There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 100

Le Guin smiled at the chieftain.

“I know him. Hmm, but Chieftain.”

The dwarf chieftain flinched.

“You were saying strange things to my daughter earlier.”

“Da, daughter?”

The chieftain, his eyes wide, looked back and forth between Philomel and Le Guin.

“She’s my daughter.”

“Doesn’t look much alike…….”

“Looks like you’re having vision problems as you get older. More importantly, shall we go over there and talk separately?”

He dragged the clattering chieftain away. For a moment, a hushed conversation passed between them.

“So that’s what it was…….”

Watching the scene, Philomel realized the identity of the ‘white devil’ the dwarf chieftain was talking about.

‘Le Guin, what are you really up to?’

At first, she hesitated to reveal the identity of her biological father because of the psychological distance between them, but now she was purely embarrassed.

She chewed on the golden fruit her father had given her, skin and all, lost in thought.

Certainly, he had been unusually kind to his daughter lately. Philomel’s heart was softening like a marshmallow.

‘Maybe I can completely rely on that person?’

It wasn’t that she wasn’t afraid.

Like Jeremiah had said once, Le Guin might cleanly lose interest in his daughter. She might be the only one left behind.

‘But even if that’s the case…….’

Just then, Le Guin and the dwarf chieftain returned, having finished their conversation.

The Archmage patted the dwarf on the back.

“Well, I’m going back to look for the World Tree, so you can tell my daughter something fun so she doesn’t get bored.”

“Understood! When it comes to being funny, I’m the best in our clan!”

The dwarf was unnaturally motivated.

“And if you find the World Tree, catch it. If you hide it like last time…… you know?”

“Ah, I know! Trust me!”

“Phil, I’ll be back. Wait a little bit.”

Le Guin quickly disappeared with a whoosh.

The dwarf chieftain sat next to Philomel again.

“……So, Miss, what story should I tell you first?”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to.”

“Re, really?”

“Yes. And please speak comfortably like before. You’re an elderly elder, after all.”

The dwarf looked touched.

“How could such a kind daughter come from such a rude father……!”

“Haha…….”

“Oops! Please keep what I just said a secret!”

“I will.”

After that, relieved of his tension, she was able to hear many stories from the chattering chieftain.

According to him, there used to be a vicious dragon living here who would loot and kill dwarves whenever he felt like it. And the person who defeated that dragon was Le Guin.

‘So Le Guin is a hero to the dwarf tribe? He defeated a dragon that was plundering jewels.’

When Philomel expressed her doubts, the dwarf chieftain replied like this.

“The dragon only demanded jewels. That guy! Ah, I mean, Miss Philomel’s father demands other minerals as well, so it’s a bit difficult for us, so to speak. Of course, it’s good that there are no more victims.”

“Did Le Guin ask for it first?”

“……That’s not it. We said we’d give him anything if he defeated the dragon. But I never thought that someone who set out to defeat the dragon would make such a request.”

It seemed they had seen Le Guin as a very righteous person and thought, ‘He probably won’t ask for a great reward, right?’

Philomel ate all of the golden fruit and threw the remaining seeds on the floor.

“If it’s really too difficult, I can ask if he can lower the amount you have to give him.”

“Would you really do that for us?”

“Instead, I’d appreciate it if you stopped calling my father names. It’s unpleasant to hear as his child.”

“I’ll try…….”

“The problem is that the amount he asks for is too much, but he’s not just taking it as he pleases like the dragon did.”

The dwarf chieftain’s lips twitched as if he had something to say.

“But…….”

“Is there something more?”

“But Miss Philomel’s father said my beard looked plain, so he twisted it up like this in a ridiculous way! And he put a spell on it so it won’t come undone!”

Only then did Philomel realize that the chieftain’s strange beard was not a unique dwarf custom.

“……Then you can call him names a little bit.”

In the face of her father’s revealed misdeeds, she could only say that.

At that moment, a rabbit with a faint green color hopped over to them.

The chieftain, seeing the rabbit, exclaimed.

“World Tree-nim [respectful suffix]!”

The rabbit of mysterious color jumped at the chieftain and shouted.

“Chieftain! Hide me! That crazy human came again and is rummaging through my body!”

The chieftain looked at Philomel.

“Well, that’s, I’m also a bit troubled, so…….”

Philomel quickly snatched the rabbit’s body with both hands.

“Got you, World Tree.”

The rabbit struggled to escape from her grasp.

“Who are you!”

