Black-Haired Dad Isn’t Something You Reap - Chapter 75
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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 75. Typically, visiting one’s maternal grandmother’s estate means being treated to her secret weapon. Ours was marinated flounder. (6)
“This is a crown bestowed upon the ancestor of old Lorowi who achieved the most victories in battle. There are no precise records, but it has been passed down through oral tradition.”
“Wow, so Lorowi was skilled in combat even before recorded history?”
“But it’s remarkable not only that they excelled at fighting, but also that they possessed the technology to craft golden crowns.”
“No, that’s plunder.”
….
….
….
Why are you boasting about such a thing? Maternal Grandmother, I’m genuinely embarrassed.
Feeling the same shame radiating from her that I’d sensed from my Aunt, I realized blood truly cannot lie. I wriggled down from Grandmother’s lap, took my friends’ hands, and we toured the History Museum.
As we progressed from ancient to modern weapons, Shirley’s and my screams grew louder, while Grandmother flexed her shoulders and boasted about how this weapon killed ten thousand, how that one slew a hundred thousand.
“Kyaaaaaah! The Mk series—and it’s even the Mark One!”
“Whoa! The ancestor of modern tanks!”
“Grandmother! Can we ride it? Can we ride it?!”
“That one’s rusted—the doors won’t open.”
Ugh.
When Shirley and I deflated with disappointment, Grandmother offered hope for the future.
“At the Training Facility, there should still be operational ones. When you visit, you can ride the new ones and the old ones too.”
“Yay!”
“You’re the best! Pisha, you must be so glad to be from Lorowi!”
“I am! I’ve never been happier about being Lorowi than I am today!”
After completing our circuit of the History Museum, we were growing hungry. I was thinking it would be perfect to head back and have dinner, when I spotted the Chief Attendant Grandmother and my Maternal Grandmother locked in another fierce argument in front of a massive vault.
“Why do you keep insisting on opening a vault that holds national security secrets, you stubborn old woman?!”
“My granddaughter has come to visit—surely I should show her my secret weapon!”
“You’d sell out national security just to impress your granddaughter?!”
“If Lorowi can keep fighting, what does it matter which nation we belong to!”
“I’ll have you executed for treason, mark my words!”
So they’d been arguing about the vault all this time? I stepped between the two of them to stop the quarrel and asked what lay beyond the vault. My Maternal Grandmother answered with a perfectly composed expression, saying something utterly insane.
“There’s a tactical weapon capable of obliterating a small nation in a single strike.”
“Are you mad?! Don’t you dare open that vault!”
“Why not? It’s an explosive divine artifact that the pacifist Lorowi from three generations ago poured ten years of accumulated power into.”
My predecessor said such an opportunity to witness this was rare, and I’ll admit, I was tempted. But I had a more pressing concern.
“Even so, state secrets are… well, that’s complicated.”
“Why? As the Princess, you have the right to see it.”
“It’s just that…”
I’m fine with Croa knowing, but if Shirley learns how to open that vault, there’s no telling what that lunatic might do.
“Hehehehe, you’re right, Pisha. Such a rare opportunity—we really should take a peek.”
Look at this fool drooling. With that sharp mind of hers, if she sees how to open the vault once, she could come back anytime and ransack it.
I didn’t want to say anything unpleasant in front of Shirley, so I approached my Maternal Grandmother and tugged at the hem of her pants. When she crouched down to meet my eye level, I whispered to her about what kind of person Shirley really was.
“She’s the one who suggested deploying construction workers every time the Capital expanded.”
“Hmm, so that’s the useful friend you mentioned.”
“Since she’s genuinely brilliant, it’s better not to show her how things work.”
After I explained the situation, my Maternal Grandmother nodded in understanding. Then she patted my head and smiled mischievously as she spoke softly.
“If you want to see it later, come by yourself in secret.”
“Mm. I’ll keep an eye out for the chance.”
Truth be told, I’m curious about what a weapon capable of obliterating an entire nation looks like. Explosion divine stones are usually in the form of red gems—could this be an enormously enlarged version of that?
