Black Killer Whale Baby [EN]: Chapter 264

Since it was my tent anyway and no one was around, I readily used my water power.

“Instead of swearing allegiance to the sea, I heard everything from Levi. You have a plan, Chieftain.”

“That’s right.”

If Levi told Misa about the plan, there must be a reason. I nodded instead of saying anything else.

“Then you should definitely wear the formal attire, Chieftain. As extravagant as possible.”

“……Huh?”

Misa was a reasonable person.

There must be a reason why she was insisting I wear uncomfortable clothes now.

Instead of saying anything, I waited for Misa to continue.

“I heard that others will be infiltrating while you are attending the ceremony, Chieftain.”

“That’s right, so?”

“Then wouldn’t you need something to capture the attention even more, Chieftain?”

“I don’t understand. What does me dressing up in formal attire have to do with capturing attention?”

“Chieftain, you are too unaware of your own beauty.”

It was brazen, but I paused for a moment at the blatant praise.

“I know I’m pretty. But that’s not related, is it?”

“Why do you think it’s not related? Chieftain, men are destined to have their eyes stolen by a beautiful person for whatever reason.”

Misa spread her hands.

“Hearing you say that, it seems you didn’t realize how all the men were looking at you on the day of the succession ceremony.”

“I’m not that oblivious.”

“No. You don’t know. That’s probably why Levi didn’t even try to persuade you…….”

Misa clasped her hands together and said.

“Chieftain, have I ever done anything that harmed or inconvenienced you?”

“…….”

No.

“Could you listen to my opinion just this once?”

It wasn’t something I needed to stubbornly refuse.

Frankly, I could use my power even in high heels.

And there was always the option of throwing them away if they were too uncomfortable.

“Okay, I understand.”

Misa’s face brightened.

In fact, Misa had played a motherly role in this life, so I decided not to withdraw my agreement if possible.

* * *

“Misa. You sent him on purpose, didn’t you?”

That afternoon.

We decided to stay in this village for a day to rest, so I had some free time.

This village was small, but it was well-developed, and the path to the nearby fields was especially pretty.

‘Lili would like this place.’

I smiled, thinking of the heroine we were with long ago. She must be doing well in a safe place now, right?

She seemed to be cherished by the Snake family.

“Yes, that’s right.”

I wasn’t walking alone on the small path.

Because if I turned to the side, I would see Levi brazenly answering.

It was the reward Levi wanted: taking a walk together.

He also wanted a ‘picnic,’ but that wasn’t possible.

‘I brought some simple things to eat, though.’

I looked at the small basket I was holding in my hand. It was cute.

I never thought the day would come when I would walk around with something so ‘adorable’ in my life.

I walked in silence. When I reached the end of the path, my mouth dropped open.

“Oh…….”

A vast field stretched out before me.

The endless field stretched out under the clear blue sky as if it would touch the horizon.

‘It’s magnificent.’

“It is magnificent.”

Levi was also impressed, saying exactly what I was thinking.

“I agree. It’s not as good as the sea, but it’s worth seeing. I like this kind of thing.”

“You mean big, wide nature?”

“Something like that.”

The wind was blowing just enough to feel good. It had been a while since I had basked in such comfortable and cozy sunlight.

Just like when I woke up feeling good in the morning, that good feeling seemed to revive, and I smiled brightly.

“This is kind of like a picnic, isn’t it?”

“…….”

I shook the basket gently.

“What do you want to do? Walk further? Or sit here?”

“……If you don’t mind, let’s walk a little more.”

“Okay.”

We walked a little further into the field and settled down in a suitable spot.

It was under a poplar tree standing alone in the endless field.

“It’s like a fairy tale.”

“Not a painting, but a fairy tale?”

“Yeah.”

Inside the basket was a cute cloth that could be used as a simple mat.

Besides that, there were picnic teacups, sandwiches for a meal, and simple desserts.

Misa had packed them.

“The fairy tales I read when I was young had pictures like this.”

Fairy tales and animations, too. It was a story from Earth.

The story of when I was ‘Sieun.’

“That’s amazing. All the fairy tales in Aquasidel depict the sea…….”

“That’s right.”

Did I say it was kind of like a picnic a little while ago? Looking at it like this, it’s just a picnic.

