Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 64

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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 64
Instinctively, I took a defensive stance with a sharp intake of breath, but what was this? A large hand came toward my cheek and….
He pinched it gently, without causing pain.
“What are you doing? Why are you pinching me?”
My speech slurred because my cheek was pinched.
“So your pronunciation gets slurred like this too.”
“No, you’re running some strange experiment.”
When I swatted Father’s hand away, he released it lightly as if he had no intention of holding on longer.
“Are you abusing a small child?”
That was the moment.
Startled by a voice I had never heard before, I turned my head.
There stood Bellus, who had lowered the book he’d been reading and was now staring at us.
‘What nonsense is he spouting?’
I was dumbfounded. What was he talking about?
“I never knew that the great Pierre, who is as strong as the Matriarch and shows interest in nothing, had a hobby of tormenting a child who doesn’t even reach his knees.”
I understood.
‘That bastard is picking a fight.’
It was a natural provocation, as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
They say a child is a mirror of their parents.
How did my older brothers learn such excellent character without even a mirror?
Perhaps it’s because they’re still growing.
“You hear the strangest things.”
Fortunately, Father was an adult.
“If you don’t want me to chase you down, don’t speak needlessly.”
…Though I wouldn’t call him a mature adult.
Truly, a cold wind blew between father and son.
“I don’t need a father.”
Why did I suddenly remember Bellus saying that so bluntly?
Agenor at least got along reasonably well with Father.
Was it a character flaw specific to Bellus?
But it felt wrong to blame only Bellus.
After all, the root cause lay with the father.
‘Hmm, why am I even thinking about such complicated matters? It’s not my problem.’
But I had to stop this young orca and his father orca from fighting.
If the carriage got destroyed or someone got seriously injured, causing problems with going to the Dragon’s Festival, what would I do?
“Fighting is fine, but you need to do it outside. And if one of you is going to die, make sure to bury them in the ground. So it won’t be noticed for a while.”
“….”
“I really want to go to the Dragon’s Festival. If someone gets hurt in the middle and we have to turn back, what will the Matriarch say?”
I, who had the best character among everyone here, settled it cleanly.
Yes, if you’re going to fight, do it to the bitter end. Of course, Bellus would lose.
“But here’s the thing—if someone actually dies and causes a problem, I won’t be able to attend the Dragon’s Festival, right?”
I swept my gaze across each of them, eyes blazing with intensity.
“Then I’ll show you what a lifelong grudge really looks like. Go ahead and try me.”
Even as I spoke, I didn’t truly expect them to listen.
If they’d just quiet down even a little, that would be enough. But if they started fighting…
‘I’d have to slip away quickly to Misa’s carriage.’
With that thought, I casually glanced away, but then—
The carriage fell silent.
What? Why did it get quiet?
Moreover, the tension that had seemed ready to erupt into violence moments ago had long since dissipated.
Even being generous with Father, why did Bellus back down?
‘Did he lose interest because it’s absurd?’
Well, that could happen.
From his perspective, I was only three years old—barely a fry fresh from the egg.
It must have seemed pathetic to him.
That was fine.
‘If I can’t leave here, then at least you all stay quiet.’
But I had overlooked one thing.
Perhaps Eldest Brother and Father were accustomed to silence and quietness.
I was not.
I didn’t particularly enjoy this kind of atmosphere.
“So that’s the woman from the Western Sea, isn’t it?”
“Ugh, she smells like fish.”
“Hehe, don’t say that. She’ll hear you.”
In quiet places, words you don’t want to hear become crystal clear.
Things you’d rather forget embed themselves in your mind, tormenting and controlling you.
I was irritated now.
‘Is it because we’re heading to their territory?’
The City of Dragons was quite distant from the capital, but it was still within the Empire’s interior.
Unlike the borderlands where the Orca Family resided.
“Teacher, what kind of place is the Dragon’s Festival?”
“Weren’t you already looking forward to it, knowing what it was?”
I had no choice but to address Father.
Of course, I already knew, but I asked deliberately.
“I know, but hearing about it from someone who’s actually attended or experienced it is different, isn’t it?”
I judged that idle conversation was better than silence.
“Have you been before, Teacher?”
“Not to the Dragon’s Festival, but I have attended festivals and banquets hosted in the Imperial Capital.”
“Really? When did you go?”
