Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 197

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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 197
Unfortunately, I exhausted most of my materials while treating my Father.
Moreover, I used up all the materials that could only be obtained from the Time Rift.
‘I had gathered a lot from the beginning, intending to use them all the way through Lirivel, but it turned out I needed more than expected, didn’t I?’
However, this time I understood the consumption rate while treating my Father, so it should be fine.
I’ll be able to bring back the exact amount needed.
Ekion stared at me while opening and closing his mouth.
He seemed to have something he wanted to say, but his lips just kept fluttering like a baby bird’s.
“What’s wrong?”
“Calypso… are you really going together?”
“…? Yes. Why would I lie?”
It was frustrating.
Whether my words weren’t convincing or if something was bothering him.
Ekion groaned and fretted with that cute, pretty face of his.
At first, I found it adorable to watch, but that didn’t last long—after some time passed, I grew impatient.
In the end, it was I who couldn’t hold back and suddenly grabbed his hand.
“What is it, exactly?”
“Calypso, I want to explain… but it’s difficult.”
“Hmm? Then call Tus.”
Soon after, Tus appeared before us with a flourish.
If they wished, they could easily move to wherever the other was—it was a good ability no matter how many times I saw it.
Though it could only be used within a certain distance, it still seemed impressive.
‘I, Ekion, Whale, and Levai too, I suppose.’
Excluding those like Atlant and Agenor who could fend for themselves.
I felt envious thinking of the children who needed protection.
“Hey, Dragon Duke?”
Tus, who had been summoned, seemed anxious that Ekion might be angry or hate him because of the truth he had told me.
After soothing and comforting Tus, I listened to the explanation.
“Ah…! That’s right, I need to go to the Time Rift to replenish the depleted power!”
Normally, one visit to the Time Rift would have sufficed, but now I had to go twice.
“…But Calypso, no matter how much of a Dragon Duke you are, entering twice isn’t easy.”
However, since I was going a second time, there existed something like a ‘penalty.’
“You have to… stay longer.”
“How much longer?”
Tus began watching my expression. Or was he watching Ekion’s expression?
I subtly turned my back to Ekion, blocking him from Tus’s view.
When I signaled with my lips that it was fine, Tus’s expression brightened slightly as he spoke.
“…3, 3 years!”
Well, despite my effort to shield him, it wasn’t particularly good news.
“3 years? I have to stay that long?”
“U-um. Because it’s the s-second time….”
“What happens if I don’t go through with it?”
I had already told Ekion that I would go with him. But three years?
I thought it would be difficult to leave my position vacant for that long.
‘This is going to be the most chaotic period from now on.’
The results of my duel with the Matriarch would spread quickly. Naturally, the entire family would fall into turmoil afterward.
Perhaps I would face the same chaos I had experienced when I first returned to the family in the third cycle.
“If you don’t go….”
Tus struggled to speak.
There was only one reason Tus was like this.
‘It’s not good for Ekion.’
Even when we first met long ago, Ekion had been most reluctant to mention when he was struggling or in pain.
“…Calypso.”
As the explanation ended, Ekion grasped the hem of my clothes from behind.
He always held me this way.
Whether it was my hand or my clothes, he always grasped as if anticipating that he would be flung away helplessly the moment I shook him off.
For a dragon so incredibly powerful.
One who would become the most noble being in this world.
“I… don’t want to go….”
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
“You have to go. You need to come back.”
“But… you won’t go with me, Calypso….”
It was a remark that pierced the truth.
Instead of denying it, I tilted my head loosely.
‘When did my Yongyang become so perceptive?’
Strangely, the moment Ekion grasped me with his delicate hand, instead of feeling troubled, I felt a faint sense of satisfaction.
A dilemma suddenly struck me.
‘If I let him go like this, I won’t see him for three years.’
Come to think of it, except for the time when Ekion fell into a prolonged sleep, I had seen him almost every single day.
The thought of not seeing him felt like I had severed one of my own fingers.
Since I had actually lost a finger in my previous life, that sensation felt all too real.
I decided to admit it honestly.
Yes, I had separation anxiety.
If this was an illness, it wasn’t strange that I had contracted such a condition.
Looking back carefully, there were aspects that made sense.
“Listen, Ekion.”
“….”
“I fundamentally have no expectations of humans.”
My voice sounded monotonous and dry even to my own ears.
“I’ve met too many people, and countless others have betrayed my expectations.”
I felt a slight weariness as well.
“Of course, I think things are different now.”
I gazed quietly at Aquasiadel Estate.
Though it was only half, this enormous thing had come into my hands.
Finally.
But various emotions collided within me.
“You already know I’ve lived through countless cycles, but my older brothers who follow me so well now…”
“….”
“They once tried to kill me. It was only natural. There was only one Matriarch position, and when we met again, there was no familial bond between us.”
What affection could there be between siblings who met after more than a decade and had grown into formidable adult orcas?
In the third cycle, I fought my older brothers to the death, subdued them, and then…
Something like camaraderie gradually took root.
“And Father—he was someone I never saw face-to-face during all that long time.”
I closed my eyes tightly for a moment, then opened them.
I won’t turn away from the familial love I’ve felt in this life.
They love me, and I cherish and love them in return.
Among them, Father has become an irreplaceable, precious family member to me.
But.
“Yet you and Whale—you’re neither family nor subordinates, and yet you give your lives and precious things without reservation.”
What is different about this life that such a connection has formed?
Especially you and I were likely major victims of the third cycle’s destruction.
Every time you gave so freely, so easily without calculation, I felt strangely moved.
“Saving someone comes with responsibility.”
I know better than anyone how much Ekion’s life has changed because of me.
The changed future created transformation, and if I must bear responsibility, I will bear it properly.
“For someone like you, I think giving three years from my busy life would be fine.”
The more I spoke, the clearer it became. I nodded in agreement with myself.
“Yes. That’s right. I understand.”
“….”
“For someone like you, I think I can give that much gladly.”
If the me from the third cycle saw this decision, would she call it foolish?
“I’ll talk it over with Whale first… and I’ll go with you.”
“….”
“So don’t worry.”
I really like this life. No, I genuinely love it.
So this time, I want to see how it ends.
It wouldn’t be bad to see it through with you, who faced an unfortunate death alongside me.
“I would never abandon you.”
Ekion stared at me intently. But suddenly, his large golden eyes glistened with moisture, and tears fell.
“…Uh, w-why are you crying?”
The child had delicate, angelic features. Tears streaming down those pristine cheeks suited him remarkably well, though.
On the other hand, I was taken aback.
“Mm, don’t cry. What on earth did I say that warranted tears?”
Ekion tilted his head, as if my last words made no sense to him.
Then he touched his own cheek.
Tears were streaming down steadily.
“My, you’re still just a child after all.”
“….”
“Was it really that moving?”
Ekion hesitated before nodding slowly.
“Um, I… I don’t know how to put it into words.”
I smiled gently.
“In moments like these, just say thank you.”

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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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