Black Killer Whale Baby [EN]: Chapter 217

제217화

I paused.

The dark eyes visible between the eyelids were unfocused.

Dry, cracked lips moved, forming words I couldn’t understand.

The briefly lifted head fell again.

A heavy silence descended between Levi and me.

“…Is he dead?”

“Who’s dead? You wanna die?”

Levi shrugged. I wondered when he’d managed to salvage his glasses.

The lenses were cracked, but he’d managed to keep them on even while being kidnapped.

“I just thought you seemed very serious, Master.”

“How can I not be, seeing him in this state?”

“Who is he that makes you so concerned?”

I was momentarily speechless.

‘Ah.’

…He doesn’t remember?

‘Wow, he was talking so much like he was in the third playthrough that I unconsciously answered naturally.’

Even as I thought this, I looked at Levi with suspicion.

“From my medical and pharmaceutical knowledge, he doesn’t seem to be in immediate danger. Humpback whales are quite sturdy, after all.”

As if it were someone else’s problem. Well, it is someone else’s problem, isn’t it?

But strangely, his attitude felt like how you’d treat a close friend you’ve known for a long time, making me feel odd.

That guy is still acting ambiguous.

“Anyway, let’s move.”

The fortress has collapsed. I can’t even retrieve Linnaeus right now.

Deciding to move, I tried to sling Hauser over my shoulder again, but I sensed people approaching in the distance.

“Hey! Master!”

A waterspout shot up, and two people jumped down.

It was the Second and Duke Yong.

“What? The fortress collapsed faster than we expected. What did you do? No, wait… Who’s that you’re carrying? Don’t tell me…”

“Ah.”

I briefly explained the situation.

The Second seemed to recognize Hauser at a glance, just like I did.

Well, he’s not someone you can easily forget.

“Tch, why is that guy here? Seriously…”

Atlan tried to grumble but stopped himself, realizing Levi and Duke Yong were present, and made an effort to keep his mouth shut.

Even so, he seemed to have mixed feelings about seeing his old comrade in such a miserable state in my arms.

‘Rough on the outside, but soft on the inside.’

I smiled briefly and then hardened my face again.

“Hey, I’ll carry him.”

“No, it’s fine. Let’s just go back.”

“No, Master, why would you carry someone bigger than you…?!!”

“Like it’s anything new.”

During the war, there weren’t enough people, so I even carried cannons myself. What’s so surprising?

Of course, I could freely use the power of water back then.

Atlan must have realized he couldn’t change my mind, so he gave up easily.

While Atlan and I were talking, Levi had administered first aid.

“Ah, thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

And while it was unavoidable when escaping the fortress, I couldn’t carry him like a sack of rice.

Suddenly, my back felt lighter.

“What are you doing?”

Turning around, I was surprised to see Duke Yong holding Hauser.

I frowned, thinking it was Atlan, but then I was surprised again.

‘Wow, look at his physical ability?’

Is he really a dragon? I was amazed by the strength with which he lifted the giant so easily.

“Now that I think about it, there was no need to evacuate you. Can I have him?”

“…”

“Duke Yong?”

“…”

“Duke Yong, sir?”

I raised an eyebrow, and the man finally opened his mouth slightly.

“I will carry him.”

“Why you?”

Why does he keep clamming up? It’s absurd.

My feelings must have been evident on my face, as Duke Yong spoke.

“You and the other orca [referring to Atlan, the Second] are the only ones in this group who can fight.”

“So?”

“If you carry him, your hands are tied… This is more efficient.”

He meant his words were reasonable. Thinking about it, he was right.

I looked at the unconscious Hauser and slowly retracted my outstretched hand.

“Okay, then I’ll leave it to you.”

“…Is he important?”

“You could say that.”

Looking at Hauser, I felt as complicated as Atlan.

I wondered if he’d been captured while fighting the sharks.

Could he have really cooperated with the sharks?

‘This isn’t the third playthrough, after all.’

This guy might not be the one I know. People can change so easily.

I know this all too well.

“I don’t know. Maybe he’ll become important.”

“Then it’s okay if I keep him.”

“Okay, I understand. He’s injured, so be careful.”

“…I will.”

I stopped, forgetting I was about to move.

The man was faintly smiling.

Since losing his memories, he had maintained a dry, desert-like expression, only moving his eyes.

His lips had only curved slightly, like a red flower blooming on a white snowy mountain, but I felt like my gaze was caught.

I moved my lips.

But the words that were about to come out of my mouth never made a sound and went back down my throat.

‘Why are you happy?’

Turning my head, I saw the Second and Levi looking at us.

“What? What are you looking at?”

“Nothing. I didn’t see anything.”

“What?”

“Sigh. We have a long way to go.”

“…What’s he talking about? Levi, why is he like that?”

“I don’t know.”

Levi shrugged.

“I also thought it wasn’t a good idea for you to carry him, Master. I think it’s a good thing.”

“Why, because I can’t fight? You’re so worried.”

“…Yes, think of it that way.”

Anyway, we had rejoined the group and partially achieved our goal.

“Let’s go.”

There was no need to delay any longer.

But our departure was postponed again.

Because of the man who appeared before us.

“Isn’t that the guy we were dragging around?”

“The remora [a fish known for attaching itself to larger marine animals]?”

The man, covered in dusty dirt, was gasping for breath in front of us.

‘What? How could he have survived?’

How did he survive that massive collapse?

I narrowed my eyes.

‘I’ve never heard of remoras having any special survival skills.’

It seems like it was a good thing to entrust Hauser to Duke Yong.

Something doesn’t feel right.

“Haa, haa, sa, save me, cough, please…”

The remora beastman, Gamo, desperately reached out to us.

He was a mess.

One arm was gone, and his leg was tattered.

His hair was sparse, as if it had been burned off.

It was clear he had been caught in the explosion during the collapse.

“How did you survive?”

“I can’t, can’t hear you. Co, come a little closer…”

What kind of trick is this? I narrowed my eyes but walked forward.

He looked even more miserable up close.

‘Something’s wrong. This is…’

It was a miracle he was alive.

Yes, he was like a moving corpse. It was impossible for him to even breathe, let alone walk.

He could never have walked here with a broken leg.

And I know how to make this possible.

Gamo grinned as if he had been waiting for this.

His lips stretched wide, beyond where a human’s lips could reach.

“Ha, haha. Hahaha.”

“How are you alive?”

“Haha, hahaha. I, why, alive?”

“You can’t lie according to the Oath of the Sea.”

“Ah, can’t lie. Um, can’t do.”

Gamo’s pupils, which had been laughing like a madman, turned to me.

I’ve seen these eyes before.

But not in this life, but in a previous playthrough.

“Didn’t you know? I, to me, no, the person I serve? I don’t have to keep the Oath of the Sea.”

Gamo licked his lips and smiled, his neck suddenly tilting to the side.

It wasn’t him who tilted it.

He had come here with his neck already broken.

“Who, who was I? Ah. Aah. Aaaah!”

Gamo reached out, but his hand couldn’t reach me. His left arm was also broken.

Gamo’s gaze, which had soon calmed down, stared at me.

No, it wasn’t calm, but a chilling, crazed gaze.

“Hello, Calypso?”

Gamo’s skin cracked and crumbled like a thorn doll.

His limbs were broken, but only his lips moved elegantly like a doll.

“Well, long time no see. A very long time.”

I know this voice, no, this tone.

“The party I prepared ended too easily.”

Gamo’s lips formed a deep smile.

“Too bad.”

How could I not know?

The male protagonist of this world, whom I tried so hard to seduce in the first playthrough to survive.

The Crown Prince.