Chapter 53

# Chapter 53. <Thinking>

Kael thought.

‘Should I just leave it at that?’

But the whale person’s eyes were staring directly at his face. And it seemed that he was tightening his grip, as his fingers were digging into the cave floor. Even as he was dying, his strength was no joke.

A question arose in his mind.

‘A whale person affected by the mermaid’s poison?’

A fleeting word crossed his mind.

Half-breed.

That was the only answer.

Suddenly, the content of the conversation between the whale king and Lak came to Kael’s mind. The whale king, who was the mediator of the sea and the ruler of the whale people, had blue hair and eyes. The face of the person looking at Kael in the darkness was not clear, but it almost matched the description of the whale king.

Kael looked into those sea-like blue eyes and said,

“Rest for a moment. When you wake up, everything will be fine.”

The blue eyes slowly blinked a few times before closing. Kael watched the half-breed whale person lose consciousness and then approached to examine his leg.

“Any good?”

As soon as the half-breed whale person lost consciousness, the black dragon appeared, holding a mermaid’s arm with a disgusted look on his face.

“Let’s go.”

When Kael spoke, the black dragon sighed and flew them back to their lodging, carrying the half-breed whale, the mermaid’s arm, and Kael.

As soon as they returned to the lodging, Kael had to endure the intense welcome from On and Hong.

“You came just in time!”

“The butler has been banging on the door for a while now!”

Even without the cats saying anything, Kael could hear Hans’ voice from the other side of the door. He sounded almost on the verge of tears.

“Master, I can’t enter because you said you’d kill me if I woke you, so I’ve been knocking on the door. Master, can you please open the door?”

Kael threw off his diving suit and took out a device from his magic box, tossing it to the black dragon. Then, he opened the door, wearing a bathrobe.

“Lady Amir wants to confirm if you’re safe. So, please wake up and open the door—”

“Why?”

“Oh, Master! ...Were you taking a bath?”

Wiping his wet hair, Kael lazily replied to Hans’ question.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I was soaking in the seawater bath.”

“Ah, you were in the bathroom. Then, since you didn’t sleep, I won’t die.”

“...Is that so?”

“I apologize, Master.”

Cough, cough. Hans cleared his throat and then looked Kael over.

“Are you hurt anywhere? The town is in chaos. After the big explosions, something seems to have happened in the sea.”

Kael looked out the window. Despite it being the middle of the night, the town was now fully lit. He could see lights heading towards the sea.

Given that the development was imminent, even with the whirlpool, Amir seemed to have boldly headed towards the sea.

“There were loud noises. But I couldn’t figure out exactly what happened.”

“Lady Amir said she was going to the sea. I think it will be clear soon.”

Amir would probably be overjoyed.

The whirlpool in the central island was gone. That alone would significantly increase the value of this sea.

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Then, let’s go.”

Kael coldly dismissed Hans, who politely bowed and quickly left the room. At the same time, the black dragon turned off the invisibility spell and revealed himself, along with the half-breed whale person and the mermaid’s arm.

On and Hong, upon seeing the mermaid’s arm, remained frozen in the corner of the room. The cats were unnecessarily timid.

Kael went to the bathroom and filled a basin with seawater from the bath. The black dragon watched curiously, but Kael ignored him and submerged the mermaid’s arm in the seawater.

Sizzle—

A sound like burning was heard, but in reality, the emaciated arm rapidly swelled back to its original shape. The sudden change in the corpse made On and Hong hide under the bed.

The corpse swelled and then quickly began to decay. Kael looked at the whale person’s leg. Unlike before, it now had a greenish fluid mixed with seawater.

Kael took out a knife.

At that moment, the man, who had been unconscious, began to stir and his eyelids fluttered.

“It seems he’s waking up. Human, put the knife away!”

The black dragon shouted, and the man’s eyes opened. At that moment, Kael raised the knife high. He gave the whale person a reassuring smile. The man’s eyes wavered.

The knife moved.

Thud.

The knife pierced the mermaid’s arm and cut through the skin. A liquid flowed out. It was mermaid blood. Before it could decay, the mermaid’s blood was restored in the seawater.

Kael spoke to the man with the wavered pupils.

“Good.”

The blood dripped onto the whale person’s leg. Sizzle. The green fluid on the leg began to evaporate when mixed with the mermaid’s blood.

