Black Killer Whale Baby [EN]: Chapter 79

‘A lizard type… no, a chameleon Siren?’

I knew them well.

They weren’t Sirens with great combat abilities, but during the war, their troublesome skills disrupted our army.

As you can see, their specialty is ‘camouflage.’ They can hide in any environment.

It’s a different kind of stealth ability than the mudskipper Siren I encountered before.

Some aquatic animal Sirens also had the ability to blend into their surroundings.

These skills were considered special among aquatic animal Siren armies, and the land creatures felt the same.

‘If the land creatures’ system hasn’t changed much….’

Because chameleon types are weak in combat, they always move in teams of two.

And the partners of these lizard types were always carnivores.

“Highra, it’s quiet here.”

“Yeah, it’ll be quiet as always.”

A woman walked out with a swagger.

Beige hair with black spots. Dirty black fur around her ears.

‘A hyena?’

That woman was definitely a hyena Siren.

Hyenas were top-tier predators among the land creatures and belonged to a family with considerable influence.

“Ugh, patrol duty, I shouldn’t be doing this, seriously.”

“Hahaha, all the beast-types who come here say the same thing….”

But such a Siren is being mobilized to guard this old building?

-The Siren guarding the Duke is too strong. Meticulous.

Only then did I understand why Tusk said that.

If a hyena-class is a guard, most Sirens wouldn’t even be able to show their faces.

“Really? Did anyone come by before me?”

I gestured for Tusk to cover his mouth with his index finger and focused on their conversation.

“Ah, the Panthereon Ducal family came by….”

“Ehh, wow, black panthers? They shouldn’t be doing this kind of work, what a hardship.”

Panthereon Ducal family. I took a slight breath at the name of the main family in the original story.

That was close.

If they had been guarding, it might have been difficult for even me to get in now.

“I really don’t know what’s going on. We’re guarding Duke Dragon, whom we should be respecting.”

“Highra, your voice is too loud…!”

“What, you said no one’s here? I can feel that much, that’s why I said it, or are you complaining about what I said?”

“No! No!”

“Right? You guys are just being put through the wringer because you’re part of the Imperial Army. Damn, I want to go home and eat meat… only three days left, until my turn? What is this before the festival?”

“Um, Highra. Is the festival really not happening this year?”

“Look at this mess. Do you think the Dragon Festival will happen?”

“That’s true….”

“Who would have imagined? The Imperial Family is imprisoning Duke Dragon, but they’re pretending not to notice and decorating the castle nicely, how would anyone know?”

Tusk, who was wrapped around my arm, flinched and trembled so much that my wrist went numb.

Was it fear, or anger?

I quietly watched them.

“You guys better keep your mouths shut. The Imperial Family is using the expensive manpower of our five families to prevent it from leaking out. Why else would black panthers be coming to stand guard? Keep your mouths shut if you don’t want to get eaten.”

“Yes, yes…! O-Of course.”

“Ha, just suffer a little longer. Things will get better when he dies and is reborn.”

“H-Really?”

“That’s what my mother, the head of the family, predicted, so it must be true.”

“Th-Thank you for the good information!”

“Yeah.”

Soon the voices faded away.

It was because they were moving. The two Sirens disappeared like that.

I couldn’t say anything for a while.

It was because I heard so much but couldn’t understand it all at once.

-Tusk, let’s go inside for now.

-…….

-Tusk?

I wrapped my trembling wrist.

The smooth feeling of Tusk’s scales was vivid.

-We don’t have time, Tusk. I have to think about the time it takes to take you and return. Can you calm down a little?

Tusk raised his head.

Fortunately, he was back to his original self.

-Thank you, Calypso…….

-Yeah, I know I’m great, so let’s go inside now.

I wanted to ask Tusk about what I had just heard, but it wasn’t the time.

-You said that once we go inside, there won’t be any more guards, right?

-Right! The external security is the strongest. It’s hard to get in!

