I Will Try to Save My Dad - Chapter 67
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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 67
This was a crisis.
Theon found it difficult to look at my face because there was something that pricked at him so sharply!
‘This is…!’
Those gleaming eyes Theon had when he gazed upon Demian’s holy sword earlier. Could it have been true after all?
Had he preferred the sword of earth more?
Demian’s holy sword was objectively impressive, but Father’s Windis was far more magnificent!
“Theon, Father likes you very much.”
I couldn’t let Father’s prized disciple slip away right before my eyes.
We had something Demian didn’t—two months of time spent together.
To emphasize that shared history, I lifted my head higher and higher.
“And Sherry, Anne, and Jeffrey all think you’re the best, Theon!”
Theon, who was weak to praise, squeezed his eyes shut. The nape of his neck flushed as red as a ripe strawberry.
He was clearly embarrassed. Theon was always vulnerable to such words.
“I like you too, Theon. So even if Demian offers you candy, you won’t follow him, right?”
I wanted to whisper it in his ear, but the height difference meant I ended up murmuring against his shoulder instead. Theon barely nodded.
Even a reluctant nod was better than nothing.
Hehe. Satisfied, I straightened my upper body and sat properly in my chair.
‘Now then.’
If Uncle Hevanth had received medicine, it meant he already knew something about the Blue Company’s merchant lord’s eyes.
In that case, Father’s investment alone wouldn’t be enough to prevent Uncle from becoming Victor’s source of funds.
‘What Victor Stings needs most is medicine to cure his eyes. Uncle will use that to control Victor. Knowing his weakness on our side isn’t enough.’
I sighed and fixed my gaze on the edge of the desk, lost in thought.
Most of the Trabel direct line’s businesses receive their initial investment capital from the Trabel Estate. They take half the net profit and reflect that amount in their performance records. There are several other criteria for evaluating performance, but—
The important thing is that the Trabel Estate involves itself in nothing about the business beyond the initial investment and profit distribution. So there’s no way to touch Uncle’s medicine.
“Berry.”
Theon called me. I lifted my head. His eyes were serious now, different from before.
“Hmm?”
“I think I need to go see my master.”
“Why?”
“The wind has changed.”
I felt a disconnect between Theon’s words and this situation. Déjà vu? Where had I heard that before—
“…Wait?!”
Suddenly, a new memory surfaced.
In the Shallow Cave, Theon Phil Igselona sitting with his back turned to another me, saying the exact same words.
– What does it matter if the wind has changed?
– A holy blade attunes itself to its master’s emotions and can manifest abilities because of it. You just touched my feelings.
– That sounds as though Your Highness the Crown Prince doesn’t understand those emotions?
– Something like that. I’m apparently slow to recognize such things.
Meanwhile, the other me was stanching the wound on Theon Phil Igselona’s back.
– The wound is deep. It’s not fatal, but if you want to avoid scarring, you’ll need a high-grade recovery potion….
– I don’t mind if it scars.
– Don’t say such things. Your Highness’s body is a national treasure of the Heishal Empire. Doesn’t the Imperial Palace have such medicine? Something that heals the wound as if it never happened?
– Where would such a potion—. Ah.
– You have one? How much does it cost?
– …You really do love talking about money. The Imperial Palace doesn’t have it.
‘But the Grand Temple does!’
Hurrah! I threw both arms up in the air.
“Yes. Let’s go.”
Thinking I was reaching out to ask him to help me down from the chair, Theon came to my side and bent forward at the waist.
Theon’s head was right before my eyes. My hands itched.
‘What should I do!’
Reading ancient languages at the Grand Temple, and now this!
If the other me hadn’t known Theon Phil Igselona, I would never have understood. My heart was so full, and yet I could reach out and touch Theon with just a gesture!
“Theon!”
I couldn’t hold back.
I wrapped both arms around his neck and embraced him.
“…B-Berry?”
“You’re the best!”
“Wait—.”
“I really like you!”
“….”
“I really do like you.”
Squeeze. My best friend was the absolute best.
***
“What? The Investigation Bureau?”
Victor Stings, the merchant lord of the Blue Company, spoke in surprise upon hearing the news from his informant.
Demian Knox had visited Branch 17 in Goldport today.
Not only had Reytan Quartz Trabel gone there, but he’d entered together with Demian Knox.
“Why?”
“We’re still investigating. According to our informant’s assessment, given that both of them entered together, it’s possible this was a social meeting. After all, they’re both Grand Masters.”
“If that’s the case, they might very well discuss my condition.”
Victor ground his teeth together.
