Chapter 05
“By the way, isn’t there something I can do about this body? It’s just too weak…”
My weak body was a complaint every time I regressed.
And for good reason.
“My older brothers above me were all born with great power and physiques, so why am I the only one…!!”
My older brothers inherited only the power from our father, but I inherited only the frail body.
“Ugh, this bad genetic lottery…”
Even as I muttered angrily, I diligently headed toward the building where my room was.
That building, which gathered baby orca beast-people, was barely managed, but since I had caught Grandmother’s eye, I couldn’t stay away for too long in case she looked for me.
‘It’s really far.’
I let out a deep sigh.
‘If only I could use the power of water at times like this!’
The power of water wasn’t just about manipulating water; it was the very source that allowed aquatic creatures to live.
Therefore, by applying the power of water, even a young child like me could exert the strength of an average adult beast-person.
Among my older brothers, there was one who excelled at such applications.
‘Is the second one still alive…’
The older brothers who had been defeated by me in the previous round obediently submitted and served me.
They were selfish and egotistical bastards, but…
In the end, they died protecting me.
True to their orca nature, they were humans who remained selfish until the very end.
Suddenly, I missed them, but now wasn’t the time.
They would currently be in the main building or the educational institute, and anyway, to the current me, they would be complete strangers.
‘They’re still breathing, so they’re probably doing fine.’
Anyway, since I too had assimilated to the orca traits, while I had a sense of camaraderie, there was no sentimentality.
Generally, whale beast-people have a strong sense of solidarity with their own kind.
But orcas were different.
They saw each other as comrades to protect, but unlike humpback whales or dolphins, they lacked affection and sentimentality for their own kind.
To put it in a metaphor, orcas were like a huge ‘gang,’ thinking of each other as allies plotting the same operation.
‘I awakened the power of water in the last round. Will I be able to do it this round too?’
Unlike my brothers, I was the only one among my father’s children who wasn’t born with the power of water.
That’s how I received the old lady’s sharp insults every round, calling me a half-breed fish-head.
Because I was useless, I was quickly sold off.
So in the third round, I ran away and took possession of the treasure from the book, ‘Linius.’
Originally, it was a gift the male lead obtained after a great adventure and gave to the female lead.
A treasure said to be the tears of a water dragon from ancient times, and with its help, I was able to awaken the power of water.
‘Should I go get that again in this round?’
In the original work, the male lead offers it as proof of devotion and love.
‘No. I can’t let it be used for that bastard’s love. I’ll use it for myself again this time.’
On the other hand, I thought it would be best if I could use it without having to find the treasure.
Just in case, I grabbed my finger and grunted, but I couldn’t use it.
“Hmm, what a shame…”
For now, I decided to focus on seducing Dad first, and was about to give up cleanly and continue on my way.
“Hey, is this the place? I think we came to the wrong place.”
“Ah. I’m telling you, this is the right place!”
Turning my head, I saw some kids not far away.
They looked to be around nine to twelve years old.
‘Judging by their hair color, they’re collateral branch orcas.’
Because I had walked diligently, I was almost at the building I lived in.
I was about to ignore them and keep going, but…
“Ah, I’m telling you, this is it! They said the newly born direct-line girl is here! We have to take her out of commission!”
I stopped.
Direct line? A girl? That’s only me.
“No, I get it, but why? She’s just a half-breed who can’t even use the power of water, and I heard she’s going to be sold off as the Dragon’s Bride anyway?”
“No, the situation has changed! Don’t you know? She’s been recognized by the Head of the Family and is moving buildings. To the main building!”
“Gasp…”
“Don’t you know? If we leave her alone, it’ll harm the Lord Bayan we serve! If something happens to him, we’ll all die too!”
The moment I heard the name Bayan, I realized the situation.
‘Bayan… the first son of my eldest uncle.’
My grandmother’s first son. My eldest uncle. His first son, Bayan.
He was also the first bastard I took down in my previous life.
He was an extremely greedy and avaricious bastard.
Most of the collateral branch of the Orca family would choose a successor and volunteer to become their retainers.
Unless they had exceptional abilities, this was the only way to survive.
These brats were also followers of Bayan from a young age.
