I Will Try to Save My Dad - Chapter 47

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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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Chapter 47

“Ugh. So loud—”
Jeffrey sprawled across the living room sofa, pressing a cushion over his ears and groaning in protest.
“The dogs are making quite a racket. It sounds like the village might shake apart.”
Anne paused her work organizing the cupboard and turned her gaze toward the window. Baroness Voltman, seated at the dining table, responded with a worried tone.
“Indeed. We’ve never had anything like this before.”
“You don’t think the Wild Dog Humanoids are coming down, do you?”
“We made a promise, so we must trust it. They said they wouldn’t attack the village until tomorrow.”
Just then, she caught sight of Theon and me entering the kitchen, and offered us a subtle smile.
“It’s nothing to worry about.”
I could tell she was trying to reassure us. I padded over to the Baroness’s side and spoke with a bright smile.
“Yes! The dogs in my old village barked all the time too!”
“Is that so?”
“They barked when they were hungry, when guests arrived, when they were bored…”
At my cheerful chatter, the expressions of both Baroness Voltman and Anne gradually softened.
“So loud—”
“Jeffrey, you’re the loudest one here, aren’t you?”
Anne called out to Jeffrey whimpering in the living room. Outside, the sound of barking dogs continued unabated.
At this rate, there was no need to worry about the Wild Dog Tribe not hearing it.
‘Porchi did a great job!’

Earlier.
I had asked Porchi through Jeffrey to make all the village dogs bark together.
Porchi showed a little resistance, sensing it was my request.

“Berry, she doesn’t want to do it.”
“Hmm?”
“She says why should she listen to a human she’s never met before?”

Even her pride resembled Calips’s.
It was Theon who intimidated the tiny Chihuahua, her rice-grain teeth bared.

“Porchi, if you don’t do this, there will be no more treats for you.”
“Woof!”
“Oh, Theon says you’re asking, ‘Who do you think you are!'”
“The Wild Dog Tribe will destroy the entire village. Just treats? You might lose your master and end up wandering the streets. Would you be fine scavenging through garbage for rotten food just to survive a week?”
“…Brother, do I really have to translate all of this?”

But Jeffrey didn’t need to translate at all.
Pressed by Theon’s overwhelming presence, Porchi slowly dropped to the ground on his front legs, then rolled over to expose his belly.
Theon glanced at me and spoke.

“This is what negotiation looks like, isn’t it? Berry?”

No, that’s extortion.
I’d missed the moment to correct him. I hadn’t expected Theon to learn so quickly. Caught off guard by the scent of success, I found myself oddly thrilled by him.
Anyway.

“Woof! Woof! Arooooo!”
I grinned as I heard the resonant barking of the dogs.
‘We have something to tell the Wild Dog Tribe! Come down to the mountain’s entrance when humans are asleep!’
‘We will show you how to solve your food shortage!’
‘The mountain will not yield!’

***

“Master.”
I opened my eyes at the sound of Theon calling me late into the night. Though it was unmistakably his voice, my disciple was nowhere in the room.
The sound came from beyond the closed door.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
‘He responded to my aura.’
A skilled swordsman could infuse their aura into everything they released.
Some were born with such talent, but they were rare. Otherwise, one could only acquire it through countless experiences.
Yet.
‘Unstable, but he’s already learned to channel his aura into his voice.’
It hadn’t been long since I taught him the breathing technique.
What exceptional instincts he possessed.
‘That’s why he’s my disciple.’
Rising from the bed in a half-awake state, I smiled faintly and glanced to the side.
Berry Quartz Trabel was sleeping soundly.
Baron Voltman’s house had only one guest room.
Reytan Quartz Trabel and Berry Quartz Trabel used the guest room, Anne slept on the living room sofa, Jeffrey shared Theon’s room, and Marshall had gone to a neighbor’s house where there was a spare room available.
‘Sleep well.’
I lightly touched Berry Quartz Trabel’s cheek with my fingertips, pulled the blanket up, and carefully slipped out of bed.
Walking toward the door, I washed my face with my large hands. The drowsiness vanished, and my face quickly regained its usual sharp expression.
I opened the door.
“What’s the matter at this hour, Theon?”
But Theon wasn’t alone. He stood in the corridor with Anne, both looking up at me.
Anne spoke anxiously.
“Jeffrey has disappeared.”
“When?”
“About thirty minutes ago. I woke up and he was gone.”
Theon answered my question.
Theon was a cautious child. If he had woken me in the middle of the night saying Jeffrey was missing, it meant he had already checked everywhere the boy might have gone.
I went back into the room, grabbed my outer coat from the hanger, and came back out. Berry Quartz Trabel was still sleeping peacefully.
“I need to go outside and search.”
The sound of dogs howling that I’d heard during the day troubled me. If there was danger, I had to move as quickly as possible.
As I carefully walked toward the entrance without waking Baron Voltman and his wife, I spoke quietly to Theon, who was following behind me.
“Theon, you stay inside. It’s time for children to sleep.”
Theon nodded.
Anne and I stepped outside the Log House. Jeffrey was nowhere to be seen.
“Anne, do you know where Jeffrey might have gone? Any place he showed interest in today?”
“Well… this morning he wanted to follow Theon to the training grounds on the Hilltop. He was insisting that he needed to learn swordplay too…”
Anne hesitantly opened her mouth. Her uncertain tone suggested she wasn’t confident in her answer.
Oak Hill, then. From there, I could overlook the entire village, so even if it’s a dead end, it would be worth checking.
“Let’s head there.”
The path leading up to Oak Hill was situated some distance away from the Log House.
I walked along the rural path together with Anne.
The countryside village lay hushed on all sides, filled only with the chirping of insects and the croaking of frogs.
‘Marquis Ash.’
From my own investigation, his land development scheme reeked of corruption.
Land documents that surfaced suddenly last year, expert verification of those documents completed in less than a year, and the lord Count Roslyn’s swift approval for development—it all pointed to collusion.
They were all in on it together.
Marshall was the one who had confirmed my suspicions.

