Black Killer Whale Baby [EN]: Chapter 142

Chapter 142

Well, blood doesn’t lie, I suppose.

‘None of the three older brothers were raised by Dad, though.’

It’s almost fascinating to see how alike they are.

Like planting a Pierre [a common name] and getting a Pierre…

Suddenly, it felt absurd.

‘Wait, where’s Mom’s DNA in all this?’

I was thinking about Dad and my three brothers, all with sharp, orca-like features, and then I thought about my own face.

Maybe Mom had a rounder face for an orca? Maybe I resembled her.

‘I need to find out which family Mom belonged to when I get back.’

Thinking this far, I raised my head.

As I said before, I don’t know much about love between a man and a woman.

The engagements and political marriages I experienced were nothing but terrible memories.

I was engaged twice, but… that black panther bastard who was my partner…

I don’t even want to think about it.

“Dad, that’s not what I was asking.”

First of all, I was surprised that Dad seemed more nonchalant than I expected.

Was I worrying too much for nothing?

“Of course, I know she was an Orca beastman. I’m just curious about what kind of person she was.”

More precisely, I’m curious if he knows whether Mom is alive, as Bellus said.

“…She is also a dead person.”

Dad’s following words were so heavy that I couldn’t even scold him for being socially inept.

I don’t think Dad answered like this because he really didn’t know.

‘This is Dad’s way of signaling that he doesn’t want to talk about it.’

I was about to say more, but I stopped myself with a groan.

‘I should talk about this again when we get back.’

If I say more here, this journey, which should be exciting, will become as dark and gloomy as the deep sea.

More than anything, Whale might get scared if Dad gets depressed.

“Well, never mind. I was just curious.”

I shrugged. Dad’s expression turned strange for a moment.

“…I see. This much is certain.”

“What is?”

Dad crossed his legs, propped his chin on his hand, and stared at me intently.

“I cherish you as my daughter, and it has made me think about her again.”

Her.

It was a slightly ticklish term.

“…What did you start thinking about?”

“Who knows.”

I scratched my cheek, watching Dad not say anything more.

Well, whatever. There will be another chance next time.

I was about to neatly give up on this topic when Dad suddenly asked.

“Are you going to get married?”

“Huh? Out of the blue?”

Why is he suddenly asking me this?

I blinked blankly.

“Well, that’s…”

As I was about to answer, I felt an intensely sparkling gaze on my temple.

I turned my head to the left and saw Ekion.

…Weren’t you dozing off a moment ago?

Moreover, it wasn’t just the left.

I felt a gaze from the right as well, and when I turned my head, Whale was there again.

Why are you so wide-eyed?

The current occupants of the carriage were Dad, Ekion, and me, in the same order as the last journey.

It was as if one person had changed, replacing Bellus.

That is, Whale, who is staring at me so intently.

I forgot the question for a moment and thought.

‘He asked to come along himself, didn’t he?’

I heard that Whale himself said that Dad’s diagnosis was too different from the usual cases and that he wanted to stay close for a while.

I was a little surprised to hear it through Levi.

‘He wants to stick with Dad… Isn’t he the first one like that?’

So, Levi, who should have been looking at materials, as well as Whale, came along.

Atlan was assigned as Levi’s escort, and currently, Levi and Atlan were in another carriage.

Seeing Whale made me momentarily think of other things, but anyway, back to the question.

‘The way these kids are looking at me is like listening to a teacher’s first love story.’

I tilted my head and casually blurted out.

“I’m not going to get married.”

Then the expressions of the three people here became strange.

All three were different.

“Why aren’t you going to get married?”

“I don’t know exactly, but marriage blurs my goals. Having a family is enough for me.”

“…”

“And I especially hate political marriages.”

I said this and realized I had blundered, but Dad’s expression was indifferent.

“There are times when I find the fact that you’re oblivious quite enjoyable.”

“I’ve hardly ever heard that I’m oblivious?”

“Never mind. It’s about minor things.”

What’s minor? Now I’m even more curious.

“Why, does someone want to marry me or something?”

“Would you consider it if there was someone?”

“No?”

The answer came out without even thinking. And soon, I smiled playfully.

“No. Maybe I’d consider it if it were the most handsome man in the world.”

I don’t know why the marriage story came up, but it’s definitely a story that would come up at least once if I’m aiming to be the head of the family.

