I’Ll Protect My Tyrant Dad! [EN]: Chapter 98

98. The Unexpected Blessing

I shook my head. The discomfort I had been feeling since I started having small conversations with Acid was because of ‘this’.

“No. It’s weird because we’re too far apart.”

I snatched the handkerchief from his hand and wiped the blood off his arm. Then, I shoved it into the inside of my pocket.

“Now I don’t smell fishy either.”

The moment I said that, Acid shuddered briefly.

I looked at Acid, flustered. My eyes, accustomed to the darkness, caught the redness around his eyes. I quietly hugged his shoulder briefly, as if patting him.

“That, hurting someone, is the first time…….”

“……Yes.”

“It was hard, wasn’t it?”

“Either way…… I thought Master Si-en would die if I didn’t hurt those guys.”

After the patting that seemed to have no personal feelings, I quietly stared at Acid again.

We walked hand in hand.

As if comforting each other, a warm warmth enveloped their hands.

‘I don’t think I can go back to before today. But still…….’

Even though he is a tracker who does dirty work, I never thought I would see him being subdued right in front of me.

However, if we continue to be hostile to the temple, if we harbor enemies in Mirmord, we will have to get used to all of this.

‘Maybe I’ll have to do even worse things soon.’

My heart rate soared just thinking about it. I tried to suppress my pounding heart and squeezed Acid’s hand tightly enough to burst.

“Acid.”

“……Yes.”

“That… it was hard to hurt people, wasn’t it?”

“……It’s okay.”

I stopped walking for a moment and looked up at Acid. Acid’s pupils were shaking like a ship facing the blue [a metaphor for being lost and uncertain].

“If it’s hard, you can lean on me.”

No more words flowed between us.

Acid put strength into the hand he was holding mine.

Even in the midst of this, I quietly bit my lip at the sound of my heart beating wildly.

Strangely enough, that heartbeat felt like it was overlapping with Acid’s.

The sound of the wind was faintly heard.

***

The next day, it was lunchtime.

I came back to my seat without any gain, and I ended up hearing some shocking news.

“Who… what did you say?”

“They told me to tell you it’s the ghost of a corrupted one.”

The ghost of a corrupted one!

I opened my eyes wide as if turning them over.

“What, what? Why, no, how did they find me?”

If it’s the ghost of a corrupted one… it’s ‘that person’!

How did ‘that person’ find their way here? It’s like an unexpected blessing!

‘What, how did this person come at such a good time…?’

Something is very suspicious, but let’s be moved first!

I was swallowing my saliva and couldn’t bring myself to say the next words. Deadri said nonchalantly.

“Master Si-en, should I send them back? They seemed very suspicious. I wonder if I should have reported it…….”

I raised my voice in protest.

“What are you talking about? Absolutely not!”

The moment Deadri was flustered by my loud voice, I threw the door open and shouted.

“Come in, ghost!”

“……Master Si-en, you’re very energetic today…….”

A mysterious figure wearing a black robe walked towards us without saying a word.

I was very excited to see her and wiggled my toes.

That person was the perfect card to make this situation ours.

***

‘Corrupted Ghost’, Lilit, the leader of the Dark Guild, entered. All she had in her mind was Si-en Mirmord, the owner of the Si-en Merchant.

Lilit became curious about Si-en from St. Marco Square. She heard people talking about Si-en Mirmord in Marco Square.

“The Si-en Merchant is doing such amazing things!”

“I feel like they’ve become a little nicer these days.”

“Hey, you. How long will that feeling last?”

People didn’t seem to know, but Lilit felt like Si-en had designed all of this. Lilit’s eyes narrowed for a moment.

“……Si-en Mirmord. I heard they are fifteen years old this year.”

A very strange child.

Lilit had quite a bit of curiosity about Si-en. Such curiosity was not something that a young lady who had just graduated from the academy would have.

Rather, it was more fundamental and primal…….

‘I’m seriously wondering why the Mirmord family is doing this.’

Why are they doing such ‘good’ deeds?

Lilit slipped into the crowd of people who were constantly gossiping and slipped in subtle criticisms.

“Isn’t it ridiculous that the Mirmord is doing good deeds?”

At those words, the people who were talking about their good deeds flinched and looked at Lilit.

“Ugh, what, what?”

“Suddenly, a strange voice…….”

When the flustered people tried to check the face of Lilit, who was wearing a robe, she pulled the robe deep over her head and left leisurely.

She didn’t want to just keep wondering.

She was curious about Si-en Mirmord.

So now she had to run [meaning she had to investigate quickly].

***

In fact, I had carefully set up various scenarios to make Lilit, the leader of the Dark Guild, curious about us.

