TYSBMF30

Chapter 30

Of course, that didn’t mean my father had no talent in the art of Venomcraft.
He had also made various achievements in that field, leaving his name in history as a Poison Sorcerer.

But fundamentally, the Empire was a land where only strength was respected.
No matter how brilliant your research behind the scenes, it was the warriors on the frontlines who received the highest honor.

So naturally, Grandfather must have been frustrated—he had wanted Father to succeed him as a battle-type black magician, one who stood at the very top.

“What can you do, Grandfather? Raising children never goes the way you want.”

Even so, I couldn’t help but admire Grandfather once again for having subdued Father so easily.
Considering he was one of the top three masters across the entire continent, it was only natural.

While I was lost in thought, Father coaxed the Simurgh to take off again, heading back toward the opposite side.
Clearly, he wanted to finish this tiresome matter as quickly as possible.

“Dad, those guys who were sucked in just now—where did they go?”

“Into a subspace… They can’t die of their own will, so they’ll be fine…”

The thought of them trapped in a claustrophobic space, unable to move, stirred a faint sense of pity in me. Very faint.

“We’ve secured five alive… should I just kill the rest?”

In other words, he didn’t want to bother controlling his magic delicately to spare lives. He wanted to unleash large-scale spells without restraint.

The Simurgh squealed in agreement.
Even Emil’s eyes sparkled in anticipation at the prospect of witnessing such magic.

Since Father didn’t normally enjoy fighting, Emil rarely got to see this side of him. No wonder he was so thrilled.

And of course… the only normal one here was me.

“Among the nine left, one of them might be the leader carrying crucial information.”

“…I suppose.”

Father nodded half-heartedly and made a motion as if pulling something out of the shadows.
From his hand, writhing darkness tumbled forth and began to swell upon itself.

It grew into a massive, formless lump—sticky and lumpy at the same time—until, moments later, it became a vast cloud that blanketed the area.

From that black cloud, pitch-dark rain began to fall.

“Urgh…!”
“Ghk—!”

As I focused my senses, I could hear assassins collapsing one by one, groaning in agony.

“That should do it…”

Father waved his hand lightly, as if checking whether instant noodles were done cooking.
The black cloud shrank back into his shadow, vanishing completely.

The ground, however, was ruined. It looked as if tar had been poured over everything.

“Wait… aren’t they dead?”

None of the assassins trapped beneath the black sludge so much as twitched.
When I glanced suspiciously at Father, he stammered a clumsy excuse.

“N-not dead… probably…? I just… adapted some Venomcraft… They should only be unconscious… poisoned into sleep…”

“Uncle, that was incredible! I’ve never seen anything like it before! Not just the power, but the sheer creativity—amazing!”

Emil’s face flushed red with excitement as he clung to Father’s arm.
Father awkwardly peeled his hand off.

“I mean, it’s impressive, Dad… but wasn’t this a bit excessive?”

“They were hiding… It was too troublesome to drag them into subspace one by one…”

“…Troublesome?”

“I’d have to hunt them down individually. Annoying.”

So instead of fishing them up one by one, he had simply poisoned the whole lake and scooped up the dead fish.
The scale of it all was dizzying.

Those assassins, who had followed Lila here, probably never imagined they’d end up being wiped out in such a ridiculous fashion.

It was like chasing a deer only to find a dragon waiting.

Afterward, Father retrieved the unconscious assassins—the dead fish, so to speak—and stored them all in subspace.

As Emil helped, lifting one with magic, he suddenly frowned.

“Huh?”

“What is it?”

“This mark… I’ve definitely seen it before.”

The assassin’s chest was exposed, his clothing corroded by the black sludge. A strange emblem was engraved there.

Father spoke casually.

“Mm… that’s the crest of House Rotern.”

“Wh-what?! You mean House Rotern’s agents were running wild in our territory?”

“Yeah…”

“This isn’t something you can say so calmly, Uncle!”

Emil shouted in outrage.
But unlike him, I was secretly cheering inside.

“Jackpot!”

Yes, this was exactly the information Lila Bech had wanted to deliver to Grandfather at all costs today.

That her stepsister, Suzanna, and their stepmother were colluding with House Rotern.

House Rotern ruled the South, just as our own family ruled the East.
And among the Empire’s Four Great Houses, relations were always strained.

When your territories border one another, rivalry is inevitable. Think of East Asia’s history.

Each House ruled its land like an independent kingdom, complete with its own military.
For Rotern to plant spies inside House Hallroren was already a massive scandal.

But for their agents to invade our land and commit acts of violence?
That was a disaster that would rock the entire Council.

“Which means… no one will have the leisure to stir up other political chaos.”

The Council would be forced to focus on the Rotern problem. Who would dare waste time mocking a child’s qualification trial under such circumstances?

Unless, of course, they were desperate to earn Grandfather’s wrath.

“Just the evidence Lila carried was already enough… but Rotern went out of their way to chase us down? How considerate!”

No doubt, they feared the consequences if they were exposed, which is why they had sent every skilled agent available to silence her.

If they had succeeded, things would have gone as in the original: Lila scarred, walking the path of vengeance.
But since they failed—too bad.

Instead, Lila would use this chance to purge the traitors in her family, while I silenced the Council members who had planned to meddle.

“Perfect. Simply perfect.”

And thanks to Father capturing every last one alive, our family’s political standing would only rise further.

“All done… Bored, Mia?”

“Not at all! This was super fun, Dad!”

“…Fun?”

“It’s a thing. Ehehe.”

The appetizers were cleared. Now it was time for the main course.

Meanwhile, at Castle Asadra, the Council had been in session since morning.

During a break between agenda items, one delegate glanced around.

“Come to think of it… aren’t Lord Silvan and his daughter here yet?”

“Ah, the Trial of Nergal is in the afternoon. They’re probably taking their time.”

“Hmph… quite confident, aren’t they?”

The man pursed his lips.
His nephew was currently training at the Tower of Command. If things went poorly, that boy might be expelled, which would wound his own position.

Naturally, he intended to obstruct the Trial of Nergal as much as possible.