I Will Try to Save My Dad - Chapter 48

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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 48

A flash of light.
My eyes snapped open at the sound of the door closing.
‘Ugh. That was close.’
Father is sharp, so I’d been pretending to sleep—only to actually fall asleep instead.
I nearly drifted off completely!
I scrambled out of bed and crept toward the door. Holding my breath as I stood before it, I heard Theon’s voice.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
At my response, Theon opened the door. He gazed at me silently for a moment, then carefully adjusted my hairpin.
“Father left?”
“Yes. With Anne.”
“What about Jeffrey?”
From Theon’s room across the corridor came an answer.
“I’m right here! Theon hyung’s room—I hid there and Reytan didn’t catch me.”
Jeffrey emerged from the room, his tail swishing with pride.
“Anne agreed to guide Reytan all the way up to the Oak Tree.”
“Excellent.”
My eyes lit up. Truth be told, Anne wasn’t supposed to be part of our plan.
But someone had to lead Father up to the Hilltop. Jeffrey would be using his disappearance as an excuse, so he couldn’t do it. Theon was helping with my plan.
Anne was the only suitable choice.

“Deceive Reytan?! I can’t do that. That would be a betrayal. I’ve sworn my loyalty to Reytan—”
“Anne… won’t you help me? I’m Father’s daughter, so it’s not really a betrayal, is it…?”
“…How adorable… No, wait. I can’t.”
“It’s to save the Village. Please help me.”
“Sister, Theon hyung saved your life. This is your chance to repay that debt.”

Faced with my pitiful, drenched-chick expression, Theon’s plea, and Jeffrey’s pressure, Anne finally surrendered.
Still, she’d been my greatest worry—yet she’d safely brought Father along.
“Berry.”
Theon smiled at me.
“Everything’s going according to plan.”

***

Our plan was to lure Father to the negotiation site with the Wild Dog Tribe outside the village.
Both Father and I had to be present at the negotiation site with the Wild Dog Tribe. Father—the only person capable of countering any potential combat with them. And me—the one who could present what the Wild Dog Tribe desired.
I had devised a perfect plan to lure Father. Or so I thought.

“Ahhhhh! This is way too fast!”
It was true that reality always introduced variables that theory never accounted for.
I encountered several unforeseen complications.

The first one.
The large dogs that Jeffrey had the village dogs bring were overflowing with energy.
Three massive hounds, each larger than most grown men, arrived at the Log House and picked us up one by one on their backs.

“Everyone secured your bags? Don’t lose the meat.”
“Yes.”
“Got it.”

We each shouldered a pack across our backs. Inside was beef that the Baroness had purchased that evening. She’d bought enough for tomorrow’s meal, stuffing three bags completely full.

“Berry, that position is dangerous. Press your upper body as close to the dog’s torso as possible and grip the harness tightly.”
“Brother, Sister. Are you ready? Should I tell them to go?”

At Jeffrey’s signal, the dogs began to run. The wind that had blown pleasantly at first soon grew so fierce that my whipping hair obscured my vision.
“Ahhh! Too fast!”
“Jeffrey! Tell them to slow down!”
“I can’t…! They’re too excited!”
We were about to enter the Wild Dog Tribe Mountain before Father even spotted us from the Hilltop.

Second.
The signal flare the Knights gave Father turned out to be a dud.
The surrounding houses grew increasingly distant. The dogs showed no signs of slowing, and as our urgency mounted, we decided to fire the signal flare earlier than planned. It was the kind that released red smoke when you pressed the handle attached to the bamboo tube.
But—
“Theon! The signal flare! The signal flaaaaare!”
I clung to the back of the galloping dog and screamed.
Theon was supposed to fire the signal flare,
“….”
“Theon? Why aren’t you doing anything?!”
Click. Click.
Despite our urging, Theon remained silent, gripping the signal flare in his hand. The sound of components rattling inside the tube echoed around us.
“It’s broken.”
“What? Then what do we do? You said Reytan needs to see it to chase after us!”
“Ugh. Don’t worry so much, Jeffrey! Anne will show us the way!”
“Berry! What’s that on your head?!”
“My head?! What about my head?!”
“Your hairpin has been glowing ever since we came outside, Berry.”

