Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 109

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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 109
‘What should I do?’
She had likely aimed for an impact comparable to my appearance at the Family Meeting five years ago.
‘Because I couldn’t become the protagonist.’
Lirivel had presented herself, but it was only a half-victory.
I crossed my arms.
Lirivel.
Your critical mistake was a lack of experience.
Though that’s not your fault.
Your opponent was me.
Moments later, I faced Lirivel’s glare.
Since we were heading back to Father’s Residence, Father and Agenor were beside me.
I didn’t seem particularly surprised seeing the girl blocking my path.
I had anticipated this would happen.
“Father, Agenor. Will you go ahead?”
“Will you be alright?”
“Who do you think I am? Besides, who taught me?”
Father gently stroked my head.
“As you know, my range of perception is vast. I won’t miss your voice.”
Father turned away with those words.
Really, I couldn’t tell if he was trusting me or not with words and actions like that.
But even as he said it, I knew. He believed in me, the one he had taught.
“…Sister, you don’t like one-on-one combat?”
“Right, and we’re not going to fight anyway, so hurry up.”
“Whine.”
“…Didn’t I say I’d kill you if you imitated Lugaru?”
“Yes.”
Even Agenor left, and I faced Lirivel in the empty Garden.
“So, what is this about?”
Lirivel was the type whose expression faded the angrier she became.
If anything, she was the opposite of Atlant and Agenor, who became more emotional the angrier they got.
Rather, she was similar to Bellus, growing colder the more furious she became.
“Calypso Aquasiadel.”
“Yes. That’s my name. Call it once. It’s wearing out.”
“…”
Lirivel clenched her fists tightly, then quietly exhaled through her nose.
Yes, I had always appreciated how she rapidly accepted and concealed both anger and excitement like that.
“Was all of this your plan?”
“I thought you’d question me more forcefully, but this is unexpected.”
“…”
“If I know you at all, I figured you’d throw a punch first and speak with that crooked tongue of yours.”
“…What do you think you know about me?”
“Probably more than you’d expect. You saw what I did today, didn’t you? How else would you have known I stabbed Baian in the back?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“I owe you thanks for that. I despised that bastard’s face too.”
My laughing eyes turned toward Lirivel’s pale face.
“Though it’s true something unsavory happened between Baian and me five years ago… I didn’t seek revenge for what happened five years ago—instead, I revealed the truth about his death. I wonder if that petty version of me is being thanked by Baian in hell?”
Lirivel fell into deep thought.
There was no other choice.
I had thrown back the very words he’d spoken at the funeral.
His already pale face grew even whiter.
“How did you figure it out? How much have you pieced together?”
“Lirivel, speaking like that is as good as revealing your hand.”
“…,”
I smiled wickedly.
“In moments like this, you need to act shamelessly. Even if you have nothing, make it seem like you still have a joker left in your deck.”
This was advice you couldn’t buy anywhere else.
Or did Lirivel have a white-haired elder to teach him such things?
‘Lack of experience, as expected.’
Experience is usually something time resolves, but Lirivel was critically short on time.
The way he kept second-guessing himself….
‘It’s truly a waste.’
Too much of a waste to simply let him die.
I felt it in the previous round.
‘If only I had more talented people under me.’
We could have defeated the land-dwelling beastmen more easily in that war.
There might have been a way to stop that mad male lead bastard before he sent Ekion into a rampage.
‘We’ve lost too many talented people through the Matriarch competition.’
This includes Lirivel standing right there.
“You’re an honest child.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“You came out of curiosity, didn’t you?”
“What?”
“How I found out, and how I used it so perfectly. When did I start planning all this?”
“….”
“How I discovered your illness.”
Lirivel’s expression showed he’d been struck at his weak point.
It was only for a moment, and it disappeared quickly.
‘For his age, that’s an excellent poker face. And the audacity to use his own brother’s grave as a stepping stone was impressive too.’
Even knowing that if Baian’s condition had been exposed, he would have taken on tremendous risk.
‘Betting on high risk, high return. Your ambition is quite remarkable.’
Had I not revealed myself in that moment, it would have been Lirivel’s solo performance—that much was undeniable.
But as I said before, my opponent simply happened to be me.
“Let me be clear: at your current level of ability, you cannot defeat me.”
I marveled at Lirivel’s power today. So this is where you stood at this age.
And yet, you cannot surpass me.
‘Even I didn’t realize my strength would grow this much over five years.’
For reasons I don’t fully understand, I still cannot generate water.
But borrowing Agenor’s phrasing, I now possessed ‘a fist capable of shattering everything without even needing to create water.’
“You don’t have much time left. And you must become Matriarch within that time limit. Isn’t that right? But you—you cannot defeat me.”
The moment I mentioned the time limit, it seemed to strike a nerve. Lirivel could no longer maintain composure.
