Black Killer Whale Baby [EN]: Chapter 257

Whale looked surprised at the name I uttered, but said he would call for him and went outside.

Along with the news that the dizziness would continue at least for today.

As I was sitting alone, killing time, the door soon opened and Hauser came in.

“What are you doing?”

I flinched.

“Come this way.”

He said this, but his drooping shoulders showed no sign of returning to normal.

It didn’t seem like he would come closer.

I know that look well.

I know what kind of expression that guy is making under that hair that covers his eyes even more today.

Of course, because it was the look I saw every time I was injured in the 3rd playthrough.

“Should I go? Just so you know, I’m still not feeling well.”

“I will go.”

I looked at the guy walking over in disbelief.

“Why are you being stubborn when you’re going to come anyway? Are you playing hard to get with me?”

“Playing hard to get? I wish I were in a position where that was even possible.”

Hauser smiled. But this was not a complete smile.

A smile filled with pain, sadness, and despair.

“…I thought I would never see this side of the Lord again.”

“…”

“No, I’ve lived half my life to avoid seeing this side of you…”

Hauser pressed down on his eyes.

As I looked at him, I held my breath and grabbed his sleeve.

“…First, sit here. My neck hurts.”

Hauser sat down obediently. I raised my hand and brushed back the bangs that covered his eyes.

Eyes bloodshot and stained with tears turned to me.

A deep-seated obsession.

It was the same gaze as in the past and now.

“Look closely. I’m alive.”

“…”

“And I’ve healed perfectly. You can check for yourself.”

“…Yes.”

Hauser smiled as if he was about to cry. It was a bitter smile.

“You are spotless, without a single wound. So, thanks to that, I understand…”

“…”

“That the Lord’s side has changed.”

In the past, we didn’t have healers. Therefore, injuries brought danger.

Especially in the extreme situations of war, where fierce battles continued and clean bandages, cloths, and medicine ran out.

There were countless people who died from injuries that could have been healed under normal circumstances.

So, for Hauser, a serious injury felt like a death sentence.

“I understand… That things are different from the past.”

Hauser was clenching his teeth.

Following Levi, I wanted to tell him once that we are living in a different time than the past.

Hauser seemed to have realized it himself this time without me having to say it.

Knowing it was a cruel realization, there was nothing I could do.

“Since the people you keep by your side have changed, you must have changed as well, Lord.”

Yes, I can’t be the same person.

“Is that why you didn’t look for us?”

Tears as desperate as blood ran down Hauser’s cheeks.

I reached out and wiped away the tears with my thumb.

“Surely not.”

I opened my mouth calmly.

“Knowing that I’m going to storm the Imperial Palace again like this, how could I call you guys?”

I wanted you to live a peaceful life in this life.

Hauser looked overwhelmed at my words.

“…You kept the dolphin by your side.”

“Ah, that guy has a special reason.”

“…”

“Really. Why would I want to bring you back after seeing that hell? I just wanted you to live peacefully.”

I kept wiping Hauser’s cheeks expressionlessly. Certainly, the 3rd playthrough me was a bit indifferent and heartless like this.

“Hauser, you know. You idealize me too much.”

“…I have never done that.”

“I don’t think so. Where else is there a guy who deifies me as much as you do?”

“…I have never, done that.”

It was a terribly stubborn voice.

“That’s why you can’t accept my different self from the past life.”

For a moment, his deep eyes wavered. A small confusion lingered in his obsession-distorted eyes.

“But you already knew. No, you must have felt it. That I’m different from before.”

“…No.”

“So you kept clinging to reviving memories, right? Even showing me directly that you’re reviving Camula’s memories.”

“…No, it’s not. No. That’s not it.”

I grabbed the man’s chin, who was trying to lower his head, and lifted it up. Our eyes met.

“Look at reality. Since when did your Lord teach you to live in a dream?”

“…Lord.”

I was cold in front of his eyes that were shaking like a child’s.

“Hauser. In the past and now, I can’t accept your feelings.”

“That doesn’t matter…!”

“I can’t be the person you want me to be anymore either.”

Hauser’s face twisted sadly.