Third.
The Wild Dog Tribe was far more terrifying than I’d anticipated.
“Ahhhhh! Please stop, stop, stop! Stop…stop? Huh? It really did stop?”
The dogs that had been running with such vigor suddenly began to slow, then walked, and finally came to a complete halt.
“Grrrrr—.”
The dogs and Jeffrey were the first to react.
Without a word, they folded their ears back, trembled, and pulled their lips back to bare their fangs.
I’d never seen Jeffrey like this before. I raised my upper body and turned my head to the side. Theon, who had leaped from the dog, stood in a defensive stance with his hand on his sword hilt, ready to draw at any moment.
“Theon?”
“…Something’s there.”
We still had some distance to go before reaching the Wild Dog Tribe Mountain. We were on a different mountain.
“What’s there?”
That was when it happened.
Grrrrgh.
A threatening beast’s cry cut through the air and surrounded us, as if trying to swallow us whole. It wasn’t particularly loud or quiet, yet the sound seemed to envelope and consume everything around us.
I watched a massive creature emerge between the trees. My body wouldn’t move, so I could only observe as the beast entered my field of vision.
“….”
This was my first time seeing a pure humanoid creature—not a hybrid. Four heavy paws left deep impressions in the earth as it slowly walked toward us.
Short fur with a golden hue. A massive Wild Dog Humanoid, easily over three meters tall.
Gulp.
Feral eyes locked onto us. The overwhelming pressure was suffocating. I could only roll my eyes to glimpse the Wild Dog Humanoid’s waist. Though obscured by fur, the gaunt ribs and sagging belly were unmistakably visible.
‘We can negotiate.’
Only then did my scattered thoughts return to me. It was more abrupt than I’d anticipated, catching me off guard, but this was a confrontation I knew was inevitable.
I hadn’t come here to be devoured by the Wild Dog Tribe—I’d come to negotiate.
“I have something to say.”
Once canine beasts established a hierarchy, it was said that changing positions within it was no simple matter.
To make him recognize that we stood as equals, I deliberately dropped the formal speech.
Grrr.
A growl laden with displeasure rumbled from between his bared fangs.
“Did you summon us, little human?”
The Wild Dog Humanoid’s gaze fixed upon me, his hostility laid bare as though he might sever my life at any moment. Theon and Jeffrey, who had dismounted from the beast, pressed close to my side.
“I—I’m of the Wolf Tribe! I was the one who called you!”
“There’s still a transaction in progress with the humans. If you attack us, it will cause complications.”
The humanoid snorted dismissively at Jeffrey’s words, but his eyes sharpened at Theon’s remark. A keen, piercing light flashed across them.
“What of the land development?”
Terrifying. This was terrifying.
Yet I kept my gaze steady and fought to keep my voice from wavering.
“It will stop soon. After we expose that Marquis Ash’s land documents are forgeries.”
“You have until the deadline we set. It must be halted by then. We’ll hear the rest of your story afterward.”
The Wild Dog Tribe turned to retrace their path.
“Wait! I’ve brought provisions for you to eat right now!”
….
I dismounted from the large beast I’d been riding, unfastened the pack on my back, and showed its contents to the Wild Dog Tribe, speaking as I did. Theon and Jeffrey followed suit, opening their own packs.
The Wild Dog Humanoid glanced back, his gaze catching on the bags.
“Take this at least. It’s difficult to find food on the mountain, isn’t it? It’s beef.”
Saliva dripped from the silent Wild Dog Tribe’s mouth. A beast drooling at the sight of something it desired—that was instinct. At the very least, it meant my bait had sparked his interest.
“There’s nothing strange in it. If you don’t trust me, I can eat some first.”
….
“As you said, I’m just a young human. I can’t think of complicated things like adults do. I simply heard what the adults were saying—that the Wild Dog Tribe lacks food. So I came because I wanted to help.”
It was the moment when, swayed by my persuasion—half sincere, half calculated—the Wild Dog Tribe turned his body and began approaching us slowly.
Sniff!
A sharp intake of breath. In an instant, the Wild Dog Humanoid’s expression turned vicious.
“You reek of killing intent! Human! Are you trying to betray us again!”
With an enraged cry, the Wild Dog Humanoid planted his feet and leaped. The distance between us collapsed in a single bound. Massive paws and wicked claws loomed over my head.
Crash!
Theon’s blade struck the humanoid’s foreleg. The force of his downward swing was so fierce that the sword nearly slipped from his grasp.
“Ugh…!”
Theon barely held onto the blade, positioning himself in front of me. His expression grave, he shouted urgently.
“Jeffrey! Get Berry and run!”
“You human bastard….”
The Wild Dog Humanoid let out a threatening snarl toward Theon.
“Got it!”
“Theon! No!”
“Cursed humans!!”
The Wild Dog Humanoid, consumed by rage, swept his foreleg in a vicious arc.
Crash!
Sparks erupted where claw and blade clashed.
Jeffrey, who had been attempting to flee with me in his arms, flattened his ears back against his head.
“Ah….”
We stood beneath someone’s shadow.
“What do you think you’re doing to my daughter?”

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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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