“Pi, Mr. Pierre?”
Indeed. Pierre may have a frail body, but his strength is admired and envied by everyone.
It may be a bit opportunistic to use our father’s name here, but oh well.
First, I have to stay alive!
“Hey, hey. That’s nonsense. Pierre doesn’t even see his son,,but would he meet you.”
“Y-Yeah, that’s right. He even refuses the summons from the matriarch!”
I chuckled. These guys are hesitating even as they say that.
“Why do you think I’m not quietly staying in the building where I live and staying here instead? Think about the direction I came from. It should be the same direction my father lives.”
“…Mr. Pierre, they said he was staying in the west?”
“Uh, yeah… If you go that way, there’s only… the building.”
“Right. Unlike you guys, I’m a daughter who actually has conversations with my father. You know, my father is unexpectedly doting on his daughter.”
“D-Don’t make me laugh. I-I’ve never heard such things from Bayan!”
“Why would my father talk to Bayan? You stupid fish!”
“Whales are not fish!”
“Then maybe only your head is a fish! Keep trying to hit me. My father will leave you alone.”
“…Hey, is this kid really three years old? She speaks better than me…”
“Why are you getting scared? It’s obviously a lie!”
“But…”
“Don’t you find it strange too? That I’m so good at talking? Who could I have learned it from? Whose natural talent for words do I resemble?”
Finally, the boys began to hesitate.
An expression of “Is that true?” appeared on their faces.
“Could it be true? You idiots.”
I laughed inwardly while remaining confident.
“Get out of here right now. Before you even think about killing or doing anything, go tell our father.”
“…Hey, let’s go. There’s something strange about him. He talks so well, to the point that it’s abnormal. Isn’t he really related to Pierre?”
“Ugh…”
Why do I speak so well? Because I’ve died three times and practiced. I’m the ringleader of hell, you fish spawn.
“That’s right! My father loves me. Why do you think my father lived in the west? There’s also the east end and the north end if he wanted to live quietly, right? He stays in the west to talk to me!”
Finally, one of the boys stepped back.
However, the boy who bit my finger couldn’t hide his lingering expression of anger.
“Hey, let’s just go.”
“Wait. I have to hit you once more before we go.”
The boy swung his fist with a determined look on his face.
I couldn’t help but think that I had no choice but to take that blow.
‘Ah, if only I could use the power of water!’
Not closing my eyes was a habit from my past life.
Closing my eyes during a fight could lead to death.
But being an infant, I reflexively closed my eyes and quickly opened them again.
And I saw it.
The fallen form of the boy.
What had appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye…
‘A water vortex?’
It was undoubtedly the power of water.
“What… What was that? You clearly said you couldn’t use the power of water.”
“No… Bayan said you definitely couldn’t use it.”
“Hey, let’s go quickly! Looks like you’re truly the daughter who inherited Pierre’s power.”
“Damn it!!”
I didn’t know what had happened, but watching the boys retreat in a sorry state, I unleashed a string of profanities with my finger.
“I won’t let this go! Remember this, you whale bastards!”
I laughed triumphantly and then absentmindedly looked at my hand.
“By the way, what the hell was that just now?”
…Could it be that I can use the power of water?
I was startled by the sudden turn of events and missed the presence that was nearby.
No, even if I had keenly observed, it wouldn’t have been someone I could have noticed at the moment.
* * *
“…”
Pierre stared intently at the distant Calipso.
Using the power of water a while ago had been purely impulsive.
It was merely a curiosity that ended with the discovery of an intriguing ant, devoid of any affection or emotions.
“You!! I just met my dad right now!”
Pierre’s head turned slightly.
‘…Did she know?’
It seemed that the girl who claimed to be his daughter had known about herself from the beginning.
Pierre didn’t take his eyes off the busy Calipso as she diligently brushed off the dust from her body.
“Ah, come on. Am I really unable to use the power of water? That would be a shame!”
