Part 2 Chapter 34
I wasn’t particularly trying to gauge Natasha’s reaction, but I couldn’t help but feel that her expression was unusually calm for someone hearing about the hidden family history of an old friend.
‘It’s not strange if Grandpa Malcolm received the royal family’s assistance in confirming my parent’s identities.’
Malcolm nodded as if something had arrived. He moved to the opposite table.
“In fact, I’ve been preparing solidly for today over the past four years.”
He had a face full of pride as he removed the golden cloth that had been covering the table. What was revealed underneath was…
“…a new toy for the elderly?”
“Oh dear! Don’t say that. This is one of the masterpieces of my life. It can be excellently utilized as teaching material for the Academy.”
Malcolm’s masterpiece, in short, looked like a miniature theater stage.
The miniature interior of an ordinary household sat on top of a rectangular box, and above it,
a wooden puppet that looked unmistakably like Malcolm and another wooden puppet that looked unmistakably like the assassin-butler were facing off.
“Hmm. Is this the audio script you mentioned before?”
Natasha examined the stage with interest. Malcolm, in response, gently stroked his beard.
“I’ve added visual elements in addition to the auditory ones. You see, Lord Weatherwoods, the official title of this device is ‘Storytelling and Listening Textbook Season 1’ for Children, the Elderly, and the Disabled.’ The main motivation behind this development was to turn the attention of the large guild investors who appeared one after another since the grand declaration of the Siagot… to our Gray Spear.”
“Old man. Just tell me if my mom and dad are dead or alive.”
“Promise to me that you’ll support its mass production, it will be a great business item.”
“Let’s see it first.”
At my words, Malcolm pressed the power button of the machine.
A man’s voice came from the stage.
<Narrator: Four years ago, when Malcolm, at the order of the Calepa, went down to Queen Island to determine whether members of the Fager family were alive or not.>
The Malcolm puppet spoke to the assassin-butler puppet.
<Malcolm: Depending on the outcome of the expedition, my return might be delayed. I’ll leave the mansion in your care, Danahan.>
<Danahan: Don’t worry about it.>
Soon, the small wooden figures began to move on their own, changing the stage.
It was Queen Island.
The Malcolm figure, which had been looking at the floor, shouted into the air.
<Malcolm at Queen Island: Oh… I had not expected it to be true, but it is! The coffins of the Fager couple hold merely clay figures!>
<Malcolm at Queen Island: The funeral was a sham. Irene and Gideon Fager are not dead!>
<Sound Effect: TDUNG!>
The narrator’s voice was one thing, but having Malcolm voice for the sound effects as well was a bit much.
<Narrator: At the same time, a suspicious shadow loomed over the Weatherwoods mansion.>
The stage changed back to the interior of the Weatherwoods mansion, and two new figures appeared.
<Calamity Rein: Good, good. What a splendid mansion! So, where’s Ash Fager?>
As the villainous puppet threatened, a maid-like figure hid in the corner, crying.
<Lenya: Sniffle, sniffle.>
Lenya, once Malcolm’s maid, was now part of the Weatherwoods family.
<Calamity Reign: Respectful maids, servants. I have no interest in scum like you. Now… tell me where Ash Fager is.>
<Lenya: M-Master is not here!>
<Calamity Reign: Hmm? I know that. I’ve been watching this area closely.>
The butler figure, lying on the floor, trembled as he spoke.
<A very injured Danahan: Cough… What business do you have with her ?>
<Calamity Rein: Heart. I need the adorable heart of our cute rookie.>
<Injured Danahan: Heart…?>
<Calamity Rein: Yes, the heart. Haha. I tried to take it once, but it amusingly grew back. I must completely kill her to make her excellent body and heart mine. So, where’s our rookie?>
<Frightened Lenya: I-I don’t know… We don’t know anything…>
At that moment, the maid doll, Lenya, folded in half.
Startled, I urgently looked at Malcolm.
“Grandpa, could it be that Lenya…?”
“Oh dear, seems that doll is defective. Don’t worry. We can replace it.”
…That’s exactly what I find troubling about you, Grandpa.
A fifth figure appeared and bowed to Rein.
