My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 166

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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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Father hiding his strength
Episode 166
‘God, that hurts.’
The unfamiliar pain drained the color from his vision.
Oscar.
He’d solved everything with magic his entire life—never had cause to rely on his body.
Naturally, he’d never been badly hurt before.
The only time he’d suffered like this was before the Regression, when Cheshire beat him to death.
“Ugh!”
“W-what….”
Gasps of alarm erupted from the onlookers who’d witnessed the blade flash.
He couldn’t afford to draw attention like this.
“You, you son of a—! You’re dead, you hear me!”
The drunk swung his massive fist again.
But then—
“Wh-what…?”
Before it could reach Oscar’s face, the man staggered.
Like someone too drunk to keep their balance, he crashed to the ground.
“Ack!”
Only Oscar noticed how unnatural the man’s movements were.
‘Damn. This….’
The moment he turned, Lilis—pale as death—came trembling toward him, moving fast.
“Dad, we have to go! Now!”
Lilis grabbed Oscar’s hand without hesitation and pulled him into a run.
* * *
At that same moment,
Cheshire, who’d gone to interrogate the suspicious priests, received word that the Sub-Priest had fled.
“How is that even…!”
“My apologies, Commander. I was occupied keeping watch over the High Priest and didn’t know what was happening outside. There were no orders from you, but given the urgency, I sent four men to search for the Sub-Priest as well.”
Cheshire clenched his eyes shut, pressing his fingers to his temples.
Why did everything keep falling apart like this.
“Listen!”
The High Priest, who’d been watching anxiously, spoke up.
Cheshire turned to him at once.
“Why did the Sub-Priest flee? Tell me what purpose brought him to join the Pilgrimage Group.”
“Purpose? No, first of all…. Why did you lock us away? Never mind—that’s not important right now.”
The High Priest gestured to the guard standing in the room.
“Send him out. I want to speak with you alone.”
For a moment, Cheshire found the High Priest’s attitude baffling.
If the Sub-Priest had flagrantly disobeyed orders and fled, he had to be hiding something.
“Leave us.”
Still, Cheshire had no patience for wasted time, so he gave the order immediately.
The guard left the room.
Whatever scheme was afoot, subduing a single elderly priest wouldn’t be difficult.
“Now, uh….”
In that same instant, Cheshire went rigid.
The High Priest’s face shifted—changing into something achingly familiar.
“…Duke?”
It was Enoch.
“What in the….”
“I’m sorry, Cheshire. This is a long story, but you’ll understand without me explaining, won’t you?”
“…….”
Cheshire immediately recalled the conversation Lilis had overheard.
“About disguising himself as a woman, or saying any appearance would do as long as he wasn’t elderly. About how my vigilance is problematic?”
“I was worried my stamina might fail. He said he’d take me away the moment we arrived in town, before I could fall apart!”
“Ah.”
Cheshire exhaled slowly, covering his eyes with one hand.
Lilis’s first long journey alone.
And Enoch, worried, had tagged along.
“So the Sub-Priest is perhaps….”
“That’s right, Sub-Priest.”
Cheshire pressed his lips together tightly.
“I wish you’d at least given me a hint.”
“There wasn’t time. I meant to keep it hidden from everyone until the end. How was I supposed to know you’d suddenly lock us up?”
Lilis overheard our conversation and suspected you had some sinister purpose. I agreed with her assessment.
“Overheard our conversation? What conversation? Never mind—we don’t have time for details now. Let’s talk later. Right now—”
Enoch shifted back into the appearance of the elderly High Priest.
“I have to go find the Sub-Priest! You call back the guards who went after us!”
“Yes, understood.”
* * *
What in the world was happening?
I pulled Oscar’s hand and ran, trying to make sense of it all.
We’d been walking along the main street looking for the Sub-Priest—Oscar’s grandfather—when—
I spotted a tall man with familiar white hair and thought, ‘Wow, he looks just like my teacher!’ I was startled, that’s all.
