I Will Try to Save My Dad - Chapter 43

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

Chapter 43

So it was just moments before.
Father had set Jeffrey down from where he’d been holding him at his side. Jeffrey leaned in and whispered to me.

“Berry, there are people outside talking about the Wild Dog Tribe.”

My eyes snapped wide open. Were they still in conversation? This was the perfect opportunity to alert Father to the situation.
Not a moment could be wasted. I swept my gaze across the room. Father, Theon, Countess Trabel.

“Let’s see… should Jeffrey and I slip outside for a ‘late night’ ‘secret’ chat?”
“No.”

Two voices answered me in unison at my murmured words. Father and Theon.
But they couldn’t stop Jeffrey and me with words alone. I quickly seized Jeffrey’s eager hand and bolted toward the entrance.

“Let’s go!”
“Yeah!”
“Berry, stop.”
“….”
“My, such energy at this hour.”

The three of them—Father, Theon, and Countess Trabel—trailed after us like a steam locomotive at play.
The front door was half-open, apparently Jeffrey hadn’t managed to close it earlier.
As I stepped outside, I cheered silently within.

“After all…. …atch…come….”

I heard the sound of a pumpkin rolling in along its vine.
It was a man’s voice speaking softly from some distance away.

‘Thank goodness! They’re still talking!’

The conversation wasn’t entirely clear, but I sensed an ominous atmosphere. We stopped on the deck before the entrance.
Baron Voltman was unmistakably discussing the Wild Dog Tribe with someone. Jeffrey’s eyes met mine, and his mouth corners lifted in a silent laugh.
I gave Jeffrey a thumbs up to show approval, then walked toward the deck railing.
Theon and Father had already claimed their positions. I squeezed between them and whispered to Theon.

“It seems Baron Voltman is in conversation with someone.”
“Looks like Thomas.”
“Do you know him? But we can barely hear them, right? I think they mentioned the Wild Dog Tribe.”
“The Wild Dog Tribe?”
“Everyone, be quiet.”

Though it was late evening with almost no external noise, even when I focused my hearing, their conversation remained inaudible. In truth, I hadn’t actually heard the words “Wild Dog Tribe” at all. That was merely bait I had cast.
At my words, Theon questioned me, and Father silenced us.
Whoosh—the moment an unexpected wind swept through, I squeezed my eyes shut.

“…troops …and…. Who exactly will protect us?”

The voice of the man called Thomas suddenly grew loud, as if he were standing right beside us.
Father had utilized Windis’s power.
‘Oh. So this is why having a Grand Master is so convenient!’
Thanks to that, Baron Voltman’s conversation was broadcast live to us in its entirety.

***

And so, back to now.
“Explain yourself.”
Baron Voltman, who had been trying to play innocent, was now sitting on the living room sofa, laying bare the facts.
In front of our entire party, including Anne, and the Baron’s wife.
“About a week ago. Wild Dog Humanoids began kidnapping people passing through the mountain.”
“Gasp.”
This was information I couldn’t have known from my other memories or newspaper articles.
Upon learning this fact for the first time, I let out an exclamation of surprise without thinking. I covered my mouth with my hand a moment too late, but everyone had already heard. Baron Voltman looked at me, then spoke to Theon.
“This might be too harsh for the children to hear. Theon, take Berry and Jeffrey to your room—”
“That won’t be necessary.”
This time, Father spoke up.
“The children should know what they need to know. Especially if it’s dangerous. That way, they’ll be able to distinguish between what’s dangerous and what isn’t later on.”
“Still… what comes next isn’t exactly pleasant for children to hear.”
“Leave it be. It’s his educational philosophy. Trying to break that stubbornness would be faster accomplished by starting a fire underwater.”
Countess Trabel, seated on a low wooden chair, added her opinion as well. Anne, not to be outdone, voiced her own thoughts—
“I, I think so too! Jeffrey, you listen carefully!”
“Mm-hmm.”
The Baroness also gently teased Theon, who had quietly taken a seat beside me.
“You listen too, Theon. Right next to your girlfriend.”
“…”
With all the guardians in agreement, Baron Voltman cleared his throat, finding no further objections to raise, and continued his explanation.
“Ahem, ahem. The victims were residents of our village and the neighboring villages, so I took the young men up the mountain. We hadn’t climbed far when a Wild Dog Humanoid appeared. They were holding the victims hostage and demanding that we stop Marquis Ash’s land development.”
“Marquis Ash? Isn’t his territory in a completely different location? Why would they target the villages here?”
Father posed the question, and Baron Voltman let out a sigh.
“Because we’re humans living near the Wild Dog Tribe’s settlement.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Wild Dog Tribe here has despised humans since ancient times, refusing all contact and dwelling only in the mountains. Their way of thinking is that of beasts—they have no intention of understanding human civilization, nor do they understand it. A marquessate or whatever else we might explain—why would they comprehend it? To them, we’re all equally hateful humans. The Wild Dog Tribe aren’t even citizens of the Heishal Empire.”
The laws of the Heishal Empire stipulated that one must have human blood to obtain citizenship or lordship rights.
Thus, the humanoid races within the Empire either inhabited the lands where their ancestors had lived before the Empire’s founding, or lived as nomads, wandering from place to place.
Truthfully, I hoped the Wild Dog Tribe involved in this incident was the latter. If they were the original inhabitants here, there would be a problem.
“Since we’re all human, we bear responsibility for this. Marquis Ash’s land development zone includes the Wild Dog Humanoid’s residence.”
“Is that even possible? The Wild Dog Tribe here must have been the owners of that land since before the Empire’s founding. To develop the land, one would need to purchase it. Didn’t Igselona, the founding emperor, establish imperial law prohibiting the sale of humanoid tribes’ residential areas?”
The name “Igselona” that came from Countess Trabel’s lips made me flinch inwardly.
It was the surname of Theon’s biological father—the current emperor. I glanced sideways at Theon’s expression.
‘Could Theon possibly know about this…?’
But Theon showed no particular reaction, his attention focused on the conversation as he looked toward his grandfather.
“That’s the ambiguous part. Last year, a land deed for the area currently being developed was discovered in Marquis Ash’s residence. It appears to be a document from the early days of the Heishal Empire’s founding… In any case, that was five days ago. If we can’t stop the land development by the day after tomorrow, the Wild Dog Tribe will kill the hostages and slaughter the villagers as well. Though I won’t allow it to come to that.”
Baron Voltman clenched his fists tightly. I gazed at those clasped hands.
‘…Wait?!’
Suddenly, another memory surfaced.
It was a memory of my adult self riding in a carriage, telling the coachman my destination.

