Black-Haired Dad Isn’t Something You Reap - Chapter 189
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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 189. How Brave to Begin Ascetic Training from the Northern Region (3)
“Ahhhhh! This bathwater is magnificent!”
I should have invaded from the start! We seized the hotel’s penthouse suite and settled in, which did bring the city’s Guard Corps rushing out, but once Choco dodged the bullets and stabbed a few soldiers, they retreated in moments. I informed the Fiefdom’s lord that we’d stay just one night before departing, and since we’d pay the hotel for our stay, there shouldn’t be any issues.
I felt a bit sorry for the civilians who lost their lodging overnight, but we rested luxuriously on the top floor and even enjoyed room service breakfast. I’d initially worried about poison in the food and considered preparing our own meals, but it turned out the Dharma Sect had infiltrated this place too, so they brought our meals up for us.
I’m envious. Religion truly is the greatest. Just speak eloquently enough, and the faithful willingly donate money and labor. Meanwhile, royalty and nobility work themselves to the bone only to be cursed by their people every day.
“Maybe Kisomalos should start a religion.”
“Hey! You think anyone can just create a religion?!”
“But Kisomalos is a sheep, after all.”
“Don’t twist my words!”
Hmm, if I said it was a matter of grabbing a sheep’s tail, Choco would look down on me. I’d better drop this joke.
I changed into fresh clothes and gripped Elrod tightly. With a new sun risen, it was time to embark on a new journey.
We traveled in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, crossing mountains and rivers, staying at new hotels, sometimes raiding resorts to bathe in hot springs, and occasionally pillaging amusement parks to ride paddle boats. After about two weeks of this lifestyle, nobles from all across Astiages issued bounties on us.
“Look at this, Pisha! That’s one billion Lakma!”
“Wow!”
I gasped in amazement at the wanted poster featuring Choco’s fierce visage. Well, she certainly did commit some extraordinary acts since arriving here. I kept her on a tight leash so no one died, but she did manage to disable an entire tank. How does a person pierce tank armor with a sword? The gunner who’d been firing the machine gun still echoed in my ears, screaming as the armor was breached.
“What about me? Am I wanted too?”
“You’re quite expensive as well, Pisha. Probably because it’s alive capture only.”
“Wow! I’m a five-hundred-million-Lakma princess!”
We stood before the wanted posters plastered on the Fiefdom’s patrol station, gelato in hand that we’d paid for at the shop, enjoying it leisurely. People glanced at us sideways, but no one called for the patrol officers.
Bleeeeat!
“Kisomalos’s wanted poster, right? Just a moment—since we’ve been traveling together, I’d expect to see Kisomalos here too.”
“Ah! Here it is, yes!”
Choco found Kisomalos at the edge of the wanted poster. He was drawn incredibly adorably as a golden sheep, with a price of 8,900 Lakma per kilogram.
“Pfft!”
“Hehe, per kilo, 8,900 Lakma—quite the bargain sale.”
“Ahahaha! Stop making me laugh!”
Bleeeeat!
Kisomalos, apparently offended, kicked the bulletin board with his hind legs and shattered it. Well, that adds destruction of public property to our charges.
“By the way, is Elrod still pointing the same direction?”
“Right? After two weeks of going straight, it should have shifted somewhat… Oh!”
I purchased a postcard sold as a tourist souvenir, affixed a stamp, and drew out Elrod. It seemed to be tilting slightly more eastward than this morning.
“Doesn’t the direction seem a bit off?”
“You’re right? It does seem to have changed slightly?”
“Attention, heinous criminals including Princess Vishnabel! You are surrounded!”
Since I had nothing particular to write on the postcard, I simply addressed it to the Kisomalos Imperial Palace and dropped the pretty photograph postcard into the mailbox. I’d traveled abroad many times for work, but I’d never journeyed so leisurely before—each little moment like this felt precious and wonderful.
“Should I start the engine right away?”
“Wait. There’s a sniper on the roof.”
I pulled out a rifle cleanly from my Leopard bag, fired a shot, and tucked it back away. For a small city, their Guard Corps lineup is quite impressive. They’ve even got a sniper.
“If you move, we’ll shoot! We really will!”
“I’ll start the engine.”
“Don’t go and come back right away.”
