Black-Haired Dad Isn’t Something You Reap - Chapter 248
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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 248. Why Pomegranate Seeds, of All Things (1)
“Ugh! I’m exhausted!”
I’ve had so much happen today. I met a deity in a dream, died and came back to life because of spoilers, had my father’s body stolen, then burned through both alchemy and divine power to create an entire pocket world.
But all that suffering paid off—I managed to find a way to blackmail Laplace, successfully pawned off my father’s fatal destiny onto Yupi Grandmother, and the world creation went smoothly. The grandmothers seem to be having a wonderful time playing in the crystal sphere where snow falls.
“But am I stuck with white hair forever? Did I lose anything else symbolic?”
My pink eyes remained unchanged, and I couldn’t tell what else had altered when I looked in the mirror, so I asked Choco to examine me thoroughly. She lifted me up and turned me this way and that, then peered inside my mouth and cried out as if she’d discovered something.
“Aaah! Gold teeth! Gold teeth!”
“What? They broke?!”
No! I didn’t want to get another crown! If they’d broken, I might need additional treatment, so I was anxious—but then Choco handed me a hand mirror.
“They turned silver, I’m telling you!”
“Argh! My molars were white gold!”
So they took every last bit of gold from my body. But honestly, this is very much in the Lorowi style. Whether it’s half a heart or half a fingernail, they view all body parts equally as equivalent compensation.
“Since they’ve taken all the gold they could, next time they might take my imperial title or the kingdom itself.”
“You should refrain from alchemy for a while.”
Right, I should. They said identity recovers with proper rest, so as long as I use alchemy carefully without straining my body, it should be fine. When I turned white-haired before, I recovered to blonde quickly after eating well and resting.
“Got it.”
So Kisomalos could verify things anytime, I decided to carry a sketchbook with my requests written out. I called for Emily to bring writing supplies, wrote down a request for a potent radioactive substance, and wore it around my neck throughout my imperial duties. Some people asked why I was doing this, but most just made faces like “Kisomalos again…” and moved on.
“What’s that around your neck? Should I give it to Shirley as a gift?”
The Chief Chamberlain does both jobs, apparently. I explained my conversation with the deity Marichi that I’d had while sleeping, and mentioned that this substance might touch Laplace’s sore spot. My grandmother, sufficiently convinced by my reasoning, said she’d also look into the substance through Listo.
“Pisha, should I give that as a gift to Shirley? Her birthday’s already passed…”
Croa, you’re making the same face as the Chief Chamberlain. Then I need to explain the same way. I repeated the explanation I’d given earlier, and once Croa understood, he said he’d ask Media about it while he was going to pray.
“Huh? Should I give that as a gift to Pisha?”
“Yes! It’s your gift, so what!”
After repeating the same explanation so many times, I was getting annoyed. I’d just count it as giving Shirley a gift. But since Achilles seems more capable than Kisomalos, I should ask him separately to look into it. I made sure to tell Achilles to definitely ask whether I could obtain radioactive material through the Divine Realm shopping mall or through connections, then went around advertising everywhere with my sketchbook that I was trying to obtain radioactive material.
A few days later, the first to rush over saying they could probably obtain the substance were neither Kisomalos nor Achilles, but Edison—the legitimate successor of Edison—and Larima, the legitimate successor of Alset.
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“I arrived first! I have the right to report first!”
“Do you have no sense of hierarchy? Of course, as the Duke’s heir, I should have an audience with the Emperor first!”
“Oh! Hierarchy, you say! I’ve studied a bit since coming to the Capital! You’re merely an heir without a title, so you’re not technically nobility, which makes me your superior!”
“Have you never seen someone lose everything by obsessing over legal technicalities? Haven’t you ever worked in society?!”
Stop bickering already. Edison did arrive first, but that was only because he ran faster—we arrived almost simultaneously anyway. Since I’ll commend you both equally for your efforts, why don’t you both report at the same time? Remarkably, they both spoke the same name.
