I Picked Up the Protagonist’s Heroine - Chapter 14

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Dionysus

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Picked Up the Protagonist’s Heroine ◈

Chapter 14: Just Grow Up Right

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After the subjugation festival, at the Hasgard estate.

During dinner, Daywin suddenly spoke up.

“Father, I think it’s time for me to return.”

“Return? Daywin, haven’t you already returned?”

“I mean return to the Academy.”

At the mention of the Academy, the family looked back and forth between Ester and me.

Ester had been invited to dinner for her contribution during the subjugation festival.

She froze with a piece of cake halfway to her mouth.

She had been enjoying it, but the barrage of attention seemed to make her uncomfortable.

“Is that matter... not over yet?”

“Yes. If anything, it’s only beginning.”

More precisely, I was interfering with romance routes under the guise of sponsorship.

“I plan to stay by the students’ side until they’ve all grown. Compared to Ester, none of them have grown at all.”

When I glanced at Ester, her face turned as red as the cherry atop her cake.

Clatter.

At the same time, Dyer dropped the fork he had been holding.

“Daywin... are you really leaving like this? So... soon?”

“Yes. I plan to leave as soon as day breaks tomorrow.”

“One day!”

“Yes?”

“One day... Can’t you stay just one more day? I had a chessboard prepared because you were coming home! I couldn’t bring it out because of the subjugation festival preparations. I even found a craftsman and had fine jade pieces made...”

“Brother, I lost interest in such things quite a while ago.”

“How can this be...!”

“Youngest, I’d also like you to stay a little longer.”

Romans joined in after him.

These bastards were starting again.

“Eldest Brother seems to have prepared fine toy horses, but I procured a real horse from overseas for you. If you must leave tomorrow morning, why not ride your new horse and go hunting with me now?”

“We’re having dinner right now.”

“Then nocturnal prey would be ideal. Foxes, yes, foxes would be good.”

“I’m sorry. I’m a little tired...”

“How can this be...”

Romans’s head sank heavily.

The eldest had fallen, followed by the second.

“More importantly.”

I cleared my throat and looked at Father.

“I need to uncover whoever is behind the attempt on Brother Romans’s life. I assume the two of you are already taking action.”

My parents’ expressions changed in an instant.

Their warm smiles vanished, replaced by sharp looks.

My guess was probably right.

“The assassins appear to have belonged to an organization active in the marquisate where the Academy is located. I’ll go investigate.”

“Daywin, that’s too dangerous. It would be better to leave that matter to the family.”

“Elder Brother is right, Youngest. If this is because I was hurt, don’t worry about it so much. At a time like this, you need to be even more careful...”

“No.”

Father dismissed my brothers’ words.

“Daywin, I’ll entrust it to you.”

Father, who would usually have made as much of a fuss as my brothers, spoke in an unusually stiff voice.

“As you said, we intend to find them somehow.”

Unlike his usual self, his voice carried hatred.

“I leave that side to you, Daywin.”

After Daywin returned to the marquisate.

At the marquis’s estate.

“Marquis Fred, a guest has arrived. He says he is the third son of House Hasgard.”

As always, Marquis Fred was kneeling before a statue of the Goddess, offering his morning prayers.

Marquis Fred gave thanks for another day of life and prayed for peace. Just as he slowly opened his eyes...

“He says he wishes to discuss the pleasure district...”

“It’s obvious.”

Fred cut off the servant before the servant could finish.

“I don’t know the family. Some young lord must have had his fun in the pleasure district, been stripped clean by those bastards, and come crying to me.”

Such things happened often.

Ignorant nobles from elsewhere would visit the pleasure district and lose everything.

The marquisate, home to both the Academy and the diocese, projected an image of enlightenment. But its shadows held a pleasure district and slums as well.

Where there was light, there was also shadow.

“Damn it, that place again...”

If only the pleasure district disappeared, the marquisate could become renowned as a city of education.

Using the Academy, the marquis wanted to turn the territory into a city of learning and enlightenment.

Ironically, however, the more developed the marquisate became, the more people were left behind.

The Sixth District in particular.

The area known as the pleasure district was always a headache.

Alcohol, gambling, women, drugs, even contract killings.

A heap of trash the marquis wanted to dispose of immediately.

