My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 186

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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 hides his strength
186
I rushed over and grabbed Cheshire by the collar.
“…Why? What on earth for?”
……
“Wait—are you heading out on an expedition today? Why the dress uniform? And why are you shouting about protocol from head to toe all of a sudden?”
“…Sorry. I was still looking for Father, so I came straight here once you finished.”
“But why the formal clothes just to find Uncle?”
Ah, right.
To search for Axion, I’d need to request cooperation, and a single rank-bearing cloak worked faster than lengthy explanations.
Yesterday, when I’d gone around inns in casual dress, I’d run into suspicious looks and relentless questioning—it had been tiresome.
“I see, I understand….”
“Earlier… those children—are they friends you study with at the Magic Tower?”
“Yeah, they’re all non-ability users. They hate nobles, so I reassured them I get along with everyone, but the moment I finished speaking, some young lord from the Duke’s household showed up to pick me up.”
As I climbed into the carriage, Cheshire, who’d been following behind, stopped and let out a sigh.
“That was my fault.”
“No, it’s fine. The milk’s already spilled. Thanks for picking me up. But starting tomorrow, you don’t need to come. The Magic Tower has its own carriage.”
……
“Cheshire?”
“…Have you eaten dinner?”
The way he dodged my point made it clear he intended to pick me up every single day.
I sighed and answered.
“Yeah, I ate. The food here was good. How about you?”
“Not yet. I’ll eat once I get home.”
“Still haven’t found Uncle?”
“No.”
Cheshire nodded, his expression darkening.
I patted his shoulder reassuringly.
“It’s okay. We’ll find him. Don’t head straight home—let’s stop by the restaurant first.”
“But you already ate. I can just eat at home separately, so don’t worry about it.”
“No. We’re stopping by anyway to search for Uncle, so it works out. Have you ever tried pickled herring?”
Cheshire tilted his head quizzically.
I opened the small window in the driver’s seat and called out.
“Take us to Lico Restaurant!”
* * *
The method for requesting a transaction at the information guild Red Sparrow:
Slam one side of a gold coin bearing the Emperor’s face onto the table mockingly—
“Pickled herring, please!”
—order pickled herring.
* * *
In the basement of Lico Restaurant.
The headquarters of the information guild Red Sparrow.
“Jasmine? Cinnamon?”
Lico, dressed in a black turtleneck, asked as she pulled out a teacup.
“Orange juice, please!”
“Children’s taste, I see.”
“Well, I am a child…?”
Lico chuckled softly and set down the glass of juice before taking a seat across from me.
At twenty-one, Lico—unlike me, who’d merely grown older—had lived earnestly, and in doing so had grown the guild’s influence to considerable proportions.
“But I confess, I don’t understand. Someone planning something grand surrenders their own life so easily?”
Lico clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
I explained the situation and asked her to look into Axion’s whereabouts, and she immediately dispatched her guild members.
“Doesn’t your advisor work? Or is he more foolish than I thought? If he anticipated the Emperor would send the Duke of Libre on a suicide expedition, didn’t he devise a way to survive?”
“No, our advisor is smart. He did tell us how to survive. He told Uncle to desert.”
“Then why didn’t your advisor’s counsel work? Why are you so certain the Duke of Libre won’t desert and will go die there instead?”
“Because His Majesty the Emperor must have anticipated Uncle would desert. I’m sure he applied even more pressure.”
“Pressure, you say… perhaps his comrades’ lives. But I still don’t understand.”
Lico’s brow furrowed.
“Success without bloodshed is impossible from the start. Unavoidable sacrifices must be accepted. Why can’t he be cold-blooded about it and simply abandon his own life?”
“You’re right, Lico. This work requires coldness. But Uncle isn’t that kind of person.”
I sighed, thinking of Axion.
‘Uncle must be living through absolute hell right now.’
* * *
Twelve hours earlier.
Axion Libre was already making his way toward the Moarte Archipelago.
After leaving his home, he’d gone straight to the Emperor, declared his immediate departure, and boarded a ship near dawn once day had broken.
There was no reason to delay the expedition.
There was the risk that his destination might become known to outsiders….
And the longer he lingered in thought, the more the fear of death would torment him.
“I can show you a way to survive.”
“…Didn’t you advise me to desert?”
Words left by Joseph Lütmann, the strategist, spoken privately to Axion alone.
“There is one more thing I must ask of you. You cannot simply flee with your body. Should His Majesty attempt to recover even your corpse, matters would become complicated. The reason I mention this separately is that it would be unethical to speak of it where all could hear….”
Yes, there was a way to survive.
“Before your desertion, you must arrange a substitute and make it appear as though you’ve died. You must destroy every aspect that could expose the substitute’s identity upon examination.”
It was indeed unethical enough to make Joseph hesitate before uttering it.
Kill an innocent comrade, grind down that face, and leave behind ‘evidence’ that Axion Libre had surely perished.
