Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 22

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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 22
“Oh my, is the young master angry?”
“Angry? Not at all!”
“Is that so!”
Squeak, squeak!
The twins managed to carry me all the way down to the first floor before setting me down, then dashed off giggling merrily.
I barely had time to process before watching their retreating figures disappear.
‘I was going to praise them, too.’
Those clever little ones.
Perhaps I’ll save my praise for tomorrow?
Left on the first floor as usual, instead of heading toward the carriage as I normally would, I took a different path.
‘Now that I think about it, isn’t the Intermediate Institution in this direction?’
It was something I’d overheard from the Handmaidens during lunch today.
So I planned to venture a bit further to verify something.
‘Besides, my Retainer will wait for me anyway.’
This is the Elementary Institution territory, and there’s virtually no danger at this point.
Unlike the days when I was treated as worthless chaff, now that I’m well-known, there’s even less reason to worry.
‘It’s no coincidence that my Older Brothers came to mind today.’
I already knew how they were living around this time.
‘But I need to grasp the situation.’
There’s supposed to be a family meeting coming up soon.
‘All three of them should be at the Intermediate Institution right now.’
The Elementary Institution and Intermediate Institution were positioned fairly close to each other.
They even shared the same grounds, and if I went straight in this direction, I should reach that institution.
Soon I had to stop mid-stride.
‘A sound?’
Voices drifted from somewhere.
I rose onto my toes and moved toward the source of the sound.
Thanks to the agility Pierre had been diligently training me with lately, it wasn’t difficult to move without making a sound.
Crouching in the grass and peeking out, I spotted a cluster of Young Boys gathered not far away.
‘Hmm? Are these kids from the Intermediate Institution?’
The Aquasiadel Estate was vast enough to rival an entire village.
All Educational Institutions operated on the principle of survival of the fittest. The strong monopolized everything.
Yet paradoxically, this meant opportunity was granted to all.
In theory, even a branch family member could rise to become a successor candidate alongside the main line, provided they were strong enough to prove themselves through their performance at the Educational Institution.
The key factor influencing this was the ‘power of water’—branch members had to awaken this power to stand against the main line.
Young Boys studying at the Intermediate Institution ranged from a minimum of eight or nine years old to a maximum of seventeen.
After that, they were guaranteed status as adults.
‘From what I remember, this wasn’t a place where children gathered. What’s going on?’
Judging by their size, these Young Boys definitely appeared to be from the Intermediate Institution.
Yet the atmosphere was decidedly hostile.
“Hey, can’t you hear me? This guy’s ears don’t work or something?”
“What’s this? Are you an idiot? You ignoring what we’re saying?”
As I mentioned before, the direct lineage held an inherent superiority over the collateral branches.
Currently, every direct lineage member except me had awakened the power of water.
And my older brothers above me were all at the age to be attending the Intermediate Institution.
‘Which means….’
I frowned.
‘It wouldn’t be strange if he were running this place.’
So why was that guy being ostracized over there?
Among the swarm of young boys crowding around, I spotted one crouching down.
For some reason, his hair had a grayish tint.
Skin pale as ivory.
Eyes as blue as jewels.
…I couldn’t help but recognize him.
That boy hunched over in that pathetic posture was my Third Brother.
Agenor.
‘Let’s see, there’s about a five or six year age gap between us, right?’
That meant he’d only recently graduated from the Elementary Institution.
I recalled Rayla’s words.
“Since your Third Brother, you are the first to perplex me so, Noble Lady.”
Judging by that statement, his personality didn’t seem to have changed much from what I knew.
‘But why does his hair look like that?’
Watching intently from the shadows, I clicked my tongue.
Tsk, that guy….
‘He’s concealing his hair color with the power of water, isn’t he?’
The characteristics of the orca direct lineage manifested unmistakably in hair color and shape, no matter what anyone said.
Even I possessed hair that was jet black at the roots, gradually fading to silver as it descended.
This hair was proof itself of being born into the orca direct lineage.
Yet my Third Brother was skillfully concealing that very evidence with his own power.
Revealing only those original blue eyes in their full brilliance.
Gazing at those vacant blue eyes, I felt both joy and exasperation simultaneously.
