Black Killer Whale Baby - Chapter 86

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 86
I felt the water’s power dampen my robe slightly.
“If it’s difficult for you to win without getting hurt, then I’ll protect you as your father.”
“When you say it like that, it makes me look weak.”
“Go on then.”
Wow, he didn’t say no.
I glared at my father with a sullen expression before shifting my gaze toward the window.
My body shot forward like a cannonball, unlike any other time.
The 2nd floor window drew near in an instant.
My heart pounded as I passed through the window.
I safely cleared the window and thrust my body inside the castle.
The broken glass was sharper than expected—if I had flown through bare-skinned, I would have gotten some cuts.
But who am I?
I landed with perfect balance.
The moment my feet touched down, I grabbed the robe wrapped around my body and squeezed it tightly.
I had to admit it now.
What clung to this robe was his concern that I wouldn’t get hurt. Moreover, my father readily agreed to this dangerous task of spiriting away the Dragon Duke.
This couldn’t be anything but affection.
If I hadn’t had the goal of returning home.
Perhaps I would have accepted my teacher as my father and lived happily like this.
‘This isn’t what I should be thinking about right now.’
I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them.
It wasn’t my fault that the timing didn’t align.
I lived earnestly through three regressions.
I cast aside the stray thoughts and focused my mind.
-Tus!
I shouted very loudly so that Tus in the Dragon Duke’s Chamber could hear me.
After all, it would be a sound only Tus could hear.
-I’m coming over there now, get ready!
If I shouted this much, he must have heard it?
Even if he didn’t, it’s fine. I can just tell him when I enter the room.
‘Now my task is to reach the Dragon Duke’s Chamber without being spotted by any maids or retainers.’
Fortunately, I arrived safely at the Dragon Duke’s Chamber.
Moreover, since it was just yesterday, my memory was vivid enough that finding my way wasn’t difficult.
I even heard Tus’s voice along the way, making it incredibly easy.
‘Still, with such a vast space, I really don’t see a single retainer or maid anywhere?’
The existence of the maid I’d seen yesterday felt like a lie.
I entered the Dragon Duke’s Chamber and closed the door.
-Calypso!
The moment I turned around, a welcoming voice greeted me.
Tus scurried toward me with determined little movements.
Thinking he was running, I quickly scooped him up with an affectionate expression.
“You came a bit early, didn’t you? Turns out my personal transport is faster than I expected.”
-Personal transport? Tus, Calypso, so glad to see you!
“Yeah, I’m glad to see you too.”
And I was glad to see our Dragon Duke as well. I quickly turned my head toward him.
Then I blinked.
The Dragon Duke was holding a spoon.
Ah, so this was the scene Tus had mentioned—’meals are only possible when Tus is here.’
Food was laid out on the table, and the Dragon Duke was gripping the spoon in a way that looked awkward and clumsy to anyone watching.
The Dragon Duke seemed so focused on eating that he hadn’t noticed Tus’s cry or my arrival.
Watching him, I grew a bit serious.
‘Hmm, it seems the Snake couldn’t teach him how to hold a spoon properly, so he’s grasping it like that.’
Good grief. It was only marginally better than eating with his bare hands.
The Dragon Duke, who had been eating intently, turned his head.
The moment our eyes met, the Dragon Duke opened his mouth and….
Clatter.
He dropped the spoon.
‘Huh? He was eating just fine—why did he drop the spoon?’
Did the food displease him? Or was he startled by my appearance?
When I saw him yesterday, he didn’t seem like a child with such volatile emotions.
The Dragon Duke suddenly jumped to his feet.
Then he approached me with a gait that sounded like it would produce some bizarre creaking noise.
Since I came here to take him with me anyway, this was convenient timing, but….
The question ‘Why on earth?’ wouldn’t stop echoing in my mind.
Before I could say anything, his hands suddenly grabbed mine.
‘This posture is… the same way I held the Dragon Duke yesterday, isn’t it?’
With the Dragon Duke gripping both my hands, my body froze as if someone had pressed pause, and I couldn’t hide my bewildered expression.
“Calypso!”
The Dragon Duke called out eagerly.
I blinked and nodded.
“It’s Calypso, not Calypso-ya.”
“Not?”
“Right. Calypso.”
“Calypso.”
