Chapter: 535
Benedict, with a bright smile plastered across his face, was returning with the painting of his daughter created by the Apostle of the Art Guild.
“Heh heh heh. There’s no way that bunch of incompetents could capture my beauty, and yet they wanted to paint a portrait of me! I could hardly allow it,” Benedict thought to himself.
So even if he wanted to leave that portrait of Lucy in his mansion, that was impossible.
But now he actually had the cute depiction of Lucy from the Apostle of the Art Guild in his hands!
Where should he display it? Where could he show off Lucy’s beauty to everyone in the mansion?
First off, the painting of Lucy standing under the moonlight at night definitely needed to go in his room, but the others—
“I think I understand why the employer loathes you so much. You really just give off a vibe of disgust.”
“Why are you suddenly attacking my character?!”
“But come on, your smile right now is repulsive.”
Karia felt even more repulsed by Benedict’s antics, ignited by remembering how he’d acted like a madman on the battlefield, despite his injured appearance.
“Seriously, what was so great about that beauty?”
“Believe it or not, she wasn’t that unpopular.”
“The achievements you’ve made are so grand, and yet you say she wasn’t popular? That itself is a problem!”
Benedict, drooping his shoulders in disappointment, saw Karia’s face remain unchanged, prompting him to return to his original expression.
“In truth, I’m not just happy about getting Lucy’s painting. While I am glad about that, what makes me even happier is her surroundings.”
Today, when Benedict went to meet Lucy, he encountered two artists who genuinely cherished his daughter.
He saw his daughter’s friends, who had grown quite close while living together at school, calling each other by their names.
He witnessed people openly occupying the middle of the street, not spewing curses but instead overflowing with admiration.
And he found those who tended to grumble under their breath but ended up being silenced first before he could step in.
“I’ve always worried about our daughter. As it stands, my suppression protects Lucy, but what will happen once I’m gone?”
No matter how monstrous Benedict might be, he could not defy the limits of human lifespan.
Just as all the heroes of the mythological era did, he too would one day be buried in the earth.
So, what would happen to Lucy then? Who would support her after losing her stronghold?
Benedict, who initially wanted to keep his daughter in his embrace forever, changed his mind, deciding to send her to the academy for this reason.
He hoped she’d be able to live well on her own, and so he set her free from his embrace.
Looking back now, that seemed an awfully irresponsible thing to do. What would change if he tossed a child, who would be hurt innumerable times in relationships, back among others?
Fortunately, Lucy was far better than her foolish father, successfully forming connections with many around her without losing herself.
“All that’s left for me is to remove any obstacles in front of our Lucy, even if it costs me my life. Our daughter, blessed by the gods, will face many trials, so as a proper father, I should at least bear some of her burdens!”
“A real life-or-death struggle will arise soon.”
“I know. Our Lucy showing interest in the Fairy Forest is surely a sign.”
He felt no fear in confronting the Evil God of the mythological era. If he were to lose his life and venture to the afterlife, he’d find it far easier to face that Evil God rather than face a veto from Mira.
“I should prepare for the march.”
“Just keep it low-key. If your knight order showing signs of action, chaos will erupt everywhere.”
“That wouldn’t be all that bad.”
“What?”
“Drawing in everyone’s attention will only sharpen Alrn’s knights even further.”
Benedict’s declaration that no one would dare touch Alrn drew a chuckle from Karia.
“Sounds great, but how about the fact that more suitors will come knocking than ever?”
“I won’t care. I’ll reject any riffraff that comes my way.”
“What if it’s someone your daughter falls for at first sight?”
“…Well that’s…”
“If you hear ‘I genuinely hate Papa’ from her out of nowhere, will you be able to handle it?”
Imagining that scenario, Benedict’s legs buckled, and he sank to the floor, hugging Lucy’s painting and starting to wail.
“No way! Lucy. I can’t let you go to some slob like that! No one who can’t even take me down could possibly protect you!”
“What kind of insane talk is that? Are you trying to keep your daughter single for life?”
“However! However!!!”
“I regret even thinking for a moment that I was cool back there. Seriously.”
*
The conversation with Erginius yielded many insights, but what I valued most was being able to pinpoint what I needed to prepare.
The Fairy Forest was an entirely foreign place to me.
So, there was no choice but to throw myself into it and learn how to deal with it step by step, but thanks to chatting with Erginius, I managed to glean some specifics.
