Second, Atlan.
Broadly speaking, this guy is similar in temperament to “Bayan,” whom I previously cursed. He’s quick-tempered, aggressive, hot-blooded, and even cruel.
‘The only difference is that Atlan is mischievous?’
If Agenor, the third brother, waited for the strong to let their guard down, aiming for a relationship rupture, this guy enjoyed playing with the strong. Especially in battles, he enjoyed the sight of blood flowing. To put it bluntly, he was a madman who willingly took hits, even in fights he could win, just to revel in victory bathed in blood.
‘Why are there so many crazy people in this household? It’s annoying, really.’
‘Madness and being insane are just one step apart.’
Perhaps if I had taken one more step here, I would have considered Atlan just a guy with unusual tastes.
But this guy was cunningly thoughtful and didn’t indulge in bloodshed to the extent that it would harm his position. That was truly the mark of a calculating whale.
Having completed my thoughts up to this point, I stretched myself out.
For now, I decided to ignore Agenor’s insane words.
‘At least, I won’t be encountering Atlan anytime soon.’
Both Agenor and Atlan would likely be in intermediate institutions at the moment. They should be around the middle school level, so I wouldn’t have any reason to see them.
“Ruga.”
“Yeah! Lord!”
“Haven’t you seen Ruban?”
“Yeah. Do you want to sit down too?”
I called over the twins who were busy playing with a train model beside me and had them sit down.
Perhaps it was because they were lively at the moment, but even sitting down, they seemed restless, wiggling their bottoms. So, I quickly started the conversation.
“You two are twins, right? You get along well?”
“We don’t like each other!”
“Don’t like each other!”
“You don’t like each other?”
Ruga and Ruba looked at each other and nodded.
“Dad tells us to get along, but… Ruba always says he’s the older one.”
“Am I older?”
“Yeah, you are. You are. I’m a very grown-up child.”
“That’s funny. Lord, Ruga always tells lies!”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do.”
“Um… uh…”
Hey, you guys? Don’t fight. Whoa, whoa. Calm down.
I felt a sense of crisis that I might even make the well-behaved twins fight.
I quickly wedged myself in between them to separate them.
Ruga and Ruba each grabbed one of my hands, looking delighted as if to say, “See, we’re holding hands!”
“Wow, if we chat like this, will Lord hold our hands?”
“I’ll hold them!”
“Don’t be so mean, you wicked things.”
“Hehe.”
I sighed deeply.
“Do you guys have any other siblings?”
“No, we don’t. Mom says she doesn’t want to have any more.”
“Because she’s busy with work.”
“Oh, really?”
Generally, families don’t have many children. Although my grandmother was a bit of an exception.
“But we have a lot of cousins!”
“A lot, a lot!”
“Is that so?”
Seems like some nearby whale kids took an interest in our conversation and started gathering around.
I took this opportunity to inquire about the kids who had siblings here.
“Our brother always steals snacks from us!”
“But our brother takes good care of us!”
“How old are your brothers?”
“They’re in their twenties!”
“Rejected. Next.”
“We have a younger brother, but Mom only likes him…”
After having a deep conversation, we concluded that in our class, children who generally got along well with their siblings were rare, except for those with a considerable age difference. Nevertheless, they chatted casually, and their affection for their siblings was evident.
“But lord, Karon hasn’t come today.”
“He hasn’t come.”
“Oh, I see.”
I contemplated using this data for my conversation with Agenor and what to discuss next.
I was concerned about the third brother’s personality, so I raised my head.
“Was Karon absent today?”
Karon had been absent for a few days.
It started after our encounter.
I was the only one who knew the reason, but Beluga twins didn’t show any signs.
“Is it more comfortable without Karon?”
Ruga and Ruba looked at each other and hesitated in their response, even though their faces clearly indicated a positive answer.
“Maybe Karon doesn’t want to see Teacher Sunsaem?”
“I think he does want to see him.”
