Black-Haired Dad Isn’t Something You Reap - Chapter 63

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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 63. There Are As Many Ways to Commit Fraud As There Are Twinkling Stars in the Night Sky, and Now That I Think About It, How Romantic (5)
“What a remarkable coincidence! I’ve only recently begun serving a spirit, but I had this strange feeling it was guiding me toward this village!”
Huh? A spirit merely conveyed a message to the household children? Could this be a particularly powerful spirit? As I mentioned before, only those of considerable divine rank can transmit oracles or messages to their descendants. While it merely guided the direction, I’m astonished that a spirit could exert such influence in the Mortal Realm.
“Perhaps it’s beginner’s luck?”
“That could be it. When I first started serving Netcha, my intuition was unusually sharp as well.”
“The spirit may have guided you here, but the fraud itself was your own doing, wasn’t it?”
Even if one felt an inexplicable urge to visit a prosperous rural village, even if the rustic wealthy residents seemed simple-minded, an ordinary person wouldn’t think, “Perfect! Let’s set up a scheme and swindle them here!”
“But!”
Yet this wretch spoke with such aggrieved indignation that he spouted utter nonsense.
“But these people believe everything they’re told! Wouldn’t that make you want to test the limits of your own abilities?!”
“Normal people don’t do that, you lunatic.”
What is this? Is he a born con artist? Or was this so-called spirit of light actually a spirit of fraud instead?
“Is the spirit specialized in committing fraud?”
“Like some entrepreneur who stole another’s invention and filed the patent first to rake in a fortune?!”
Shirley, your explanation is oddly specific. Have you been swindled over patent rights before?
“That was my original technique! I was the first to devise that fraud method!”
What else is this fool claiming to have invented? The cloth draped over him seemed stained and uneven, so I had Choco remove it—and witnessed a remarkable sight. Edison was genuinely weeping with grievance.
“I filed the patent first! But those Alset bastards! Crushing me with their power! Cowards!”
Another victim of House of Duke Alset’s tyranny. Seeing his tears, he seemed genuinely wronged, so I decided to hear more. Alset was a house I’d never looked upon favorably either, and perhaps I could use Edison to needle them.
“You see, there’s a man named Mercedes on the Western Continent who developed the heat engine!”
“A heat engine? You mean the diesel engines that are becoming quite common in the market these days?”
“You’re well-informed!”
Yes. I’d been watching closely before my return—vehicles using fossil fuels rather than Alset’s electrical technology. Our military vehicles relied entirely on Alset, and I thought monopolies were undesirable.
Now that I think about it, that motorcycle you rode off on earlier, the one making that loud roaring sound—it uses a heat engine, doesn’t it? An Alset electric motorcycle wouldn’t make such noise.
“I stole those blueprints and filed the patent first!”
“So you’re not just a con artist but a thief as well?”
“Please, hear me out!”
Damn, how does this criminal have the audacity to be so brazen? Thinking he was getting too full of himself, I gestured to Choco.
Choco simply raised her hand and struck Edison across the head. From just one slap across the cheek, purple bruises bloomed on his face and his lips split, blood streaming down.
“Yes, I was far too presumptuous. I apologize. I apologize. Please spare me. I apologize.”
Calm yourself and speak quickly. If you keep barking, I’ll strike your nose myself, so don’t worry and speak slowly.
“The thing is, patents don’t receive international protection, do they?”
“Well… yes.”
That’s right. The Central Continental Alliance has international laws we share, but they don’t apply in distant lands. Could this Western Continent he mentioned be outside the Central Continental Alliance’s jurisdiction?
“Yes! So I quickly stole the blueprints and filed a patent with the Kisomalos Patent Office!”
“And Alset interfered with you?”
“Yes! They bribed Patent Office officials to change the dates on my documents, claiming they’d filed first!”
You really are something. You have keen insight into trends, you’re clever, everything about you is excellent. Why are you using that mind for fraud?
“A pitiful wretch indeed…”
“If someone like that applied himself to studying, he could have graduated from Kisomalos Imperial University.”
“I failed after four attempts at that university.”
Ah… the entrance exam wall had transformed a gifted child into a con artist. If he’d only gotten into art school, he would have lived a life far removed from war, like that war criminal.
“So your claim is that you weren’t manipulating Achilles Territory at will, nor did you have some grand backer pulling strings to deceive the Count. You simply got excited because people were so easy to fool, and one thing led to another until things spiraled to this point?”
“Yes! Honestly, I got scared because things got so big! That’s why I ran away today!”
“A man who claims to be scared managed to rack up enough debt to trigger a fiefdom seizure and created a shell company to abscond with investment funds?”
“How do you know industry terminology so well?”
“The Princess receives education in economics, civil law, and tax law as part of her succession training.”
“That’s brutal…”
It seemed there were so many children like me flooding the market that Edison had failed his university entrance exam. Having given up on everything, he went limp, telling me to drag him to prison or court as I pleased.
“Hmm…”
But here’s the thing—if I simply let this con artist face legal judgment, my original objective won’t be achieved at all. What good does it do if he gets arrested? If he hasn’t spent the investment funds elsewhere, the Count will simply recover his money in full, and the fiefdom will merely become land that nearly fell victim to Edison’s fraud but was miraculously saved by the Princess’s intervention.
In that sense, I cannot punish Edison. Even if I did, it would be something for the distant future.
“How would you like to collaborate with me?”
“Pardon?”
“I need testimony that the Count is mentally unsound and incapable of managing his fiefdom. Same goes for his son, the heir.”
“Um, I feel like I’m sinking into an even bigger mess here. Can’t I just go to prison instead?”
“If you refuse, death is your only option.”
I am the Princess, and you are a con artist. I explained this difference in our positions matter-of-factly, but Edison—apparently having lived in some rural backwater—began lecturing me about individual human rights and the sanctity of life.
“No matter how much of a Princess you are! You can’t just kill someone without justification! Murder is a serious crime! It’s in the criminal code!”
“Don’t be alarmed and listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”
What I was about to say would likely shock even Choco and Shirley, so I took a moment to prepare my words carefully, giving those around me time to brace themselves before speaking slowly.
“Above the law stands the royal family.”
“Gasp!”
“Wow, such tyrannical royal talk.”
“Pisha, you sound like an Emperor ruling over a barbaric age a thousand years ago. That’s amazing.”
Well, isn’t that obvious? Criminal code or whatever—if the royal family says die, you die. Of course, if the other party is nobility, I can’t do as I please. That would spark factional conflict.
But the target is a mere commoner, right? A con artist at that? It’s only natural that I can do as I wish with his life.
As I stated this matter-of-factly, Choco suddenly jumped up from her chair and gave me a vigorous round of applause.
“Wow! Truly despicable! Even Chiron couldn’t come up with such thinking!”
“Thank you for the praise.”
“That’s not praise.”
“If I choose to take it as praise, then it is.”
“Wow, the best. Pisha, you’re truly the best.”
Shirley gave me a thumbs up on both hands, calling me the best. My, receiving such praise makes even the Princess feel bashful.
“With your testimony and this empty factory as evidence, along with documents proving an attempt to embezzle the fiefdom’s assets, the Count can receive protection under the adult guardianship system.”
“What’s the adult guardianship system?”
“It’s a system where a guardian, appointed either by court decision or guardianship contract, provides support for property management and daily living assistance to adults who lack the capacity to handle their affairs due to disability or illness. If the Count receives such a ruling, it’s essentially the same as stripping him of his title.”
As expected of a con artist. He knows the law well. Thanks to Edison, I was spared the effort of explaining it myself.

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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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