Chapter 9

I became a genius father in the game - Chapter 9 (9/109)

That guy's voice (1)

Sure. Seymour Mausoleum is the villain, the mastermind.

I just need to do some good deeds before meeting the protagonist and then retire gracefully, like a golden handshake.

Why bother trying to be good from now on and waste my efforts?

Moreover...

'You have the information and knowledge of the future.'

I have all the knowledge and information.

'Including about the protagonist.'

The powers and abilities the protagonist can master, and how to counter them.

'Then, can't you kill the protagonist too?'

I can win.

Not just the protagonist, but anyone.

'Then, just live as you please, do as you feel.'

Sssss.

It felt like the hiss of a snake near my ear.

'If you just give up the foolish idea of being good, you'll be free from all the trouble.'

With just a little more force in my hand.

'One, two, three, and it will burst.'

With just a little more magic.

'One... two...'

I can live comfortably.

I can be comfortable.

"Hey, big brother..."

I turned my head at the sudden voice.

In the lake of black magic, there was only one person who wasn't covered in magic.

Simon, my younger brother.

"This, this... This can't be..."

Clearly, he wasn't affected by my magic at all, yet he was sweating profusely.

"Lu, Lucis..."

Simon, pale and panting, managed to speak.

"Trying to be a father you can be proud of... Trying to change, right?"

I didn't understand what he was saying at all.

Trying to be a father Lucis can be proud of and change?

He must be having some grand delusion.

"..."

But Simon's words were enough to stir a ripple in my heart.

Lucis.

Just thinking of his white hair and golden eyes made the turmoil in my heart grow.

'Why Lucis? He's just a tool I received through a contract, right?'

A tool?

...No.

Lucis is more than that to me.

Lucis is my child.

A child I designed and gave birth to with my heart.

A child I am responsible for.

'Why is he your child? Get a grip.'

Right. You wouldn't understand.

To you, he's just a tool that fell from the sky.

'Understand the situation. We're not talking about Lucis right now. We're talking about what to do with those collateral relatives...'

Shut up, Seymour.

'...'

I am not you.

Don't try to control me.

'Kkk...'

I am not a sociopath like you.

I won't kill people just to make my life easier.

Whoosh!

As I released the grip in my hand and let go of my control over the magic, the magic on the floor burned and disappeared instantly.

The magic that was climbing up the uncle's body also vanished.

"Huff!"

"Phew..."

The collateral relatives finally exhaled heavily and fell to the table.

Many of them fell face-first into the food, but they didn't seem to care.

"Phew..."

I exhaled deeply and pressed my hand on my chest.

The guy's voice was no longer heard, but the unpleasant presence lingered like an aftertaste.

"Hey, big brother..."

Turning my head, I saw Simon trembling and looking at me.

"..."

I always thought he was weak.

Weaker than his sister, Sia.

"I misjudged you."

The one who saved the people here today, the one who saved me from Seymour, was Simon.

"Thank you, Simon."

"Wh-what...?"

"Thanks to you, we survived."

Simon's eyes widened at my gratitude.

I wanted to say more, but I was already at my limit.

"What do we do now?"

"Phew..."

"Ah..."

I had no idea how to clean up this mess in the banquet hall.

* * *

Four days later.

I met Andre in the study.

"Here, the materials you requested, my lord."

"Thank you, Andre."

"Not at all. Please call me whenever you need me."

The materials I received from Andre contained exactly what I wanted.

I nodded in satisfaction and asked,

"Andre, how's the move going?"

"Yes, the packing is done, and the shop is in the final stages of cleanup."

"Good. Make sure to pack everything thoroughly so you don't have to make two trips."

"Yes, sir!"

Andre was going to the capital with me.

To showcase modern Earth fashions, including ties, at the tailor shop I set up.

An hour after dismissing Andre, I finished writing the notice.

"Alfred."

"Yes, sir."

Alfred, who had been waiting outside the door, appeared at my call.

"Did you call for me?"

"Come and read this."

Alfred walked around to the inside of the desk and skimmed the notice I had written.

"My lord, this is...?"

"A final warning to the collateral relatives."

At my words, Alfred read the content seriously from the beginning.

By the way, the banquet incident was just brazenly swept under the rug.

No apologies, no explanations, just pretending it never happened.

'What can you do? Seymour is always a reckless guy.'

I was always troubled by Seymour's past actions, but at least I could benefit from this.

Thanks to this, I've had a few days of peace without any collateral relatives bothering me.

Of course, just because they're not visible doesn't mean the power struggles are over, so I decided to take the initiative this time.