“You, I’ve never seen your face before… don’t you know that everyone who comes here has to greet us first?”
“Looking at how there’s no black in your hair at all, you must be some collateral branch with thin blood, right?”
“Seriously, how did a guy like this even end up in our class?”
I watched the snickering boys with contempt.
Among the collateral branches themselves, the external criterion for establishing hierarchy was whether even a trace of black was mixed into their hair color.
None? Then they were promptly dismissed.
“There’s no place for a guy like you here, so why don’t you just leave? Nobody’s going to stop you.”
Another characteristic of the direct lineage was the white spots resembling eyes on both sides of the crown.
This was a trait that existed only among direct bloodline members.
My older brother had even managed to conceal this birthmark through sheer effort.
“…P-please, d-don’t.”
What’s this?
‘What a pathetic display.’
When a timid, trembling voice emanated from Agenor, the young boys paused momentarily.
Soon, the boys exchanged glances before bursting into laughter—wahahahaha!
“Hey, did you hear that voice? I thought it was a goat. Baaaaaah~”
“Hey, someone get some paper. Does he eat it? We have a goat-human hybrid in our family?”
“I have paper! Should I go get it?”
As I’ve mentioned before, orcas are born with temperaments befitting their reputation as “tyrants of the sea”—vicious and brutal by nature.
The stronger one’s bloodline, the more pronounced these tendencies become.
They behave like untamed beasts with wretched dispositions, or like people with something fundamentally broken in their minds.
And among them, Agenor—my Third Brother—was….
‘…a madman who actually enjoyed being ostracized.’
The young man smirked when no one was watching.
I regarded my older brother with contempt.
‘Ah, now I remember.’
As I mentioned, in my previous cycle I fled the family, grew stronger, returned, and beat my older brothers into submission before claiming the position of family head.
In other words, we only properly confronted each other after we had both matured.
Because of that, I didn’t know in detail what kind of school life these older brothers had experienced.
However, I had picked up quite a lot of information from my subordinates.
Quite a lot, indeed.
“A-Agenor during his school days? AAAAHHHHH!”
“Why is he like that?”
“I was in the same class as Agenor.”
“So what?”
“Well, um… Agenor back then was quite… unusual. At first, he pretended to be a branch family member and hid it, then… he let himself get beaten up for a while… and just when we thought it was over, he nearly killed several of his classmates.”
Among the things I came here to verify, there was definitely something related to this Agenor.
Yet to encounter him in person—I’m not sure whether to call this fortunate or inconvenient.
‘So it was exactly as my subordinate described.’
Agenor was an older brother of very few words.
“What’s this? Why do you deliberately invite ostracism and get beaten up? I can’t even imagine it. Why exactly? This won’t do. Bring him here!”
And he always volunteered for the role of being despised.
Even I only learned why he enjoyed being ostracized after defeating him in my third cycle….
He said that was when he felt most valued and appreciated.
It’s a way of thinking I simply cannot comprehend.
‘What a twisted human being.’
Likely, in this cycle too, he intended to live this way.
“Hey, try eating this. I said try it.”
“You little goat, I told you to eat it—why aren’t you saying anything? Are you ignoring us?”
Someone started with a light kick, and the atmosphere immediately grew thick with the promise of violence.
Agenor’s eyes trembled.
Seeing him like this, something came to mind.
“I didn’t intend to kill a classmate from the start… I just thought about it, but when I actually hit him, it didn’t feel as good as I expected…”
His expression suggested he hadn’t considered things beyond that point.
I clicked my tongue and picked up a stone in one hand.
Was I worried about Agenor?
No—that would mean I was underestimating a direct descendant of the mad orcas.
‘If he uses his strength, they’ll all die.’
Just as someone was about to kick again and Agenor squeezed his eyes shut, I spoke.
“Stop.”
The young boys froze mid-motion, staring at me.
Looking around, there were no other whale deities or aquatic beastfolk—only orcas.
Huh, my class was the same way.
These are complete juvenile delinquents. Makes sense, really. Tsk tsk.
“Who are you?”
The Burly Boy glared at me with a menacing snort.
Then the Concerned Boy beside him widened his eyes and urgently tapped the largest one.

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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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