Black-Haired Dad Isn’t Something You Reap - Chapter 146

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

Chapter 146. Hero Hisperon (1)
I am, in truth, a person unrelated to the Astiages Imperial Family. I came to understand this naturally as I aged, and His Majesty the Emperor merely announced me as an Illegitimate Child for the sake of appearances.
I am grateful that he did not kill me outright, but allowed me to live. Not only did he spare my life, but I was able to receive basic education from the Imperial Palace, and when I showed talent in certain areas, he even permitted me to undergo military training.
This was a kindness His Majesty the Emperor bestowed upon me. The first kindness I had ever received in my life, and to repay it, I participated in numerous wars. And I returned alive. At that time, I still did not know that returning alive had become a burden to His Majesty.
The second kindness in my life came from a place I had never anticipated.
The other party was the Princess of the Kisomalos Empire. Despite her young age, Her Highness the Princess possessed rather peculiar interests—she enjoyed hearing stories of wars from various nations, so it seems she had come to know of my exploits as well.
I did not know how to respond to a child who, upon our first meeting, suddenly cried out that she admired me and wept profusely. But I was young then too.
It was already more than enough to be acknowledged, to be liked, and to be worried about when I was wounded on the battlefield. Yet Her Highness the Princess went so far as to bestow upon me a healing divine relic.
“….”
Still, wasn’t this… a bit excessive? She said she would smash the healing divine relic if I refused to accept it, and even stitched it into my vest with her own hands, so I had no choice but to accept it. Yet I could not bring myself to use it.
Because… this was an undeserved treasure for me. I kept the vest I wore at that time carefully stored in my wardrobe, intending either to return it to Her Highness the Princess should she require it, or to send it back when I died.
Because I, too, have a duty to die at an opportune time. Though I wander the battlefields because His Majesty desires it, when the time comes, my duty is to die and ease His Majesty’s burdens.
I have a certain reputation, so when I die, His Majesty will have many uses for my death. If I can be of help in that way, if I can repay the debt, I do not mind.
By some stroke of fortune, I managed to survive until I turned twenty… But does this not mean I am no longer a boy hero? Had I died while still young enough to be called a boy, I could have been of greater service to His Majesty.
In any case, I was accepting my coming of age with mixed feelings when a message arrived from Her Highness the Princess. It was a telegram asking whether I could take in and care for the Fifth Prince, His Highness Nanac, who had been cast out from the Palace.
“…Hmm?”
It is not a difficult task, but would His Highness the Prince not greatly dislike it?
In the Imperial Palace, I was a non-entity. I occasionally went to report victories, and His Majesty the Emperor would formally commend me out of obligation… but the others would pretend not to see me. It was not that they deliberately insulted me to my face or wielded violence against me, but I was simply treated as if I did not exist.
Should our eyes happen to meet, they would shudder as if seeing something filthy and pass by. The Fifth Prince was one of those who treated me as non-existent.
So at first, I felt only apology toward Her Highness the Princess. It must have been humiliating for her to make such a request of someone like me, and if I were to report that I had failed in this task, how much sorrow would it cause her?
With a heavy heart, I submitted a request for an audience with His Highness Nanac. When I added that it was at the request of Her Highness the Princess Vishnabel, fortunately His Highness agreed to meet with me.
“Ah, why the hell! Why should I live with a lowborn wretch like you! With you? Under the same roof? Have I lost my mind?! Unless you’re willing to just hand over the house you’ve been using!”
Yet when we spoke, the response was different from what I had expected. I thought he would merely pretend to listen for the sake of Her Highness the Princess’s dignity and then send me away, but a reaction? Actually came back?
“However, Her Highness the Princess made the request directly.”
“That damned Little One! She ignored my letters for two years and only sent a telegram to that bastard Illegitimate Child?!”
Though this was the first time I had conversed at such length, the Fifth Prince seemed remarkably… unlike a member of the Imperial Family. His Majesty the Emperor does not exchange more than three words with me, yet His Highness not only responded to me but even displayed his emotions. Of course, those emotions were something along the lines of thoroughly despising lowborn wretches.
