I’Ll Protect My Tyrant Dad! [EN]: Chapter 103

That smile sent a wave of unease crashing over me. And, as expected, he whispered to me.

“That healer you took away.”

“…What?”

No way…

“You’re thinking of the right person. The healer, Acid.”

“What is…”

Seeing that I couldn’t even hide my embarrassment, the Pope snickered. Axel, who was panting and slumped in the corner, probably due to lack of stamina, also looked at me and chuckled.

“Things have gotten interesting, haven’t they?”

The Pope didn’t even glance at Axel, sneering at me instead.

“Acid will be burned at the stake. And then he will be reborn as our sword. A sword that can defeat Mirmord.”

I couldn’t quite grasp what he was saying. Words like ‘burning at the stake’ and ‘sword’ felt too surreal.

Unable to hide the turmoil in my heart, I hardened my expression and shouted at him as if threatening him.

“Explain what that means so I can understand.”

But now, the Pope didn’t seem to want to listen to my opinion.

“Oh, pitiful young Mirmord. I have no reason to explain my plans to you in detail, do I?”

Then Axel jumped in, interjecting.

“Hey, Pope. If you get what you want, does Mirmord come to me?”

The Pope’s eyes coldly swept over Axel. He slowly nodded, then massaged his neck as if it was stiff.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Hoo… Not bad. You can get rid of all the schemes that little brat is hiding in her head, right?”

The Pope smirked and said.

“Yes, we can somehow deal with this little brat who was ‘deliberately’ kidnapped to this place.”

At the word ‘deliberately,’ I bit my tongue.

As the Pope expected, I was kidnapped here with intention. Although half of my past and thoughts were read…

‘My plan hasn’t completely gone wrong. Because I promised…’

But at this moment, I had a slight doubt as to whether my ‘promise’ would be kept properly.

So, at this moment, I had to delay his actions as much as possible, whatever the Pope’s intentions were.

‘Think. Of a way to stop the Pope from hurting Acid…’

Is there a way to seize the moment when the Pope tries to harm Acid and counterattack him?

I bit my lip tightly and stared at the Pope and Axel.

I don’t know exactly what limitations there are to the Pope’s ‘mind-reading ability,’ but fortunately for me, he had long since lost interest in me.

He was already excited, looking at the air as if giving a speech, rambling on.

“Acid. That child will be the key to killing Matthias Mirmord.”

I narrowed my eyes and thought, as if blaming the Pope.

‘You unlucky bastard.’

But the Pope seemed to have completely lost interest in me.

He wasn’t even reading my thoughts, just wearing a blissful expression.

I glared at the Pope and chewed my lips.

I chewed and chewed until fresh blood reappeared from my already burst lips, then opened my mouth.

“But the Pope is a scarecrow. As expected, without Melodia…”

“What did you just say?”

His complexion turned cold.

He seemed to feel inferior to Melodia, as expected.

I stared at the Pope and blinked. Now that it has come to this, it’s all or nothing.

“I thought it was a good thing Melodia wasn’t here. Why?”

“…What?”

“Isn’t the real power in this temple the Saintess Melodia?”

The Pope brought his face close to mine, feigning a blank expression.

I rolled my eyes as if observing his expression. But there was no need to concentrate.

At this moment, I could tell just by looking at his stiffening expression. He had already been devoured by the monster called inferiority.

“Even His Highness the Crown Prince only likes Saintess Melodia, right?”

The reason why he didn’t say anything, even though he knew I was trying to provoke him, was simple. My words, and my thoughts, had caught him off guard.

I gently raised the corners of my lips and said to him.

“Isn’t that right?”

Since the Pope could read my mind, I taunted him relentlessly in my heart.

The Pope spouted all sorts of things, saying that he was just a scarecrow anyway, and that he couldn’t make proper decisions without Melodia.

Did he hear all my words and thoughts? The Pope gritted his teeth and glared at me again.

“Whatever you think, it doesn’t matter much to me. Now, then, I’ve gotten everything I need…”

I met the Pope’s gaze head-on.

At that moment, the formula engraved on my wrist for mind control slowly disappeared.

He seemed to be more obsessed with Acid than with me now. Thanks to being pushed out of the Pope’s attention in an instant, I was able to freely unfold my thoughts.

But…

“Soon, we just need to summon Acid here. I still have that much power.”

…I was skeptical about whether I could stop the Pope, who was muttering like that, like a madman, acting as if the game would be over as soon as ‘Acid’ came.

I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them as I watched the Pope draw a magic circle on the floor.

Even if you’re caught in a tiger’s den, you can survive if you keep your wits about you.

There must be a way.

A way to protect Acid, get out alive, and trample on that evil Pope and Axel…

***

At that moment, a bloody battle was taking place in the basement of the Central Temple.

The Central Temple of the Temple was quite an uncomfortable place for Matthias Mirmord as well.

