Black-Haired Dad Isn’t Something You Reap - Chapter 159

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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 159. This Can’t Exactly Be Called Pisha’s Fault (3)
“Hmm….”
Is this really Nanac? I’d only printed two copies of this photograph—one for him and one for me. But where did I put mine again…? I know I stashed it somewhere, but exactly where? What if Nanac asks to see the one I’m holding? Should I just run away now?
“Why are you speaking informally to me?”
“Huh? You’re not the Emperor’s Son anymore anyway.”
Lost in my own worries, the truth slipped out before I could stop it.
Oh no! After that apology speech, I’d been so careful not to blurt out harmful truths!
“Ugh, w-waaah!”
“That was the Princess’s mistake just now.”
How could Father judge so coldly without taking my side! I quickly scrambled to console the sniffling Nanac before he could cry harder.
“Oh! Emperor’s Son! I was so curious about why Your Highness suddenly grew so much!”
“W-waaah! You’re changing the subject!”
“Just apologize honestly.”
Father, whose side are you even on!
I had no choice but to bow my head and apologize.
“I apologize. I was disrespectful to the former Emperor’s Son, Your Highness.”
“Sniff. That’s fine. I have no lingering attachment to the position of Prince of Astiages anyway.”
“Then why were you crying?”
“Still, we once thought about marriage—we should show each other respect.”
“Then you should speak respectfully first.”
“Let’s just speak informally with each other.”
Yes, let’s do that. After all, you’re no longer the Emperor’s Son or anything, so you not showing me proper courtesy is quite the breach of etiquette, you know? You should be grateful I’m treating you as a real friend.
“But I’m curious. Why did you age yourself by double the time?”
“Oh, that? Grant helped with that. It wouldn’t have been dignified to preach while looking like I did two years ago.”
Though honestly, you don’t look particularly dignified even now. I thought this to myself, but this time I clamped down hard on my loose tongue, forcing it to stay shut. As I made a “click” sound closing my mouth, Father seemed to notice what I was doing and applauded me for my restraint.
“Now that I think about it, you were using the surname Grant. Were you invited as the first generation?”
“Ah, I’m the second generation, Father.”
“Haha.”
Father, calm down! Father, stop! He spent so many years alone during his time as Emperor’s Son! Haven’t I told you how I survived by pretending to be married to him among the bandits? That’s it. It’s just a continuation of that. It’s a joke! If you’re over thirty years old, you should laugh off a child’s joke and move on!
I barely managed to stop Father from drawing his beloved revolver and gave Nanac the freedom to speak.
“It’s a long story, but…”
“Just tell it. If you value your life, make it entertaining.”
Maybe Father would let it slide if it’s funny? I clapped my hands in encouragement and listened to Nanac’s long tale. Nanac cleared his throat and began from the day of his execution.
“The day I was being executed. Actually, my neck was severed.”
“W-what?”
How are you alive if your neck was cut off? As I expressed my confusion, Nanac pointed to the scar on his neck and said he’d survived half thanks to me.
“Hisperon had placed a healing divine stone in my pocket. Thanks to that, the wound closed, and thanks to Grant’s divine power, I was able to breathe again.”
Wait, you used the healing divine stone?! Hey! If you hadn’t used that, Hisperon could have lived, couldn’t he?! I tried to grab Nanac by the collar in frustration, but this time Father stopped me and urged Nanac to continue his story.
“Grant came originally for Hisperon, but since Hisperon died, sob, I was the only one left to carry on the family name as his brother…”
Hey, stop crying already!
Nanac started crying again, so I had an Attendant bring over an extra box of handkerchiefs. As I wiped away Nanac’s tears with one, the man grabbed another handkerchief and blew his nose loudly. Disgusting, really. Why have you been sniffling constantly ever since you were kidnapped by those Bandits?
“So that’s what you meant by ‘second generation.'”
So Grant acknowledged Nanac as Hisperon’s brother? Succession doesn’t necessarily require blood relation—if Hisperon considered Nanac his brother during his lifetime, then it makes sense that Grant’s successor would be Nanac.
“Ahem, this is rather materialistic of me to ask, but Grant, what about your divine rank? I’m not the sort of princess who judges people by their divine rank, you understand?”
“I was a lower-tier deity from the beginning.”
“Father! Let’s form an alliance with him!”
“Princess, stay out of this.”
“Yes, sir.”
But isn’t it remarkable to start as a lower-tier deity? People like that usually establish dynasties that last over a hundred years.
