How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 180

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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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How to Replace Father
Episode 180
* * *
I hurried to check the Communication Stone.
[The battle between the Imperial Princes and Black Cloud has been suspended]
It was a message from Oscar.
‘We didn’t miss the timing.’
I’d never been more grateful in my life.
I nodded at Guinevere and Roji, and they both let out sighs of relief.
Roji pressed her blade tighter against Narvan’s throat.
“Start the Telepathic Communication again.”
“How dare you—!”
“If you’d rather die, I suppose you’ll have fewer regrets that way?”
“Do you really think your luck will hold?”
“It’s not luck. It’s strategy.”
Guinevere tilted her chin up and spoke with satisfaction.
Here’s how we managed to capture Narvan.
1. Oscar pretended to chase after Guinevere disguised as me, drawing away Narvan’s guards.
2. When Roji attacked alone, Narvan, underestimating her, summoned Ghost.
3. I intervened and made a mess of Ghost.
Spirit Summoning Magic is even more advanced than Telepathic Communication.
Magic of that caliber requires a cooldown between casts.
We seized that gap and grabbed him.
“The matchup couldn’t be worse for him.”
Roji let out a snort of derision.
Narvan ground his teeth.
But he had no choice.
Narvan activated Telepathic Communication without protest.
[This bald bastard… ah, slip of the tongue.]
When I glanced at him sheepishly, Narvan’s face flushed crimson.
Regardless, I continued.
[If you want this man back safely, surrender.]
A different telepathic voice suddenly came through.
[Nonsense.]
I recognized this voice.
‘It’s Leira, the one I faced in the Family Tournament finals.’
She’d vanished while we were fighting GM, apparently returning to the Reconstruction Council.
[So you were Black Cloud, an Elite of the Reconstruction Council too.]
[This isn’t the place for introductions. You don’t need to make one.]
[I didn’t ask for one because of that. Black Cloud just didn’t seem very threatening knowing you’re an Elite.]
[What did you say?!]
[With Lacoflower, you become useless…]
I spoke regretfully, and Leira cried out [You…!] in fury.
Guinevere, who’d suffered against Leira in the preliminaries, burst out laughing.
[I’ll give you thirty minutes. Gather at the Town Square and disarm yourselves. We’ll start negotiating the exchange there.]
Narvan is a small fry compared to me, but he holds the rank of Soldier in the Reconstruction Council.
We wouldn’t be foolish enough to throw a Soldier’s corpse at the soldiers’ feet.
If even soldiers became expendable, what would bind them to the Reconstruction Council?
[Thirty minutes.]
With that, I announced the deadline and jabbed the inside of Narvan’s knee.
Narvan glared at me fiercely, but when Roji pressed her blade forward, he had no choice but to float us back down.
“Good, that’s enough.”
At my words, Narvan clicked his tongue.
He thought I was being generous by removing the blade from his throat.
But instead of the blade, Roji’s hand came flying.
Snap!
With a sharp, clean sound, Narvan went limp.
Roji, with her monstrous muscle density, easily hoisted him onto her shoulder.
“Where are we heading now?”
“The Abandoned Lighthouse.”
If Terriars was perceptive, the moment he saw me with Narvan, he would have understood.
We were luring him to the Abandoned Lighthouse where he’d fought before.
As we headed toward the Abandoned Lighthouse, Oscar rejoined us from his hiding place.
He froze when he saw Narvan bouncing with every step as Roji carried him on her shoulder.
“Isn’t this elder abuse?”
“That old man attacked us in a mob first. Technically speaking, that’s self-defense.”
“It looks like excessive defense to me, but since we’re not exactly on good terms anyway, I’ll pretend I didn’t see.”
Though he said that, we seemed to be on very bad terms indeed.
There were moments when Narvan tried to retaliate even while subdued, but the moment he made any attempt at casting, Oscar quickly signaled.
As a result, Narvan only got beaten by Roji for attempting to cast.
Eventually, the Abandoned Lighthouse came into view.
The moment we entered, Luciano yanked me toward him.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
While Luciano and Terriars drew their attention, we’d planned to capture Narvan.
Since everyone knew about it beforehand, he seemed all the more worried.
Luciano’s furrowed brow wouldn’t relax.