It felt as though the second son of the Trabel Family was deliberately parading through Goldport, flaunting his provocation of me.
‘If word spreads that my vision is impaired—’
My heart grew as murky as my blurred sight.
Hevanth had given me ten doses of Shin-yak, leaving nine remaining. But once I began relying on it, there would be no end.
Eventually, I would have to seek out Hevanth, and I would accept whatever conditions he offered.
‘It won’t be easy.’
Hevanth was a man who had consistently controlled the Diamond House from the Trabel Estate.
Though he appeared benevolent, his heart might be even darker than mine.
But the most dangerous threat right now was the unpredictable mouth of Reytan Quartz Trabel.
I had to guard my secrets from him.
“Manager, we must become the greatest merchant company in the Heishal Empire, mustn’t we?”
Victor opened a drawer, fumbled with his hand, and grasped a small medicine bottle. Click. As he swallowed the liquid inside, his vision gradually sharpened.
“Damn it.”
The effect really is remarkably good.
Victor left his office. The Manager followed behind him and asked.
“Where are you going, sir?”
“To that Trabel brat.”
Victor caught a carriage passing in front of the main branch.
The shopping district of Goldport was close to the Blue Company’s main branch.
‘It doesn’t matter if Reytan Quartz Trabel has already spoken.’
In fact, that would be better. My eyes are perfectly fine right now.
If Reytan’s words once lost credibility, no one would believe him anymore.
‘Let me show this seasoned merchant how to respond to such blackmail.’
Victor descended from the carriage and began walking. His stride was as confident as the years he had spent living as a merchant.
Just then, I spotted Reytan’s party emerging from the Investigation Bureau building. They were close enough to speak to, so Victor called out to him, feigning coincidence.
“Reytan? Still in Goldport—”
Reytan turned his head. But at the same moment, Victor lowered his.
Victor’s words did not continue.
Vision blurred again. Darkness enveloping everything around me. Even a veteran merchant seasoned enough to become a merchant lord could not maintain composure in the face of such helplessness—my clear sight stolen in an instant.
“Victor Stings.”
“….”
“A fortunate encounter. I have something I’d like to ask you.”
Even as Reytan spoke to him, Victor could not lift his head.
‘Why?’
The moment Victor felt the effects of Shin-yak anew, he made his decision about whose hand to grasp.
Even if it meant being toyed with by Hevanth, he would take his hand.
‘It hasn’t even been an hour?’
The effect of Shin-yak, which had lasted half a day, had shrunk to merely an hour.
Such an extreme difference—could this be a side effect?
No, there was no way a medicine would be released without testing for side effects of this magnitude.
So this was a kind of warning from Hevanth. I am someone who holds your vision in the palm of my hand, free to toss it like a ball or catch it again whenever I please.
‘Damn it…!’
Victor clenched his teeth.
Had he never known the medicine’s effects, he wouldn’t have felt this sickening plunge.
“You said you had… something to ask me….”
Rage and frustration swirled within him.
The feeling of being helplessly toyed with by someone who sought to toy with him.
He had steeled himself to some degree, but reality and preparation were different things. It felt far worse than he had imagined.
“Could you spare some time?”
“Well, I would very much like to, but I have an appointment with a client. Would it be acceptable to meet another time?”
Narrow eyes proved useful in such moments.
Victor smiled in a way that kept Reytan from seeing his pupils, then tried to leave quickly.
“Is that really true? Theon?”
“Yes.”
Who was that? Victor turned his head to the side, but his limited field of vision did not capture them.
Slightly lower. A boy in formal attire and a girl in a bonnet.
Though only silhouettes, they were unmistakably Reytan’s daughter and disciple whom he had seen in his reception room today.
With his vision obscured, his hearing grew sharper than usual. The boy spoke in a tone that seemed somehow off.
“The Grand Master can obtain the finest recovery elixir from the Grand Temple.”
“Wow. The Grand Master really is amazing?”
Victor let out an inward scoff.
The finest recovery elixir.
A potion of legend. If a superior recovery elixir could heal even fatal wounds, the finest was said to restore even damaged bodies.
He had spent a lifetime searching for such a medicine. Yet he could not help but acknowledge the truth: it did not exist in this world—
“Where did you hear that? That’s classified information.”
“…Demian, my daughter fooled you. You’re the one who revealed the secret.”
“Me? No. Your disciple said it, so you revealed it.”
“An Investigation Department chief falling for a child’s interrogation tactics.”
Wait, hold on.
‘The finest recovery elixir really exists?!’
Victor’s hands trembled. Berry laughed at the sight.
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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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