Paradigm Parasite

Chapter 122: “Responsibility”

[Other Pov]

The Sebatiar family.

It is a large merchant family that operates a staffing business in the royal capital and has a number of stores under its control.

The head of the family has also been a public official of the country for generations, and is considered a candidate for the next lord of the kingdom when a vacancy arises.

Public officials serve the royal family directly and are the most sought after positions in this country.

They are classified according to rank, from the top to the bottom: special, first, second, and third.

Let me give you a brief explanation.

Special rank: A position that allows one to stand by the king's side and directly express his opinions, and the knights who protect the royal family fall into this category.

First class: Those who hold important positions in the lord's household or in the country.

Second class: The heads of knightly orders and those who command in the field fall under this category.

Third class--assist 1st and 2nd class and miscellaneous duties.

This is roughly how it works.

The lords are rotated, and if they fail to meet certain conditions, they are replaced.

Specifically, if the amount of taxes paid to the capital falls below a certain level for three years, the lord is considered unqualified and is dropped.

However, the other side of the coin is that as long as they pay what they owe, the government does not say anything about it, so it is transparent that the government does not care who the lords are as long as they pay what they owe.

From the lords' point of view, it is complicated....

However, the current head of the Sevatiar family fell ill and the healing magic was not effective for long, so they decided to choose the next head of the family from their own relatives.

The problem is that the current head of the family will nominate the next head of the family from among the candidates gathered by the current head of the family in a few days.

What is the problem?

After having all the candidates meet each other, he said, "In a few days, I will choose one of the candidates who have gathered here."

In short, those who could not come would not be chosen.

In other words, the candidates started crushing each other to prevent them from attending the gathering a few days later.

There were 15 candidates, but four were poisoned to death on the day of the notice.

The next day, three more went missing, and the day after that, three more died mysteriously.

Adolfo, feeling threatened by the sudden disappearance of 10 of her relatives in a row, ran away and tried to hide, but the next day, suspicious men started following her... until now.

[Heidi Pov]

"How can I put it...that's tough."

That was all that came out of my mouth as I listened to her story.

She turned her head and shook her shoulders.

"Your parents--"

"Those people are not my parents!"

She told me that right after the explanation, she had softly told her parents that she was not interested in the position of head of the family, but they told her that as long as she was a candidate, she had to give it a try and there was nothing she could do about it.

Her father added, without expression, "I have been down this road myself, and I cannot refuse," while her mother smiled and said, "You are my daughter, so don't worry. You will win." The mother smiled and showed her smile.

Although she sensed something disturbing in their tone, she believed in the days that had passed and in the love of her parents - until the next day.

The news of their deaths came in rapid succession, and she realized the true nature of this selection process.

Afterwards, she intended to cry to her mother, but then she heard the servant's conversation.

-- that it had started again.

Apparently, this was a regular event in the Sebatiar family.

When she realized that no one would help her, she ran out of the mansion, taking with her the magical weapon "Magic Bow Mariner," which was kept in the mansion.

"The bow you were using just now, right?"

"Yes, it was the only weapon in the house that even I could use..."

The short bow she showed me was pale in color and made of stone or something similar.

The strings also have the same pale glow.

It absorbs the user's magic power, forms an ice arrow, and shoots it out.

I heard that the power depends on the amount of magic power sucked in, but by all appearances it's quite a high-end product.

The first time I saw her, she was running around town, and she bumped into me.

After listening to the whole story, I couldn't say anything.

It was too terrible. Children killing each other....

The fact that this is a regular event makes it sound like they are making a lot of children in order to crush each other.

Is that what parents do?

No, from their point of view, I guess it is a normal thing to do.

I shook my head inwardly and continued talking.

"Adolfo, what are you going to do now?"

Adolfo looked down.

"I'm sure the monsters will kill me if I run away, since I've never been out of the city much, so I'm thinking about escaping until the deadline."

"Do you have any idea what you're going to do?"

"No, not really...I'm thinking of hiding out and avoiding people..."

As we talked, I was thinking about how to make time safely in the city.

"I understood. In that case, I'll find another place to stay. I'll have to explain to him, and maybe we can wait until after we've eaten?"

"What? I'm going to go to ......."

