How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 225

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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
Chapter 225
[A task from the Rival of Intellect has opened.]
[The Rival of Intellect desires the Spear that Cleaves the Sea.]
‘Success, success.’
Even as I returned to the Archipelago, I cheered with delight.
I had received the task.
It was worth bringing Tekari along.
Who was Tekari, after all?
A legendary blacksmith.
In the game shop, if you put “Tekari-made” in front of something, the unit of currency changed.
‘The price of a Divine Weapon itself.’
So I was certain that with good materials alone, Tekari would be able to craft it.
Of course, bearing everyone’s hopes, Tekari worked desperately for two months.
And then collapsed, mouth hanging open limply.
“Even the old man can’t be worked this hard….”
“You were excited about making a Dragon Bone weapon?”
At my words, Tekari flinched.
Though he complained about being exhausted, when I gave him the Dragon Bone that had been stored in Esgaroth, his mouth opened wide as a basin.
He was so pleased that I had to go around knocking on his door, telling him to at least eat while working.
So that was just sulking.
I pulled out a Magical Stone smoothly.
It was what I had left behind after presenting a Magical Stone to Prince Ain before.
Tekari’s eyes widened and he rushed forward.
Then he rubbed the Magical Stone against his face and let out a cry of wonder.
“A Magical Stone? This is actually a Magical Stone?”
Tekari, the master blacksmith of the renowned Tecari Company itself, said he had never touched a Magical Stone before.
Tekari laughed with all his exhaustion washed away.
“Your face appeared in the Mirror World, so the Tecari Company must have noticed you. They might come to fetch you—is that alright?”
“Ah, then the young lady must protect me.”
That wasn’t difficult at all.
Even if the Tecari Company went mad and mobilized soldiers, with just a few Irregulars standing guard, they’d scatter like dogs with their tails between their legs.
Besides, no fool would forcibly take away someone under Esgaroth’s protection.
So, I had finished compensating Tekari as well.
‘Now all that’s left is to complete the task.’
I smiled slightly.
And so we took the Portal and arrived at the Imperial Palace.
Just past midnight, after the Seasonal Festival ended.
The Imperial Palace entrance was crawling with people.
All eager to see this ‘Spear’ in our hands.
I had left the spear in Father’s possession.
‘Divine Weapons are quite temperamental.’
I whispered to Tekari.
“Do weapons truly have a sense of self?”
“Yes.”
“How is that even possible?”
“Well, even I am astonished by this tremendous talent of mine.”
I stared at Tekari with bleary eyes as he hugged the Magical Stone like a divine treasure and preened.
Then Miliano chuckled and spoke.
“Because it was forged from Dragon Bone. It is said that things as sacred as Dragon Bone retain a sense of self.”
Dragon Bone.
Simply put, a dragon’s bone.
So the dragon’s sense of self remained, becoming the Divine Weapon’s consciousness.
This spear was so temperamental that no one but Father could even touch it.
When an Irregular Unit Member who wielded spears as his main weapon tried to touch it briefly, it absorbed all the mana and threw a tantrum.
‘Well, either way, it turned out well.’
A master of Father’s caliber wasn’t common anywhere.
It meant it would be absolutely impossible for Yohaël’s side to steal it.
Of course, I’d finish things before they could even try.
We entered the Outer Palace with great confidence.
The Emperor came out to meet us at such a pace he was practically barefoot.
The fact that he merely quick-stepped rather than ran was the utmost dignity he could muster.
“Welcome. Your labors have been great.”
Not wasting a single coin of national funds, we brought a weapon of the sort even a god would demand—and received an overwhelming reception.
The Emperor’s eyes gleamed with joy.
“What is that?”
I was tasked with the explanation.
As I bowed formally to the Emperor, Father set down the spear.
“It is Jormungandr, Your Majesty. A spear capable of cleaving the sea itself, to protect the Empire.”
“I hear you made it?”
“I merely requested it, Your Majesty. The one who forged Jormungandr is this divine craftsman, Tekari.”
Divine craftsman—in other words, one touched by the divine.
As I puffed him up generously, Tekari cleared his throat awkwardly.
