My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 156

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

Father conceals his strength
Episode 156
* * *
The next day.
We’d come out to shop for groceries.
‘What is this combination?’
Oscar, me, and even Theo.
Servants from noble households bustled about the market in every direction, their arms full of provisions.
“Does Master really go out shopping for food ingredients himself?”
I asked Oscar, who looked remarkably comfortable carrying the shopping basket.
“Yeah. I’m the one eating it, so who else would buy it?”
“I thought you’d just send someone….”
The Magic Tower Master’s unexpectedly down-to-earth penthouse lifestyle was nothing I could have imagined!
“It’s strange. If he comes out fairly often, why does Master always seem like he’s glued to the Magic Tower?”
I was puzzling over this when Theo, walking beside me, turned to study Oscar thoughtfully.
“No one would recognize him, would they, Lilis?”
“Oh!”
Right.
A stretched-out shirt and shorts.
No one would ever guess that a man in servant’s garb, casually swinging a shopping basket, was the Magic Tower Master himself.
“You head home after lunch. Can’t stand having an extra mouth to feed.”
Oscar bought a bundle of apples from the fruit vendor as he spoke to Theo.
‘Ah! It looks like the spell is coming together after all.’
Oscar had used Theo’s injuries as an excuse to keep him confined yesterday.
Since it was a complex and difficult spell Oscar himself had never attempted before, he hadn’t been able to promise immediate success.
“Yes, understood!”
Theo answered with military precision.
“Thank you for your trouble, sir!”
“Right.”
Theo clearly remembered that his injuries had been grievous enough to kill him.
Over yesterday and today, he’d thanked Oscar five hundred times over.
“When I leave, I’ll take Lilis with me.”
“What?”
Oscar glared at Theo.
“Go by yourself.”
“Sir?”
Theo blinked several times before his expression turned serious.
“That’s… a bit difficult.”
Then he looked back and forth between Oscar and me with obvious wariness.
“What? Am I going to eat her? I can see every thought written all over your face.”
“No, that’s not it. It’s just… you don’t keep any servants around, and you’re managing everything alone, so I thought it might be difficult to take care of Lilis.”
“Look at him wrapping it up so nicely. I picked up on every suspicious thing. This ungrateful wretch to his life-saver?!”
Theo waved his hands in alarm, though doubt was plain in his eyes.
Understandably so.
He’d seen Oscar’s face only a handful of times, after all.
‘And he doesn’t really know how close Father and Oscar have become over these past four years.’
I was nodding in agreement when Oscar seemed to bristle and continued pressing his point.
“If you take her along, what good is a fellow at the Dos rank if he can’t even catch a single demon beast—ends up crawling back half-dead, and you can still protect the child safely?”
“Ah….”
Theo’s expression darkened immediately.
His inability to control his sword energy was his deepest worry.
And so he always carried a sense of guilt about the damage he caused to those around him.
‘Seriously, Master is being stupid!’
I elbowed Oscar in the side to hint at his insensitivity.
Realizing he’d been too harsh, Oscar cleared his throat awkwardly when he saw Theo’s dejected expression.
“Don’t worry about it. Her father entrusted her to me directly before his expedition.”
“Really? You mean Uncle did?”
Theo looked at me in surprise. I nodded to confirm it.
“I… I see. I apologize for worrying unnecessarily….”
“Hey, take this.”
Theo was offering an apology when Oscar suddenly pulled something from his pocket and thrust it into his hands.
‘What is it?’
At first glance, it looked identical to my bracelet.
A purple heart-shaped crystal pendant, the sort of thing you’d expect to see on a child….
‘Wait. Isn’t that a Monster Core?’
Looking more closely, I realized it wasn’t crystal at all—it was a Monster Core polished into the shape of a heart.
“It’s a Magical Device that resonates with your Core. While you’re wearing it, only Magical Energy will leak out, so it should help you with your control.”
“Huh?”
……?”
Theo and I both froze, our eyes going wide.
