Chapter 173: 95.1

I expected something from the start.

How could a nobleman who had lived half his life in bed, plagued by sickness, suddenly amass a body comparable to Frillite?

My thought was that he had signed off a contract with a demon or something.

Only he hadn’t.

Usually, when you make a contract with a demon, there would be a trace left behind. Like the thread of a marionette, a line connecting the contractor and the demon.

Osner had no such line.

So I had to think in a different direction. How did he magically become stronger? Did he consume any godly herb? Seeing as how he later turns out to be one of the Four Heavenly Kings, surely the hand of demons was involved?

And my doubts resolved themselves as I fought with Osner.

The evil energy commonly referred to as demonic energy was weak, but it was felt from the side of his heart.

[Breaker]-!

A skill I had learned from the heroes of the past.

I sourced weak mana to the palm of my hand.

The fingertips became blades and raked through Osner’s left chest. As I passed between the ribs, I feel a throbbing pulse.

Proof that my hand was close to his heart.

Like a slime toting on my palm.

‘I knew it.’

Something strange — parasitic — was inside him.

Perhaps this not only made Osner’s body tough, but was also taking away the body’s control little by little.

I caught the parasite.

Since the heart is a sensitive organ, it had to be done with a delicate touch. After wrenching it, I realized that this thing wasn’t just clinging to the heart, it was extended all over Osner’s body.

Not that it mattered.

Even if the parasite had its roots throughout the body, this was the core nucleus.

If it were eradicated or erased, the rest will also stop moving, or wiggling, in its case.

When I tried to pull out the parasite, it started to rebel. Trying to cling further to the heart, refusing to leave.

Moody, huh. I could deal with that.

I used mana to disentangle the trojan lifeform from Osner’s heart. Thanks to that, the little boy came out of the heart as smoothly as if it had been oiled.

‘Looks like a slime.’

The parasite I took out was something black with an irregular shape.

Slime… definitely slime, but…

Surely this is not a Heavenly King, no?

‘Oh god, no way.’

I could put away with them being an octopus or a scubbi, slime wasn’t working for me.

The magic I could feel from it was almost close to nothing.

As my mind scoured the possibilities, I heard coughing fits from behind. I turned around and saw an old man, doubled over, coughing helplessly.

“Are you okay?”

When I asked him to lie down comfortably, he grinned painfully.

“You dig out my heart and ask if I’m okay?”

“Would you like me to put it back?”

As I lifted the black slime, Osner shook his head in apprehension.

“Fine. You can joke. I know now, alright?”

Young people these days… Osner clicked his tongue before speaking with a serious expression.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was put to a halt before committing a great sin.”

His gaze was directed to someone other than me, but in those eyes was Leslie, running towards us with her flapping linen of snowy hair.

“Father! Are you alright? B-Blood, blood…! A priest, right now…”

“It will be useless.”

Leslie’s eyes turned to mine. I raised the black slime in my hand at the vehement expression daggering out my meaning.

“This, a parasite from your father’s body. No… the word parasite is a little wrong for this guy. In fact, it was keeping his dying body alive. Huh, that twists the whole meaning of its existence.”

Leslie’s gaze returned to Osner.

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She looked at him, as if to ask if that was true, and Osner nodded slowly. Leslie’s expression darkened. Osner smiled warmly and stroked her hair.

“Honestly, with a body like mine, I should have died long ago. It’s just that I’ve lived a little longer because of my stubbornness and obsession. Even to the point of causing you major trouble.”

“No. It’s not trouble. Not for me, don’t say that.”

Her eyes moistening, Leslie shook her head.

Osner’s smile only widened further.

“If you really feel that way, shouldn’t you be smiling instead of crying? I mean, you look pretty when you smile.”

“…yeah.”

Leslie raised the corners of her lips. It was an awkward, forced smile, but Osner didn’t say anything more about her expression, as if that had satisfied him. Instead, he talked about the fight he had just had.

“Did you see me tear off that strange creature’s arm?”

“Yeah. You ripped it off as easily as you would have a chicken leg.”

“To be honest, I was also surprised. I had never imagined my strength would grow so much.”

“After that, you took care of the two humans who had attacked me.”

“I did,” he said ruefully. “It was so easy that it almost made me question my sanity. After all, they were definitely strong fighters.”

“Father’s strong too.”

“Strictly speaking, it wasn’t my strength, but it is what it is. But still, I couldn’t win against this young man.”

Osner looked at me with a fleeting expression of regret.

I chuckled.

“Do you seriously intend to defeat a hero?”

“Hero..? Wait, you are a hero?”

Osner and Leslie opened their eyes wide.

I could have expected that from the old man, but Leslie too?

I mean, all her siblings knew.

How uninterested was she in me?

“Cloud, the Hero of the Kingdom of Prona. It’s an honor to meet you, Grand Duke.”

Osner, who had a dazed expression on his face, burst into laughter after hearing my self-introduction.

“Ha Ha Ha! Yes, you are a hero. How could I have won! Rather, my win would have been strange.”

“How does fighting with a hero feel like? Did you enjoy the experience?”

“Not just enjoyed. Enjoyed and lived. I made a good memory before I die.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

I smiled.

Osner stared me in the face and uttered a nonsensical question.

“For some reason, I wanna ask… do you have any intention of becoming my son-in-law?”

“Shouldn’t you… you know, like, first ask your daughter’s consent about that?”

“She would like it.”

“No reason to refuse, I guess?”

“Yeah, no reason to refuse. Take care of my daughter, son-in-law.”

It was unknown who cracked first, but a chorus of laughter broke out and the gloomy atmosphere gradually brightened. Leslie’s awkward laugh also followed, becoming natural.

The conversation continued.

It was mainly Osner talking and his daughter conferring.

“At that time… what your mother said…”

Every time a word came out of his mouth, the old man’s complexion turned pale. His voice lacked strength, and the pauses between each word grew longer.

Still, Leslie didn’t show it.

She sustained am appearance of strength on her face and tried to keep tears from falling while maintaining a smile.

Perhaps it looked too pitiful to see his daughter struggling at his own end, Osner cut off the conversation.

He instead, pulled strength into his fingers around his daughter’s palm, clasped tightly.

“Love.”

That was it.

Strength drained from around Leslie’s hand, and the affectionate eyes slowly lost their luster.

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