How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 237

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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 237
Abel caught up with me in a hurry.
“Why…?”
“I didn’t think of that.”
“Think of…?”
I had no mind to answer and bolted forward.
‘He couldn’t have gotten far yet.’
I ran quickly, heading east.
The east was the sector Miliano had agreed to search.
Irregulars mark their direction of movement to allies by pushing the torch handle inward.
I ran while checking the inward-pushed torch handles.
Soon I found him.
“Miliano.”
At my call, Miliano startled and turned toward me.
He approached me.
“What is the matter?”
“I need Miliano’s Speech Incantation. We have to enter the Underground Prison.”
“The Underground Prison?”
“We have to save Grian. Hurry!”
With Miliano joining us, Abel and I rushed toward the Underground Prison.
Upon reaching the Underground Prison, Miliano used his Speech Incantation.
“Your body grows rigid. You cannot utter a single sound.”
After neutralizing the guards, we infiltrated inside the prison.
“What on earth is happening?”
“What is…?”
Miliano and Abel asked.
I spoke.
“Until now, I thought the ‘Competitor’ who exposed both Grian and me came from outside.”
Miliano and Abel stared at me.
“Pardon?”
“What…?”
I clenched my teeth.
“But that wasn’t it. Among the outsiders who entered through the Inner Palace Competition, there was no Competitor.”
The task is to destroy the Fragment of Grace, the national treasure of Gilose.
Thanks to the Fragment of Grace, Gilose could possess the richest land on the continent.
Would anyone think a citizen of their own nation would destroy something so immensely sacred?
No matter how tyrannical the king is, there’s no reason to destroy the Fragment of Grace.
The Fragment of Grace itself is of no use to military strength.
“But it wasn’t. The ‘Competitor’ was…!”
Bang!
I kicked open the cell door where Grian was imprisoned.
Grian’s throat was being choked in the grip of a massive soldier.
And behind that soldier was….
“Release Grian, Your Majesty.”
It was Sorbiya, Queen of Gilose.
She was Michiya’s older cousin, the woman rumored to suffer from a deep illness.
The Queen slowly turned to face me.
“Oh dear. Eliminating you wasn’t part of the plan.”
The Queen laughed with a gentle expression.
Just like when she came to find me with Michiya—wearing a most friendly face.
“I didn’t know the Queen of Gilose had awakened her Pattern.”
She laughed softly.
“It’s thanks to the Empire. More precisely, the Restoration Council. They cured me of this wretched illness.”
It seemed they had cured her illness by awakening her Pattern.
The Queen stroked her cheeks and jaw as she spoke.
“It was such an amazing power. Pattern and the Characteristic. And so I wanted to have even more.”
“…So your pale complexion wasn’t from illness?”
“That’s right. You two stood out far too much in the competition, which made me impatient. And with him lingering around the Inner Palace, I lost nights of sleep. Sleeplessness is the enemy of skin, you understand.”
The Queen approached with clicking footsteps.
“It would have been better if you’d quietly been eliminated. But you’ve been clinging on, and he’s been hanging around the Inner Palace for days, robbing me of rest. Loss of sleep is terrible for the complexion.”
“Abel!”
At my shout, sharp fragments materialized in the air.
When Abel threw the fragments, the massive man flinched and withdrew.
In doing so, he hurled Grian aside.
Grian went limp.
It seemed he had lost consciousness from the strangling.
Miliano took position beside me and adjusted his grip on his sword.
“So she’s an Awakened One.”
“Yes. The Queen is mistress of the Inner Palace. That’s how she could know our movements, Grian’s and mine. And that’s how she exposed our identities to the King.”
The Queen smiled broadly.
“Don’t regret it too much. I have my own regrets, after all.”
“Regrets?”
“I didn’t expect that person to take such deep interest in you. I thought he’d twist your neck on the spot, given his nature.”
“It’s your neck that will be twisted, Your Majesty. If the body of the Queen destroys the national treasure of her own country.”
The Queen chuckled.
“Don’t worry. It will be the Holy Maiden’s party from the Empire who destroyed the national treasure!”
The moment she cried out, the ground trembled.
‘Is that the power of a Wide-range Technique?’
While I braced myself, Miliano yanked me backward and shielded me.