It was easy to enter the temple, but entering the Central Temple where Sien was imprisoned required quite a bit of caution.

Matthias raised his sword and cut down the undead, recalling what his daughter had said.

‘Dad, I’m going to be kidnapped.’

‘…What?’

‘Search the temple. I think it’s probably in the basement of the Central Temple… Ask Delphia and Grandma to come to the Central Temple. It’s a promise.’

‘I don’t understand, Dad. Sien, are you saying you’re going to be bait for the temple? Why do you have to do that?’

He had been docile, but his ferocious nature was about to be revealed.

If Sien’s eyes hadn’t sparkled at that moment, he would have shown an unkind side.

‘Yes, it’s an opportunity to catch the Pope and the Crown Prince, everyone! They’re doing human sacrifices in the basement of the temple! I heard from the Dark Guild that I seem to be the target to be kidnapped this time.’

Matthias firmly grabbed Sien’s shoulders and said.

‘I don’t know what your plan is… No way. I’d rather be the bait, Dad. Sien, you don’t have any mana…’

‘I can get out before that. Father is too weak. I’ll do it.’

Recalling his daughter calling him ‘weak,’ Matthias adjusted his sword.

Of course, he thought there would be no kidnapping.

He also thought that he could safely protect Sien while wearing the mask of a ‘good father.’

But while worrying about how to explain it while protecting his daughter’s innocence, who believed he was weak, he neglected to watch Sien.

‘I was arrogant.’

When the other party struggled and rushed at him, he should not have regarded them as mere vermin and ignored them.

Due to that arrogance, there was a slight gap in protecting the safety of his daughter, who he didn’t know where she would bounce.

This kidnapping was due to his painful misjudgment.

‘…I can’t wear the good mask anymore.’

From now on, he was going to deal with it with all his might.

[Dad, I left a note for Acid and Delphia! Dad, you’re resting at home. While building strength!]

Recalling his daughter, who left him a note and was suddenly kidnapped, Matthias gritted his teeth.

‘I didn’t know I would come to rescue you myself. Our daughter.’

Because his daughter thinks he is weak.

If he could just rescue her safely, he thought that he should never send her outside from today.

The outside world was too dangerous for Sien. If Sien disappeared like Yuela…

‘I can’t stand a world without you, Sien.’

To Matthias, Sien was the only light. She was the reason for his life, and she was a precious daughter whom he wanted to walk only on flower paths.

Matthias, who had been cutting down the undead surrounding him with no thoughts, soon stepped on and killed a snake-shaped monster trying to bite Acid’s ankle.

“It’s dangerous. We need to get in as quickly as possible, so be careful.”

“Thank you for your teaching.”

Matthias scanned Acid up and down.

He was holding a sword in a straight posture, guarding Matthias’ rear.

There was green monster blood splattered on his hands, but he was doing his part near him as if it was nothing.

‘Not bad.’

He adjusted his sword again.

The moment he diverted his attention for a moment, countless undead surrounded him. Matthias frowned as if he was annoyed, cutting the monsters’ throats with his sword without using Aura [magical energy]. He couldn’t use Aura in this place.

If he revealed too much power in the temple, there was a high possibility that annoying paladins would flock to him.

Instead, he raised his sword and simply cut through the air, and Acid was protecting his body through divine power by his side.

The two boasted a pretty fantastic combination. Before he knew it, a pile of monster corpses had accumulated, and they were able to quietly enter the basement of the Central Temple.

There were countless doors in the basement of the temple. He didn’t know which of those doors would lead to Sien.

Matthias carefully listened.

He wondered if he could hear his daughter’s voice.

But it was just then.

Acid moved his body with a rare look of embarrassment.

“…Matthias.”

“What’s wrong?”

“That’s… My hand is getting blurry.”

“Do you know why?”

Acid bit his lip and shook his head.

“I have no idea…”

Matthias, who was staring at Acid, smiled cynically.

He had been to all sorts of wars and saw those who used despicable tricks. The temple had also used all sorts of cowardly tricks to get rid of Matthias Mirmord.

So he could tell.

The reason why Acid’s hand is getting blurry…

“Are you perhaps, dying?”

At the innocent words, Matthias stared at the boy in front of him.

There was no clear fear of death in the boy’s eyes.

There was just something like worry. Matthias, who was staring blankly at his worried gaze, spat out the words.

“If you die.”

“I’ll just be sad that I couldn’t save Sien.”

Matthias was annoyed by the obsession of the boy, no, Acid, who had become a young man. He swept back his hair and whispered lowly.

“You won’t die. But…”

He didn’t know if what he was about to say would be good or bad for Acid.

But one thing was certain, it was annoying to Matthias.

“You’ll go to Sien. Alone.”

Seeing Acid’s face light up as soon as he heard the words ‘go to Sien,’ without even hearing the reason why his body was getting blurry, he felt seriously jealous.