Black Killer Whale Baby [EN]: Chapter 215

215

“I saw it.”

Dragon Duke readily agreed. Though I wondered if I might have been mistaken, however unlikely.

‘So that’s the case.’

After some semi-coercion, the Sharkkin agreed to guide us directly to their base.

We couldn’t use the shortcut Levi had scouted out, but it wasn’t entirely useless.

‘If that guy has ulterior motives, Levi will be the first to notice.’

He’d immediately realize if we were led down a suspicious path.

Just before we set off, the Sharkkin stammered out an introduction.

“I’m, I’m a Remora Sharkkin. Gamora!”

“Huh?”

I clicked my tongue.

Remora.

Though the name contains ‘shark,’ these guys are, strictly speaking, far from sharks. [Remoras are ray-finned fish known for attaching themselves to larger marine animals.]

Rather, they’re closer to jacks or pompanos in terms of species.

‘He’s not even part of the mainstream… and they spared him instead of killing him?’

The Shark faction in the wastelands is notoriously cruel to its own kind, easily killing them off instead of bothering to get their hands dirty when discarding them.

The more I thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.

“You said you saw the Shark bastards joining hands with the landlubbers, right?”

“Yes, yes…!”

“Then how are you still alive?”

“That’s…”

He desperately explained that the sharks who chased him away wouldn’t think he’d witnessed the meeting.

“Someone like me, a mere underling, they wouldn’t think I’d know such important secrets…!”

Hearing that, I pressed him without giving him a chance to breathe.

“Have you ever encountered or made contact with a land-dwelling beastkin?”

“Yes, yes?!”

“Even a passing glance is enough. Even if you just made eye contact.”

Gamora’s face turned ashen. I didn’t need an answer to know.

‘That’s the answer.’

“By any chance, did the one you made eye contact with have golden eyes like this man here? Golden hair too?”

“Hey, what are you talking about? That’s…”

Atlan stopped himself from saying it was a ‘trait of the Imperial Family.’

He must have realized I wasn’t talking nonsense.

“Right. Looks like those bastards came to play in our front yard.”

I chuckled.

‘Yeah, after a whole nine years, you guys wouldn’t just sit on your asses and wait quietly.’

“The power of the land, especially the power used by the Imperial Family, includes the ability to ‘mind control.’ It’s not a well-known fact.”

Perhaps it’s because aquatic beastkins and terrestrial beastkins are mortal enemies.

Terrestrial beastkins respect and worship lions, making them susceptible to mind control.

Aquatic beastkins, on the other hand, are relatively resistant to this ability.

“A, are you saying… I, I fell victim to a wicked scheme?”

“Yeah, looks like it. Otherwise, your eyes wouldn’t have looked golden when you opened them.”

Gamora looked like he’d choked on a rice cake.

“I never knew the Imperial Family had such abilities.”

“Why do you think it’s not a well-known story?”

Levi gave me a look that said, ‘Then how do you know about it?’ but I subtly ignored him.

“So there was a reason to keep this guy alive.”

I chuckled.

“What are you doing? Lead the way.”

“Yes, yes!”

* * *

Gamora glanced back.

No, to be precise, he tried to glance back but flinched at the sharp aura and stared straight ahead.

We’d been walking for about half a day.

From behind, a booming voice struck his eardrums as if to be heard.

“Hey, are you really taking that guy with you, even knowing the truth?”

“Why, what about it?”

It was a conversation between the two Orcas. Gamora pressed down on his heart and eavesdropped on the conversation.

“He’s been mind-controlled, right? And you don’t even know what kind of mind control it is?”

“Right?”

“Gah, seriously. Do you have to stick your head in the enemy’s mouth to be satisfied?”

“If the one sticking their face in is the predator, the story changes. Which one will get eaten?”

“……”

Secretly turning back, he saw a large male Orca beastkin pounding his chest.

Atlan, was it? The second son of the Aquacidel family head.

And the woman was clearly Calypso Aquacidel, the youngest daughter.

She was famous for being a half-wit who woke up from a long sleep and couldn’t even use the power of water, but.

She was the one who roamed the wastelands and directly changed the rumors.

Moreover, her beauty and loveliness were widely rumored.