Considering how the teachers at the educational institutions were somewhat passive in educating the children, the kids really seemed to like their teachers.
Watching the twins think about Karon even though they were being tormented, I felt an odd mixture of emotions.
“If I were them, I’d probably think I didn’t need to come back forever. Oh well, they might still wish they could get revenge on me.”
Is this my lost innocence, or something like that?
I looked around the classroom.
Since Karon was absent, the atmosphere among the whale kids had become somewhat strange.
They used to stick together as one, but now they seemed to have subtly split into two groups. Even within these groups, there was a sense of rejection or hostility towards each other.
Considering that this atmosphere had formed over just a few days, it was quite intriguing and mysterious.
“What’s the criterion for dividing them?”
I had no interest in having conversations with them to get to know them better, nor did I want to waste my time on even the guys who posed no threat.
* * *
“Hello, Lord.”
On the way back after finishing all the lessons that day, I encountered a familiar person in front of the classroom. It was Laila.
“Yeah. Do you have something to discuss with me?”
She stood there as if she had been waiting for me, which puzzled me.
“No, it’s not like that. I just came to have a brief conversation with this class’s teacher.”
If that was the case, it was even more unusual.
Why didn’t she just call the teacher to her office, as she usually did? We hadn’t met face-to-face much before, had we?
“So, can’t you see the teacher without calling them?”
“Oh, sometimes there are things that require me to see them in person.”
I hesitated for a moment and then asked, “Is this related to the whale group?”
“…”
Raela, who had briefly closed her mouth, smiled as if she was about to say something.
“Most of what I do is related to the whale family.”
She managed to avoid the topic quite skillfully. I shrugged my shoulders. In fact, I had wanted to have a conversation with Raela at least once, but it didn’t seem like the right time today.
The children were still around, looking at us with curious eyes. Plus, I couldn’t tell if she was lying about coming to see the teacher, as Camille was waiting nearby, looking somewhat uneasy.
“lord.”
“What?”
As I turned to leave, Raela suddenly called me.
“Do you know that there will be a family meeting soon?”
A family meeting. I had already heard about it from the Herring sisters.
I nodded, and a hint of surprise and curiosity flashed across Raela’s face.
“Did you also learn that from Pier, not him?”
“It’s not him, but I have other sources.”
“He’s not the one who told you, but you’re quite well-informed.”
Is that so? I thought it was common knowledge since the Herring sisters talked about it so casually.
Is it not common knowledge?
I shrugged my shoulders.
Raela glanced down the hallway and then fixed her gaze on me.
She elegantly lowered her leg and came closer to my eye level.
“Be careful, lord.”
She spoke in a hushed voice.
After a while, as she lowered her head even further to whisper in my ear, a small voice that only I could hear said the following:
“Until now, it’s been quite common for promising individuals to disappear just before the family meeting.”
I didn’t panic. Instead, I looked at Laila with a suspicious eye.
Soon, a beautiful smile lit up my face.
“It’s okay. Dad will protect me.”
“Yes, I hope so.”
Raela also smiled back at me, but soon wiped away her smile and said, “But don’t let your guard down, lord. This giant family has too many cracks.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
Although I said this, I couldn’t help but feel a bit more serious since there was no way my dad would protect me.
‘I think Laila may have personally warned me because something might happen.’
As I approached the stairs, the waiting Ruga and Ruba brothers raised their heads as if they had been waiting.
Oh, what a surprise.
The twins seemed to have waited only for this time today, and they quickly rushed down the stairs, as if waiting for me.
…I’m getting used to this now.
“Thank you, you guys. Be careful.”
“Yeah! See you tomorrow, lord!”
“Goodbye, lord!”
Today, it seemed like it wasn’t the day for the kids’ dad to pick them up, as someone else came to take the twins.
As I was about to turn my head, I suddenly stopped.
“Wow, I’m surprised.”
There, dressed casually, stood Agénor.
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Bree.
If you like my work please support us in Patreon. Next post will be released on October, 5.
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