<Calamity Rein: Disappointing. So, she’s resting in the Northern Continent, then? This is troublesome. That land is quite tricky…>
<Minion of Calamity Rein: …>
<Calamity Rein: Actually, something amusing just came to mind.>
At that moment.
<Narrator: Alert! The Weatherwax mansion is cursed.>
“From now on, all of you! You cannot leave this mansion mansion unless permitted by the God of The Southern Continent. If you wish to lift the curse, plead with Ash Fager! Beg her to find the God of Death and Disaster, me—”
Muhahaha! Malcolm did a great job mimicking Rein’s psychotic laughter. I stared at him in bewilderment.
“Why is the last part being spoken directly by you?”
“We haven’t completed the recording for that part yet.”
Terrible until the end.
“Any casualties?”
“There are people who were injured, but no deaths. We’ve been fortunate.”
“Yes, it’s really fortunate.”
Rein.
That bastard.
‘Death and Disaster in the Southern Continent, and now this. That trashy god is busy trying to prove his Godly status in many ways.’
Then, what title should I have besides the God of the Southern Continent? God of Maids? God of Druids? Any title I’m confident in sounds lame.
“And about the Fager family…”
“I’ll explain that part, Elder Malcolm.”
Natasha, who had stopped Malcolm, pulled a nearby chair and sat down.
“Immediately after determining that the death reports of Irene Fager and Gideon Fager were false, they were put on the wanted list under the charge of couple fraud. But there haven’t been any meaningful results so far.”
Fraudulent couple. It sounded funny at first, but it wasn’t wrong.
“Actually, internally, they are suspected to be spies of the Contaninos Republic.”
“Spies?”
“Yes. I believe they are spies, Daisy. Since a good hundred, even two hundred years ago, the Contaninos Republic and Penrotta have been sending secret spies to uncover each other’s
activities and military secrets.”
So, my parents were spies when I was born?
It was an identity I had never considered before.
“The behavior patterns of these spies were consistent in their own way. Especially when a man and a woman were in the same group, it was even more so. Generally, they would pose as a family, orphaned siblings or infertile couples being the most common options.”
“…”
“In unexpected cases where a child is born in the course of a planned operation, that child is designated as a dangerous element and must be disposed of. They would do this before officially faking their own deaths or disappearances, ensuring no trace was left behind.”
“Oh dear. This cute little pet. This puppet is not a toy.”
“But there are exceptions.”
“Like me?”
“…Yes. There are those who undergo significant changes due to the environment and change their mind and reveal themselves to the Penrotta military — to ask for protection.”
“Is there a record of my parents requesting protection?”
Natasha shook her head with a sigh.
“No, there is no record. But the fact that you are alive and the coffin was empty is enough to consider it an exception. They became attached to Queen Island. That’s why they filled their coffins with clay dolls instead of other people’s bodies and couldn’t bring themselves to kill you. If we think about it in terms of operational integrity, they made a big mistake.”
After a moment’s silence, she spoke again, looking sincerely in my eyes.
“I will help you find your parents, Daisy.”
I met Natasha’s eyes, filled with trust and affection, and listened to what she had to say.
“I have a list of suspected individuals and can create a new identity for you in the Contaninos Republic. All additional preparations are complete. When do you want to start?”
I answered without hesitation.
“I’m not going to.”
It makes sense that the sibling’s parents weren’t ordinary people. Both of them are extraordinary. But also, Daisy’s “never” lmaoo. But I get it. I get why. Going by Daisy’s personality, she probably finds no reason to look for people who willingly abandoned her and her little brother. She practically raised Andert while being a child herself. She consoled him and grew up so fast because her parents were gone. She doesn’t want or have a need to look for them now of all times. Also, anyone else also love the gradual technological advancements that happen in Penrotta over time? it’s fascinating seeing how the world has not stopped moving during the many years Daisy has spent sleeping. Also, another plom meme I made.
Thank you for the chapters!
Fell like an idiot with early holiday greeting… Also, are all old folks in Part 2 trolls? Druid who sold pieces of translator to gamble, coughing grandma and Malcolm. It’s like they reached “I don’t give a f*ck” age.