How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 239

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

How to Replace Father
Chapter 239
“Ah, what an honor to meet Prince Luciano.”
The man who introduced himself as Constance acknowledged Luciano’s presence.
He already knew we’d heard his voice, yet only now did he choose to acknowledge us.
So this was the Yohael Faction—utterly devoid of manners.
But Luciano was worse.
He simply walked past without a word.
“My, my….”
“Heh….”
The nobility gathered around Constance shifted awkwardly.
Constance’s face had flushed red with contempt.
“We shall see you at the banquet!”
He managed one more word, his voice dripping with barely suppressed anger.
He was referring to the banquet where Calypso’s trait would be unveiled.
A deliberate challenge—don’t pretend you don’t know me then.
Luciano merely raised an eyebrow.
And so we slipped past Constance and his circle.
Once we reached a quieter corner, Luciano asked.
“What just happened?”
I explained to Luciano that the deity who had commissioned my task was the Angel Bearing the Torch.
I’d gone through all that trouble in the Gillosse Kingdom and retrieved the Fragment of Grace.
But Constance had completed the task first?
“I’m not sure. Let me check right away.”
Luciano nodded.
I couldn’t access Channel 3, so I’d have to verify with Grian.
But Grian was from Ilfarm.
Communications with foreigners could be monitored.
To confirm directly, I left the Imperial Palace.
And soon arrived discreetly at the inn where Grian was staying.
To avoid being followed, I’d come in a shabby carriage without the family crest and descended through the back entrance, heading straight for the inn.
The hall was loud and chaotic.
‘Grian… where is Grian….’
I pulled my hood low and glanced around.
“What is it. Is this one cleaning house again?”
“Damn it. I won’t even make back tonight’s room fee.”
Among the men dealing cards, I spotted a familiar silhouette.
Gold coins were piled on the table like mountains—I stopped short.
‘This isn’t some casual game….’
That amount of money was serious gambling.
Grian spoke, clasping her hands together.
“It seems the Divine has not withdrawn its favor from me today.”
Such words would never come from a priestess’s lips.
I stared at Grian as she dealt the cards, my hands on my hips.
Grian dealt the cards with a soft smile.
But something was off.
To these eyes, trained in gambling dens, it was obvious.
I seized Grian’s wrist with a sharp grip.
“That favor seems to come from your fingers, not the Divine.”
“Saint—!”
Grian flinched, having started to say “Saint.”
I spoke with a smile.
“Card Bottom Dealing is an outdated technique.”
At that, the men dealing cards stopped.
“Card bottom dealing?”
“You’re saying she cheated?!”
As the atmosphere turned ugly, Grian laughed awkwardly.
“What do you mean.”
“This gentleman has the Ace of Spades.”
I flipped over the card of the man on my right.
It was the Ace of Spades.
“And this gentleman has the Three of Spades.”
I flipped the card of the man on my left.
Three of Spades.
“And across from him, the Two of Spades.”
The man opposite had the Two of Spades.
“And you must have the Four of Spades.”
Grian’s card was indeed the Four of Spades.
Grian flinched.
“The deck was arranged so Spades are useless, but if these gentlemen exchange Spades, it becomes a Straight Flush.”
“Ha ha… but how do you know cards so well….”
Grian laughed uncomfortably.
The men flipped the table.
“This bastard—!”
“I won’t let this slide!”
“Get an axe!”
Grian was grabbed by the collar and turned to me with a pleading look.
It was the look of someone silently begging, ‘Why did you have to expose this!’
I shrugged.
My expression said: be grateful I didn’t report you to the Guard Corps.
* * *
The gambling operation was ruined.
The gold coins were seized entirely.
Grian returned to her room with a gloomy expression.
She narrowed her eyes at me as I followed her in.
Grian spoke.
“I was just trying to earn some spending money. Why are you interfering?”
“I just saved you.”
“Excuse me?”
“The innkeeper was running gambling openly in the hall. Do you know why I didn’t report it?”
“Because it has nothing to do with you?”