But when I looked closer, it really was Oscar, so I called out “Teacher?” and the man standing in front of him immediately drove a sword through him?
‘What on earth—’
There was no time to think.
I used my Life Force Manipulation to knock the man down as naturally as possible, and then my only thought was to run.
Besides, whatever Oscar was doing here, it seemed like we shouldn’t be seen by anyone we knew.
“Over here, over here!”
“Damn—”
Worried about Oscar’s condition from the blade wound, I couldn’t get far—I ducked into the nearest alley I could see.
The moment we entered, Oscar slid down with his back against the wall.
“Hagh.”
His face twisted in pain as he grabbed the sword lodged in his shoulder, then yanked it out with a groan.
“Argh, damn it!”
……
I squeezed my eyes shut at the gruesome sight, then rushed toward him.
I reached out—
“Don’t!”
Smack!
Oscar swatted my hand away harshly.
Then he gripped his bleeding shoulder and glared at me with a terrifying expression.
“Don’t do annoying things like that. Once my Mana recovers, I’ll handle it myself.”
Once his Mana recovers?
Did that mean he had no Mana right now?
Why?
No, that wasn’t the important question right now.
That look in his eyes—like he’d kill me if I tried to use my ability.
Oscar always acted this way.
“I don’t want to!”
I shouted and immediately activated my ability. I didn’t need to get close or make contact.
1 sec
One second. Just the amount of Life Force that wears away naturally while you breathe.
The moment the wound closed, Oscar started trembling violently and screamed at me.
“I told you not to do that!!!”
“Ow, my ears hurt!”
I covered my ears.
“Why won’t you listen to me?! Do you think I’m joking?!”
He was always like this.
Even though he knew that healing and recovery consumed the cheapest Life Force.
He absolutely, absolutely forbade me from using it.
I knew it was for my own good.
He was afraid that if I got too comfortable helping others easily, I’d grow numb to using my ability.
“I told you to leave it alone until my Mana recovers!”
“What do you mean, leave it alone?!”
“…Brat.”
“I can’t stand watching you hurt for even a single second!”
……
“Does it take a year to heal, ten years? It only takes one second—what’s the problem?!”
“Are you an idiot? I…!”
Oscar lowered his voice and hissed at me even as we spoke.
“…Do you mean don’t use the ability because it takes a lot of Life Force?”
“Yes! I know! It doesn’t take much to heal, so I’m telling you not to use it recklessly!”
“I get it, but why…!”
“And if you’re hurt, I’ll use it even if it takes a year or ten years!”
As I kept cutting off his words and raising my voice, Oscar’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What, does that girl think volume is everything….”
My intensity made Oscar lower the fierce gaze he’d been holding, and he let out a sigh.
Then he raised his voice again.
“You said there wouldn’t be any dangerous situations! So what’s all this!”
“……?”
I was bewildered.
“I wasn’t in any danger. It was you who got caught up in something dangerous. You picked a fight with some strange person and even got slashed with a sword.”
“…….”
Oscar grabbed his head as if at a loss for words, then sighed. His tone deflated, he muttered under his breath.
“…What I meant was, why did you come out here alone? Exhausted at that. Don’t you know how those madmen from before pick targets and start trouble?”
“Oh, that’s…. I didn’t expect it to turn out like this either. There seems to be a kidnapper among the Pilgrimage Group, and they ran. I thought I had to do something.”
“What? Are you joking?”
Oscar stood frozen.
“A Pilgrimage Group with a kidnapper isn’t dangerous?”
“I’m telling you that’s strange too! Originally there really wasn’t any danger. They’re elderly priests from Argonia, but something feels very off about them.”
“……?”
“The Sub-Priest who ran away — I tried to use my ability to find where he was hiding, but it said it would take five years. I think he’s concealing some kind of power.”
“…….”
“I couldn’t use it for five years, so I went after him directly before he could run any further.”
For some reason, Oscar just stared at me with his mouth hanging open, saying nothing.