Even the Imperial Family, the enemy camp, had heard of her beauty, so it was understandable.

Of course, even if a land-dwelling beastkin acknowledged her beauty, they would be quick to criticize her, not wanting to reveal their true feelings.

“What about it? We went through the new Oath of the Sea anyway. That guy can’t betray us now. Not if he values his life.”

Gamora barely managed to calm his pounding heart.

His lips tingled.

“What if it was designed that way from the start? There are more than a few guys who are prepared to commit suicide, you know?”

“That’s why we tested him.”

Gamora recalled the Oath of the Sea he had to take several times.

It contained various clauses.

From swearing that he would die immediately if he lied, to swearing that he had no hidden agendas or secrets….

Even swearing to prove that he had truly betrayed the sharks….

Gamora smirked sinisterly inside.

‘Ha, how foolish.’

What good is it to be strong and have a head if you don’t use it?

Those fools always used their heads only for infighting.

‘They believe so easily, not even knowing that the Oath of the Sea doesn’t work on me.’

The moment Gamora thought of this, his focus blurred.

Then, three seconds later, he tilted his head.

‘Ah, what was I thinking about?’

Tilting his head, he flinched and hunched his shoulders at the chilling aura he felt from behind.

Moreover, when he turned his head at the stinging gaze he felt from the side.

A handsome man with glasses and a strange air was calmly staring at him.

‘Ah, a dolphin… was it?’

The man named Levi stared at Gamora intently before turning his head.

It was a gaze as if looking at an inanimate object.

Dolphins were known to be intelligent, but they were still aquatic beastkins.

There was no way they could know the secret he held.

Gamora smiled inwardly, calculating the benefits he would gain.

* * *

After that, they walked for about two days straight.

As night fell, a massive fortress appeared before them.

“Wow, what’s this? You didn’t fall behind, weakling?”

“Are you talking about me? I’d rather have a weak brain. It’s much better.”

“What? My brain’s perfectly fine, you know?”

“You should have pointed out that there are no bones in the brain first. That’s why you can’t do it.”

“……You little punk. Do you want to get hit?”

Levi and Atlan were always bickering.

To be precise, Atlan was the one who started the trouble every time, but he never got the upper hand.

The fortress was right in front of them.

In other words, Gamora’s role was over.

‘When should I make my escape….’

While Gamora was busy plotting his escape like a rat.

He glanced at the group that had gathered for a short rest.

Gamora couldn’t escape because Atlan’s water power was surrounding his body, even though they were far apart.

But when the time came, he would escape. He had plenty of ways prepared.

Gamora’s gaze stopped at one place.

It was a large man with blue hair and golden eyes.

He had been with them all along, but he had hardly said a word….

He didn’t even remember hearing anyone call the man’s name.

Calypso called him ‘you,’ Atlan called him ‘hey.’ Levi approached him and spoke to him instead of calling him.

Among them, the man only had a conversation when Calypso spoke to him.

He had indifferent eyes.

What was the relationship between the two? Curiosity filled Gamora’s eyes.

‘Are they lovers?’

It was a lewd question.

It couldn’t be helped. Even though they seemed indifferent, Calypso’s face, when turned towards the man, would furrow and then relax in an astonishing way.

Sometimes, she would even make such a soft face that Gamora himself would stare at her.

Judging from the fact that Atlan and Levi, who were nearby, pretended not to notice as if it wasn’t a rare occurrence.

Calypso didn’t seem to be aware of her own feelings.

‘Hmm, can that family… marry even if they are different species?’

Gamora tilted his head secretly.

While he was pondering, a shadow fell over him.

When he looked up, Calypso was looking down at him with cold eyes.

Gamora felt a chilling aura and murderous intent, and at the same time, he felt a strange feeling.

How should he express this….

“We’ve arrived?”

He didn’t know how they were going to take that fortress with this number of people.

That city would never fall easily.

Just as Gamora was about to swallow a laugh, recalling the traps scattered everywhere.

“Now, guide us again.”

“……Yes?”

“You’re a shark, right? Then you must know about ‘that’ that everyone knows?”

“Wh, what….”

Calypso grinned.

“I’m talking about the self-destruct device.”