How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 109
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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How to Replace Your Dad
Chapter 109
‘Oscar saw the note.’
Just in case, I quickly got up and headed outside the door.
As expected, the note was gone.
I grinned.
‘I’m glad I wrote that note.’
I had written it before untying the thread bracelet.
In other words, since I wrote it when the transmission wasn’t active, others wouldn’t know that Oscar was a member of the Irregulars.
‘Oscar is wavering.’
He has feelings of caring for the Irregulars.
So my pursuit team members should be safe.
‘I don’t need to worry about the unit members’ lives.’
Just as Oscar did for me, he’ll take good care of the unit members too.
I was about to return to the table with a cheerful heart when it happened.
“Hello.”
It was Anne’s voice.
She had followed me with a bright face as I entered the room.
“Anne.”
“Yeah. Um, Anne did what Yustea asked.”
She must have delivered the handkerchief.
My face brightened considerably as I asked.
“Was it the man with the inverted cross?”
“I don’t know about that. It wasn’t an inverted cross pattern, but um, he was wearing a robe with a bird pattern.”
A bird pattern.
It seemed like she was referring to Cuaron’s hawk emblem.
“So?”
When I asked urgently, Anne looked up at the air and continued.
“And when Anne asked ‘Are you the man with the inverted cross?’ he asked ‘Do you know Yusi?'”
Only Father calls me Yusi.
‘It’s definitely Father.’
“That’s the right man. Did you give him the handkerchief?”
“Yeah.”
Father knows my handkerchief.
He had been displeased with it since it wasn’t a good handkerchief but one made by roughly patching fabric together.
‘My message must have gotten through.’
While I was thinking that, Anne asked.
“Have you eaten?”
“Oh, I was about to.”
“Then would you like to eat outside together? With my rabbits.”
Anne smiled brightly.
Ever since I helped catch Benjamin, Anne really liked me.
She gave me a better room than the one the Restoration Council originally gave me, and took care of various things for me.
“Let’s move the meal outside. Okay? You’ll like my rabbits when you see them too.”
“…Are you planning to bring Benjamin out by any chance?”
Anne pouted her lips.
“No. Then Hera or Arahan would steal him, so I’ll keep him hidden for now. Until the mask and skin are completely attached.”
“How is Benjamin?”
“Well…”
Anne said with a troubled expression.
“He keeps trying to escape. So I broke his ribs. Will he be okay?”
He probably won’t be okay.
People can’t be fixed by stuffing cotton and sewing them up like dolls.
But I smiled kindly.
“Hmm. Well. Next time let’s break his legs instead of ribs. It’ll be safer.”
“Yeah! I’ll train him safely!”
“Right.”
Anne told a passing employee to move my meal to the garden.
Then she tried to hold my hand to head to the garden but flinched.
I tilted my head and firmly grasped Anne’s hand.
Anne’s face lit up.
“Is it okay to hold it?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Everyone hates touching me. Even my colleagues in the Restoration Council. Anne casts curses after all…”
“You can control it, can’t you?”
“Yeah! I can only control it when I’m not angry, but normally I can!”
I must never make Anne angry.
I resolved with a kind face and headed to the garden holding Anne’s hand.
On the way to the garden, I asked various things.
“But how did Anne join the Restoration Council?”
“Anne was born with a special constitution that contains curses and was abandoned as a baby. Even the orphanage wouldn’t take Anne, so I grew up with the beggar gangs in the Tunnel District.”
“I see.”
“Yeah. The Tunnel District was dirty, and I was hungry every day.”
“…”
“Then I met the Restoration Council, and this place is pretty, has rabbits, and had Benjamin too. So Anne decided to live here for life.”
“…”
“Benjamin tells Anne she’s cute. Anne likes being called cute. People call babies cute, right? They call precious things cute.”
Anne giggled.
I squeezed Anne’s hand.
“Anne is cute.”
“…”
Anne flinched and looked at me.
I smiled warmly.
“I’ve never seen a girl as cute as Anne.”
“…”
Anne stared at me blankly.
Eventually, she smiled shyly and nodded.
We sat at the garden table and chatted for a long time.