“I really am.”
“I don’t trust your ‘fine.’ As soon as we return, get checked by the Imperial Physician and the Senior Priest.”
“I will.”
Just as I smiled, Roji spoke up.
“The mood’s nice.”
At her crude remark, Lomeban brought his hand down on Roji’s head.
“Can’t you show some decorum?”
“I could’ve twisted your neck and blamed it on the Reconstruction Council.”
I spoke with a bewildered expression.
“You were crying and calling for me when Olbera Youngshik collapsed…?”
“I wasn’t crying!”
“You were.”
“I wasn’t, I said!”
“You definitely were crying.”
“I said I wasn’t!”
As Roji growled, Lomeban’s lips curved into a grin.
The Prime Minister of Ilfarm, who was with them, asked.
“But who is this man? He doesn’t seem to be a guard or part of the delegation.”
He was referring to Oscar.
By now, he’d pulled his hood deep down.
Luciano seemed to have already figured out Oscar’s true identity.
And Roji, who knew Oscar was with the Reconstruction Council, glanced at me sharply.
If we said we were getting help from someone in the Reconstruction Council, Ilfarm could panic.
It wouldn’t do for the connection between the Holy Maiden and the Reconstruction Council to be revealed to a foreign power.
I paused to gather my thoughts, then opened my mouth.
“This person is….”
“A handsome stranger passing by!”
Guinevere blurted out.
The people of Ilfarm and Lomeban frowned as if asking what nonsense this was.
“What….”
As Lomeban asked, Guinevere stood in front of Oscar and continued.
“He’s a handsome man I’ve known for ages, you see. So he’s a handsome mercenary. We ran into this handsome fellow while fleeing and asked for his help. Hearing our situation, the kindhearted handsome man readily agreed. He’s genuinely quite handsome.”
“….”
“….”
Watching Guinevere chant her litany of “handsome,” the people of Ilfarm and Lomeban fell silent.
The Prime Minister of Ilfarm, who’d been quiet, finally spoke.
“It’s fortunate we happened to meet a handsome man. If he’s a capable fighter, he’s welcome.”
The way he emphasized “happened” suggested he didn’t believe it was coincidence at all.
Yet he didn’t press further and simply accepted.
It seemed he’d decided Guinevere was so obsessed with handsome men that she’d secretly brought one along for a date at the Port.
Oscar whispered to me.
“…What on earth is this?”
“It’s like watching butcher Collie look at Jane from the textile shop. Collie always cut Jane an extra thirty grams of meat.”
“Just how many situations has this Jane gotten herself into?”
“The important thing is you can’t hurt Guinevere.”
Collie seemed simple at first glance, but he was the type of brave man who’d throw his cleaver at troublemakers.
When I pointed that out, Oscar flinched.
“Anyway, we need to move on to the next operation.”
At Terriars’s words, the people of Ilfarm’s eyes widened.
“You mean this isn’t the end?”
“I don’t think you look like fools who’d waste this perfect chance with the Ilfarm Prince, the Imperial Princes, and the Holy Maiden all gathered in one place.”
“Even with the Soldier captured?”
“If I were them, I’d capture some of our people and string them up on gallows. Then I’d say, ‘Give us the Soldier or we’ll cut their necks one by one.'”
“…So we’re not the only ones holding hostages.”
The Prime Minister of Ilfarm gripped his head in frustration.
Meanwhile, Luciano had been checking his Pocket Watch.
I looked toward him.
Luciano nodded.
It was still far from dawn.
* * *
“The Portal still isn’t repaired—!”
Bang!
The Emperor, having shouted in fury, slammed the table.
The Mage Tower mages and officials looked troubled.
“Well, the Portal is a highly complex magical construct, you see….”
“This isn’t the place for excuses!”
“….”
The Mage Tower mages broke into cold sweat.
The situation was as dire as it could be.
Those trapped at the Port were not ordinary people.
The Prince of Ilfarm and his delegation.
The Imperial Princes and the Holy Maiden.
Even those handling the ceremony were heirs of the Noble Families.
The Noble Families had already risen in uproar.
The Mage Tower mages spoke hesitantly.
“Within another two hours, it should be usable, or so we believe….”
But that wasn’t the only problem.
