The Unfilial Heir Who Tries to Kill Me Tempts Me - Chapter 63

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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 63.

The Galckarau Headquarters lay deep in the continent. Some called it the End of the World—a place no one knew of, no one could reach, and so the name had stuck.
Yet Eric, the Galckarau operative responsible for the Saldwich incident, thought it bore less resemblance to the End of the World and more to the very mouth of hell.
“…So you’re saying you returned empty-handed?”
At the voice falling from above, five Galckarau operatives bowed in unison. The pressure crushing them now bore no comparison to when they’d been buried under the rubble of the Auction House basement.
“My apologies, Lord. If you grant us another chance, we shall set things right without fail.”
“Set things right, you say….”
A thin smile played at the corners of the man’s mouth as he looked down upon them. The Galckarau operatives trembled as they heard the whistling of air slipping through his clenched teeth.
The Lord of Galckarau had a peculiar habit: when deeply enraged, rather than show his anger openly, he wore a smile.
“I fail to see what ‘setting right’ you intend, when you’ve lost not only all the Materials from Saldwich but have also been robbed of the Mana Crystal.”
“…If you give us time, we shall certainly hunt down that woman. Even if we must turn her into Material itself, we will force every last trace of the Mana she absorbed from her body—by any means necessary.”
“That ‘by any means necessary’….”
The man abruptly cut off his words.
“How unpleasant to hear.”
The air grew heavy and still.
Between the coal-black hair that fell across the Lord’s brow, eyes of vivid green gleamed with terrible light.
Eric swallowed hard and spoke.
“…It is not idle conjecture, my Lord. I witnessed that woman wielding Dark Magic with certainty, yet strangely I sensed another power at work as well. Since there are few Mages who command more than one type of Magic simultaneously, we shall certainly find her through pursuit.”
The Lord tilted his head. Long lashes cast pale shadows across his cheek.
“Did you not say she had companions?”
“Yes, my Lord. She was with a swordsman. They appeared quite close.”
“I see….”
He nodded slowly.
With the killing intent noticeably diminished, Eric exhaled quietly in relief.
The Lord rose and descended the stairs. The sound of his footsteps echoing against the stone floor silenced all five operatives’ breath.
“Lift your head.”
A gentle voice poured down from above—one so warm it seemed almost sacred. Eric found himself raising his gaze without thinking.
The Lord looked down upon him with hair dark as ebony cascading downward, like a priest of some god administering a blessing.
When he smiled, those vivid green eyes blazed within the shadows.
“Truly, your devotion is admirable. I do not dislike loyal men. Therefore….”
The Lord reached toward Eric’s face. By the time Eric realized something was terribly wrong, it was too late.
“L-Lord, I—kh, khhh—!”
Black Mana whirled like a tempest around that pale, ghostly hand, draining the man’s very life force. The body seized in that grip withered like a mummy, then collapsed with a hollow thud.
“It is truly a pity that I must take your breath with these hands.”
“P-please, spare us! I beg you, I—!”
“Fear not, brother. God’s protection shall be upon you.”
The ankles of the remaining Galckarau operative, turned ashen in panic, were ensnared by darkness as deep as pitch.
Moments later, four mummified corpses lay at the Lord’s feet.
The Lord looked down upon the lifeless bodies of Galckarau, drained of every shred of Mana, his expression utterly unmoved.
The smile that had played at his lips moments before vanished without trace, leaving only a cold, hardened face.
He swept his hair back.
“A Mage. And one of a Special Type, at that….”
The Lord’s mind turned to a certain woman.
A Mage from the Count’s House who wielded both White Magic and Dark Magic. An adopted child of commoner birth, if memory served.
“Is anyone outside?”
At the man’s voice, several Galckarau operatives waiting behind the door appeared.
The Lord swept his gaze across them, noting their feathered masks that concealed their faces, and smiled knowingly.
“See that these are disposed of. I have matters to attend to.”