– Leaf Village? Why are you going there? There’s nothing to see but Oak Hill.
– I wanted to visit the Crown Prince’s birthplace.
– Ah, that Log House? That’s fake. When he ascended to the throne, the journalists kept saying Leaf Village was the Crown Prince’s hometown, so the lord hastily created it as a tourist attraction.
– You know quite a lot about it.
– Actually, I’m from that village. I even had connections with Baron Voltman back then. Would you like to hear some old stories?

The stories the coachman told were quite detailed.
The Wild Dog Tribe ultimately attacked the villages, but all the houses were empty.
Through Baron Voltman’s strategy, the villagers had evacuated in advance, and the village youths rescued the hostages.
The only person who remained in the village was Baron Voltman himself.

– He said we needed to buy time while rescuing the hostages. He held out alone for about ten minutes.

When Baron Voltman lost both his arms while fighting the Wild Dog Humanoids and faced death’s door, the villagers set their own settlement ablaze to save him.
The Wild Dog Tribe fled, and the villagers lost their only possessions—their fields and homes.
What greeted Theon upon his return was his burning homeland and his grandfather hovering between life and death, both arms gone.
‘Wait, didn’t it end with Baron Voltman losing his arms?! Why am I remembering this now?’
My heart pounded violently. Protecting Baron Voltman’s arms from the Wild Dog Tribe was not the end of this ordeal.
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
Theon asked his grandfather. The question carried the weight of why such a grave matter had been kept from him.
“I’m not so worthless a grandfather that I’d burden my young grandchild with such worries.”
“Did you not request military reinforcements? There must be a lord overseeing this region.”
The Heishal Empire consisted of many small villages, so it was common for nearby lords to manage security in settlements outside their own territories. However, this arrangement came with its own complications—most notably, lords gained the authority to levy taxes on those villages.
Father’s question was answered by the Baroness.
“You mean Count Roslyn, I presume. We did make the request. However….”
“Since we couldn’t pay this year’s taxes in full, he refuses to send soldiers. It’s absurd. If he suddenly raises the levy tenfold, how could anyone possibly bear it?”
Baron Voltman’s voice rose in anger. Countess Trabel, listening from beside him, clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
“Tenfold? That rural lord has truly lost his mind to greed.”
“Ever since Marquis Ash offered him bribes for land development, he’s tasted wealth. …Never mind what you just heard. Children needn’t concern themselves with such matters.”
“But Grandfather Theon!”
I raised my hand eagerly toward Baron Voltman. Bewildered by my unusual gesture, the Baron looked at me, but Father spoke instead.
“It means I have a question. If you ask, I will answer.”
“Ah, yes. What is your question?”
“Why do the Wild Dog Tribe torment the villagers?”
“…The story was complicated, wasn’t it? A man named Marquis Ash is trying to destroy the homes where the Wild Dog Tribe lives. That’s why they’re angry.”
“But why do they take it out on the villagers? Since it’s because of Marquis Ash, shouldn’t they torment Marquis Ash instead?”
In other words.
Anne nodded to herself at my question, murmuring softly.
“The Wild Dog Humanoids hate humans. Since you’re all human, they want you to take responsibility and stop the land development.”
“Oh! Then it should be simple! You just need to tell Marquis Ash to stop the land development!”
“People have tried to persuade him, but he won’t even see them.”
“That’s…”
“That’s too much!”
Before I could finish speaking, Anne shot to her feet.

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