Chapter 56

# Chapter 56. <Thinking>

Kale felt the focused gazes and slowly stood up from his seat.

He had been cheering for Witira as she sent Tunka flying, but he hastily put up a shield to prevent the knights from getting hurt. In doing so, he inadvertently unfolded the shield in the direction of himself rather than the knights. Fortunately, the knights were unharmed, but he unintentionally saved Tunka.

As Kale stood up, he appeared calm, but he had no choice. His legs were numb from squatting for too long.

"Ah."

He stumbled slightly. Kale's brows furrowed; he had a cramp in his left leg.

"Master!"

Amir rushed over with a shocked expression. Phaseton, surprised, grabbed Kale's arm. However, Kale gently pushed the hand away and stood straight. Amir approached him with an urgent look.

"Master! You didn't have to use your strength, why did you insist!"

Why did he insist. Kale didn't want to insist either.

It would be troublesome if the investigation team got hurt. This was just a minor disturbance now, but if Tunka injured the castle officials, things would get very serious. Tunka needed to return to Wiper Kingdom on time.

'Otherwise, I'll be the one to suffer.'

Amir, who approached, looked at Kale with a face full of concern and worry.

"And why are you so drenched? Are you okay? You're still recovering. What if you catch a cold! Master, really!"

At Amir's words, the whale Phaseton and Witira were startled. Especially, Witira bit her lip and looked at Kale, recalling how he had been drenched because of her tail. She remembered the face that had looked up at her while squatting.

At that moment, Kale's voice reached the three people. He spoke slowly, his voice filled with fatigue.

"Isn't it good that no one got hurt?"

It was a voice devoid of warmth, tinged with irritation. Feeling the same, Kale was irritated. He was soaked and uncomfortable, and he wanted to get away from these people and rest.

Phaseton bowed his head, and Witira looked around. She saw the coastline in ruins and bit her lip again. Amir hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"...Master, I don't understand you. Really, I don't."

As a similar situation to the capital square unfolded, Kale simply closed his mouth. Everything was too troublesome.

Amir turned her gaze from Kale, who stood silently, to the two whales. Her eyes, which had been calm, now carried a hint of anger.

"Who are you?"

This place, this land, belonged to the Rowen Kingdom, but it was the territory of Ubar, her family. Amir had no intention of letting a disturbance in her territory go unpunished.

"And Tunka."

Amir sharply looked at the dazed Tunka.

"Who are you?"

None of the three spoke up. Tunka's face, which had been dazed, began to show signs of worry, and Phaseton was thinking about what to say. Witira, on the other hand, bowed her head lower as she looked at the chaos she had caused.

At that moment, a voice reached Amir.

"Achoo!"

Kale, feeling a tickle in his nose, coughed and wiped his face with his hand before looking up. He spoke indifferently, his eyes on the scene in front of him, addressing the gazes focused on him.

"Let's go back first."

No one objected to his words.

***

After recounting the entire incident, Kale left Amir's mansion and looked at the three people standing behind him: Witira, Phaseton, and Tunka. His gaze met Amir's, who was following them out.

She looked at Kale once and then spoke firmly to Tunka.

"Leave by tomorrow. Be grateful that it ended with just an expulsion."

Amir ordered Tunka to leave immediately by the next day, as it was clear he was not a fisherman and had been the cause of the fight.

"You two will also face appropriate punishment if you cause any more disturbances."

The whale siblings bowed their heads calmly to Amir. Kale, who had been watching the siblings hiding their royal blood, turned his gaze away.

"Master, you seem to have a cold. Go inside quickly."

"Alright."

Amir looked at the dazed Tunka with a sharp gaze.

"You repay kindness with enmity."

Kale spoke softly to Amir.

"That's why you're expelling him."

Tunka's expulsion. That was the part Kale had told Amir.

"Master Kale, really."

Amir had heard from Phaseton that Kale had saved his life and that he had been innocently dragged into this incident.

"Miss, it's nothing."

