My Daddy Hides His Power Chapter 277 - Side story Part 1 Chapter 17

* * *

 

The inn on Seraph Street, Capital. 

 

Cheshire, having left the dormitory, had used teleportation magic to come to the capital alone.

 

It was the place where he had unpacked his belongings when he first arrived. 

 

‘Now, I can finally breathe.’

 

He lay down on the bed, placed his arm over his throbbing head, and closed his eyes. He could feel his mana quickly replenishing. 

 

‘As long as I release the magic for one person, it’s bearable, so I can continue coming and going from the capital like this….’

 

While he was organizing his future plans, a small knock was heard.

 

Knock knock.

 

“A, are you inside?” 

 

What is it? Cheshire pulled his hood low over his head and opened the door. 

 

The short innkeeper gave an awkward smile, glancing at Cheshire’s face and peering over his shoulder.

 

Something about his suspicious appearance.

 

“What is it?”

 

Startled by Cheshire’s sharp tone, the innkeeper stammered, “N, no!” and hurriedly left. 

 

“….” 

 

It’s unpleasant. 

 

His instincts were telling him.

 

After thinking for a moment, Cheshire immediately packed his bags and left the inn.

 

The outside was dark as the sun had set.

 

However, as expected from a place with many residents, it was bustling even in the early evening.

 

“….?” 

 

Cheshire had only walked a few steps when he found two security guards in uniform. 

 

They were standing in front of a fruit stall, asking the owner something…

 

“….!” 

 

Cheshire, who had been absentmindedly looking at their faces, was surprised and quickly hid in an alley next to him.

 

‘What is this? It’s my father and the Duke.’

 

Yeah, it was definitely Axion and Enoch.  

 

‘How? Is it possible to come to the past without Lilith’s ability?’

 

Cheshire, who had been thinking about that for a moment in surprise, soon realized.

 

‘…That can’t be. Those are the two from twenty years ago.’

 

After grasping the situation, he recalled Enoch’s face again and found it absurd.

 

“…It takes 85 years of life per second.” 

 

Lilith originally planned to travel through time with Enoch, but she gave up because it required an enormous amount of life force. 

 

‘It must have been worth that much.’

 

There was surprisingly little difference between the 17-year-old Enoch and the 37-year-old Enoch.

 

It was hard to tell if it was the past Enoch or the present Enoch who was here.

 

‘If the Duke had met the Duke from the past, there would have been chaos. Of course… my father too.’

 

Axion’s appearance, which he glanced back outside the alley, was equally surprising.

 

“Honey, about Dad and Uncle, do you think they might be hidden Primera?” 

 

The joke that Lilith often made about the two who never aged came to mind.

 

It seems like once I go back… I might not be able to laugh at that joke anymore… 

 

‘But why are you here?’

 

Two high-ranking Dos-class Paladins were out in a commoner residential area, dressed in patrol officer uniforms. 

 

They’re definitely trying to secretly investigate something.

 

‘I need to know what the situation is.’

 

Cheshire, who suppressed his presence, hid in the crowd of people on the street.

 

As he followed behind them as closely as possible, he could barely hear their conversation.

 

“…Let’s split up and investigate, Enoch.”

 

Axion’s voice as he spoke seemed somehow powerless.

 

Come to think of it, his face had been dark when he’d first seen him. Cheshire was worried.

 

“Forget it, just go back. Why did you come out when you even took a leave?” 

 

“It’s fine. The funeral is over. With Father and my brother there, there’s nothing much for me to do anyway.”

 

“Still, you should stay longer.” 

 

“I said it’s fine.”

 

Cheshire, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, stopped walking.

 

Vacation, funeral…

 

Judging by the words that caught his ear and the timing, he could tell right away.

 

‘His eldest brother passed away.’ 

 

Axion was the youngest of the three sons of the Marquis Schneider family. 

 

Now his second brother inherited the Marquis family…

 

The original successor was the eldest of the three sons, Axion’s first brother who died in battle during his youth.

 

It must have been the eldest brother’s funeral.

 

While assessing the situation, he followed the two again.

 

“Wait a minute.”

 

Cheshire’s eyes widened at the memory that flashed through his mind like lightning.

 

“There was a major incident with the Holy Beast in the South. It was very unusual for them to act in such large groups like that. All the magic users from the magical community in the capital even received deployment orders at the time.” 

 

“Ah, I see. Then, what about Father’s older brother…?” 

 

“That’s right. Even though every single one of the wizards in the Dos division was deployed, it still wasn’t easily suppressed. My eldest brother died in that battle.” 

 

It was an unprecedented holy beast suppression battle where all the wizards from the “magical division” were deployed. 

 

Therefore, it means that there are no Dos with magic abilities in the capital now.

 

“….”

 

Cheshire recalled the situation from a few days ago when he had shown his military uniform to a few nobles and avoided a commotion.

 

What if the story of him showing off his red cloak somehow got known?

 

‘Damn it.’

 

He would have been pretending to be a Dos when he wasn’t even in the Capital. 

 

The innkeeper’s suspicious attitude.

 

Enoch and Axion quietly investigate something.

 

Somehow, he felt like he understood the reason. Cheshire weakly brushed his cheek, as if in despair.

 

“…This is a mess.”

 

* * *

 

The training center, greenhouse garden. 

 

“Erich?”