“No. If the inn is used as a gambling den, the owner gets punished too.”
“Then why?”
I pulled a picture frame from the wall.
And smashed the magical device embedded behind the frame with the hilt of my sword.
“I was about to extort them—double what they’re worth. The innkeeper probably has deep ties with local gangsters. Those men were likely part of the same group.”
This magical device must be for recording evidence.
The fact that they’d gone to the trouble of installing it meant they were serious blackmailers.
“It seems the moment has come for the nun to breathe fire.”
Grian quietly called forth her sword, Sister Benessa, gripping it.
I grabbed Grian’s shoulder and forced her back into her seat.
“If you don’t want to get arrested for beating up an Imperial citizen, sit still.”
Grian’s expression was sullen.
But soon she shrugged and spoke.
“Yes, no need to risk my life over a bit of entertainment.”
“Gambling isn’t entertainment…. Anyway.”
I looked at Grian.
“The Fragment of Grace—where is it?”
“Ha ha, I’ve been keeping it safe, naturally. You told me to hold onto it until we determined its use.”
That was true.
The Fragment of Grace was an incredibly precious relic.
If the reward the Angel Bearing the Torch was to bestow was less than the Fragment of Grace, it was better to keep it.
So I’d left it with Grian until we confirmed what trait the Angel Bearing the Torch would grant.
If anyone came seeking the Fragment of Grace, it was better that Grian had it.
If it fell into enemy hands, I’d have her destroy it immediately.
Only the one who received the task could complete it, and only their destruction would end the task.
“You’re keeping it safe?”
“Of course.”
Grian rummaged through her bag.
She seemed to be intending to show me the Fragment of Grace.
‘Right, we definitely have the Fragment of Grace.’
But then how had the task been completed and the trait obtained?
Pondering such thoughts, I asked.
“Has anything unusual happened on Channel 3?”
“….”
“Grian?”
“….”
Something was wrong with Grian.
Her hands, rummaging through the bag, had stopped, and she’d gone quiet.
“What is it.”
“….”
“No—!”
I snatched Grian’s bag and turned it upside down.
‘It’s not there.’
The Fragment of Grace was gone.
“What—! What happened?!”
He quietly opened his hand.
The sword, veiled and bound at the hilt, Sister Benessa appeared.
“Wait. I’ll go kill the innkeeper and be back.”
“You were stolen from!”
“….”
Grian left the room, sword in hand.
An enormous killing intent radiated from his back.
* * *
Thirty minutes later.
The innkeeper and his subordinates were kneeling with badly swollen faces.
Among them were the men who’d gambled with Grian.
One was missing teeth.
One had eyes swollen shut.
One had a collapsed nose.
They’d all been beaten in various ways.
Grian planted Sister Benessa into the ground with a solid thud, kneeling.
The innkeeper was gripped by the collar in Grian’s hand.
“You’re not going to spout nonsense about some outsider stealing it, are you? After planting a surveillance device?”
“That’s… that is to say….”
“Give it now and I’ll let you live. But if you lie, the nun will send you to the Divine.”
“No, really, I’m telling the truth! It wasn’t me!”
The innkeeper even burst into tears, prostrating himself flat.
Grian didn’t believe him at all.
The word of an extortionist who had guests gamble to steal their money wasn’t trustworthy.
But I was different.
If he was this terrified and still said no, it might actually be the truth.
Grian was about to draw Sister Benessa again.
“Wait a moment.”
I stopped him and spoke to the innkeeper.
“Then who took it?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t know!”
Grian gripped Sister Benessa again.
The innkeeper let out a sob, tears streaming down his face.
I waved my hand to tell Grian to stop and met the innkeeper’s eyes.
“You received video transmissions from the magical device in the room?”
“…Yes?”
“You wouldn’t be going inside every time to check the images directly in the device. You can view the transmitted images?”
“Well… yes, I can….”
“Show me now.”
The owner hesitated as he tried to stand, then froze.
“Can… can I stand?”
He needed Grian’s permission even to stand up.
You could tell how badly he’d been beaten.
