There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 151

‘Just as I thought.’

It was a guess based half on imagination, but it seems I hit the mark.

“I saw the documents related to the Children of the Dawn that Luguine wrote.”

It contained detailed descriptions of the three brothers’ personalities.

At first, I was distracted by the content, but gradually I began to wonder why such records were written.

‘Luguine experimented because he wanted a child with Estellion.’

That was just Lexion’s explanation and others’ interpretations. Philomel had never directly discussed this with Luguine.

“If his goal was a child to inherit Estellion, there’s no need to pay so much attention to their personalities.”

However, the documents covered the inner characteristics of the three brothers in as much detail as their magical abilities, or perhaps even more so.

And among those details, some were particularly striking. Words like ‘ordinary’ and ‘normal.’

‘Perhaps what Luguine truly wanted for his children wasn’t power, but normalcy?’

The thought suddenly occurred to me.

It was a completely unfounded guess, but Philomel couldn’t help but think her guess was correct.

Then, when there was an argument with Luguine over the Hero issue, a passing remark he made came to mind.

“It’s a legitimate disciplinary method from a parenting book.”

Why would he read something like a parenting book?

Philomel then pretended to be curious about something else and was granted access to the Magic Tower Lord’s private library. And among the countless magic books, she witnessed unexpected things.

Clearly out-of-place titles.

Judging by the publication years of the books, it seemed Luguine had been collecting such books for quite some time.

The Magic Tower Lord was curious.

‘What kind of lives do ordinary people live?’

He often said he couldn’t understand other people’s emotions, but perhaps that meant he wanted to understand.

‘Certainly, Luguine has been trying to take me to the Magic Tower and treating me well since our first meeting.’

At the time, I dismissed it as simple interest, but perhaps it wasn’t that…

“Did you think I was the only child who could understand you?”

Philomel asked, addressing the cat’s fluffy back.

Was it that he wanted to be understood as much as he wanted to understand others? Or perhaps he wanted to understand because he wanted to be understood first.

“Unfortunately, I’m not that person. No, there’s no one in this world who will understand you just because they share your blood.”

He seemed to have a fantasy about family. That family would unconditionally understand him.

Philomel understood that fantasy from the bottom of her heart.

‘I also had such fantasies about my imaginary biological parents.’

I thought the reason my relationship with Eustis went awry was because we didn’t share blood. So I thought my biological parents would be something special.

But it wasn’t true.

Luguine and Katrin were humans with their own circumstances before they were biological parents. Even if they are family, they are still others.

Their experiences are different, their environments are different, and their values are different. Philomel belatedly realized that fact.

And now, I want this person to realize it.

“Luguine, if you wanted to be understood, you should have spent time with others instead of creating children.”

“……”

“Time to open up, sometimes fight, but try to work things out.”

The cat drooped its shoulders. Seeing it like that, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for it.

‘Acting like a cat when he’s an old man.’

Philomel scratched her cheek.

“Uh, um. That came out weird, but I’m not blaming you for giving birth to me.”

Philomel placed her hand on the small shoulder. It was so small that she could only fit two fingers on it.

“From now on, please let me know what kind of person Luguine is.”

There is plenty of time.

“You don’t have to try to show only the good sides.”

Perhaps it turned out this way because he hid his true self to gain Philomel’s favor.

“Accepting and adapting to each other’s flaws is what family is all about.”

Time passes. After a long while, the cat turned to look at Philomel.

“Meow……”

At that moment, letters appeared in the air.

‘I thought you would understand me, but it’s not just because of that that I treated you well.’

It seemed to be what Luguine wanted to convey to her.

‘I enjoyed watching you because it was fun.’

Philomel’s eyes widened.

“Fun?”

I thought he had almost no sense of humor.

‘Everyone else is afraid of me, but you made fun of me and treated me carelessly.’

What?

“When did I ever treat Luguine carelessly……”

‘Unlike your brothers, you’re weak and small.’

Judging by the atmosphere, this seems like a good thing, but I feel strangely bad.

‘It was also refreshing to see you trying to find out the truth about the book or whatever.’

The silver letters disappeared and continued to reappear.

‘What good does knowing that do? Does it make you money or stronger? It was the first time. To struggle so much for something so trivial.’

“Luguine also wanted to know where Estellion came from, didn’t he?”

‘Of course, because Estellion is a strong power. It’s more useful than a book that can’t even predict the future well.’

“Ah, so that’s what you’ve been thinking of me all this time……”

In a nutshell, to him, Philomel was someone who had nothing and was obsessed with strange things.

This person is really…….

‘At first, I didn’t understand you and wanted to take you away quickly, but as I watched you, I found you fascinating, so…….’