"Is it a nuisance?"

Adolfo looks at me with an expression that says she doesn't understand.

I--.

--can you be responsible for the person you saved?

He whispers in my mind.

Up until now, I would have just looked down without saying anything, but I was beginning to think that I couldn't go on like this.

It's not that I don't think about it.

At least I have a plan.

If I helped her, I might be able to see something.

At the very least, it might answer some of the questions I had inside.

There are so many possibilities, but if I move, something might change.

So, be honest with yourself and start walking. With my own speed and stride.

I smile at the confused girl in front of me.

"It is not a nuisance...but why?"

"......I will surely regret it if I leave you to die. I don't want to do that...? I know this may sound like a question back to you, but can you trust me who just showed up out of the blue?"

This is the first barrier.

If I want to protect her, I need her to believe me.

Adolfo stares at me and says nothing.

"Let me make up a reason for believing in you. You are an adventurer, aren't you, Heidi? If so, I have a request for you through the guild. Would you accept it?"

"Of course. If that makes you believe in me."

So you are saying that you trust me in the form of a request.

Certainly she would trust me if she hired me as an adventurer.

But I would help her as an individual, not as an adventurer.

That's what I decided.

"I don't want to worry him, so I'm going to explain that I'm going along with your situation, so if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if we could talk things through."

"I don't mind, but is that okay?"

I don't want to involve him in this matter, so I won't tell him about the situation.

For that reason, I decided to ask Adolfo to go along with the conversation, even though I was sorry.

I left the inn and went into the bar next door, where he was eating in the corner.

At times like this, he is very conspicuous.

The empty plates piled high on the table are very eye-catching.

I have always wondered what his stomach looks like.

I still don't understand how he can fit that many meals in.

To add to the mystery, I also don't understand how he covers the cost of his food.

I asked him several times, but he replied mysteriously, "I have a regular income," so I interpreted that he did not want to tell me and gave up the question.

We approached him and called out.

"Um...sorry about earlier."

Even though things happened, I kicked him out as a result.

I felt bad for him.

He takes one look at Adolfo without showing any pretense of concern.

He looks at her and she cower in fear.

Whether he realizes it or not, he turns his gaze back to me.

"So...so what? What's with the kid?"

"Yes. I've got something to say."

I'm prepared with what I'm going to say, but when it comes time to say it, I can't help but lose my composure.

I take a small breath and look straight at him.

"This kid has a little situation, and I'm going to help her with it."

"Is that as an adventurer?"

"No, I'm going to help her as myself."

I lied.

I'm sorry, but I don't tell him the truth because I want him to remain irrelevant.

He says the same thing as before without changing his expression.

"I've told you before..."

"I know."

I've already decided that I'm going to take care of her until the end.

So I say so without letting him talk about it.

He moved his eyebrows as if he was a little surprised, said, "You can do whatever you want," and did not pursue the matter after that.

After that, what came as a surprise was his suggestion.

He told me that he had something to do and that he would not be back in his room for a while so that we could use it.

I was about to say that was a quirky idea, but he forcefully pushed the key to the room and walked out of the store.

I tried to stop him, but in the end I let him go.

Then we went back to our room at the inn.

"About what we're going to do, I'd like to set a clear objective first."

Adolfo nodded in agreement.

"First of all, what do you want to do? Adolfo, what do you want to do? Do you simply want to survive? Or do you want to win?"

She paused for a moment, then looked at me carefully and spun her words.

"I want to win if possible. If I can rule my family, I may be able to stop this ridiculous conflict. I would like to stop this ugly conflict among my people. Therefore! Please, Ms. Heidi! Please lend me your help! I will definitely repay you!"

"Of course."

The answer was obvious, so I answered immediately.

Adolfo continued to thank me repeatedly with tears in her eyes and a trembling voice, "Thank you."

I hugged her and calmed her down without saying anything.

She must have been anxious for a long time, and I continued to stroke her back as she cried, shaking herself in my chest.

After a while, when I was sure she had calmed down, I gently let go of her.

Adolfo's cheeks flushed as she whispered, "I'm so embarrassed..."

I shook my head and said I didn't mind.

"We've decided on a policy, now let's talk specifics, shall we?"

We decided to continue the conversation.