 

I finished my duties and went to the greenhouse, where I found Erich. 

 

“Ah, Anna!” 

 

“Why are you out at this hour? Are you trying to look at tomatoes?”

 

“Mhm. You too?”

 

“Y, yeah, r, right?” 

 

In fact, I had come here with the intention of secretly growing a few tomatoes.

 

I lied that the tomatoes would ripen in a week.

 

“Go ahead and sleep, Erich. I’ll take care of the tomatoes for you. You must be tired.” 

 

“Oh, it’s okay. I’m not that tired.”

 

Erich, crouched down with his knees hugged to his chest, grinned happily just from the sight.

 

I knelt down next to him.

 

“Thank you, Anna. I would have never seen the tomatoes without you.”

 

“Hey, what’s with this?”

 

“You’re so smart, aren’t you? Oscar keeps talking about you. I’ve never seen him so excited.”

 

“Oh my! Really?”

 

“Haha, mhm.” 

 

I was feeling happy, but Erich clapped his hands and said, “That’s right!” and glanced at me.

 

“You know, Anna.” 

 

“Mhm!” 

 

“Did you know that smart kids can go to the Wizard Tower?”

 

“Oh, really?”

 

“Mhm. When you graduate from the training center, you should definitely join the Wizard Tower. There are good people, and they give you delicious food too.” 

 

Erich continued, observing my expression.

 

“And… how about Oscar? He complains sometimes, but once you get close, he’s really kind. If you join the Wizard Tower, you can hang out with Oscar all the time?” 

 

“….” 

 

“Oh, that… he’s surprisingly, really kind, you know…”  

 

When I didn’t answer, Erich blushed and felt embarrassed.

 

I was speechless because I knew exactly why he wanted me to go to the Wizard Tower. 

 

“Actually, he… doesn’t have any friends…”

 

Erich knew that he would die soon. So, he was worried about Oscar, who would be left alone after he died.

 

‘He’s such a good kid.’

 

If he were a normal child, it would be hard for him to think about his friends because he was afraid of the death that was right in front of him.

 

“I’m sorry for saying this when we just met today…”

 

But Erich seemed to have been worried for a very long time.

 

Oscar, who might be lonely after he died.

 

In fact, the only person Oscar remembers as a friend is Erich. So, as he worries, Oscar’s childhood must have been quite lonely. 

 

“Actually, I’m in a lot of pain. When the adults asked, I lied and said it didn’t hurt much because I was worried they’d be concerned… but the truth is…” 

 

Erich’s lips trembled as he spoke.

 

He wiped his reddened eyes with both arms, as if he was crying.

 

“The truth is… it hurts even more… I don’t know how much longer I can live…”

 

“….” 

 

“When I die, I won’t feel pain anymore… so that’s okay. But… Oscar has no friends other than me… so if I’m gone, he’ll be lonely and bored.”

 

I couldn’t bear to look at Erich’s tearful face, so I turned my head away.

 

“So… can’t you be his friend?”

 

“….” 

 

I opened my eyes wide, feeling cold.

 

I looked down at my wrist absentmindedly, and saw a bracelet.

 

3years

 

I roughly guessed the pattern of my life force being consumed in this timeline.

 

“Cheshire, this world hates changing the set future. So when I intervene in something, it seems like it reconfigures the events to end up with the same ending.” 

 

 

That’s why I need more lifespan here than I expected.

 

So, three years.

 

It’s not just the price of making Erich better.

 

The price needed to reconstruct a world where an entity that should have died is still alive.  

 

“Actually, I think it’s worth a try for about three years, but there’s a problem.”

 

I looked at the bracelet again.

 

4sec/1sec

 

My lifespan, currently staying in this timeline.

 

The lifespan that used to last three seconds had increased to four seconds.

 

“Do you remember that I used my ability to send you to Oscar’s room?”

 

I had touched the researcher’s mind.

 

It was nothing more than switching the rooms of two commoners. But big or small, I had used my power to touch the past.

 

The ‘4 seconds’ were applied from that very moment.

 

“The increased lifespan required to just stay is a kind of warning.”

 

A warning not to try to change the past by using your power.

 

“It’s not just about healing Erich. After using my ability on Erich, from that moment on, I have to pay a greater price to stay here.”

 

I couldn’t imagine how much of a penalty I would have to endure if I used a great power that would take three years.

 

“That’s why saving Erich should come last. After we’ve achieved our purpose here, right before we go back.”

 

After finishing my thoughts, I looked back at Erich.

 

“Can’t you be his friend?”

 

A simple request.

 

But Erich’s expression as he waited for an answer looked so desperate.

 

He died before he could even reach his ninth birthday, and there wasn’t even half a month left for him.

 

‘I’m sorry.’

 

I was heartbroken at having to turn away from Erich, who might die at any moment.

 

But I couldn’t do anything right now.

 

It wasn’t a simple matter of just handing over the magic formula to Oscar and going back.

 

‘I… I… have to save Master first… .’

 

So, even though I knew it might be too late and I wouldn’t be able to save Erich.

 

“I’ll do it. I, I’ll take your place….”

 

Selfishly, I answered like that.

 

I couldn’t bear to face Erich’s bright smile, expressing his gratitude, without even knowing what I was truly thinking.

 

“Friend Oscar… I’ll definitely, do it….”

 

With my head bowed deeply.