Yet the pleasure district had quietly amassed power.

A rusted blade lay hidden amid the rubbish.

If they tried to clean it up carelessly, they would get hurt.

‘Karma... If only that bastard were gone...’

If the marquis intervened in the pleasure district by force, those bastards would not be able to defeat his troops.

But that snake would take an arm or leg.

Sometimes, Karma would bring the marquis money with a uniquely smirking face.

That was how he had maintained his balance until now.

No one would know that the marquis had gradually built Academy facilities with the money earned from the pleasure district.

“What did you say his name was?”

“Hasgard. Daywin Hasgard.”

“A frontier count’s house... He came all this way just to indulge himself.”

Had the marquisate’s pleasure district truly become that famous for entertainment?

The marquis felt bitter.

“I have no intention of helping him. Throw him out. He’s surely no different from the lowlife who does such vulgar things.”

The marquis waved a hand as though shooing away an insect.

But instead of returning to the estate gates where Daywin waited, the servant added one thing.

“He brought Karma’s head.”

“Yes, Karma’s... what?”

“Karma. The one who acts as master of the pleasure district...”

“I’m not asking who Karma is! How did he... No, that can wait. First, I need to see that head!”

The marquis shouted in a trembling voice. A moment later...

Click.

After opening the box the servant brought in, the marquis swallowed hard.

Hair cropped short like grass and a shriveled, skin-and-bones face.

It was unquestionably Karma.

Aside from his ever-irritating smirk having frozen cold, it was exactly the face the marquis remembered.

“...Open the gates.”

The marquis muttered as he closed the box.

“I believe he’s worth speaking to.”

At the marquis’s command, the servant led Daywin to his room.

A man with nearly white blond hair and jewel-like red eyes.

At first glance, he seemed more suited to the royal family than a count’s house.

“Is the gift to your liking?”

Daywin spoke while looking around the marquis’s room.

‘Symbols of the Goddess Church everywhere. The marquis is quite devout. This will make things easier.’

Just as that thought crossed his mind, the marquis spoke.

“How did you cut off Karma’s head?”

“With a sword, of course.”

When Daywin answered with a shrug, the marquis turned to him with an incredulous look.

“...Do you know why Karma was called Karma?”

The marquis’s question was grave.

Daywin could not understand its intent.

“How would I know? It’s not as if I’m his mother.”

“Karma was not their real name. Since ancient times, the master of the pleasure district has inherited the name Karma. The person whose head you cut off was the fourth.”

The marquis spoke with a sigh and handed the box containing the head to the servant.

He added that it should be burned.

‘Karma (業)...’

For the name of a back-alley boss, it had seemed rather grand.

Four generations of karma built up over time.

Evil karma.

“Every time, the marquis’s house tried to clean up the Sixth District, but Karma’s power could never be ignored. In the end, we became complicit through coexistence and mutual neglect. Yes, shameful though it is, I must admit it. Until you brought me that head, I had given up on killing Karma.”

The marquis gestured for Daywin to sit and continued.

“I believe you already know this, but with Karma gone, the time has come to clean up the Sixth District.”

Marquis Fred spoke as though he had made up his mind.

It was truly a do-or-die moment.

The marquis’s tone made it clear that this time, he intended to put them to death.

“If we sweep away the pleasure district now, the marquisate will prosper even further. So... I ask you.”

Daywin calmly listened and took a seat.

“What do you want from me?”

Only then did the corner of Daywin’s mouth curl upward.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Hasgard estate.

A party was being held to commemorate the end of the subjugation festival.

The noble houses that had participated in the festival had been invited to enjoy food and drink.

At least, that was the surface reason.

The subjugation festival was a celebration where the kingdom’s nobles, adventurers, knight orders, and mercenaries gathered to display their abilities.

Naturally, talent was discovered in the process.

Everyone came to know exactly who possessed what power.

The most remarkable power shown during this subjugation festival had undoubtedly belonged to House Hasgard’s youngest son.

A solitary frontier house that had remained outside the public eye.

A family that had lived simply and harmoniously, far from power and political strife, had gained the most dangerous card.

That was why the other houses had come to the estate, to confirm the rumors about Daywin Hasgard.

