My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 257

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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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Dad hiding his strength
Chapter 257
* * *
In the office of Oscar, Master of the Magic Tower.
The day after finishing the new researcher recruitment exam questions by dawn.
“Huzzah! Freedom at last!”
I’d finally succeeded in getting approval for the fifty-question exam paper.
“Happy?”
Hans, who’d been sitting down, asked with his chin propped up at an angle. I nodded so vigorously my head nearly detached.
“You really are going to pass that last question fifty, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. Well… imagination’s the most important thing when making Magic Formulas anyway.”
Excellent. Simply excellent.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Hans, offering praise that was uncharacteristically kind, stood and walked toward the window.
“Mm, you worked harder than I did.”
That was honest, at least.
All I’d done was extract fifty questions for the final exam, but Hans had spent an entire month sleeping only three hours a night making 150 questions across three difficulty levels for the preliminary, secondary, and tertiary exams.
The reason we followed Hans’s tyranny without complaint was that he was always a superior who did three times as much work as anyone else.
“Sorry for driving you all hard lately. We can’t just let anyone into the Magic Tower, you understand?”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it, I get it.”
“Lilis, what I mean is… I hope that when the Master returns someday and sees this Magic Tower, he won’t be disappointed.”
…….
I fell silent at the softness in Hans’s voice.
Hans, who’d followed Oscar more faithfully than anyone, had cried and grieved the most when he vanished. Even as time passed, the longing seemed to remain.
“So I’m counting on you going forward. It’ll be hard without you.”
Hans turned and smiled.
Looking at how much Hans had grown, I felt a new surge of pride and smiled back.
The way he’d grown so well, with that slender frame that kept stretching despite eating constantly, and that blunt manner of speaking that showed no mercy—it all reminded me of someone.
“Of course, Master. But hey, how far along are those Magic Formulas I asked you to make before?”
“Oh, you mean those forty-two Magic Formulas that you kept whining about—the ones I’m already swamped with work and have no idea what they’re even for, the ones that seem absolutely useless?”
Hmm.
Oscar’s way of speaking really is something else—so mercilessly blunt it embarrasses whoever’s listening!
“…Well, take your time. I’m grateful you’re making them at all. Honestly, I just couldn’t pull it off myself.”
Hans sighed at my deflated state, then went to his desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a thick stack of papers.
“Here.”
“……?”
I gasped and quickly approached to flip through the papers. All the Magic Formulas I’d requested were complete.
“No—no—no way! You finished all of this already? You… you’re a genius?”
Seeing me speechless, Hans frowned.
“You didn’t know?”
“Kyaaaaaah!”
I threw my arms around Hans and cheered.
“Settle down. But these supposedly useless spells are all terrible value for mana—they consume an unimaginable amount. Even if I make them, there’s almost no one who could actually cast them…”
“It’s fine!”
I declared triumphantly.
“We have Enoch Rubinstein, after all!”
What could be difficult for the world’s strongest, drowning in mana he has nowhere to spend?
“But what are you even planning to use them for?”
“Oh, when my Master returns, I want to try out all sorts of things.”
I spoke contentedly as I examined Hans’s Magic Formulas.
This was my own little scheme, worked out carefully. I wanted many people who loved Oscar, not just myself, to be able to remember him again.
Of course, these were only workarounds trying to circumvent God’s Eyes, and I wasn’t confident they’d succeed at all.
“Try out? What do you mean?”
“Anyway, thank you. The greatest Master of the Magic Tower! Hans Wieber, the unparalleled genius of this land!”
I hugged the Magic Formulas carefully to my chest and poked Hans’s arm with my elbow.
“But, Master, I was up until 2 a.m. yesterday working, and I gave up my day off tomorrow too… Could I maybe take a half-day leave and leave early today?”
…….
“Come on. I didn’t even get to date my boyfriend properly all month while making those questions. Right? Right?”
“Well, um…”
Hans nodded as if thinking positively, then placed his hand on my shoulder.
And then he whispered quietly into her ear….
“Stop spouting nonsense and get to work.”
