Chapter 112 – 112 – Father-in-Law
The faint smell of spices wafts up and awakens the appetite. Pork that has been boiled and soaked in seasoning is placed in a rich soup along with vegetables.
Of course, the scent is so amazing that it makes your eyes wander. When we think about the fact that our diet these days has been nothing but dried food covered in sand, we can’t help but drool.
But Eshen and I ignored the wonderful dish in front of us. For different reasons.
I tried to hide how nervous I was, and Eshen seemed so angry that he didn’t even want to look at his plate.
“No, Mr. Dad.”
“Listen before it gets cold.”
“Did you have to do that?”
“It was a long trip, so I know everyone is hungry for good food.”
The man with a cold face poured the tea and handed it to us, regardless of whether Eshen was feverish or not. It seemed like they had no interest in how we reacted.
“It wasn’t poisoned. If you’re hesitant because you’re wary of unfamiliar food, think of it as being similar to stewed pork in the West. Then you’ll feel less burdened.”
“…If the person who put a bounty on us and sent hundreds of armed forces said, ‘The poison was not burned,’ would we be able to trust him with confidence?”
“Physical fighting in the guesthouse is taboo. Of course, giving poison is also included in that taboo.”
“You just showed that the taboo can be broken through any number of expedient methods. By the way, I would like to ask you. Are you Eshen’s father?”
The expressionless man twitched his eyebrows for the first time. At the same time, dozens of black-clad warriors standing behind him simultaneously drew their swords. As soon as I heard the sound of the clang, I also heard the sound of kicking and kicking from our party members.
The man raised his hand to calm his side. Morgan threatened as he loaded his pistol.
“Yes, it will be good for your body to hold on tight. The first one to attack will have his balls torn apart by lead bullets!”
“It would be better for you to call me ‘Cult Leader’ instead of Eshen’s father, just for now. My subordinates cannot tolerate calling me by any name other than the Cult Leader, and they are willing to give up their lives to correct the title. “
The skill of treating a group of fanatics with one’s tongue is quite romantic.
After calming Morgan, who was at a loss for words and bewildered, to put the pistol away, I sat up again and observed the other person.
The leader still faced me with a gloomy, hard expression on his face.
“Yes. It is Eshen’s father. He is also Garam’s father. Then who do you think I am?”
“…I wish I could ask you one more question. Do you know Count Vincenzio Don Alamo?”
“Who is that? And why is your face so sad?”
Eshen asked, squinting. I pursed my lips and answered.
“When we were trying to chase down the mountain trolls in Chesheni, there was a nobleman who graciously lent us his drake that we brought along to see the scenery. Do you remember?”
“Aha. Did you say he was the Count of Alamo? The person you said you were related to?”
“Vincenzio Don Alamo. Also known as the Count of Paraho of the Empire. With his father’s enormous inheritance, he buys heroes to exterminate demons and is highly popular thanks to generous donations to parties and the private sector. On the other hand, the Alamo family only makes a penny. “He’s a man who hates me for wasting the family’s money without even realizing it. That’s what I know.”
“What is known?”
“I once had the opportunity to meet Uncle Mansell because he had hired him. Vincenzio Don Alamo, whom I saw in person, was, well, although he knew how to laugh cheerfully and boisterously, he was not an easy person.
“He kept his financial promises like a sword, knew everything about things that wouldn’t easily be spread, and even though he pretended not to care, he was closely observing Uncle Mansell’s party.”
When we made eye contact with him, he pretended to be distracted, as if he was not concentrating, but through the metallic sheen of his sword or helmet, he was always staring straight at us.
I clearly remember that creepy gaze. I raised my finger in front of my eyes and tried to cover the cult leader’s lower rank.
It’s the same eyes.
“Isn’t that right?”
“…Impressive. Bantai ‘kun’.”
The religious leader, who was silent for a moment, expressed a flat sentiment.
Because of that flatness, the praise didn’t sound flat. It sounded like he was begrudgingly admitting it out of admiration.
And I didn’t want to see myself feeling proud of that recognition, so it seemed like I added the modifier ‘gun’ on purpose.
The other person must have known from the beginning that I was a man. Even when we started the extermination party’s journey with Eshen, his eyes were following us. Thinking about it now, it’s a pretty fatal fact, but back then, people were negligent in hiding their gender by wearing artifacts.
I’m sure he knows that I messed with his daughter. And I will not accept any excuses for that fact. There’s a high probability that he waited for us to get tangled up and then destroyed the ceiling. I guess this was done to leave no room for excuses.
‘You mean military? ‘I’m a girl?’ The moment you clumsily explain it, this type of person will pay back the price for their foolishness by inflating it dozens of times. Shit. Rather, simple, ignorant bastards like Adamantone and Waldenhardt have a simple way of dealing with it.
I swallowed my saliva. The leader’s sharp eyes glanced at me as if he had sensed the shaking.
“It’s more than I expected. I never thought my disguise skills were poor. I never thought it would look suspicious to a mere child. I can’t believe a mere thief noticed that even the famous warrior Mancellarion missed it.”
“Actually, my father is not very good at spying on others. So, Don Alamo was undercover?”
Isilun sat down at the table with a grin. However, even though she was smiling, her tone was somewhat unpleasant.
“Is it your intention to buy and use warriors? Was my father deceived by you in the process?”
“That’s right, Isilun Sunstorm, the pride of Mancellarion. Information is a weapon, and the best way to obtain accurate information is to experience the world firsthand.
In order to understand the West, which lived for peace by relying on a group of warlords and mercenaries called the Warrior Party, I bought into a prestigious family of a declining empire and pretended to be a noble supporter under a false identity. Thanks to this, I was able to distinguish which hero parties were successful and which were not.”