His chest swelled so visibly he seemed tremendously pleased.
“I am Oroko Tekari.”
“You!”
The Emperor shouted.
I was startled.
Not by the shout itself, but because light seemed to emanate from the Emperor’s eyes.
It was the look of someone about to outright kidnap him and lock him in the Imperial Palace dungeons.
Tekari slipped behind me and hid.
The Emperor leaned forward sharply and questioned Tekari.
“Can you forge other Divine Weapons? Using the same materials? What about swords? How many weapons can you craft? What’s the average production cost per piece? Do your apprentices possess the same skill? Would you have no interest in working for the Imperial Palace?”
He didn’t seem to be breathing at all….
Tekari hid further behind me, his eyes wary as he spoke.
“Jormungandr is a masterwork. I cannot guarantee I could ever craft such a thing again in my lifetime. Moreover, these hands belong only to young lady Yustea.”
“…!”
“…?!!”
Everyone in the Outer Palace was thrown into chaos.
The current Tekari, who had fled the Tecari Company because he hated being confined.
More free-spirited even than a boy, he had never taken anyone as his master.
No matter how many nobles extended their hands.
Now he was even refusing the Emperor’s grasp.
For him to declare me his master was a major event.
From the elderly Marquis Nevarro and the generals who had served, to the great ministers—all dropped their jaws.
“Tekari….”
“Huh… I never thought to see such a thing in my life.”
“What exactly is this child? She gathers every talented individual under her wing as if the heavens themselves ordained it.”
“She is quite remarkable.”
Those on the Empress’s side had gone pale.
They had poured astronomical sums into financing the procurement of Divine Weapons.
To ascend with the new Saint Calypso.
Yet I possessed the legendary figure himself who could forge Divine Weapons.
In other words, thinking they’d found a blue-chip stock and wagering their entire fortune—the real blue-chip stock was someone else entirely.
And one with an ability unique in all the world.
“Oh my, how remarkable you are indeed.”
“Truly, the seed of glory that shall dispel the Empire’s darkness.”
The noble ladies from the Empress’s faction quietly approached me.
But I erased my expression entirely.
‘I know about everything you said to Mother and Empress Regina. You lot.’
At that expression, the noble ladies flinched.
Empress Regina shrieked with delight and clapped her hands.
“My daughter-in-law is the best~.”
Her beaming face was like a girl meeting her first love.
Meanwhile, all color drained from the Empress’s face.
I met the Empress’s gaze and arched my brow.
Without looking away, I spoke to the Emperor.
“A task identical to the one Calypso received has come through the common channel. If you permit, I shall complete the task here and now.”
“This…!”
It wasn’t the Emperor who cried out.
It was the Empress, ghastly pale, who couldn’t help but emit a strangled moan.
If I completed the task here, there was no hiding it.
The Empress and Yohaël’s Divine Weapon acquisition—funded by squeezing every last coin from the Sanponce Family—would be utterly ruined.
The Emperor chuckled and nodded.
“Do as you wish.”
I stood before the spear Father had set down.
Then, from outside the door came the sound of thundering footsteps—thump, thump, thump, thump!
It was Yohaël and his maternal grandfather, Duke Sanponce, rushing over after hearing the news from the Western Sea.
When they fixed me with stern faces.
“I present to the Rival of Intellect the Spear that Cleaves the Sea.”
In that instant, a flood of light converged on Jormungandr.
A deep rumbling sound filled the air.
The heavens and earth shook, and an indescribably vast force poured into the Outer Palace.
Jormungandr became transparent, then vanished without a trace.
And.
[‘Master of Countless Unorthodox Ones’ has completed the task.]
[The Spear that Cleaves the Sea has been delivered.]
A system window appeared before my eyes.
[Points Settlement in Progress]
[Points Settlement Complete.]
—Current Points: 1,023
Please enter your request.
*Resurrection is impossible for those who have passed more than six hours.
*Requests that transcend Causality cannot be processed.
‘Enter my request?’
Was it saying my wish could come true?
A higher deity can do this too!
10, 9, 8, 7….
The countdown had begun.
Once this count ended, I might not be able to enter a request.
