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Chapter 02
The baby sea otter woke up to murmuring voices.
“What is it? It clearly looks disgusting.”
“You didn’t hear, Kaska? They say the White Shark clan invaded our territory just to catch that thing.”
“So what even is it?”
“I don’t know. But it must be super tasty if they chased it this hard. Maybe we should just take a bite and find out?”
It was the voices of two young boys arguing.
No… this is bad. They’re going to eat me…!
The moment it woke up, danger was already right in front of it.
Pretending to still be asleep out of fear, the baby otter quickly opened its eyes.
“Pip! Piiik! (I-I’m not tasty!)”
“Whoa, it opened its eyes!”
“Aaaah! Grandpa! Grandpa!!”
One of the boys panicked and ran out of the room.
A short while later, he returned with an elder.
“Hm.”
An old man walked in with a staff made from mangrove wood.
He had the strong, hardened presence of an ancient tree.
Just one look from his sharp eyes made the baby otter tremble.
Scary…
But it forced itself to meet his gaze.
It was used to fear.
Dahlia, the baby sea otter, had survived for 10 years among the ruthless White Shark tribe in the Emerald Coast.
Not that orcas weren’t scary either…
The old man looked at its injured tail.
“…I see.”
His voice carried clear disappointment.
Dahlia understood that emotion well.
Coldness. Disgust. Contempt.
It was familiar.
It had lived with those stares its whole life.
“I heard the White Shark tribe chased this thing so relentlessly. I thought it might be something important.”
His gaze was sharp, looking down at it like it was worthless.
It pierced Dahlia’s heart—but there was no time to feel pain.
“Pip, piiii… piiyo… (P-please… don’t kill me…)”
I can’t die again!
The memories of its past life were still vivid.
Separated from its grandmother, captured as a hostage by the White Shark tribe…
Ten years of abuse and suffering… and finally death at their hands.
It thought everything had ended.
But when it opened its eyes again, it was back in its childhood.
So Dahlia ran. Even if it meant dying while escaping, it was better than going through that hell again.
But then it met an orca and ended up here.
“Pip… piiyo… (My name… is Dahlia…)”
It pleaded desperately.
The old man frowned.
“I can’t understand a word it’s saying.”
“Grandpa! What is it?!”
The boy who brought him in was full of curiosity.
“How would you even know?”
“What?! You don’t know either!”
“I’m your older brother.”
“Barely by a few minutes!”
The two boys started arguing again.
“Then you explain it, genius brother!”
“Of course I know. I’m the older brother.”
They argued back and forth, then one leaned closer to the otter.
After carefully observing it, he spoke confidently.
“I got it. It’s a penguin-type beastman.”
“What? That’s your answer? You’re wrong!”
“Then what is it?!”
“Uhh… uh… it’s…!”
“…Just admit you don’t know.”
“I DO know! It’s… it’s a seaweed beastman!”
“That doesn’t even exist in the Emerald Coast.”
“Grandpa! He called me stupid!”
“Silence!”
The old man’s voice thundered through the room.
The baby otter curled up in fear.
The boys immediately stopped fighting.
“…It’s your fault I got scolded.”
“Stop blaming others.”
“You’re so annoying.”
Their argument continued quietly.
Then the old man finally spoke.
“Pay attention. This is not a penguin beastman. And certainly not a seaweed one.”
“Then what is it?!”
The room went silent.
Everyone focused on him.
The old man, Harold Orcadan—the ruler of the Orca clan and one of the strongest beings in the Emerald Coast ecosystem—narrowed his eyes.
“Watch closely. This is…”
He paused.
Then declared calmly:
“This is a seal beastman.”
“Wooah! A seal! Grandpa is right!”
“It… was a seal.”
Everyone began clapping proudly.
But beneath the applause—
“Pip! Piiik! (I-I’m NOT a seal!)”
A troublesome new guest had appeared in the orca household.
A baby seal.
“Hey, seal. What’s your name?”
“Pip… piiyo… (My name is Dahlia…)”
“What did it say?”
“My stupid brother says it’s ‘Pippi’.”
“You’re hopeless.”
“Hey! I’m smarter than you!”
“Shut up, Sandio.”
The two boys bickered again.
The younger boy leaned closer.
“Anyway, you’re a seal, right? Where are your mom and dad? Grandpa said you might be kicked out soon.”
The words hit Dahlia like a punch.
“Pii… piiyo!! (No, not yet!)”
“You want to go back to your parents, right? Can you even go alone?”
The boy looked at its tail.
It was already healing quickly.
The old man had lost interest in it after the first day.
And Dahlia had overheard something—
Once it could move its tail properly, it would be kicked out.
“Pii… piiii! (I can’t get thrown out!)”
Dahlia suddenly stood up.
The small, round body wobbled but stayed upright.
“Wow! You’re already better?”
The baby seal made a decision.
It stretched out its tiny flipper-like arms.
“Piyo piyo! (Take me with you—now!)”
