Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: A Father's Dilemma
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'...What do I do about this.'
As much as his heart ached, the situation was extremely awkward.
Judging from the flow of the conversation, he could confirm that his daughter still loved him, but this direction was far from good.
She had transformed her love for him into hatred and rage in order to survive, and to do so, she would have stopped at nothing to reach her current position.
If he revealed now that he was alive again and tried to embrace her warmly, would she be able to return?
No, even if he spoke and showed countless pieces of evidence, would she even believe him?
Even if she did believe him, she would likely try to spread her anger and hatred to him as well, and as someone who had received a mission from the Goddess, she would try to get him to participate in things he could never accept.
'That's the gaze of someone already consumed by madness. A flame that will burn until her very soul is turned to ash. This is no heartwarming family reunion... It's absolutely impossible.'
"Well~ Now it's my turn to ask questions. How do you know all these facts?"
"I am deeply ashamed... I, I was one who explored the Haldeon Ruins."
"What? How dare you...!"
"But I didn't know from the start that the Haldeon Ruins were that person's legacy! I swear. I only participated in the excavation thinking it was an ancient ruin, and it wasn't until I pushed through countless traps inside that I learned its true nature. Of course, I didn't go in alone... but the others all died, and only I survived."
Though the Neumel Prime Minister felt plausibility in Beonald's excuses as he spoke with his head bowed in fear, he decided to hear him out for now.
Having gauged the situation, Beonald, using the treacherous-subject constitution he had honed in his previous life to climb to the top, had already devised a plan to get through this crisis.
"When I saw the relics from the era of the Unified Empire in that place, I was deeply moved. The traces of a brilliant civilization and its beautiful legacies... It was only a few hundred years ago! The objects that existed there looked so magnificent. Surely... the person who created and managed that place must have been a great genius."
"Oh? You know a thing or two."
'Ah... Who would have thought the day would come when I'd have to suck up to myself (?) like this.'
Seeing his daughter's expression soften slightly as he began to praise himself, Beonald thought it was definitely an effective tactic, but inwardly, it was agonizing.
Praising others excessively was already cringe-worthy and difficult, but how much more painful was it to exaggerate and glorify oneself?
Only someone like Beonald could pull off such a brazen act; any ordinary person would fail miserably and reveal their clumsiness.
"Of course, I haven't deciphered all the 500-year-old script, so I don't know every record on site... but I was so moved by the legacy of that brilliant era and the peaceful, prosperous world! When I heard the name 'Neumel,' which you, Prime Minister, bear, I was thrilled with emotion, and I barely managed to figure it out by cross-referencing the names left in the records."
"Hmm? A place for my name in the Mausoleum of Molting...?"
"According to the records, it was called an experimental version of a birthday gift..."
"Ah! Aah! That does seem right. Well, Father did try hard to make every birthday special... It wouldn't be strange for there to be one or two such experimental pieces."
'...Thank goodness I lived as a good father. It was just a plausible lie! Luckily, it matched up!'
Thanks to his efforts in his previous life to be the best father he could be out of rebellion against Felix von Neumel, the pieces of his story now fit together.
Grateful to his 500-year-ago self, Beonald inwardly cheered as he watched the Neumel Prime Minister's face relax more and more.
p>Just as she had loved her father and loved Benofis, her hatred and rage had grown from that love, so praising those things was bound to please her.
"So I thought. These legacies must not be returned to the humans who dared to destroy and deny that brilliant era! They should be returned to their rightful owners, the Neumel family."
"Ooh~ That's quite a proper way of thinking, isn't it?"
"And if I could help them and assist in raising the glorious Neumel family once more on this continent! To see the Hydra's banner flutter across the entire land once again! To witness the resurrected scenery of Benofis... I would have no regrets even if I died the next day!"
Even he thought he was really picking only the words that would appeal to the Neumel Prime Minister.
If someone didn't fall for such smooth, sweet-talking flattery, they wouldn't be human—they'd be a golem! He could confidently boast of his tongue-work, honed over decades of polishing the Emperor's rear to a flawless, shiny smoothness.
"Hohoho, truly admirable words. But that wish cannot be fulfilled."
"Why, why not?"
"That wish... is only possible for my father, Beonald von Neumel, who served as the family head in that era, rising from Count to Duke... and who held the entire continent in his grasp."
"Guh!"
Beonald had to struggle to restrain his surging emotions, filled with a happiness that even after 500 years, his daughter still loved him.
If he could, he would reveal his identity right now, comfort her for the hardships she must have endured over 500 years, and grant her wish.
But her wish was the extinction of the human race, which was absolutely unacceptable, and while the possibility of persuading her wasn't zero, it wasn't high either.
'To begin with, I have no talent for persuasion... It doesn't suit our family's constitution either...'
Given that the Neumel family saying, 'Persuasion is just another word for wasting time,' had been passed down, and their way was to resolve everything through negotiation and force, trying to achieve something through mere conversation was nonsense.
Beonald had also ultimately followed the Neumel family's ways, so he had no confidence in turning his daughter's heart, filled with hatred and rage, through 'persuasion.'
"Then, then all the more reason to prove it, no? The revival and reconstruction of the Neumel family! At the very least, the name of the master of Benofis, who achieved that brilliant culture, should once again be raised across the continent..."
