The Crazy Killer Whale’s Favourite Penguin

Episode 16: A Glitch in the System (V)

As his reaction intensified, a small anticipation sprouted within.

Did I… Did I have a great ability as a possessor buff?

“First of all, it’s clear that you’re not a killer whale.”

Shit. I forgot that it was more important to solve the problem at hand.

“…What kind of magic did you use?”

“Rather than using magic, I checked the mana response. Whales have good mana affinity, so mana gathers around them. It’s a trick, so Bella wouldn’t have thought to check it this way.”

Oh.

I was neither a pure-blooded human nor a whale who could use magic, so there was no way I could have any reaction to mana.

Through both physical and psychological evidence, he completely ascertained that I was not a killer whale.

Wait a moment. Then why the hell did he burst into laughter and ask about my identity?

Before I could solve the question, he spoke with eyes full of friendliness.

“You’re not a killer whale, but your magic… I don’t know if you can use it.”

“What? I’m not a killer whale demibeast, can I use magic? Does my body generate mana too?”

I asked again with a hopeful heart, but he was consistent with giving incomprehensible answers.

“It may or may not be usable.”

“What condition am I in?”

“Well. To be sure, you should ask Suradel. No one else. Be sure to ask Suradel.”

He muttered with a blurry focus, as if his mind was starting to wonder

“Your mana… Yes. It has to be.”

Then, suddenly, he fell deeply into his own thoughts and began to murmur softly to himself.

“Okay… If Bella knew she isn’t a killer whale right now, she’d be disappointed and sad. But when the relationship between the two developed further… If it’s revealed by then, she too…”

As the small, incomprehensible words continued, I carefully poked his forearm with my index finger.

“Hey, Lord Weil?”

Then his focus returned in an instant and he began to face me clearly.

“Lia.”

“Yes?”

“I was originally going to let Bella know you’re not a killer whale, but I’ve changed my mind.”

What kind of change of heart has occurred? What did he see in me?

It was when I narrowed my eyes slightly and was contemplating what his intention was.

“Lia. Can you tell me where you are from?”

“Uh… I’m domestic.”

He hurriedly corrected his words, seemingly embarrassed at my expression that sort of expressed why he was asking such a thing.

“Yes, if you’re from this continent, you’re probably domestic. I’m not asking about that, but what kind of demibeast you are.”

I absolutely couldn’t say it.

“Do you have anything to worry about now that it has already been revealed that you’re not a killer whale?”

I didn’t think hiding what kind of animal I was would be meaningful now.

However, it bothered me that I was a penguin who had recently run away from the Magic Tower.

“…Do you really need to know?”

“We, the Weil family, don’t like racism. Even if you are a pure-blooded human, there will be no persecution.”

I knew. From servants to knights, they had no hesitation in recruiting other races.

In the end, I said in desperation.

“First of all, let’s make this clear.”

“What?”

“I swear I wasn’t trying to fool you into thinking I’m a killer whale. It was the others who mistook me for a killer whale in the first place and kidnapped me, then brought me here…”

“Ah. It seemed so. Even at the dining room earlier, you never once affirmed that you’re a killer whale. Your expression seemed doubtful.”

Primo tilted his head to one side as if he was curious.

“But why didn’t you tell them earlier that you’re not a killer whale? Are you afraid you will be kicked out?”

“No… On the first day, I was a little worried that I would be kicked out because I was broke, but it doesn’t matter anymore because I’ve recovered the money that the kidnappers took.”

“Then why?”

It’s… It’s because of your son, a self-proclaimed penguin lover.

But I couldn’t bear to say that, so I had no choice but to shut my mouth again.

“…….”

“There are words that have already been said. I promise you I’ll keep your identity until you get caught by someone else or decide to reveal it first.”

I kept sighing.

I didn’t mean to deceive on purpose, but I didn’t expect to get caught this soon.

Eventually, I opened my mouth with the feeling that it would be okay whether or not the Weil family head kept my identity a secret.

“A penguin…”

“What?”

“I’m a penguin demibeast.”

Primo raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

“You can’t be Lord Reynos…?”

“Yes. I’m the runaway penguin.”

Jjarum.

I even made a sound effect with my mouth and spread both hands in front of him.