Of course, there are historical records of those who started as mid-tier or upper-tier deities, but those accounts are so ancient that fact and fiction have blended together into mythological tales. One upper-tier deity who descended during the first year of the Mortal Realm created Buddhism, and the religion flourished for two thousand years, or so they say? Remnants of it still exist in the Southern Continent. Even Genie Teacher’s spiritual essence was influenced by the esoteric Buddhism that spread the faith.
During the first year of the Mortal Realm—roughly eight thousand years ago—there were apparently families with tremendous divine power scattered across the continents. Now they’ve completely vanished without a trace. Why? If their divine power was strong, their descendants should still exist on the continents even after eight thousand years.
“Let’s get to the point. You want to purchase part of Ljubljana in Kisomalos Territory?”
“Yes! Money is no object!”
“Where does this money come from?”
“Well, how do I explain that?”
“Then go to another country and establish your holy site there.”
“I control ninety percent of the helium gas fields on the Northern Continent!”
Wow! That’s more expensive than gold these days! And unlike gold, helium is a consumable resource, so whoever controls the gas fields can manipulate the entire trading market at will—it’s absolute chaos, they say.
“I won’t ask how you obtained it.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
“But I do need to know what you intend to do with a theocratic state.”
Watching Father make the person who can make the entire trading market laugh or cry do the opposite fills me with a peculiar feeling. The ways of the world are truly mysterious.
“Must I speak of it?”
“I have my suspicions. But I’d like to hear it from your own lips.”
“…Revenge.”
Ah… I suspected as much. He said he had no lingering attachment to the position of Prince of Astiages. He nearly died at the hands of that empire’s Emperor, and he lost Hisperon during his escape. Nanac must have wanted to repay the Northern Kingdom no matter what it took.
“Handle your revenge on your own. Why would you sow seeds of discord in our lands?”
From Kisomalos’s perspective, there’s no avoiding such a statement. Whether it’s Kisomalos or any neighboring nation, granting Nanac territory would create complications.
Nanac continues to use his name, and his face is already known, so Astiages has surely already learned where the fugitive prince is and what he’s doing. If we help him, we’d be opposing the Northern Kingdom—who would extend their hand in support?
“I believed that with Princess Vishnabel in Kisomalos, I could entrust myself to your protection. I judged that you possess the strongest military power on the Central Continent and could win against Astiages.”
“Strength aside, whichever side launches an expedition loses the war.”
“I possess warp technology.”
Gasp.
Warp? That warp? The kind where you whoosh through space instantly? That technology actually exists, and you can traverse vast distances in a single moment. Both Nanac and I have experienced it firsthand, so we know well. But wasn’t that a coincidence? Did Nanac privatize this technology?
“The place we entered was a gravity barrier field. As soon as we returned to the Imperial Palace, I interrogated the person in charge and identified who had set up the barrier, then invested in developing it into warp technology.”
Wow… he invested real money into technology development because of that single coincidence? You’re insane, not just me. This isn’t investment—it’s gambling. Back then, Prince Nanac’s pockets weren’t deep, and he was still receiving stipends from the Imperial Family. Did you really go all-in on a 0.0001% chance?
And if warp technology allows for surprise attacks, then fighting the Northern Kingdom becomes viable. Actually, considering Nanac’s financial resources and our Air Force’s power, we’d have nearly a 100% chance of victory.
“But the real problem comes after winning. The cultures are completely different.”
Minor factions would quickly rise up, rebellions and independence movements everywhere—absolute chaos. As I voiced this concern, Nanac confidently pulled out a single book and placed it on the desk.
“That’s precisely when religion steps in. Give me five years, and I’ll have half of Astiages converted to the Dharma Religion.”
Anyway, she certainly has a way with words. Since I’m the Princess, I didn’t dwell too deeply on the matter and simply picked up a book from the desk. Was this one of those Dharma Religion scriptures she kept mentioning?
“I can’t sign a contract based on mere bluster. Ljubljana’s lands simply cannot be sold.”
Hmm, that conclusion was inevitable. In my stead, the Emperor—who had pondered this matter earnestly—presented a solution that would best serve my friend.
“If the sect is illegally occupying Ljubljana, then there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“Thank you so much!”
Oh, with this arrangement, we can protect Nanac’s sect, and we have a convenient excuse to tell Astiages that our hands were tied.
Wow, Father really is a genius at making the other party’s blood boil. I’d better not get on his bad side.

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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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