"No, in the end, it wasn't suited for those human bastards. They erased Father's blessing and glory themselves... They have no qualifications."
'Aigoo...'
"Anyway, I've received word of how deeply you were moved by the glory of Benofis and Father. Thank you for bringing good information... but let me ask one thing. Were you also the one who leaked information about the 'Hydra's Fang'?"
"Ah, that... Yes! That's correct."
The conversation naturally shifted to the 'poison'—not the poison given to Duke Cmel, but the existence of poison itself. Beonald began rapidly turning over excuses in his mind as he answered.
"Why?"
"That... I wanted to make my existence known to you, Prime Minister Neumel, and if he had died, I wouldn't have gotten this opportunity. Also, Duke Cmel needs to be alive for the religious order that wants to turn the Haldeon Ruins into a holy site to be kept in check. If those damned order's hands were to get hold of the great legacies and discard or ruin them...!"
"Hmm... But isn't it also a problem if Duke Cmel gets his hands on them?"
"If a competitor appears and they check each other, they ultimately can't act easily. Especially if it becomes a three-way struggle with the Emperor of the Kaleum Empire involved. So for now... the Haldeon Ruins are safe. Or perhaps... you're not saying Duke Cmel's life is... more valuable than Father's legacy, are you?"
"No, no! Of course Father's legacy is more important! Good! Very well done! Yes! I can't stand them touching Father's legacy! You did very well!"
Seeing that his daughter, once he figured her out, was quite easy to manipulate, Beonald thought he had gained her trust for now.
In any case, gaining her trust was inevitably advantageous.
As the leader of the powerful nation of Garkan Republic, her utility value was sufficient, and by gaining her trust, he could assist with the plans and tasks she was orchestrating while also hindering them.
'To have to treat my daughter, who hasn't forgotten me and still loves me even after being reborn, as a joker card... How bittersweet.'
"Hmmm~ Anyway, you want to work for the Neumel family, is that it? Then will you come with me to the Garkan Republic?"
"I am grateful for the offer, but I am ultimately a human, whom Lady Lara despises. Even if I were to go with you, it would be unpleasant. So I wish to remain among the humans and continue to serve as Lady Lara's eyes and ears, informing you of their movements. Fortunately, thanks to saving Duke Cmel in this war, I have achieved a great merit, so I should be able to reach the center of information."
"Hmmmm..."
The Neumel Prime Minister began to ponder, and Beonald, hiding his smile, carefully observed her gaze.
At a glance, it was an extremely sweet temptation; the existence of an informant hidden within the human empire to watch their movements would be very welcome. But there was a Neumel family saying, 'The sweeter it is, the more you must be wary,' so she was being even more thoroughly cautious.
"Well, considering your current advantages, it would indeed be more helpful for you to remain in the human world."
"Yes. Also, if there is anything you need to procure, any necessary information, or any orders you wish to give, please feel free to say so at any time. As long as appropriate compensation is provided, of course."
"You dare say such things even though you know I intend to exterminate humanity."
"It will happen after I'm dead anyway, won't it? Can you finish it within 100 years?"
The reason humans could become the dominant race on the continent was precisely because of their tenacity and unique reproductive capabilities.
Beonald estimated that it would take at least several hundred years to exterminate humans, who form groups and societies and live tenaciously.
Besides, wasn't there a Goddess watching over them from the heavens above?
Of course, he had never received a revelation or had a conversation with Her since being born, but in any case, he was confident that humanity was not such an easy race to deal with.
"It's entirely possible, you know?"
'...What?'
"If I join hands with demons, nothing is impossible. Well, don't worry. As long as you don't die from other causes, I'll make you one of the last humans to die in this world~"
'Demons...'
There was only one thing to expect from the word 'demons.'
The Demon Race, the Demon King, and further, the Dark God who rules endless darkness.
To Beonald, they were beings only heard of in fairy tales or myths, and the reason he suffered in hell and returned to this world... He never imagined his own daughter would be involved with them here.
"Fufufu, it's enough to be shocked. What? Are you scared now? Or are you thinking of... reporting me to the religious order?"
"N, no. That, that's... I really don't know what to do..."
"Right. That's the natural reaction."
'Aah...'
Beonald was shaken, but he barely managed to deceive the Neumel Prime Minister.
Anything related to the Dark God was practically a taboo in the world, and the story itself was shocking enough that being flustered wasn't strange.
However, Beonald's heart was filling with greater confusion, as this meant he might ultimately have to kill his own daughter, who had become a servant of the Dark God, with his own hands.
Beonald could show no mercy in eliminating enemies of the family or people outside his garden, but blood relatives and family were an exception.
The rebellious spirit born from the cruel home education of his father, Felix von Neumel. Even the rebellious Alterio, whom he acknowledged for his abilities and made his heir—he could thoroughly isolate and exile him, but he could never kill him directly.
'Oh Goddess! How can such things happen?'
Shocked to the point of uttering the name of the Goddess, whom he had hardly called upon in his life, Beonald decided for now to stick to his original plan of gaining her trust and becoming an information broker.
He resolved to plan again regarding persuading her or thwarting the ambitions she would foster in the future, and for now, he thought of words to appease her.