“Dinner should already be prepared. Let’s head back now.”
Yes, let’s go eat!
I grabbed my Maternal Grandmother with one hand and the Chief Attendant Grandmother with the other, then swung between them as we walked.
After washing our hands with my friends and entering the Dining Hall, my Aunt was already seated at the long table. She patted the chair beside her enthusiastically, urging me to sit, but I lightly ignored her and sat across instead.
“Pisha! If you sit next to me, I can even cut your meat for you beforehand!”
“You were just fussing the other day about using a fork and knife properly according to etiquette.”
I elegantly tore into my dinner roll and savored the courses as they arrived in sequence. Eating without making a sound with my utensils according to proper etiquette, both the Chief Attendant Grandmother and my Maternal Grandmother watched me with satisfaction.
“That’s strange—our Pisha was never like this.”
“Pisha is quite good at playing innocent when she wants to be.”
“Right, when it’s just us, she grabs an entire ice cream and just—”
“Hey!”
As Shirley and Croa snickered and exposed my secrets, I scolded them to behave properly while eating.
When there was time for conversation while waiting for the next course, my Maternal Grandmother finally broached the main topic with that familiar question.
“So. Did the Air Force truly originate from my granddaughter’s mind?”
“I’ve told you multiple times—yes.”
“How did you come up with such an idea?”
“Well, um, you see…”
I pondered where to begin my explanation, then recalled the era when trench warfare dominated.
“When tanks first appeared, their primary purpose was transportation, remember?”
“Indeed. Armored vehicles were adopted by the military to safely transport soldiers.”
“But when I went to the Empire recently, I saw Choco and the Empire’s soldiers using airships for movement and invasion.”
The Army had already progressed through the stage of using armored vehicles to transport soldiers and supplies, and mounting machine guns on them as weapons. So if we already knew how things would develop anyway, why not skip the intermediate stages and apply them to the Air Force instead?
Using the skies would accelerate supply lines, and the Airborne Division would be perfect for surprise attacks. As I rattled all this off, my Maternal Grandmother continued nodding with a pleased expression.
Then, in a solemn voice, she called me by my pet name.
“Pisha.”
“Cough!”
“Pfft!”
The Chief Attendant Grandmother choked. My Aunt spit out the water she was drinking.
“Will you not succeed Lorowi?”
“Hack.”
I pounded my chest as if I were choking.
“Cough! I clearly—cough!—won’t presume—cough!”
I’m going to suffocate—please calm down and speak, Chief Attendant Grandmother.
Tania Listo coughed tremendously as she pulled out a handkerchief, then gulped down a glass of water and raised her voice.
“Pisha is the Princess of Kisomalos! I told you not to presume!”
So now you’re calling me Pisha too.
What am I supposed to do about this? At this rate, one by one people will start calling me Pisha until the entire nation does. I glance at my Aunt to assign blame, but she deftly turns her head away, avoiding my gaze.
“You mean Kisomalos, who hasn’t shown up for Halloween or Christmas in years? Is he dead?”
“How dare you speak such nonsense!”
Wait—Lorowi knew Kisomalos wasn’t coming all along? I’d brushed off Christmas by thinking maybe he couldn’t attend because his biological father died, and I thought the Halloween celebration would be fine since the Emperor suggested we hold a memorial service for him with Chiron instead?!
“Th-th-th-th-th-th-that is, um, not the case?”
“This is maddening. In this regard, you’re just like him.”
“I say this having served the descendants of Kisomalos for two generations now—that man has a poor reputation even among the gods, he’s irresponsible and willful! Not showing up for a few years is hardly an incident!”
The Chief Attendant Grandmother is being too harsh on Kisomalos, isn’t she? I stare at her with my mouth agape, wondering how she could say such things, and she glares back defiantly as if to say she’s said nothing wrong.
“It’s the truth, isn’t it!”
“But still, there’s a matter of how one expresses things…”
“That’s exactly why he shouldn’t avoid visiting just because he killed Helbatro! With the Imperial Family already unstable, he should have come to see Pisha and solidified his authority!”
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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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