The Dutiful Kid Who Saved the Villainous Family - Chapter 179

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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 179

Airi, who was tightly holding Berry’s hand, opened her eyes wide.

“Wh-what? It’s really cold!”

“…Cold, you say?”

“Yeah! It doesn’t feel like Berry’s hand!”

Startled by the coldness, Airi let go of the hand and then hurriedly grabbed Berry’s hand again.

“Huh?”

Airi tilted her head.

“It’s warm and cozy again!”

“…Is that so?”

But Berry couldn’t feel either coldness or warmth—none of it at all.

Airi muttered in confusion.

“…That’s strange. Was I imagining it?”

Airi gripped Berry’s hand even tighter.

The corpse-like coldness had disappeared somewhere. A hand with its usual warmth welcomed Airi.

Even so…

“Berry.”

“Yes?”

“You know, from now on, let’s see the adults every day, and let’s meet every single day!”

Though Airi was ‘a child herself,’ she was also a ‘tattletale child’ who would tell adults even about the smallest dangerous signs.

If there were any suspicious activities, she had to narrow her eyes and keep watch!

She had to tell Father that Berry was acting strange too.

At the same time, she puffed up her determination like a cotton cloud to observe Berry as a powerful child herself.

After making that resolution, Airi gripped Berry’s hand firmly.

“Then, let’s march straight ahead to see our experimental subject friends!”

* * *

The Vast Garden of the Ortejo Castle.

A place where everyone was forbidden to enter. The bodies of countless experimental subjects that Declan had moved here in advance were in this place.

“Airi, you’re here now?”

“Yes.”

“Shall we begin then?”

“Yes!”

Declan tightly held Airi’s small hand.

Then Airi nodded her head vigorously.

“Let’s start!”

The item window popped open from Airi’s hand with a click.

The soul orb that had trapped the souls of countless experimental subjects one by one appeared on Airi’s palm.

And…

‘Now what do I do?’

Airi placed the glowing soul orb on her palm.

She just tilted her head in wonder.

The orb rolled away from her palm with a gentle roll.

Then the round surface of the orb sparkled and oxidized.

Airi, Declan, and even Cookie all held their breath and watched the sparkling orb.

How many seconds had passed?

A burst of light flashed from the orb and then disappeared.

And…

“Hah, hah…”

The body of one experimental subject finally awakened.

Airi opened her eyes wide.

‘It’s the experimental subject child, Jade!’

Had it succeeded?

With his greatly weakened body, Jade gestured slightly toward Airi.

And…

“Thank you.”

Along with those small words, Jade began to speak his next words incoherently.

It was when Airi stood there blankly after hearing both words of gratitude and heavy words at the same time.

“Airi, the next orb too…!”

Cookie snapped Airi back to attention.

Only then did Airi nod her head vigorously.

Airi opened her item window and placed dozens of soul orbs on her hand.

Then, in the same way that Jade had found his body, the orbs sparkled and oxidized.

Finally, all the souls that Airi possessed flowed into the empty bodies of the experimental subjects.

And…

Countless experimental subjects—no, those who had now become human through the union of soul and body—awakened.

And those who had been lying like corpses raised their bodies and looked at Airi.

“…Little Ghost?”

The children who had risen one by one, after finally facing Airi.

Each offering words of gratitude one by one…

That sight was truly wondrous, like flowers blooming in a flower garden.

Airi heard their words of gratitude directed at her and quickly turned her head away.

Her eyes were stinging with tears.

Then, Cookie carefully asked from beside Airi.

“But what were those words that experimental subject whispered in your ear earlier?”

In Airi’s small head, the words that one experimental subject had said earlier came to mind.

“The Pope is one who hides and waits in the surroundings like mold.”

“…”

“So you must never let your guard down. That person will continue to wait for one year, ten years.”

…Waiting like mold.

Continuing to wait for one year, ten years.

But Airi clenched both her fists.

Whether he comes after one year.

Or even after ten years.

As long as that evil Pope comes anywhere near her…

She could beat him up with Airi’s powerful steel fists.

* * *

…Had those words been right?

After 6 months had passed, Airi had become a child dozing off in a world that had somehow regained its peace.

But…

“The Pope still hasn’t shown even his nose?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Berry is…”

“You’ve asked about Berry every single day for 6 months. Yes, Berry is doing well.”

“…Oh my, I see. That’s a relief.”