Kale smiled kindly.

-Didn't I ask you if you could beat Tunka?

Kale casually ignored the black dragon's words.

After telling Amir he was fine a few times, Kale glanced at Tunka. Tunka was also looking at him. The boy had been dazed, or rather, looked complicated.

The ancient power.

The only power, besides physical strength, that the tribe, which ignored magic, recognized. It was a blessing because it was the innate power of humans passed down through generations.

Kale looked at Tunka without any particular emotion.

A naked savage. He became a hero but showed signs of self-destruction in Volume 5.

The whales approached Kale. Witira spoke to him cautiously.

"Can we really go with you?"

"There's nowhere else to go. I can let you stay for a night."

Kale got into the carriage and instructed the whale siblings to follow. As he closed the carriage door, he thought,

'Anyway, Tunka will return to Wiper Kingdom.'

Kale, who avoided deep connections with those he couldn't communicate with, like Kim Roksu, thought this was different.

'Should I contact the crown prince?'

How would the crown prince react if he asked him to collect the honeycombs left in Wiper Kingdom, filled with honey?

The answer was clear since they were of the same kind.

He would be very happy.

And Kale thought it would be excellent to collect those honeycombs and live a prosperous life.

Back at the mansion, Kale had to greet many people: the butler Hans, Bikross, the deputy captain, ten wolf children, On, and Hong.

Hans, who had been bustling about, paused when he saw the faces of the whale siblings, then hurriedly approached.

"Master, are you alright? I heard the news."

"I'm fine. And guide these people."

Kale handed the two to Hans and met Bikross. As usual, Bikross was impeccably clean. He frowned at Kale's appearance, seeing him covered in dried sand and seawater. He spoke to Mess, the oldest of the wolf children.

"Heat some water."

"Yes."

Mess answered calmly and approached Kale.

"Master, you were almost seriously injured in their battle, weren't you?"

Kale, seeing Mess and the wolf children staring at him intently, replied honestly.

"Not at all. There was no danger."

"...I see."

The usually cheerful and innocent wolf children were unusually subdued, but Kale didn't mind. He watched the children, who prepared the bath water and got ready to serve him, and then looked at Bikross. As soon as their eyes met, Bikross spoke.

"Master, take a bath first."

Bikross's strong will to clean up this mess was evident, and Kale nodded silently. He was about to head to the bathroom when someone stopped him.

"Master."

"Why?"

It was Phaseton and Witira. Phaseton called him, but Witira spoke first.

"Can we visit you after you rest a bit later?"

As the blood of the whale king, the siblings were in a position similar to the royal family of this country. However, they hid their royal status. In fact, there was no need to hide it. Humans wouldn't know they were royalty.

Whales were rare, and few knew much about them.

"Come tomorrow."

Kale said and turned away from them. As he moved, the black dragon's voice reached him. The black dragon had been talking a lot since earlier.

-You coughed. Can you move tonight? Shouldn't you rest? Why are you so weak and worrying? It's frustrating, human.

I'm the one who's frustrated. Seeing those who wouldn't believe him even after he said he was fine several times, Kale decided to use this moment. He told the black dragon that he was sick and no one should come, and then said,

"Let's go."

"...Alright."

Kale, accompanied by On and Hong, headed to the islands off the coast of Ubar with the black dragon.

That night, he moved to extend the duration of a few vortices, which would disappear within a week, to one year.

-It's hard to understand why you're doing this when you're not feeling well. I can't comprehend it with my brilliant dragon mind.

Kale gave a vague answer to the black dragon's grumbling.

"It has to be today."

The mages from the estate will arrive tomorrow. Then, it will be harder to move around. Today, he had to resolve the pool of water and the vortex he had discovered by chance.

Kale landed on an island far from the central island, where the sea was still bright. This was the location of the second strongest vortex after the one in front of the central island.

"Hmm."

He sighed at the scene before him.

-Why did that guy swim all the way here? No, why is he there at all? I don't understand.

The black dragon's bewildered