I Have A Damn Family Again - Chapter 254

Chapter 254: Golden Dragon Martial Arts Tournament (2)

“Welcome back, Miss! How did it go—”

Whoosh.

Despite Mina’s greeting, Harnie went straight to her room and shut the door behind her the moment she arrived.

She did have a lot to do.

After her return, the next day’s preparations had to be made, after consulting with Mina.

The schedule for today and tomorrow were polar opposites.

Unlike today, where she could participate directly in some events as Carsein’s fiancée, tomorrow Carsein would be competing alone in most of the matches.

Therefore, today was crucial.

She had to make special preparations, something that set her apart from the women who had their eyes on Carsein.

She had to remind them that she was not to be trifled with, that Carsein was her fiancé.

But such thoughts were far from her mind.

No, such thoughts couldn’t enter her mind.

“Our first meeting was a contract, based on mutual benefit. But I want to maintain a good relationship with you, always.”

Those words…

Harnie shuddered, a soft moan escaping her lips.

Her face burned.

Her heart raced.

Her body tingled with warmth.

Always…

That meant… he and she…

“Kyaaa…!”

-Thump, thump!

Lost in happy fantasies, Harnie pounded her pillow.

‘Oh my.’

Mina, having followed Harnie after witnessing her unusual reaction, smiled slyly.

She had overheard such a wonderful thing!

She pressed her ear against the bedroom door.

Mina had been occupied with making preparations, so she was curious to know what had happened during her absence.

‘Something good must have happened, right?’

There’s no way she would react like this otherwise.

Mina nodded.

Her role, then, was to accelerate their relationship.

“My lady, are you feeling alright?” she called out.

“M-Mina?!”

“My, my, you’re being careless. Leaving your door unlocked and indulging in such happy fantasies… Did the young master say something to you? Did he… confess?”

“Th-that’s not it! I… I…!”

Oh, how wonderful.

Harnie sat up abruptly, clutching her pillow, her words a jumbled mess.

Mina smiled, her silence a subtle interrogation, urging Harnie to explain herself.

Harnie, her face burning, began pushing Mina out of the room.

“E-enough! I-I want to be alone right now… so just… go!”

“What?! But my lady… you can tell me.”

“Minaaa…!”

-Click.

Harnie shut the door, locking it this time to ensure no further intrusions.

-Our first meeting was a contract, based on mutual benefit. But I want to maintain a good relationship with you, always.

“Ah… what am I going to do…?”

His voice echoed endlessly in her mind.

Muffled squeals and the sounds of a pillow being pummeled emerged from the room. The unfortunate pillow, subjected to her passionate embrace, would be wrinkled and misshapen by morning.

That night,

Harnie tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

***

Night had fallen.

The first day of the martial arts tournament was over, and it was time to rest.

But I remained awake.

It was already well past midnight when I returned to my lodgings. If Harnie found out, she would definitely give me an earful.

Even so, this was something I had to do.

I needed to figure out how to obtain information from Harnie without jeopardizing our relationship.

‘The experience points were definitely affected by Harnie. Even after deliberately triggering traps and defeating the monsters, my experience barely increased.’

I had even ventured out to hunt other monsters, just in case. But the result was the same.

I wasn’t receiving nearly enough experience points.

And even sub-episodes didn’t provide enough experience to trigger a seven-level jump.

So this confirmed it.

Harnie was the key to the ??? stat, and she was the one who had raised my level.

But there were still so many unanswered questions.

I wasn't sure what to do with this information, or how to proceed.

I didn't know how to gather more clues.

I didn't even know what that mysterious stat meant.

It would be unwise to act rashly.

“It’s time to go back.”

It would be troublesome to be found here, in a high-risk area.

“So this sub-episode was pointless.”

This location was somewhat removed from the arena, a place where low-level monsters had always spawned in the game.

I had expected some kind of related sub-episode to appear, but…

▶ Sub-Episode: Eliminate Monsters in Outskirts IV is in progress. ◀

[Monsters Eliminated: 30]

There wasn't anything else, other than the instruction to eliminate monsters.

No target number, no clear conditions for completion, no rewards.

Just as I was about to leave…

-Thud.

“Whoa!”

Damn it. I almost tripped.

What did I step on?

“Hmm?”

Something was caught on my shoe.

I didn’t leave any monster corpses here. While they could be considered loot, these low-level monsters didn't drop anything.

But if something was caught…

-Ding!

▶ Sub-Episode: Monster Elimination IV reward granted. ◀

…Of course.

“I hate this game. What kind of reward is this? Honestly…”

I grumbled, bending down to retrieve the object.

As expected, there was no information whatsoever about what it was.

