Black-Haired Dad Isn’t Something You Reap - Chapter 131

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 131. A Red-Haired Grandmother Is Not Something to Adopt (4)
“Aaaaaaahhhhh!”
So I really did fall into that pot! The shock of experiencing that awful sensation again jolted my memories back into clarity. That wretched Chamberlain—I’ll have her tried for attempted murder of the Princess! Not only will she serve time in prison, but I’ll strip her of her Marquis title as well!
As I scrambled to my feet, the people gathered around the bed looked at me with worried eyes.
Wait, where am I? The Empress Palace doesn’t have shabby rooms like this.
“Lady Pisha, is it really you?”
“You’re back to normal, aren’t you? Our Lady Pisha has returned, hasn’t she?”
Shirley and Croa were even clinging to me and crying. By the way, what’s with that strange eye covering Croa is wearing? She was just wrapping some dark cloth around her eyes, but the fabric itself looked luxurious with gold thread embroidery, making it look more like fashion.
I observed Croa carefully and offered my opinion.
“Croa, you are….”
“Yes, Lady Pisha. Please, say whatever you wish.”
“Why are you wearing an eye covering that only a select few with peculiar tastes would scream with delight over?”
“….”
“….”
It might be a bit out of nowhere, but no matter how I think about it, it’s definitely the kind of fashion only a niche group of enthusiasts would appreciate. Croa might be upset, but I figured honesty would be better for both of us, so as I rambled on, I heard relieved sighs from the people around the bed.
“The alchemy was successful, it seems.”
“Not even understanding the situation and spouting complaints right away—that’s definitely our Princess.”
“Wahhhhh! Lady Pisha, I missed you so much!”
“N-no, I didn’t choose this eye covering! Emily and the others picked it out, saying Lady Pisha would like something flashy!”
Oh, that’s right. Actually, that select few with peculiar tastes is me. I laughed and complimented Croa’s fashion that stimulates the darkness within. But why is she wearing the eye covering? Did she catch an eye infection?
“Um, well, that’s….”
Why has she been acting like a dog desperate to go outside since earlier? Thinking Father would give me a straightforward answer, I asked what was going on. Father pondered for a moment, then asked for my understanding.
“The short version or the long version—which would you prefer?”
“The simple one.”
“My mother’s personality has been overlaid onto the Princess, and six months have passed.”
“Hmm, I’ll take the long version instead.”
So I spent thirty minutes listening to the story of my disappearance. My friends, apparently furious, had been intermittently shrieking and spanking the upside-down red-haired Little One repeatedly, but only as my disappearance story reached its climax could I finally understand the identity of this unfamiliar little girl.
“That brat who looks like she’s missing the top of her head is my Maternal Grandmother?!”
“That’s how it turned out, I’m afraid.”
“Lady Pisha, the electric chair would be appropriate. I think the electric chair would be good.”
“No! Impalement would be the most painful!”
Croa, stop saying such frightening things. Anyway, with no memories at all, if you’re telling me to execute my grandmother….
“Well, I did think about sending her to Prison and stripping her of her Marquis title when I woke up earlier….”
“I think execution would be best.”
“Once someone commits a crime, they must never do it again.”
“The electric chair!”
“Impalement!”
No, you all seem a bit overheated. Calm down a bit. I looked to the Head Attendant Grandmother to help me rein in these runaway locomotives, and she smiled with a composed expression before giving a thumbs down.
“Kill her.”
“It seems you’ve all been through quite a lot while I was gone.”
At my words, Father, my friends, Choco, and the Chief Chamberlain all nodded with somber expressions. Well, six months isn’t exactly a short time. Wait, if it’s autumn now, doesn’t that mean my birthday is coming up soon? So I’m turning twelve? Croa’s execution is only nine years away now—what am I going to do?
“Pfft! You’re all so eager to execute me! One strike of my divine power and you’d all—!”
“Quiet.”
Father spoke just one word, and Choco moved with startling speed. She barely seemed to draw her sword and sheathe it again, but a sharp sound rang out, and Yupi Grandmother’s long hair was cleanly severed.
“Do you feel it now? The drop in your Lorowi rank?”
“Kyaaah!”
Wow, in the old days, even if my body had been bound, I would have automatically defended myself with an explosion. But now Grandmother can’t even compare to Choco. Then again, Choco was abnormally strong even back when Lorowi was a mid-tier deity, carrying a divine spirit and striking first without hesitation.
“Sigh… offensive-type abilities really are convenient.”
When ranks jump up or down, the gap becomes so obvious that there’s real satisfaction in raising them.
