I Will Try to Save My Dad - Chapter 91

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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 91

“Huh?”
I couldn’t hide my astonishment as I read today’s newspaper.
The article reported that a fierce gale had erupted at the venue where the Aubaut Order’s grand banquet was held, uprooting three century-old trees from their roots.
“A grand banquet?”
That was the event Father and Theon attended two days ago.
I couldn’t go along because it overlapped with my schedule to visit the Dwarf Village.
I reviewed the newspaper article once more.

———-
It was revealed belatedly that an unidentified gale had blown through the Aubaut Order’s grand banquet.
Though the culprit was not apprehended, officials speculated it was an artificially induced gale.
Present at the scene was Lucian Alexis of the Edencia Kingdom….
———-

An artificially induced gale powerful enough to uproot massive trees.
“…Windis?”
Father doesn’t use his power recklessly. So if this gale was caused by Windis’s ability, something must have happened at the grand banquet.

“Father, did His Majesty the Emperor attend the grand banquet? If I go that day, will I greet His Majesty along with you and Theon?”
“No. Greeting him isn’t mandatory, and there are so many people at the banquet anyway. We’ll return right after it ends.”

I had been relieved to hear that Theon wouldn’t be meeting the Emperor.
But then this article appeared out of nowhere.
“I should verify this.”
I grabbed the newspaper and stepped out of my room. Just then, Theon was climbing up the staircase.
“Theon, Theon.”
“Hmm?”
“Did you hear about this? There was an incident at the Grand Temple. Apparently the wind was so strong it uprooted trees. You don’t think Windis did that, do you?”
I showed Theon the article section and spoke. After reading it carefully, Theon shook his head.
“It wasn’t Windis. When my master came out of the Banquet Hall, there was a loud noise from behind the building. That’s when the strong wind occurred.”
“Is that so? Besides you and Father, was anyone else there at that time?”
“Demian.”
“Oh, Demian! That’s reassuring~!”
I had a credible witness to prove that Father had nothing to do with the incident.
I set aside my worries and prepared to interrogate Theon.
Because—.

“Theon! How was the grand banquet? Tell me what you did there~”
“…I just sat there and clapped when the High Priest and the Emperor appeared.”
“Huh? That’s it?”
“Yeah.”

That was all Theon had said when I asked him two days ago.
“Theon.”
“…?”
“Come with me to the truth chamber.”

***

The statement I extracted from interrogating Theon went like this.
Nothing happened until the event ended, but afterward, royalty from the Edencia Kingdom came to find Father on the second floor and spoke with him.

“It ended with just exchanging greetings, but my master didn’t seem to be in a good mood.”
“Father wasn’t?”
“Right. He kept holding Windis with one hand. When my master isn’t in a good mood, he does that.”
“I know that! The holy sword reacts to the master’s emotions and triggers its power, so he channels aura to suppress it, right?”
“Exactly. How did you know?”
“Hehe. Someone told me~”

It was knowledge I had learned from Theon Phil Igselona.
In any case, Father’s mood had soured because of the royal family of Edencia Kingdom?
I returned to my room and fell into contemplation.
“Lucian Alexis?”
Lucian was the nephew of the King of Edencia Kingdom and served as the kingdom’s diplomat—one who would be appointed Foreign Minister years hence.
Despite his youth, he was a capable man who resolved major international issues with ease, and his delicate, deer-like features made him quite popular even in the Heishal Empire.
When he attended an international conference alongside Theon Phil Igselona, a photograph of the two of them side by side graced the front page of every newspaper…
“Wait, could this be connected to the article from earlier?”
I recalled the contents of the newspaper article.
Lucian Alexis had been at the scene where the gale erupted. That Father had to suppress his anger over such a person’s presence there was telling.
“Hmm. Something feels off.”
Tap. Tap.
It was then, as I pondered, that I heard Jack Jack tapping against the window.
I hastily opened the window, and Jack Jack, who bounded inside, immediately relayed a message from Zena Chaser.
“Zena Chaser delivered a letter to Baltar. Baltar asked for time before sending a reply.”
“I see. It’s not a decision to be made hastily, after all.”
“That’s all the message. Anything else?”
Jack Jack tapped the floor with wings no larger than a pinky finger as he spoke. The Great Tit humanoid was clearly impatient by nature.
Now that I thought about it, Zena Chaser and Jack Jack had mentioned their homeland was Edencia Kingdom.
“Actually, yes!”
“Tell me.”
“Jack Jack, do you know anything about a person named Lucian Alexis from Edencia Kingdom?”
“Who?”
“He’s the son of the King of Edencia Kingdom’s younger brother.”
At my words, Jack Jack tilted his head.
“I don’t know. I’ve never met the royal family. Zena knows them well.”
“Zena Chaser does?”
“She worked in the Edencia Kingdom royal palace. Lucian Alexis—are you going to ask Zena about him?”
“Yes.”
“Anything else?”
“Nope.”
Jack Jack turned away at my words. Before taking flight, he fixed me with a sharp gaze from his dark eyes.
“Lately, I’m quite pleased with you.”
“Huh?”
“Two times. Remember that going forward.”

