Chapter 63
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 63. Penguin Grand Duke**
"It's a cunning scheme of a monster!"
"A monstrous bird speaking human words!"
"It might be a new type of monster that eats brains and absorbs memories!"
*Murmur murmur.*
The imagination of Northerners was pessimistic today as well.
Being wary when seeing an unknown creature might be an adapted culture to survive in a harsh environment.
I have experienced numerous clichés so far.
Starting from 'Opened my eyes and it's a fantasy world', rescuing the heroine, participating as a proxy in the axe festival, rivalry with the Hero, Monster Wave, to sealing a demon.
I've stepped on the standard developments of Romance Fantasy and tasted the tension of Dark Fantasy too.
But.
The cliché where the father-in-law returns as a penguin was in no genre.
"I will check it myself."
I stepped out of the castle gate.
Freya followed behind me silently, and dozens of warriors followed gripping spears and axes.
*Waddle waddle.*
The penguin walked towards us.
The warriors formed a semi-circle, narrowing the encirclement.
And when the distance narrowed to about ten meters.
The penguin shook its wings.
*Flap flap.*
"Freya! It's your father! I have returned!"
Freya's expression became complicated.
"……If you're really Dad, give me proof. Something only Dad and I know."
The Adelie penguin tilted its head.
Black pupils blinked.
"Something only we know."
The penguin's orange beak opened.
"Until you were ten, you couldn't sleep without your Frost Bear doll. When the bear doll's arm fell off, how much you cried……"
Freya's ears turned red.
"W, Wait a minute──"
"When you were eleven, you entered the martial arts tournament wearing a skirt saying 'Grand Duchess Freya's brilliant swordsmanship'. Just on the first spin of the whirlwind slash, your skirt flipped over your head and——"
"Stop…!"
*Giggle giggle-*
Laughter leaked out among the surrounding warriors.
The penguin's beak opened again.
"When you were twelve, you stole jerky from the kitchen and ate it. Admiring how delicious it was, you emptied a whole bag, but that was dried Steel Walrus genitalia, a traditional Northern tonic——"
"Uaaaaah! I said stop!! Say more and I'll roast and eat you!!"
Freya grabbed the penguin's both wings and shook them wildly.
"F, Freya……! Don't shake! I'm dizzy……"
A picture of a 1-meter penguin flapping while caught by a red-haired girl.
Looks like animal abuse, but it's actually a scene where a father is being shaken by his daughter.
I learned that forms of family are diverse. That the definition of family in modern society is gradually expanding.
Even if it's the era of diversity, that seems a bit too diverse though…
The warriors lowered their weapons one by one. Laughter melted the vigilance.
The evidence was sufficient.
The only existence in the world capable of reciting such dark history stringently is a father.
Right then.
*Woooong——*
The frost sword tied to Freya's back rang.
A clear and low vibration spread through the air.
The frost on the sword's surface flowed creepily towards the penguin.
The penguin spread its short wings slightly.
"……As you can see, wings. Cannot hold a sword."
Naturally.
There are no fingers on a penguin's wings.
Freya's expression stiffened firmly.
Valter Grombalt returned alive, but became a body that can never stand on the battlefield again.
His life as the Northern Grand Duke, as a master as a warrior, was over.
"Freya."
Valter looked up at his daughter.
From a penguin's viewpoint, he had to tilt his head back quite a bit.
"You hold that sword."
Freya untied the strap of the frost sword.
Gripping the hilt with both hands, she set the sword upright in front of Valter.
The blade pointed to the sky.
Frost crawled up the blade.
*Clang──*
A clear resonance rang once.
The ceremony of the sword accepting its new master.
The scene of the Northern Grand Duke's sword being passed down to the next generation.
The wind of the snowfield stopped.
A solemn silence fell.
The warriors began to kneel one by one.
Freya's hands trembled minutely.
That moment.
Valter also opened his beak, perhaps overcome with emotion.
*Kiek!*
……
The penguin's cry echoed across the snowfield.
"……."
The movements of the warriors about to kneel and bow their heads stopped simultaneously.
Even the tears welling up in the corners of Freya's eyes went right back in from fluster.
Valter himself had the most flustered face.
I learned today for the first time that a penguin's expressions are this diverse.
"……That just now was a mistake."
