My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 75

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

Dad hiding his strength
Chapter 75
* * *
“I’ll fall into hell with you.”
I stuck a fork in my mouth and stared blankly into empty space.
Two weeks had passed since Cheshire delivered that incredible line, but…
“Lilis!”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
Every time I remembered it, I’d go blank all over again.
Gem stopped eating and waved her hands frantically in front of my face.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing? Your eyes are completely glazed over.”
“Hmm.”
Embarrassed, I picked up my fork again, and in the distance I caught sight of Cheshire eating.
That radiant face, still luminous as ever.
Everyone around him was relegated to background extras.
‘Romance… The author’s definitely strange, but they wouldn’t have left out the romance, would they?’
Or else there’s no way someone with those looks could blurt out such an enormous line without any self-awareness.
“Hey. Lilis.”
Gem followed my gaze as it landed on Cheshire, then narrowed her eyes with a mischievous grin.
I beat her to the punch before she could say anything strange.
“Ninety.”
“Eighty-one!”
“Good. Seventy-eight?”
“Fifty-six!”
“My goodness, impressive.”
“Ehehe!”
Alisha, watching our exchange from across the table, poked out her lip.
“Lilis, you’re really taking the Monthly Assessment with her?”
“Yeah.”
“Why? You said you wanted to graduate early.”
“Hey! What’s wrong with me?”
Gem bristled and added defensively.
“I can draw Magic Circles now, you know? I got eighty points on the theory test yesterday.”
“Hmph!”
Alisha puffed out her cheeks adorably and snorted.
Though they bickered like that, the girls in our room had gotten quite close over time.
“Besides, we have to form teams with exactly one White Badge holder each anyway. Gem’s perfect now that she’s learned Magic from you—completely ideal.”
“Right. And Gem’s always been first in practical skills. I think Lilis made a really smart team choice.”
When Diane spoke and Michelle agreed, Gem’s nose practically shot into the air.
“That’s right, that’s right!”
“Haha! Only two weeks left, so let’s work even harder, Gem. Eat a good meal, and tonight we’ll practice together with Cheshire again!”
“Sure!”
At my encouragement, Gem stuffed her mouth with food eagerly.
“Goodness, you really eat a lot. Even a pig wouldn’t eat as much as you!”
Alisha grumbled and transferred her portion of sausage onto Gem’s plate.
“What?”
“I’m full. Eat it or don’t.”
“Full from just that? Honestly, you noble girls really are something.”
The bickering between the two was so endearing. I swiped at my nose with a contented sigh.
‘Yes, let’s keep it like this. Just like this.’
I’d graduate soon, hide myself right beside Dad, and help little by little by recalling the original story.
Revolution for this rotten empire!
As fast as possible!
With both main characters—guaranteed victors—on my side, there’s no reason to be afraid of some tyrant emperor beforehand.
I clenched my fist, steeled my resolve, and stole another glance at Cheshire.
‘Wait?’
Cheshire was looking at me too, and our eyes met.
I smiled slightly at his steady gaze and waved my hand—
“Lilis.”
Ah, so she hadn’t been looking at me at all—she’d been watching Gerard as he approached.
“Yeah, Gerard. What’s up?”
Beside him stood that annoying Bruce and a commoner boy I’d never seen before.
“Let’s take the Monthly Assessment together.”
“Huh?”
Gerard’s words fell into silence.
Every eye in the Dining Hall swiveled toward us at once.
“Oh, um.”
Gerard was on my side, my ally—an unpolished prospect who needed redeeming, a friend I should help become better.
Turning these thoughts over, I searched for the kindest way to refuse.
“Sorry, but I’ve already found teammates for the exam.”
“Who?”
“Here—Gem and—”
I stood, leaning on Gem’s shoulder, and pointed to Cheshire.
“Cheshire!”
“…….”
Gerard blinked.
“Two White Badges?”
“Yeah!”
“No, that won’t work. You only need one. Look, Bruce is Second-Rank too.”
Gerard gestured to the White Badge friend he’d brought with him.
“This is Butler. Best grades among all the White Badges.”
“But I already said I found my teammates.”
“You can’t form a team like that. White Badges lack the stats.”
I was beginning to feel irritated. He was talking about people like he was picking game items, and I still couldn’t tell if he was already beyond saving or if there was still hope for him yet.
“Look, Gerard. I actually need one more teammate. And I’m planning to choose another White Badge for that spot.”
“What?”
Gerard’s eyes went wide.
All the kids nearby who’d been listening to our conversation dropped their jaws.
Was this really such a shocking thing to say?
“You’re not planning to drop out?”
“No, of course not.”
Gerard let out a hollow laugh.
“Then team up with me. I’ve almost got a thousand points saved up, so I’ll dump all my score toward you this exam.”
“Wow.”
“Amazing….”
“Man, that’d be nice.”
The children gasped with envy at the Gold Badge’s blatant offer to carry the team.
“If you bring three White Badges, you’ll be stuck hunting F-Rank Beasts the whole time. You won’t Graduation even if you hunt forever. You need to take down C-Rank to rack up points fast.”
“Then I’ll hunt C-Rank Beasts to cover my friends’ share too.”
“What did you say?”
“Gerard.”
I opened my mouth, hoping my words would get through to him.
“We’re Gold Badges. We can manage on our own just fine. So why insist on gathering only the talented ones?”
“…….”