After pouring Eshen’s share of tea, the teacher put down his water cup rather forcefully.
“So, I already guessed that your friends would arrive safely. Now, let off steam and have a bite, Eshen.”
Eshen glared at his father, then slowly reached for his glass of water.
And then he pushed it down with a gesture that made the viewer very angry. Like a cat that can’t stand a flower pot being placed high up.
One of the black-clad warriors sighed softly. When Sister Monica looked at him as if she was dumbfounded, Musa was startled and began to pretend not to notice as if nothing had happened.
Eshen bared his teeth.
“Safely? Put a bounty on my lover’s head in seconds, safely?”
“Yes. Safely. A normally functioning sect will not let its ass fall from its base no matter how much gold it spends on hunting people. The competitors who did not have already collapsed and been absorbed by the hand of Hyanghwagok.
And the warriors in your party, including you of course, are powerful enough to take down a small country overnight if they put their mind to it. “Of course, this is not something that can be done by a small or medium-sized sect.”
Eshen looked back. The party members were also looking at each other. ‘Are we that good?’ With a strange expression as if he was asking.
I whispered to Eshen.
“The missing Duke of Lyndon, remember?”
“Will you forget? It’s because I couldn’t break my shin.”
“If that person tried to arrest you by force, do you think he would get caught? You, who can crush great swordsmen like Isilun and Lenny, the dragon Nidroga, and mountain trolls with a single punch?”
“Aha. If that’s the standard for a small country, then what?”
In fact, Nidro would be able to bring a country bigger than that to disaster if he wanted to. What can people do if they burn down all the farmland and hide in their mothers’ arms?
This is the part where I feel that Waldenhardt is amazing for putting such scary women in danger.
…I am also a very strange person who put down such scary women.
Sister Monica gestured toward us, as if trying to stop the conversation that was going off the rails.
“If you valued us so highly, what on earth did the cult leader intend by placing a bounty on our comrade’s head? Was it to test us?”
“It is not a test, Apostle who acts on God’s will. If you are protected by such force, more effort is needed to make you realize the sincerity of the warning.”
The leader of the new religion answered in an extremely polite tone and bowed his head. The sister lowered her head in bewilderment at the unexpected extreme honorific title.
And his face hardened as he understood the meaning behind the leader’s words.
“I hoped that Thanh Bhan Thai felt a sense of crisis before he came here.”
“Wait a minute. What do you mean-“
“Do you understand now, Tan Bantai? What happens when you mess with girls who aren’t at the right level for you?”
The party members are dumbfounded, and I feel sick to my stomach.
The leader now tilted his head towards me, completely ignoring the angry shouts of the others.
“You die. I tried to convince you of that in the mildest way possible. As a father with a daughter, you have already humiliated Eshen by becoming one of the many flowers in the flower pot. You have inflicted a wound on Garam that will be difficult to forget for a long time to come.”
“Okay.”
“So, while you are thankful that Shingyo and Hyanghwagok did not really show their teeth against you, run away to the west even now. We will open the way for you.”
“I see you plan to do so.”
“Choose a woman other than Eshen and settle down with her. Of course, Aleister Tomko, the Dragon Lair, or the Goddess Ishtar will be sorely disappointed. But I seriously advise you, it will be better for your survival.”
“You think so.”
“It would have been nice to seduce innocent girls without even thinking about it. But those girls are not ordinary girls with backs.
Freshwater fish die when they enter seawater, and the bodies of flying insects break apart when caught in a typhoon. Live a life that fits your means. In the first place, a normal man does not have that many women at the same time.
If the goddess Ishtar has commanded you to procreate, escape her by any means necessary. “I am sorry to the Apostle here, but she is a goddess whose power was reduced by Mithra’s brilliance in the first place, so the price for breaking the contract would not be great for her-“
“Why is it so long? Let’s take it in moderation, old man, father-in-law.”
The black-clothed warriors behind the cult leader opened their eyes wide. Even Eshen flinched and looked back at me.
Would I have been more angry that a crazy person dared to call me my father-in-law, or would I have been more angry that he had arrogantly interrupted me?
An unidentified emotion was visible in the cult leader’s eyes. I decided to make that feeling more evident.
“That’s none of your business.”
The leader was worried. Then he thoughtfully tapped his fingers on the table a few times.
And like Eshen, he bared his teeth in anger and spoke.
“I can take responsibility for those words-“
“Please tell Eshen’s mother that. And to the religious leader.”
I sniffed once, swallowed, got up, and straightened my clothes.
“As a man, I have something to tell you.”
I came over to the side of the table. The black-clad samurai were only wary of me, who did not pose the slightest threat, at a mandatory level.
But it seems no one expected me to do something like this. Because the hands holding the sheath slipped.
“I was wrong. Please forgive me.”
The cult leader’s feelings were truly revealed this time. He looked at me in bewilderment as I hit his head on the wooden floor.
As long as a human conscience remains, there is no choice but to know. On the other hand, if I were in the leader’s position, he would want to beat me up.
One of the black-clad warriors giggled. Perhaps because the leader quietly turned around, the laughter soon stopped.
Eshen looked at me blankly and then wiped his face.
“Driving me crazy.”
———–
“Did you know something about it?”
Hualien Taiga was much more honest in expressing her emotions than her husband.
Gokju burst into laughter. He grabbed the cigarette pipe with his hand and crushed it.
“It was actually me who wanted to kill him, and my friend wanted to resolve the matter appropriately and without bloodshed? How on earth?”
“Well, it’s not yet-“
“Tell my master to report when he finds out. Just go away.”
Hwa-ryeon put down the broken cigarette holder. And as her footsteps faded away, she smiled meaningfully.
“This isn’t an average bet, right?”
