Ch.126126. Do You Really Need to Hear an Answer That Will Only Hurt You?

“Now, everyone this way!!”

Under Jawill Wilson’s command, the people of Lake Territory moved busily.

I looked at Rio beside me with a satisfied expression.

“You must have trained them well while I was in Parsece?”

“Yes, young master. As you instructed, we mapped out evacuation routes and conducted training every three days.”

“Were there any complaints from the villagers?”

“None at all. They actually enjoyed it since they received grain for participating in the training.”

With the monster wave approaching in a month,

I was focused on evacuation training to minimize casualties among the Lake Territory residents.

“If anyone asks for more grain, don’t hesitate to give it. The Alphonse family won’t go bankrupt from such generosity.”

“Ah, understood.”

“Let’s move on then.”

Following Rio’s guidance, I headed straight to the training grounds.

I could see knights who had just finished constructing defensive formations joining the training, and mercenaries who already looked exhausted from the rigorous drills.

Despite their fatigue, everyone’s eyes were filled with determination.

Riden spotted me from a distance and ran over in his socks to speak.

“Young master, you’ve arrived?”

“How’s the training going?”

“We started right after Lord Evander Alphonse left. And with the help of Knight Commander Rain Breaker, things have been going much more smoothly lately.”

“Is that so? What about the defensive formation training?”

“We’re training in the four cardinal directions, two locations per day, divided between morning and afternoon.”

It was fortunate that the monster wave wasn’t occurring earlier than in the original story.

If, conversely, the story twisted and no monster wave hit Lake Territory at all?

People might gossip that I was making a fuss about building defenses for nothing, but that would be even better.

Either way, it would mean escaping the calamity that ‘Selden Alphonse’ was supposed to face.

“Keep up the good work, everyone.”

After briefly greeting Rio and Riden, I headed to my study. Padericks, who must have returned from the Alphonse family to Lake Territory at some point, followed me in.

I sat down and spoke.

“Oh, Padericks!”

“Young master, I’ve returned safely.”

“When did you get back?”

“I arrived while you were observing the evacuation training earlier.”

“I see. Good work. The money?”

I grinned and held out my palm, causing Padericks to sigh briefly.

“Are you happy to see me, young master? Or happy about the money?”

“Both.”

“If you had to choose one?”

“You’d be hurt, so do you really need to hear my answer?”

Padericks placed a sheet of paper on the desk with a bitter smile.

“…I’ll take that as my answer. And I’ve stored the money in the safe.”

“What’s this paper?”

“It’s a renunciation of inheritance from Jason Alphonse’s family.”

“Since it was criminal money anyway, we didn’t really need them to renounce their inheritance, did we?”

“Still, isn’t it better to keep things clean?”

Looking at the amount, it was enormous as expected.

How many people must have shed tears of blood for this much money to be earned…

“Should I really accept this much money?”

“Baron Byron has already compensated all the affected families, hasn’t he? I believe you’ve received a well-deserved reward.”

“Alright, you’ve worked hard, so take it easy from now on.”

“Yes, I’ll take my leave then.”

As soon as Padericks left, there was a knock on the study door.

When I answered “Come in,” Luna carefully opened the door.

“…Hello.”

“Oh, what brings you here?”

“Young master, my body has recovered somewhat.”

“You could rest a bit more, you know? No need to push yourself.”

Luna squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

“N-no! Please let me participate in the training too.”

I tilted my head at Luna’s unexpectedly serious expression.

“Is something bothering you?”

“…I feel like I’m being a burden to you, young master. I’m not helping at all…”

Sigh…

Actually, you staying put and eventually going to the protagonist would be helpful to me…

I clutched my throbbing head and forced a smile.

“Alright, I’ll let Rio know. You can join the training starting tomorrow.”

“…And I also apologized to the knights who were hurt because of me.”

“Well done. Causing injuries was wrong, after all.”

“From now on, I’ll make sure not to be a burden to you, young master.”

“I understand.”

After sending Luna away too, I felt like I had finally cleared all my pending tasks.

Now there really wasn’t much time left until the monster wave.

Even with good preparations, I couldn’t help feeling tense.

I found myself taking out the defensive formation blueprints from the drawer again to check them one by one.

*

“Oh, my back. Is this the last time I’ll be doing this?”

After investigating the Forest of Death, I sat down in the shade of a tree, and Lucien came running over to sit gently on my lap.

“Father, why do humans get married?”

“Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“The books always seem to be about humans getting married.”

I gently stroked Lucien’s head as I spoke.

“When you love someone, you want to spend your life with them.”

“Then will I marry you, Father?”

“Fathers and daughters can’t marry each other.”

“Why not?”

“Because we’re already destined to be together for life without marriage.”

At that, Lucien crossed her arms and pouted.

“But if we don’t get married, I can’t share physical love with Father!”

“…Huh? What did you say…?”

“That’s how you make babies, right? Am I wrong?”

Even if a young daughter might say she wants to marry her father, bringing up physical love is a bit much, isn’t it?

I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand and continued.

“Lucien, you’re still young and don’t understand, but fathers and daughters can’t share physical love.”

“Because it goes against human laws? But I’m a dragon!”

“…But I’m human.”

“You raised me, but I’m not your daughter by blood. So can’t we share physical love?”

“…Huh?”

I was at a loss for words.

As I fumbled for a way to explain sex education to a dragon, Lucien got up with a bright smile.

“Is it because of my current appearance? If that’s the problem, don’t worry.”

Then, Lucien began removing her clothes one by one.

I stood up to stop her, asking what she was doing, when suddenly her body flashed with light.

I squinted at the bright white light, and when I opened my eyes, the ten-year-old child was gone, replaced by a beautiful naked woman approaching me.

“Lucien?”

“Yes, I’ve only maintained this form on your orders, but by human standards, I’m already an adult.”

“…Alright, just change back to your original form and put your clothes on.”

She seems to have matured in some ways but still lacks understanding in others.

Is it because she’s only learned about humans through books?

As Lucien returned to her smaller form, I furrowed my brow to caution her about her recent behavior.

“Lucien, humans don’t take off their clothes so casually!”

“But I read that it’s okay between people who love each other. Especially when forming a physical relationship, both need to be naked. I would never undress in front of anyone but you, Father.”

What am I supposed to say in this situation?

Should I scold her, or should I laugh it off since she’s still mentally immature…

I couldn’t make a proper judgment in this unfamiliar situation.

“Let’s talk about this again when you’re more mentally mature, Lucien.”

“Mentally?”

“Yes, when you can understand ‘human love.'”

“But I love you more than anyone else, Father!”

“That’s love for a father. The love between a man and a woman is different.”

“…They’re different?”

I smiled gently at Lucien, who clearly didn’t understand.

“See? You don’t know yet.”

“Hmm… I should read more books.”

“That emotion can’t be learned from books. It’s something you learn naturally over time.”

“…This is difficult. Is it because I’m a dragon that I can’t understand human emotions?”

“No, it’s because you’re still young. Don’t rush it.”

“But to live like a human, I need to have children with someone I love…”

Seeing Lucien’s dejected expression, I finally realized the misunderstanding.

She simply wanted to become human.

I stroked her head again.

“You don’t need to imitate humans. Dad will love you no matter what you become—”

Just then, a vibration began rumbling through the ground.

I stopped mid-sentence, grabbed Lucien, and instantly moved up into the tree.

KUUUUUUNG-!!

With a thunderous roar, the earth shook as the Forest of Death filled with a dark energy.

And then came the terrible howls of monsters.

‘…The monster wave already?’