“Sigh.”
I stepped forward to check if his wound had healed properly, touching the blood-stained part of his shoulder, and asked.
“But why do you have no Mana?”
“…Because I used it all up.”
“What on earth could make you use up all your Mana?”
Not just anyone, but Oscar?
Oscar, who after Father and Cheshire had the most abundant Mana among all the gifted?
“…….”
For some reason, Oscar hesitated before answering my question, then fell silent again.
“You’re not going to answer? And why are you even here?”
“I came to get you.”
“Pardon?”
“Why did you come here? You’re just wearing yourself out!”
“You said I could go. You said it was fine, so why are you here now to fetch me?”
“I never gave permission.”
“You did.”
“I didn’t hear it.”
“What?”
“…I didn’t hear it then. I was thinking about something else.”
“Huh.”
Now that I think about it, he’d agreed far too easily.
I’d even told him outright that I was going to use my ability to save people, and he’d said yes without hesitation — that had struck me as odd.
“Anyway, let’s go home.”
“No.”
“Why? Why are you determined to see the pilgrimage through to the end? What’s in Mollek?”
“…….”
Last time it was because he didn’t hear; this time, if I told him properly, all hell would break loose.
I changed the subject.
“We shouldn’t keep talking here. Sir, there are people in the Pilgrimage Group who know your face, right? It would be awkward if they recognized you. Let’s go find lodging somewhere.”
Oscar seemed to agree with my reasoning, rising with a gruff expression.
And then, just then.
“X dammit…. What~? A loser? A mutt, huh? Hic!”
From the opposite end of the Alley we’d come through.
An ominous voice cut through the air.
Oscar and I froze instinctively, holding our breath.
Soon enough, I caught sight of the madman from before—the one who’d plunged a blade into Oscar without warning—passing by the alley entrance.
Oh no.
Please, just keep walking….
Don’t look in here….
“Huh?”
As if mocking my silent prayer, the man peered directly into the alley.
He spotted us—or more precisely, Oscar—and his eyes went wild.
“You, you bastard! So you were here~?”
“For god’s sake. Should’ve gone home, washed my feet, and just slept,” Oscar muttered with a heavy sigh, pressing his palm to his forehead.
I immediately glanced down at my Bracelet.
I’d keep it hidden—out of sight as much as possible.
The moment he ventured deeper into the alley, I’d slam his head into the pavement and bolt….
“Don’t.”
But Oscar seized my wrist firmly, shielding the Bracelet, and pushed my arm back.
“…What are you doing? You said you had no Mana left.”
At the doubt in my voice, Oscar spun around, bristling.
“Hey, what’s with that tone? And that look? You think I can’t handle one person?”
“That’s not it, but right now I feel like I should be the one protecting you….”
“Just watch! I’ve been working out!”
With absolute confidence, Oscar turned his attention back to the man.
“…Wow. Again?”
A blade had materialized in the man’s hand.
“How many swords does this lunatic carry on him?!”
Oscar’s outburst seemed to serve as a signal. The man charged forward.
Or rather, tried to.
“Aaagh!”
But in a flash, a shadow engulfed him from behind, striking his thigh with brutal force and driving him down onto his knees.
The one who’d ambushed him so suddenly was none other than….
‘…Grandfather Rick?’
Sub-Priest Rick.
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
What followed was an unbelievable display.
Bang!
Rick swiftly pressed down on the kneeling man’s skull and slammed it into the ground.
“My goodness, people these days,” he muttered.
In the same motion, he seized the arm holding the blade.
“Waving something so dangerous around—have you no sense?”
And then, with arms so skeletal they looked barely capable of lifting a spoon….
Crack.
“Yaaaargh!”
He rotated the man’s thick forearm and snapped it with casual ease.
As the weapon slipped from the man’s weakened grip, Rick picked it up and hurled it far away.
Then, with a sharp chop to the nape of the thrashing man’s neck, he put him gently to sleep.
……A clean finish.

Silence descended.

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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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