The Dutiful Kid Who Saved the Villainous Family - Chapter 166

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 166

* * *

…Capturing souls that had invaded other people’s bodies was easier than expected.

Move immediately upon receiving reports of ‘abnormal phenomena’, subdue them, and extract the souls.

After repeating this process about 4 times, a pattern emerged.

Today was no different.

“This must be the place.”

Peep peep.

Feeling like she had become a ‘police officer catching bad guys’ in her heart, Airi immediately followed Declan into action.

Was it because she was with Father?

“There, I’ve restrained him. Take a good look.”

“Huh, huk!”

Beating up the bad guys was incredibly easy.

And…

‘The soul orbs are steadily accumulating too!’

She could also slip the soul orbs into her item window.

After Airi finished the purification.

Declan tapped the cheek of the minister who had been controlled unconsciously and said.

“Wake up.”

“Wake up, sir!”

Watching the minister slowly open his eyes at Airi’s words, Declan chuckled.

“Easy.”

Airi nodded her head repeatedly.

“They still haven’t perfectly acquired human form, so they’re giving off an unsettling feeling.”

But there were always unsettling factors.

Even Grandmother was different from Pierre, who had first caused a commotion.

The guy in front of them was the same.

Nevertheless, Airi decided to be happy for now.

Poking her head out from Declan’s pocket, Airi said excitedly.

“Hehe! Still, I’ve collected sooo many ‘soul orbs’!”

“Right.”

“Today we’re going home for a meat party!”

“…Can Cookie even eat meat?”

Unlike Declan who had become quite serious, Airi giggled.

‘Already the 5th success!’

She hadn’t checked Cookie’s status window yet. But Airi was confident.

If Cookie’s status window had been in front of her, it probably would have looked like this!

[Status window of Airi, the incredibly strong and powerful ultimate hero who could save the world!]

That title would appear at the top…

[Soul Orbs 7/10]

[Until returning to original body… 5/10]

‘I’ve collected 7 souls but… Pierre and Grandmother don’t count!’

It was incredibly disappointing, but Airi was still spirited.

Thinking that such cool words would be written in her status window, Cookie’s round chin lifted up proudly.

‘Phew, another great success today.’

And as the Airi and Declan combo steadily found and purified the test subjects’ souls…

A very brief peace came to the capital city.

* * *

A quiet atmosphere lingered around the gloomy mountainside where the Pope had established himself.

The Pope was inside the laboratory where the test subjects’ bodies were stored.

A hundred bodies that had lost their souls lay occupying one coffin each on the floor.

The Pope slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

‘The specimens I carefully created.’

However…

Already 7 of the hundred or so test subject souls he had carefully raised had disappeared.

Declan Ortejo had taken his sword and ruthlessly torn through them.

‘I designed the souls to return here.’

They didn’t return.

This meant one of two things.

Either someone had stolen the souls, or they were destroyed by a force so powerful they couldn’t return.

‘If it’s Declan Ortejo, the latter is more likely.’

He was just as cruel.

Even while thinking about ‘the annihilation of souls’, no worry showed on the Pope’s face.

However, even though the Pope, who held tremendous power, was pretending to be calm.

The news that seven souls had been lost in an instant spread secretly among them.

Then an atmosphere of slight division began to spread even among the cardinals who believed in and followed the Pope.

There were ten cardinals in total who followed the Pope.

Excluding the three who died at the Pope’s hands, seven remained.

Among them, several with extreme anxiety wanted to directly seek out the Pope and ask about the situation.

Especially Cardinal Talen, who had directly created test subjects under the Pope’s direct command.

He boldly entered the deep, dark experimental lab where the Pope was staying and said.

“Your Holiness. Already 7 test subjects have been lost. If this continues, we might be depleted.”

However, the Pope remained indifferent.

“Is that so?”

“Yes! I suspect that dangerous man, Declan Ortejo, is killing the test subjects.”

“I see… We do need to confirm exactly what actions they’re taking.”

The Pope lightly nodded his head.

Then a faint mist spread around him.

Cardinal Talen held his breath.

