeral at all.
Baian’s case was exceptional.
It was Baian’s family who made his death something special.
In this moment, I knew exactly what scene would have unfolded had I not raised my hand.
‘Lirivel would have raised hers.’
And invoking Baian’s honorable death, she would have said:
“I achieved victory in a righteous and confident battle against Sorte Aquasiadel.”
In previous rounds, Lirivel had appeared in much the same manner, I was told.
The only difference was that her opponent had been Sorte instead of Baian.
‘As if I don’t see through you.’
Here was a child who would display her genius while simultaneously turning her brother’s grave into her debut stage.
But.
I smiled inwardly while mimicking a solemn expression.
“Are you saying this dead man did not take his own life?”
“Yes. Baian Aquasiadel is publicly known to have committed suicide, but if it wasn’t an ‘honorable’ self-inflicted death as believed, then this funeral would lose all meaning.”
“Do you have evidence?”
I wanted to quietly tell Lirivel, who must be watching me by now, something.
Lirivel, appearing before the retainers for the first time—I wonder if you’ve heard it said.
Strike first, strike decisively.
“Yes. Orca Family Matriarch, there is no way I would have raised my hand without evidence. How could I dare speak falsehoods before you?”
“You still have a glib tongue. So?”
Just as the Orca Family Matriarch said, this had become a gathering similar to the Family Meeting from five years ago.
Those who sat then would be sitting here now.
I could feel their curious and wary gazes growing even sharper.
“Baian Aquasiadel was murdered. His death was never honorable.”
….
“Therefore, there is no reason for such a noble funeral to be held.”
“Do you understand the weight of those words?”
“You asked for evidence.”
Over the past five years, I had allowed people to continue saying I lacked talent, that I was dull.
I had honed my strength and taught the Dragon Duke, but that did not mean I had merely been idle.
A question.
Which species of demi-human was most numerous in this Aquasiadel estate?
When considering the overall proportion of aquatic demi-humans, the strong ones—whales, orcas, sharks, walruses, and other aquatic beasts—were few in number.
This manor was filled primarily with weaker demi-humans.
The vast majority of them were…
None other than Herring Sisters.
‘Could things really unfold this favorably?’
When I visited Ilia Beluga, the leader of the Beluga clan, not long ago.
Despite my sudden appearance after five years, Ilia showed no surprise and smiled knowingly.
As if she had been waiting for me.
“A hint about one of the other seven families besides ours…”
That day, I received a certain answer.
“Which family do you think possesses the most eyes and ears in this manor?”
Was it mere coincidence?
Or perhaps, after three cycles of regression, the heavens were finally bestowing upon me abundant fortune to end my arduous journey.
The riddle Ilia posed pointed to a place I already knew well.
The Herring Sisters family.
These beings, boasting overwhelming numbers, were characterized by their vigorous fertility, the strong bonds they shared with their own kind, and their unwavering loyalty to their masters.
They were the family most commonly employed as retainers and handmaidens, servants and maids, particularly as handmaidens and high-ranking maids.
Eiya, Biyo, Dede.
“Noble Lady, we can communicate even without speaking!”
“That’s right, that’s right. It’s telepathy!”
“So you can communicate any content at all?”
“Yes! As long as we both consent!”
True to their nature as fish that moved in schools and overcame predators in the wild, their specialty was ‘telepathy.’
Retainers and handmaidens existed everywhere, functioning like invisible NPCs—as commonplace as café staff yet unnoticed.
Five years ago, when I returned to Aquasiadel from the City of Dragons, I reviewed everything I possessed.
This naturally included assessing the talented individuals at my side, such as Agenor, Father, and Ilia Beluga.
It was then that I took notice of these Herring Sisters.
‘There was something peculiar in the previous cycle.’
When I awakened the power of water and returned to build my influence alone, I moved mostly by myself.
During that time, I once rescued a Herring Sister who was being beaten by a branch-line Orca, having fallen into the wrong hands.
“Thank you, thank you. When I heard this child’s screams in my head, I thought for sure… we were done for…”
The maid who claimed to be the rescued one’s older sister came running and said this belatedly.
At the time, I had dismissed it without much thought.
But thinking about it, how could she have heard the voice of a man being beaten without even managing a scream?
And she heard it ‘in her head’?
At that time, the struggle over the Matriarch position of Aquasiadel was in such chaos it rivaled the Spring and Autumn period, and the Herring Sisters suffered immensely.
I too had forgotten about it in my busyness.
But when I had the leisure to reconsider, a good idea came to mind.
“So if it’s between Herring Sisters, you can always communicate when both consent? And when communicating, you can target specific individuals?”
“Yes!”
“Then tell me… you three, how far does your reach extend?”
At the sight of my grin, Eiya and Biyo exchanged glances before pointing to the most reserved among them, Dede.
“Dede is so popular!”
“That’s right!”
“Y-yes?! Oh, no….”
“Dede, you know what?”
My uncle Rodesen’s faction thoroughly despises weak and powerless beastkin.
Retainers and Handmaidens in particular were treated as expendable—their existence made no difference, and they could be disposed of without consequence.
But I had always thought differently.
Survival of the fittest, natural selection.
Yes, it was the law of nature.
But could this world truly exist without the weak?
I wanted coexistence.
“…My brother is the successor to the Herring Sisters.”
The Herring Sisters were such a minor faction that their Matriarch and successor held virtually no meaning.
But I recognized their potential.
Beings that existed everywhere yet nowhere.
The latent power of this family—as if everyone possessed a communication device bursting with signal strength.
Geniuses of espionage who had simply been abandoned because their power seemed insignificant.
“Hello. Don’t you want to live without threats, without worries? Why must you suffer constant violence when you’ve only served your masters faithfully? Have you never questioned that? I’ll eliminate it for you.”
“….”
“I’ll create such a world for you.”
Thus, five years ago, I met the successor to the Herring Sisters—Dede’s brother.
The most eyes and ears in the mansion Illia had mentioned were already cooperating with me.
‘Do you know why information guilds in martial arts novels consist only of beggars?’
Because beggars exist everywhere, and their presence is natural anywhere. These bastards.
And the seeds I’ve been sowing for the past five years will now germinate here.
I pulled something from my pocket.
“When I heard news of Baian Aquasiadel’s death, I found it rather strange. I was certain that the Baian I know would never consider taking his own life.”
Anyone who knew Baian would likely share this conviction.
That bastard would never take his own life as long as weak targets existed for him to torment.
“Of course, this was merely suspicion, so I immediately headed to the building where Baian had been living.”
Agenor, who had been listening quietly to my story, suddenly looked at me in shock.
The way he blinked conveyed the thought: ‘You mean… that day wasn’t just a random visit?’
So I had only gone there to threaten Lirivel?
“And while wandering around the building, I discovered this.”
I held up what I had been clutching in my hand.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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