“Let the past pass as the past.”

His tightly closed mouth held unabandoned stubbornness.

But Hauser probably already knows. That he is being stubborn.

I let go of Hauser’s face and spread my arms.

“Come here, Hauser.”

Hauser flinched.

“Hurry.”

Soon, a large body came into my arms. I patted his broad shoulders and stroked his back.

Pat, pat. Like to a child.

In the 3rd playthrough, the place where I first met Hauser was a deserted place even within the Aquasidel territory.

He was a mutant who couldn’t adapt among the humpback whales.

“Similar to me?”

“…”

“Follow me if you want.”

I remember every memory with the guys I brought with my own hands. That’s how much I.

“I cherish you.”

Surely, romantic love between a man and a woman isn’t the only best feeling.

Love for family, love for colleagues, love for friends.

There was a life where my subordinates were everything to me. Even if it’s not now, the cherished feelings have not disappeared.

It’s just that there are more precious things added to the feelings of cherishing subordinates.

“So, I want you to live in the present instead of the past that ended in death.”

“…”

“With me.”

Hauser soaked my clothes for a while with my gentle rejection.

Soon, a cautious hand wrapped around my back.

“…Yes. My respected Lord.”

Hauser muttered with his face buried in my shoulder.

“I will follow you for the rest of my life.”

I patted his back silently.

* * *

“That’s what happened.”

“Heh.”

Atlan crunched on the fruit. His expression was full of dissatisfaction.

“To summarize, that whale bastard Hauser confessed, but you dumped him?”

“To be precise, Hauser loved the past me.”

“But what’s the difference? The you from the past life is you, and the you from this life is you.”

“Do you really think so?”

Atlan paused for a moment. Then he narrowed his handsome brow.

“Well… you are a bit different from the past life. You were a bit cold back then, weren’t you?”

“I was indifferent.”

Belus, who was sitting next to Atlan, quietly added.

“What, I don’t think it was that bad? You were just a bit indifferent to your surroundings.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“…”

The more I talk, the more disadvantageous it will be for me.

I raised both hands and shrugged.

“Anyway, I got a promise from Hauser that he won’t try to turn me back to my past self or revive the memories of past subordinates.”

“That’s a good thing.”

Atlan replied bluntly.

“Remembering isn’t always a good thing.”

Atlan had a slightly complicated expression. He had been like this ever since he saw Camula, so I guessed that there might be something between them like there was between me and Levi.

I guessed that there might be something I didn’t know back then.

“I’m glad you guys seem to be in good condition.”

At my words, Atlan and Belus glanced at each other.

“Why… why are you calling people in order like this? You could just gather everyone and meet.”

“Hey, that’s no fun. No fun. If that happens, there will be people who can’t talk. Everyone would have been worried about me.”

“…You’re being a Lord in unnecessary places.”

“You like it, but you’re acting like that.”

I chuckled.

Through Belus and Atlan, I roughly heard how the outside situation was after the research lab disappeared.

“What are you going to do now?”

“Hmm…”

Belus was representing our group instead of me, who was in bed. Or he was in charge of conveying my intentions to Lorel.

“Let’s do this.”

The city of Madrum has disappeared. The Imperial Palace must be in an uproar over this enormous incident.

It was thrilling just thinking about it.

“What’s the probability that the Imperial Palace will control or block information?”

“There’s no need to even mention it.”

“Okay, let’s aim for that point.”

I snapped my middle finger and thumb together.

“We’ll stay here for a while. Instead, whether we release people or buy people, let’s spread this rumor widely.”

Madrum was the strategist of the Imperial Palace and an indispensable force in assisting combat personnel.

To exaggerate, it’s like one side of the brain has been blown away.

“The Orca was furious at Madrum’s behavior and stormed the research lab. Countless Suins [a race of animal-human hybrids] were being experimented on and suffering.”

“…”

“Regardless of land animals or aquatic animals.”

“…What, that’s the truth, isn’t it?”

“However, they used not only their own kind but also land animals and beast Suins for experiments, and in fact, it turned out that they were the majority.”

“Oh?”

I smiled slyly.