How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 205

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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 205
A faint smile spread across Oscar’s lips.
“Congratulations.”
Yuise’s eyes widened slightly.
“What’s gotten into you, speaking so honestly?”
I nodded quickly from beside Yuise.
Oscar was definitely the type to put up walls and speak his mind through them.
The moment I agreed so readily, Oscar laughed outright.
“You’re hardly one to talk about being evasive, Yuise. The strongest Irregular is Cesar.”
The Elite members, everyone except Cesar, burst into laughter.
Even Abel’s lips curved upward in amusement.
Cesar shot the laughing Elite a look and spoke.
“Don’t laugh.”
He said that, but I too had come to think Cesar was the strongest Irregular precisely because he couldn’t be honest with himself.
There were times I secretly thought of him as coy.
I watched Oscar, who was still snickering, with playful reproach.
“See?”
“See what?”
“It’s fun. When we’re together like this.”
“….”
I approached him.
He didn’t step back, just waited quietly for me.
“You know, when Father moved to Esgaroth Mansion, he commissioned the Sanmiguel Blacksmith’s Shop to forge new equipment for the Elite members.”
Oscar’s eyes widened as though asking what that had to do with anything.
I took his hand.
“Yours is ready too, Oscar.”
“…!”
Oscar’s eyes flew open wide.
I squeezed his hand harder.
So he couldn’t run away.
“Father’s waiting for you.”
The Elite members smiled along with me.
“Though you’ll get beaten half to death when you return.”
Cesar let out a dry laugh.
“There’s also hellish sparring with the Clan Leader. You know three months and ten days wouldn’t be enough, right?”
Yuise raised her eyebrows with a mischievous expression.
“And no snacks for you for a while!”
Antonio chuckled.
“I don’t really mind….”
Abel blinked lazily.
“Without you, keeping the troublemakers in line is getting too much. Help me out, Oscar.”
Miliano spoke with gentle affection.
And then….
We all looked toward Clan Leader Lorenzo.
He, who had kept his mouth shut since Oscar appeared, slowly moved forward.
I gripped the flinching Oscar more tightly.
“You’re busted, kid.”
I said it playfully, but Oscar’s expression showed no sign of easing.
He lowered his head.
Clan Leader Lorenzo studied him with an unreadable expression, then spoke.
“Salary reduction. One year.”
He said it as though issuing a threat.
Oscar looked up at him with a start.
Clan Leader Lorenzo was something like the spiritual pillar of the Irregulars.
To the Unit Members, he was sometimes a stern mother, sometimes a dependable older brother, and sometimes a mediator.
And now he was telling Oscar to come back.
Oscar’s eyes twisted painfully.
“I am the son of Arahan, leader of the Reconstruction Council.”
“You’re also the Clan Leader’s son.”
“There are those who know I serve the Reconstruction Council. Having seen my face, I cannot hide my identity.”
“When did we ever work in the light? In our assassination days, we were skilled at moving in shadow.”
“…I betrayed the Irregulars….”
Oscar clenched his teeth.
A heavily suppressed voice escaped with great difficulty.
Clan Leader Lorenzo placed his hand over Oscar’s head.
“Because you are family, your betrayal pains me. But because you are family, I can forgive your fault.”
Tears finally began to fall from Oscar’s eyes, drop by drop.
With his head bowed, Oscar wept quietly like a child lost in the world.
I shook his hand gently.
“I’m going to give you a title as punishment. Crybaby Oscar.”
Seeing me giggle, Oscar let out a small laugh.
“Spare me that one.”
Oscar’s expression seemed to change.
As if he had become the Irregular Oscar once more.
The Elite members—they were the ones who had missed that expression more than I had.
They came rushing in, putting Oscar in headlocks, thumping his back, kicking at his calves—roughhousing him without mercy.
Even Abel managed to land a punch.
After taking the Elite’s beating for a while, Oscar groaned and raised both hands.
“I surrender. I surrender.”
“If you surrender, promise quickly that you’ll come back. Wait, then what about team assignments? Your unit’s already been reorganized under Abel.”
At Antonio’s words, Abel looked up.
“I don’t mind if you take them….”
Oscar then shoved Antonio, who was clinging to me, and spoke.
“I’m entrusting my unit members to you, Abel.”
“…Why?”
“If I lead the unit members, I’ll inevitably have to show my face in public. And I can’t possibly do that, having participated in treason.”
That much was true.