“You see her every day anyway…”

“That’s true. It’s already been 6 months since the Pope disappeared without a trace. Time is so fleeting.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Just where did you learn to say things like ‘disappeared without a trace’ and ‘time is so fleeting’? You little kid.”

“I learned it from an Elder who is 28 years older than me.”

“…Yeah, I got it.”

Declan felt bitter as he watched Airi earnestly counting numbers with her fingers.

Half of his heart felt bitter because Airi called him ‘Elder.’

…The other half felt uneasy because they still hadn’t collected the Pope’s ‘evil spirit fragment.’

Over the past 6 months, the capital had become peaceful again.

They had caught numerous small fry, and the test subjects were also in Declan’s hands.

But…

‘We still haven’t found the Pope’s main body.’

Where on earth could the Pope’s main body be living?

Declan suddenly had such thoughts.

Perhaps they were only chasing after shells.

Perhaps they were missing the most important something.

Just then, Airi bravely grabbed Declan’s hand tightly and shouted joyfully.

“Wow!”

“…Wow?”

“We didn’t find the evil spirit, but lots of Magi disappeared!”

Seeing his daughter who had given even the Pope’s evil spirit the nickname ‘evil spirit-ie,’ Declan smiled with a helpless expression.

“Yes, they disappeared. That’s fortunate.”

Airi’s small hand tightly grasped Declan’s wounded hand.

“Dad, don’t worry!”

“Yes, I won’t worry.”

Looking at the brightly smiling child, he had such thoughts.

He wanted to protect this small child.

Until she became an adult.

Airi looked at him with a bright smile, unaware of Declan’s resolution.

He took out a candy from his pocket and popped it into Airi’s mouth.

“Have some candy.”

“Yeth.”

Airi was chewing on the candy when she said something uncharacteristic of a young child.

“So, you see, I have to go out to a really, really big meadow to save my test subject friends, um, um…”

Her words stopped.

It was the moment when Airi’s eyes shook violently.

Panicked, Declan knelt down to meet Airi’s eyes.

“What’s wrong.”

“Ububu…”

“…What.”

Like a well-mannered child, Airi put her hands together and spat out what was in her mouth with a ‘ptui.’

What came out along with the candy was a front tooth the size of a child’s fingernail.

“What, what is this.”

It was when Declan picked up the front tooth next to the candy and furrowed his brow.

Airi wrinkled her nose uncomfortably and muttered.

“Dad! Wind ith coming into my mouth… (Wind is coming into my mouth…)”

Only then could Declan see inside Airi’s mouth.

“…Your front tooth fell out.”

Airi stamped her feet and shouted.

“Huh, huk… Thith ith the Pope’th conthpiracy!”

“No. It’s time for a child’s baby teeth to fall out and permanent teeth to start growing.”

Declan chuckled looking at Airi’s fallen front tooth.

“It fell out nicely.”

“My thpeech hath become thtrange… (My speech has become strange…)”

“Airi.”

“Yeth?”

When Airi answered obediently, Declan smiled while brushing back her hair.

“The day you truly become an adult isn’t far away now.”

“Huh. Ith that tho?”

Airi was.

“Adultth are really thtrong.”

Airi had once seen middle school older sisters long ago.

‘Older than nine years old?’

But Airi…

Had never experienced being older than nine years old…

As Airi folded her fingers one by one, Declan smiled.

“Don’t grow up too fast.”

Still, isn’t time quite fleeting by nature?

As he stroked Airi’s head, Airi replied quite bravely.

“Even if I grow really, really fatht.”

“Mm.”

“I’ll thtill alwayth, alwayth be Dad’th daughter!”

Well, that’s right.

Declan’s nose suddenly stung.

“Even when you grow up a lot, you’ll be Dad’s daughter.”

He looked up at the distant sky.

Would Mom be watching over this small child?

He smiled and brushed back Airi’s hair.

“Then shall we have a running race with Dad today too?”

Perhaps it might take even longer than now to eliminate the Pope.

But he thought that if he walked that entire path together with Airi, it might be okay.

“Yeth! I’m going!”

Even with her front tooth missing, Airi ran forward energetically and bravely.

Watching that sight, Declan thought.

That back view seemed to have grown much taller than before.

Airi seemed to have gone from a five-year-old baby to a nine-year-old child.

And…

Now she seemed to be bravely running toward the path of truly becoming an adult.

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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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