As for me, all I get is luck improving, so I don’t even know if this is working properly. I can’t feel any difference. Besides, if Kisomalos had such good luck back when he was a high-tier deity, I shouldn’t have ended up with Croa’s curse in the first place, right? He should have used his luck to overcome it!
“If you’re concerned about the execution, I could also seal the explosive divine power with a curse.”
“No, you’re staying in the Imperial Palace until you come of age…”
Wait, something’s off about this. Didn’t you have a contract not to use curses in the Imperial Palace? But you used a curse to find me? What price did you pay for the backlash?
“Hey! You!”
“Ugh!”
This bastard—your eyes are damaged! You gave up your eyes in exchange for finding me! As I grabbed Croa’s head and demanded to know what happened to his eyes, Media did her best to calm me down, explaining that she’d used every trick she could to minimize the cost.
“He simply cannot see ahead!”
“That’s serious!”
“He can see through the eye patch!”
“This is driving me crazy!”
So that’s how you ended up with that goth fashion? I’m losing it. No, Media did her best, so it only resulted in some inconvenience, but if the backlash had been something serious like a curse that prevented him from walking, what would I have done?
“That contract—it was only for this one time, right? From now on, absolutely no more curses.”
“Yes. As long as Pisha remains safe.”
He keeps finding fault with my words. But since he worked so hard for me, I couldn’t scold him, so I hugged Croa and patted his back gently.
“If you get hurt, it hurts me too. Everyone worries about you.”
“It’s fine. I’m only useful for this sort of thing… If I could help you, that’s enough for me.”
“Why would you say you’re not useful!”
You’re great at talking back to people with perfect timing, you understand subtle insults perfectly, and you’re the best at behind-the-scenes maneuvering! Plus you’re beautiful, so it’s nice to look at you, and you’re good at inline skating, and your hair is incredibly silky! And these aren’t even things you were born with—you worked hard to achieve all of them. You’re the best. The most wonderful, hardworking, and useful person.
As I rattled off these words, Croa bit his lower lip hard and his face flushed red.
“Um, could you please stop saying things like that?”
“Aw, come on. You like it. Just enjoy it.”
“You’re annoying, Shirley.”
Perhaps tired of the children chattering away, Father smiled warmly and stretched. The fatigue that had accumulated in the Prisoner up until now was palpable even here. That gloomy atmosphere and the smell of stamina tonic—he must have been working through the night.
“Croa, this is a transaction outside our contract. Could I ask you for one more favor?”
“Yes! As much as my power allows!”
“The Princess doesn’t seem to intend to execute that Chamberlain. But we can’t just leave her be—it’s too dangerous. We need to seal her explosive divine power.”
If we strip the Chamberlain of her explosive power, she’d be nothing but a little one who knows alchemy. And if we lock her in the Prison so she can’t access the Workshop, she’d be completely neutralized.
And more than anything else… if we kill Grandmother? Lorowi won’t stay quiet. She abandoned her mid-tier deity position and even descended as a divine spirit to grant Grandmother immortality. If we eliminate such a devoted descendant, Lorowi will abandon all restraint and attack Kisomalos directly.
“About that curse’s backlash—can’t you split it among multiple people?”
“Pardon?”
“Well, when you think about it, I’m just cleaning up after my own family. I feel like I bear some responsibility for this too.”
“No, it’s fine. I can handle it on my own.”
“What are you saying? If Pisha can accept it, then I’ll accept it too. Friends are supposed to share everything, right?”
“That’s a good idea. If more people share the burden, the backlash will be diluted. I’ll help too.”
“Ah, I need to protect Pisha, so I can’t afford to lose my physical abilities. I’ll have to sit this one out.”
“So with me included, that makes five of us sharing the curse’s backlash?”
When I, Shirley, Father, and Head Attendant Grandmother all agreed to share the curse’s backlash together, Croa’s expression grew awkward before he let out a laugh.
“This is the first time something like this has happened… Well, I’ll talk it over with Media when we get back.”
Now that the disappearance case is solved, should we head home?
Once we get there, we’ll have to deal with Maternal Grandmother, the disposition of butler Grayson, the Marquis Household’s inheritance issues, and countless other matters waiting for us—but we decided to rest for a while first. We were all exhausted from everything we’d been through.
“Hey, are you crying?”
“I’m not!”
Croa had been sniffling for a while now, and it looks like he finally broke down. Shirley should’ve just pretended not to notice, but instead she had to pick a fight and make things worse.
“Don’t fight.”
“We’re not fighting!”
“Shirley started it!”
“When did I?”
“Thirty seconds ago.”
That’s what they call fighting. I leaped into Father’s arms, savoring the familiar comfort of his embrace. Ah, there’s nowhere else quite like this.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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