Kael handed the arm to the man.

“Drink the blood before it rots. That’s the most direct way.”

This was the treatment method Kael had discovered to save Lak, who had been injured by the mermaids in the early part of Volume 5. It was still unknown to others.

The man, who looked to be in his early twenties, had wavered. On, Hong, and the black dragon were the same.

But the man eventually recovered. He had drunk the blood.

The green fluid on his leg was disappearing.

Looking at the half-breed whale person with a somewhat desolate expression, Kael said what he had to say.

“Why? Didn’t you make this arm, this corpse?”

The man’s expression hardened. Kael chuckled at the sight. The man looked flustered when asked if he had killed the mermaids and hidden the fluid.

Kael dropped the last of the mermaid’s blood onto the man’s leg and then threw the arm into the basin. The arm began to decay and dissolve in the seawater. Kael watched it calmly and said,

“A whale should go back to the sea by morning to fully recover. Just wake up and go.”

The man’s face turned cold. A sharp aura, different from Chae Han’s, surrounded him. A sharpness unique to someone who had always been compared and felt inferior to his own kind.

“How did you know I’m a whale?”

“Who else could have killed three mermaids?”

“...I need to return to my hometown.”

Kael waved his hand dismissively, sensing that he would hear unnecessary stories.

“I have no interest in your stories.”

That’s why he didn’t even ask his name or show him to Hans.

“I said I’d save you, and I will.”

Kael lay down on the bed. He needed to shower, but fatigue overcame him.

“I’m going to sleep. Leave quietly.”

Kael closed his eyes. With the dragon around, there was no danger. He recalled the last words the whale king had said to Lak.

<“I don’t want to lose any more family.”>

Jin Roksu, who had lost his family, felt a bit of empathy. Of course, he didn’t want to suffer any losses.

<“If that child had lived, and I had passed the throne to my daughter and lived in the human world with that child, would he have been happy?”

“Hmm, your sister would probably have been a good queen. But wouldn’t she have wanted to live with you?”

“Yes. When my son disappeared, she searched the entire sea.”

“If your sister had searched, the sea would have been turned upside down. Uncle, what was your son’s name?”

“...Pashton. That’s my son’s name.”>

A benefactor of the king. Whether it was the current whale king or a future one, this could be useful when they meet.

Moreover, the whale people had to win the fight against the mermaids. Kael fell asleep with a peaceful mind. The next morning, Pashton was already gone.

The red cat, Hong, reported.

“He said he might come back at night.”

“There’s no need to—”

Kael trailed off and shrugged. But a moment later, he wondered if it was really necessary to go to such lengths.

“Master Kael! I have amazing news to share, so I came early in the morning!”

Lady Amir was beaming, a rare sight for the usually composed woman. She was dressed in a raincoat, having just returned from the beach, accompanied by her group.

“Do you know what the news is?”

“I have no idea.”

Unlike the excited Amir, Kael was calm. Or rather, he was skeptical.

“The whirlpool, the one in front of the central island, is gone! It vanished without a trace in just one day!”

I did that. Kael couldn’t bring himself to mention his own actions and turned his gaze away. Next to Amir were the skilled fishermen and knights.

And Tunka.

Just as described in the book, the man with brown hair that extended like a lion’s mane. His fierce appearance, which seemed capable of tearing off an orc’s cheek, made him mutter,

“What a pity. I wanted to jump into that whirlpool. Is there anything else to jump into?”

Typical of the crazy Tunka.

At that moment, Amir enthusiastically said to Kael,

“Master! Since the House of Hennitus is one of our investors, I want to show you the scene. The calm sea in front of Ubar. Would you like to go to the central island with us?”

Before the Hennitus people arrived, Kael had to show some sincerity. He smiled softly at Amir and asked,

“Is everyone going together?”

“Yes.”

At Amir’s firm answer, the corners of Kael’s mouth twitched slightly.

Amir, who didn’t notice the twitch, only saw the soft smile and pointed to Tunka.

“Oh, this is someone you haven’t met before. He almost got caught in the whirlpool. Mr. Bap, this is Master Kael Hennitus.”

Bap? Kael’s expression became subtle.

Tunka grinned, a smile more terrifying than an ogre’s.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Bap.”

Bap. Tunka always used names that sounded like his own.