Perhaps he needed time to sort out his own feelings, as the next letters appeared after a delay.

‘I wanted to keep watching you. So I wanted you to be safe.’

“Luguine……”

The cat hung its head low. Its ears drooped.

‘Do you hate me now?’

New letters appear.

‘Do you hate me so much that you ran away because I opposed you becoming a Hero?’

The answer came quickly.

“No. I don’t hate you.”

The cat raised its head sharply and looked at Philomel.

“But if you ever try to lock me up again, I might really start to hate you.”

‘I won’t!’

“I also want you to stop doing extreme things on your own.”

Like deciding to kill the Emperor or Ellensia.

“Even if I can’t be of much help, I want you to consult with me if there are any important matters. Because we’re family.”

‘I’ll try.’

Philomel spread her arms.

“Come here.”

The cat quickly jumped into her arms. Philomel shared a warm hug with the cat.

“Ah, and don’t deliberately turn into a cat when you’ve done something wrong.”

Philomel whispered what she had been thinking about for a while.

“Are you doing this to make it so I can’t get angry? That’s cowardly.”

Letters appear before her eyes.

‘Then should I go back to my real form?’

“Wait, not now.”

If he did that, the relationship would become more awkward than reconciled.

And so, the two reconciled.

* * *

The next day, the sun rose.

Today is the day of the second test.

In the deserted central garden of the Grand Temple, Philomel groaned.

“Ughh.”

“How are you feeling?”

The masseuse, who was massaging her shoulders, asked.

“Good.”

“You have knots here.”

“Ah! That’s a bit sore.”

“You need to loosen them up.”

“Aewaehk!”

A cat made a strange noise, interrupting their conversation.

Luguine, still in the form of Gwingwing, growled at the masseuse.

“Hey, Gwingwing! No!”

Philomel gently lifted him up to stop him. The cat turned its head away as if sulking.

She knew very well why Luguine disliked the masseuse.

‘Because he’s someone the Emperor sent.’

This morning, a masseuse sent by the Emperor arrived at the accommodation. He said he brought the most skilled masseuse in the area after seeing yesterday’s match.

Philomel initially tried to decline. Although she had received an apology from the Emperor, the resentment in her heart had not completely disappeared.

‘I was definitely going to decline…….’

The problem was that the masseuse’s skills were too good. The moment her touch reached her arm, the desire to decline disappeared.

In the end, Philomel was not satisfied with just receiving a massage at the accommodation and even brought the masseuse to the Grand Temple.

While she was at it, she settled down in the central garden and received not only an arm massage but also a full body massage, making it feel like heaven.

“I can massage you too.”

Nasar, who was watching this, looked distressed.

“Waehk!”

“Ah!”

The cat rushed at him fiercely and tried to scratch his face.

Nasar, who avoided the cat, said in a voice filled with disappointment.

“……Gwingwing still seems to dislike me.”

I need to tell Nasar about Gwingwing’s identity…… To be honest, I want to keep it a secret forever because I’m embarrassed.

As the cat sent a meaningful look towards Lexion, he grabbed Nasar’s arm and pulled him away.

“Shall we go buy something to eat? Let’s all go together.”

“Yes? Do we really need four people to go buy something to eat?”

Nasar expressed a valid question, but he was led out of the garden by his brothers.

Philomel dismissed the masseuse. It seemed the Magic Tower Lord had something to say to her alone.

Again, letters appeared in the air.

‘Phil, don’t trust that guy too much.’

“What’s wrong with Nasar?”

‘Actually, we watched your first test too, and that guy was glaring intensely at you holding hands with another man.’

It seemed to be about the arm wrestling.

‘But when you won and came back, he erased his expression and smiled.’

“……I see.”

‘He’s different on the inside and outside.’

“That’s a bit pleasing.”

The cat’s eyes widened.

“To be jealous and then pretend not to be when I see him, isn’t that cute?”

‘You…….’

A sharp gaze unique to animals is directed at Philomel.

‘What happened when you were alone with that guy?’

“Ah, nothing happened.”

‘Populatus said the atmosphere between you two changed while he wasn’t watching!’

“Don’t tell me you had Kkyukkyu [a familiar or magical creature] spy on us?”

‘Then what would I trust and let you spend several nights and days with that guy!’

As Philomel glared, the cat flinched.

‘It’s not like I told him to spy. Populatus reported on his own.’

Philomel smiled slyly because his excuses were funny.

“The test will start soon, so shall we go when the others arrive?”

Philomel was about to leave the central garden to join the others quickly when.

“……!”

She ran into Killian, who was entering the garden.

Killian stopped Philomel’s steps as she was about to pass by with a simple nod.