The head of the family generally chooses a partner out of necessity.

Just as a female orca in nature chooses a male to give birth to strong offspring, they choose to give birth to strong children.

As someone who was born that way and has unhappy memories, isn’t it natural that I don’t want to live the same way?

With my story over, the carriage fell into silence.

I also became lost in thought, looking at the passing scenery.

Another luxurious carriage passes by our carriage.

It’s the carriage Levi is riding in.

Atlan is also in that carriage.

Moreover, there are other people there.

It was a beastman with ‘detection abilities’ that Ilia recommended.

‘Thanks to finding and sending a beastman with detection abilities at the right time, it will be a great help.’

Ilia was an even more capable person than she had assured herself.

‘She said she worked hard for five years, and it wasn’t an exaggeration, was it?’

When I received a report from her, she had already attracted quite a lot of power.

Moreover, because my actions were unique, it was easy to gain the support of ordinary beastmen.

My approval rating is high, they say.

‘It was expected, though.’

Liribel smoothly devoured all of Baiyan’s supporters, and her own approval rating was also rising sharply.

Because of this, Sortega, the son of my second uncle, was having a hard time.

Meanwhile, Bellus, who was considered a strong candidate along with Baiyan and Sortega, was falling day by day due to his bizarre behavior of going to the training camp.

His support was also shifting to my side.

‘He’s not a guy who wouldn’t think this far, so is it intentional?’

It was around the time when my thoughts were endlessly continuing.

“Calypso.”

When I turned my gaze, Ekion had a more serious expression than ever.

As if he had made the decision of a lifetime.

“What’s wrong, Ekion? Are you sick somewhere?”

Ekion shook his head.

“That, you know…”

Just as he was about to say a word quietly, the carriage stopped with a squeak.

There was no one in this carriage who would stumble and fall from the sudden stop.

No, except for Ekion and Whale here.

I quickly hugged the two children. Of course, they were big compared to my body, but I hugged them tightly without any problems.

“What’s going on?”

The first thing that came to mind was one thing.

‘Is it an attack?!’

Surely, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to attack again this time, would they?

They should have already known from the last journey that it was like pushing their subordinates off a cliff, right?

“I’ll go check.”

Dad soon went outside.

Since he didn’t come back for a while, I couldn’t stand it and got up from my seat.

“Both of you stay here quietly. The inside of the carriage is protected by the power of water.”

Dad will be protecting it.

I left the two boys behind and hurried outside.

I first saw the knights gathered in front of the carriage, buzzing, and then I saw Dad standing at the very front.

Moreover, Levi and Atlan, who seemed to have gotten out of another carriage, were also standing there.

‘What’s going on?’

They all had troubled expressions. I hurried over.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“Oh, you came?”

The second uncle frowned and looked at me before nodding. He said it would be faster to see than to explain.

A knight who was with Dad turned around. The coachman next to the knight was explaining something diligently.

“No, I mean. Really… This was lying in the middle of the road, I’m telling you?”

There was something lying on the ground where people were talking.

Is it a sack of flour?

The bulging shape looked like a person covered in a blanket.

No matter how I looked at it, I thought it was a sack, so when I got closer, there was someone who moved before me.

One of the knights frowned and lifted it up.

“So, why is a person lying here? And it’s a child, too.”

A child?

I moved a little closer.

Dad had a nonchalant expression, as if he already knew I was coming.

Soon, one of the knights lifted the cloth covering the person.

Everyone was surprised. At the same time, some people groaned.

“…What kind of animal is this?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen it before.”

In fact, most aquatic beastmen never leave their land for their entire lives.

As for land animal beastmen, they generally only know about fierce animals or very famous animals like rabbits.

So, they can’t help but be flustered when they suddenly see a land animal beastman like this.

While everyone was whispering, the knights quickly made way when I approached closely.

And I widened my eyes at the face I saw.

I heard someone clapping next to me as if they knew.

Could he be three years old already?

He was really a tiny child.

His hair was soft brown, and light yellow stripes stood out on top of it.

For some reason, he had animal-shaped ears that ordinary beastmen didn’t have.

A fluffy tail on his butt…!

“Ah, I know. This pattern! I know it. Aren’t the stripes a tiger?”

He’s talking about a tiger.

No. It’s not!