Oscar looked toward Clan Leader Lorenzo.
“I cannot return immediately.”
“Why not?”
“The GM has joined the Reconstruction Council.”
“…!”
Everyone froze in shock.
I too narrowed my eyes.
“The GM?”
“Yes. He’s targeting you and the Irregulars. He said sending Marina was his greeting.”
“…That roach of a bastard.”
No matter how many times you got rid of him, he just kept crawling back—exactly like a cockroach.
As I muttered this, the Elite members burst out laughing.
It seemed they found the comparison apt.
Oscar continued.
“I’ll gather information from inside the Reconstruction Council.”
“That’ll be dangerous.”
“They can’t kill me. I’m the leader’s son.”
“But….”
I frowned and tried to let go of his hand.
But Oscar quickly grasped my hand again before it could slip away.
“Once everything is over and I return to this ‘home.’ Then….”
In eyes like golden and blue lakes, I was reflected with eyes wide open.
“I’m going to steal you away from Luciano.”
‘What?’
In the moment I was thinking that.
His lips touched my cheek.
I blinked in surprise, only my eyes moving.
The Elite members were in the same state.
“What a crazy….”
“Whoa….”
“If the Clan Leader saw that, you’d be dead.”
While they were chattering like this.
A window appeared before my eyes.
Irregular .
♥♥♥♥♥
♥♥♥♥♥

You may bestow a Mark.
Will you bestow it?
“…!”
If Oscar had a Mark, it would be a great help when he faced danger.
‘Bestow!’
*Master Panel*
Will you bestow the System?
-Upon bestowal, player switching becomes possible
After bestowing even the System, I opened my eyes wide.
‘I don’t need anything as great as Abel’s detached debaucher or Luciano’s Warden of Avalon.’
I earnestly prayed that a god with a blessing capable of escape in emergencies would take an interest.
Soon a window appeared.
[The Irregular captures the interest of ‘Messenger of Speed’.
‘Messenger of Speed’ bestows a blessing.]
A halo of light gathered at Oscar’s feet.
Oscar staggered greatly.
Miliano quickly steadied Oscar.
The other Elite members looked at me.
“This is….”
“Same as Abel last time…?”
I nodded.
“The narrative seems to have been completed just in time. But where did the Mark appear?”
At that, the Elite members began frantically flipping up Oscar’s shirt.
Oscar’s Mark was inscribed on his left chest.
“On the part where the heart is. How romantic.”
Cesar let out a dry laugh and spoke.
He was teasing me about the confession I’d made to him.
Oscar shrugged brazenly.
And so, concluding our conversation, I bid Oscar farewell.
Oscar left the place after asking me to convey his congratulations to Father.
All of us stood in that spot, watching over Oscar until he completely disappeared.
“So now all that’s left is the episode conclusion?”
Antonio said, supporting the back of his head with interlaced fingers.
I shook my head.
“That’s already done.”
“Huh?”
“It’s concluded.”
Episode concluded.
-Allies’ affection increases.
-Oscar’s understanding increases.
-Episode now available for progression.
.
.
* * *
Night.
I peeked through the door to Father’s Office.
‘Perhaps the communication still hasn’t ended.’
Messages came to Father from all corners now that he was the Heir.
Not only congratulatory letters from the High Nobles’ families, but the Imperial Palace had also made contact.
Since the night was deep, I’d come back tomorrow.
I was debating this.
“Come in, Yustea.”
Father’s voice came through the gap in the door.
He seemed to have sensed my presence.
I carefully opened the door and stepped inside.
[Since you’ve been so silent, I was wondering what was the matter, only to find you with your Father.]
A familiar voice came from the communication device.
‘Luciano?’
I opened my eyes wide, and Father nodded.
“His Highness shared with us the interrogation records of the Reconstruction Council members he captured. I thought it best you listen as well.”
We had captured several members of the Reconstruction Council.
Arahan, the Reconstruction Council’s sorcerer, and Soldier Narvan.
And Marina, who attacked us today.
‘We transferred Marina to the Imperial Palace immediately after capturing her.’
We opened an emergency gate.
She might attack again if she regained consciousness, so we had to move her somewhere we could truly contain her.
Arahan was said to even enjoy interrogation, so he yielded little useful information.
Narvan’s stubbornness was equally formidable.
But Marina was different.
[The Reconstruction Council and GM’s goal was to replicate your ability.]
“…Excuse me?”
[They intended to create a duplicate of you and possess the power you have.]