“I have memories of going quite often when I was young. After becoming an adult, perhaps twice.”
There were more than I expected.
“You’ve been to quite a few festivals? How was it?”
“It wasn’t much different from the festivals held by the Orca Family. It seems similar to the Water Festival.”
The Water Festival—the grandest celebration among aquatic beastfolk.
It was fair to call it a gathering where all aquatic beastfolk came together.
Its counterpart was the Land Festival held by the land-dwellers, and combined with the Dragon’s Festival, they were called the Empire’s Three Great Festivals.
Of course, the land-dwellers often mocked our festivals as “fishy parties,” but still.
“It seemed like an annoying number of people gathered, countless fights broke out, and an endless stream of them died.”
“…Are we talking about our festival?”
Why was a festival meant to be joyful and happy filled with bloodshed in the description?
“Well, I only remember fighting.”
“Teacher, did you go around picking fights?”
“If I had to say, I’d think I was the one who got picked on rather than the one picking.”
Father briefly recounted what he’d experienced at the Dragon’s Festival.
He fought a polar bear. He won.
He fought a fifty-year-old lynx. He won.
A fox used poison. But he still won.
What is this.
“Could it be that your very existence is specialized in picking fights? Why is the festival story nothing but battles?”
“The important thing is that I won.”
“Of course you had to win. Losing to land-dwellers would be shameful, you know?”
I answered flatly.
“You’re the pride of the Orca Family.”
“….”
Being as strong as the Matriarch without actually being the Matriarch meant he was truly someone special.
Though I’d said it with a tired mouth, if my father hadn’t fallen ill, there would be no need to choose a successor among my grandchildren now.
My grandmother, that strength fanatic, would have chosen him without hesitation.
‘No wonder in the previous cycle, even after I became Matriarch, my subordinates kept talking about Father.’
I’d read somewhere that a superstar was someone with the quality to drive both haters and fans crazy.
In that sense, Father, who was constantly discussed both favorably and unfavorably, was truly the superstar born from the Orca Family.
“I’ll admit it’s cool. Being strong is a very admirable thing.”
Noticing it had become too quiet, I looked up and our eyes met.
Meeting was fine, but for just a brief moment, a subtle expression seemed to cross Father’s face.
What was that? I’d never seen that expression before. Something like he was at a loss….
“What is it? Teacher, don’t tell me… you’re embarrassed?”
“I’ve never felt such an emotion, so I wouldn’t know. It is unsettling though. It’s been quite a while since I’ve even felt bewilderment….”
“Most people call that shyness. And you must have heard it said countless times, so why now?”
Father tilted his head slightly, following my lead.
He seemed just as confused as I was.
‘Wait, is this the right moment to slip in a comment to this old man?’
Could I repay those days of groaning under my Teacher’s training just a little?
My lips tingled with anticipation.
My heart raced with excitement.
I was about to say something more.
“Duels are permitted at the Dragon’s Festival.”
A quiet remark slipped in and sealed my lips shut.
When I turned my gaze, Bellus was smiling faintly.
“So ordinary beastfolk and beasts naturally enjoy the festival in different ways.”
“…Is that so?”
Though somewhat deflated, I couldn’t ignore such intriguing information.
In my previous cycle, I had heard countless things about the Dragon’s Festival but never actually participated.
My relationship with the land-dwellers had deteriorated terribly after I became Matriarch.
‘Well, I did vent plenty of resentment from the previous cycle.’
But now that I’d finally gained power, what was wrong with taking revenge on those who tormented me?
Those bastards remained just as vicious across cycles, so I felt no guilt about it.
“If you want to enjoy the festival purely, there’s a good way.”
“…What is it?”
“Pretend to be prey.”
“…”
“With you, perhaps a filefish, or maybe a turtle. A sea hare or a sea pig would work too.”
This bastard’s skill at provoking me was truly masterful.
Sea hares and sea pigs are creatures called sea rabbits.
‘Is this how you tell someone to shut up, you asshole brother?’
Yet for some reason, Bellus continued to reveal various information related to the Dragon’s Festival afterward.
Even though I tried to ignore him out of spite, he deliberately chose such fascinating stories that despite my irritation, I found myself concentrating intently.
‘This guy should have been a teacher instead of a thug. Or maybe a storyteller.’
If he’d opened an online lecture platform, he’d have been a top-tier instructor.

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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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