Episode 9
‘Ugh, I’m so tired…….’
How long had we been traveling in the carriage?
By the time I opened my eyes, I was standing in a new building.
In front of me stood a grey-haired woman with a stern impression.
‘Grey hair without any patterns……. She must be from a collateral branch of the Killer Whale family.’
The servant handed me over to the woman.
“I leave the young lady in your care.”
“Yes, we will educate her well in our class.”
I watched as the servant bowed and turned back.
Right before parting, he said he would return at the time the education session finished.
The woman seemed to walk for a bit, but soon set me down in the hallway.
‘So, I’m entering this place.’
During my previous three lives, I had only come here once.
In the 1st and 2nd lives, I was deemed by my grandmother from the very beginning as someone who didn’t even need education.
I lived almost in confinement, branded as a discarded pawn, before being sold off.
In the 3rd life, I managed to step over the threshold of the educational institution, but…….
‘I was only met with ignore and ridicule before being expelled shortly after.’
For a Killer Whale, and a direct descendant at that, being expelled was a great dishonor.
After all, they were the masters of this land.
However, I looked around without much regret.
It looks much the same as it did in the 3rd life.
“Young lady, I have heard much about you.”
I turned my gaze toward the woman who spoke. As expected, a stern impression.
I had met this woman in my previous life as well.
“I am Laila, the General Manager in charge of this entire primary educational institution.”
As she introduced herself, she was the manager of the primary educational institution.
A presence akin to a principal or a chairperson.
‘She was a person as sharp as a knife…….’
I held no particular grudge against this woman.
Because of something that happened in the very previous life.
There was a time when I got caught up in a prank by some malicious ones among the collateral branch members.
When I came to my senses, I was framed as a thief who stole someone else’s belongings—a truly shameful thing for a direct descendant.
“That young lady stole my precious jewel! It’s a family treasure!”
“That’s right, it came out of her bag!”
As the matter grew, a meeting was held where all the managers of the primary institution gathered.
Naturally, the meeting went against me. It was because there was not a single person to take my side.
“So you are saying it was an empty classroom. Is there any witness who saw Calypso Aquasiadel stealing it?”
“Pardon? Laila, but it came out of Calypso’s bag!”
“This is an educational institution; that person is a young lady who deserves to be called by her proper title. Master Alfonso.”
“……Ugh!”
That was when I first met this woman.
“There is no evidence that Lady Calypso did not do it, but there is also no evidence that she did. The fact that the door was open also proves that anyone could have put the item in Lady Calypso’s bag.”
Those stern and cold eyes.
That was not the face of someone taking my side.
“Discipline cannot be imposed on a matter with insufficient evidence. The meeting is adjourned.”
A rational face that merely listed the existing facts.
She left a deep impression on me, but by the time I returned to become the head of the family in the future, this woman was no longer there.
“Nice to meet you, Laila.”
When I greeted her clearly, Laila’s black eyes widened slightly before returning to their original state.
“I have heard rumors, but…… this is surprising. To think that at the age of 3, you can use not only words but perfect pronunciation.”
However, the admiration ended there.
“Please follow me. I will guide you to your assigned class. Please keep in mind that I plan to observe your education for the day.”
Laila turned around, and I followed.
‘……Huh? Her pace…….’
The difference in height between Laila and me was that of an adult and a baby.
However, it wasn’t difficult to keep up. With a rational face, she was matching my stride.
‘Come to think of it…… in my last life, I never got to say thank you in the end.’
Why was she kicked out?
It’s a guess, but she wasn’t the type of talent a superior would like. She might have been pushed out.
“It is here.”
At the end of our brisk walk, we reached the class I was assigned to.
* * *
That afternoon.
Laila, the master of this primary educational institution for aquatic creatures, could not hide her astonishment.
‘Just who is this person…….’
The purpose of the primary educational institution for aquatic creatures was clear.
To gather young aquatic shifter children and identify excellent talents.
These children would eventually contribute greatly to the prosperity of aquatic creatures.
As the master of the first gateway to distinguish those gems, Laila took great pride in her work.
The most important task here was managing the whale shifter children, the masters of the aquatic creatures.
In particular, the children of the Killer Whale family who entered here according to the will of the Killer Whale family—the masters of this land—received systematic management regardless of whether they were direct or collateral descendants.
Another name for management was no different from surveillance.