…he murmured.
Yeah, I saw that coming.
I broke into a grin.
“What a dictator you are.”
Someday I really will stage a revolution in this Magic Tower!
* * *
The capital, Romwell.
A restaurant called Jenon Auntie’s Cooking.
This establishment with its distinctive sign also operated as an inn from the second floor up — it was where Oscar was lodging.
‘Is he serious?’
Early morning, an empty restaurant without a single patron.
Oscar sat on the first floor after ordering breakfast, working through past exam problems from the Magic Tower’s researcher recruitment.
‘He’s actually serious?’
Oscar gritted his teeth as he breezed through problems so difficult that ordinary people couldn’t even understand them.
‘They call this a test? How far has the Magic Tower fallen in my absence?’
The remarkable thing was that these were recruitment exam questions from three months prior.
Even more remarkable was that all the applicants had failed this test, which could be solved with one’s eyes closed.
‘So the Magic Tower isn’t the problem — it’s these people’s brains in this country.’
What Oscar Manuel hadn’t been able to fix in three years, no matter how hard he clenched his teeth.
Everyone but me is an idiot!
That was his towering, sky-piercing arrogance….
“Well now, what on earth is all this?”
Just then, the innkeeper settled himself casually beside Oscar and dropped his jaw.
“My word, you’re something else. The way you’re breezing through these impossible problems without batting an eye.”
The innkeeper reached over with his hairy arm to take the exam sheet, examining it before letting out a low whistle.
Joe, as he was known — the innkeeper with his disheveled belly and unkempt orange beard — was the sort of man who loved to strike up unnecessary conversations and poke his nose into other people’s business.
In other words, exactly the type that Oscar couldn’t stand.
“So James, you’re heading to the Magic Tower to work as a researcher, right?”
And yet, from the very first day at the inn, Oscar had dutifully answered Joe’s questions about his name, his destination, everything he probed into.
The original Oscar would never have imagined such a thing.
But now he was James Grayne, who had resolved to become warm and kind toward others.
“Heh heh, you know, I happen to have a good connection at the Magic Tower.”
“Oh?”
Joe, grinning wickedly, leaned in close to Oscar’s ear.
“Since you’re staying at my inn, fate brought us together — want me to put in a word for you?”
A bribe request?
Oscar’s expression darkened immediately.
Someone dared to offer a bribe to join the sacred Magic Tower? What in the world had happened over these three years?
“Who is it? What’s their name?”
Oscar asked, already thinking he’d need to do a thorough purge once he arrived.
“The Rubinstein Princess, that’s who!”
“Who?”
Oscar’s eyes widened.
“Before I came to the capital, I lived in a mountain village called Jenon down in the Southern Region, you see? We were neighbors back then. Ah, I still remember her — that tiny little thing running around in diapers, prattling on about washing her father’s underwear with those little hands. It seems like only yesterday, yet look how big she’s gotten now.”
Joe, lost in the memory, wiped away a tear.
‘Ah. So they knew each other from when his father deserted, back where he lived.’
Oscar realized with surprise. What were the odds of such a coincidence?
“That little squirt was something else, let me tell you. When she was seven, I taught her poker, and before you knew it, she’d beaten me soundly and taken every single acorn I had. That’s when I knew she was sharp.”
“Teaching a child poker….”
Oscar frowned, but Joe paid him no mind and continued.
“I used to go firewood gathering with that Rubinstein Duke, and we were like brothers back then. That’s why I felt so close to you, James — the Duke used James as his name back then too.”
…….
“Ah, I suppose you don’t know since you’re from the Kingdom? That Rubinstein Duke is none other than the leader of the Imperial Revolutionary Army! Right?”
Joe thrust his thumb up enthusiastically.
“He’s the very man who transformed this wretched country in one fell swoop. My wife and I only came to the capital because things got better enough for us to live decently — we’d never have dared otherwise.”
“Heavens above!”
Just then, Susan, Joe’s wife, emerged from the kitchen and delivered a sharp smack to her husband’s back.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“I told you not to bother the guests!”