"How does it look?"

After reading the notice, Alfred stroked his chin and sighed in admiration.

"It seems flawless. But is what's written here true?"

"Of course. Why would I lie to the family leeches?"

The content of the notice was, in short, my 'self-P.R.'

How well the 'tie' I conceived and showcased at the funeral was received among the nobles.

How many nobles visited the tailor shops and clothing stores in the barony after the funeral to inquire about it.

How many nobles offered bribes to tailors unrelated to the tie to find out the maker and tell them.

'Andre investigated it for me,'

It also mentioned how much the Mausoleum's fashion-related businesses could grow thanks to the tie.

'At least three times.'

The tie was that great an invention.

On Earth, ties were also an icon of modernist fashion, along with stockings.

'This is the value of the idea bank I possess.'

My ideas, the knowledge of modern Earth, were not limited to the fashion industry.

So, with my help, they could make more money by growing their own businesses than by forcibly taking mine.

'Of course, I can't give ideas to all the businesses.'

I was just a struggling guy, not a genius businessman.

But the businesses in this world were all tentacle-like enterprises tied to one family.

'If a few businesses succeed, the reflected benefits will fall on everyone.'

Most importantly, I have a treasure that can maximize those reflected benefits.

'Lucis.'

A family with a dragon.

A business entity of a family where legends live.

Just that sentence alone could captivate and charm so many people that it was hard to imagine.

'Now, during the funeral period, I'm hiding Lucis's existence, but I don't plan to do so in the capital.'

So, the notice contained the message to stop their nonsense and crawl.

After reading the notice, Alfred nodded in admiration.

"I didn't know you were so knowledgeable about economics, my lord."

He said this after seeing terms like reflected benefits and professional management.

In this world, I might not know, but on Earth, these were words even high school students knew, so I just shrugged.

'Is this what they call a modern genius?'

Alfred, who had served the previous lord, a man with outstanding abilities but terrible character, for a long time, nodded.

If Alfred, who had served the previous lord, nodded, it was enough to pass with flying colors.

"Good. Now, post this in the hall where everyone can see it."

"Yes, sir."

Alfred carefully picked up the notice and asked,

"Do you plan to take in all the collateral relatives?"

I smiled slightly at the question.

"I'm not taking them in. I'm giving them a chance to be gathered under me."

This notice was, in a sense, my last act of mercy.

Those who come under me after seeing this, I will accept without a word.

Not everyone who wanders is lost, and not everyone who lost the strong centripetal force of the previous lord is a sinner.

They were needed for the smooth operation of the family's many businesses.

But if anyone still opposes me after seeing this,

'There's no reason to take them in.'

I hope the collateral relatives make wise choices.

I don't want to see the blood of my kin spilled.

* * *

As Alfred posted the notice in the hall as Seymour ordered, he thought,

'When did the young master become so impressive?'

Alfred had served the Mausoleum family for decades and had watched Seymour grow up.

'He used to be such a worry.'

The previous lord was not a good father, even in words.

True to the Mausoleum family's reputation of becoming more cruel with each generation, he had no qualms about hitting his own children.

Especially the eldest, Seymour, was the target of most of the violence.

'I should have stopped it...'

On days he made mistakes, he was punished for them; on days he didn't, he was told to keep it up; on days nothing happened, it was his duty to cheer up the lord.

The previous lord beat and abused Seymour daily with all kinds of excuses.

Thanks to the resident physician, there were no visible scars, but it was clear to anyone that Seymour's heart was being corrupted.

'But no one stopped it.'

Alfred himself was no exception.

Focused on helping the previous lord make the family even greater, he ignored the rotting roots of the next generation.

'When Seymour young master tried to harm Simon young master, the whole house was in an uproar.'

Even the cold-blooded previous lord realized he had created a monster around that time.

But the abuse didn't stop even after that.

Under the pretense of instilling loyalty, he continued to abuse the monster he had created, fearing it might eat him.

'When the previous lord suddenly passed away, everyone was worried...'

Some of the collateral relatives, without any desire for the barony or the businesses, opposed Seymour's ascension to the barony purely because he was a monster.

But now, what about it?

'To think the young master can smile like that.'

The expression Seymour made when with Lucis was a warm one he had never shown before.

'How well he gets along with the second young master and the young lady...'

Alfred was delighted every day. The more he was, the more grateful he was for Lucis's existence.

'They say a man changes when he sees his child.'

Indeed, the old saying was true.

And that made Lucis even more endearing.

'I should buy a camera.'

To keep the adorable and great baby dragon's childhood memories.