Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 62

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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 62
The next morning.
The day had finally arrived!
It was the day I would depart for the Dragon Duke’s Location to participate in the Dragon’s Festival.
Like a young boy anticipating an outing, my heart raced foolishly, and sleep eluded me entirely.
‘Hehe, the day to achieve my grand plan has finally arrived. And much faster than I expected!’
Moreover, yesterday the punishment for Rumi, the maid who had tormented me, was decided.
It felt like a nagging tooth had finally fallen out.
‘Well, now I have no lingering regrets.’
There was only one thing weighing on my mind.
‘I wanted to see that Dolphin before I left.’
But it was merely a burden in my heart… Unfortunately, this debt of conscience could not take precedence over the Dragon’s Festival.
Are you listening, Ruga? I’m sorry.
At least in my heart, I wish you well!
Since I was scheduled to depart at noon today, there was technically no need to attend the Educational Institution this morning, yet I made a point of going anyway.
‘Still, I should say goodbye to the children I’ve grown fond of. It might be the last time.’
After saying goodbye to each child one by one, the last ones I met in class were the Lugaluba Twins.
“Are you really going to the festival, sir?”
“To the Dragon’s Festival?”
“I’m telling you, it’s true.”
The twins asked repeatedly, as if they couldn’t believe I was actually going.
I answered each question without complaint.
Ruga, one of the twins, tilted his head as if I seemed strange.
“Sir, why do you keep asking the same thing today? Can’t you stop?”
“There’s a reason for it.”
I might as well be cold-hearted until the end.
I’m being quite generous today, after all.
The Lugaluba Twins seemed reluctant about not seeing me for a while.
When the time came, I stood up from my seat.
Since the Lugaluba Twins were the last, there were no more children to say goodbye to.
I was also pleased that these children, whom I had grown particularly fond of and close to, were my final farewells.
‘In this mood, I could even bid Caron a gracious farewell with a haha laugh.’
As I stepped out the door, the Lugaluba Twins followed me.
“Aren’t you going to eat lunch?”
“Sir, are you leaving?”
“Leaving?”
“I already told you I have to go now.”
When I raised my hand, the twins bowed their heads as if they had been waiting for this.
I stood on my tiptoes and patted them earnestly.
Perhaps this soft fur would be the last time I’d touch it. That’s a bit of a shame.
“Protagonist?”
The moment Ruga tilted his head, Ruba raised his hand high.
“Protagonist! Mom says you absolutely must come visit us. Can’t you come play after you return?”
“Take care of yourself. Don’t get sick.”
“Protagonist.”
“Well, I’ll think about it when I get back.”
I withdrew my hand and turned to leave.
It had been a while since I’d told the two children they wouldn’t need their palanquin today.
As I took my first step, a rather large hand suddenly grabbed me.
When I looked back, it was Ruga.
“Protagonist, aren’t you coming?”
The bandage still clinging to his cheek bothered me.
But children recover quickly, so he’d heal soon enough, right?
‘Smart children are perceptive too.’
Instead of answering, I smiled.
Then I turned away.
Behind me came a cry of “Waaahhh!”
I heard the sound of a teacher approaching, but this time I didn’t look back.
Goodbye, Ruga. Ruba. That was fun!
* * *
Ekina, City of the Dragon.
The city was named after the dragon who first appeared in the Empire and became its guardian deity.
It was well-known that the guardian blue dragon had married the First Emperor of the Empire.
Of the two children born between them, the one who resembled his father and was a lion beastkin became Emperor, while the one who resembled the dragon became the Dragon Duke.
This meant that subsequent Dragon Dukes carried imperial bloodline.
The Empire’s citizens believed the Dragon Duke naturally lived a glamorous life and ate luxurious food befitting his station, but…
‘Ugh, how dreary.’
Marie, a maid working in the Dragon Duke’s Castle, thought differently.
She was a mouse beastkin, the most common of the land animal beastkin in this Empire, and she specialized in finding escape routes with quick feet.
‘I never thought my skills would land me here!’
Unfortunately, because of her special abilities, she had ended up working in this gloomy and dismal castle.