Primarily, I required a group of mages to assist in setting up Erginius’s many designs, which he had crafted over hundreds of years throughout the Fairy Forest.
Originally, Erginius believed a few mages would suffice, but after talking to those present, it became evident how unrealistic that idea was.
“This material is considered quite precious here on the surface; it’s hard to procure this quantity due to demand.”
“And this too is problematic. The blue mana rose went extinct a hundred years ago. Dyes made from it are now kept as treasures, selling for more than the same weight in platinum.”
“Finding mages capable of understanding such advanced magic seems pretty challenging as well.”
The issue lay in the generational divide. So much had changed between Erginius’s old skeleton days and the current era that his designs had become redundant.
[That guy’s always been oblivious to his surroundings, which often leads to trouble. You wouldn’t believe how many headaches that caused us.]
Benedict chuckled upon seeing Erginius flustered, pondering how to adjust his plans.
Hmmm, hearing such explanations reminded me of this or that person who was standing next to Erginius right now.
Is that what happens with all competent mages?
Anyway, after consulting my friends, Erginius proved he was a genius yet again by producing many adjustments right then and there.
While those adjustments now required a vast magical order for assistance, that did introduce a new problem.
The good thing is, right next to me was the daughter of the leader of that massive magical order.
Knowing what the messy duke desires, I could make an effective deal.
Next, I needed to prepare a defense force just in case.
With Agra, our hopelessly incompetent Evil God, causing trouble without a moment’s hesitation, I’d need strength ready to go should contaminated fairies start spilling out.
…In the worst case, I’d need someone to fend off a calamity if I were to fail.
It would be incredibly challenging to seek a contender who could stand up to that dark Evil God, but luckily I had the Alrn family at my back.
The knights of the Alrn family would gladly lay down their lives for what they deemed right.
If I were to ask if they wanted to take part in the mythical era’s wars, they’d likely answer with their veins bulging, ready to charge in.
Moreover, if I could sweet-talk the artists, the sword saints, and even Lasha into participating in this battle, I wouldn’t need to worry much about it.
There were certainly a few bothersome aspects remaining, but those could all be resolved one way or another.
All those connections I’ve built so far would make it possible.
However, there was one problem I couldn’t resolve by myself.
Restoring the Fairy Forest to its original state was too conspicuous!
Just thinking about the military might alone says it all!
After dwelling for decades inside the mansion, the widely regarded mightiest being in the continent, Benedict, would lead his knights into battle!
He’d surely send shockwaves through neighboring nations, and they’d panic and dispatch messengers!
The same goes for the mages of the Partran family!
While I could downplay things laughingly as a disorganized duke, the man’s reputation in the public eye is practically as fierce as that of a demon king.
What kind of preparation would that guy lead if he were to move with his magical forces? Some might even piss themselves from just hearing the news!
Besides all that, the very process of purifying the Fairy Forest poses a problem.
I recently pulled off a miracle and almost got caught by that deranged interrogator. If I were to purify the Fairy Forest now, there’d be no way to avoid drawing attention to Paybi!
The papacy would surely take notice!
But most troubling is how this entire ruckus might appear to that crazy Royalist!
If this act is deemed treason, it could genuinely spark a civil war!
With the second queen siding with us, I could potentially avoid the worst-case scenario, but the possibility of becoming a nuisance grows far too considerable.
[Looks like the first queen has something to gain from all this.]
“I should probably be thankful that a fresh justification has appeared.”
So when I met the first queen, I needed to seek her permission regarding this matter.
After all, with the sickly king cooped away, the practically ruling first queen exercises the authority of a nation.
If I could convince that royalist, surely things would work out, or at least I hoped so.
‘…Grandpa, what about using a decoy? I don’t feel confident at all.’
[What nonsense are you spouting now?]
“No, if I asked Karia to act, I’m sure she’d handle it better than I could! She’s much more capable!”
[Like I said, what are you even talking about? Meeting the first queen in an hour and looking for a decoy here now? You think that’ll work?]
Of course that wouldn’t work, right? I guess I have to face that lunatic myself?
Convinced I’d have to convince her beyond the outrageous distortions of the Mesugaki skill, sigh, all I could imagine was the worst-case scenario!
Getting stabbed by the first queen seems far more realistic right now!
Wouldn’t someone volunteer to negotiate in my stead? I feel like I might just spontaneously com-bust!
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