The moment I started the four-wheel-drive vehicle and gripped the steering wheel, Choco moved with a flash and cleanly severed the rifle barrels held by the Guard Corps. Once again, no casualties. Truly, Choco was such a good girl.
“Well done. Now that I think about it, bloodless suppression is quite doable, isn’t it?”
“Still, killing is always the fastest way, ma’am.”
“We shouldn’t commit needless slaughter. That’s all sin and karma.”
“If we’re being that strict, doesn’t Pisha have the most sin?”
“The throne is always built upon rivers of blood, after all♪”
I answered in rhythm and drove the vehicle with a rumble. I didn’t have a license anyway—what did it matter? I was already a wanted criminal. Besides, I was already branded a war criminal. There was no way to commit any greater sins than this.
“That must be the Conflict Zone starting from here. I can hear explosions.”
“So Kirke really is in the thick of battle.”
According to Netcha, Kirke had taken on a contract to tear the Astiages Empire to pieces and was on a business trip for it. If that were the case, she would naturally be where the war was happening.
“If we step on a landmine, we’re done for. We can’t block those bombs.”
“Don’t worry about that!”
Here with us were Kisomalos, who possessed the luck of a transcendent deity, and Vishnabel, who was the incarnation of transcendent luck itself. Though I frequently faced death, I somehow never actually died.
Since Kisomalos confidently bleated his assurance, I drove the steering wheel with ease, turning in the direction Elrod indicated. Hmm, it seemed Kirke was nearby. The direction kept changing constantly.
“Kirke! Are you nearby!”
“We’ve come from Kisomalos to find Kirke!”
But something felt off about this place. Not only were there no people, but military restricted zone signs were posted everywhere. And in the middle of what appeared to be a military restricted zone, a pillar of flame was rising. A column of fire stretched all the way to the sky. It was like magic. Wherever there was magic, there had to be a mage, right?
“Kirke!”
When I called out to the figure in the distance with long, black hair flowing, the mysterious woman in a black suit turned around.
The woman’s appearance could only be described as fantastical. Her long hair, nearly green in hue, was like silk, and her porcelain doll-like face gleamed with sapphire eyes. It was a refreshing blue, but its depth was like the abyss, and staring at it too long sent shivers down my spine.
I was mesmerized by that magical beauty when the vehicle jolted over uneven ground, and I quickly grabbed the steering wheel again.
“Watch the road! Pisha is driving!”
“We can’t help being enchanted by the women of that family! But try not to be enchanted!”
Wait, if it’s unavoidable, how am I supposed to not be enchanted! My mind was completely scattered, so I pressed the brake and stopped the vehicle. As I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart, Kirke, who had been in the distance, moved smoothly and approached my side with long strides.
I truly felt like I’d been bewitched by a ghost.
“You found me?”
“Wow.”
I thought her perfectly smooth, beautiful face was all photo editing technology, but it was genuinely that smooth! Moreover, at first glance she looked human, but looking closely, I could tell she was a doll. Her fingers and wrists were just like ball-jointed doll joints, and I could see all the creaking of the articulations.
“Kirke, you’re so incredibly beautiful!”
“…Thank you?”
After I spent some time praising Kirke’s beauty, she asked how I’d found her here, and I took another deep breath. Right, I hadn’t come here just to see Kirke’s face.
I got out of the vehicle, bowed with proper etiquette, and nodded.
“It is an honor to meet you. I am Vishnabel Lorowi Kisomalos, Princess of Kisomalos.”
“…”
After my introduction, Kirke’s doll-like face became even more doll-like and rigid. The woman, her mouth pressed into a straight line, began eyeing me cautiously before subtly dragging her feet backward, away from me.
“Uh, oh, um… Kisomalos?”
Wait, hold on! Why are you running away? I used my reflexes to grab Kirke’s wrist. Fortunately, now that I had a physical grip, she couldn’t seem to teleport away like before.
“Let go! Release me! I’ve done nothing wrong!”
“Choco, rope! Get the restraint rope!”
“Yelp!”
I’d brought various restraint devices for situations like this. While Kirke gnawed at my arms, I subdued the woman and wrapped her tightly with wire rope. She thrashed about with guttural snarls, trying to break free from her bonds, but her actions were utterly repulsive—a stark contrast to her beautiful face.
“…So she really is Media’s aunt.”
That repulsiveness was unmistakable.
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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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