“It’s harder for White Badge students to accumulate points, so if we help them, wouldn’t we all Graduation together faster?”
I took the silent Gerard’s hand and continued.
“My father told me this, Gerard. A powerful Ability User should know how to use their strength for good. You’re strong, so wouldn’t it be much better to help your weaker friends?”
A gold-gold-silver combination would be genuinely inefficient without a conscience….
Gerard fell silent, studying my face for a long moment, then smiled and nodded.
“You’re right, Lilis. I understand what you’re saying. I hope you do well on this exam.”
* * *
Evening, just before bedtime.
Gem’s spirit cry rang out loud and clear.
“Hiyah! Ha!”
We came to the Academy Courtyard to train without missing a single day.
“Hmm.”
I watched Cheshire and Gem as they trained, lost in thought.
‘Come to think of it, all three of us are offensive Ability Users. The Team Formation is definitely inefficient this way.’
The Monthly Assessment requires hunting Magical Beasts to accumulate points.
Of course, they’re false beasts created by Illusion Magic, but within the test grounds you still take real damage and receive actual wounds.
That’s why having at least one healer or defensive Ability User on the team was essential.
Admittedly, Cheshire and Gem are strong, and since I can cast all types of Magic, it’s not a major concern, but….
‘Still, I need to conserve my Life Force as much as possible, so it would be nice if the last team member were a healer.’
Thinking this, I waved at the two of them as they trained.
“Hey, you two! Do you know anyone good with defensive or healing Abilities?”
“Oh right, we’re going to have to do this without a shield?”
……
Gem and Cheshire came over to me, wiping the sweat from their brows.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve memorized a few Defensive Magic Circles. I’ll set up shields for you!”
“Wow! Really? You’re amazing, Lilis!”
Gem laughed excitedly.
“Still, it would be nice to have someone like that.”
Cheshire looked uncertain.
“Yeah, it’d be good to have one, but we’ll be fine without. I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt.”
……
As I spoke with a bright smile, Cheshire, who had been staring at me, turned his head away and murmured, “Right.”
“What, what is this! You two!”
Gem teased us, wiggling his cheeks.
That’s when it happened.
“Hey, you guys!”
“Oh, Rom?”
Cheshire’s roommate, Rom.
He came carrying his arms full of snacks and dumped them all onto the Pergola where we were sitting.
“No, Rom… you didn’t have to do this.”
“Hehe. You guys work so hard every day. You must be hungry—go ahead and eat.”
Rom knew that we came out to the Academy Courtyard every evening to practice, so he made sure to bring snacks like this.
“D-don’t overdo it for us, okay? Just take it easy and everyone should go get some rest!”
“Wait, Rom!”
I grabbed his arm.
“Y-yes?”
“Have you decided who you’re taking the Monthly Assessment with?”
“Huh?”
Rom blinked his vacant eyes a few times, then quickly waved his hands.
“N-no! I’m f-fine! D-don’t worry!”
“What? I haven’t even asked yet.”
“Y-you’re not going to ask me to t-take the t-test with you, a-are you?”
“Yeah, I am. If you haven’t formed a team yet, join us.”
“N-no! B-because everyone says you’re l-looking for one more person for your W-White Badge team, and th-they all want to j-join. There are better p-people than me, so I sh-should go with th-them.”
“You don’t need to be the best. Don’t you want to graduate? Come with us.”
“N-no. Actually, I d-don’t really want to g-graduate.”
What?
Faced with this unexpected answer, the three of us stared at each other in bewilderment.
“Th-this place p-provides f-food and snacks and a p-place to sleep. M-my f-family is p-poor. M-my mother is b-better off with m-me here.”
I see.
“Wh-when I eat, m-my mother goes h-hungry. S-so it’s b-better if I j-just st-stay here.”
“No, Rom!”
“No.”
Cheshire and I spoke at the same time.
We looked at each other.
“H-huh?”
As Rom tilted his head in confusion, Cheshire spoke instead of me.
“You have to graduate. Once you get the Ability User Badge and leave, things will change.”
“H-huh?”
“People won’t look down on you, and you’ll be able to find work. You and your mother won’t have to starve.”
“That’s right!”
I jumped in.
“Rom, you miss your mother, don’t you?”
“Y-yes. Th-that’s… that’s true….”
“Get your Ability User Badge and go to your mother with your head held high! You need to take care of her now, buy her delicious food!”
“R-really? Is that… is that actually possible?”
“Of course it is!”
“It’s possible.”
Cheshire and I nodded in agreement, and just then Gem threw an arm over both our shoulders, popping into the conversation uninvited.
“In this country, if you’ve got an Ability, you can live really comfortably!”
“Y-yes, I s-suppose so….”
Rom thought it over for a long while before finally nodding.
“O-okay, I understand. B-but I’m afraid I w-won’t be much h-help at all. I m-mean, I’m n-nothing like you two, my g-grades are awful….”
“Don’t worry about it, really!”
I took Rom’s hand and shook it up and down as I asked.
“By the way, Rom, what’s your major?”
“M-me?”
Rom scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“I-it’s the m-most useless th-thing. H-healing Magic, the c-curative type….”
“What?!”
What a stroke of luck! I covered my mouth and turned to look at Cheshire and Gem.
Both of them were smiling.
‘A healer dropped right into our lap!’
I had a good feeling about this. We’re going to put the Avengers to shame.

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