Looking in the direction Miliano’s gaze was fixed, I flinched.
The massive soldier who had been holding Grian’s throat was transforming.
Crack, snap, crack-crack—.
With the sound of bones twisting, he became a grotesque form over two meters tall.
As if….
“A monster….”
Except his body wasn’t made of mud, he looked like a monster wearing a flayed skin.
“Step back.”
“…Is he dead?”
“From the beginning, there was no human presence about him.”
The Queen tapped the soldier-turned-monster before her lightly.
“Bodily transformation is my power. If overused, it inevitably claims life.”
“…!”
So she had transformed her own body to drive out the disease!
The Queen looked at Abel and Miliano with interest.
“I’m excited. I wonder how perfect ‘soldiers’ these complete specimens from the start will become.”
She was targeting Abel and Miliano.
I spoke to Miliano while keeping my eyes on the Queen.
“Can we win?”
“Since he is unconscious, I cannot use Speech Incantation. And because we partially breached the Barrier to infiltrate, Gilose’s defenses will have strengthened—Abel cannot use his full power either.”
Then Abel spoke.
“What if I use the power of my Pattern?”
Repelling the Ghost soldiers was the power of his Pattern.
“No. If you do that, it will be noticed. If it becomes known that soldiers were summoned from the Palace, it will be war….”
It was beyond what I could manage.
War would break out.
It was unclear if the Empire would provide support.
If military forces were deployed in a war against Gilose, the Restoration Council would seize the opportunity.
It was a dead end.
[Grrrraaaaa—!]
The soldier-turned-monster roared.
It wasn’t a threat.
He was already nothing but a weapon without will.
As he roared, a tremendous shockwave descended.
The wind was so powerful I could barely stand.
As I staggered, Miliano caught me from behind.
But even Miliano and Abel seemed to struggle to maintain their footing.
“Evacuate with him.”
Miliano said.
I let out a startled cry.
“What are you going to do!”
“I will subdue him without using the power of my Pattern.”
Miliano kicked off the ground and leaped.
Avoiding the shockwave by taking to the air, he immediately struck the monster-soldier’s crown with the tip of his sword.
It was a blow with full body weight, but it only managed to press down.
The sword failed to pierce the monster-soldier’s head and shattered.
‘How reinforced is that skin?’
The Queen laughed heartily.
“Did you know that eighteen percent of the human body is carbon? Carbon determines the strength of steel. Used properly, a mere guard’s blade becomes laughable.”
I wasn’t particularly interested in that.
What I focused on was Miliano.
The shattered sword left him without supporting force, and he lost his balance.
The monster-soldier seized that moment to hurl Miliano away.
“Miliano!”
Abel immediately rushed in.
He seemed to be trying to trap the monster in a small Barrier.
But the magical energy scattered before the Barrier could form.
It was because of Gilose’s Palace Barrier.
Abel clicked his tongue in frustration and threw a punch at the monster-soldier.
But instead, his wrist was grabbed and he was hurled away.
I immediately healed Abel and Miliano.
“Come to your senses? Are you alright?”
At my question, Abel rubbed his head.
Abel narrowed his eyes and spoke.
“Go ahead.”
“But…!”
“I’ll follow after. Fighting while protecting you is more of a hindrance.”
I bit my lip.
But he was right.
“I’ll find Yuise and Cesar and send them. So…!”
I couldn’t finish my words.
“Ugh…!”
My whole body felt twisted.
“Young Lady!”
“Yustea.”
Miliano and Abel cried out.
But I gasped for breath.
My entire body ached so badly I could barely lift my head.
“You’ve stepped into my shadow.”
The Queen spoke in a sweet voice.
‘If I’m in her shadow, she can transform my body…!’
“Ugh….”
Abel and Miliano tried to rush forward, but it was futile.
Abel was seized by the monster-soldier.
And Miliano….
“Don’t move. Unless you want this child to suffer more.”
Under the Queen’s threat, I was gritting my teeth.
I squeezed my magical energy.
“How admirable. You struggle so. Though it will be for nothing.”
The Queen bent down.
Her hand touched my cheek.
“Actually, I don’t much care to possess women. Their natural bodies are too fragile compared to men.”
“Ugh….”
“Don’t worry. I’ll return your corpse to the Empire.”
“Kgh….”
