Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 112

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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 112
“I know what you’re worried about.”
As some time passed and I was about to head home, Father spoke to me.
Ekion was clinging to my side, and his face was filled with reluctance now that he knew I was leaving.
“Calypso, go?”
Ugh, he’s even piling on the guilt with words like that.
Though I wanted nothing more than to stay with him until nightfall, I was in the middle of comforting Ekion, telling him not to worry since we’d see each other again tomorrow.
Then I responded to Father’s words.
“Worried about?”
Father approached me and knelt on one knee to match my eye level.
When I was three years old, Father couldn’t match my eye level even when he bent down like this, so I felt a pleasant sense of growth realizing I’d gotten taller.
‘I hope I’m taller than in the third cycle.’
Height apparently varied depending on environmental factors.
I set that thought aside and focused on Father’s words.
“You exert yourself to eliminate the branch families, yet you don’t even report back.”
Though I said I was focusing, I faltered at the words that came out the next moment.
“…Father, you knew what I was worried about?”
“Vaguely.”
“And you’re even lying about it?”
Not even reporting back from eliminating a single branch family? Am I an orca, or are you? Am I the fool here?
‘I’ve destroyed several clans and he’s looking down on me.’
I frowned.
On the other hand, if what he said was true, just how strong was this man?
“Just how strong are you anyway?”
“Tsk, what’s with you.”
Father flicked my forehead.
“Hmph, you can’t even hit hard.”
“I can’t hit hard, but efficient training is possible.”
“…The most wonderful Teacher in the world, I was wrong. Perhaps it would be better if you became the Matriarch instead.”
“You certainly have a way with insincere words.”
Father crouched down and rested his chin on his hand, then let out a soft laugh.
With a face like his, even a posture like some neighborhood thug looked remarkably decadent and storied, like a gangster with a past.
Though both were thugs in their own way.
‘It would be nice if he’d put on some weight, but it just doesn’t stick.’
As I said this, I recalled how Father had trained me all this time.
‘I had asked him to be harsh because I wanted to awaken the power of water.’
So our Father, who knew nothing but so-called “no mercy,” truly did his best to put me through the wringer for five years.
…I suppose that’s what he believed love was.
‘Orcas really are all twisted in the same way.’
Ah, but of course, I was very satisfied.
With a simple punch, I had already overcome Lirivel.
My goal was to steadily recover the strength I once possessed as the Matriarch.
“What should I do now?”
“There’s something I’m waiting for.”
Over the past five years, I hadn’t been unwilling to save my Father.
Rather, it was a matter of finding the means to do so.
More precisely, the ‘person’ capable of saving him simply hadn’t arrived yet.
But that would be soon.
* * *
A few days later, I met with Lirivel again.
Unlike last time when she openly pursued me, this meeting was far more clandestine.
“Did we really have to meet like this?”
Lirivel glanced around, unable to hide her anxious expression.
We were in the basement of my Father’s Manor.
Though it was decorated reasonably well, the lack of windows meant it didn’t have that stuffy basement feeling—except for that one detail.
“There was no one following you?”
“…No, there wasn’t.”
“Right, we checked on our end too and confirmed it.”
“…Are you doubting my abilities right now?”
“I’m not doubting you. It’s just that you don’t seem well-versed in the special talents of the various aquatic beastfolk yet.”
“…”
“Don’t make that face. On our end, only Father and I can detect them in this situation anyway.”
Detecting beastfolk specialized in concealment requires technique.
Father’s approach was through his tremendous power and sensory awareness, while I found it effortless thanks to my extensive experience.
I picked up a cup with steam rising from it and sipped the tea with a slight smile.
“You came here because you’ve already made up your mind, just as my letter suggested.”
“…”
Lirivel’s silence was affirmation.
“Perfect timing. I have something I want to tell you as well.”
“What is it?”
The way Lirivel tried so hard not to reveal her shortcomings was endearing.
She didn’t even realize she resembled a pufferfish that had inflated itself out of desperation.
“From now on, continue pretending to be a successor candidate.”
“You mean I should act as though I haven’t given up on becoming the Matriarch?”
“Yes.”
“…Who are we deceiving? The Orca Family Matriarch?”