“Dyer, Romans, pretend to greet the distinguished guests, but remember everything they say and every action they show. Observe all of it.”

The head of House Hasgard instructed his sons.

“Yes, Father.”

House Hasgard had another purpose in hosting the party.

The head believed that enemies were close at hand.

He saw it as a chance to find the person behind the attempt on Romans’s life.

After his two sons departed, the head returned to where his wife was sitting.

Speaking with her was a couple from a neighboring count’s house.

“We were discussing Daywin.”

When his wife said that, the head naturally nodded.

‘Just as expected, everyone is talking about Daywin today...’

The head greeted them with a smile, and the other party spoke.

“I heard he made a great contribution during the subjugation festival. May we hear the story?”

“Ha ha... He merely prevented an unexpected accident.”

“Ah, I heard there were assassins... My condolences. Was anyone hurt?”

“Romans is unharmed. Having a younger brother like Daywin must be Romans’s good fortune.”

“Come to think of it, you have three sons...”

As though something had occurred to him, the count hurriedly continued.

“Ah, House Hasgard will need to choose an heir soon, will it not? All three are intelligent, so you must have many concerns.”

“That is true. It is certainly a concern.”

“I hear the brothers are close. Still, conflict will eventually be unavoidable when it comes to succession.”

“No, that is not the concern. None of them wishes to inherit House Hasgard... My concern is that, despite being men, they have no ambition for power.”

The listening count looked stunned.

The count had killed their younger siblings to become the head of their house.

For a moment, memories of their violent youth surfaced, and their face twisted.

“I-I see. Then how did your youngest son gain the power of a paladin...?”

As if trying not to forget why the count had come to the party, the count brought up Daywin’s name again.

“Daywin received the Goddess’s power even before the subjugation festival. I believe he began to show talent in divine power around the time he recovered from his illness. The Goddess helped Daywin, you see. Ha ha.”

“That is fortunate... But I understand that there is a great difference between possessing divine power and awakening a Halo...”

“He says he awakened it the moment he resolved to protect Romans.”

Daywin had only offered a vague excuse, but the head of House Hasgard firmly believed it.

“Ah... ha... Truly, they are close brothers. Then do you intend to raise him as a paladin?”

The count had prepared that question before coming to the party.

The count had to obtain a definite answer about Daywin’s future through it.

As the lord whose territory bordered Hasgard’s, how they treated Daywin would depend on the head’s answer.

The count might need to devote all their efforts to keeping him in check.

If Daywin became a paladin, House Hasgard would expand its influence further with the Church behind it.

“For now, we are leaving it to Daywin. Though I do hope he becomes a paladin.”

“...Of course you do. The Church would not abandon such talent...”

At the count’s words, the head of House Hasgard’s expression brightened.

“Ahahaha! So it does look that way, does it? In fact, the Paladin Order sent a letter. They said they desperately wished to see my son. It is not merely any paladin, either. The knight commander personally made the request!”

His words began to grow longer.

Keeping other houses in check was important, but the head could not miss such a perfect chance to boast about his son.

“The knight commander sent a letter...”

“Well, I was surprised at first too, but naturally, someone of the knight commander’s standing would have to come forward before I would even feel like replying. Daywin is no ordinary boy, after all. Don’t you agree?”

“Ha... ha... Y-yes, of course.”

The count reluctantly agreed, but the head’s boasting showed no sign of stopping.

“Lately, I dream of Daywin becoming a paladin. If he joins the order with a Halo, he will surely receive the knight order’s favor. The Church will pay close attention to our Daywin too!”

“Then... will you also pass House Hasgard’s spirit to your third son?”

“Nothing has been decided yet, but if it’s Daywin, we could certainly entrust it to him without concern.”

Lady Hasgard signaled for him to stop, but the head continued talking without noticing.

“Ha ha! It doesn’t have to be the Paladin Order. No matter what Daywin becomes, he’ll bring honor to the family name! Hahahahaha!”

* * *

“I will become the new master of the pleasure district.”

I had to make the assassins who would pursue the mastermind fall under my control.

I had to use them.

Not as expensive jade chess pieces, but as pieces I could use and discard.

I needed hands and feet who could live when I told them to live, and die when I told them to die.

“...What?”

“You asked what I wanted.”