“What do you mean bother? The young fellow was sitting here all alone looking bored, so I was just keeping him company!”
“Quiet!”
Susan set down Oscar’s meal with an apologetic smile and bowed.
“I’m sorry. This old fool’s got no sense, does he? Eat up now. If you want anything else, just say the word.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Come on, Joe! If you’ve got nothing to do, I’ve already laid out some food for the boy—go run an errand instead!”
“Ow, ow, ow, ow! That hurts, that hurts!”
Susan dragged Joe out by his ear without mercy.
It was then.
“Oh my goodness, James!”
Susan rushed happily toward someone who had just entered the dining hall.
James?
Oscar turned, thinking she was calling him, then froze in shock.
Enoch!
It was Enoch!
‘What is that man doing here….’
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
His heart raced as if it might burst from his chest.
Oscar placed a steady hand over his heart and did nothing but listen to the conversation drifting from behind him.
“Goodness, what’s wrong with me? Still calling you James. My apologies, sir.”
“Ha! Please, call me whatever you’re comfortable with, Susan. And do let my friend’s ear go.”
“Right, right, let him be!”
“Oof!”
Susan released Joe’s ear and asked him a question.
“Anyway, what brings you by so early? Haven’t you had breakfast? Can I fix you something?”
“No, I’ve eaten already. I stopped by on my way to work. Lilis asked me to pick something up?”
“Oh, that’s right!”
Susan slapped Enoch on the shoulder with a hearty laugh.
“You know that dish I used to make for Lilis when she was small? That sour pickled cabbage. The head chef at the manor has good skills, but she says it doesn’t taste quite the same as when I make it.”
Susan glanced at Joe and added, “I was meaning to send some with you anyway, so I’ve made a batch. Take it with you, would you? Just give me a moment.”
The moment Susan disappeared into the kitchen, Oscar rose. He intended to slip naturally up to his room on the second floor.
“Oh perfect, you’re here at just the right time!”
But then—grip.
Joe’s arm caught him fast.
“James, I hear there’s an exam at the Magic Tower tomorrow? This friend staying here at our inn is taking it too—could you put in a good word for him with Lilis? Hm?”
No, no, no, no!
This crazy fool!
Oscar’s vision went white. He couldn’t bring himself to turn around, just stood there awkwardly clenching his teeth and mumbling.
“That’s… that’s not… necessary….”
“Hmm? What was that?”
“No, sir. Even if you’re my friend, I can’t do that. Exams have to be fair.”
That’s right—let go of my arm!
That garbage of a test could be solved blindfolded with your feet!
Oscar tried to wrench his wrist free from Joe’s grip, but the thick hand held fast and wouldn’t budge.
Ah, these past three years….
I should have exercised more.
“No, I’m not asking you to do anything dishonest—just watch over the lad kindly. The poor fellow came to this duchy as an immigrant with no connections and is looking for work.”
“Is that so?”
No, no, no, no!
In his excessive kindness, Joe had just rattled off Oscar’s circumstances—”came as an immigrant,” “looking for work,” “taking an exam at the Magic Tower.”
If a man with such a dramatic story suddenly bolted upstairs without turning around or showing his face?
A sharp-witted man like Enoch might notice something was amiss.
Oscar didn’t know exactly what threshold of recognition triggered the Geis, but….
In the worst case, he could wake up as a cold corpse in his room tomorrow morning.
‘Stay calm. Just act natural and you’ll live.’
Dangerous as it was, Enoch was a mountain he’d have to cross anyway.
If he’d wanted to stay alive, he wouldn’t have gone to see Lilis in the first place. Meeting her father was something that couldn’t be avoided, sooner or later.
‘I can do this.’

Wasn’t that three years of grueling preparation so he could survive an encounter with someone he knew and live to tell about it?
‘You can do this, Oscar Manuel.’
A moment of ultimate crisis.
Oscar swallowed hard, then turned around with as much composure as he could muster.
And so, three and a half years later, they met again.
“…….”
“…….”
The two men regarded each other in silence, their gazes unwavering.

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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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