However, even if I had designed a scenario that would arouse curiosity, I didn’t expect them to visit so quickly.

“I want to become a follower of the Si-en Merchant too!”

“……A follower?”

I blinked at her passionate eyes.

‘Lilit……. How can you flow according to your character like this [meaning how can you act so predictably]?’

I heard that the scale of her curiosity and questions was no joke, but I didn’t expect her to enter the Merchant to openly satisfy her curiosity.

‘And she’s really good at acting.’

She was acting like ‘Incredibly impressed follower 1’ to me. She had been acting for more than a day or two, so her actions were very natural. I shook my head at her and drew a firm line [meaning I set a boundary].

“I’m sorry, but we’re not a religion. And you have to reveal your name.”

She said in a troubled tone.

“I’m, um, Lilit.”

“Lilit.”

“Yes, Lilit. It’s practically a religious syndrome, so why are you stopping someone like this from becoming a follower?”

“……Hmm.”

I stared at her and nodded.

“Lilit, if you want to become a follower, listen to me carefully.”

Now I was about to extract information from her. I narrowed my eyes and looked into Lilit’s eyes. She had purple eyes, which were rare for an imperial citizen, and she was looking at me with eyes that sparkled like jewels.

I raised the corners of my lips, examining her natural complexion.

Lilit doesn’t hate me.

She doesn’t trust me very much, but she is curious about me. So now, while her curiosity is maintained, I have to use Lilit appropriately.

“There’s a temple……. We have a state religion, so what would happen if I created a religion?”

I raised my hand and made a gesture of cutting my throat.

“Oh, so it’s because of the temple?”

While receiving Lilit’s curious gaze, I smiled softly.

“The temple is blocking my good deeds. You’ve heard of the scholarship program, right? I was going to sponsor children who were young, had no backing, and had divine power…… but the temple took them away?”

As soon as I finished speaking, a smile bloomed on Lilit’s lips.

That was the expression she made when she was giving information she knew.

“Ah……. The temple’s actions are obviously human sacrifices, right?”

As expected, Lilit seemed to have guessed that far. I nodded and rested my chin on my hand.

“If it’s a real human sacrifice, where did they take them?”

“It must be in the basement of the central temple.”

The basement of the central temple where the Pope resided.

I frowned and looked at her.

“That place is not accessible to the general public. Not even the priests can enter. Only the Pope and those authorized by the Pope can enter.”

“That means it’s impossible.”

“……Lilit, don’t you know either?”

Lilit smiled and said.

“I’m just an ordinary follower.”

I shook my head inwardly at her pretending not to know while being the head of the information guild.

Then Lilit asked, sparkling her purple eyes.

“Ah……. Si-en wants to oppose the temple’s evil deeds while doing good deeds, right? Right?”

“Well…….”

Half right, half wrong.

For me, good deeds were just a tool. Just like the temple tried to gain faith through good deeds called ‘volunteer work’.

“I need to find the treasure hidden in the basement of the temple……. Oh, I can’t find it without the Pope’s permission either?”

“……A treasure hidden in the basement of the temple?”

“Yes. It’s probably with the children who were sacrificed. Because the treasure grows by eating divine power.”

“What is that treasure?”

She shrugged as if it were nothing.

“I don’t know either. I just know there’s a ‘treasure’.”

“The divine power will be weakening.”

“Ah, that treasure doesn’t matter even if the divine power weakens. The reason why the Saintess and the Pope left on the ‘Path of Light’ must have been to further strengthen the treasure hidden in the basement of the temple. Maybe when they come back, the power of the treasure will be even stronger.”

Joy lingered in Lilit’s eyes.

She seemed to think I would despair. Since Lilit is a person who moves based on interest, she might have more fun if I despaired.

But…….

“……Then, you mean.”

“Yes.”

“If we just get rid of that treasure, the temple will be destroyed?”

I smiled at Lilit, who had a blank look on her face for a moment.

“I understand.”

It wasn’t like I was going to do anything right now.

I was just curious about the treasure hidden in the basement of the temple. Of course, everyone says that you can’t enter the temple basement by any means…….

‘Well, it’s not like I can’t enter.’

I crossed my arms and managed my expression.

Then Lilit, who quickly came to her senses, asked back.

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Why should I be scared?”

“Wow, really…….”

Lilit burst into laughter and clapped her hands a few times.

There were even tears in her eyes. I reached out and wiped the corners of her eyes and said.

“The most important weapon can also become a weakness. You know that well because you have information, right, Lilit?”

***

A month passed quickly, and Si-en’s ‘Capitalism’ hit the empire [meaning Si-en’s economic strategies became very popular].

Of course, there were side effects. However, since it was based on the idea of doing ‘good things’, people were happily doing good deeds.