Chapter 6

With my mouth agape, I slowly surveyed the knights outside, but I was the only one surprised.

...Really, only I was surprised? Why are everyone else’s faces so calm?

"Why aren't you putting up a shield? Why are you just standing there?"

Dad, who returned as if he had just taken a leisurely stroll, cracked his shoulders and barked at Axiom.

"That Enok Rubinstein was going to draw his sword, so it was going to be over in a few seconds anyway. It would be a waste of mana."

"Really, this guy."

Dad, who frowned deeply, grabbed Axiom by the collar as he sat on the horse.

"Hmph."

Dad, who soon let out a sharp sigh, sheathed Axiom's sword back into its scabbard and got into the carriage.

"A, A, Dad…."

"Don't look at such things, Princess."

As the carriage started moving again, I almost saw the bodies of the numerous monster wolves, but fortunately, Dad covered my eyes and drew the curtain.

I swallowed hard and slowly pulled Dad's hand away.

'What did I just see? He's even more impressive than I thought? James Brown, who was hiding his strength…'

Dad, who had killed thirty monsters in one stroke, looked as if he had just chased away a fly, with a nonchalant expression.

'So that's why he's the protagonist.'

The power of the world's strongest, which I had only read about in text, and actually seeing it… the gap was enormous.

It was only after seeing Dad's prowess with my own eyes that I finally realized it.

A pureblood noble from a prestigious family that has only produced top-tier ability users.

The empire's only Swordmaster.

The silver wolf of the battlefield, the undefeated soldier….

The protagonist's true strength, described as an 'out-of-spec existence' at least five thousand times!

"Princess, our daughter, why is your expression like that? Were you very scared?"

"A, no. I was just a bit surprised…."

"It's okay. Dad's here. Come here."

Dad, who held me as if I were a precious treasure, patted my back, and I swallowed hard again.

'Isn't this too steep a rise in status?'

After facing Dad's hidden strength, my heart was pounding.

I, in one day, became the daughter of the world's strongest….

* * *

A sudden rise in status!

"Wow, it's so soft."

The feel of the highest-quality clothes I had never worn before!

This is the warp gate room of the Southern Elpasha Temple.

As soon as we arrived, I changed into a pure white priest's robe with a hood, like the young priests wear.

'I can't go to the capital dressed like a commoner.'

To reiterate, this is a world where, despite being called commoners, people are treated almost like slaves.

Since there are many nobles in the capital, the temple priests hurriedly gave me a priest's robe before we left.

"Hey, hey."

"Y-yes!"

Uncle Philip, the orange-haired paladin, called me.

"How old are you?"

"What kind of silly question is that? It's been seven years since Sir Enok deserted, so I'm seven."

"But you're so small for seven, that's why I asked."

Philip and Uncle Ben bickered.

I became quite close to these two uncles while waiting for Dad in the gate room.

"I'm seven."

"Did Sir Enok ever starve you?"

"No."

Shake, shake.

"Then have you ever been scolded? Is Dad scary?"

"What happens when Dad gets angry? Have you ever been hit?"

They were very interested in me, and their questions were all similar.

Is Dad not scary, have you never been hit, have you never been scolded….

"When Dad scolded me?"

I searched my memory for times I had been scolded, but couldn't think of much.

"When I hid broccoli under the rice and when I was caught eating candy secretly at night…."

"Wow, even at that age, you could do that? He must have raised you strictly."

"Of course. Even if Sir Enok Rubinstein is your father, he wouldn't coddle you, right?"

"…He shouldn't, right?"

At my addition, Philip and Ben's eyes blinked.

"Is that all?"

"He doesn't hit you?"

"Yes. My dad isn't scary. I've never been hit or scolded."

They looked at me in disbelief.

"But, uncles, is my dad really that scary?"

When I asked, Philip and Ben seemed to recall Dad from seven years ago and shuddered.

"Sir Enok…."

Philip, who crouched down, swallowed hard and whispered in my ear.

"…can tear a bear apart with his bare hands."

"R-really?"

"Have you ever seen a bear?"

Shake, shake.

Seeing me pale and shake my head, Ben was puzzled.

"Never? Actually, Zeon is a suitable place for hiding, but it's quite dangerous. There are many mountains, so wild animals, oh. It's been famous for that since ancient times."

"Huh? No, our village isn't dangerous at all. It's a great place to live…."

