CHAPTER 58………………………………………………….
“Of course not!”
But Dad, you know what?
There’s a huge river flowing between catching a criminal and killing one…
“Our job hasn’t changed.”
I glared sharply and spoke clearly.
“We just have to find the evidence and catch that man before he does anything bad to Mom.”
“……”
“This is what we were going to do anyway.”
It’s just that what we were doing for Harzen’s dad has now become something we’re doing for Mom instead.
That only gives Dad and the others more motivation.
“We can do it.”
It might be hard alone, but with Dad and the others, I think we can make it.
I clenched my fist tight and pressed my lips together.
Dad Kyle stared at me for a moment, then sighed long and deep, as if giving up.
“♪♬… Now that I’m a parent, I finally get it. There’s just no winning against a tiny thing like you.”
“Hehe.”
“Still, remember this, Cici. Even if I go along with your plan for now, if things go south, I’ll do it my way.”
“Mm, got it.”
If things get that serious, there’s not much we can do anyway…
I nodded slowly.
Just in case Dad causes some kind of huge incident, I’ll need to prepare a way to bail him out somehow.
“Anyway, let’s amplify that sound and use it as evidence for now.”
Just then, Dad Kyle, who had calmed down a little, spoke again.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, a bright light began to shine from his pocket.
“Ah.”
He quickly pulled something out of it.
It was that same device he’d shown me early in the morning.
“Perfect timing.”
He grinned, one corner of his mouth lifting.
Then, a faint voice echoed from the device—it was Berthold’s.
“I’ll be counting on you, then.”
Counting on him… for what?
“Can’t we tell what he said before that?”
What if his first words got buried under Dad Kyle’s freestyle cursing?
Is there no replay button?!
“This is the first line.”
Catching on to my impatience, Dad Kyle raised an eyebrow.
“It’s set to light up once certain conditions are met.”
“Ah, I see…”
“Looks like they exchanged something without talking directly. Cautious bastard.”
He pressed a few buttons on the device, and suddenly a small holographic map appeared before my eyes.
It looked kind of like a scroll.
“Let’s see… the location’s that bastard’s office. How bold of him.”
He muttered darkly as he checked the map.
I rolled my eyes.
He recognized the place just by glancing at the map—Dad really does know every corner of the Imperial Palace.
Anyway…
“If it’s his office, maybe the guy was just there on business?”
“What do you take me for? I already filtered out the useless stuff.”
Right, that’s true.
I immediately pursed my lips.
“Anyway, we’ll start by tracking down whoever he met with.”
Dad Kyle straightened up and stretched.
I blinked at him quickly.
Track them down? How?
“How do you even know where they are?”
Was he planning to meet every single person in the palace or what…
“Here.”
Then, Dad Kyle pulled something from his pocket.
Wait—could that be…
“A trace tracker.”
Dad Derrick recognized the invention immediately and spoke quietly.
I widened my eyes at it.
So this is it.
The very tool Dad Kyle used to find Mom when she suddenly disappeared in the original story—
an invention that tracked magical signatures.
It was the first time all the dads joined forces to search for her.
“If I load the stored magical signature into the tracker…”
While I was deep in thought, Dad Kyle tinkered with the device and smiled proudly.
The compass on the tracker spun rapidly, then stopped, pointing in one direction.
“I might not be a great magician, but when it comes to gadgets like this, I’m unbeatable.”
“Woooow.”
I couldn’t help but be impressed.
“Have I ever told you you’re the best, Dad?”
“Yeah. Three times already, kid.”
Only three times?
That’s barely enough—once an hour should be the minimum!
“So.”
He smirked arrogantly, glancing between me and Dad Derrick.
“Who’s ready to move out right now?”
“Me!”
“Me.”
Both of us raised our hands at once.
Dad Kyle muttered contentedly,
“Yeah, that’s what a real team looks like.”
Yup, exactly.
We’re a team, so it only makes sense we stick together—wait a minute.
“But, Dad…”
I tilted my head at a sudden thought.
“There’s only one invisibility cloak.”
If the three of us just waltzed around the palace, we’d definitely look suspicious.
So what was his plan?
A short while later…
“Hey, seriously.”
Dad Kyle’s voice was full of irritation.
“Stop elbowing me, damn it.”
Not that it made any difference—Dad Derrick silently kept walking forward, holding me in his arms.
So yeah… what’s happening right now is—
“Ugh, it’s so cramped, man. Move your muscles, you blockhead.”
We were all under the same invisibility cloak.
…We somehow made it work.
“Ugh, uncomfortable.”
Dad Kyle crouched awkwardly as he walked, squished against Derrick’s muscular side—
a picture of pure defeat.
So yeah, here’s our current situation:
One cloak sleeve had Dad Kyle’s left arm.
The other sleeve had Dad Derrick’s right arm.
And me?
I was in the middle!
…To be exact, in Dad Derrick’s arms, poking my head just barely outside the cloak.
A perfect three-part fusion!
I honestly didn’t think the cloak could stretch this much.
I’d assumed it just automatically resized based on the wearer’s shape—
but apparently, if you just shove everyone in, it somehow works.
I sniffed quietly.
Yeah, it’s really cramped.
Sure, I’m being carried, but the dads are basically doing a forced three-legged race.
Still, we were somehow making good progress.
“I must’ve lost my mind. I could’ve just gone alone.”
Dad Kyle grumbled again.
I glared and brought a finger to my lips.
“Shh, Dad. What if someone hears us?”
We went to all this trouble to sneak out—getting caught now would be a disaster!
“The cloak blocks sound from inside, remember?”
He frowned at me.
“You’ve used it before, haven’t you?”
“…I didn’t know that.”
All this time, I’d been silent for nothing!
Well, even if I’d known, I wouldn’t have been chatting to myself anyway…
“Right direction?”
Dad Derrick asked in his calm, low voice.
“Yeah, of course it is. The tracker’s pointing us straight to— huh?”
Dad Kyle’s eyes widened suddenly.
“The needle’s spinning out of control.”
“What?”
I quickly craned my neck to look at the tracker.
Just as he said, the compass needle was spinning wildly without stopping.
“Did it break?”
“No… I don’t think so.”
He ran a hand through his hair, visibly annoyed.
“Looks like they just teleported from here.”
“Teleported?”