Holding the rabbit tightly in her arms so it couldn’t escape, Philomel said.

“I came to ask the World Tree-nim something. Le Guin is my companion. I won’t harm you, so don’t run away!”

However, hearing that she was with Le Guin, the World Tree panicked and struggled even more violently.

“What? You’re with that crazy human? Let me go! I’m leaving!”

She had to contact Le Guin quickly to tell him that she had caught the World Tree.

But…….

‘I don’t have enough hands!’

The communication stone that Le Guin had given Philomel, which could communicate without magic, was in her luggage.

At that moment, an unexpected being appeared before them.

“Oh, I came to find the missing chieftain, but the World Tree-nim is here too.”

A young dwarf entered the flower garden. And he was a face Philomel knew.

“Mr. Olakan!”

It was the dwarf who had visited the Empire as a representative of the dwarf tribe before. Olakan’s eyes widened when he saw Philomel.

“Oh, aren’t you the Princess Philomel of Belleroph!”

It was the chieftain who answered that.

“What are you talking about? Miss Philomel is the Archmage’s daughter.”

“Yes? No, Chieftain-nim. That person is definitely Her Highness Princess Philomel.”

It seemed that the fact that she was a fake princess had not been widely known in this area yet.

‘Come to think of it, the dwarf tribe rarely interacts with the outside world.’

As Philomel was contemplating whether to introduce herself to them, a rabbit with sluggish movements came into her view.

The World Tree was curious and focused on the dwarves’ story.

‘I can contact Le Guin in this gap!’

Philomel hugged the World Tree with only one hand and reached into her luggage to take out the communication stone.

The two dwarves continued their conversation for a while.

“She said she’s the Archmage’s daughter!”

“Since she’s a princess, she’s the Emperor’s daughter!”

“The Archmage clearly told me that she was his daughter!”

“Well, I don’t know…… How would she know my name if she wasn’t the princess I met before?”

“We, well……. Anyway, how can she be both the Archmage’s daughter and the Emperor’s daughter! They’re both men……. Huh!”

The chieftain’s eyes grew so large that they seemed to pop out, and his mouth opened so wide that his jaw seemed to fall off. He had an expression as if he had encountered the hidden truth of this world for the first time.

“Oh, that’s why…….”

“Chieftain-nim, what’s wrong?”

“That Archmage, he didn’t get married and wasn’t interested in women.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Hey! Are you that clueless? Come here.”

The chieftain pulled Olakan closer and whispered.

“What is it? Tell me too!”

The World Tree, who had barely escaped Philomel’s arms, also hopped over to them.

They gathered together and whispered.

“It’s like this…….”

The reactions of the other two after hearing the dwarf chieftain’s explanation were intense.

“Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!”

“Does that make sense! Then how do they have children?”

“That guy wouldn’t be the Archmage for nothing. He must have done something with magic.”

“Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!”

“……World Tree-nim, you’ve been too loud since earlier.”

Philomel, having finished communicating while glancing at the World Tree, was belatedly able to listen to the conversation.

‘What are those guys saying now……?’

A cold sweat ran down her spine at the ominous premonition.

Just as she was about to stop their absurd misunderstanding.

“This damn tree was here.”

Le Guin arrived.

He grabbed the rabbit’s ears to prevent it from running away and looked around at the crowd.

“Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“Well, there’s a slight misunderstanding…….”

Before Philomel could explain, the dwarf chieftain approached Le Guin closely.

“Hey, Archmage! I didn’t know you had such circumstances.”

“Why are you suddenly acting so friendly?”

“It’s okay. Unlike humans, we don’t have prejudice against that kind of thing.”

“What prejudice?”

“Well, if the person doesn’t want to reveal it, there’s nothing we can do……. But please tell me just this one thing.”

“What are you talking about.”

Philomel urged him to take only the World Tree and leave, but Le Guin waited for the chieftain’s words, saying he would listen to what he had to say.

The dwarf chieftain glanced around and lowered his voice, asking secretly.

“So, what method did you use to have a child with the Emperor of the Empire?”

“…….”

“There are some couples in our clan who want children but can’t have them, so if it’s okay, I’d like some help…….”

The chieftain stopped speaking at the sudden feeling of an unusual aura.

A sinister wind blew in all directions.

A tremendous amount of magic swirled around Le Guin.

Philomel grabbed her father’s arm.

“……Are you very angry?”

“Huh? No, not really.”

His lips formed a curve, but his eyes were not smiling at all. His golden eyes were coldly frozen.