Ch.175Unexpected Situation (2)

When my father saw me returning to the mansion, he reacted as if he had a headache. Since he wouldn’t be acting that way because he disliked me or Cecilly, there must certainly be some circumstances behind it.

When I asked curiously what was going on, father looked at me and Cecilly with a troubled expression before gesturing for us to follow him. At that gesture, Cecilly and I looked at each other and blinked.

Though I had many questions, following him was the priority. We followed father while harboring numerous doubts.

The place we eventually arrived at was the same room where Adelia had her interview(?) before. Not a space for formal reception, but a place where people could face each other, exchange opinions, or continue conversations on various topics.

“You’re here?”

“Yes, Mother.”

Mother was already seated in the room, probably having received prior notice from father. For reference, I had already met mother since father had stepped out briefly and returned.

Mother greeted us with her characteristically affectionate smile and stroked her belly. Lilly was growing healthily without any issues.

“Please sit down. Princess, please sit next to Issac.”

“You can speak comfortably. You’re my father-in-law now, aren’t you?”

“…”

When Cecilly smiled brightly and used the term “father-in-law,” father looked at me with a peculiar expression. Since it was already settled, I had no intention of denying it, so I just shrugged.

When I shrugged, father chuckled and sat down next to mother. Cecilly and I sat across from them, waiting to hear what they had to say.

I hoped it wouldn’t be serious, but judging from the oracle Mora had delivered, it surely wasn’t good news. Moreover, father had openly shown his troubled reaction as soon as he met us.

Whether it was deeply related to me or to the family, either way, it was troublesome.

“Sigh… Didn’t you say you’d be staying in Helium throughout the break?”

Father sighed again and asked in a complicated tone. Whatever he was thinking, he apparently hadn’t expected Cecilly and me to return.

As father said, the original plan was to stay only in Helium, but I changed my mind after hearing Mora’s oracle. Since there was also the good excuse of seeing family, Cecilly gladly joined me.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I answered quietly.

“Staying only in Helium felt… you know… We should at least see each other’s faces.”

“That’s true, but… why now of all times…”

“Is something wrong?”

I’ve rarely seen father clutching his head in worry like this. He had been stressed about the recent surge in workload, but let’s consider that an exception.

Father pondered my question for a while before nodding. It seemed he had made a decision internally.

“When are you planning to return to Helium?”

Still, he didn’t forget to probe, just in case. I maintained a calm attitude as I spoke.

“I was thinking of staying for 2-3 days before leaving. There’s still about two weeks left of the break.”

“What if I tell you to leave right now?”

“If it’s related to me, I won’t leave.”

Hearing my answer without a hint of hesitation, perhaps he felt he couldn’t dissuade me. Father smiled wryly as if I was incorrigible and nodded.

Then he looked at mother, who was carrying Lilly, with a gaze mixing warmth and concern, before shifting his gaze back to me. His golden eyes emitted a fierce light.

“Since it’s all out in the open, there’s no point in hiding anything. As you probably guessed, this is deeply related to you. It’s news I heard from my contact who delivers manuscripts.”

“Could it be that we’ve been discovered?”

It was Cecilly, not me, who asked the question. Father nodded gravely as he met her eyes.

“Yes… well, yes. Fortunately, we haven’t been completely discovered. The helper noticed he was being followed and took a roundabout route to get here. But they’ll reach this place soon enough.”

Father immediately switched to informal speech since Cecilly had just said he could speak comfortably. Cecilly didn’t seem to mind either.

“I’ve heard much about your prowess in Helium, father-in-law. As the ‘Red Lion.’ Since you mentioned a helper, is this person comparable to you?”

“He’s a comrade I once fought alongside in the border region. He specializes in intelligence and reconnaissance, so he’s quite adept at this kind of work. He’s delivering manuscripts because he owes me his life and was happy to help.”

“But if someone like that was followed… could it be?”

“It must be elves. And skilled ones at that.”

Elves again. I tried my best to suppress my frown.

Last time, a dark elf intruded into our mansion, and now it’s elves. I really don’t understand why they’re always causing trouble.

There are normal elves like Arwen or Kayre, but seeing them cause trouble makes me think it must be a racial characteristic.

“Here’s a letter delivered by the publishing company’s president. He sent it from his home for secrecy, but being an ordinary person, he was caught.”

“Hmm…”

I received the neatly folded letter from father and slowly unfolded it. I made sure to show it to Cecilly as well.

The content of the letter was roughly this: After Arwen’s speech, elves who had come looking for my letter came again. And unlike last time, they were determined to find me.

