How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 7

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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How to Replace Your Dad

Chapter 7

* * *

Marina and I entered the lounge together, just the two of us.

I sat down on the sofa, but Marina remained standing, glaring at me.

“How shameless. Do you really think you can take this test?”

“I have a recommender, so why wouldn’t I be able to take it?”

“That recommender is exactly the problem.”

The Clan Leader is the chief supervisor of this test.

Creating the problems and selecting the final winner are both his responsibilities.

Since such a person recommended me, questions about fairness will arise.

Marina let out a sneer.

“Even now, run and beg that you can’t do it. You stupid fool who can’t even imagine how important this test is, where do you think you’re going…”

“Your future and your uncle’s future depend on it.”

I’m trying to think about the task, but she keeps buzzing beside me, making it hard to concentrate.

Marina’s eyebrows shot up.

“How stupid. Do you really think one test could affect my uncle’s future?”

She acts brazen, but there was panic lurking in her eyes.

‘I need to make sure she doesn’t bother me anymore.’

“You got caught by me for bringing in the Alchemist, so you ran to your uncle for help, right?”

“…!”

“That uncle of yours got caught by the Clan Leader for embezzling military funds before he could even help you.”

“…!”

“Thinking he might get kicked out at this rate, he even resorted to the desperate measure of kidnapping candidates.”

“…!”

Marina turned pale.

Her expression showed she wondered how I knew all that.

‘Even if I didn’t know about the kidnapping, I was involved in the first two incidents.’

Based on that, with just a little thought, I can figure out why the kidnapping that wasn’t in the game story happened.

“N-no. My uncle and I are…!”

Even after I explained this much, Marina kept making noise.

I let out a sigh.

“Enough with the excuses. More importantly, if you don’t stay quiet…”

I showed her my tightly clenched fist.

Marina, who had experienced being thrown down by me and bursting into tears, flinched.

Finally, Marina became quiet.

‘Good. Now I can think without interference.’

What’s important right now is the test.

If I fail miserably, I won’t be able to stay in this castle anymore.

‘No, I should say I won’t be able to live in this city, not just the castle.’

Since I’ve even provoked Count Sanmiguel.

So I have to pass this test somehow.

‘I’ve played this game, so I know the test content.’

But that was the test the Clan Leader had prepared.

Since I received the Clan Leader’s recommendation, there’s a high probability the test content will change for fairness.

Especially if Count Sanmiguel has won over the vassals.

Then the test content will become favorable to Marina.

‘If I were the Clan Leader, what kind of test would I propose?’

If it’s a condition that Count Sanmiguel would eagerly bite at…

Lost in thought, I flinched and gripped the hem of my skirt.

‘If the thought that just occurred to me is correct, this test is destined to fail.’

It would be a game where I have no choice but to be eliminated.

* * *

Colosseum within the Castle.

When the time came and we were called out, Marina and I looked up at the dais.

On the dais stood Count Sanmiguel and the Clan Leader side by side.

And filling the tiered seats of the Colosseum were vassals and clan members.

The Marquis opened his mouth.

“Marina Galban.”

“Yes!”

“Yustea Wuming.”

“Yes.”

He specifically points out that I have no family name.

The vassals who knew this test as selection for the prince’s attendant had displeased expressions.

Sending a commoner as the prince’s attendant doesn’t really make sense.

The current test candidates who were kidnapped are also noble young ladies, even if their family status is lower.

It also means we can’t just let the kidnapping of the girls slide.

‘So the test that can be conceived within all these conditions is…’

“The one who finds the kidnapped girls will be the winner of this test.”

I squeezed my eyes shut.

‘As expected.’

Unlike my reaction, Marina was desperately holding back a cheer.

Of course, since it was Marina’s uncle who kidnapped the girls.

Isn’t it almost like already knowing the answer?

Count Sanmiguel said.

“Marina Galban and Yustea Wuming shall select 7 soldiers from Sanmiguel’s forces to form search teams.”

This time Marina made a sullen expression.

All the outstanding soldiers among Sanmiguel’s forces are Irregulars.

So it meant that I, who received the Clan Leader’s recommendation, could form a better search team.

“This test will be broadcast through magic mirrors.”

With those words, Count Sanmiguel sat down in the chair prepared on the dais.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

With the sound of marching feet, the soldiers who had been lined up behind the Colosseum appeared before us.

* * *

Antonio glared at Count Sanmiguel with a resentful expression.

One of Antonio’s unit members opened his mouth with a determined expression.

“Should we kill him?”

“When I give the signal…”

That’s when it happened.

The Clan Leader, who was sitting next to Antonio, spoke.

“Don’t kill him. Don’t give the signal.”

The unit member who was drawing his weapon hastily shoved it back into its sheath.

However, Antonio still had a displeased expression.

“Does this even make sense as a test?”

“Try writing that down.”

“Damn it.”