A penguin making an excuse.
"Ah, no…… your father can't help it either. Because emotions surged, the beast's instinct leaked out abruptly…… Kiek!"
"……."
Human consciousness is Valter Grombalt, but body is Adelie penguin.
Penguin Grand Duke Valter Grombalt.
Freya crumpled her face between laughing and crying and picked the penguin up.
*Squeeze.*
"Really…… annoying, Dad."
Eventually, she burst into a hollow laugh, squatted on the floor, and hugged that 1-meter penguin tightly.
*Kieeek.*
Cried again.
It's not a bad ending.
Regardless of the form, the fact itself that a father returned to his daughter's arms is important.
I should say a word too.
*'Although your appearance has changed a lot, I'm really glad you returned alive. I am also happy that Freya's waiting was not in vain.'*
[Persuasion Roll Failed]
"Should I put a leash on?"
"……Pitch-black bastard, could you please keep your mouth shut?"
Freya glared at me fiercely while holding the penguin in her arms.
I want to apologize.
But if I apologize, it's obvious the next thing to come out will be something like 'If you hate a leash, I will prepare a birdcage', so I kept my mouth shut.
***
And so we returned to Frostgard with the penguin.
That night.
Banquets were held everywhere in the streets.
A place to celebrate the subjugation of the Frost Witch, and a place to celebrate the return of Grand Duke Valter who was thought dead.
The firewood of the campfires crackled, and the smells of various meats pierced the nose.
But one annoying problem occurred.
Freya prepared the banquet and assigned the very center as Valter's seat.
"Dad's seat is naturally the seat of honor!"
The daughter's filial piety was commendable, but a practical problem occurred.
The chairs of the North are designed based on warriors.
Average height 180 centimeters or more. Matching that, the table height is also high.
When Valter sat on the chair, not even the crown of his head was visible above the table.
Tried placing three cushions, but it was insufficient.
Eventually.
Freya lifted Valter up and sat him on top of the table.
A picture of a penguin sitting right in the middle of a feast was completed.
Penguin next to whole roasted Frost Bear.
Penguin behind potato stew bowl.
Penguin between beer jars.
Feeling like a surrealist still life painting.
The warriors' gazes gathered on the table all at once.
Valter looked left and right with black pupils.
"……I have dignity too, you know."
Freya answered while sliding a plate of smelt next to her father.
"It's Dad's fault for getting so small."
The penguin sighed, letting its short wings droop.
"This is all because of that damn demon bastard."
As the banquet started in earnest, the warriors began to pour questions on Valter.
What happened to the Demon of the Snowfield.
Why he became a penguin.
If it can be reversed.
"Inside the seal, time and space were a mess. No up or down, no day or night. Only Krampus and I were trapped together."
The sight of the warriors bowing their heads and listening attentively every time the penguin's beak moved was strangely serious.
"That guy pushed me out at some point. Like 'This is my house so get out'. Seems it expelled the intruder because under the frozen earth is its territory."
Is it a penguin's territorial instinct. Being territorial despite being a demon.
"When I opened my eyes, I was in this state. You could say I was cursed by the demon."
Reminds me of a fairy tale where a prince gets cursed and becomes a frog.
Still, a penguin is better than a frog, right?
At least a penguin is cute.
*
Around the time the commotion of the banquet was ripening.
The entrance to the banquet hall opened.
Lucia in a silver dress revealed herself.
Hair tied up, wearing a Northern-style silver crown.
Moonlight slid over her blonde hair, creating a platinum glow.
Lucia's gaze stopped on the table.
"Uncle Valter……?"
It definitely should have been a touching moment of reunion.
But the counterpart is a penguin. A penguin sitting demurely in the middle of a feast.
I could see the muscles in Lucia's cheeks twitching minutely.
The Princess's face is currently being tested by a penguin.
Grand Duke Valter looked up at Lucia.
"Lucia. You've grown really well. You look exactly like your mother."
Valter's younger sister. Lucia's mother.
A woman born as a daughter of the Northern Grand Duke family who married into the Imperial family.
"Because… I am my mother's daughter."
"Yeah, that's right."
Valter looked around.
"Frostgard has changed a lot. The supply system is maintained, administration is running, and warriors are keeping discipline."
