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Chapter 10
“Ughhh… did I fall out of bed while sleeping? Anyway, it’s so noisy. (Ugh, I must’ve fallen out of bed. But it’s way too loud.)”
“S-sorry. Sister-in-law…? Wait, do I call you sister-in-law? But you look way younger than me…”
“Hm? Wha’cha talkin’ abou’?”
Leaving the confused Sandio behind, Ennio asked:
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Yup! I’m totally fine. Perfectly okay.”
“…That’s a relief.”
Only after hearing Dahlia’s answer did Ennio finally look relieved.
“What the… Why is my brother being this kind to someone? This is, like, the most shocking thing in my seven years of orca life…”
“Sandio! You snore so loud!”
“Huh? What? You even know my name?”
“Why you keep sayin’ weird stuff? I’m Pipi, Pipi! You even gave me that nickname!”
Dahlia planted her tiny arms on her hips and scolded him.
Sandio blinked.
“What? Pi… Pipi? You’re Pipi? The baby seal Pipi I know?!”
“Yeah. And I’m not Pipi. I’m Dahlia!”
“Da… Dahlia… Pipi… no, Dahlia…”
“And I’m not a seal! I’m an otter!”
“O-otter… Dahlia…”
Sandio muttered in a daze, utterly overwhelmed.
“Pipi… no, wait, Da-Dahlia. Not a seal… but an otter? So you’re not a seal, not Pipi, but…”
Watching him, Ennio shook his head.
“Ennio. Sandio’s weird…!”
“Just ignore him. He’s always like that. Since you’re awake, I’ll go call the others.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Dahlia nodded, her soft cheeks wobbling with the motion.
Ennio’s eyes followed the jiggle.
“…Mochi.”
“Hm?”
“Nothing.”
With a strange expression, Ennio turned and left the room.
The usually quiet dining room—so silent you could hear ants crawling—was now unusually lively.
“I still can’t believe that kid was Pipi.”
“Of course you couldn’t. That’s why you said something like ‘sister-in-law.’”
“Hey! If you woke up and saw a strange girl next to your brother, wouldn’t you think something weird?!”
“Stop reading weird novels and study history instead, little brother.”
“You’re just mad because I did better on the written exam! But I beat you in combat and tactics training, so ha!”
“Ennio, Sandio. Quiet! Eat your food, just eat.”
The head of the orca clan, Harold Orcadan, stopped his fork mid-air and spoke sternly.
“Be quiet. All of you.”
“Yeees…”
“Yes.”
“Okay…”
The three troublemakers answered at once, then immediately burst into giggles again.
Why is it so chaotic today? What’s gotten into them?
Normally, these grandsons couldn’t wait to leave the dining table.
They would eat half-heartedly and rush away as soon as possible.
“Ennio. I heard from your teacher. You got two questions wrong on your geometry exam.”
“That was… a mistake. Next time I’ll—”
“A mistake is an excuse. Stop hiding behind such shallow words to cover your lack of skill.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“And Sandio, you dropped your weapon during sparring?”
“Grandpa! That’s because the other guy was just brute-forcing—!”
“If that were a real battle, you would already be dead. Losing your weapon means losing your life.”
For Harold, meals with his grandsons were not just for eating.
They were evaluations.
How they were learning.
How much they had grown.
What results they would show in the future.
As a clan head and guardian, it was a kind of consultation time.
But today…
“Pipi— no, Dahlia! Try this. Crab soup is super rich and sweet.”
“No, eat this white fish steak. You need protein to grow.”
“Soup!”
“Fish.”
“Soup!!”
“Fish.”
“Ugh, fine! I’ll eat whatever I want!”
Huuuh…
Harold stared at the scene, bewildered.
They looked like they were bickering as usual, but he could see it clearly.
Both Ennio and Sandio were unusually excited.
All that had changed was the addition of a single tiny sea otter child.
But he couldn’t let this continue unchecked.
He needed to restore order.
“You two. This dining room is—”
“Oh right, Grandpa! You said Pipi was a seal!”
“….”
Harold’s mouth snapped shut like it had been clamped.
“I really thought you were the smartest orca in the Emerald Coast! Even Grandpa makes mistakes!”
“I told you. Grandpa isn’t all-knowing.”
A vein popped on Harold’s forehead.
“That’s not what’s important right now…”
“It IS important! You said we should understand the essence of one’s origin! I checked—it turns out seals are ‘sea lion family’ animals, and otters are in the ‘weasel family.’”
“….”
Ennio’s precise explanation left Harold momentarily speechless.
Normally he would have felt proud, thinking “I raised him well.”
But not today.
Because he was the one being corrected.
“You brats… enough! I told you to be quiet at the table!”
“Grandpa’s angry.”
“Sandio, don’t say it like that. Say ‘Grandpa is displeased.’”
“Gra… grandpa is angry?”
The two orca boys and the tiny sea otter were successfully tearing down the clan head’s dignity piece by piece.
In the end, Harold had no choice but to finish the meal without delivering a proper lecture.
Four-year-old sea otter beastgirl, Dahlia.
The little otter stood at a life-changing crossroads.
“Young lady, it’s time for dessert.”
“Today we have giant clam pudding, edible pearl macarons, and fish-shaped jelly! What would you like?”
“Umm… so…”
She twirled her fingers, then suddenly screamed in frustration.
“I can’t choooose!”
The servants giggled watching her.
But Dahlia didn’t laugh.
“Last time I got choco… and jelly too…”
She glanced at them cautiously.
Why did she have to choose just one?
Now she even had ten fingers—she could eat all of them!
“Did I… eat too much…? Did Grandpa say I can only have one?”
Or maybe the Orcadan clan was struggling financially?
Unlike Dahlia’s serious thoughts, the servants were trying hard not to laugh.
“Oh no, that’s not it at all. We just—”
“Just what?!”
“For balanced meals, we were instructed to reduce snacks for a while.”
KOOOONG.
It felt like a heavy stone had dropped on her head.
She understood, of course.
She was small for her age, even though she was already four.
“…Grandpa said that?”
“No, it was young master Ennio.”
“What?! Ennio?!”
Dahlia’s expression instantly sharpened.
How dare he.
After she gave him coral flowers as gifts, this was his gratitude—confiscating snacks?
“I won’t let this stand!”
“Wait, young lady? Where are you going at this hour?”
Dahlia jumped up from her seat, startling the servants.
“To settle things with Ennio!”