“I hear he’s planning to bulldoze the mountain where the Wild Dog Tribe lives. Looks like he wants to carve out a trade route.”

This evening.
Marshall had returned from the Commercial District after banking business and relayed to me what she’d overheard outside.
Marquis Ash’s vast vineyard—the wine produced there needed to reach the commercial hub, but the Wild Dog Tribe Mountain sat squarely in the middle of the most direct path.
Because of this, they had to take a detour that multiplied travel distance, causing the wine to spoil or lose customers to competitors.

“The mountain must have been a thorn in his side. Since it’s beast-kin territory, he couldn’t purchase the land. So he forged the land documents?”
“Appears so. Either way, the problem lies with those at the top. What can common folk like us do about it?”

Marshall clicked her tongue in disapproval.
Marquis Ash’s methods were crude and filthy, and Count Roslyn parasitically clung to his schemes.
Marshall caught the displeasure flickering across my face and spoke up.

“About Marquis Ash—are you thinking of doing something about him?”
“No.”
“Right. The way you’re playing innocent tells me you’re scheming something anyway. But this time, just stay put.”
“What do you mean?”

I looked at Marshall with questioning eyes. Instead of answering, she tapped her leg repeatedly with her fist.

“Ugh, my legs are aching now. I think I need a massage. My shoulders alone won’t cut it.”
“…Shall I do it for you?”
“Good grief, with that sour expression of yours. Who asked you to? I certainly didn’t.”

Marshall spoke in an exasperated tone. She ultimately refused to explain her reasons.
Don’t touch Marquis Ash, she’d said. I had no idea what scheme lay behind that warning.
‘What matters is tomorrow.’
The Wild Dog Tribe may have suffered losses at Marquis Ash’s hands, but the fact remained that they’d taken hostages and were using them to coerce the villagers.
Tomorrow, when the Wild Dog Tribe attacked, I would have to hold them off alone. Baron Voltman and the young men would handle the hostage rescue.
To be honest, Windis was more of a concern than the Wild Dog Tribe itself.
If he insisted on using his divine power in his first battle in ages, the village could suffer collateral damage.
“Anne.”
“Yes? What is it?”
….
My gaze sharpened as I snapped out of my thoughts. We’d already reached the upper slope of Oak Hill.
Anne’s voice trembled with unease. Her shoulders flinched as if startled.
Now that I thought about it, something seemed off about the way Anne was climbing the hill.
She kept glancing around nervously, yet her steps remained purposeful and direct—as if she already knew exactly where she was going.
“Whose idea was this?”
….
My sharp question made Anne’s lips seal shut.
“Did Berry put you up to this?”
….
Anne flinched at the question—as good as a confession. I was about to sigh and tell her to turn back when—
Anne awkwardly raised her arm and pointed behind me.
“Ah! Reytan! Over there!”
I stared at the smoke rising plainly into the night sky, momentarily at a loss for words. Despite my bewilderment, I turned to look in the direction Anne was pointing.
…!
Far below, near Baron Voltman’s Log House—something glimmering, moving swiftly away into the distance.
Three silhouettes revealed beneath the moonlight. Without hesitation, I bolted down the hillside at full speed.

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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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