The Clan Leader smacked the back of Antonio’s head.

“If it weren’t a test this advantageous, Yustea wouldn’t have been able to take the test at all. It doesn’t make sense for me, the chief supervisor, to recommend a participant either.”

“You agreed to step back from the judging.”

“That’s to prevent them from complaining about fairness in the unlikely event that Yustea passes the test.”

Antonio frowned.

‘He said just in case.’

The Clan Leader didn’t expect Yustea to pass this test from the beginning either.

“You don’t believe it, do you? Then why did you make Little Teacher take the test?”

“….”

“Why are you pushing a child into a fight she’s bound to lose and just watching?”

Antonio, a former gladiator, knew.

How cruel the word ‘hope’ could be.

If you win this match, you can escape from here.

With that single hope, countless gladiators cut down parents, siblings, and comrades.

Antonio glared at the silent Clan Leader.

A unit member under the Clan Leader spoke in a troubled tone.

“It was unavoidable.”

“How is turning a desperate person into a circus animal unavoidable?”

“This test couldn’t be avoided. The Marquis is targeting Antonio.”

“….”

“The Clan Leader had to choose between one of two. Between Antonio and that child.”

The Clan Leader chose Antonio.

And if it was an unavoidable choice for both sides, at least one benefit had to be gained.

So he proposed this ridiculous test.

‘Bring back the kidnapped girl.’

Count Sanmiguel eagerly took the bait on that proposal.

Antonio said with a hardened face.

“What a wonderful calculation method. Thanks to that, only Little Teacher became pitiful.”

The unit member under the Clan Leader looked back and forth between Antonio and the Clan Leader with an awkward expression.

“The Clan Leader also worked hard to create the best possible conditions.”

“You mean letting her select unit members from among the clan members.”

“Yes. Little Teacher has good relationships with the unit members, so this test will surely help… huh?”

The unit member who was speaking with an awkward smile suddenly stopped.

In the middle of speaking, he noticed the unit members Yustea was picking out.

‘The condition of the selected unit members is…?’

Antonio looked at the unit member with cold eyes.

“How is that supposed to help?”

Yustea picked out members without any hesitation.

“First, this big person. Then that even bigger person behind him. Also that even bigger person at the very back. Oh, and that biggest person over there.”

“No, why are you only choosing big people!”

The unit member panicked and looked at the Clan Leader.

The Clan Leader, who had been frowning since Yustea started selecting members, covered his eyes with one hand.

Yustea was destroying with her own hands even the one advantage she had in this test.

The member swallowed dry saliva.

‘Doesn’t she understand the situation?’

Count Sanmiguel had kidnapped the girls.

Naturally, he would tell Marina the location where the girls were.

In this situation, she should choose those skilled in covert operations, not ‘big people.’

Because they needed to follow Marina’s unit and find the girls.

But those ‘big people’ were…

Antonio’s unit members muttered with blank faces.

“They’re all tanks.”

Guys who charge in with their bodies first.

Naturally, they don’t know the first thing about covert operations.

“Is she assuming combat when they find the girls?”

“Still, finding them comes first, right? They’re all over 2 meters tall – can they tail someone?”

“Impossible.”

“Then…”

“Ah.”

The people watching Yustea had wistful expressions.

‘Little Teacher… she just picked guys who look strong…’

She teaches letters well, but she doesn’t know about this kind of thing…

Marina, who had been tense wondering if Yustea might organize her unit well, snorted in derision.

Count Sanmiguel slapped his knee and chuckled.

Then he poked his waist and sent a signal.

It meant to choose those with red inners showing under their armor.

‘They’re all search professionals who can use communication birds.’

Communication birds.

Special birds that can relay situations using specific frequencies.

They can relay situations from long distances, making them useful for searches.

Marina organized her members according to the Count’s signal.

They were all soldiers that Count Sanmiguel had hidden among his troops, unrelated to the Clan Leader or Antonio’s unit.

Thus, the selection of Yustea’s large search unit and Marina’s search unit was completed.

The person on the dais blew a whistle loudly.

The test had begun.

* * *

[Well then, do your best.]

Yustea in the magic mirror spoke in a cheerful voice.

And the big people Yustea had chosen…

[Little Teacher, are you really okay with us?]

[Hmm. How about we go change the selection even now?]

…Even they looked uncertain.

The people watching the magic mirror burst into laughter.

“This is quite entertaining to watch.”

“Someone was acting so high and mighty, I thought they had some amazing ability.”

“Indeed.”

Several vassals won over by Count Sanmiguel looked at the Clan Leader with sarcastic expressions.

Antonio’s unit members grumbled.

“Those guys don’t even know the taste of Little Teacher’s braised ribs.”

“Little Teacher does prefer big guys, but she makes excellent braised ribs.”

“She brews alcohol well too.”

“Of course.”

Yustea in the magic mirror smiled brightly.

[It would be good if we all move together.]

