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Chapter 23
“Ennio… why are you like that…? Why is your face all scrunched up? (Ennio… why are you making that face?)”
“Are all of these your snacks, Dahlia?”
“Mm-hm, that’s right. I didn’t steal them!”
“Ha…”
A long sigh escaped from Ennio’s mouth.
Dahlia’s face grew more and more pitiful.
What on earth was wrong?
She hadn’t stolen anyone else’s share, nor taken food that wasn’t hers…
‘Wait… did he find out?’
Yesterday, she did cave in and sneak one seaweed chocolate when she couldn’t resist.
Or maybe he was angry because the portion was too small to share among three?
The baby sea otter’s tiny heart began pounding rapidly.
Afraid that an angry Ennio might refuse the adventure, she quickly apologized.
“S-sorry…”
“Dahlia. Do you even know what you did wrong before apologizing?”
“Huh? Mm… w-well… I did eat one yesterday when I couldn’t resist… just one tiny piece. R-really tiny.”
“……”
Hearing that, Ennio fell silent.
After a moment, he suddenly began taking all the snacks from Dahlia’s arms and placing them down.
Panicked, Dahlia grabbed his sleeve.
“W-why! I was wrong! I won’t do it again! I’ll hold it in! I won’t eat it anymore!!”
“That’s not it, Dahlia. These are your snacks. Growing children need to eat well. Things are already difficult, and meals and snacks are more limited than before—so why would you take away your own portion?”
“Ennio…”
That was the last explanation she had expected.
Her nose tingled, and she couldn’t speak.
Ennio gently patted her head.
“Orca shapeshifters can go a week without eating just fine. So you should eat a lot, okay?”
“Mm… mm-hm… thank you, Ennio.”
“I read in a book that sea otter shapeshifters use a lot of energy for temperature regulation, so they especially need to eat more…”
“Brother. What are you doing?”
“Hmm? What? Wow, this is delicious. Want one?”
“……”
Sandio was casually eating Dahlia’s snacks off the floor.
Chocolate was smeared around his mouth as he grinned and offered a jelly.
“What? Why are you two looking at me like that? Mm! This really tastes like nostalgia!”
“…Dahlia. Think carefully. Do we really need three people? I think two is enough.”
“Agreed.”
Dahlia and Ennio stared at Sandio with identical expressions.
Though they weren’t related by blood or species, in this moment they looked like real siblings.
Meanwhile, Sandio was fully immersed in eating.
“Munch munch. This is the taste! Oh right! I’ve got something too!”
He wiped his hands on his clothes and pulled out a sheet of paper.
Dahlia’s eyes widened.
“A map?!”
“Mm, yep. I kind of stole it from Grandpa’s study… haha, I mean, borrowed it!”
What Sandio had taken from the clan head’s study was a nautical map.
It clearly marked coordinates and directions of islands belonging to the Orcadan clan.
If this map were leaked, it would be a serious security breach.
Something only someone with extreme nerve could pull off.
And Sandio, the orca with nerves bigger than the ocean itself, had done exactly that.
“You did well, Sandio!”
“Hehe, it’s nothing!”
“Sandio is going to become the greatest thief someday!”
“Ahaha! Thanks, Bibi!”
“…Sigh.”
Ennio sighed as always, though he didn’t bother correcting her.
He believed ignorance could sometimes be its own happiness.
“You better hope Grandpa doesn’t find out about that…”
“Eh, we’re sneaking out anyway. If we get caught either way, we’ll get punished! So we just won’t get caught!”
“…Right. Well done.”
They really were twins who seemed nothing alike despite being born from the same place.
Still, Sandio’s stolen map was undeniably useful.
“Did you prepare anything, Ennio?”
“I calculated the optimal route to the Ancient Island. If we swim nonstop with the currents, it’ll take half a day.”
As expected, Ennio was a reliable ally.
If you had to choose between Ennio and Sandio as an enemy, Ennio would be far more dangerous.
“So departure is exactly 10 PM tonight. If we leave right away, we’ll arrive at dawn. That gives us about five hours to investigate. When the currents reverse again, we must leave.”
“Only five hours? That’s too short.”
“We can’t extend it. But the island isn’t that large, so if we divide the areas, we should manage.”
Time was tight.
If they couldn’t find proof that “Blue Cobalt” existed within that window…
They would lose the Ancient Island to the sharks.
And of course, all of its resources would become war supplies.
As long as Dahlia was here, she couldn’t allow that.
“We have to find it.”
“Yeah. Let’s do it.”
“We can do this, Bibi!”
The three of them declared their resolve.
Their eyes were filled with determination.
Night — 10 PM
At the rendezvous point, the three exchanged a secret code.
“Fish.”
“Jelly.”
“Again.”
“Good. Everyone arrived on time.”
Ennio led them toward the shore while reviewing the plan.
“Remember. Five hours.”
“Mm-hm.”
“If there’s anything dangerous on the island, we leave immediately. No hesitation.”
Safety was the top priority.
And Ennio, by nature, was extremely cautious.
“And finally… this mission is a secret. We must keep it hidden until we die.”
“Mm-hm!”
“Of course!”
Keeping it secret was the most important rule.
If discovered, they would be severely punished.
Grandpa Harold… would kick me out immediately.
Dahlia was still an eyesore in Harold’s eyes.
Especially since she had nearly caused Ennio’s death during the tsunami incident.
Now that reconstruction was underway, he was too busy to act—but once it ended, Dahlia would likely be expelled first.
In the tense atmosphere, Ennio spoke firmly.
“And if… our plan gets discovered, I’ll take all the blame.”
“What? Why you, Ennio?”
“That’s nonsense. We should all share the punishment. Or better—me and Brother take it together, and leave Bibi out.”
“No way!”
Dahlia protested.
They had already agreed on most things—but not this.
“You know this plan is reckless. If we get caught, someone has to take responsibility.”
“Then why you?! I’m the one who insisted we find Blue Cobalt!”
“I was the first one who suggested going!”
Sandio also objected strongly.
“I’m the leader.”
“Then I’ll be the leader!”
“I wanna be leader too, not a minion!”
The younger two protested, but Ennio did not back down.
Only then did he speak again.
“…I’m the oldest. I’m your big brother. That’s how it is. The younger ones stay behind.”
He turned away.
His back looked as vast and heavy as a submerged boulder in the sea.
“Ennio…”
For some reason, he looked so reliable that Dahlia found herself nodding.
…But she shouldn’t have.
If she had known what would happen on the Ancient Island, she would never have agreed.
No—she should have realized much earlier that bringing the orca brothers along was the worst possible mistake.