Yet she was still deliberating on the best way to respond.
I found that aspect of her appealing.
Before, and now.
“As long as I’m your opponent, that will never happen—not until you die.”
“….”
I smiled softly.
“I like that you’re not screaming about how you won’t know the difference between long and short until you test it against me.”
I felt the need to be somewhat forceful here.
My eyes darkened for an instant.
“This is how it is.”
Lirivel instantly stepped back.
Whoosh.
Water streams rose around Lirivel. She looked rather desperate.
“Your body understood the situation before you did, didn’t it?”
“Who said I didn’t understand….”
“You can’t win. You’ve already sensed it.”
I clenched my fist, then opened it.
I uncrossed my arms and clasped my hands behind my back instead.
“If you can’t trust the conclusion your instincts have reached, feel free to attack. I don’t mind teaching you firsthand.”
Lirivel could only break into a cold sweat, unable to move.
What I wielded was the power of Pear.
Anyone weaker than me would be utterly paralyzed.
“….”
“Don’t be ashamed of being unable to move. You’re still better off than Agenor right now.”
Lirivel had come to understand it.
That she would be the one lying on the ground if things went wrong.
“Lirivel, the stronger the orca, the more developed this instinct becomes. It’s to recognize the strong. Just like you are now.”
My finger pointed toward the trembling girl.
“I could have ended you today.”
“Don’t bluff.”
Lirivel gazed at me with narrowed eyes, speaking with elegant composure.
“I acknowledge that you’re stronger than me. Yes, I cannot deny it.”
Lirivel ground her teeth together.
“But does that mean I’m incapable of doing anything?”
If I found her refusal to lose spirit even in this moment appealing, would that be too much of a victor’s perspective?
I had felt it before, but this one’s way of thinking resembled mine.
Even the way she acknowledged defeat and revealed her venom was satisfying.
“Calypso Aquasiadel, regardless of what you’ve done, I’ve achieved half a victory today. Simply knowing the measure of who you are is enough for me.”
“A lie.”
I remained composed.
And for good reason.
“Lirivel, do you truly think I had no way to extract the blue coral’s poison?”
Whether the blue coral’s poison served as a small signal, Lirivel’s expression crumbled entirely.
“Whether it was used or not hasn’t been proven. Don’t make baseless claims.”
“A brilliant answer. You skillfully avoided what could have been a leading question.”
I let out a soft laugh.
“But clever Lirivel—I’m the one who discovered your illness that no one else knew about. Why would you think I wouldn’t know this?”
“….”
“Your cleanup was sloppy. If the poison had been exposed, your position would have become far worse. Is that all?”
I could have listed ten or more of the Orca Family Older Brother and Baian’s brutal deeds that no one else knew about.
I’m saying I could have prevented your first stage from even being attempted.
Lirivel’s expression seemed to sense even more than what I hadn’t spoken aloud.
“Does it still look like bluffing?”
The reason I pressured Lirivel in this manner was not for any other cause.
Unlike the three older brothers who ultimately suffered defeat in the previous cycle, submitted, and swore loyalty.
“Kill me.”
Lirivel had resisted desperately until the very end, and ultimately chose death rather than submission.
‘This one won’t break unless I show an insurmountable wall.’
Unlike then, standing before me now was a less mature, blank-slate Lirivel.
“Lirivel, we don’t need to compete.”
“….”
“Come under me.”
Lirivel flinched in surprise, then opened her lips.
“Ha, you’re really something.”
Lirivel laughed as if dumbfounded, then suddenly grimaced.
“That’s right—I came looking for you out of curiosity. But the fact that you’re stronger than me doesn’t become a reason for me to serve under you. Stop spouting nonsense.”
I wasn’t flustered in the slightest.
Yes, exactly. I knew you’d say that.
“No matter how much you feel it with your mind or instinct—you orcas are all action-oriented, aren’t you?”
I swung my arm lightly as if stretching, then planted my foot down with a soft thud.
“…!!!”
Lirivel flinched in surprise and pulled his fist back.
It didn’t matter.
‘I gave him the opening to dodge, after all.’
My fist struck the spot where Lirivel had been standing.
Kwaaang!
The sound that erupted was unbelievable for something delivered by a mere fist—as if a massive crane had dropped a boulder.
‘Ah, I lost control of my strength.’
A cloud of dust scattered into the air. When the brown-tinged wind finally settled.
I clicked my tongue in displeasure.
Beneath my feet lay an enormous Crater.
At this rate, Agenor would finally stop singing about that bastard’s power.
I’d created a result too conspicuous for rumors not to spread.
“….”
After all the dust had settled, I looked at Lirivel, who had landed hard on his backside, and spoke.
“Lirivel. I was being too indirect, wasn’t I?”
I smiled brilliantly.
“Will you die, or will you join my side?”

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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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