“Aelset said that Bock might be willing to help!”
“It seems Bock might be willing to take on the commission!”
The two of them, having mentioned “Bock” together, glared at each other with narrowed eyes. Oh, so this “Bock” must be someone well-versed in foreign trade? And since they didn’t just approach one person but contacted both Aelset and Edison—shrewd merchants both—it seems this person is quite the effective salesman too.
“Bock? I haven’t heard that name before. Is he trustworthy?”
“A divine spirit formed by a collective of spirits engaged in trade in the Southern Region. They’re quite prosperous these days.”
“You know that brilliant blue pottery that’s been trending since last year? That comes through their trading company as well.”
Oh yes, that vivid azure ceramic! I received several pieces as gifts at my coronation. So this is the person who popularized it. Perhaps a divine spirit who’s made a name for themselves in commerce?
“Metaphorically speaking, if I say ‘East India Company,’ you might understand the reference.”
“How would someone from the Mortal Realm understand something metaphorical?”
“Fair point.”
But the divine spirits would understand, wouldn’t they? From the atmosphere, it seems Kisomalos is absolutely appalled… Is their reputation perhaps on the darker side? Why do so many unscrupulous corporate magnates seem to gather around me?
“And from the nuance of things, there’s concern that Edison got taken advantage of. Ah, of course, I mean the divine spirit Edison, not me.”
“Eh? Taken advantage of?”
“Yes. Other parties subtly informed us that while this substance doesn’t exist in the Mortal Realm, it’s quite common outside.”
Hmm… so Bock certainly made a profitable deal. But you said only Bock reached out? That means they have an independent supply route, and if we can only buy from Bock anyway, there’s no need to call it being cheated, is there?
“That’s why monopolies are so terrifying. The seller sets the price.”
“The Conquistadores said they could break through the supply route if given time… but Father’s situation is urgent.”
Right. I can’t leave Father as he is, so I don’t have time to wait. And divine spirits’ sense of time is usually rather warped, so I can’t just sit around indefinitely.
“Oh, and there isn’t just one or two types of radioactive material.”
“Wow, it must be really common outside the Mortal Realm.”
“For now, they’re bringing uranium and plutonium as samples.”
How lovely those material names are. Among the constellations of Narac Star, there are the Uranus constellation and the Pluto constellation—could they be bringing these from those stars? Thinking about it that way makes it seem rather romantic? I’ve heard that among the stars in the universe, there are planets made entirely of diamonds, so perhaps the Pluto star is filled with nothing but plutonium.
“….”
If I’d told such a romantic story, these flatterers should have praised me by now, but when I noticed their lack of response and looked at Edison and Larima, both of them had frozen mid-motion, about to speak.
Ah, I’ve seen this phenomenon before. It was like time stopped when Media descended directly in person rather than sending a proxy doll. Is some divine spirit with business for me about to make a direct descent? Or perhaps Bock is coming to update me on the delivery status or discuss the contract terms for the commission?
I need to be careful when making contracts with divine spirits. I should keep my wits about me. It would be reassuring if Kisomalos were beside me at a time like this, but of course they’re never around when truly needed. It’s nerve-wracking to converse with an unfamiliar divine spirit alone.
“I concede. Forget about the plutonium entirely.”
“Wh-what?”
I expected something in human form to appear, but instead, what looked like an iron box materialized. More precisely, the iron box itself hadn’t come directly. Like the moving pictures Father invented, it was visible but intangible.
But unlike moving pictures, it had a three-dimensional quality—from the front it was an iron box, from the side it was an iron box, and from behind it was a winged iron box.
“Who are you?”
“URS—Universal Restarting System. Some call me Urshu. Here, I’m known as Laplace.”
“Wow! Laplace, you’re a box?!”
“Not a box. An artificial satellite.”
“Artificial? A satellite?”
A satellite—you mean one of those celestial bodies orbiting around Narac Star? But “artificial” means it was made by human hands, doesn’t it? Are you saying humans created one of the Absolute Deities?!
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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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