***

Marshall, a skilled herbalist, had found her way to the Dwarf Village.
She had recently received word that Baltar, the clan leader, had fallen ill.
The moment she arrived at the village entrance, a dwarf came out to greet her.
“Welcome, Marshall. Please, come quickly and examine the clan leader’s condition.”
“What are his symptoms?”
“He stares into empty space while muttering to himself, then suddenly bursts into laughter, and then starts muttering again….”
The dwarf explaining Baltar’s symptoms trailed off.
Marshall clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
“Senility.”
“What?! Senility?!”
The dwarf was startled.
He had thought something was off these past few days, but to learn that Baltar’s condition was senility—
This was serious. A dwarf afflicted with senility was like a titanium spring—stubborn, unpredictable in his actions, and prone to solving everything through brute force.
“Then… should we select a new clan leader?”
“Why?”
“Because the clan leader has senility, doesn’t he?”
The dwarf’s expression suggested he couldn’t fathom why she was asking the obvious.
If they left things as they were, today would become Baltar’s retirement ceremony. Marshall waved her hand dismissively.
“I was joking. What kind of quack makes a diagnosis without even examining the patient?”
But the symptoms were indeed concerning.
Keeping Baltar’s possible retirement in mind, Marshall opened the door to his house.
Baltar sat at the dining table facing the entrance, his eyes wide and bloodshot. Watching his lips curl upward in a smirk, Marshall found herself muttering involuntarily.
“Senility indeed.”
“What?! I’ll go fetch candidates for the next clan leader!”
Before she could stop him, the dwarf thundered out of the house with heavy footsteps.
“Wait—”
It was already too late. There was nothing to be done about it.
Marshall sat across from Baltar, lamenting alongside her aging kinsman.
“Old Baltar, what’s gotten into you?”
“Hehehehe.”
“Well, I suppose I understand. After living for 130 years….”
“Baron Oldman.”
Baltar muttered. At those words, Marshall looked at him over her spectacles. His eyes were focused and clear.
“You don’t have senility at all.”
“Who said I had senility? The clan leader candidate? That fool. I saw it clearly.”
Baltar slammed the table and spoke. Marshall asked him a question.
“Did you receive a message from Baron Oldman? What did he say?”
Marshall herself was one of Baron Oldman’s collaborators. She couldn’t help but be interested.
Baltar slid a letter he had received from a messenger days ago across the table. The letter stopped perfectly in front of her, and Marshall picked it up.
“…Hmm.”
A wry chuckle tinged with admiration escaped Marshall’s lips as she reviewed the contents. Baltar gripped his head between both hands—a gesture that spoke volumes about the anguish of his deliberation.
“Worse than those Trabel bastards.”
Why had he been so reluctant to reveal the existence of Adamantite to them?
Money. That cursed money.
He feared the legendary mineral he’d pursued his entire life would lose its luster, reduced to nothing more than a plaything in their financial games.
But—
“In exchange for overlooking the smuggling, you’ll become the manager of Crest Mine? Wages will be negotiated at industry standard rates. All rare minerals extracted belong to the mine owner. There are no sales plans. However, if the Dwarves wish to process them, rare minerals may be provided, with net profits from the finished products split fifty-fifty….”
Hearing Marshall recite the conditions again, Baltar writhed in anguish.
Baron Oldman was even worse than those Trabel bastards.
No sales plans, but willing to provide it if he wished to process it—what did that truly mean?
It meant entrusting him with the mining and processing of Adamantite while pocketing half the final profits.
When raw ore and finished products differed in price by dozens to hundreds of times! When only the Dwarves could work Adamantite!
“Damn it all. I actually harbored hope in someone who sees my Adamantite as nothing but a money-making tool.”
“…I believe only Baltar, the world’s greatest blacksmith, can truly illuminate the value of Adamantite.”
There it was.
At that final passage Marshall read, Baltar’s facial muscles relaxed. Seeing this, Marshall clicked her tongue knowingly. He’d likely agree to the contract soon enough.
Our chick outmaneuvers his own father.

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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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