I sighed and turned to leave.

“Hmm. Finished your investigation?”

“…! Talfon?”

“Just to be clear, I wasn’t following you. I hope you’re not misunderstanding.”

“Of course not. There's no reason to follow me.”

I was glad that he hadn't been followed by anyone else, especially in this situation. Anyone who saw me here would be shocked, to say the least.

“What about you, Talfon? Why are you here?”

“Hmm…”

Talfon looked around, using his sense of smell to confirm that no one else was nearby, then handed me something.

“A letter from Lindel.”

“Wait, Lindel…?”

“Yes. One of the four Western tribes that survived. I had to see you about this. They have information about outsiders.”

“…!”

I see.

I took the letter and quickly read its contents.

It began with a greeting from the Lindel Tribe Chief.

The news of this year's symposium had reached the West, my performance had significantly improved their perception of the East, and he had come to express his gratitude.

Then he moved on to the main topic.

Talfon and Pollux had informed him of my possible connection to the Wederos Kingdom, and he had decided to share some information with me.

And…

The mention of the Prophet, the very person I had been seeking.

『About that Prophet who suddenly disappeared. He appeared in Lindel about six months ago.

However, his condition wasn’t normal.

Unlike when he was active as a Prophet, his appearance was appalling.

He looked like a beggar.

He was emaciated, nothing but skin and bones, unlike the last time we had seen him.

His body was covered in wounds. We couldn't even imagine what he had been through.

He refused to eat or drink after he recovered.

And his eyes, they were lifeless.

Completely devoid of any spark.』

‘That sounds serious.’

Normally, I would only pay attention to the physical injuries, but this seemed to be more than that.

It sounded like he had been through something traumatic.

Something that had deeply affected him mentally.

I continued reading.

『We, the Lindel Tribe, wanted to help him, as we owed him a great debt. But after several days of restless sleep, he suddenly disappeared.

We couldn’t even ask him where he was going.

But I remember his last words.』

The outsider, who had come from somewhere beyond this world, had kept repeating those words, his appearance growing increasingly haggard.

“‘I… failed,’ he said?”

***

…Failed?

Failed what?

I continued to ponder the meaning of his words as I returned to my lodgings, but I couldn’t make sense of it.

Seeing me racking my brain, Talfon spoke.

“It doesn’t seem to have been helpful.”

“…I’m not sure. Whether it's helpful or not.”

I couldn’t even reach a conclusion about that.

“I apologize for asking this in the midst of all this, but Carsein, I have a question for you as well.”

“What is it?”

“Did you… see anything suspicious at the arena?”

“Suspicious?”

“I’m asking if you saw anything with those eyes of yours. Anything at all.”

My eyes…

He was referring to the power of the Wederos Kingdom.

“I didn’t see anything unusual. Why?”

“…Hmm. Is that so?”

Talfon rested his chin on his hand, then lowered it, saying he must have been mistaken.

“I should get going. Just a word of advice, it would be best not to mention that you’re a descendant of the Wederos Kingdom to anyone.”

“Why?”

“While your actions have improved our reputation, the Empire’s disdain for the West isn’t solely based on our supposed barbarity.”

He tapped the area near his eyes with his finger.

“It’s because of the power we possess. The power they don’t understand.”

“…”

It was a short, simple statement, but the meaning was clear.

The power of the West was an unknown, and thus, a threat to the Empire.

And they would be even more wary of the Wederos Kingdom.

“Well, you’re intelligent, so I’m sure you’ve already figured that much out. But be careful. If they find out…”

“I know. It would be a huge threat to the Empire.”

The implications were obvious.

Talfon, after briefly confirming the contents of the letter, burned it, as if to emphasize his earlier warning, and left.

“Ah, I almost forgot.”

-Slide.

“I was supposed to ask him about this.”

My mind, preoccupied with the Wederos Kingdom and the Prophet, had made me forget something important.

Oh, well.

It was too late to chase after Talfon now.

-Ding!

▶ A random family member will visit you! ◀

▶ Complete the conversation with the family member. ◀

Because of this notification.

On the first day of the Golden Dragon Martial Arts Tournament, it was customary for a family member to visit.

Ignoring this would trigger a penalty, decreasing affinity with family members depending on how long I had been absent.

Considering that the core element of Chapter 3, the Another Plan, was always active, this was something I couldn't afford to ignore.

I headed back towards the lodgings, and a figure came into view.

…This hardly seemed random.

▶ The person you must meet has been determined. ◀

▶ You will be meeting with Isabella, the Duchess of Bagrand. ◀

The expensive-looking envelope in her hand seemed more ominous than ever.

It reminded me of the sports festival, when she had tried to give me an allowance.

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