Didier (1)
Chapter 24
After regaining consciousness, I learned that I was born into a fairly wealthy household.
My father wasn’t a noble but had amassed a considerable fortune through his wit and diligence.
Unfortunately, it seems he lacked an eye for women.
Father was a devoted and excellent family man, but tragically, he wasn’t my biological father.
I found out after overhearing the biological parents talking.
What the hell? I’m a cuckoo child?!
I’ve reincarnated to another world only to end up in this cuckoo situation!!
Now I’m starting to suspect – did that transcendental bastard just drop me here to mess with me?
To save the world?
Come on, if that’s the case, why don’t you provide proper support?
Once again, the sound of copulation reached my ears, and though my teeth haven’t grown in yet, I could feel them grinding.
How dare they play me like this! My anger boiled uncontrollably.
At this point, I’ve decided to side with the Demon King. I’ll team up with the Demon King and destroy the Empire first.
On the day I bring down the Empire, I will surely flip the middle finger at the sky.
The moaning continued.
“Shit, would you two shut up already!!”
I spat curses with all my might, but only babbling came out of my mouth.
My biological mother glanced at me and giggled.
“Dear, should we make another one?”
“Who’s going to raise the second one?”
“Surely not you.”
The biological parents laughed as they insulted my registered father while engaging in their act.
I felt like I was about to lose my mind.
I made a deep vow.
Before wiping out the Empire, once I reach the age where I can wield weapons, I’ll kill that woman first.
However, whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, I never got the direct chance to commit such patricide.
*
“Hey.”
“…?”
“Die. Are you going to keep sleeping here?”
“Geez, stop being so stingy.”
Ray took a deep breath.
His gradually slowing breathing forcibly steadied.
He was cold, and his back hurt from leaning against the gravestone.
Most of all, he woke up feeling terrible because of a lousy dream.
Memories from infancy weren’t pleasant in many ways.
Even ignoring the absurd memories shared with my biological parents, the body of a newborn repeatedly ran fevers.
For several months after birth, it felt like I had a constant cold.
“Huff, huff.”
Yeah, like now.
Ray wiped away the rainwater streaming down his face.
As he struggled to rise, a woman standing beside the cemetery asked,
“Did you do it?”
“What?”
“Maintain.”
“?”
“The gravestone maintenance.”
“Yeah. Since there’s no one else besides me.”
“Do you know?”
“Huh?”
“This person. It’s not him.”
Ray looked at the woman.
She seemed a bit off, like she was missing a screw, so he considered ignoring her and walking away, but he sensed an unsettling vibe from her.
‘Do I know her?’
It was too dark to see her face.
Judging by her height and attire, she didn’t seem young.
But searching his memory revealed no familiarity.
After a moment’s thought, Ray replied,
“He was my father, though not my biological one.”
“Biological father?”
“I mean he wasn’t my biological father.”
“…Dad?”
“That’s what I mean.”
Ray irritably shook the water from his hair.
“This person was registered as my father on the family register, but the biological father who sowed the seed in my mother was someone else.”
“…!”
The woman seemed shocked, opening her mouth before asking,
“So, he wasn’t your dad, right?”
“What is it?”
“He wasn’t your dad, right?”
“On paper, he was my father. We’re not blood-related, but since there’s no one else to maintain this gravestone, I’ve been taking care of it. Of course, he might not have liked being called ‘father’ by me.”
Ray shrugged and stood up from the gravestone.
“After all, I’m the only one who comes to visit, so even if he had some complaints, I think he put up with it.”
He needed to get somewhere with a roof before he froze.
As Ray wobbled and regained his balance, he faced the woman.
“I’m going now. If you had any connection with my father, please visit occasionally. He gets lonely. Oh, thank you for waking me up.”
Ray turned around.
He had taken about two wobbling steps when a glass bottle rolled across the ground.
Looking at the azure liquid inside, Ray turned back and asked,
“What’s this?”
“A potion.”
“For me to drink?”
“You’re injured.”
“Do you know who I am?”
“Nope. But now I do. See you next time.”