I’ve heard about the elf who visited the publishing company. According to Arwen, they belonged to one of the noble families affiliated with the Senate. I heard they were close aides to a leader named ‘Phiren’.

It’s not strange for noble families to be part of the Senate, which is a political body. So being in the Senate means there’s a very high probability they’re old-fashioned bigots steeped in elven supremacist ideology.

“I don’t know which faction these elves belong to, but I can guarantee they’re arrogant elves. I can vouch for that.”

“For what reason?”

“Because elves who aren’t arrogant wouldn’t do this in the first place. These are the same ones who demanded the letter in the first place.”

When father, who had encountered elven scouts in the border region, spoke, his credibility was no joke. Moreover, I had also formed friendships with several elves, so it resonated deeply with me.

However, this doesn’t provide a fundamental solution. After pondering briefly, I asked in a carefully measured voice:

“What do we do now? It won’t take long for them to find this mansion.”

“Two scenarios will unfold from here. First, those elves will ‘officially’ visit this mansion. If that happens, we can just talk them out of it. But since they know this is the end of their trail, they’ll likely try something else.”

Father paused briefly before explaining the next scenario.

“And the second is unauthorized intrusion into the mansion.”

“Elves would intrude without permission?”

Not dark elves, but regular elves. Elves were a race that refused even assassination during the racial war, calling it a dirty tactic.

For such a race to intrude without permission, I found it slightly hard to understand.

“Of course, they won’t barge in openly. The notion that elves don’t engage in dirty tactics only applied during the racial war. They’ll likely use magic to conceal themselves and infiltrate. Whether by orders or for some greater cause, they’ll find ways to justify their actions.”

“Is the mansion’s security magic not enough?”

“Those elves aren’t fools; they’ll easily neutralize security magic.”

“So both scenarios lead to the same outcome.”

“When you think about it, yes.”

One way or another, it doesn’t seem like those elves will back down easily. Father must have sensed this and was planning to take measures in advance. But the situation became a bit complicated because Cecilly and I unexpectedly returned to the mansion.

After deeply contemplating the increasingly complex situation, I posed a question to father.

“What do these elves gain from doing this?”

“They must have something to gain to go to such lengths. Didn’t you hear about the censorship of your book in Alfheim recently? Moreover, your book has brought the social issue of mixed-bloods to the forefront. Of course, the Queen handled it well, but such incidents could happen again. Now, even the existence of dark elves is gradually coming to light. The same goes for the forbidden magic of fusion. From Alfheim’s perspective, there are plenty of reasons to find you.”

“…”

“You’ve probably heard that in Alfheim, the Queen and the Senate are opposing political entities. While the Queen is open-minded enough to implement open policies, the Senate stands on the opposite side. Elves don’t act independently, so they must be under orders from one of them. I’m inclined to think it’s the Senate.”

This wasn’t particularly surprising as I already knew these facts. The key point was how to overcome this situation.

Soon, elves dispatched by the Senate would enter our mansion. As seen with Rain, there’s a high probability they’ll enter my room to check the manuscript.

Yet, we can’t move the manuscript elsewhere. If they discover that this mansion is the source after tracking it, they’ll notice, unless they’re fools.

“What were you planning to do if we weren’t here, father?”

“First, I was going to move all the manuscripts and letters and hold out. If there’s no evidence, they’d have to leave, albeit reluctantly.”

“But father-in-law, that’s just a temporary measure. There’s no guarantee they won’t return, so it’s only a matter of time before we’re discovered.”

Cecilly pointed out father’s plan with a firm voice. As she said, there’s a high possibility that elves could use magic to thoroughly search this mansion anytime, anywhere.

We might be able to hold out for now, but it’s not a fundamental solution. For a complete resolution, we’d need to deal with them.

“I know that too. But I don’t even know where they’re from, so my options are limited. The letter from the president suggests they might be nobles, but elven nobles carry different weight than human nobles. Above all, there’s a high risk of Issac’s identity being exposed.”

“Wouldn’t it be okay if it was exposed? Marie and I are here too. And Issac is currently revered as a saint by the Church of Luminus. If they touch Issac, the Papal Kingdom of Sabre won’t stand idly by either.”

“That’s true, but… revealing his identity in the current situation would be difficult for Issac. He’s already being talked about as a prophet or a person from the future, and he’s also being watched for possessing dangerous knowledge. It would be best to reveal it when such phenomena have subsided.”

“Hmm…”

While father and Cecilly were debating, I was lost in thought. If done right, we could potentially take down not only those elves but also the Senate, which is like a cancerous tumor.

Clarifying the circumstances of the incident isn’t a big problem either. As seen in Arwen’s speech, her oratory skills are exceptionally good. We just need to slightly shift the approach to ‘incitement’.