“In any case, you have nowhere else to go, do you?”
“Damn it!”
He even consented to living in my house.
…What is this? I had naturally expected to be refused?
In any case, after that, His Highness Nanac came to live with me in my home. When I returned from work outside, the experience of having someone greet me at home was quite novel.
“Oh, you’re back.” It was a simple greeting, but knowing it was His Highness the Prince’s best effort, it was all the more moving.
Having come to live with His Highness the Prince, I experienced many surprising things, but the most astonishing was undoubtedly… that His Highness was extraordinarily capable.
I knew that his competence had earned him the hatred of his brothers and led to his expulsion, but I never imagined he was this remarkable.
For example, when a certain spice becomes fashionable, people scramble to purchase the goods or, based on this, conduct research to anticipate the next trend and secure a monopoly, do they not? Yet His Highness the Prince would stockpile airship fuel, saying that trade would flourish, or purchase land and maintain roads to collect tolls.
When the airship explosion occurred and helium was designated as an alternative to hydrogen, I was seized with dread. It was because His Highness the Prince had already purchased nine-tenths of the helium gas fields in the Northern Continent.
The explosion seemed too convenient to be mere chance, so I harbored suspicions about His Highness the Prince, but he merely laughed—keke keke—saying he had simply believed in human malice. His way of thinking was truly inhuman.
“Ahem.”
In that sense, well, I believe His Highness Nanac and Her Highness the Princess Vishnabel are a well-matched pair. Her Highness the Princess is truly remarkable as well. The Air Force, stealth vessels—these are concepts I could never have imagined, so my admiration for her has only grown.
I merely utilize existing weapons and command troops, so I am hardly remarkable. Her Highness the Princess said she admired me, but now I find myself admiring Her Highness the Princess instead. Did she not transform the very paradigm of warfare? She has achieved an accomplishment worthy of being recorded in the history books.
“Your Highness needs to make more of an effort, I’m afraid.”
Princess Vishnabel already had a betrothal arranged, and rumor had it that a girl was being groomed to take the position of his lover—my concerns were anything but trivial.
That Princess, she possessed an Imperial Family mindset far stronger than appearances suggested. If someone could be politically exploited or useful to her position, she’d marry them or keep them as a lover without discrimination of age or gender.
“Cough! Ugh! What is this—it’s ink!”
In contrast, watching Nanac choking and retching as he’d accidentally swallowed ink while trying to drink coffee during work… my heart ached, and sighs escaped unbidden. I wondered if he could ever make this marriage with the Princess work.
“Sigh…”
“Hey, Hisperon! Why are your eyes so wide? Are you not blinking?!”
Now that I thought about it, the Prince had only started calling me by my name after being scolded by the Princess. In many ways, I owed the Princess a great debt.
Perhaps that’s why my heart nearly stopped when I heard the news that the Princess had gone missing. She was someone the Prince admired, but she was also my benefactor.
I helped the Prince track down the Princess, and in doing so, incurred the Imperial Family’s wrath. Rumors spread that the hero Hisperon was helping the Fifth Prince seize the throne.
This made the higher-ranking heirs uneasy and displeased the Emperor himself. We found ourselves under constant investigation by those who loved to ransack our home, and eventually, the Prince was even taken into custody at the Imperial Palace.
“Wait, please wait just a moment!”
I begged the Imperial Army to wait. I had no way of knowing what might happen to the Prince if we parted like this.
I suddenly remembered the healing spirit stone that Princess Vishnabel had given me, and I retrieved the vest I’d worn as a child. The lining of this garment had the healing spirit stone sewn into it. Should any misfortune befall him, the healing spirit stone would protect the Prince.
“Please wear this. It’s the garment I wore when I was your age, Your Highness.”
“What, is this like a lucky charm or something?”
That’s right! I also had the lucky spirit stone that Princess Vishnabel had given me.
Please take this with you as well.
I cut off a sword ornament and stuffed it into the vest the Prince was wearing.
“Please return safely. I mean it.”
“Of course! What do you take me for!”
As if to reassure me, the Prince smiled. Despite his own anxiety, he told me not to worry—he’d be back soon, so I should buy some delicious food and wait for him.

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