“Next time?”
“Yeah. I have things to do now.”
“What things?”
“Promises. I need to keep them.”
“Good luck with that.”
The woman nodded and walked away.
Ray picked up the rolling potion from the ground.
The faint blue glow flowing over the azure liquid reminded him of…
“A radioactive lump.”
Though he didn’t know what kind of potion it was, swallowing it blindly felt unsafe.
One of the things adventurers were most wary of was “potions given by strangers.”
As Ray contemplated the swishing liquid and felt the weight of his rain-soaked clothes, he suddenly realized something.
“Ah, I get it.”
The essence of the unsettling feeling he’d sensed from the woman.
“Her clothes weren’t wet.”
Whether she was a mage or a knight, she definitely knew how to use mana.
Ray wiped his face once and swallowed the potion.
It tasted surprisingly refreshing.
*
Several days had passed since David’s death.
Jimmy, having finished grooming himself in front of the mirror, asked Ray,
“Aren’t you going to treat that scar on your face?”
“My face?”
Ray touched the scar running across his nose bridge.
It was a large wound, but with concentrated divine power treatment, the scar could be removed.
It would cost a lot, but if he’d asked Adel, she probably would have treated him for a small fee.
Ray didn’t have any interest in drawing on his face, but if he went to Adel, he’d undoubtedly reveal all the scars etched across his body.
Since he’d consumed a good potion, he planned to avoid Adel until the battle wounds with David fully healed.
When Ray stayed silent, Jimmy showed him the large scar on his shoulder and advised,
“If you miss this chance, it won’t go away later. Besides, it’s on your face.”
“Meh, it doesn’t matter much…”
As Ray tried to dismiss it casually, he sensed an odd atmosphere and stopped speaking.
Jimmy and Matthew were glaring at Ray with suspicious eyes.
‘It’s raising suspicion.’
Refusing a perfectly good treatment naturally raised doubts.
Given Ray’s history of causing trouble, the duo’s suspicion had already reached its peak.
Sensing the impending hassle if he kept stammering, Ray cleared his throat.
“Uh… Jimmy, Matthew. This is a secret from others, but…”
“Huh?”
“When I looked in the mirror, the scar actually looked kind of cool.”
“What?”
“It makes me look more manly and stronger. People might even feel intimidated by a scar carved into a face, right?”
“…”
Jimmy tilted his head, unsure if he should believe it.
A nine-year-old kid could easily think like that.
Kids that age often cry over torn arms during play but later boast about them as “glorious scars” to their friends.
So, it wasn’t strange for a nine-year-old to say such things, but since it was Ray, the awkwardness lingered.
“Ray, your current appearance is dirty enough.”
Jimmy mimicked Ray’s elongated eyes with his hands.
“With proper care, you already look like someone with a bad temper. Why insist on making it worse?”
“You racist little brat…”
“What did you just say?”
“I want to grow up to be a wild adult.”
Ray forced a smile, hiding his inner turmoil.
Though Jimmy and Matthew still harbored suspicions, they reluctantly nodded.
“Shouldn’t you prepare now? Knight Didier will arrive soon.”
“I’ll leave the welcome to you.”
“If someone with your talent properly learns swordsmanship, progress would be much faster, but are you really hopeless? Why are you so calm?”
“Hmm.”
Ray already knows Harshia’s sword techniques.
It’s also risky to recklessly practice mana cultivation methods, as his body might not handle the strain.
The reason for inviting the knight to the orphanage was solely for the children’s growth.
The method for Ray to definitively gain something from the knight was…
“I’d like to have a sparring session with the knight.”
*
Didier rode his horse toward the orphanage with a stern expression.
He wore simple armor and brought no retinue to avoid attracting attention.
Jimmy and Matthew, who had come out to greet him in front of the orphanage, bowed deeply.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Sir Didier.”
Teaching swordsmanship to parentless commoner children was an ignoble task for a knight.
It was hard to argue against that notion.
Jimmy and Matthew bowed deeply, sensing the atmosphere.
Didier’s cold gaze swept over the orphanage.
