Sister-in-law of the Heroine in a Childcare Novel - Chapter 147

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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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Chapter 147

I’d prepared myself to endure it if Pan had cried out something like, ‘How dare you try to buy a great wizard like me with money! Do you think money solves everything?’—and hurled a purse at me in fury.
But Pan had surrendered to gold far more quickly than expected. Perhaps ashamed of his own weakness, he cleared his throat with a hollow cough.
“Ahem, ahem. You said you’d pay back the debt, right? Let me see… besides that… Wait! That inscription! Surely not!”
I slipped the Bracelet that Flux had gifted me from my wrist and set it on the table, deliberately positioning it so the inner engraving showed. Pan made a sound like air leaking from a punctured balloon.
Hmm, so he’d traveled all across the continent—he seemed to know exactly whose seal that was.
“Well then, since you’re a wizard, you’ll need experimental materials, won’t you? And given that you’re always on the run, you’d appreciate a place to set up a workshop. Shall I arrange a suitable new identity for you as well?”
“…Well, yes, those things would be nice! It’s only natural to expect such conditions when hiring a wizard as great as I am!”
He spoke the words, but his pupils trembled faintly. I clicked my tongue.
“If money’s such a problem, you could have paid off decent debts just by taking commissions for a few quality garments and selling them. Why, with your talent, are you in such a state…?”
“Hmph! Sometimes inspiration strikes when I’m working, sometimes it doesn’t! Rather than release a finished piece that doesn’t satisfy me, I’d sooner burn it!”
“But then why borrow such enormous sums…?”
“I need magic materials, travel expenses, information brokers, and—ugh! If you knew my circumstances, you’d understand! No amount of money is ever enough!”
Thinking of High Priest Illian counting the bonus money with delight and saying, ‘With this, our children can enjoy steaks and a glass of wine!’—I found it hard to regard my counterpart sympathetically.
Though in fairness, someone living a double life and running about everywhere while constantly sucking on potent Numbing Potions for pain management has little reason to concern themselves with expenditure.
“In any case, these are your debt certificates, which I’ve gathered. As long as they’re in my possession, your false identity—Mercury—your real name Pan—all of it means you’d better help me with my work sincerely.”
“You said you’d pay back the debts!”
“What if you run off with the money?”
“What do you take me for!”
“A socially maladjusted wizard with a false identity who thoughtlessly borrows money, spends it recklessly, and never repays it? Well, consider this advance payment on the contract. Even if I give it to you… given how you spend, you’ll barely make it before you’re drowning in debt again.”
“…!”
Pan’s face twisted with indignation. He seized his own hair and tore at it, white strands scattering through the air like wool.
“…Damn it. Fine, then you’d better explain the rough plan! I can’t have you dragging me along aimlessly forever!”
“Discovering Chernobog’s Contractor, crushing them, and reinforcing the Barrier so firmly that Chernobog can’t so much as touch this world again… Would you call that heartless of me?”
“What household does Chernobog even belong to?”
Pan spoke with open scorn. His violet eyes, which until now had glimmered faintly like gold coins, now held unmistakable mockery. I was reflected in them.
Platinum hair hidden beneath a hood. My form disguised like a servant girl. Sitting casually with an Emoticon Sword in my grip, I looked quite natural and uncontrived.
“Are you indulging in arrogance just because you’re Beloborg’s Contractor, because you’re royalty, because you were chosen? Do you even understand what it means for a human to be caught in the quarrel of gods? Your opponent is the god of beasts, the Dark Parent. You can’t even imagine the crisis that awaits you.”
“Yes, yes—hardship will come, adversity will come, misery will come? It’s hard? I’m weak? Is that what you’re trying to say?”
Pan’s face contorted. He looked like he was thinking, ‘What in the world is this?’ It was becoming a familiar expression.
“…This world is destined for destruction anyway! Everyone dies someday! Light won once, so now it’s darkness’s turn to triumph!”
In Pan’s eyes lay a very faint defeat and fear. I recognized those eyes.
But this wasn’t the moment to comfort him with, ‘Oh, I see. That must have been so difficult for you!’ I delivered my words flatly.
“By that logic… humans are destined to die eventually anyway, so why eat? Why sleep? If we’re all going to die anyway, why not die comfortably and quickly?”
“A princess who grew up comfortable in the Imperial Palace presuming to speak so casually of death…!”
“Whether someone grew up comfortable or rolled about like a pebble on bare ground, I hate giving up before even trying something just because ‘it won’t work anyway.’ I’ve always hated it.”
