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Chapter 6
As expected, even the large and powerful orcas didn’t seem to be as good at smashing clams as sea otter beastmen!
Their jaws dropped in shock.
Among them, the one who looked the most stunned was undoubtedly the head of the Orca clan, Harold.
Dahlia stared at Harold and intensified its clam-smashing efforts.
WHACK! THUD!
What Dahlia was holding was clearly a clam—but strangely, it felt like Harold’s face itself was cracking apart.
THUD!
His face turned bright red.
CRACK.
Then turned a bluish-purple…
Huff… huff… this is exhausting.
Just as Dahlia began to tire, a hole finally appeared in the hard shell.
Dahlia quickly shoved its paw into the shattered giant clam.
Thump thump—excited anticipation filled it.
If the shell was this big, the inside must surely be huge, plump, and delicious!
Huh? Huh??
But something was wrong.
There was no clam meat inside.
The baby sea otter, who had been expecting a tasty meal, looked at Harold with a deflated expression.
Harold’s face looked… ominous.
I think… I’ve been tricked.
Meanwhile
Thud. Tap.
Thud thud, tap!
Back in the office, the orca clan lord paced back and forth before suddenly lifting his cane.
“Could it be… the reward wasn’t to its liking? Was the price of the intelligence not enough?!”
“No, Lord. It was more than sufficient.”
“Then WHY!!”
Harold’s voice struck like thunder.
Daxton was sweating profusely, unable to provide an answer.
“Well… um… maybe…”
At first, the creature had clearly been happy.
It had blinked in disbelief and even hugged the ornament larger than its own body.
But suddenly, it smashed it into pieces on the rock.
“Ah! Perhaps it meant this?”
“What do you mean?”
Daxton steadied himself as he saw Harold’s trembling expression.
“For example… it might mean: ‘This is not the reward I wanted. I don’t need such materialistic things!’”
“……”
Harold’s brows softened slightly.
Sensing the shift, Daxton pressed on.
“‘Do not insult my loyalty! I did not do this for profit, but because my heart guided me!’ Something like that…”
His acting—honed from his past ambition of joining an opera troupe—was still quite decent.
He cautiously observed Harold, the only audience.
Harold, still stern, eventually nodded in reluctant agreement.
“So… that expression it gave me at the end…”
“That was likely shock and disappointment, Lord. As if it had received something hollow and meaningless.”
“…I see.”
Harold narrowed his eyes.
“It seems… something unusual has rolled into our clan.”
Later
“Little one, please try this.”
“Try this as well! Jelly shaped like fish made from special seaweed!”
“We also have chocolate clams from our clan’s secret recipe!”
Dahlia’s cheeks puffed out as it accepted everything it was given.
Its mouth was so full it could barely chew, but it kept eating.
Eat a lot while you can!
You never knew when things might change, so it needed to store up energy in its belly.
“Is it good, little one?”
“Does it suit your taste?”
“Piip, pii! (Very tasty!)”
Everything was unexpected.
When the servants woke Dahlia that morning, it had expected to be kicked out.
But instead, they had moved it to a larger, shinier room and even given it a bath.
They must’ve been shocked by my clam-smashing skills!
After all, it had crushed a clam the size of its body in one go.
The orca clan members had all been speechless.
And the most shocked of all was clearly…
Grandpa.
Still, it was a bit disappointing that the giant clam had been empty inside.
Thanks to yesterday’s “clam smashing show,” however, the treatment had become extremely generous.
After a warm, clean bath, they even served a tender clam stew.
And now, as you can see…
“Piip… (I’m full…)”
Dahlia lay half-collapsed, patting its belly.
The servants laughed.
“Oh my, you ate so little!”
“We’ll clean up the rest for you.”
“Piip!! (Wait!)”
Dahlia quickly reached out.
Question marks appeared on the servants’ faces.
“Piip, pii! (There! There!)”
“Oh? Did something pass by?”
“Are you looking for something?”
Now’s my chance!
While the servants were distracted, Dahlia quickly grabbed one of each dessert and stuffed them into its belly pouch.
Perfect.
Dahlia has acquired emergency rations!
“So, shall we go for a walk to digest?”
“How about the garden? The coral flowers are beautiful.”
After a moment of thought, Dahlia firmly shook its head.
This was no time for leisurely strolling.
I need to learn the layout of the manor!
Knowledge was power.
But with servants constantly following, exploration would be difficult.
“Pi-yoo… (Sleepy…)”
“Oh my, your eyes look tired.”
“You must want a nap.”
The servants dimmed the room as Dahlia pretended to fall asleep.
Soon, soft footsteps faded, and the door gently closed.
A moment later, the blanket covering the round little body was thrown off.
Operation start!
Dahlia carefully approached the door and listened.
When no footsteps could be heard, it slowly opened it.
After scanning around, it dashed toward the stairs…
“Apparently the little one really liked the seaweed jelly. We should make more.”
“I’ll pass it along. What else might it need?”
Suddenly, familiar voices approached.
No good, I’ll be caught!
Dahlia quickly hid behind a statue.
Two servants walked past.
“Toys or storybooks would be nice… maybe there are some left from Young Master Ennio and Sandio?”
“They should be in storage. Ah! Maybe we should build a playroom for it?”
Dahlia held its breath until their voices faded completely.
Phew.
Letting out a sigh of relief, it moved again.
One floor up, the mansion became eerily quiet.
Why is it so silent here?
No servants walked the halls. The entire floor was still.
This allowed Dahlia to relax slightly and continue exploring.
Most of the rooms here were locked…
Huh? Why is this one open?!
Creeeak—
Dahlia slipped into the only unlocked room.
This is…
It looked like a bedroom, but all the furniture was covered in cloth.
Pulling one sheet aside revealed an elegant vanity table that looked like it belonged to a noblewoman.
Wow…
Despite being long abandoned, it was polished as if carefully maintained.
On top of the vanity was a frame.
It lay flat instead of standing.
Just as Dahlia reached out to lift it—
“Don’t touch it.”
“!!”
Startled, Dahlia turned around.
A boy stood there.
Black, curly hair.
Sharp eyes that didn’t seem childish at all.
Ennio—the second son of the Orcadan clan.
“I told you to take your hands off it.”
Ennio stormed forward, his presence intense.
Dahlia stepped back nervously.
He picked up the fallen cloth and covered the vanity again, then turned sharply.
“What do you think you’re doing, you little pest?”
Anger flickered in his black eyes.
“Who said you could come in here? No one gave you permission.”
“…Pi, piip… (S-sorry…)”
“Stop making those annoying squeaks. What do you think you are? Just because we played with you a little, do you think you can really become one of us?”
That’s not it…
Dahlia lowered its head, feeling small and ashamed.
