Black Killer Whale Baby [EN]: Chapter 221

A brief silence passed between Hauser and me before he abruptly stood up.

“……You remember.”

His darkly sunken eyes stared intently at me, as if he were about to pounce at any moment.

However, instead of rushing forward, he knelt down on the spot.

“Your servant greets their lord.”

What kind of expression should I make in this situation?

It felt different from when Atlan and Bellus recognized me.

Was it the difference between family and subordinate?

Or the difference between someone who was initially an enemy but became a comrade, and someone who blindly followed me from the start?

Besides, it just so happened that when we first met in the 3rd timeline, he was in this disheveled state.

I felt like memories were swirling around, but I spoke calmly.

“Get up.”

Just by hearing me say his name, Hauser seemed convinced that I had my memories.

Hauser rose and strode over to give me a tight hug.

“……You’re alive.”

I was completely still, unable to do anything.

“……Yeah.”

Hauser’s trembling hands gripped my back tightly, not painfully, like someone clinging to a cliff.

Your obsession, which had only felt dark in your voice, now felt both joyful and strange.

“My lord.”

Hauser had his memories.

“I have been waiting for this day.”

I had definitely said this to Atlan before.

That depending on the first words Hauser uttered when he opened his eyes, many things could change.

“Among the countless options I considered, there was the possibility that you would have your memories……”

The chances were slim.

If it weren’t for the story Bellus told me, I might have been more hopeful.

Atlan and Bellus said that the further they were from me, the fainter their memories of previous lives became.

So, I thought there was no way Hauser, who had grown up separated from me since birth in this timeline, would have his memories.

“Let go. I can’t breathe.”

“Yes.”

I clicked my tongue.

He’s quick to answer, but…

Even when I pushed him hard, Hauser didn’t budge.

“Do you think I’m staying still because I really don’t have the strength to push you away?”

At those cold words, devoid of any affection, a soft chuckle came from above my head.

A slow, gloomy laugh.

“You really are, Master.”

Hauser let go and naturally placed his hands behind his back.

At ease stance.

Seeing his unwavering posture, I wore a faint smile.

“Stand comfortably.”

Thanks to Whale’s treatment, he was no longer a patient, but he must still be low on energy.

“How do you still have your memories?”

“Pardon?”

Hauser blinked slowly. His thin, long eyes stared at me before asking.

“When you said, ‘How do *you* still,’ does that mean… there’s someone else besides me?”

Someone else who has their memories.

“And you’re as unnecessarily perceptive as ever.”

“Because you liked capable people, Master.”

“Let’s not misunderstand. I meant I liked perceptive subordinates.”

“Yes, even with that meaning, it’s special to hear you say you like me, Master.”

“And your screw-loose brain seems to be the same as ever.”

He didn’t look like someone with faint memories at all.

“Since when have you remembered?”

“Since when, you ask.”

Even though I told him to stand comfortably, Hauser remained at attention.

He stood as rigidly as a soldier, just like before, tilting his head slightly.

“I’ve remembered since I was born.”

“Tsk, you were born carrying something unnecessary? Then why didn’t you show up before me?”

“That’s…….”

Hauser paused for the first time. I don’t tolerate lies.

As if noticing my gaze, he opened his mouth again as if nothing was wrong.

“I went to find you, but I thought I would be presumptuous and disappointed if you didn’t remember me, Master.”

“…….”

“I thought it would be better to bring something that could help you, Master.”

“‘Thought,’ not, you were scared.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

It was a refreshing admission.

“You are my life, death, and existence, Master, and I was afraid you might not know me.”

Behind his overly honest words, another reason was added.

“And then, there was a reason why I shouldn’t be by your side.”

“A reason why you shouldn’t?”

“The Crown Prince found out I had my memories.”

Come to think of it, that guy also spoke as if he remembered the 3rd timeline.

I roughly swept my hair back.

‘What the hell is going on in this timeline?’

“At the time, I went to the capital to start intelligence activities to help you, Master.”

……Why is this guy doing things I didn’t even ask him to do in this life again?

Seeing my dumbfounded expression, his gloomy face grinned. His eyes didn’t look normal.

“Who would see you as a land animal?”

“I became friends with the black bears. Fortunately, there isn’t much difference in appearance.”

Hauser said that he lived in the capital as a child and somehow managed to enter the imperial palace to obtain various information.

Then, he was discovered by the Crown Prince and had to hastily escape the capital.

“Wait, wait a minute. That lion cub knew you had your memories, which means… he’s had his memories for a long time, right?”

Hauser nodded.

Something was strange.

‘If that bastard also had his 3rd timeline memories, it’s even stranger. He definitely would have used them somewhere.’

Especially since he hated aquatic animal shapeshifters, our Orcas.

It wouldn’t have been strange if he had used his future knowledge to attack us.

But the world wasn’t that different from what I remembered.

“Isn’t it strange? That’s exactly why the Crown Prince chased after me. Because I found out his secret, Master.”

Hauser’s eyes sank.

“The Crown Prince remembers his previous life, but he can’t do anything.”

A sense of elation flickered in his dark eyes.

“For example, I saw him frustrated and angry because he couldn’t do anything even though he wanted to ruin your future, Master.”

“What does that mean?”

It wasn’t easy to understand.

“To be exact, he can’t leave the imperial palace and the capital, and there’s only one other place he can go.”

“……Where?”

“The Black Panther family’s mansion.”

“…….”

The imperial palace, the capital, and the Black Panther family’s mansion.

I swallowed.

‘……Those are all major settings from the original story, right?’

Come to think of it, the Crown Prince didn’t seem to appear in any other settings.

“And he can’t harm aquatic animal shapeshifters with his subordinates’ hands or direct orders.”

“Huh?”

“As proof, he tried to use the power of the land on me and ended up vomiting blood.”

I blinked, then raised the corners of my lips. It was a sneer.

I couldn’t help but burst into hearty laughter.

“Ah, so that means that bastard became a magnificent idiot.”

I laughed out loud, wiped away a few tears, and stopped.

I never thought Hauser would appear with such good fortune.

‘So, sending just a clay doll to this land was all he could do?’

“Then, were you captured by the sharks because of the imperial family?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Hauser said that instead of safely escaping the capital and settling somewhere, he thought of the wasteland.

He thought that while wandering around here and hiding his tracks, it would be good to prepare the sharks who would give me trouble later?

‘Why is he living his life so centered around me?’

I felt a little complicated.

As I talked to him, I felt that he hadn’t escaped from his 3rd timeline life.

Even though he’s living a different life now.

I didn’t show it, just smiled and patted Hauser’s shoulder.

“So? What’s next?”

“……Pardon?”

“Why were you captured?”

Even if countless sharks came, I still believed that Hauser was someone who could escape from there.

“I found out that the Crown Prince had joined hands with some shark factions.”

“A guy who extremely hates aquatic animal shapeshifters? That’s something.”

Was it proof of how much he wanted to catch Hauser? Or a plan to strike me?

“While investigating that relationship, I felt my limits and deliberately got caught. I thought it would be easier to find out this way.”

“…….”

“Thanks to that, I learned about the restriction placed on the Crown Prince. That is, a way to lift the restriction that prevents him from leaving the capital.”

“……How much did you get hurt while finding that out?”

I was about to ask if he was hurt, but I sighed deeply.

Hauser stared at me silently before continuing as if nothing was wrong.

“Master, it’s the dragon.”

“Huh?”

“It seems that the power of the dragon can set the Crown Prince free.”

In that instant, I thought of the imperial family, who were particularly obsessed with the Dragon Duke in this life.

At the same time, I felt goosebumps on my back.