I felt that they were far enough away, but since the building wasn’t that big, they would be back soon.

I had to get inside the building quickly.

Fortunately, getting into the building wasn’t difficult.

No, it would have been very difficult for other Sirens.

They would have had to avoid the eyes of the hyena, a top-tier predator, and quietly sneak into a building where even the windows were tightly locked and nailed shut.

But that wasn’t the case for me.

-There’s a dog hole here…….

-Yeah! Tusk came out this way.

It was fortunate.

Because the building was so old, there were places where the bricks were slightly broken, and among them, there was a hole big enough for me to enter.

It was an advantage that I was small even among my peers.

As I barely entered the castle, a huge hallway greeted us.

‘Wow, it’s disgustingly big here too.’

I felt it when I saw the castle where the guests stayed, but even though this place was old, the ceiling was very high, as befitting Duke Dragon’s castle.

I heard that the dragon, who became the guardian of the empire a thousand years ago, was very large, so the castles were all made to be large to match.

-Tusk knows better from here!

-Okay, this is your home, right? Please guide me.

As Tusk had already told me, there was really no one in the hallway.

No guards, no sentries. Not even a passing servant or maid.

‘I’d believe it if you said it was empty. Why is the outside so tightly guarded and the inside so lax?’

Judging from the conversation a while ago, they were definitely monitoring Duke Dragon.

But in this way, couldn’t Duke Dragon escape from somewhere inside?

The sentries didn’t seem to be thinking that far, which was strange.

-Tusk, what happened to Duke Dragon? Why are the land creatures, who should be worshiping him, ignoring him?

-……Tusk, I don’t know much because I haven’t been born for long. But they’ve been there since I opened my eyes. The predators.

It was the moment I asked Tusk something more.

Thump, thump.

I heard footsteps from the opposite side, and I quickly hid among the decorations.

Fortunately, the hallway was full of armor, and it wasn’t difficult to hide my body in the dark.

‘A maid?’

The person I saw while hiding was a very gentle-looking maid.

She was holding a bowl that seemed to be Duke Dragon’s meal in one hand.

‘Isn’t it too late to eat?’

However, there was something strange: the maid’s face was overly terrified, and her hands were trembling.

It was amazing that she didn’t spill the food even while carrying it like that.

-Tusk, do you know that maid?

-……I know her! That direction is the Duke’s room.

Tusk told me that the maid was going to Duke Dragon’s room.

Then all I have to do is follow her.

I quietly followed the maid, hiding my presence.

“Ah, why me? Why me every time……! Ugh, I’m scared, I don’t want to go……. Mom…….”

The maid muttered like a person in a panic and arrived in front of a door.

It was a huge door.

‘Is that Duke Dragon’s room? It’s so big.’

Even though it was an old building, the size of the door was magnificent.

The maid standing in front of the door was a mouse, and I could see the tail flowing down under her skirt.

When a Siren is extremely terrified, parts of their animal form sometimes come out like that, and it seemed to be in that state.

‘But why?’

Soon the maid pulled the string next to the door.

The clear sound of the bell attached to the string rang out. I thought it was a pretty good sound for a moment.

Kiyaaaaaaak!!

I quickly covered my ears at the huge cry.

Ugh, what is this?

‘Fear? It’s similar to the Fear that uses the power of water? No, it’s an even greater power than that…….’

And with the sound of the bowl breaking, I saw the maid screaming and running away.

I felt dizzy for a moment, so it was natural for the mouse maid to be terrified.

It wasn’t a power that a lower predator could withstand.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

As I heard even the huge footsteps that followed, anyone would be nervous.

‘Judging from the conversation between the chameleon and the hyena earlier, the Imperial Family ordered the surveillance and imprisonment of Duke Dragon. If so, the Imperial Family must have had its own reasons for doing so…….’

The first thing that comes to mind is, of course, ‘rampage.’