‘My wish has been properly fulfilled.’

Feeling secretly proud, I handed Levi a sandwich and took a big bite myself.

“Being here makes me think of something.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“We promised to go play when everything was over.”

Levi froze, holding the sandwich. I noticed out of the corner of my eye, but pretended not to see and looked ahead.

“After the war, should we go somewhere to play?”

“Don’t say strange things and look at the strategic plan one more time.”

“Why? Once we win, we can go anywhere, right?”

“…….”

“Mountains or fields. I quite like fields too. And flower gardens.”

It was one day during the third playthrough.

Around the time the war was about to begin, one of the days when I was strengthening my resolve in the face of the increasingly fierce battles.

We had that conversation.

“It’s obvious. You were planning to go somewhere nice with all your subordinates, weren’t you?”

“Maybe. I did have that thought.”

I held a cup in one hand. The tea in the teacup was moderately warm.

Like the warmth you once gave me.

“I was asking with the intention of going with you two.”

“…….”

“Of course, you dismissed it as nonsense as always.”

A breeze blew between us for a moment. Under the swaying hair, Levi’s eyes flickered for a moment.

“……I remember.”

“Yeah. I thought you would remember everything. Because you’re smart.”

I turned my head and gently closed my eyes.

“And if the war had ended peacefully as you said, we might all have been here together.”

When I opened my eyes, the faces I had tried to forget were smiling brightly.

Some guy was calling me, saying that flowers had bloomed here. Some guys were wrestling and competing in the fields like baby beasts.

In the distance, there was Camula, laughing heartily.

There was Hauser, reluctantly joining in the conversation among his comrades, even though he found it annoying.

And if that had happened, Levi would probably have been by my side then too.

In my crumbling mirage, I opened my eyes.

“Everyone expects me to have multiple husbands these days. I’ve never even mentioned it.”

“…….”

The people my father brought were vassals who followed Aquasidel and their soldiers.

They consistently told similar stories when they greeted me and when they saw me afterward.

They subtly praised their sons or openly asked if I would consider meeting them.

It was a story I would have heard even if the third playthrough had ended peacefully, instead of being busy with war.

I was newly aware of my position.

“Even Ekion is saying things like that. He says he’d be satisfied as long as he’s the first.”

“…….”

“Levi, I think it’s better not to have something at all than to not be rewarded as much as you want in life.”

“Some people may hope to have jewels, but some people simply enjoy looking at them.”

There was stubbornness in Levi’s voice.

“You must have heard the stories of countless families trying to arrange marriages to welcome Whale as a member of their family. Yes, I’m hearing those stories too. In fact, I’m already tired of them.”

“…….”

“Perhaps the Dolphin family members who will soon return to Aquasidel will say this to me as well. Get married.”

“…….”

“But everyone is rational, so they might force me into another marriage. Aren’t you scared?”

The face, devoid of even a faint smile, was that of a cold-blooded strategist.

The face that calculated everything and made pragmatic judgments.

“If I marry someone, we will have to pay a lot of political attention, whether we like it or not.”

That’s right.

It won’t be the same as before.

There’s nothing like marriage to unite multiple tribes. That’s why Atlan, Bellus, and Lilibel advised me to have multiple husbands to prevent chaos.

Surprisingly, my father said that if I was going to take one, I might as well have several.

Even you advised me several times. Whether it was rationally or emotionally, it must have been sincere.

“I want you to like me as much as you want. Until you’re sick of it, until you wonder if it’s okay to like me this much. Then, when the statute of limitations expires one day, I hope you forget everything and be happy. This is how I cherish you.”

But would these words mean anything to someone who has already surpassed the past and chased after me, to someone I liked in my previous life?

“If I put you in a different position, you won’t be able to turn back or escape.”

“Even if that’s the case.”

“…….”

“Are you giving me a position where I can watch over you?”

We stared at each other for a long time.

“This time, I’m going to settle things with the Imperial Family properly. I won’t create a world where there is no ‘next’ anymore.”

“…….”

“When the war is over, you and I may no longer see each other in the same way we do now.”

The Chieftain should act like a Chieftain. Levi knew that better than anyone.

“Even if you’re okay with that.”

Levi smiled.