“Oh, no—wait. Master? If something like this existed….”
…then what about all of Theo’s suffering up until now?
I didn’t finish the question.
Oscar was glaring at me with visible displeasure.
“What, what?”
“No, I just—I felt a little sorry for him, that’s all….”
“Why would I spend my time worrying about someone else’s kid? I made this because I felt it was necessary after what happened.”
Theo had nearly died, and because of that, I’d recklessly gone all the way to a war zone and back.
Unable to say that aloud, I could only return Oscar’s stare with an awkward laugh, scratching the back of my neck.
“Right, this one. I….”
Theo accepted the bracelet, his eyes clearly moved.
Without hesitation, right there in the middle of the market street, he bent at a ninety-degree angle and called out his thanks in a loud voice.
“Thank you so much, Tower Master! I’ll treasure it!”
……?”
“You crazy bastard! Have you lost your mind? Quiet!”
Murmur, murmur.
Wait—did everyone just hear that?
Murmur, murmur.
Tower Master, he said?
Several people tilted their heads in confusion, whispering among themselves.
“Oh!”
Theo suddenly realized his mistake, eyes widening in shock, while I clapped my hand over my mouth in horror.
Oscar, glancing around, quickly covered his face with a shopping basket and hurried away like he was fleeing.
“Let’s go with you, Master!”
“Wait, I’m coming too! Let me carry that basket for you!”
We rushed after Oscar, who was practically sprinting away.
* * *
Late evening.
Theo had eaten lunch and gone home, while I was with Oscar, rummaging through the travel bag Father had packed for my sleepwear.
Yesterday I’d been too frazzled to change clothes before bed….
“Here it is—my pajamas!”
The sky-blue pajamas with clouds that Father and I had bought as a matching set.
My very first time wearing them.
“Hm? Why is Father’s pair in here too?”
There was a set of Father’s pajamas in the bag as well.
Puzzled, I pulled them out, and a small note fluttered free from between the folds.
[Tower Master, this is my gift.
Please take good care of my daughter.]
“Heh.”
He clearly intended to give Oscar the new clothes as a gift.
Trying to pay a week’s worth of babysitting with a single pair of pajamas….
As for James Brown’s conscience….
“This is ridiculous.”
Oscar, reading the note, seemed to share my sentiment, letting out a hollow laugh.
“They’re pretty—you should wear them too, Master.”
“No, absolutely not! They’re not cute at all! Completely childish!”
“Tch.”
“Now brush your teeth and get to bed!”
“Yes, yes.”
I went to my room, changed into my pajamas, then picked up my toothbrush and headed to the bathroom.
A genuinely high-end penthouse, just as advertised.
Even the bathroom gleamed with opulence.
The mirror hung a bit high, though, so I dragged over a bathroom stool and climbed up to brush my teeth.
“……?”
Oscar pushed open the door I’d left ajar and wandered in with his own toothbrush.
Wearing sky-blue cloud pajamas, no less.
“Master, I thought you said those were childish!”
I laughed with the toothbrush still in my mouth.
Oscar, somehow managing to decipher my garbled speech, came to stand beside me at the mirror and replied.
“Yeah, they’re childish. Just so happened my laundry was all done, and I had nothing else to wear, so here we are.”
“Heh-heh-heh!”
Oscar started brushing his teeth right after.
In the mirror, I could see us both in matching pajamas, toothbrushes in hand.
“Heh-heh….”
“Stop laughing! Don’t!”
I felt oddly cheerful, and every time our eyes met in the mirror, I couldn’t help but giggle.
* * *
Four days passed after that.
Oscar found creating Magic far more taxing than he’d anticipated, and he went without sleep, working ceaselessly.
Surrounded by countless books, he spent the entire day scribbling with his pen and occasionally let out cries of “Argh! No, that’s not it!”—then discarded dozens of Magic Formulas he’d already written.
Yet he never once failed to prepare my three meals, my snacks, remind me to brush my teeth, or make sure I showered on schedule.