When Grian nodded, the owner hurried off.
He returned with a crudely made device that looked just like a mirror.
It wasn’t as fine as the magical mirrors used by the Imperial Family or nobility, but it was a magical mirror nonetheless.
The owner showed me the images.
The video showed Grian coming and going repeatedly.
Then, when night fell and Grian had stepped out, someone entered the room.
“Who is that. Who is it?”
The innkeeper’s magical mirror wasn’t very clear.
It was dark at night, making it even harder to identify the person.
As Grian and I frowned at the screen, someone muttered from behind us.
“Isn’t this Hobbs?”
“Hobbs. It’s Hobbs.”
The owner and his gang were stretching their necks to watch the magical mirror.
“Hobbs?”
When Grian asked, the owner flinched.
“He’s a petty thief famous in these parts.”
On the video, Hobbs rummaged through the bag, pulled out the Fragment of Grace wrapped in linen, and left.
I asked urgently.
“Where can we find Hobbs?”
“Usually he loiters around a pub, but I haven’t seen him recently. Ah… I haven’t seen him since exactly this day.”
One of the owner’s gang members, a thug, answered.
Grian and I locked eyes.
“It’s suspicious that he disappeared starting today, isn’t it?”
“A petty thief wouldn’t know the value of a relic. He must have been caught by those who recognized its worth, or he’s been dealt with.”
“The key is finding this man….”
As I was muttering, the owner carefully raised his hand.
“I… I don’t know where Hobbs is, but I do know where he sells what he steals.”
“Where?”
“An underground market.”
“An underground market!”
I stiffened, and Grian asked.
“Where is this underground market?”
“It’s a place where shadowy goods are bought and sold. They usually conduct auctions. But because the Guard Corps could catch them, the location changes every time….”
The owner carefully raised his hand again.
“I have a participation token.”
“A participation token?”
“Yes, sometimes I receive goods instead of money from customers….”
Meaning he’d been extorting people and receiving goods instead of payment.
He must have been disposing of those goods at the underground market.
“The underground market opens tonight. The merchandise is announced in advance, and by now it’s probably been made public. Should I go check it out?”
“Yes. But.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Don’t go out of here thinking of bringing back another gang.”
I glanced at Grian.
Grian swung Sister Benessa.
Crash—a tremendous blast of sword energy—!
The hall split down the middle as if cleaved in two.
The owner and his gang went pale as death.
“That… that… that’s… that’s impossible….”
They had the look of people caught red-handed.
But I shook my head.
“If you want your subordinates to live, keep your mouth shut. Check the goods immediately and come back.”
“Yes, yes…!”
The owner dashed out.
Grian watched his retreating figure and asked.
“What if the Fragment of Grace isn’t in the underground market either?”
“I don’t think it won’t be there.”
“Why do you think that?”
“There was something odd about it.”
The way Constance insisted on announcing the trait at tomorrow’s banquet.
He’d deliberately created space instead of announcing it immediately.
It seemed he was trying to make a grand announcement, but from another angle, it looked like he was buying time.
“He probably hasn’t obtained it yet.”
The pre-announcement was likely to keep the nobility in check.
‘Something must be happening at the Imperial Palace.’
Before that, he probably made his move to overturn the board.
We exchanged such words and waited about an hour.
The owner came rushing back.
He said.
“Something strange has been put up for auction at the underground market!”
“What does it look like?”
“Like some sort of ceramic fragment…. It was odd.”
The owner relayed what he’d heard at the underground market.
“So they’re putting it up for auction!”
“If you want the item, you must follow the rules of this place.”
“You—!”
Apparently, a richly dressed man had had this conversation with the underground market’s operator.
Grian nodded.
“Then it’s confirmed. The Fragment of Grace is being auctioned.”
I clenched my teeth.
‘These bastards are playing with my property.’
I won’t let them get away with it.
“Where is the underground market?”
“It’s Robel Street District B221!”
“…What?”
I stopped short.
Because that land belonged to the Andres Marquis Domain!

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————