Laila had been in this position for the past 20 years and took pride in the fact that her eyes were never wrong.
This was the same for the newly entered direct descendant young lady, ‘Calypso Aquasiadel’.
“Laila, did you hear? The young lady whom the Family Head acknowledged this time is entering our institution.”
“Hmm, I wonder if she was really acknowledged? According to rumors, she can’t handle the power of water?”
“That’s why they said she was scheduled to be sold off as the Dragon’s Bride.”
For a direct descendant of the Killer Whale family, being unable to handle the power of water was no different from being born without a hand or a foot.
It was different from the collateral members who awakened the power of water through effort.
A sub-standard existence dropped among the noble and arrogant.
Normally, the natural course of action was to be confined and discarded somewhere.
In Calypso’s case, it was the Dragon’s Bride. An existence to be sent away as a sacrifice for the Dragon.
“But they say she is incredibly smart; could that be true?”
“There are even stories that she uses precise language. Isn’t that why the Family Head acknowledged her?”
“It’s truly strange…….”
However, the situation completely reversed after Calypso, who survived until age 3, met the Family Head.
Laila thought the fact that Calypso received the Family Head’s acknowledgment was half-truth and half-lie.
To use language perfectly was a preposterous story.
Whales are viviparous animals among aquatic creatures.
Because of that, growth was slow before becoming powerful beings; in particular, all whale children commonly had to reach the age of 7 or 8 to be able to speak.
“Ooo-ah-oo-ah?”
“Ah-oo, ah-oo!”
Yes. It means that children around three or four years old, like Calypso, can only express their intentions through actions and gazes at most.
But…….
“Huh? You want to play with blocks? Sorry, but I don’t play such childish games.”
“Ooo-ooo-ooo! Ooo-ooo!”
“Oh dear, crying won’t help. A great Killer Whale does not cry. Stop.”
“Hic! Stop!”
“Yes, yes. You have enough potential.”
The rumors that everyone was skeptical of—no, that most believed could not possibly be true—were the truth.
“Nice to meet you, Laila.”
She felt a sense of incongruity when Calypso greeted her by pronouncing her name accurately.
As if to prove this wasn’t a lie, Calypso was far too out of place for this three-year-old class.
“Um, Laila……”
The one who cautiously approached Laila, who was standing quietly in the corner of the classroom, was none other than the managing teacher of ‘Whale Age 3-4 Class C’. It was Hanya.
“What, what should we do?”
“What is the matter?”
“As you can see…… we have to do today’s play, but the children won’t leave the young lady’s side.”
It was true. What Calypso showed was not just amazing language skills.
“They cry when I pull them apart……”
“The lesson can’t proceed……!”
Calypso, who entered confidently this morning, sat down while passing the children with a dignified air.
However, children, who are bound to show curiosity toward new things, began to approach.
Surprisingly, in an instant, she made the children stay by her side with an ability that was either incredible leadership or some unknown magnetic pull.
“Ah-boo, ah-boo-boo!”
“I don’t eat candy that someone else left behind. You eat it.”
“Boo-aa! Boo-ang!”
“Oh, is this plankton candy? I’ll accept it with thanks.”
“Kyaaa!”
Calypso patted the child who had just handed her the candy.
Strangely enough, that child was a very shy one who had entered the institution recently and had given the teachers a hard time.
‘Usually, children judge by appearance too. No, because they are children, they judge even more ruthlessly.’
Based on this, Calypso’s appearance was certainly very striking.
She was so pretty that one would wonder why she hadn’t awakened the power of water with that beauty.
Looking at her beauty alone, one would admit she inherited the power of her father, Pierre, in its entirety.
“……Wow, the new young lady. She really is incredibly pretty.”
Hanya, the assistant teacher, muttered.
“Anyway, it seems like lessons will be difficult at this rate; what should we do, Laila?”
Just because it is a primary institution doesn’t mean it runs loosely.
Rather, as it is the very first education, it runs strictly according to the level.
It means there is a quota that must be completed in a day.
‘At this rate, in this place…….’
Had she been wrong?
Actually, Laila also thought it was either a false rumor or exaggerated by more than 90%, and thought the level of the young lady would be sufficient here.
‘I cannot leave her here. At the very least, it’s absolutely not the 3-4 year old class. But if so, which class should I put her in?’
It was the moment Laila narrowed her eyes.
As if by magic, Calypso suddenly turned her head and stared at Laila.
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