‘Sigh… I’ll have to grow up fast so I can repay Master’s kindness.’
After four days of this routine, my guilt knew no bounds.
“Ugh, damn it. Did I put in too much whipped cream? It might be too rich….”
Apron tied around his waist, Oscar stood in the kitchen glancing at a recipe while stirring milk and whipped cream together in a silver bowl.
Right on schedule, he’d emerged from his room like clockwork and was now preparing my lunch….
“Master.”
“What.”
I’d been drawing in the living room, but I trotted over to the kitchen to speak with him.
“I could just eat the leftover sandwich from this morning….”
“No, forget it.”
“But what are you making?”
“Spaghetti.”
“Ooh.”
Cream spaghetti, probably.
“…Does it have meat?”
Oscar laughed as if I’d said something ridiculous.
“It has meat, it has meat.”
“What kind?”
“Bacon.”
“Wow, the best!”
Living with him these past days, I’d realized something: there was genuinely nothing he couldn’t do.
Sharp mind, never tires despite going without sleep, excellent physical stamina, and his cooking—absolutely perfect.
Every single day Oscar made a different dish, and every single one was delicious.
“I don’t want to go home.”
“What?”
“I like being with you, Master. The food’s amazing, the apartment’s beautiful. Can I come visit again sometime?”
“You want me to do this crazy babysitting routine all over again?”
“Heh-heh-heh! I’m just kidding.”
Oscar chuckled and began whisking vigorously inside the bowl.
“Whenever your father goes out somewhere, don’t go anywhere else—come here instead.”
“Really? Is that actually okay?”
“Yes.”
Truth is, I wasn’t joking around—I meant every word….
Then.
Bang bang bang—!
“Goodness!”
A thunderous pounding at the door startled me, and I looked over at Oscar in alarm.
Snap!
Without missing a beat, he simply flicked a finger through the air, still whisking away with casual composure.
The door swung open, and the sound of an unknown visitor entering filtered through.
I glanced toward the entryway.
“Wow, Dad!”
The Subjugation was supposed to take a week!
Yet he’d finished it in just five days.
Father came rushing in still wearing his armor, not even bothering to change, and froze the moment our eyes met.
His expression darkened as if something welled up inside him.
He started to hurry further in.
“Take off those muddy boots and change into the indoor shoes! There’s a pair right here!”
Oscar’s voice rang out without even looking to see who it was, and Father stopped short again.
Faced with the household master’s perfectly reasonable demand, Father obediently removed his boots, switched to the indoor shoes, and came inside.
“Dad! Why did you come back so early?”
I was so delighted that I spread my arms open toward him.
But instead of immediately scooping me up as I expected, Father just stood there, silent.
He simply stared down at me with a rigid, tight expression.
“Um, Dad? What’s wrong? Are you upset?”
“Yes. I’m very upset.”
I quickly tried to recall what I’d done wrong, and it dawned on me.
‘Oh, that’s right.’
I’d forgotten about it after four days had passed.
Father must have heard everything from Cheshire.
How I’d given Cheshire a Magical Device without telling Father first, how I’d gone to the battlefield, and how I’d used my abilities on Theo without thinking about the consequences at all—
‘But in the end, everything turned out fine anyway.’
Honestly, I didn’t want to be scolded.
I really didn’t want to be—
“Right now, Father is going to scold the princess. Stand up straight.”
“Mm.”
Frightened by Father’s tone, I glanced at Oscar, silently pleading for help.
“Khkhk. What are you looking at?”
But Oscar merely smirked wickedly as he rolled a whisk in his hands.
“Honestly, you deserve it this time. Your father said to stand straight. Come on, do it.”
…He wasn’t on my side right now.
In the end, I stuck out my lower lip a little and straightened my posture before Father.
“Princess, what’s with that mouth? Such a pretty mouth.”
Of course, at Father’s remark, I quickly tucked my lip back in—
Oscar burst into laughter watching me act so pitifully.

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