Currently, public opinion towards Arwen is very positive, from what I understand. She reminded everyone of the ‘elven’ identity without distinguishing between pure-bloods and mixed-bloods, and instilled not just pride but also dignity in the hearts of the citizens.

And what if we add the status of ‘Xenon’ to this? For elves, Xenon, who saved the World Tree from corruption, is a hero in himself. The World Tree was a gift from the gods, after all.

If we appropriately combine these two elements, we could make even falsehoods believable. Of course, it shouldn’t be all lies, but a mix.

As I blinked and pondered, I noticed my right hand resting on my thigh. Simultaneously, an interesting plan came to mind, and I smiled slightly.

I think I now understand the meaning of a hyena walking into a lion’s mouth.

“Father, I have a decent plan. Would you like to hear it?”

“You have a plan?”

“Yes. If done well, I can hide my identity, and we might even be able to eliminate the elves and everyone involved at once. But before that… sis.”

“Yes, Issac?”

“Is there any magic that can implant suggestions or manipulate memories?”

Cecilly is slated to be the next Demon Lord, so her magical aptitude must be extremely high. When it comes to magic, I can trust her without reservation.

At my question, Cecilly momentarily looked puzzled before nodding and giving a positive response.

“There is. But elves naturally have high magic resistance, so I’m not sure if it would work. Even with a priest present, it might be ineffective.”

“I see. Then what about implanting an explosive spell in their ears?”

“…What kind of plan requires implanting explosive spells in ears?”

Cecilly looked at me with a bewildered expression. I guess it was a bit out of the blue.

I waved my hand dismissively, saying it wasn’t that extreme.

“I’m not really going to use explosive magic; it’s just for intimidation. Anyway, is it possible?”

“It is possible.”

“Good. Oh, and what about location tracking magic?”

“As long as they don’t leave the range, that’s possible too.”

Magic truly enables things that were only possible with the science of my previous life.

Meanwhile, father, having heard our conversation and seemingly guessed my intentions, spoke with a concerned voice.

“Issac, I think I roughly understand what you’re thinking. But elves are not to be taken lightly. The magic you mentioned, if they investigate…”

“Would those people know that Cecilly is here? Even if they’ve heard about your prowess, father, they’d at least know you can’t use magic.”

“Hmm… That’s true, but in Alfheim…”

“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that either. Because we have a helper.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Father looked at me with wide eyes when I mentioned having a helper. Mother beside him also seemed somewhat surprised.

Indeed, having a political ally in Alfheim is somewhat puzzling, especially since I’ve only been there once.

I hesitated on whether to reveal everything, and glanced sideways at Cecilly. She smiled as if giving me permission to do as I pleased.

Encouraged by this, I slowly began to reveal the ‘helper’ in Alfheim. Starting with the manuscript theft incident.

My parents remained composed during the manuscript theft incident, but their expressions changed in real-time when they heard about Rain’s unauthorized intrusion into the mansion during the exhibition. Their expressions shifted to shock when they heard that Arwen had apologized to me using that as leverage.

“…so I actually wrote the speech and sent it to the Queen. We’ve been in contact since then because of that connection.”

“…Well, well.”

“R-remarkable.”

After I finished explaining about the speech, father’s reaction went beyond surprise to astonishment, and mother seemed perplexed. Honestly, such reactions are natural.

The helper I mentioned is none other than the Queen of Alfheim, and that Queen knelt down to apologize to me. Additionally, I’ve maintained a connection with her since then using that as leverage.

Without context, it would be dismissed as nonsense, but with the manuscript theft incident involving Rain, they had no choice but to believe it.

“From what I heard from the Queen, the elves who visited the publishing company are close aides to the Senate’s leader. As father knows, unlike the Queen, the Senate advocates for pure-blood supremacy and rejects other races. They also made the worst mistakes during the racial war.”

“So you’re saying it doesn’t matter if they disappear or not. But Issac, if the Senate were to disappear, Alfheim would face significant social turmoil. And there would be factions supporting the Senate, so it wouldn’t dissolve quickly. They might even stage a coup in desperation.”

“I’m not so sure about that, father. My thoughts differ.”

I smiled slyly after hearing father’s concerns.

As father looked at me with a questioning expression, I proudly showed my right hand and declared:

“If news spreads that my right hand was destroyed, would only Alfheim be in an uproar?”

*****

“By the way, Issac, why did your hair suddenly grow so long?”

“Ah, that… there’s a reason.”

“It really suits you. Keep it that way from now on, okay?”

“…Yes.”