The mist created by the Pope surrounded his body. As a thick fragrance spread from within the mist, his breath became choked as if he had drunk poison.

“Y-Your Holiness…”

“Close your eyes for a moment. Those who rebel are bothersome…”

“Ugh, ughhh…”

After indifferently watching Cardinal Talen collapse to the floor.

The Pope lightly tapped the body of one test subject.

‘They will soon attempt to capture me.’

This is a final battle where each side’s life and death are at stake.

Nevertheless, the Pope smiled brightly.

“I like it.”

In what would have been a tedious and boring process, a quite decent opponent had appeared.

He felt his fingertips curl and a thrilling sensation for the first time in decades.

And…

‘I’m approaching the ultimate goal.’

The Pope had numerous plans, from Plan A to Z.

Among them…

He looked at the thick pocket of Cardinal Talen who had fallen to the floor.

When he casually stuck his hand into that pocket, a small bundle came out.

What was contained in that bundle were numerous invitations.

[Imperial Palace Ball Invitation]

“Ahh… The Imperial Palace is holding a new party, is that it.”

“….”

“It may be a splendid trap, but let’s have our test subjects participate in this as well.”

He needed to gamble with their souls.

It didn’t matter if souls were destroyed in the process.

They were just test subjects anyway.

* * *

“Come to think of it, doesn’t it seem like they’re making the test subjects learn human behavior?”

Airi pondered while listening to Declan’s words.

The Declan-Airi combo had easily rescued five souls.

There were already as many as seven soul orbs in the item window.

But the more test subjects they caught, the stranger it felt.

They were gradually becoming more and more similar to humans.

She felt a sense of crisis that something could become seriously dangerous.

While thinking about that, Airi tightly grabbed Cookie’s head.

‘But Cookie, your head is small so it doesn’t work well…!’

But even so, she had something to say.

“I think it would be better to catch all the test subjects at once!”

“All at once?”

“Yes!”

Wasn’t there a way to gather all the test subjects at once?

While she was holding her head and thinking deeply, Declan casually summarized the situation.

[Common trait of people who experienced ‘possession phenomenon’: Influential figures in social circles/political circles]

In that case….

Declan carelessly tapped the paper with the tip of his quill pen.

After briefly thinking about something, he said.

“If it’s a situation that could gather everyone, there would be something like a ball. Their movements have just calmed down. The Emperor sent ball invitations to influential figures.”

“Great! Then I’ll go to that ball too!”

“…You’re going to make your social debut?”

Airi nodded Cookie’s head vigorously.

“Really, I think having a party would be better! Such a great idea!”

“….”

“We’ll beat them all up while partying!”

“…So you’re setting up a trap to catch them all at once?”

“That’s right!”

Seeing Airi’s stiff way of speaking and her deeply furrowed brow, Declan gently patted Cookie’s body.

“Alright. We’ll need to create a stage to rescue the souls….”

“A stage!”

“There’s going to be a ball combined with a social club at the Imperial Palace soon.”

“Yes!”

“But.”

“Hm?”

“This is our daughter’s first time going to a social circle ball, isn’t it.”

“Huh? No it’s not. I played with Princess Rashe too!”

Declan smiled softly and shook his head.

“Not children’s friendship gatherings, but a ball where adults come too.”

“Huh, that’s….”

“It’s your first time, right?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

“Then for going to the ball, you have to wear the most beautiful dress in the world, right?”

Airi tilted her head and then quickly looked over her own body.

She was in Cookie’s body.

So she could just hide in Father’s pocket and sneak in secretly.

“…Does Cookie who’s sneaking into the ballroom also wear a dress?”

Mischief appeared in Declan’s red eyes.

“Of course. You have to wear one. After all, it’s an official debutante.”

An, an official debutante…?!

Grandmother had told her about ‘debutantes’ before.

Airi’s debutante would be incredibly splendid.

She had said she would dress her up to be the prettiest in the world.

Remembering those thoughts, Airi gulped.

With incredibly cool clothes!

She heard an auditory hallucination of everyone calling her ‘Hero!’

Airi clenched her fist and shouted.

“Where is it? The dress.”

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