‘We should split up!’

Divide all seven people and expand the search range as much as possible!

The unit member under the Clan Leader grabbed his head with both hands.

While Yustea couldn’t quite grasp the test, Marina was performing the test excellently.

The forest near Sanmiguel Castle.

Marina recalled what she had heard from Count Sanmiguel.

“Swidden farmers gather and live at Nerdopalm Mountain Dry Stream. The carriage with the girls is hidden there.”

‘Uncle is really amazing.’

He probably chose that place to pin the kidnapping incident on the swidden farmers.

One of the members handed over a map.

Marina glanced at the relay-type magical device transmitting to the magic mirror.

“The moment the young ladies were kidnapped, the advance search team would have combed through the vicinity like catching mice.”

“That’s correct.”p>

“Yet they couldn’t find them, which means this was done by someone familiar with our Sanmiguel geography.”

“Where do you have in mind?”

Marina pointed to two spots on the map.

“The Mining Village, familiar with underground tunnels. And… the Slash-and-Burn Farmer Village that knows the treacherous Beech Mountain well are suspicious.”

I can’t act like I obviously know the answer.

Performance is important in these situations.

‘I’ll create at least one fake option for you, Yustea.’

I wonder if those big clan members will be good at covert operations, but come chase us.

“Let’s divide into groups of four, including myself, to search.”

“Yes.”

“You four go to the Mining Village. The three of us will go to Beech Mountain Forest.”

The knights simultaneously stomped their feet with a thud.

The Colosseum within the Castle, where the magic mirror was relaying.

Antonio Unit’s members groaned.

Marina’s Unit in the magic mirror moved in perfect unison.

The vassals showed pleased reactions.

“Mining Village and Slash-and-Burn Farmer Village. That makes sense.”

“Those two places have been particularly rebellious against the Ancestral Castle.”

“Seeing this, I realize that Lady Marina has a broad perspective on situations.”

Count Sanmiguel answered with a smile.

“She’s a child who thought of Sanmiguel’s affairs as her own. I was embarrassed to recommend my own niece, but I believed that child would do her best for this Sanmiguel.”

“A wise choice.”

While the vassals and the Count were exchanging pleasantries and laughing, Antonio Unit’s expressions soured.

The reason Marina could move like that was because she knew the answer.

Moreover, the unit members she chose were skilled in searching.

[Mining Village. Vicinity. Arrived.]

[Mountain. Entrance. Arrived.]

“They’re using messenger birds.”

A clan member under the Clan Leader frowned.

“If one side finds them, they can immediately join forces.”

“Composed of members who know how to use messenger birds? Count Sanmiguel was grinding his teeth.”

An Antonio Unit member grumbled.

There seemed to be no opportunity for Yustea to turn the situation around.

‘Should we be satisfied with just finding the girls after all.’

The clan member under the Clan Leader let out a regretful sigh.

It was unfortunate for this test, but Yustea was a talented child in many ways.

If she hadn’t taken this test, she might have been able to remain as a clan member at least.

It made his heart ache more knowing that entering this test was purely out of goodwill toward Charlie and Antonio.

But then it happened.

“Huh?”

The clan member under the Clan Leader looked at the magic mirror and was startled.

[Mining Village. Vicinity. Girl. Found.]

The messenger bird on the shoulder of the member traveling with Marina chirped like that.

Count Sanmiguel’s expression, which had been watching the magic mirror with a smile, immediately hardened.

‘What?’

Mining Village?

The girls were at the Slash-and-Burn Farmer Village, not the Mining Village.

But they found them at the Mining Village?

Marina in the magic mirror also looked confused.

[That can’t be. It’s not the Mining Village but…!]

Then she noticed the relay magical device and covered her mouth.

Marina stiffened as she ran her hand through her hair.

She looked like she was pondering why a girl was found at the Mining Village.

Count Sanmiguel hurriedly looked at his aide.

The aide rushed over and whispered.

“We didn’t move them from the Slash-and-Burn Farmer Village.”

“Then why did the messenger bird…!”

At that moment, Antonio, who had been watching the magic mirror with his hand shading his forehead, spoke.

“Up in that tree. Isn’t that Little Teacher?”

A girl sitting on a thick tree branch, playing a small flute.

The flute’s sound couldn’t be heard.

But every time she played a note on the flute…

[Mining Village. Vicinity. Girl. Found.]

The messenger bird was chattering.

Antonio and several clan members remembered.

The self-introduction Yustea had given in that cave when they first met.

“Yustea Andres, 15 years old! The Marquis’s daughter who was kicked out of the Andres Estate three years ago! What I’ve done since then includes restaurant dishwashing, information disruption, loan sharking at the market…”

‘Right, that’s it.’

‘Information disruption…!’

Antonio and his unit members jumped up.

“Waaaah─!”

“Waaaah─!!”

Bursting out with thunderous exclamations.

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