“That’s right. You remembered it correctly? You have a good memory, don’t you?”
I rose up on my tiptoes and gently stroked his head with my free hand.
“Well, you’re the Dragon Duke, so you must be quite intelligent. The real problem is the people who never taught you these things.”
“….”
“You’re not at fault.”
The Dragon Duke tilted his head, still holding my hand, with a confused tilt.
Seeing crumbs scattered all around his mouth, I wiped them away with my sleeve.
Then I tried to pick up Father’s robe that had fallen when the Dragon Duke grabbed my hand.
“Could you let go for a moment?”
“…Let go?”
“…Yeah. I’ll take it.”
I pulled my hand free from the Dragon Duke’s grasp and picked up Father’s robe.
I draped it over the Dragon Duke right then and there.
“Hmm, it should fit you better than me. Actually, Dragon Duke, could you carry this? I need to keep watch, so it would be cumbersome for me.”
If I left it here, it would look like we’re the culprits.
“Tus! Is everything ready?”
-Yep! Tus is ready. Master is all set!
Tus tugged at my clothes and guided me forward.
When I reached the place Tus mentioned, a bag was lying there.
-Get Calypso’s things! Master’s things!
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
So you’re a snake that can even carry bags….
I hesitated for a moment, then quickly grabbed the bag. It was lighter than I expected.
So I thought for a moment and opened the bag to see there was still room, so I put Father’s robe inside, and then slung it over the Dragon Duke’s shoulders.
“Dragon Duke, I know it’s inconvenient, but bear with me a little. If there’s combat, I need to protect you, but my height is too short and it would get in the way. Oh, this is a bag, a bag.”
“…A bag.”
“That’s right.”
As I was putting the bag on the Dragon Duke, Tus called out to me.
This time Tus wriggled under the bed, and when he came back out, he had something in his mouth.
-Calypso! This!
I took what Tus offered me. When I looked at it, it was a small notebook.
-Tus wrote things about Master!
“Oh….”
…You’re a snake that can write too?!
I flipped through the notebook and was startled.
「Dragon Duke Report
~Written by Tus~」
‘And the handwriting is even good?!’
I forgot about the urgent situation for a moment and was taken aback.
Wait, how are you even holding a pen? You don’t have hands? Could it be with your tail? Or your mouth…?!
‘Get a grip.’
I quickly put the notebook into the bag the Dragon Duke was holding.
Perhaps because I had adjusted the bag to my height each time I opened and closed it.
The Dragon Duke quickly sat down when I reached toward the bag.
He learns fast.
“By the way, Tus, I appreciate the gift, but why are you giving it to me? You’re coming with me anyway.”
The Dragon Duke’s Retainer wishes to accompany the Dragon Duke.
I had come to know this fact well from Tus’s appearance throughout the carriage ride, weeping constantly as he yearned for the Dragon Duke.
‘If he gave it as a precaution, I could understand that.’
But what could possibly separate a Retainer who is always by the Dragon Duke’s side?
As I pondered this, Tus, who had already slipped beneath the bed, spoke clearly.
-The Duke was never taught. The lions never gave him learning!
“Right. Yes. Wretched creatures.”
-Wretched! Because the Duke was never taught, the Duke doesn’t even know himself.
“So… you’re saying the Dragon Duke himself has no idea about his own power or who he truly is?”
-Yes!
Tus continued.
-That’s why in this world, only Tus knows the Duke.
Why did that resonance sound so clear and yet so bitter?
I understood the reason in the very next moment.
-Go, Calypso!
“Huh? What?”
-Go now!
I started to back away but stopped short.
“Wait, what are you saying? Go? You’re not coming? Why are you talking like you’re not going?”
-Tus won’t go!
“What are you talking about? You cry without the Dragon Duke!”
-Tus didn’t cry!
“Fine, don’t cry and stop talking nonsense. Let’s go now. We don’t have time.”
But Tus remained beneath the bed and did not emerge.
With no time to waste, I urged him further.
Then Tus quickly came out and stared directly at me.
-The Dragon Duke must learn. For that to happen, he must leave this place.
“Yes, I understand, so we need to leave quickly—”
-Tus has an ability that only works here.
A brilliant blue light crept forth before my eyes.
The light connected Tus and the Dragon Duke, and soon light erupted explosively from Tus’s entire body.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————