Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 358

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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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Additional Side Story: Act 22
“And stop crying, tell me. I don’t have information, little one.”
Since I didn’t know its name anyway, I’d just call it baby for now. Snake, there’s no way around it, right?
‘But is it even actually a snake?’
I gazed at the baby snake’s head and swallowed hard.
…Snakes don’t have horns.
“Tell me. What exactly do you need help with?”
-Hic, hic, save our Dragon Duke!
I fixed my eyes on the egg. I thought it might be damaged, but it appeared intact.
“…Well, even though he’s in such a humble place, isn’t he doing well inside the egg?”
-Yes. But… it will be destroyed soon!
What?
My eyes widened.
-It will disappear, they’re trying to kill the Dragon Duke! Tus can’t stop them. Tus opened my eyes in panic and couldn’t learn. Couldn’t grow…!
Tus rambled incoherently for a while, and after listening carefully, here’s what I gathered.
The Dragon Duke is a being born across generations, but when some villains appeared as soon as this Dragon Duke’s egg was discovered, they tormented it, and sensing the threat, the Dragon Duke refused to hatch from the egg.
So these villains decided to abandon this egg and make the next Dragon Duke be born instead.
‘No wonder they brought someone who should have been perfectly fine in the City of Dragons.’
…These bastards, have they lost their minds?
The Dragon Duke and the City of Dragons were within the Empire, yet they were essentially independent territory.
Not content with kidnapping, but destruction too.
‘That’s murder.’
Did they think those who follow the Dragon Duke would sit idle?
I was horrified that the Imperial family would do such a thing, yet part of me understood—if it was those bastards, then of course.
“This works out perfectly.”
My hesitation about whether bringing the egg was the right choice vanished completely.
“I came to serve him.”
I carefully reached out to touch the egg.
Thump.
‘Oh, I can feel a heartbeat?’
And it’s warm too.
“We don’t have time, so guide me. Let’s get out of here quickly.”
I spread both hands to lift the egg.
But as expected, it was huge.
“Um, little one?”
-Uurng?
“The egg, or rather… this person is too big. What do I do?”
As expected, I needed both hands to carry it.
The baby snake blinked its eyes and suddenly lifted its head.
-Tus can solve this! It’s possible!
Golden light flowed from the Baby Snake, and in the blink of an eye.
‘Oh.’
The egg had shrunk.
Almost the size of an actual egg?
It was certainly nice that it had become smaller.
I held it in one hand and looked down at my clothing. Ideally, there would be no combat, but if there were.
“Hmm, this size is good, but… I’m still worried. What if I accidentally drop it from my hand or it falls out of my pocket?”
At that, the Baby Snake tilted its head curiously, then its eyes shone brightly again.
Light burst forth once more, and a small necklace appeared in my hand.
The egg had now become as small as a pendant and hung from the necklace.
“Wow.”
I quickly fastened it around my neck, marveling at it. Who would have thought? That great Dragon Duke was now hanging around my neck.
With all my regressions, I’ve experienced quite the variety of things.
-All done? All done?
“Yes, this is perfect. Thank you.”
I extended my hand.
-Huh?
“What are you doing? Take my hand. You need to go too.”
The Baby Snake grinned widely and coiled around my wrist.
“By the way, what’s your name? We never did a proper introduction.”
-Tus is Tus!
“Oh, so that wasn’t an exclamation—that was your name?”
Now that I thought about it, that made sense. Young ones often referred to themselves in the third person.
“I’m Calypso, Calypso Aquasiadel. I’m an Orca Beastkin.”
I gently stroked Tus’s head with one hand. Pleased, he swayed his tail softly.
“Alright, let’s go, Tus.”
I climbed back up through the ventilation shaft.
‘I’ll show you all the good things ahead.’
Our little Baby Snake.
Have you heard of causing a commotion?
If the Orca Family Estate won’t give me a good position, I’ll cause such a commotion that I’ll get one anyway.
Don’t worry!
* * *
Gaining Tus as an ally was an excellent stroke of fortune.
Moreover, the fact that the cursed Manor had been my temporary shelter became a critical blind spot for my enemies.