‘Um… um… so….’
I hastily entered the first request that came to mind.
Then.
Request processed.
Such a window appeared and vanished.
I stared blankly into empty space.
“How… how did it go…?”
The Emperor stared at me with eager anticipation.
Others also fixed their attention on me.
“…Magical Stones.”
“What?”
“I requested Magical Stones.”
It was the only thing I could think of on the spot.
The conditions had been so strict.
It would be a utilitarian wish that could satisfy both the Emperor’s and the people’s hopes.
Something not easily obtainable by human effort.
A wish that wouldn’t transcend Causality—or so it seemed, anyway, given the story-like quality.
The first thing that came to mind was the Magical Stone in Tekari’s hands.
“Magical Stones? Where could they be….”
People looked about in every direction.
But the Magical Stones were nowhere to be seen.
“Ah, isn’t the channel really just a gathering place for liars?”
“Where are the Magical Stones supposed to be?”
People murmured in complaint.
Even the Empress’s faction wore expressions of relief, when suddenly—
The Communication Stones began ringing frantically.
Both Father’s and mine at the same time.
When I connected the call….
[Young Lady!]
The Clan Leader practically gasped as if his last breath were escaping.
“What is it?”
[Magical Stones… Magical Stones in Esgaroth… so many of them…! An absolutely enormous amount…!]
“What?”
The Emperor jumped to his feet.
“The Mirror World. Connect Esgaroth through the Mirror World!”
The Mirror World was connected.
And what appeared was….
“Good heavens….”
“This… this… what is this!”
“In heaven’s name—!!”
Everyone gasped.
I gasped along with them.
Because the entire Rear Garden of Esgaroth Castle was covered in Magical Stones—!
The strength drained from the Emperor’s shoulders.
He said.
“…So when are you going to marry my son?”
At that moment, Empress Regina lunged toward me.
“My daughter-in-law~!”
As she rubbed her cheeks against mine incessantly, I stared blankly at the Mirror World.
This was like an oil strike.
The Empire had instantly become the wealthiest energy-resource nation in the entire world….
The faces of the Empress, Yohaël, and Duke Sanponce had turned ghastly pale.
* * *
I nearly suffocated as I clutched the Magical Stones.
‘I received forty percent of all Magical Stones….’
Originally, all discovered Magical Stones belong to the Imperial Palace.
The Imperial Palace does compensate for them.
But this time there were so many Magical Stones that even draining the entire national treasury couldn’t cover the compensation.
After the Imperial Palace administrators and the Emperor racked their brains, they decided I would own forty percent outright, with the remaining sixty percent to be paid in installments.
Honestly, it was only in my favor.
Converting Magical Stones to money was complicated, but the Imperial Palace was giving me the payment for sixty percent’s worth.
“What will you do with the Magical Stones? Shall I forge weapons for you?”
Tekari bounced excitedly as he spoke.
“Yeah, yeah. Make them. Make a lot.”
“I shall do so without fail! Mwahahaha!”
“Replace all the Unit Members’ weapons. No more old ones.”
“Ohoho! I shall craft the Elite’s weapons entirely from Magical Stone, hilts and all!”
Magical Stones were even rarer than Dragon Bone.
Only an extremely small number of sacred weapons had blades entirely forged from Magical Stone.
The Elite punched the air or trembled with emotion.
But the most pleased were different people.
“Magical Stones… our energy worries are over….”
“The Clan Leader’s granddaughter is worth watching… coming to Esgaroth was the best decision of my life….”
The Administrative Officials of Esgaroth.
And.
“I always knew it. That you would perform a miracle someday.”
“It was worth enduring my retirement for this.”
“Even with the Clan Leader’s lousy personality, it was worth staying…!”
The Unit Members of the Clan Leader’s Team cried out in emotion.
Embarrassed by their fervor, I pulled back slightly from the Magical Stones.
“Lorenzo.”
“….”
“Lorenzo? Clan Leader?”
“….”
I had called the Clan Leader to say something, but he remained silent.
I approached him and flinched.
“….”
That man, who had once struggled the most for money while managing the Irregulars… was crying.

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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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