Chapter 22 - Descendant of the Otter Clan
Translator: Roshi
"......."
"......."
Blink, blink.
We stared at the sea otter.
The sea otter stared back at us.
Both sides shared the same look of, How did this happen?
Surprisingly, Serintia was the first to speak.
"Shin-hu.... the otter is talking!"
At that, the sea otter's face flushed slightly.
"O-otter, yom?! I am a descendant of the Otter Clan, seekers of dimensional knowledge, yom!"
"Otter Clan?"
Serintia tilted her head.
She apparently didn't know the difference between an otter and a sea otter.
As a veterinarian, I knew they were entirely different species, but most people couldn't tell them apart.
That's why there was a joke floating around the internet: "If it looks sharp and clever, it's an otter. If it looks like it'd just go 'huh?' when you stole its clam, it's a sea otter."
But saying that kind of thing in front of the actual creature would be a bit rude.
"Serintia, otters and sea otters are completely different species. It's like asking what the difference is between a vampire and a werewolf. It can be offensive, so apologize."
"Oh, is that how it is? Sorry, sea otter!"
Thankfully, the comparison clicked, and Serintia apologized right away.
"...Understood, yom. I'd appreciate it if you kept that in mind, yom."
The sea otter calmed down quickly too.
"Ahem."
I cleared my throat lightly.
I wasn't entirely sure what was going on.
But one thing was certain: I was the one who had summoned that sea otter.
When Serintia arrived, the Dragon's Mark hadn't glowed.
But this time, my arm had clearly lit up, and a Gate opened right after.
"Well, first of all, Sea Otter-nim, this place is called Earth."
"Earth, yom?"
The sea otter's eyes went wide.
Then it quickly pulled out a book strapped to its back, flipped it open with a snap.
Fwipfwipfwip.
The sea otter flipped through the pages at blinding speed with its tiny paws.
After a moment, apparently unable to find what it was looking for:
"Search, Earth!"
At its shout, the pages flipped on their own with a whoosh.
I'd already figured this was no ordinary creature the moment it started talking, but this confirmed it.
"Found it, yom."
"...What does it say?"
I asked out of sheer curiosity.
"It says, 'A Dimension known to exist within the SHGX-3809 Dimensional Cluster. Requires exploration!' That's what it says, yom. I thought the name sounded familiar, yom."
"Dimensional Cluster?"
"Yep."
The sea otter closed the book and cleared its throat with a soft ahem.
"To put it simply, it's a term for grouping Dimensions that are close together, yom. You can travel easily between nearby Dimensions, but it's hard to reach Dimensions in distant clusters, yom."
"Ah, I see."
It was the first time I'd learned that Dimensions had distance between them.
"Earth was a Dimension I'd been curious about ever since Grandpa told me about it, but it was way too far from where I was, so I could never come, yom. But today, I was heading out to explore another Dimension and.... while I was in the Dimensional Gap, I got a sudden dizzy spell, so I squeezed my eyes shut, and when I opened them, I was here, yom. This has never happened to me before, so I'm a little flustered, yom."
I told the somewhat confused sea otter the truth.
"Um, Sea Otter-nim. You ending up here was probably because of me."
"Huh, yom?"
"I treated a dragon and received something called the Dragon's Mark, and it seems to have the ability to summon beings from other Dimensions."
Normally I would have explained more slowly.
But something told me the sea otter would understand.
'Right before my Mark started glowing, I'd shouted for someone to explain what the Mark does.'
If the Mark had the effect of granting what I wished for, then maybe this sea otter could explain the Mark in the dragon's place. That was my reasoning.
"The D-Dragon's Mark, yom?!"
Sure enough, the reaction was immediate.
"Yes. I received it, but I'm not really used to using it yet. I didn't bring you here on purpose, Sea Otter-nim. I just shouted that I wanted someone to explain this thing, and then you appeared, so we were caught off guard too."
Kking! That's right!
Cer nodded along.
"Oh my, the Dragon's Mark, of all things, yom.... Could you tell me about it in a bit more detail, yom?"
The sea otter suddenly produced a pen from thin air.
It flipped to a blank page and was ready to take notes.
"Sure. Not long ago, I got swept into a Gate...."
I explained as thoroughly as I could.
The sea otter recorded everything at an incredible speed, fast enough that I didn't need to slow down for it.
Impressive shorthand.
"So that's how Cer and Serintia here ended up being summoned to my Dimension, and you were the third, Sea Otter-nim."
"I see, yom...."
The sea otter nodded.
"You can think of the Dragon's Mark as the most valuable thing a dragon can give to another being, yom. It lets the bearer use a portion of the dragon's own unique power as-is, yom. Since Hereos the Black Dragon is an extraordinary dragon who oversees countless Dimensions, it makes sense that the bearer of his Mark would be able to summon beings from other Dimensional Clusters, yom."
...I had thought Hereos was an impressive dragon.
But he was even more incredible than I'd imagined.
"Then could you also tell me how to use this? Like I mentioned, I still can't control this power. What if I accidentally make some weird wish and it comes true? Like, 'World, just end already!' or something."
"A wish.... The Mark reacting to your deepest desires is probably exactly what's happening, yom."
Gasp. I knew it.
"But you don't need to worry too much, yom. Unless you truly, from the very bottom of your heart, wish for the destruction of your Dimension, it won't react to words alone, yom."
Then did that mean my craving for ice cream earlier wasn't a genuine desire, just my brain's scheming for a glucose fix?
"What if someone genuinely wished for destruction?"
"It might try to make it happen, yom? But at your current level of skill, even if it did activate, it's not like invaders would come pouring in across the entire Dimension or anything, yom."
"Oh, so once I get more skilled, I will be able to control the power to some extent?"
