The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 17

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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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Episode 17.

Kaieus had treated me like a mad witch and demanded I send back the cute golems, but I cited clause three of the Contract and said I couldn’t do that.
All I need to do is build the wall!
He told me to use Magic freely, so why is this suddenly off limits?
This violates the Contract.
In the end, only after I’d given a lengthy explanation about the golems’ harmlessness and the terms of our arrangement did things finally settle down.
The golems’ influence had been decisive — they’d sat quietly the whole time we were arguing, just watching.
[Small human, Charlotte, does not harm, we, friends.]
[Friends, if touched, angry.]
[Golem goes boom, human goes squish.]
…So they weren’t exactly sitting quietly, were they?
Every time Kaieus looked at me with that murderous smile, they’d moved to shield me.
Faced with the golems’ pure and righteous protection, Kaieus seemed to lose all his will to fight.
“…So you’re saying you’ll line these things up instead of a wall?”
“Once a golem reaches full maturity, it sleeps for about 360 days out of the year with no particular reason to wake. The remaining five days, it only rises to shake off dust that’s accumulated on its body — so with proper maintenance to prevent dust buildup, they’re perfectly manageable. In emergencies, you could also use them as defensive forces for the Territory.”
[Golems, block intruders.]
[Golems, sturdy.]
[Golems, strong.]
“You see?”
Kaieus fell silent.
His face grew distant with thought.
Though the massacre had made him fierce, golems had once served as the elite of defensive lines — they were practical Magical Beasts to humans. As long as they behaved themselves, a lord had little reason to refuse them.
“…Since the golems seem to listen to you for whatever reason, I’ll accept it for now. But you’ll bear responsibility for that promise.”
“You’ll thank me for it later, I’m telling you.”
I said it with full confidence.
Just wait a little longer.
The moment will come when the Territory — which should have been half-destroyed — stands intact thanks to these kids.
They’ll stop landslides too, and — oh — they’ll block that shadowy bastard’s army when it comes.
[Squeee!]
Suddenly Golsun-i bounded around my feet. She grabbed the hem of my skirt and began jabbing insistently at her moss-covered back.
Oh, right.
There was a promise I’d made.
“Which brings me to my question — could I possibly borrow some of the Territory’s troops?”
“What are you planning now?”
“Nothing major, really — I promised I’d clean the moss off the golems’ bodies. They’re going to be the Territory’s wall, and moss growing all over them wouldn’t look very good aesthetically.”
The golems chimed in by standing and turning to show Kaieus the moss on their backs with heavy thuds.
“…I’ll lend you thirty of the Archduke’s Domain elite.”
“Oh, I don’t need elite troops, actually. There’s a Security Force station nearby — if you could call them instead, that should work perfectly.”
Kaieus looked surprised that I was asking to borrow Security Force personnel, but nodded and told me to do as I pleased. Either way, it made practical sense to call the Security Force that was already stationed nearby.
Though my purpose went well beyond that, of course.
“Thank you. I’ll handle the rest from here. Please go carefully.”
I politely saw Kaieus off and then asked the golems to take positions around the Territory’s perimeter.
The golems walked to their designated spots and settled down neatly in a row.
“Wow….”
I couldn’t help but gasp.
The wall formed by the golems looked sturdier than any boundary in the Territory.
It had been worth bringing them here.
Far more efficient than collapsing unconscious for four days and nights building a wall myself.
“See? You like it here much better than the Swampland, don’t you?”
[Sun. Warm. Body. Dry.]
[New. Home, satisfied.]
“Rest now. While you sleep, I’ll clean off all that moss. I’ll have the Archduke arrange regular maintenance troops to take care of you.”
[Charlotte. Good friend.]
The golems bowed their heads up and down.
The more I knew them, the gentler they seemed.
When you thought about it, they spent most of the year sleeping — could they even be called Magical Beasts? If you didn’t provoke them first, they harmed no one; they congregated in their own habitats and caused no destruction. Creatures so mild and kind as these — shouldn’t they be called Divine Beasts instead?
I thought of how someone would scold me for now questioning definitions I’d supposedly established myself, and a laugh escaped me.
It was then that one of the golems called out to me — the Alpha Golem, the one I’d woken up by personally scrubbing its back with a Wooden Brush in the Swampland.
I thought this one was particularly large compared to the rest of the herd, but I had no idea it had passed a thousand years.
“What is it?”
The golem pressed something into my hand.
[Charlotte. Proof. Gave. We also give. Proof.]
It was a Blue Gem Fragment, different from the golem’s core.
[We sleep. But we wake. Charlotte, call. Anywhere.]
“With this, I can wake you up from anywhere?”
[Yes. We, friends.]
The Alpha Golem nodded. Then it turned to Golsun-i, who was clutching at the hem of my skirt.
[Baby golem. Stay, with Charlotte. Please.]
[Kyuu, kyeek!]
Golsun-i nodded vigorously. From the tone of things, it seemed they were entrusting me to Golsun-i, who didn’t sleep.
For some reason, my chest tightened.
How could this little scrap possibly protect me?
You protect yourself.
“Don’t worry. Rest now.”
[Charlotte. Again, thank you.]
“Thank me for what.”
You good golems.
I’ll keep you safe.
If anyone tries to aim for your cores, I won’t let them get away with it.
“Um… Sorceress? I’ve come bearing a conscription order.”
Right on cue, the Security Force arrived. Thirty soldiers emerged and trembled at the sight of the golem conversing with me.
“Ah, you’re here. Come this way. Don’t be frightened.”
I handed each of them a Wooden Brush and a bottle of Lye Water without hesitation.
“From now on, we’re going to clean this entire wall. Scrub away every last bit of moss.”
“The… the golem?”
“The golem? There’s nothing outside the wall.”
I gestured grandly behind me. The Alpha Golem, along with every other golem, had hunched down and become indistinguishable stone lumps.
“But just a moment ago…”
“Yes, yes. We need to finish before sunset, so hurry along.”
I clapped my hands to urge them on. The hesitant soldiers each grabbed a section of wall and began vigorously scrubbing away the moss.
Golsun-i and I settled on the hillside, leisurely supervising their work.
When I was running around doing everything myself, I thought I’d die from exhaustion. Outsourcing really is wonderful.
The sun had begun tilting westward. A gentle breeze drifted in, refreshing and cool. I leaned back into the grass.
At ease.
Fine weather, good wind.
If things continue like this, even if I somehow couldn’t return, I might just stay in the Archduke’s Domain and….
“Have you lost your mind? Snap out of it!”
[Kyeek?]
“No, I was just thinking something foolish.”
[Kyuu, kyuu.]
I slapped both my cheeks and shook my head vigorously.
Stay and settle down? No. I must return. I have my own world. I cannot remain in this one.
Then I spotted a figure in the distance. On the far side of the wall, a man approached with a furrowed brow.
He exchanged words with one of the soldiers scrubbing away moss, then caught sight of me sitting on the hillside some distance from the wall and hurried toward me at an alarming pace.
“You there.”
The man, leaning on one leg, looked down at me with displeasure.
“I am Robert Gale, captain of the Security Force. Why are my soldiers here without my permission?”
“Good evening, Captain Robert Gale.”
So he’s come.

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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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