Volume 5 Chapter 10 At Lord's Mansion - Gathering Information
I stared down at the portrait intently.
The portrait was well-drawn, and it was clearly my father. His name, Weld, was written below.
I think his face was stern. Just seeing that, Kadras, Sylvia, and Shadowmira all showed a hint of caution in their expressions.
But Toxy was the first to speak.
"We must decline this request."
Her tone was firm. But the lord, being the skilled negotiator he is, smiled gently and admonished her.
"We've only shown you the portrait. It wouldn't hurt to hear the story first before making a decision. Don't you think?"
"...Understood. We will make our decision after hearing everything."
I felt a slight relief at Toxy's assertive attitude. I raised my face straight up. Then, I closed my eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and looked at the lord.
The lord continued, watching my expression closely.
"He is Weld. I've heard that he is your father, Wade-dono. He was recently hired as a replacement for Nightfather. I don't know the details, but it seems that most of the recent information about Nightfather comes from what he leaked in bars."
"...My own father, what a fool..."
Frain burst out laughing at my self-deprecating remark. Toxy glared at Frain. Frain raised his hands in surrender and said, "Sorry. Don't look at me with those eyes like a mother dragon."
"...Frain, you have good taste in people."
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
Toxy shrugged and looked at the lord. The lord continued, "But..."
"It seems that he is especially protected by Nightfather when we try to secure him as a person of interest. We encounter various troubles, such as being obstructed by other Nightfather members, or the person we hired as a tracker simply going missing."
And there, the lord concluded.
"Wade-dono. I wonder if I could entrust you with the task of securing Weld or obtaining information from him?"
"I heard everything, so I'll have to decline again. I understand about the gold-rank member's situation, but we can't accept this."
Toxy responded to the lord without hesitation.
The air froze. Silence enveloped the room.
"...I'm asking Wade-dono, aren't I, Toxy-dono?"
"Wade has a trauma from being almost killed by his father, Weld-shi, as a child. It's not a matter of ability, but we can't accept it."
Toxy didn't back down even in front of the lord. Frain and the others whispered, "Hey, don't be too defiant to the nobles..." "You're being a bit too cocky, girl..." Only Sylvia looked at me with a simple question, "Were you almost killed?"
While I was listening to this exchange, I stared down at my father's portrait.
My father, whom I hated. My father, whom I even resented. My father, whom I wanted to avoid for the rest of my life.
He reappeared after a long time and stood in front of me like this. It felt like a revelation to me.
I was being asked. Are you strong enough now? Maybe it's time to settle my past.
"Then, you can't obey my orders as a lord, is that it?"
"No. I will follow orders if they are given. However, this is an order that will have a major negative impact on the mental state of our leader, Wade. Don't you think it's too late if it affects the education of Ridge-sama, whom we are educating?"
Toxy was trying to dismiss the lord's words using Clay's method. She must have been eavesdropping. Frain's party was excited by these words that could be interpreted as a threat, but the lord and Shadowmira only smiled briefly.
"...Yes, that's true. It would be terrible if my daughter was affected. Since I have entrusted my daughter to you, it is not good to force you to do something you don't want to do."
An agreement was being made without me, without burdening me.
―――That's very kind of him.
A negotiation using hostages, a noble-style exchange. The conversation progressed as Clay had predicted, and the story was solidifying under Toxy's protection.
But I ask myself.
Is this okay?
"Well, about this matter––"
"Sorry, Toxy. Thanks for caring, but... I want to take this."
"Wade...!?"
I raise my head. Even just imagining it, my heart felt like it was being squeezed. But still, I have a wall to overcome as myself.
"Lord, I'm sorry. I appreciate your kindness, but I also want to take on extracting information from my father."
"...I see. Then, I'll leave it to you."
Surprised, the lord closed his eyes and nodded quietly.
Seeing this, Frain, with a troubled look, spoke up.
"Hey. All I'm asking you guys for is to defeat the Gold Class. I don't ask for anything that won't make a penny by overcoming trauma."
"It's not like that. ...I just want to do it."
"I see. Then let's summarize the conversation."
Frain took charge again.
"This time, the Nightfather-defeating team has been formed. We, the Rebellion Flame, will separate and protect the 'Casino Department' and 'Pro***tution Department', while the Wade Party will be in charge of destroying the 'Mercenary Department' and 'Fraud and Robbery Department'."
Frain's members nodded, and we followed suit. Frain continued.
"And when the main fortress is stripped of its financial resources, we will go after it. As a note, whenever we clash with the Gold Class, the Wade Party must participate. Also, the information regarding the 'Mercenary Department' and 'Fraud and Robbery Department' that isn't complete should be obtained from Weld-shi by the Wade Party."
I nodded deeply. Frain stared at me intently and declared.
"Well, with the rough plan in place, let's iron out the details. First, as for the means of communication, we are supposed to borrow an artifact from the Lord–––"
As Frain continued speaking, I gazed down at the sketch of my damn old man.
What haunts me are my damn father's incoherent words, his inconsistent behavior, his abnormality of sometimes forgetting what he's done, and his madness that almost killed me.
I clenched my fists and glared at his portrait.
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