"It was possible because…… Knight-nim was here. Both the affairs of the territory and everyone trusting me."
Lucia said shyly, glancing at me.
It's excessive humility.
It was Lucia who maintained the supply system.
Pioneering dog sled supply routes to the villages, catching the profiteering of the merchant guild, distributing tasks to the warriors.
I just beat monsters to death and stood at the negotiation table.
Well, that's how a married couple is originally. Dividing what each is good at.
The husband does the outside work, and the wife does the housework.
Anyway, judging by contribution, it's 5:5.
"I see. If you say so, it must be."
Grand Duke Valter waddled, turning his body to look at me.
"Thank you, Black Knight. For protecting my daughter and niece."
Father-in-law's word of gratitude.
It's an opportunity to score points with the in-laws.
*'I only did what is natural. Because Lucia and Freya are the people I want to protect in this world. Just watching over them was an undeserved time for me. I will risk my life to protect them in the future as well.'*
A line that is humble yet contains resolution, expressing respect but not being servile.
Go, my sincerity.
[Persuasion Roll Failed]
"Don't worry. My principle is to definitely collect debts."
……
A nuance of demanding payment since I protected them.
"……Right. Debts must be paid."
Valter turned his body towards Lucia again.
"Lucia. As you can see, I am in this state."
Valter spread his short wings. The smooth feathers shone softly under the candlelight.
"I cannot hold a sword. Cannot even sign documents. To stamp a seal, I have to stamp a footprint."
The seal of the Northern Grand Duke is a penguin footprint.
If stamped on diplomatic documents, the opposing country might misunderstand it as a declaration of war.
"I passed the frost sword to Freya. She will take over the role on the battlefield."
Freya nodded vigorously from the side.
"But a territory doesn't run on a sword alone."
Valter's voice became calm.
"I heard what happened to the North after I disappeared. A succession dispute broke out, supplies were almost cut off, and monsters surged from the outside."
"That was——"
"Wasn't it you who cleaned up that mess."
Lucia lost her words.
"There isn't much I can do with this body."
Valter said.
"I ask you, Lucia."
Valter looked straight at Lucia.
It's a penguin, but what's contained inside is the Northern Grand Duke.
"Frostgard. The North. Please continue to lead it in the future."
The banquet hall became quiet.
Lucia lifted her head.
"I am the Princess of the Empire."
Lucia said.
"I have to return to the Imperial Palace someday. I cannot stay here forever."
That's right.
Lucia has a goal.
Reclaiming the Empire. Returning to the Imperial Palace. Overthrowing the rebel forces.
Frostgard is a process, not the final destination.
I know that too.
Lucia's story didn't end here.
She looked around the banquet hall.
Hundreds of gazes were fixed on her.
"I will speak honestly."
Lucia took a step forward.
"When I first arrived in Frostgard, I intended to use you all."
The banquet hall murmured.
I was slightly surprised too.
Bringing up this kind of story suddenly?
"Power to reclaim the Imperial Palace. An army to retake the Empire. That was the gaze with which I looked at the North."
Freya's eyes widened. Her face said she didn't expect Lucia to bring up such a story.
"But."
Lucia's gaze reached me.
……She is looking at me.
"The time spent here was not a relationship of using and being used."
Her voice shook slightly. But it didn't stop.
"When you all called me Little Boss-nim. When you all trusted my instructions and fought during the Monster Wave. When you ran around on behalf of me who could only sit at a desk."
Lucia took a breath.
"Every time, what I felt was gratitude."
……
Lucia Von Astellia stands with her true face.
"So I won't lie."
Lucia's eyes became firm.
"I will return to the Empire. I will reclaim the Imperial Palace. I will reclaim everything taken by those who started the rebellion."
The firm declaration made the banquet hall quiet.
"To do that, I need your strength."
Lucia looked straight at the warriors.
"While leading the North, I will prepare to retake the Empire at the same time. I know it's not an easy path. I will have to ask a lot of you."
Lucia bowed her head.
A Princess bowing her head to someone.
There might be no one here who knows the weight that carries.
"Even so, will you help me?"
*Thump.*
Someone struck the floor with an axe.
"Hmm? So what changed?"
It was Brynjolf.
The giant man snorted, crossing his arms.
"Whether Empire or North, we just have to fight next to the Black Knight, no?"