The Calipso’s self-talk sounded slightly muffled compared to the clear tone it had used in front of Pierre himself.
The Calipso had heard the information that Pierre disliked children in advance and made every effort to pronounce its words properly.
The Calipso’s self-talk echoed into Pierre’s keen ears.
“Ah, I miss the times when I used to be on top.”
Pierre’s head tilted slightly once again.
…On top?
As if realizing something, the Calipso stumbled and scurried away.
The child had already disappeared, but Pierre stood there for quite some time, looking at the spot where the kalipso had been standing, before turning around and leaving.
Cough cough, his casual coughing was the only indication of his presence that remained.
* * *
Two days later, I came to a conclusion.
“I didn’t awaken the power of water.”
If I had awakened the power of water, water droplets would have shot up from my hands whenever I wanted.
However, no matter how hard I tried after those boys left, it didn’t work.
I squeezed my hands tightly, and even the servant who came to bring me food looked at me strangely several times.
I had to admit it.
“Well, it’s a pity. Then what was that?”
Either I was so angry, or I wanted to survive, so some latent ability was activated…
“If that’s the case, I can use the power of water even without a treasure in this life.”
As I thought about it, the food laid out on the table came into view.
“Come to think of it, it seemed like the fact that Grandma approved of me spread right away that day.”
Didn’t Bayan send someone on that day?
Moreover, the quality of the food had improved significantly in just two days, as Grandma’s approval was received.
I carefully examined the food and put each item into the dolphin-shaped pouch.
Then, I didn’t forget to tightly tie the pouch and put it on my shoulder.
“All right!”
In fact, yesterday, a messenger came back and forth to where I lived.
It was the messenger who took me to Grandma.
“The day has been set for entering the basic education institution for all aquatic creatures. Your Ladyship will enter exactly five days from now.”
The basic education institution for aquatic creatures.
It was a place where all young aquatic beings from noble families were obliged to go.
This institution was divided into a class for regular aquatic animals and a class for whales.
If I were to enter the education institution, I would probably be in the whale class.
“If I enter the education institution, my free time will probably decrease.”
There was no other chance but now.
For the past two days, I had thought hard about it.
“How can I become close to Pierre?”
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with an answer.
Thanks to that, I had to squeeze out the memories of the previous chapter like squeezing them out with a juicer.
“Um, um! Our father briefly had Pierre with him. He… surprisingly, he never refused when someone asked him to teach them something!”
Finally, I remembered what the subordinate, who had been a herring mermaid, blurted out with an excited face.
It was a difficult process because in my previous life, my father, who died quickly, had no interest in me.
“All right.”
I walked out of the building with my bag.
“…Your Ladyship?”
Just as I was about to leave the entrance of the building, I coincidentally ran into someone.
‘Who is it? It’s a face I’ve never seen before.’
She was wearing the attire of a maid working here, but she had a face I had never seen before.
Moreover, judging by the remaining scales around her neck, she seemed to be an inexperienced mermaid who couldn’t fully transform into a human.
“Who are you?”
“Ah… I’m Misa, who was assigned here as of today.”
“… Misa?”
It’s strange, why does that name sound familiar from somewhere?
I tilted my head and nodded.
If she works here, it probably means she takes care of the food for the babies living here.
“You coming here means someone else left, right?”
The woman seemed surprised by my fluent words and quickly responded.
“Yes… the previous person, Senior Lumi, was assigned to another building.”
Lumi. I remembered the name.
‘She was the one who took out her frustrations on helpless children like me.’
And it was against babies who couldn’t even move.
She would fill the bottles with hot water or bathe them with ice-cold water.
It was an act of survival. It happened because it was a place where there was no surveillance according to the rules of the sperm whale.
‘Now that it’s time for me to leave, they’re sending her away from here. Well, is it a fortunate event for the ones coming in the future?’
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Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Bree.
Next chapter will be released tomorrow. To read chapters in advance support us on Patreon!!
