20
These children were struggling or moving at a slow pace to fit the educational tools together.
‘Anyway, just how stupid is that guy Karon that he’s fumbling around here?’
Lastly, after looking at Karon—who hadn’t been able to make a peep and had been living breathlessly since that day—I turned my head.
Has there ever been such a smooth life in my existence?
I might not be normal for feeling anxious about this, but I couldn’t help it.
‘How tragic my life used to be!’
Of course, I know I shouldn’t think like this at only three years old.
But didn’t my previous life, which was going so well until just a moment ago, get grandly ruined and trashed by the schemes of the original male lead!
This experience gave me a sense of vigilance.
‘No matter how well life seems to be flowing, a single variable might make everything go to ruin!’
While I was huffing and breathing heavily, a bright voice was heard.
“Princess, are you all done? I’m all done too!”
“All done!”
“……It suddenly occurred to me to wonder, is it your hobby to always speak as a set?”
“Ah, Luga is copying me!”
“No, Luba is copying me!”
“Right, right. So it’s a hobby. I shall respect that.”
I nodded randomly and stroked Luga’s head.
Then Luba insisted that I do it for him too, so I stroked him the same way.
“Princess! The teacher said we can play with blocks if we’re finished! Do you want to play with blocks?”
“No, this person does not play such childish games.”
I politely declined Luba’s request.
Then, not only the twins who were handing over the blocks but also the other children who were focusing on their activities came running over, their eyes sparkling.
……What is this.
“Wow, so cool.”
“That’s the way my dad speaks.”
“I want to use it too!”
I shook my head slowly.
“You all should use it when you grow up a bit more. There is a way of speaking that fits one’s age.”
“Yes!”
“Yeees!”
The children who had flocked together nodded diligently.
I dismissed the children.
You’re interfering with my thoughts. Go away. Shoo, shoo!
Though it was regrettable that what remained in the end were the twins again.
“Princess, my mom says she wants to see the Princess once.”
“Really? I’m grateful, but tell her that I am a person who cannot meet just anyone.”
“Ah, but she says she really wants to say hello!”
“Wants to say hello!”
Peep, peep. They were chattering like chicks, so it was hard to ignore, and I turned my head.
“Why the greeting?”
“A thank-you greeting!”
“Thanks to the Princess, our Karon doesn’t hit us on the head anymore!”
“We don’t get kicked either!”
My expression became subtle.
Because the fact that these children had been bullied came to mind once again.
Of course, knowing that whale children have sturdy bodies and are difficult to compare with normal human children I saw on Earth, I still felt a bit bad for them.
“……Did you get hit that much?”
“Us and Niro got hit the most.”
“Got hit. Right, right.”
Niro was the name of the Gray Whale shifter child in this class.
I moved my head here and there and loosened my hands.
“Should I hit him once more for you now?”
“Gasp, really?”
“Gasp!”
“Yeah. If it’s secretly from the teacher, I think it’s possible once.”
Come to think of it, he went around beating the kids so much, I wondered if revenge could be achieved with just one blow.
And our Beluga twins sparkled their eyes as if this was extremely joyful.
“Princess, I will be loyal!”
“Loyal!”
“What do you mean, loyalty?”
Right now, receiving your loyalty is of no use at all. Maybe after you grow up a bit more.
I waved my hand as if shooing them and told them to go now, but the twins did not back down.
These remora-like things!
“Princess, is there nothing you need? Our house is rich!”
“Yes. My dad is richer.”
“Princess, there is a lot of delicious food at our house!”
“Yes. I am sufficiently warm and full.”
No, wait. I suddenly caught a thought that flashed through my mind.
And then, I straightened my slouched posture.
“You don’t need to give me anything, but there is one thing I’m curious about.”
“Yes!”
“Yeees!”
“Have you guys, by any chance, ever cooked?”
“Yeees?”
Now that I’ve brought it up, I feel like I asked for no reason.
Right, it’s not a question to ask these young children.
Since it was a thought that popped up suddenly, it just slid out of my mouth in a daze.
“……Um, no. Never mind. I chose the wrong person.”
I was about to shake my head, but both my hands were grabbed firmly.
“I’ve tried cooking!”