Brutal in its boldness.
But there was no more perfect ‘move’ than that.
‘But could that actually work?’
After silently gazing at the sky breaking over the horizon, Axion turned to survey his surroundings.
The comrades gathered on deck.
Thirty soldiers of the third rank, the Septima Guard, who had embarked with Axion.
Believing they were heading north on an expedition, they had been summoned that very day, received the Emperor’s command, and fell into shock.
Some stood vacant, waiting for death; others wept uncontrollably despite their efforts at restraint.
Three hours on a ship bound for the Moarte Archipelago.
The deck was filled with sounds of despair.
* * *
‘The damn fool. Just leaves without a word to die?’
When Enoch heard that Axion had left home, he was furious.
If Lilis hadn’t immediately doubted Axion’s lie about heading north on an expedition?
He certainly would have been too late.
Enoch would have lost his friend without ever knowing.
‘The more I think about it, the more it galls me.’
Moarte was safe now.
It couldn’t possibly be safer.
Oscar, who’d gone with them, had used the highest-grade detection magic—unreleased, of course—to draw out every hidden beast and exterminated them all before returning.
But Axion doesn’t know this fact.
So what must he be thinking right now? Is he trembling in terror of death?
“Ah, the more I think about it, the more it pisses me off.”
Enoch sprang up from where he’d been lying.
“Does he think of me as a friend at all?”
* * *
The Moarte Archipelago.
As he’d heard, it was an extraordinarily peaceful scene while the sun hung in the sky.
“Is everything unloaded?”
“Yes, Commander.”
The Vice-Commander, who had overseen the unloading of all combat supplies, nodded.
Axion gave orders to the thirty Septima Guard soldiers who had disembarked with uniformly pale faces.
“Now you’re all to board again.”
“Yes, understood… Sir?”
The Vice-Commander’s eyes widened in shock.
“What do you mean by that, sir?”
“You’re going to die? No, you won’t. Get back on.”
Axion let out a short laugh and gestured toward the ship with his chin.
“Those who know will understand—this Moarte Subjugation was a retaliatory expedition aimed at me. So if only I remain here, His Majesty won’t hold you responsible for anything.”
“But, sir, that still… Ah, no. No, sir. We will fight alongside you.”
“You can’t make that decision on your own.”
Axion tapped the Vice-Commander’s shoulder and gestured toward those standing behind him.
Could they survive?
A fragile thread of hope had returned color to faces that were dying, and a few of them lowered their heads in embarrassment.
“This is an order from your superior.”
“Y-yes, Commander.”
“Board the ship.”
The Vice-Commander trembled, uncertain what to do. He hesitated for a long moment, his eyes glistening with tears, before finally offering a salute with a choked sound.
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
“Go. Quickly. I understand.”
The Septima forces boarded, and the ship departed.
The final crossroads between life and death had been decided, at last, toward death alone.
* * *
Enoch thought of Axion and took out the two military dog tags he always wore around his neck.
[Paladin Order
69-17002412
Axion Schneider]
[Paladin Order
69-17002411
Enoch Rubinstein]
When his daughter asked how close he and Axion were, seeing the dog tags they each carried, Enoch had answered:
“Your uncle and I? Well, we promised to die together if it comes to that, and live together otherwise—that’s how close we are!”
“…That’s funny.”
Enoch grumbled.
“Lilis, it looks like your uncle doesn’t feel the same way about your father!”
Enoch had been debating whether to go look for Axion, who was probably hiding somewhere sulking, but instead he simply sprawled out on his back.
Let him stew. He’d earned it.
“You’d better enjoy your sightseeing, you bastard!”
* * *
[Paladin Order
69-17002411
Enoch Rubinstein]
[Paladin Order
69-17002412
Axion Schneider]
At the same moment.
Upon the dazzling sandy beach, Axion lay in the exact same posture as Enoch, fingering the two dog tags as he reclined.
“Sigh.”
The Moarte Archipelago was beautiful as the sun set.
It was impossible to imagine that soon it would become a place of utter chaos.
‘So this is how I die.’
He wasn’t particularly afraid.
He only felt sorry toward his friend and his son.
He had worried they might notice if he left a farewell note, so he simply kept it tucked in his pocket.
All he could hope for was that his body would remain intact.
Then his final farewell might reach them.
“I’m sorry.”
Axion tucked the dog tags into his chest with a sigh.
If he hadn’t taken part in the rebellion, would he not be dying now?
No. He had no regrets.
Even if it hadn’t been the rebellion…
Born an Ability User in the Empire, hadn’t he always been prepared for death?
“We promised to die together if it comes to that, and live together if we can!”
“Wouldn’t it be better not to die?”
“…You’re right. Then let’s survive together!”
His only regret was that he couldn’t keep that promise with his friend.
Axion’s heart was more at peace than it had ever been.
“It’s perfect weather for dying.”
He gazed up at the serene sky and smiled.

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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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