“You mean my Trait?”
[Not your Trait. The unique power you possess.]
It was utterly absurd.
“Why? The GM has amazing Traits too.”
A Trait that stops time alone was formidable enough.
All the Irregular Elite threw themselves at him before they barely managed to stop him.
[Their goal is the bestowal of Marks.]
“The Reconstruction Council has someone who can bestow Marks too.”
[You can bestow any Mark you desire upon an Awakened One.]
I was taken aback.
‘Any Mark I desire?’
Now that I thought back on it, something clicked.
I had indeed bestowed Marks that fit the situation with remarkable precision.
With Luciano, he had become a Chimera.
I had desperately wished for him to bear even the fate of becoming a Chimera.
The Mark I bestowed was ‘Destruction of Causality’.
With Abel, absolute numbers of enemies blocked him.
I had wished for the power to suppress a multitude of foes.
From the detached debaucher, I obtained the Mark called ‘Wicked Legion’.
And with Oscar, I wished for strength to escape in moments of crisis.
The ‘Messenger of Speed’ that blessed Oscar was unknown to me, but from its name alone, it seemed useful for escape.
“Since the Marker of Marks seems to be created by me, if I simply replicate that power I have and hand it to the Reconstruction Council’s bestower, it would suffice.”
[They said they would create another you this way and turn back the world’s time at the Red Lunar Eclipse five years hence.]
“Five years hence….”
Father grasped my hand as I murmured.
“Therefore, Yustea.”
“….”
“How would it be to leave the Empire for a time?”
“Leave the Empire?”
“…Five years. If you can endure five years, they will lose their chance, and they’ll have no choice but to abandon you.”
[His Majesty the Emperor said he would prepare a safe place for you across the continent. It is beyond the reach of the Reconstruction Council.]
“Please…give me time to think.”
I bit my lip hard.
[Very well.]
Father nodded as well.
I took my leave from Father and headed to my room.
* * *
After several hours had passed, as dawn was breaking, I huddled on the terrace.
My mind was too muddled to sleep easily.
I shut my eyes tightly and let out a sigh.
That’s when it happened.
“What’s on your mind so heavily?”
I startled awake at the familiar voice.
The one who had come over the terrace was Luciano.
“How did you get here!”
“I took a portal the moment the communication ended.”
“You said you’d come tomorrow. In the middle of the night like this.”
He took my cheek in his hand.
“Your cheek is cold.”
“…You don’t even think about the trouble you went through.”
“I did go through trouble. Pestering your father at this hour of dawn to open the gate. I’m a dead man tomorrow.”
He spoke with a mischievous expression.
I laughed shyly.
“I didn’t agonize.”
“You’re lying.”
“Really. I was only devising plans.”
“Plans?”
“For what to do once we return to the Empire.”
I placed my hand over the back of his hand that held my cheek.
Luciano’s eyes wavered.
He had sensed that I had decided to leave for across the continent.
“First, Mother and I will take a trip. And I’ll bring the Irregulars along.”
“…That’s nice.”
“Next, I want to go with Father. Since Mother and Father together would cause war. The Irregulars can come then too.”
“Yes.”
“And then.”
I looked at Luciano.
“I’m going to kiss you.”
“….”
“While telling you that I missed you. That I missed you so very much.”
In that moment, he rushed toward me like a tide.
Ah.
When had his embrace become so reassuring?
“Don’t even look at another man.”
“But I have eyes. How can I not?”
Luciano slightly lifted his face and narrowed his eyes at me.
“Then just look. Don’t open your heart to anyone else.”
“I won’t.”
“When you return, I want to introduce you to someone. By then, that person will have courage too.”
“Anything is fine.”
Luciano took my hand.
And from his pocket, he drew out a ring and slipped it onto my finger.
The ring was crudely made.
It was obvious who had made it.
I gazed at the inscription on the ring.
I swear to eternity
“I’m sorry our engagement is only this.”
“…What do you mean, only this?”
When even the noble prince’s hands had been rendered this rough.
I sniffled and drew his neck into my embrace.
After our own private engagement, I resolved to leave the Empire.
And soon after, I crossed the continent in utmost secrecy.
.
.
Four years passed.
“Yusi. Why. Me. Can’t. Marry?”
To a man three years my junior speaking broken Imperial with a deeply furrowed brow, I frowned.
“I told you I have a fiancé, Your Highness. Besides, you got that spelling wrong again last time.”
I am doing well.

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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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