***

“…Should I run?”
I sank into genuine contemplation.
I’d agonized over it roughly a dozen times, but the answer never changed.
Running really does seem like the better option.
Eden, sprawled across the office sofa and crunching on candy, glanced back at me.
“…You know, that’s fair.”
I must have stirred up far too much trouble. Otherwise, how could the paperwork keep piling up like this?
I stared up at the enormous mountain of documents and letters piled on my desk in dismay.
There had already been work to process, and now with the Black Steel Stone mining records, work reports from Vulcan, and cooperative documents exchanged with the Mage Tower all added on top, I couldn’t think straight.
Why doesn’t this world have smartphones or laptops? I can’t even search files or organize materials properly. If only there were an app like a work scheduler.
“Why didn’t you just ask the Lord to help you?”
“I don’t know, he said he’s busy.”
If I’m swamped like this, he must be even more so.
Look at him now—he went out to inspect the territory this morning and won’t even think about coming back.
I’m absolutely never going to become a Lord like him.
Chirp, chirp.
Golsun patted my back and slipped a cookie into my mouth.
“Thanks, Golsun.”
There’s really no one else like you.
Let me finish this quickly, and then I’ll scratch your back with a wooden brush. Just wait a little longer.
“Right, Eden. Where’s Jack?”
“I called him a while ago and told him to come here, so he should be on his way?”
“Good work.”
Most of the slaves we freed from the Auction House in Saldwich went to the Capital City with Leoni. But Jack and Lili stubbornly refused to join them and followed us instead.
There was no reason not to take them in, so for now we decided to shelter the two siblings at Archduke’s Castle.
“But why did you suddenly bring it up? They seemed to get along fine with their sister.”
“For someone without any ties to be accepted as a refugee, they need a guarantor with an established status. Otherwise they’re considered illegal residents. I only found that out yesterday.”
“So you’ll be their guarantor?”
“Me?”
As if a criminal like me could vouch for anyone.
“Of course Kaius is their guarantor.”
I waved the Lord’s Seal I’d taken from Kaius’s desk.
Truth be told, I hadn’t actually gotten his permission, but he’d have no real reason to refuse.
If he does refuse, well.
I’ll just go ahead and apologize profusely afterward.
“In any case, look after Jack and Lili for now. They’re already uncomfortable in this unfamiliar place, and you’re the only one close to their age.”
“Don’t treat me like a child.”
“You look like one though.”
And a two-hundred-year-old demon is basically a child anyway.
I’d answered offhandedly, but Eden’s face flushed red and purple.
“Hey, you’ve been using formal speech with the Lord this whole time while treating me like your little brother, but I’m older than he is?”
“I know, our Eden has lived longer than appearances suggest. Want some chocolate bread? Come here and say ‘ah.’ I’ll feed you.”
I coaxed him with a piece of bread from the plate, but Eden’s expression grew even more fierce.
“…You’re going to regret this.”
“Hmm?”
“I have my own… ah, forget it, what would you know? If you’d do even half of what you do for the Lord, I mean—”
“Kaius is my superior; you’re like an adorable little brother.”
“Hey! Have you ever seen a little brother this handsome?!”
Wow.
My eardrums nearly burst.
My demon’s adolescence still has a long way to go, apparently.
I answered quickly before Eden could roar again.
“I’m sorry, you’re right. With looks like yours, you’d be a child model.”
“Child… what?”
“It’s a compliment for being good-looking. Our Eden is the coolest.”
Eden studied me with a skeptical eye.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“More than the Lord?”
……
“Dammit, you can’t answer that!”
“No, no. You’re cooler. I was just thinking about something else for a moment.”
“Really?”
He seemed pleased.
“Anyway, if you’ve got nothing to do, come help me organize these documents. Are you just going to sit around while your boss works?”
“…Ugh, your posture was so good a second ago.”
At my reproach, Eden sprang up with a bounce and ambled over lazily.
“Right, go through these letters and organize them by urgency for me. Most pressing matters at the top, less urgent ones below. And set aside the ones that need replies.”
“What, are we pen pals now? There’s a ridiculous number of them.”
I looked up absently to glance across at him, then stopped short.
“Huh.”
“What is it now?”
“Eden, you seem taller.”

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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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