ORCA 15

After a short pause following the answer, Orca bowed his waist. He peeled off the fingers that were still clutching his clothes, then grabbed Niah by the forearms and hauled him up. His body, forced upward, swayed and lost its balance.

With an annoyed expression, Orca adjusted his grip deeper under Niah’s forearms. Even so, the goldfish kept trying to collapse, so Orca turned him around, and Niah naturally leaned his back against him. Only then did he look somewhat like he was standing upright. His round head pressed firmly against Orca; he could feel a light weight against his chest. It was devious, yet irresistible.

“Young Master, no, I was only doing it for you…”

Pepe reflexively prepared an excuse and opened his mouth. He had been trying to get Niah fired, but it looked like he was the one about to be cut instead. He had worked here for over ten years; it was unfair to be treated like this overnight.

He wondered inwardly if the Young Master had been blackmailed by that idiot Niah. Otherwise, there would be no reason for the Young Master to act this way. Come to think of it, Niah had been blabbering about some secret earlier.

“If a servant dies, is the funeral cost covered by the family?”

“Ye-yes? What do you…”

At the sudden, out-of-the-blue question, Pepe clasped his hands together and bowed obsequiously. Orca, however, kept his gaze fixed only on the top of Niah’s head as he stood there leaning on him. It was a listless attitude; he had asked the question but seemed entirely uninterested in the answer.

He blew a few times with his mouth to clear the sand off Niah’s hair. He just found himself wanting to toss Niah into a bathtub filled with bath salts immediately.

But Pepe wasn’t the only one who reacted urgently to the question. Niah, who had been blinking his eyes and about to drift off to sleep, abruptly parted his lips. Funeral costs? His heart raced, thinking the Young Master assumed he was dead. A small, dry sound came from his throat.

“No. I’m not dying. I haven’t died, Young Master…”

Orca, considering those desperate words useless, ignored him and blew on his hair again. Niah felt unnecessarily anxious and forced strength into his parched vocal cords. He was also afraid that they might hold a funeral for him while he was still alive. Being burned while alive was far too horrific.

“I—I really won’t die… I’ll get better soon. And in the future, I’ll work even harder, too. And also, um… I have money saved up, Young Master… So please, don’t worry.”

Orca tilted his head and intently observed Niah, who was chattering away earnestly. To be told by a goldfish not to worry about money—his pride was taking quite a hit. It was a shame he couldn’t see the face of someone saying such foolish things with a straight face. He wanted to crack open his skull and take a look, wondering what on earth he thought of him to make such thoughts possible.

“Yes. That’s good to hear.”

He moved one of the hands that had been gripping Niah’s forearms up to his face. His eyebrows and lips were covered at once. Niah flinched and pressed his back—which had already been close—even more tightly against him. He managed to move his listless arms to fumble and touch Orca’s hand.

He had forgotten that his hands were covered in dirt, but fortunately, he understood that it meant to be quiet. Standing still and looking at the pitch-black darkness before his eyes, drowsiness quickly flooded in.

“The… well, regardless of the reason, it is customary for the family to cover the funeral costs for servants, Young Master.”

Pepe said cautiously, breaking into a cold sweat. He looked completely bewildered as to why he was talking about this with the Young Master. Orca, however, didn’t pay him any mind this time either. He was only interested in the hot breath against his palm and the slowly blinking eyelashes.

Both his breathing and the movement of his lashes were slowing down; he seemed about to fall asleep. It was impossible to tell if he was truly falling asleep or about to faint again. In any case, Orca had a feeling that standing like this would soon become impossible. The weight of the goldfish leaning against him felt heavier than before. Though, a goldfish was still just a goldfish.

“I’m thinking of sending Niah away now—what do you think?”

“Pardon?”

“You never seem to answer in one go.”

As Orca slightly furrowed his brow, Pepe hurriedly bowed his waist. An apology followed immediately. While he tried to appease the Young Master, his mind was racing.

After talking about funeral costs, he suddenly said he would send Niah away; his head was a mess. The conversation was making no progress. He wondered if he was the strange one for not being able to follow the flow of the conversation. But he couldn’t dare to argue with the Young Master, which made him feel like he was going crazy.

“Yes, yes. I will send him away. There isn’t much work left now, so soon…”

“Is what I’m saying difficult to understand?”

Pepe, who had been about to ask for clarification without thinking, caught his breath and bit his tongue. He shook his head from side to side and even waved his hands. The rugged-looking man with a thick beard became as gentle as a lamb in front of Orca. It was a complete contrast to his usual act of trying to look tough in front of the other servants.

“No, no! I will send him away right now!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Niah’s vision cleared, and his body pulled away from where it had been leaning. Niah, eyes squeezed shut against the sudden onslaught of dazzling light, retreated slightly to try and lean back again. His head was spinning, and his back felt empty. Orca caught him by the forearms with both hands to stop him. Had he not done so, Niah, whose body was limp, would surely have fallen.

“Get a grip.”

“Ye—yes…”

Only after hearing Orca’s firm command did Niah lift his eyelids. He struggled to put strength into his arms and legs, which had been hanging like a puppet’s. He clenched his fists and curled his toes like a newborn baby struggling to stand on its own. He was trying not to get scolded, but in reality, there was nothing in his head.

When Niah felt like he was standing on his own, Orca slowly let go of his forearms. He then looked at Pepe and opened his mouth.

“Don’t go loitering outside for nothing; stay in your room until you’re fully recovered.”

“Yes…?”

Orca, having grabbed Niah by the chin to make him look forward as he flinched to look back, gently pushed him on the small of his back with his other hand.

“Go on back.”

Niah glanced at the share of work he hadn’t finished yet. He was worried if it was really okay to go. Pepe or the other servants would surely scold him later, and he felt it might have been better to just endure the hardship now. Having survived death, he found himself hesitating when actually given the order to rest.

“Hurry.”

Orca, who understood this easily, cut through his hesitation lightly. Niah, who had been wavering, had no choice but to slowly shuffle away from the vegetable garden. If he were to be scolded anyway, he felt it would be better to be scolded by someone other than the Young Master. He thought about looking back as he moved away but gave it up. It wasn’t just anyone; the Young Master had given his permission, so he decided to worry about the aftermath later.

Niah, moving slowly while holding onto the mansion walls, retraced his path and headed down to the basement. First and foremost, he needed to wash his sweat-soaked body. He was covered in dirt here and there, looking a mess. After that, he was sure he would feel much better after sleeping all day.

He resolved that once he recovered, he would work even harder, listen well to the Young Master, and try his best not to forget things randomly. Feeling better after making those resolutions, he felt lighter.

Orca remained silent until Niah disappeared completely from sight. It took quite a while for him to fade from view, as he was walking while sticking to the wall. He was partly responsible for Niah’s current physical state, but he felt no particular guilt about it.

On the contrary, he found it fascinating that such a clueless goldfish had survived this long and entered the mansion as a servant. He became curious if, despite being sickly, the thing was unexpectedly tenacious. Since he knew the goldfish wouldn’t be able to answer even if he asked, it was a question that would remain unresolved forever.

Having engaged in such trivial fantasies, he soon lost interest. He didn’t care one bit about Pepe and the other servants, who were still bewildered, and turned his feet toward the center of the mansion. He walked past Pepe, who was still in a bowing posture, toward the servants huddled together.

Then, suddenly stopping, Orca turned back to look at Pepe. Pepe, who had been dazed, jumped in surprise, his thick body twitching. His movements were like that of a wild boar encountering a hunter.