The mages glanced at the Mage Tower Master.
The Mage Tower Master, swallowing hard, squeezed his eyes shut.
“Even if we repair the Portal, stabilization will take much longer.”
“What do you mean?”
“Simply put, we’re currently laying a new ‘path’ through the Portal. An unstable path is extremely fragile. Therefore, the number of people who can pass through is… well….”
“Get to the point!”
“Around thirty at most. And they’d need to be individuals suited for traversing a Portal route. But I cannot even guarantee they’ll arrive safely…!”
“What?!”
The Emperor shot to his feet in alarm.
The situation was escalating dangerously.
Considering the Reconstruction Council soldiers stationed at the Port, thirty people was meaningless.
The Mage Tower Master spoke, beads of sweat rolling down his face.
“The Lords of the surrounding regions have dispatched soldiers. They should arrive by dawn—.”
“How are the Ilfarm delegation and the ceremony attendants supposed to hold out until then?!”
By the time the soldiers arrived, only corpses would remain.
The Emperor’s face turned ashen.
* * *
We needed to find our scattered allies using Oscar’s Mana Reading ability.
“Why do we have to search for them now when they were scattered so long ago?”
As Roji grumbled, Lomeban replied.
“While capturing this old man, we had to scatter the Reconstruction Council soldiers, so it couldn’t be helped.”
Finding them again was to protect them from becoming hostages of the Reconstruction Council.
I, Luciano, and even Terriars knew this operation was inefficient.
But there was no other way.
I whispered to Oscar.
“Where?”
“Inside the Commercial District.”
That’s how we found three people trembling inside the Commercial District.
“Next?”
“Two in the Thicket.”
One of the group we found in the Thicket was badly wounded.
I healed immediately and had Roji support them for recovery while we moved on.
The total number of allies we’d found was nine.
There was still quite a bit more to go.
That’s when it happened.
[We’ve gathered at the Town Square as promised.]
A telepathic message came through.
It was from one of Black Cloud’s members.
I looked toward Oscar urgently.
Oscar quickly bounded onto the roof.
“What’s the situation?”
“The Reconstruction Council has definitely gathered at the Town Square. But….”
He landed back on the ground and spoke.
“The Ilfarm Prince’s prediction was right.”
“…!”
It meant our allies had been captured.
“Your Highness.”
With Luciano’s help, I lifted into the air.
There were twelve gallows erected.
A person hung from each one.
[You should exchange hostages quickly. Unlike you with just one, we have plenty to spare—we can afford to kill a few.]
“What should we do….”
I was muttering this when.
Terriars, the Prince of Ilfarm, shouted.
“I’ll go.”
“Your Highness—!”
The Prime Minister of Ilfarm leaped up.
“Their target seems to be the Holy Maiden. As long as the Holy Maiden isn’t captured, they’ll keep the hostages.”
“So you’re saying we release the other hostages and have Your Highness take their place instead? That’s absurd!”
“This is what princes are for.”
Terriars smiled with composure.
He was a perceptive man.
‘He’d have predicted even this situation.’
Yet he pushed forward because we needed time.
We had to buy time, however we could.
We had to hold on until reinforcements arrived.
“If it’s me, I can buy a bit more time.”
“….”
“….”
Luciano and I exchanged glances.
Terriars smiled gently.
“I’m asking for your help.”
It wasn’t asking us to let him go.
It was asking us to bring the people of Ilfarm back safely, even if he died.
“There’s no other way. Besides, even if you try to stop me, I’m going anyway.”
Lomeban said.
“I’ll go with you.”
“We did the math to save at least one more person. With Youngshik added to our burden, we lose.”
“I am a ceremony attendant. I will serve my duties to the end.”
“Do you have no intention of coming to Ilfarm afterward?”
Terriars laughed, even making jokes.
‘Is there really no other way now.’
I let out a long sigh.
It couldn’t be helped.
“If it comes to this—.”
That was the moment.
Rumble…!
The earth shook violently with tremendous force.
‘This is…!’
Terriars, I, and Luciano exchanged glances.
“The Portal is activating!”
And the voice that rang out….
[Young Lady, where are you.]
It was Miliano, the strongest Elite of the Irregulars!
The Irregulars have arrived!

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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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