Then his laughter burst out, loud enough to fill the office.

Wahahahahaha–!

“Now everything makes sense! I knew my son was a penguin lover, but even I thought he was a little out of line with Lord Reynos’ penguin!”

When he said he understood everything, was it related to my mana?

Whether as a penguin or as a human, Suradel showed interest in me, everything…?

No, besides, he was a real penguin lover? Not a self-proclaimed one?

“Yes. You can run away from home at least once in your life!”

With a big laugh, he slammed a hand onto the office desk.

“Oh, it’s been a while since so many interesting things have happened. It’s so much fun!”

I looked at the lord who looked genuinely happy and slowly took a step back from him. Talking to him made me feel like I was going crazy.

“Then I’ll take my leave, believing that Lord Weil will keep the secret.”

“Hm?”

When he heard me, he blinked rapidly.

‘What is that reaction?’

Could it be that ‘Actually, the mana reaction is a lie, and I was recording everything with a recording device! You stupid penguin!’

…He wasn’t trying to grab evidence and kick me out of the Weil residence, right?

But I guess that was my bias. He softly uttered, and his eyes gently curving.

“Don’t call me so stiffly, just call me by my name, Primo. Or…”

“Or?”

“Yes, ‘father’ will be fine too.”

‘…You’re not my father, but ‘father’?’

“Isn’t ‘father’ the title usually used by daughters-in-law?”

It didn’t seem like something he usually likes.

“It’s not long since you’ve been humanized, so you don’t know. ‘Father’ is a really popular title.”

I think not.

No matter how great the power of genes was, it wasn’t necessary to resemble Suradel in this regard.

With bulging eyes, I stared at him, and decided to give into my tired heart.

“Yes, Primo…”

I didn’t know why, but he liked me, and it seemed that the secret would be kept since I wasn’t kicked out.

I could take a breather for a while.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Primo, the head of the Weil family, stared blankly at the door Lia had left.

Then, at the sudden laugh that escaped from his lips, he muttered without resistance.

“Work has become really fun.”

It was extremely rare for an animal to humanize.

But, somehow, the penguin raised by Lord Reynos, which had frequent exchanges with the Wayl family, had humanized with the appearance of a killer whale.

Okay. After conceding a hundred times, he could bring himself to dismiss it as a coincidence.

But…

“That mana can’t be a coincidence.”

There must be something between Suradel and Lia that he didn’t know about.

“Otherwise, how could Suradel’s unique mana fill Lia’s body…!”

It was clear that Lia was incapable of producing mana on her own, which wasn’t much different from other demibeasts.

However, the amount of mana she possesses in her body was beyond imagination.

His insight did not dare to measure the depth.

‘I don’t know if Lia can change that mana freely. Because it isn’t hers.’

Strangely, it was only a few years ago that Suradel started going to the Magic Tower every day to meet Lord Reynos’ penguin.

It was impossible to accumulate that much mana within that period.

If so, how should he explain the mana that was in Lia’s body?

“Come to think of it… She seemed to have no fear of Suradel.”

How could that be?

When a demibeast at the bottom of the food chain sees a predator above him, it instinctively feels fear.

The fear that comes to mind unknowingly arises from the power gap between the predator and the prey…

As a result, newly born predators often have a reversal of fear with their prey.

In other words, a baby tiger demibeast would feel fear towards an adult hyena demibeast.

So even if Lia, who had just humanized, showed some sign of fear, everyone probably wouldn’t find it suspicious.

It would be nothing strange, considering that she was an underpowered killer whale which had been abused.

Of course, the magnitude of the fear varied from person to person, and the fear would fade when one trained the body or lived with the same predator for a long time.

However, he had never seen a single demibeast so unconcerned in front of Suradel.

It took a long time for not only himself, but even Bella, one of the top predators in name and reality, to get used to Suradel.

‘Not to mention, Lia is a tiny little Adélie penguin.’

‘Is it because Lia has the same mana as Suradel? Or, like an Adélie penguin, she lost her sense of fear?’

Whatever the reason, this was likely why his son had no choice but to be interested.

“Ah, Bella. Unfortunately, Lia isn’t a killer whale, but maybe you could see her as a grandchild.”

Saying that, Primo leaned back in the chair with a very satisfied expression.