Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 2

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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 2
“So this is ‘that thing’?”
The way he spoke—treating people like objects. Some things never change.
The Retainer beside him bowed respectfully.
“Yes, that is correct, Family Head.”
“What of the Power of Water?”
“Well, that is….”
The Retainer hesitated, then shook his head slowly.
‘The Power of Water.’
A special ability passed down through generations of the Orca Family.
With this power, aquatic beastkin could exert their full strength even on land.
For aquatic beastkin cursed with weakening power the farther they strayed from the sea, this ability was invaluable.
Moreover, the stronger this power became, the more it allowed nearby aquatic beastkin to manifest their full potential as well.
And when this power reached its zenith, it could grant such a buff to all aquatic beastkin.
‘I achieved that level.’
In the previous cycle, I obtained the treasure that appeared in the original work.
With the treasure’s aid, I awakened the Power of Water, pushed it to its absolute limit, and not only claimed the position of Family Head but gathered all aquatic beastkin and even waged war.
‘Those bastards were the ones who insulted us first, calling us fishy-smelling.’
Truth be told, when I read the novel, all the aquatic beastkin seemed like irredeemable villains to me.
They tried to kidnap the adorable squirrel heroine, forced her to use healing powers through drugs, and later even attempted to kill her.
The Villain Family of aquatic beastkin, the Orca Family, was no different.
But stepping into this world, I discovered the real thugs were the land animal beastkin.
It wasn’t enough that they monopolized all the fertile land on the Continent….
They drove aquatic beastkin to salt-laden wastelands where farming was nearly impossible, then mocked them for it.
They said fish-folk should just eat their salty fish and live that way.
‘And they dare claim we reek!’
Though our true forms are aquatic, when we take human shape, we must eat and live just like humans do.
On barren land and the Island, aquatic beastkin truly fought to survive with fierce determination.
So the children grew harder because of it. Yeah.
‘I can’t say I harbored no desire for revenge from the last cycle.’
I was sold off to another family before I even turned ten, every single time.
The first cycle, it was the Black Panther Clan. The second cycle, after causing chaos, I became entangled with the Imperial Palace where the original male lead resided.
Either way, I lived as a tool to be sold.
Dying repeatedly until I grew furious, I fled in my previous life.
I returned with strength accumulated, defeated my older brothers, and became Family Head.
‘Damn it, what good is becoming that strong!’
I waged war against the land animal families of the original work who dared to belittle our aquatic beastkin, and nearly achieved victory…!
‘I never expected the male lead, this madman, would provoke the Dragon Duke who had remained neutral, causing everyone to rush at us together.’
The cheat code of this world.
Originally, the Dragon Duke served to mediate between land and aquatic beastkin.
‘But a being that runs amok once every ten years.’
The current Dragon Duke was a man who simply wished to live in peace.
In the original story, he had almost no point of contact with the original female lead, or at best served as a source of wise counsel….
But when the male leads thought they were losing, they provoked this quiet Duke into a rampage, and everyone met a total annihilation ending!
And in the previous cycle, I made a resolution.
This time, I absolutely must return home.
‘I must become the Dragon’s Bride no matter what.’
I had made this resolve, but the first obstacle was staring me down with wide eyes.
Hmm, how do I make sure the Orca Family Matriarch doesn’t take an immediate dislike to me?
“Tsk, you’ve brought something useless.”
The Orca Family Matriarch clicked her tongue, then spoke in a voice as cold as ice.
“Head of House, what shall the child’s name be….”
“Calypso. I shall name her Calypso Aquasiadel.”
“Yes. I shall record it as such.”
‘So the naming process unfolds identically this cycle as well.’
Calypso—a name like that of a water spirit.
Why did she give such a precious name when she cast me out in every cycle?
‘What bare minimum of conscience is that. Pfft.’
I harbored bitter resentment toward the Orca Family Matriarch, yet ironically, I now gazed at her with complete emotional detachment.
This was possible because of words spoken by one of my retainers in the previous cycle as she died.
“…Calypso, the previous Head of House… regretted it until the day she died.”
“What? What nonsense is this? Did she lose her mind before dying?”
The retainer who had served the Orca Family across generations was not one to speak foolishness.
“She said… she should have gone to see you once… she should have brought you back… she said that.”
Of course, these words didn’t absolve the Orca Family Matriarch of everything, but they did pique my curiosity.
Why was she always so desperate to cast me out?
There were many unanswered questions, and while it bothered me.
In this life, none of it mattered anyway—I only needed to survive and be sold off as the Dragon’s Bride.
In the Orca Family, strength governed all things.