‘One of them looks familiar.’
The problem is that when collateral branches serve such a powerful successor candidate… their power becomes immense.
Enough to disregard a direct-line child like me, who has no faction or guardian yet.
“The Head of the Family wouldn’t have recognized her for no reason. If we let her live, she’ll definitely obstruct Lord Bayan’s path.”
“…Did Lord Bayan himself tell you this?”
“Yes!”
Well, well. It seemed the fact that I had gained Grandmother’s recognition had already spread far and wide.
After all, it was incredibly difficult to elicit a positive evaluation from that old lady.
With the competition among the grandchildren for succession already fierce, the appearance of a direct-line heir who had received the Head of the Family’s recognition…
It would have been unwelcome news to the seasoned players.
“She’s still living in that building. If we kill her now, no one will know, right? They’ll just assume she died from frailty like most kids who don’t make it past three.”
“Aha…!”
To the point where they’d come to kill me like this.
‘Sigh, if only I had the power of water, I could have chased away those arrogant little brats with one hand.’
Orcas are creatures called the outlaws of the sea, the gangsters of the sea.
Because of that, the basic psychotic violence of orcas carries over even in human form.
Even those young brats could so casually talk about killing.
‘It’s humiliating, but right now I don’t have the power to fight back. I need to hide like this…’
That’s what I thought at that moment.
But as if by a lie, as I tried to back away, my eyes met with the boys’.
In an instant, the boy’s black eyes quickly scanned my head.
‘Hair color!’
Direct line and collateral line have different hair colors from the start!
“Hey, th-that, that…!”
There was nothing to hide anyway, but with a flustered expression, I immediately turned and ran.
‘Damn it, I’m not used to running yet!’
Basically, whales are mammals.
Animals born as babies grow slower than oviparous animals.
With a whale’s already slow development and a frail body on top of that, it was only natural that I would eventually get caught.
The problem was that I stumbled at the sight of the boy who easily overtook me, and fell flat.
‘Ugh, this is humiliating…’
I lifted my head sharply.
“Hey, look at that soot on her. Ew, dirty.”
“Ugh, dirt dust. Is she really a direct-line? She looks half-witted.”
“I heard she can’t even use the power of water.”
Two boys surrounded me as I lay on the ground.
“So that means we can kill her too.”
I looked around, but of course, there was no one to help.
“But I heard she caught the Head’s eye even without the power of water? How?”
Well said.
“You guys. Collateral. And among them, those under that bastard Bayan, right?”
At my words, the boys froze.
One of them, with a bewildered expression, spoke.
“Hey, did she just say that? Am I the only one who heard?”
“No, I heard it too… But I heard she’s not even 30 months old yet, is she able to talk like that? Oh shit, that gave me chills. I only started speaking when I was eight…”
“Huh, so that’s how she caught the Head’s eye without the power of water.”
One boy patted my head and smirked.
“So she’s exceptionally gifted up here, huh?”
A grin revealing sharp canines. Malice gleamed in his eyes.
“As expected… if we leave her alive, she’ll become a pest to Lord Bayan.”
What? A pest?
“Pest? You’ve said enough.”
I grabbed the finger that was patting my head. And bit it with all my might.
“Ahhh! Crazy, crazy, let go?!”
“Ugh!”
I fell on my butt from his forceful shove, but I still had to say my piece.
“A pest would be a land animal, you uncivilized fish bastard! How dare you compare me to a land insect? You plankton bastards who’d make a drum sound from your heads if I hit you with a stick!”
“…”
“…What is she saying?”
These bad bastards, insulting fellow aquatic creatures by comparing them to land animals.
“Hmm, she’s smart, but maybe she’s gone crazy? You know, those kids who are too smart and lose it.”
“Makes sense. What does it matter anyway? We were going to give her a clean death… but we can’t just leave her be now.”
Despite the murderous glares, I wasn’t scared.
“You think you can kill me? Do you know where I just came from?”
“You little brat, you sure talk a lot. You’ll die for biting my finger.”
Kicks followed.
Kicks like that are nothing compared to what I’ve been through in my previous lives!
I shouted loudly.
“You!! I just came from seeing my dad!”
At that moment, the kicking stopped.