As I spoke, I suddenly remembered something Mr. Joe had said in passing.

"Ha ha! The James family is a blessing, a blessing! Since they came here, life has been so much better! We used to have problems with bears in winter, but after James came, they disappeared…."

D-did Dad tear them apart in advance?

I swallowed hard, thinking it was a pretty reasonable suspicion.

"Anyway, your dad is really scary. He can tear apart bears with his bare hands and kill monsters."

"Right. The monsters recognize him from five thousand paces away and run away. He's not called the silver wolf of the battlefield for nothing."

Listening to Philip and Ben's enthusiastic exchange, I tried to imagine Dad on the battlefield.

I had read about it dozens of times, but of course, seeing it in person would be much more terrifying….

"He's so stoic. He was a hard commander to get close to."

"But weren't you a bit closer to the captain?"

The two exchanged glances.

A little distance away, Axiom was checking the warp gate.

"Didn't Sir Enok try to kill the captain just now?"

"Right. If he had made a mistake, it would have been murder for sure."

They continued to whisper.

"Even so, isn't it too much? There's such a thing as camaraderie."

"Hey, in that situation, could he see anything? When his daughter was being used as a hostage?"

"I'm really surprised by that."

Ben, who swallowed hard, looked at me intently.

"Even if it's his daughter, does it make sense for 'that' Enok Rubinstein to lose his composure like that?"

"Right. Honestly, we didn't expect to be able to take him back, even with our strength. That's why!"

Philip grabbed my hand tightly.

"I'm really grateful to you. If we had returned empty-handed, it would have been a big problem."

"Right. We would have either died at Sir Enok's hands or returned without success and died at the emperor's hands."

"Ahem. It's nothing."

I felt my shoulders rise for some reason.

Ben patted my head affectionately.

"If you had seen the past Sir Enok, you would understand why we're acting like this."

"Yeah, yeah. In the days when no woman could command 'that' Enok Rubinstein…."

Just as the uncles were about to start reminiscing again,

The door to the gate room opened.

Dad must have arrived.

Philip and Ben, who were blocking my view, turned around and quickly stood up, startled.

And I, who was about to run to Dad in excitement—

'Wow.'

Was surprised.

Seeing Dad in his new outfit, or rather, the 'protagonist' Enok Rubinstein, whom I finally met.

"Wow, ah."

The holy silver armor that encased his strong body.

The blue cloak, a symbol of a knight, draped over one shoulder.

The silver hair and blue eyes that suited him perfectly….

'Is this aura?'

He was the embodiment of a paladin!

The momentum and presence I felt from his sharp eyes and tightly pressed lips were overwhelming, and I even heard a ringing in my ears.

The grand BGM, a perfect mix of the tension of the battlefield and the sanctity of a paladin, played automatically in my ears….

'Even if I hadn't read the novel, I would know he's the protagonist.'

Perhaps I wasn't deceived for seven years; maybe I just didn't notice.

"Lilith."

"Uh-huh."

I swallowed hard and took a step back as Dad approached, feeling awkward.

Dad, for some reason, couldn't take his eyes off me and stared intently….

Then he put his hands under my armpits, lifted me into the air, and said,

"…An angel?"

"Huh?"

"Unbelievable. It can't be. You were an angel…. Our princess, you were an angel."

"Oh."

I looked down at my priest's robe and immediately realized what was about to happen.

"Dad, wait a minute."

Please don't!

Before I could stop him, Dad sat me on his arm and started fussing.

"Little angel, where are your wings? Huh? Where did you hide them?"

"Ah…."

"Goodness. Lilith, my princess. My treasure. My angel."

Dad, who seemed to be moved, lowered his eyes and pouted.

"I always dressed you in rags, even though you're so beautiful…. I'm sorry. I was wrong."

"But, they weren't rags…."

Dad rubbed his forehead against my cheek.

At that moment, everyone was looking at us.

'Oh no, this is bad.'

Everyone's faces were filled with shock and disbelief.

Their mouths were agape, and their pupils were shaking uncontrollably.

'The image of the scary, stoic, and cold silver wolf of the battlefield is crumbling…'

Held by Dad, who was kissing my cheeks as if he were going to eat them, I couldn't resist and went limp.

"St-stop…."

Far away, even Axiom, who usually had no expression, had his mouth agape.

He shook his head and turned his eyes away, muttering,

"That's a bit much…."