‘I never thought I could escape so smoothly.’
First, the path Tus showed me didn’t overlap with the enemies’ patrols.
And Tus was quite skilled at sensing people’s presence.
According to him, he had memorized the auras of the watchers in this place.
Remarkably, I reached the water where I had emerged without encountering a single Beastkin.
Returning to the water posed no problem. Tus had guaranteed it was fine, insisting he absolutely loved water.
He even said he welcomed it, demonstrating by drinking an enormous amount of water as a sample.
In any case, I wished everything would go smoothly.
‘This is….’
Before long, I encountered an obstacle in the water and my eyes narrowed slightly.
A massive crocodile appeared before me.
It wasn’t just any crocodile. It was likely an artificial one that the Monkey Beastkin had modified.
‘Did the watchers release this?’
It seemed I had been fortunate enough not to encounter it on the way in. Assel and Palaya had warned me about such creatures before, so I wasn’t particularly surprised.
‘Can I fight in these conditions?’
Underwater, no less?
Ordinary animals flee at the mere release of killing intent. But the crocodile before me opened its jaws wide with no intention of retreating.
I had to try!
Splash!
‘So slow…!’
My strike landed, but I wasn’t satisfied. The crocodile felt pain but not enough to retreat—it circled around me instead.
‘I need to get back quickly….’
-Calypso?
Even if I wanted to communicate with Tus, I couldn’t speak underwater.
‘What do I do….’
I thrashed my arms and legs to attack several times, but it only revealed to the crocodile that my range of motion was limited.
‘Damn it, I can’t waste time like this.’
I glanced upward once, then made my decision.
‘There’s no choice. It’s a gamble, but….’
I pulled Tus close to me.
Then I summoned a water current.
Just one.
‘Crocodile… I know you’re not at fault, but this is how it has to be!’
The moment the crocodile lunged again, I bent my waist and kicked my legs with all my strength.
My enhanced physical abilities allowed me to descend with explosive speed. And the crocodile….
Boom!
It was struck by the massive water current and swept downward. I hastily suppressed the water to prevent the impact from reaching the surface.
The water began flowing fiercely regardless.
“Gasp!”
I finally broke through to the surface and gulped in fresh air. Then I quickly climbed up the ladder.
“Noble Lady…!”
Esther, who had been anxiously waiting for me, brightened with relief.
“Hah, hah, what time is it now?”
“It’s 3:30!”
“Remember this. I can cover for you until 4 AM.”
That was cutting it close….
I quickly changed into fresh clothes. My hair, bearing the characteristic traits of aquatic beastkin, seemed like it would dry on its own even if I merely toweled it roughly.
“I’ll give you a proper thank you later.”
“Yes, I’ll see you during the day.”
I hurried back in the carriage and entered through the dog hole that Palaya had shown me.
Even then, Tus remained silent, as if understanding the urgency of the situation.
‘That’s rather endearing.’
And it was just as I straightened my back after entering through the dog hole.
“You’re back?”
I flinched in surprise.
So absorbed in my return, I had momentarily failed to sense his presence.
Remarkably, Palaya was still standing in the exact spot where he’d been when I departed. He was even leaning casually against a tree.
‘He said he’d return to his room after watching me leave?’
I scrutinized him with suspicious eyes.
“You didn’t….”
“What, what?”
“No, never mind.”
I shook my head.
“You couldn’t possibly have been waiting here the whole time.”
….
Regardless, he was a young master raised with every refinement.
There was no way he’d wait for someone for hours. Even if he had, it would only be out of anxiety that a hostage might flee.
But having sworn the Water Oath, such concerns shouldn’t exist, should they?
“Why wouldn’t it be… no, never mind. Forget it.”
He muttered to himself before irritably sweeping his hair back with a sharp gesture.
“So, was your outing satisfactory?”
At Palaya’s words, I blinked. Then….
I smiled softly.
A genuine smile.
“Yes, very much so.”
Unaware that he was staring blankly at me, I passed him with a light step.
“Thank you.”
This one thing, at least, came from the heart.
Because of you, now….
All that’s left is to escape and go home.

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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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