"Most likely, yom."
Nice!
Knowing I wasn't going to accidentally destroy the world was a huge relief.
So proficiency affected the results too.
If I'd had high proficiency when I asked for an explanation, would an actual dragon have been summoned?
Either way, it seemed like I needed proficiency to control this power the way I wanted.
"Then how do I raise my proficiency? Do I just make a lot of wishes?"
"Hmm, yom. It'll take some time, at least. You haven't had the Mark for very long, yom."
That was fair.
Something this incredible had been inscribed on my body; there was no way proficiency would shoot up in just a few days.
Not everything had been answered perfectly, but thanks to the sea otter, a good deal of my questions had been resolved.
More than anything, I felt at ease.
I was just starting to feel relieved that this third wish had also turned out well, when,
"Hey, Shin-hu!"
"Hm? What is it, Serintia?"
Serintia looked up at me with a curious expression.
Then, with a perfectly innocent face, she asked:
"So, based on everything we just heard, the reason I ended up here is because you genuinely wished, 'I wanna raise a daughter!!' Is that right?"
"Huh?"
Oops.
That was something I hadn't actually told Serintia yet.
"W-well, that's more or less what happened."
Serintia stared at me.
Would she be angry, knowing it was because of such a ridiculous wish?
But I hadn't known things would turn out this way either....
"I'm fine with it, though?"
"Huh?"
"If you're my dad, I think I'd like that!"
I was caught off guard.
"Uh, but... what about your father...."
"I don't have a dad."
"...? Still, your mother...."
"Don't have a mom either! True Progenitors are born differently from the rest of the Bloodline Clan."
"......."
I felt like I'd just made her say something really insensitive.
But Serintia didn't seem bothered at all and continued.
"You didn't know? Let me tell you about it...."
Serintia told me a story about moonlight and darkness and blood, and about the Bloodline Clan.
I couldn't really follow most of it.
But I at least understood that a True Progenitor was a being born without parents.
"...Anyway, I like it if you'll be my dad! All the other members of the Bloodline Clan have families, and I was always the only one who didn't, so I was jealous a lot. Hehe."
Serintia scooped up another big spoonful of ice cream that had melted to just the right consistency and popped it into her mouth.
"So you'll be my dad, right, Shin-hu?"
"Uh, um, well."
Honestly, it was all very sudden.
But I was the one who made the wish and brought her here, so I did bear some responsibility.
And Serintia said she really wanted a family....
'It's not like I'm actually adopting her. Just playing the dad role, that's all. Should be fine, right?'
After a moment of thought, I nodded.
"If you're okay with it, Serintia."
"Yesss! Then I'm counting on you, Shin-hu! No, appa!"
Serintia beamed with an innocent smile.
Day one of suddenly having a daughter.
...It was.
*
I gave the sea otter some ice cream as well.
It had been staring at Serintia eating this whole time.
"Oh, thank you, yom!"
The sea otter took a bite with a chomp and its eyes went wide.
Then, scritch scritch scritch, it jotted something down in its book.
"What did you write?"
"I wrote that Earth has an incredibly cool and delicious food, yom."
"...Glad it suits your palate."
The sea otter finished its plate and placed both paws on its cheeks with a satisfied look.
Ah, the signature sea otter pose.
It was originally a grooming behavior to maintain body heat, but since this was no ordinary sea otter, I figured it was just a lingering instinct of the Otter Clan.
Or maybe it was because the ice cream was cold?
Either way, I quickly snapped a photo on my phone.
Click.
Ridiculously cute.
"What's that, yom?"
"Oh, this is called a phone...."
Scritch scritch scritch.
True to its claim of being a knowledge-seeking sea otter, it recorded things in its book at breakneck speed every time it learned something new.
Once it finished writing, I asked:
"Um, Sea Otter-nim. So do you have the ability to travel between Dimensions?"
"That's right, yom. It's an ability our Otter Clan of explorers possesses, yom."
"Oh, then you can use that ability to go back?"
I'd been feeling guilty for essentially kidnapping a passing sea otter, so hearing it could cross Dimensions on its own was a relief.
But the sea otter shook its head.
"I can't right now, yom. I traveled way too far in one jump and used up all my power, yom. It was forcibly drained to the very bottom, so I won't be able to move for a whole month, yom."
Oh no. I felt guilty again.
'Huh? Hold on.'
It said it used up all its power, right?
"Um, then if I recharged your power, you'd be able to use it?"
"Recharge, yom?"
"Yes. The ability I used to treat the dragon has leveled up, and now it has a recharge function too."
Scritch scritch scritch.
More recording.
It asked, eyes brimming with curiosity:
"I was curious what it would feel like, actually, yom. Would you try it on me, yom?"
I nodded and placed my hand on the sea otter's cheek.
Soft.
"Restoration."
Flash!
Whoooosh!
Light seeped into the sea otter.
Ding!
[You gained 50 EXP.]
[Restoration Lv.7 (Stage 2) effect slightly increases EXP gain.]
[You gained an additional 6 EXP.]
Huh?
That's way less than I expected.
Maybe because it was a knowledge-seeking sea otter, its combat power was low?
'Well, nothing I can do about that.'
EXP wasn't the main goal here anyway.
I was thinking that and about to pull my hand away, when,
Ding!
[Trait 'Recharge' has restored a depleted organ.]
[You gained 31,388 EXP.]
[Restoration Lv.7 (Stage 2) effect slightly increases EXP gain.]
[You gained an additional 3,766 EXP.]
[Skill Level has increased.]
[Restoration Lv.7 → Lv.9]
[Skill 'Restoration' effect and proficiency have slightly increased.]
[Skill 'Restoration' restoration speed and EXP gain have slightly increased.]
Huh?
*****
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