“I’ve lived in the Tunnel District too.”
“But Yustea is a noble.”
“I was a noble but got abandoned. It’s cool under the tunnel in summer, right?”
“Yeah! Though I hate the smell and all the bugs.”
“In that case, you should grow white jasmine. It eats bugs and reduces odors. You can also use it as ointment for skin diseases.”
“I know, I know. Amazing. Anne enjoys talking with Yustea. This feeling is a first!”
Anne squealed and hugged me.
Conversation starts with empathy, after all.
But then it happened.
“Weren’t conversations with me very enjoyable? How disappointing.”
It was Hera’s voice.
Anne and I turned our heads toward where the voice came from.
Hera was smiling brightly as she looked at us.
And behind her….
‘Stella and Luciano.’
Stella looked at me with a cold expression, then quickly turned her head away when our eyes met.
Hera dragged Stella over and sat across from us.
Hera said to me.
“Did you sleep well? I hope it wasn’t too uncomfortable.”
“Anne changed Yustea’s room for her.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. Anne takes good care of her friends.”
“How naive, Anne.”
Hera tore bread from the basket with her hands while glancing at Anne.
“That girl is good at charming people. If you keep giving in like that, Anne might end up getting hurt.”
“….”
Anne fell silent.
Hera glanced at Stella.
“Isn’t that right, Stella?”
“Well… Yustea is the kind of girl who abandons even her own sister.”
Stella said while stubbornly avoiding my eyes.
Hera smiled sweetly.
“See, Anne. Even her sister says so.”
“Is Hera stupid?”
“What?”
“Anne knows. The one who abandoned first wasn’t Yustea, it was that girl. Yustea said she didn’t want to join the Restoration Council. But that girl used the Prince of Avalon as a hostage to force Yustea to do things she didn’t want to do, right?”
Stella flinched and looked at Anne.
“That was…!”
“The one who abandoned first was that girl. So Yustea can abandon that girl too.”
“I, I was…!”
As Stella stood up abruptly in frustration, Anne said.
“Anne likes Yustea, so it’s good that she’s joining the Restoration Council. But that doesn’t mean Anne doesn’t understand Yustea’s feelings. If the rabbit said it hated Anne, Anne would hate the rabbit too.”
“What do you know…!”
“It’s strange to do hateful things first and then point fingers when someone hates you back.”
Stella’s complexion turned pale.
Seeing her mouth opening and closing, Hera said “Ah” and crossed her arms.
“Anne seems thoroughly charmed. Look how she’s taking the enemy’s side. Benjamin won’t like that.”
Anne flinched.
I grabbed Anne’s muscular hand and looked at Hera.
‘Her plan is obvious.’
She’s trying to provoke Anne into attacking.
Then Anne wouldn’t be able to move for a while.
‘By isolating me like that….’
I looked at Stella.
‘She’s trying to make Stella attack me.’
To get rid of me that way.
It seems Hera really doesn’t want me joining the Restoration Council.
I put my mind to work.
‘I need a weapon, should I try to get one from Hera.’
I smirked inwardly.
Sorry, but I’ve been fighting social wars since I was very young.
Provoking with words is my specialty.
I looked at Hera and opened my mouth.
“Does the Restoration Council have a lot of free time? Or is it just you?”
“…What?”
“I don’t know if you came here to provoke Anne or Stella, but I can tell you have time to waste on such things.”
Hera let out a hollow laugh.
“What do you mean?”
“While everyone else is busy, you’re the only one killing time, so your role is pretty obvious.”
Veins bulged on Hera’s forehead.
‘So this was Hera’s inferiority complex after all.’
I thought about why Hera betrayed House Sanponce.
Angelica wasn’t a good mother, but she didn’t abuse her daughters enough to warrant betrayal.
House Sanponce also provided enough funds for them to live luxuriously as a wealthy family.
Yet she still betrayed them, and the reason is obvious.
‘Inferiority complex from not being recognized for her abilities.’
Anger at not being given a proper role.
I looked at the now cold-faced Hera and continued chattering.
“What will you do if you’re treated like this even after betraying? Think carefully, you might not be as capable as you think.”