"That's right! Whoever the enemy is, we just have to chop them with an axe, right?"
"How strong can the Empire bastards be! Probably weaker than a Frost Bear!"
"It's not us to lose to guys weaker than a Frost Bear!"
The logic of warriors is always simple and clear.
"Lucia Grombalt is already a daughter of the North!"
An unnamed warrior opened his mouth first.
"Wherever Little Boss-nim goes is exactly the battlefield of the North!"
*Thump! Thump! Thump!*
The sound of stomping feet spread.
"Frostgard's Lucia!"
"Our Little Boss-nim!"
The shoulders of Lucia, who was bowing, trembled minutely.
The corners of her eyes were turning red.
Valter waddled over and stood at Lucia's feet.
The penguin tilted its head way back and looked up at its niece.
"That's enough."
Valter nodded.
"Your mother did that too. Spoke honestly, asked honestly, and cried honestly. Because that child knew that is how you win people's hearts."
Lucia wiped her tears and chuckled.
"Uncle, are you trying to make me cry right now?"
"No, I was just──"
*Kieek.*
The touching reply was output as a penguin cry.
"……A mistake."
I feel some sense of kinship.
"Now, now! Enough with the heavy talk and let's start the banquet!"
Freya broke the awkward air and raised her glass.
The warriors cheered and picked up their food and drinks.
The banquet began in earnest.
Whole roasted Frost Bear. Winter barley strong liquor. Smoked venison. Potato stew. Honey bread. Pickled cabbage……
A Northern feast filled the table.
But Grand Duke Valter didn't seem to feel any interest in the food at all.
He pecked at the whole roasted Frost Bear with his beak.
Once. Twice. Three times.
He turned his head.
"……It has no taste."
Freya pushed a glass of winter barley strong liquor toward him.
"It's Dad's favorite winter barley liquor! Have a drink!"
*Sip.*
Grand Duke Valter dipped his beak slightly and pulled it out.
"……It has no taste. Tastes like plain water."
Freya's expression darkened.
The man who used to eat whole roasted Frost Bears and chug strong liquor can't taste the meat or the alcohol.
Even his sense of taste has been penguinized. Because penguins don't have many taste receptors.
It was then.
Someone placed a plate of smelt on the table.
Small silver fish were neatly arranged on the plate.
Valter's pupils dilated.
His black eyes widened roundly.
An Adelie penguin's eyes are already round, but they got even rounder.
The black pupils rolled around *bingeul binguel*, and he stretched his neck long.
*Swaaack! Gulp.*
"……?"
His beak opened, and he swallowed a whole smelt in one bite.
Valter himself seemed the most surprised, patting his chest with his short wings.
"……What did I just do?"
Freya, half-doubting, picked up a smelt by the tail and shook it in front of his beak.
*Nom nom nom-*
"Aah!! You almost ate my finger too!!"
Freya freaked out and pulled her hand back.
Grand Duke Valter grabbed his head with both wings.
"Dad? Didn't Dad hate fish? Always complaining it smells fishy!"
"No, my body moved first! My beak opens on its own! And it's so delicious! It's driving me crazy!"
"Ooh! Grand Duke-nim has awakened to the taste of fish!"
"Bring salmon! Bring herring too!"
The excited warriors raided the kitchen and brought all sorts of seafood.
They offered all sorts of fish to the Penguin Grand Duke.
A scene of a family gathering and eating together again.
Of course, the form has changed.
The broad back became a small back, rough hands became smooth wings, and hearty laughter changed to *Kieek*.
But Freya's heart caring for her father did not change.
*'The form doesn't matter. A family gathering at one dining table to eat, and being able to smile looking at each other's faces. That is the scenery I wanted to protect. I hope evenings like this continue in the future.'*
[Intimidation Roll Success]
"The food cost will be quite high."
Freya glared.
Lucia made a subtle expression.
My sharp tongue ruining the mood today as well.
I'm truly thankful for the Northerners' easygoing nature at times like this.
"……Thank you for coming back, Dad."
Freya grabbed the penguin's wing.
Wing instead of hand. Smooth feathers instead of warm skin.
Valter also lightly patted the back of Freya's hand with his short wing.
"Kieek."
Of course, the answer was a trivial penguin cry though.
That wasn't too bad.
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