ORCA 6

The hand towel used to wipe up the water also needed to be washed again, and someone might come out at the sound of that. The thought that that “someone” might be the young master made his skin crawl. Just thinking about it was so terrifying that his legs trembled. On top of that, dealing with the wet clothes was a problem. There was no suitable space to hang them in his narrow room.

Niah’s middle-of-the-night naked swim stemmed from these worries. While the word “naked” for a goldfish is a bit funny, it wasn’t wrong, since he would be completely bare, without a single scrap of fabric on him, the moment he became human again.

Niah swam only near his discarded clothes so that he could climb onto the land the moment he filled his stomach. He was busy opening and closing his mouth, working hard to tear off water plants. It was difficult to eat, but he thought this would be faster than wandering around looking for small, broken-off pieces of water plants.

He bit down hard on a water plant and pulled with all his might. His fins, no bigger than fingernails, flapped incessantly as if they were wings.

As the night deepened, the moon seemed to shine even brighter. As it lit up the lake, which had no ceiling, the areas beyond the reach of the light became even denser with darkness. Between the tree trunks, where the boundary with the darkness had become unclear, two eyeballs flashed brightly. It moved slowly while Niah was busy soothing his hunger. The footsteps approaching Niah’s neatly arranged clothes were leisurely.

Sensitive hearing naturally fuels insomnia. Orca opened his eyes irritably at the noise that had suddenly erupted from the mansion’s backyard. It was the sound of a frivolous body running quickly. It lacked the caution of a thief. It was different from an animal running wild, too. Then, only one possibility remained.

Is it a servant?

He narrowed his eyes. Lying straight, he didn’t move a muscle, only rolling his head. A calm ripple stirred in his chest, where a flicker of anger had been rising. The deep, dark night was a good time. Everyone kept their noisy mouths shut, and everything was silent.

Peace seeped in along his dorsal fin as he cut through the stillness. Orca’s peace came from the fear exhaled by those who became his prey before him. To him, hunting was the act of biting and killing a fierce predator from somewhere in a foreign land. Things that could be swallowed in one bite were not fun.

In this sense, the distant sea border where the territorial wars took place had quite a few interesting occurrences. Even if the pleasure given by the repetitive slaughter disguised as missions was gradually decreasing, it was clearly better than the daily life of the mansion.

Orca, who had been opening his ears wide to gauge the servant’s destination, slipped out of bed. He draped a robe over his soft silk pajamas. His appetite was whetted, and saliva pooled under his tongue.

This isn’t a hunt. It was a kind of reward given to him, who had only been thinking about returning to the battlefield the moment he arrived at the mansion.

The body running into the forest was light. If it were a beastman, maybe it was just a rabbit or a rodent. Of course, as a gentleman who followed the name of the Wair family, he had no intention of killing without reason anymore. He also knew well that if he killed someone outside of a war zone, he would only end up with a heap of troublesome matters.

He just wanted to soothe his boredom a little for now. Eating a small animal wouldn’t even fill his stomach. This was nothing more than a sweet amusement to tease the servant who had disturbed his rest.

Having left the mansion, Orca walked leisurely into the forest. He could feel busy, rustling movements not far away. It was around the large lake that could be seen if one followed the path. A lakeside outing in the middle of the night? Hoping it would provide pleasure commensurate with this trouble, he let his eyes shine.

Laughably, the moment he reached the lake, what came into view were not servants, but well-organized clothes. Orca chuckled to himself and went over to sit down, bending his knees. The hem of his robe dragged on the ground, but he didn’t care.

The secret thing you do out here is naked swimming…

He was simply curious about who this perverted servant was. His gaze, with his chin resting on one hand, mockingly touched the pants, shirt, and underwear. If others knew that a pervert lived in the mansion, they would be shocked. Apart from that, it was quite perfect for soothing his boredom.

Orca watched the water surface in breathless silence. His shadow, stretched by the moonlight, was cut off before reaching into the lake. Thanks to this, Niah, who was only focused on tearing off water plants, surfaced without any suspicion. His bare skin, instead of scales, met the cold wind. He was planning to return soon.

Niah closed his eyes tightly, which wouldn’t open well due to the water, and swept back his wet hair. He rubbed his eyes, catching his breath, which had become labored from flapping about. Only after a while could he brighten his vision. The area in front of him flickered slowly, blinking.

“…”

Water droplets from his hair rolled down his cheeks and jawline. Niah gasped with only his shoulders out of the water. The eyes he shouldn’t have encountered were within arm’s reach. The gaze was as sharp as a rake. It was as if his throat were blocked, and no sound came out. His mind was dyed pitch black.

For him, who had only come out because he was hungry, this was too cruel a fate. He felt like he would lose his mind and faint at any moment. No, he wished he had. The young master’s stylish face looked like a terrifying ghost.

Orca looked down at the “pervert” he had been waiting for, still in the position of resting his chin on his hand. He had wondered who it was, and it turned out to be the idiot from the morning. He would act like a pathetic puppy when scolded by that annoying servant, yet at night, he was bold enough to go skinny-dipping alone.

The idiot blinked with a stupid expression, his parted lips twitching. Without knowing what he was thinking, he suddenly dived back into the water. With a splash, bubbles rose to the surface.

Orca immediately reached out his long arm and caught the tail fin without difficulty. If he had genuinely meant to run away, his stupidity deserved praise.

The small goldfish with orange patterns twisted its body in the air. The scales caught in the moonlight shimmered brilliantly. He held the captured goldfish up high. The goldfish’s struggle became even more violent.

Orca turned the goldfish around, as if he were just looking at a spectacle. It was a size he could swallow in one bite without even needing to transform. After watching the terrified goldfish’s movements for a while, he carelessly let go of the fin. He was done with eating; now he wanted to inspect the face of the perverted idiot a bit more closely.

The goldfish that fell to the ground bounced frantically on the grass. Even then, he stubbornly refused to transform into a human. Orca, chin in hand again, watched him silently. The mercy granted to a pervert who enjoyed naked swimming was, at most, this much. Watching him die was the best he could do. The goldfish thrashed even more violently as time passed.

How stupid.

Orca glanced at the thrashing goldfish with a pitiful look and flicked it with his finger. The tiny body rolled on the ground. The goldfish was now truly on the verge of suffocating.

Only then did Niah, having given up on fleeing, reveal his bare body without any recourse. A pitch-black shadow loomed over him.

Trapped in the shadow, Niah pulled his knees tightly against his chest and hunched his fragile back. He shriveled up, gasping to fill his lacking breath. His damp skin quickly grew cold in the night air. His pale orange hair swayed incessantly under those flashing eyes. It wasn’t just because of the cold.

“U-uh… Y-Young Master… Young Master…”

Orca stared in silence at the goldfish, who was trembling while shedding tears. His eyes swept down over the naked body. He looked pathetic, pale and withered. It was to the point where Orca felt he could burst him with his bare hands.

The goldfish kept calling out “Young Master… Young Master…” with a crying face, making himself as small as if to hide. The naked body, now completely inside his shadow, looked trivial.

Orca somehow felt his appetite stirred. He was dumbfounded at himself for wanting to devour the terrified goldfish.

What should I do with this stupid pervert?

“Shall I punish you?”