If only I lose out, that’s fine.
If I can just pretend not to know and die alone, that’s acceptable.
But innocents, ordinary people—if they’re all going to die, shouldn’t we stop it? Isn’t that just natural?
“I might die a pointless death, sure. I’ve made peace with that. Actually, fighting against something like the parent of all Magic Beasts—surely I’ve thought that far. The opponent is supposedly a god, and our own god is so weak that we can’t even communicate, and I’m not even sure where they are right now, but the enemy’s power keeps visibly growing…?”
I-I’ll really work my hardest, Contractor… ｡：ﾚ(｡ﾉω＼｡)ﾟ･｡
Ah, no, I’m not blaming you…
I looked at my counterpart—eyes already exhausted from defeat upon defeat—and shrugged.
“I understand that your esteemed ‘mentor’ has switched sides with the enemy and grown incredibly strong. I understand that your body aches from a curse and everything irritates you. But it seemed like you cared deeply for Prince Rasper. If this world truly has no future, if you’d already given up on everything—then there’s no reason to train a disciple now, is there?”
“……”
“So let’s work hard together. Please help me. I’ll do whatever I can. This is a rough travel itinerary I’ve drawn up—just in case, if there are ruins or anything that might help with the Barrier, we can mark it here…”
“You could’ve just lived comfortably.”
Pan looked at me with complicated eyes. I stopped pushing the scrap of paper toward him—the one where I’d noted various information beside the map.
“Listen, girl. Princess Titania. Everyone was saying things improved between you and your fiancé, right? You could’ve just stayed comfortable in the Imperial Palace, married when the time came, and pretended to know nothing. There was no need to…”
“If I pretended not to know, I’d lose my appetite, couldn’t sleep, and my dreams would be nightmares. Besides, if this world is destroyed, the Castrain Family wouldn’t be spared either. And even if things improved, we don’t actually love each other. And I’m the type who likes happy endings.”
Come on, we’re trying to save our world here—stop complaining!
Among the games I’d played in my previous life, there were several patterns of behavior displayed by villains and tyrants facing world destruction.
Roughly speaking: some said that since everything would end anyway, everyone should die peacefully together without pain. Some said that knowing the truth would be agony, so everyone should live like puppets with only instinct remaining, then die. Others said they’d take everyone’s lives and grow stronger to prevent world destruction.
And none of them ever asked the people for their opinion. Though in that case, they wouldn’t have been villains or tyrants at all. Usually, the protagonists would step in, say ‘Your actions are wrong!’ and set things right…
But. ‘…Clever, brilliant Bibi will figure something out!’ That’s what I’d comforted myself with. Lately, though, it isn’t quite like that. Slowly, I was beginning to doubt the original story as I knew it.
Was it really a happy ending?
It seemed that restoring the Barrier properly required a Light Power user—absolutely essential. But in the original story, no Light Power user ever appeared until the end.
After Brian died and Adrian became emperor, even Adrian never managed to use Light Power. Various battles concluded somehow, and the Barrier recovered its strength to some degree, but…
Isn’t it all just a temporary measure?
Which means ‘Titania’ becoming a Contractor of the god of Light and wielding a sword that never appeared in the original—that all has a reason. It’s necessary for a true happy ending. I recalled what Podaga had said to me in the South.

The historical records do not properly transmit the deeds of ‘Gloriana.’

If Beloborg’s Contractor’s role had amounted to just suffering a bit, working hard to repair the Barrier, and displaying her abilities—then Podaga, who had seemed sympathetic to Beloborg’s side, would never have called it a ‘False Contract’ in his own words.
“Well, so… it’s fine. Everything will end well anyway.”
Hiding a suspicion I couldn’t confess to anyone, I simply smiled brightly.

* * *

A silver spoon clinked against a teacup.
“Destroying the Mage Tower is not an option.”

“It’s not possible.”
A voice soft as feathers.
Sugar fell, plip, plip, sending ripples through milky tea. A butter cookie that crumbled silently with one bite. A cannelé, perfectly baked golden and crisp outside, soft within. Strawberries crowned with white condensed milk and cream. A tablecloth trimmed with lace.
The table was filled entirely with things that might dance through a child’s fairy tale dreams.
Rustle, rustle. A rather carelessly placed bookshelf on the table toppled in a breeze. An Ancient Tome dense with complex sentences and archaic language.
Against that feathered voice came a sound of anger. Lilium blinked her butterfly-like eyelashes.

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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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