Originally, when she was introduced to the position, she’d been told she would work for a reasonably prominent beastkin noble family.
But the workplace she was guided to was entirely different.
‘And on top of that, once you come in, you can’t leave until you’re given permission. What kind of place is this?’
But there was nothing she could do about it.
“It would be wise not to speak of what you see and hear in this place to anyone.”
“Unless you want to be bitten to death, that is.”
As the memory of that time surfaced, Marie felt a chill run down her spine and her body trembled, so she made an effort to straighten her shoulders.
On the day she first came to this castle, she had seen a very important person.
A top-tier apex predator, no less.
A beastkin with terrifying fangs and strength that could tear apart a fragile creature like myself in an instant.
“Remember this.”
Even now, the memory sent shivers down my spine and made me instinctively shrink back.
The terror from that day still gripped Marie’s ankles.
“All the retainers and maids in this place exist, yet do not exist.”
That was precisely why Marie now trembled as she carried the dishes, moving forward despite her fear.
‘Oh, I’m so scared.’
Consumed by dread, my tail and ears felt like they might burst out at any moment.
Marie swallowed hard and finally arrived at her destination.
The Dragon Duke’s Castle.
A name revered and respected by most beastkin of the Empire.
Yet in reality, it was a desolate, poorly maintained, and bitterly cold space.
‘Who would know that it’s only gleaming on the surface?’
Moreover, the Dragon Duke does not actually live in this grandly constructed facade of a castle.
The current Dragon Duke resides right here.
In this cold place where no one dares approach, yet where no people exist at all.
Marie stopped before the enormous door.
‘Oh, I’ve come again today.’
Remarkably, this massive castle had only three maids and retainers in total.
Could it be? Merely three to attend to the Dragon Duke!
Moreover, one was an Ox Beastkin who handled all the heavy labor, and another was a Pelican Beastkin who managed the cooking.
I was a mouse beastkin responsible for miscellaneous chores.
‘Oh, why did I lose the draw.’
Marie held a plate in one hand, her expression rigid.
This was the Dragon Duke’s chamber.
She took a deep breath and pulled the cord attached to the dragon-head ornament beside the door.
Ding-ding-ding—as the bell on the cord swayed, a clear chime rang out.
KYAAAAAAAH!!
Marie’s round ears shot straight up.
Her long, rope-like tail also appeared, standing on end.
‘Eeeek!’
She had barely managed to hold back until now, but this was not the end…!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The approaching heavy footsteps evoked the image of a beast as enormous as the door itself.
Crash!
Trembling violently, Marie finally turned and fled, the tray clattering to the ground once more.
“KYAAAAAAAAH!!!”
It was fine.
No one in this place would blame Marie for it.
This was a castle where no one existed.
Only one person was excluded from this—the Dragon Duke.
In the three months Marie had worked here, she had never once laid eyes on that Dragon Duke.
Would she finally see him at the approaching Dragon’s Festival?
For Marie, whose body trembled uncontrollably, even such a thought felt like an indulgence.
Soon, even that thought vanished from her mind.
If she stopped running, a terrifying monster with thunderous footsteps seemed certain to chase her down from behind.
And so Marie disappeared, leaving the corridor in silence.
A massive door slid open without a sound.
A shadow fell across the scattered food.
Though it had been an enormous shadow, it inexplicably began to shrink—a phenomenon that defied explanation.
The shadow that finally draped across all the food was far too small to belong to the creature that had produced those terrifying footsteps.
“….”
The small back bent forward.
Then small hands grasped the scattered meat directly with bare fingers.
Only the ornaments adorning the old corridor bore witness to all of this.
* * *
Clatter, clatter.
I pondered seriously as I listened to the wheels rolling quite quietly.
‘No matter who I am, jumping from a moving carriage would kill me.’
Then I’d regress and start a new cycle, forced to repeat the same ordeal all over again.
That’s out of the question. Of course, I have no real intention of jumping anyway.
I deliberated gravely.
‘How can I escape from this place?’
This was truly a serious dilemma.
And for good reason.
‘This carriage is suffocating, damn it!’

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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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