Hera grabbed me by the collar.
Her eyes blazed with fury.
“I’m better than you, who just got lucky becoming a Saint.”
“Really? Shall we compete?”
“What did you say?”
“Seeing how confidently you wear knight’s attire, you must have trained quite a bit in martial arts, but can you beat me?”
Hera’s lips twisted.
She let out a sharp, hollow laugh and shouted.
“Bring swords!”
‘Yes, that’s it!’
An employee hurriedly brought two swords.
Hera tossed one sword to me with a thud.
We stepped away from the table and faced each other.
“I’ll give you three moves. Attack first.”
Anne frowned.
“Yustea, Hera is quite strong.”
She was saying this out of concern for me.
But I was cheering inwardly.
‘That’s even better.’
If we clash like this and the sword breaks, it would seem natural, wouldn’t it?
If I wrap it with bandages or something, I could use it as a dagger.
Just as I was thinking this and gripping the sword.
Swoooosh—!
The sound of wind being cut through was heard.
The gazes of me, Hera, Anne, and Stella all turned skyward.
It was the sound of a flock of birds taking urgent flight.
I gripped the sword tightly with a start.
‘It’s begun!’
* * *
Hera’s face hardened as she saw the flock of birds flying away.
Arahan, who had been concentrating on crafting magical tools while wearing protective goggles, looked up.
Oscar’s steps in the corridor also stopped.
It was an ominous presence.
People from the Reconstruction Council burst out of rooms and corridors, looking up at the sky.
“What is this?”
Arahan frowned and lifted his goggles.
Hera said.
“The barrier?”
Arahan pulled out a circular magical device from his chest.
There were no abnormal signals from the barrier.
“It doesn’t seem to be destroyed…”
Just as he was muttering that.
Beep, beep-beep, beep!
An emergency signal rang out from the magical device Arahan was holding.
“Strong waves from the southeast. Hurry and send a search party!”
When Arahan shouted, Hera turned around.
The soldiers quickly bowed their heads.
And just as they were about to run off.
Bang—!
Kwaaaaang!
Bang, bang!
Tremendous waves began falling from the sky like meteors.
They were so powerful that the barrier being broken was visible to the naked eye.
Oscar flinched and waved his hand in the air.
He deployed a new barrier, but it was useless.
Metal chunks came flying after the waves.
The metal chunks, burned red-hot by fire, recklessly smashed through the barrier.
The metal chunks were connected to some kind of black string.
‘Black string?’
No.
This is…
“Yuise, here, over here!”
Yustea jumped up and down shouting.
Right, it’s Yuise’s sorcery!
[Southwest, 11 o’clock direction.]
Some voice echoed through the air.
‘It’s the voice of the mage that Yustea supposedly brought.’
Arahan frowned deeply.
“What is this sound? There’s no noise in the audio at all. What kind of technique is that!”
[Deploying Antonio’s Unit. Please take cover for a moment, Young Lady!]
Antonio’s Unit?
From where?
Did they jump over the castle gate?
Hera and Oscar looked at Arahan.
Arahan shook his head.
“No, there was no such report… Huh, huh?!”
Arahan pointed at the sky with a pale yellow face.
Flat, stair-like things were laid out in the sky.
Oscar flinched.
‘Abel, it’s that guy.’
And men who had run up the stairs jumped down.
“Young—La—dy—!”
“Young Lady, here we come!”
Antonio’s Unit Members began jumping down carrying some kind of bags.
The bags made fluttering sounds as balloon-like things burst out from inside.
And the unit members who landed on the ground quickly spread out the balloon-like things.
Unit members still in the air jumped down.
Some of them misjudged their position.
“Ack!”
Just as one was about to fall on Yustea’s head.
Whooom…
Some energy wrapped around the unit member and slammed him into the ground.
“Ah, I thought I was going to die getting here.”
It was Yuise.
Yuise asked.
“Were you taking good care of the Young Lady, traitor?”
She had broken through the barrier and entered.
Just Yuise?
‘No, that can’t be right.’
That means…
Everyone from the Reconstruction Council’s gaze turned to one place.
Yustea shouted.
“Father!”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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