“…Grandmother.”
I reached out my hand and called to her.
My hand had shrunk smaller than a steamed bun again.
‘Damn it, I’ll need to be at least ten years old to be sold off as the Dragon’s Bride.’
How long must I wait for that?
With my tiny hand gripping the railing, I rose onto my tiptoes with all my might.
“Wait!”
I moved my chubby cheeks and small lips, and the Orca Family Matriarch, who had been turning away, paused for a moment.
Her handsome face turned back to look at me.
“What did you say?”
“Grandmother!”
The Orca Family Matriarch narrowed her eyes sharply at the Retainer, as if finding the situation utterly absurd.
“Does this one even know how to speak? Who taught him that?”
It was understandable to be surprised.
Orca-kin were born with large bodies and tremendous strength, but their mental development was notoriously slow.
It was a racial characteristic of sorts.
In other words, no matter how clever an orca might be, they lived as so-called “blockheads” who couldn’t speak for years.
Even when they could speak, their pronunciation was slurred.
“Yes? Yes, Dragon Duke. The child should be able to manage simple words after about two years….”
“Who was talking about ordinary beast-kin children? Orca children have delayed speech! Isn’t it common knowledge that they speak unclearly until age five? Don’t go around calling yourself a fish-brain anywhere else, you anchovy.”
“….”
Oh, the Matriarch’s sharp tongue. It felt refreshingly familiar after so long.
The last insult wasn’t meant as a slur—the Retainer was actually an anchovy-kin, so she called him that literally.
“You. Say something again.”
I stared at the Matriarch, then broke into a smile.
‘That’s right, surprising, isn’t it? I can speak properly.’
As much as I want to, Grandma.
“Grandmother!”
“Hmph, it’s not just speaking—you seem to understand what you hear too? How is this possible?”
“Well, I haven’t received any separate instruction from the maids or nurses, but….”
Of course not. I’d kept up the act of being a typical orca-kin in front of them.
Even with rebirth, one couldn’t perform complex tasks from infancy.
No matter how much I regressed, I couldn’t escape the fundamental traits of being orca-kin.
Overcoming the limitations of slow childhood development and tongue dysfunction wasn’t easy, so I’d only recently figured out how to manage it.
‘I wish I could have spoken clearly from the start.’
It was unfortunate, but the past was the past. I was satisfied that this life could begin more cleverly.
Besides, the reason orca-kin often died suddenly around one or two years old was partly because their immunity was weaker than other beast-kin.
I’d learned this from the original story too—orca-kin gained immense power as they matured, but their childhood was extremely, extremely fragile.
Of course, being stronger than ordinary beast-kin in infancy was a separate matter. Strong but physically vulnerable, as it were.
“Has a genius emerged among the fish-brains?”
“Fish-brain! Grandmother! Fish-brain!”
“….”
The Matriarch’s expression became peculiar.
As if wondering whether I’d just insulted her.
“Did you just curse at me?”
Yes, that’s right, Grandma.
Though I was smiling now, my resentment hadn’t entirely disappeared.
I deliberately pretended not to understand and shouted it again with confidence.
“Fish-brain!”
The Matriarch’s hand seized my clothes and lifted me up.
“You’re a cunning little thing.”
Is this what a kitten looks like when held by the scruff of its neck by its mother cat?
Her grip was utterly savage.
“How dare you call me a fish head?”
If my clothes tear at this rate, I’ll end up with a concussion.
Instead of struggling, I went limp.
“You’re the spitting image of that fool Pierre, yet so pathetically small—your body is underdeveloped.”
“Yes… normally by age three, they would be much larger.”
“You lack the power of water entirely… only your mind develops quickly. Little one, you understand everything I’m saying, don’t you? Can you prove your own usefulness?”
What is this old woman saying? That’s what you tell a three-year-old child?
When I exhaled softly with a slight cough, a look of contempt flashed across her face.
“Pathetically small and fragile. How could such a weak body ever develop sharp teeth?”
The Orca Family Matriarch had surely put my three older brothers through this same process, and before them, my father, the Youngest Son, and countless cousins besides.
She was the strongest, a tyrant incapable of understanding the plight of the weak—a self-centered human being.
“Hmph. A mind without a body to match it is useless to our family.”
“Grandmother! I’ll prove it!”
I pretended to stumble and grabbed at something.
“I’ll prove it!”
Something came away in my hand with a soft pull. A lock of the Orca Family Matriarch’s pure white hair. I beamed with delight.
“Grandmother, I’m good! See?”
Haha, I’d been wanting to try this once.
You told me to prove myself, old woman!

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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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