“Now then—.”
That moment arrived.
Boom—!
Another tremendous sound exploded.
It was not the work of the monster-soldier.
The Queen startled and looked toward the source of the sound.
“I also don’t particularly enjoy harming women.”
“…!”
The Queen’s eyes widened sharply.
I grinned.
“Did you think I squeezed my magical energy for an attack?”
I’m sorry to say, but I have zero talent for offense.
I am a body without a single offensive skill.
And the reason I squeezed my magical energy was this.
“Grian…!”
To restore Grian’s consciousness.
The only ones with Patterns in this place aren’t just the Queen, Abel, and Miliano.
Grian opened his hand.
In that instant, a blade wrapped in Sister’s Veil appeared at its hilt.
“Since I’ve even called upon the Sister, this will not end easily.”
Grian slashed his sword through empty air.
And then.
“…Huh?”
The pain in my body vanished, and the monster-soldier’s form began to revert.
And also….
“Uh… uh… uaaaa—!”
Enormous blisters erupted across the Queen’s skin.
She gasped, struggling to breathe.
“…What is this?”
Abel muttered.
Grian grinned and hoisted the sword wrapped in Sister’s Veil onto his shoulder with a light tap.
“The Sister’s Blade. A sword that severs the power of Patterns.”
Ah, so that’s why the name used on the channel was….
I quietly clasped my hands together.
“Sister….”
The grace received was truly immense.
* * *
We bound the Queen tightly with chains.
We didn’t forget to gag her mouth.
Once the power of her Pattern was severed and she couldn’t move a finger from the pain of the disease, restraining her was easy.
“Sister isn’t completely removing her Pattern power, is she?”
I asked politely, as if I’d truly become a nun.
Grian smiled broadly.
“Unfortunately, five minutes is the limit. On good days, I can manage a bit longer.”
“I see. Then we should place her somewhere people can’t reach. Once she regains her senses, she might transform people again and attack.”
“Then a suitable place would be….”
As I looked around, Abel came dragging something.
“What is this…?”
“Wow.”
Grian’s mouth fell open.
It was called a Thorn Coffin—a torture device with needles attached to the coffin so the occupant couldn’t escape.
“This is….”
As I muttered, Grian nodded.
His expression said, ‘Still, isn’t it a bit much to lock a queen, a woman, in there?’
I spoke.
“That’s a great idea.”
Abel nodded with satisfaction, and Miliano smiled gently.
I quickly placed the Queen in the Thorn Coffin.
“Aaagh! Agh!”
“It hurts if you move~.”
“Aaagh!”
“I told you it hurts.”
Speaking kindly, I closed the coffin lid.
Then we locked her in the Torture Chamber.
With Miliano and Abel, our movements were in perfect sync—we finished in three minutes.
As we left the Torture Chamber, Grian stared at me in disbelief.
“Why?”
“Nothing. I just thought that I should never become your enemy.”
“…?”
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
I healed Grian’s wounds, and Miliano brought guard uniforms.
Thus we headed toward the King’s Chamber.
The path to the chamber was smooth.
Very smooth indeed.
“You cannot make a sound. You cannot move. Five minutes from now, you will forget all that has transpired within the next hour.”
Speech Incantation was a cheat.
So we entered the King’s Chamber.
“Is that the Fragment of Grace?”
“Yes.”
Grian’s eyes widened when he spotted what looked like a ceramic fragment caught on the horns of a cow skull.
So Grian reached for the ceramic fragment.
But our peaceful entry into the chamber ended there.
“You’re doing something interesting.”
…The Queen made us waste time, and the room’s owner had returned.
Abel and Miliano flinched and moved to shield me.
“Don’t shield me. Don’t shield me!”
I cried out recklessly.
The King of Gilose laughed harshly.
“Are you trying to persuade me to spare you?”
The Gilose Elite soldiers with the King gripped their weapons, glaring at us.
‘Cesar and Yuise still haven’t made contact. They must not have found the Underground Passage.’
Then I had no choice but to use the final method.
I approached the King.
He tilted his head toward me and spoke.
“Are you trying to seduce me this time?”
I moved quietly.
Very quietly indeed….
—!
I pressed a dagger to the King’s throat.
“Nobody move!”
The final method.
A hostage escape.

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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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