I simply smiled, and after a moment of thought, Lirivel spoke again.
“My mother?”
“As expected, you’re quick to catch on. I’m glad I recruited you.”
Heila, my maternal aunt, was a significant variable.
I had no intention of recruiting her at this moment, so Lirivel would have to keep her in check.
‘Heila’s ambitions run far too deep.’
Had she been born into the direct line, she would have become a rival every bit as formidable as Lirivel.
Of course, now that I’ve taken Lirivel under my wing, it would be wasteful to discard such a useful piece.
So there’s no harm in waiting until she matures further before bringing her into the fold.
“…Do you truly believe you can still pull down the Orca Family Matriarch while she remains in her prime?”
“Of course.”
I set down my glass and rested my chin on my hand.
“Care to swear a Vow of the Sea to prove it?”
“…If you insist, I won’t stop you.”
“I rather like that suspicious nature of yours.”
“Why do you pretend to understand me so well?”
“Because I want us to get along.”
Lirivel’s cheeks flushed slightly as she turned her head away.
Given how pale her complexion usually was, the blush stood out distinctly.
“You don’t have friends your own age, do you?”
“What’s so important about friends?”
“Well, true. My brothers at least had friends… but you’re all alone….”
“Who says I’m alone!”
“Then you can be friends with me.”
“What?”
Lirivel started to rise abruptly, then flinched.
“I don’t make friends with those who follow me.”
Even as she said this, her blush deepened, her face growing even more flushed.
“Ah, well, I was going to say something anyway.”
“What?”
“Don’t forget about swearing that Vow of the Sea.”
….
“You did swear loyalty, after all.”
I smiled broadly.
Lirivel, who had been staring at me intently, frowned and averted her gaze slightly.
“…Tch.”
At her petulant little scoff, I could only laugh.
‘I knew you’d be like this.’
This cunning orca had bowed her head to me only as a temporary measure, fully prepared to bolt at the first opportunity—or so I had suspected.
After all, she wasn’t someone who had earned the title “Master of Betrayal” in the third cycle for nothing.
But then again, what in this world comes easily?
Watching Lirivel grumble with that sullen expression while still swearing the Vow of the Sea—
‘So her desire to follow me was genuine after all.’
The feeling was peculiar.
I thought he’d stretch further than that.
Is it because he’s young?
He seems even cuter than the completed Lirivel. Though that’s only natural.
“If you want to live, do well.”
“…Isn’t it cowardly to threaten someone’s life like that?”
“Who was the cowardly one first?”
“….”
Watching Lirivel sit down gracefully with a resigned expression, I couldn’t help but laugh aloud.
“Just keep your promise, Calypso Aquasiadel. I absolutely want to see the Matriarch you spoke of crumble.”
“Of course.”
Thus, I had planted a capable spy within Rodesen’s faction.
* * *
The next day.
As always, I attended the Educational Institution, but something felt off, and I tilted my head in unease.
‘Why does my intuition feel so bad?’
This sense of vigilance was the same feeling I’d had during my third loop when I stayed up all night alone, preparing to challenge the Matriarch.
A sensation of nerves standing on end even while sitting still.
“Sister, what’s wrong?”
Agenor, walking beside me, tilted his head curiously.
“Agenor, you don’t feel anything?”
“Feel what? Ah, well… there is something slightly tingling, but maybe someone’s fighting nearby. Why?”
The Intermediate Institution was somewhat different from the Elementary Institution.
Actually, it was very different.
The educational policies of institutions varied depending on the Matriarch’s disposition.
The Elementary Education Institution had at least implemented minimal protective measures.
True to an institution operated under a Matriarch who preached survival of the fittest, duels between students occurred almost daily at this Intermediate Institution.
Most were fights between orcas, but very occasionally other whales got involved.
I turned my head sharply.
“….”
And I simply blinked.
“Huh….”
Since it was break time, the Corridor was quite crowded.
Near a pillar not far from me, I spotted a person glaring at me fiercely.
It was Atlant.
‘…What is that bastard doing there?’
He wasn’t a clownfish hiding in an anemone, so why was he acting up there.
Moreover, his gaze burned like his temples were on fire.

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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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