“My dad says I’m good!”
“Is that so?”
According to them, in the Beluga household, a man cannot be loved unless he is good at cooking.
I’ve never heard of such a thing, but since they said so, I nodded for now.
“Really? Then let’s ask your dad, who is good at cooking. It’s about……”
* * *
“It’s lunchtime!”
“Lunchtime!”
Lunchtime at the elementary educational institution was like this.
They either eat the lunch boxes they brought in the morning or eat what the maids or servants bring directly on time.
Among them, in households that thought terribly much of their children, relatives would bring the meals in person.
In my case, I have no family or relatives who think of me that way, but that doesn’t mean I starve.
“Kyaa,Lady Calypso. Say ‘Ah’. Aaa~”
“Aaa~.”
“Kyaaa, so cute.”
Inevitably, there are things that change as the cycles repeat.
It was the same in this cycle, but if there was one more point that was particularly different, it was that I became close with the maids for the first time.
It is a strange point.
In previous cycles, it didn’t change even if I tried.
‘It wasn’t that I didn’t make an effort.’
However, in times like the 1st and 2nd cycles when I couldn’t awaken the power of water, I endured in a harsh backroom where it was hard to see even a single maid before being sold off.
In the 3rd cycle, I ran away from home without even being able to attempt to get close to anyone, and when I returned, I had become a strong person who didn’t need to converse with maids.
Because of that, this new occurrence felt fascinating.
‘They say Herring shifters have exceptionally good adaptability.’
As soon as they adapted to that shabby building, they started to find me cute.
It was truly amazing adaptability.
‘It’s awkward…….’
It was a very awkward thing for me.
And for good reason—there should have been someone who found me pretty in this world.
Furthermore, although the will dominates the body, sometimes childlike actions came out instinctively, which was troublesome.
Look at now. With food right in front of me, my body almost reacted as if it would pounce first.
‘I shouldn’t do that.’
If I do that, there’s no point in me having overcome language.
I held the fork and spoon solemnly and spoke.
“Next time, sausages would be good.”
“Kyaa, yes! Calypso-nim.”
Aiya, who was just organizing the side dishes of the lunch box, raised her head and nodded diligently.
Then Biyo and Dede, who were beside her, stood on both sides of me excitedly and asked.
“Lady Calypso, your hair is disheveled. Can we braid it up into pigtails this time?”
“You may. But do not tie it too tightly. It hurts when I bow my head.”
“Yes, of course! Of course!”
“I’ll join too!”
Just when did Misa become this close with the maids; it seemed believable even if they were told they had known each other for a long time now.
The two were braiding my hair diligently, and Misa shook candy and chocolate, saying we should eat them after the meal.
Aiya offered a spoon while pretending it was an airplane.
It was a very chaotic situation.
Damn it, there’s no need to give it to me like this. What would happen if Grandmother found out?
But I changed my mind immediately.
Right……! Feel free to find me cute!
‘I am generous to those weaker than me.’
When it occurred to me that most of the blushing maids were fragile aquatic animal shifters, I couldn’t even get angry.
It was certainly an act that lowered my dignity, but since Grandmother wasn’t watching anyway, I thought, what does it matter.
“How can our Princess’s face be so white and fair. it matches her hair so, so well!”
“The hair too. How can it be so soft.”
“It’s my first time seeing a child as well-behaved as the Princess!”
Dede, who said she already had experience as a nanny several times, added at the end.
‘Hmm, is the reason they can treat me like a child even though I speak so excellently because my body is young after all?’
I looked down at my tiny hands once and felt a strange sentiment.
As I said, since this kind of devoted service was a fresh thing that didn’t exist in other cycles.
So, since they came, even if they bothered me—like occasionally braiding my hair into five strands, or putting it in cute dumpling buns and dressing me in cumbersome clothes that match—I just left them be.
‘If you only look at the behavior, it almost feels like a childcare story.’
Anyway, since it was mealtime, I was busy chewing diligently.
Meals are very important for growth.
‘Even though what I need are growth and dragons.’
While I was eating, the maids, who had gathered together and were joyfully braiding my hair, began to converse among themselves.
“Come to find out…… they said the Dragon Festival is being held this year too, right?”
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