The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 176

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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 176
Kalid had accomplished tremendous feats. He had become the vanguard commander of a massive Demon Subjugation Force at the border where the Casalia Kingdom and the Western Continent nations met.
In truth, he had set out to find Rubian’s magical monument, but since that location happened to be in the heart of a vast Monster Habitat, he had volunteered for the demon subjugation himself.
The Babylon Empire provided military support on moral grounds, and soon a Temporary Subjugation Alliance with Casalia was formed.
And not long ago, though it took some time, news of victory finally arrived.
“That guy… went to find a magical monument and just came back stronger.”
Rubian muttered to himself, then suddenly lifted his head as if remembering something.
“Dad, you saw Kalid, right? How much has he grown?”
There was a strangely competitive tone to his words.
“Hmm.”
Leviathan quietly recalled Kalid. He had visited that frontline several times to provide support.
Of course, since he possessed such formidable combat power that he needed no reinforcements, he had merely delivered supplies before returning shortly after.
‘Honestly, I don’t remember his height that clearly.’
Leviathan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Our eye level was somewhat… similar?
“Hmm, no.”
After all, I raised him.
The last time I saw him, Kalid was still nothing more than a small boy running around the Training Ground. So…
“About this tall?”
He pointed to just below his own neck.
“Huh? Really? He didn’t grow as much as I thought? Maybe he used his body too much. Oh, what a shame.”
Rubian made a sympathetic face.
Leviathan gently ruffled the round head again. The floating strands of hair looked like dandelion seeds and were incredibly cute.
“Anyway, when Kalid comes back, I’ll give him a vacation so you two can go out and play together…”
Then, suddenly.
“How is Rubian doing?”
Those grayish-blue eyes asking that question came to mind.
‘Why… am I suddenly irritated?’
Recalling eyes that had grown far more composed and intense than in his boyhood, a sense of crisis washed over him.
“Dad? Why did you stop talking? Can I go play with Kalid?”
“No, Rubian. Dad didn’t say anything.”
Leviathan smiled kindly.
“You’re lying. You said something. That you’d give Kalid a vacation…”
“No, I didn’t say that.”
“Huh?”
What should I do? Is Dad already getting forgetful?
Rubian’s expression turned serious.
“I’ll only go play with Rose. Understand?”
He said it emphatically as if being stubborn, but why…?
‘Why does it feel like I’ve already lost a long time ago?’
I wonder why I’m thinking such things.
* * *
“Mother! Mother’s carriage!”
I waved my hands frantically in front of the Duke’s Residence gates.
Without even calling out more than a few times, the carriage door that had been moving slowly in the distance suddenly burst open.
Pink hair fluttered like a flag, unable to wait for the footstep to be lowered.
“Motheeeeer!”
“Rubian!”
I didn’t hesitate and ran forward at full speed.
Yes, yes.
I know adults shouldn’t do this, but…!
I can’t resist Mother!
Soft arms wrapped around me completely.
“Why are you so late? I missed you so much! I even wrote a hundred letters while waiting!”
“Sorry, sorry. Mother had some business on the way!”
“Business?”
“Well, listen. The carriage wheel broke on the way here.”
“Oh no.”
“But then a band of thieves appeared, of all things? And they happened to have a decent carriage, so…”
“Um…? And then?”
“I simply switched them.”
Their carriage, our carriage.
Mother gestured lightly with a flourish.
Ah…? Robbing the robbers…?
“And then I was delayed handing them over to the nearby village guards! Sorry, Rubian!”
Mother rubbed her cheek all over my head.
“I’m… I’m a respectable adult…”
“I know, I know.”
But truly, Mother’s embrace is irresistible. It’s so warm and soft!
“Oh my, you’ve already grown up to Mother’s nose.”
Mother patted my bottom repeatedly, and I laughed softly.
“I’m planning to grow more. I’m still in my growth phase.”
“Hmm, well. Growing more at seventeen seems rather difficult, doesn’t it?”
“No! According to 【First Steps to Becoming a Splendid Adult】, people can grow taller even after twenty…”
“Alright, alright.”
“The emotional reunion is wonderful, but…”
Then a man who had been standing in the shadows watching us interjected.
“Let’s go inside and continue embracing. The wind is cold.”
Ah, right. Father was here.
Mother spun me around and pulled me into her embrace, resting her chin on my shoulder.
“What’s this, handsome Uncle? I thought you were a pillar. Are you perhaps interested in me?”
Father simply laughed lightly and shrugged with ease.
“How could I not be?”
“Oh my, oh my. Look at you seducing with your face. I almost ended up married!”
I giggled in the middle of them.
“I suppose I’ll have to come along and keep you company. Right?”
“Yes!”
Family harmony is the best!
Despite their appearances, Mother and Father were a couple who had been apart for two whole seasons. Being the dutiful daughter I was, I quickly approached and pulled both their hands together, clasping them firmly.
“Hmm. But Mother wants to hold Rubian’s hand too?”
Mother extended her other hand, and I promptly grasped it.
“Oh, then if I stand next to Mother….”
“What? Rubian, are you neglecting Father now that Mother’s here?”
“….”
What was I supposed to do?
“Ah!”
I grabbed the remaining hands of both Mother and Father. Then I smiled with a determined expression.
“How about this formation?”
“Indeed, refreshing. Clever.”
“…? Is this right?”
Round and round.
The most harmless circle in the world crossed the threshold of the Duke’s Residence.
Watching Father refuse to let go of Mother’s hand despite her embarrassment, I smiled with satisfaction and leaned against her.
“By the way, Rubian.”
“Yes?”
“How many confession letters did you receive from the Academy this semester?”
Gulp.
I hastily glanced around. Father was still trapped in this circle of shame, looking embarrassed.
I whispered carefully to Mother.
“Fifteen….”
“Oh my goodness.”
Mother’s eyes widened in circles, and without hesitation, she abruptly released Father’s hand.
“…What?”
The Duke, now without his wife, looked down at his empty hand.
“I’m sleeping with Rubian tonight.”
“…Huh?”
“That’s how it is. Let’s go, Rubian! Mother has so much to talk about with you, right?”
“Yes!”
We linked arms and walked away.
“Sigh….”
The Duke left alone let out a hollow breath.
“A wall I cannot overcome…?”
The mother and daughter’s bond seemed remarkably formidable.
‘Very well.’
He decided then and there what topic he would bring up at the next regular gathering.
* * *
The Casalia Kingdom border region.
A deep, resonant boom echoed through the air.
At last, the final demon beast collapsed, its belly turned upward.
Simultaneously, venom-laden ichor spilled across the ground in all directions.
It unfolded exactly as Liam Zebert had predicted.
“Oh crap! Oh crap!”
Allen thrashed about in panic, desperately dodging the demon beast’s corrosive fluid.
“No no no no! The acid, the acid! My shoes are melting, melting…! Damn it. That bastard Kalid’s the only one wearing waterproof boots.”
Thud, thud.
Watching Kalid’s broad back as he walked in specially treated footwear, Allen spat bitterly.
Deep within the dark cavern.
At last the final demon beast fell, and the stone monument they had kept so carefully hidden revealed itself.
“…Damn it.”
It had taken far too long.
Kalid exhaled deeply.
With a light flick, he shook his blade, and crimson blood sprayed in all directions. Droplets scattered across his smooth cheeks, yet he didn’t so much as blink.
He was a man who had completely shed any youthful appearance, now bearing a sharp and cold demeanor.
His thick-knuckled hands roughly swept back his blue-black hair, while his blue-gray eyes—appearing as mere dark hollows in the dim cavern—swept keenly across his surroundings.

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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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