Chapter 24

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“My name is Garid. I am the leader of the Crimson Aegis. Try calling me Garid oppa*.”

“…Uncle.”

“…Uncle.”

“Uncle.”

“…Isn’t it a bit shameless to ask someone your age to call you oppa*?”

“Kuh…!”

*(“Oppa” is a Korean term that means “older brother” and is used by younger women to address older men)

When I first met Garid, I used to call him Uncle.

From my not-so-long life in the slums, I learned a few things, including that not everyone is kind, and that you shouldn’t blindly trust someone just because they show you goodwill.

At that time, the armor Garid wore was emblazoned with the emblem of the Crimson Aegis, shaped like red flames, but living in the slums, I had no way of recognizing that.

To begin with, the name “Crimson Aegis” was just something I had heard in passing through rumors.

“Kana, would you like to come under my wing as my adopted daughter?”

“…?”

“Ah, ‘adopted daughter’ means a child that has been adopted—”

“I know what it means.”

“Oh, is that so? So, do you have any thoughts on it?”

“…That’s quite sudden. Why all of a sudden…?”

“This is also fate, isn’t it? I admired how the little kid kept fighting against the monsters until the end. And it seems you have some talent too.”

“….”

“To be honest, I don’t know if I can be a good dad. I probably won’t be able to. But I’ll make sure you can live without getting your hands dirty. I may look like this, but I have a lot of money.”

“Adopted daughter…. Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Oh, really? You will never regret it. Now, let’s start calling me dad. Come on, repeat after me. Dad.”

“Uncle.” S~eaʀᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“….”

As I became Garid’s adopted daughter, over time, our bond grew stronger.

“…Garid.”

“Uh, yeah?”

“You said you’d keep my hands clean. Is what’s currently on my hands not water?”

“Haha, I’m sorry! I lack cooking skills.”

“…Why aren’t you cleaning up?”

“Since it’s going to get dirty anyway, is there really a need to do it often? I can just do it when it gets unbearable. Hahaha!”

“….”

“….”

“Garid.”

“Uh, huh?”

“Die.”

“Wait a minute. KANAA?!”

As I began to trust him more, the way I called Garid shifted from “Uncle” to his name.

“Hey, Kana!”

“Commander, what brings you here?”

“Is there a place I can’t go to? More importantly, stop calling me Commander and just call me Dad, will you? Or just call me by my name like usual!”

“Commander, please keep personal and professional matters separate.”

“Oh dear… You really think you’re so special, don’t you? Just go ahead and take the Commander position then… cough cough!”

“…Commander!”

“Oh, great. Here we go again. Don’t make such a fuss, Kana. It’s not like this is the first time it’s happened.”

“…How about just taking a break?”

“Can’t do that. I’d refuse to let you take the position of Commander. I can’t just hand over this sweet spot to you.”

“Sweet spot? You mean being told to bark when told and bite when ordered?”

“That’s why I can’t give it to you. You’d definitely jump into a fight at the slightest inconvenience. How could I ever pass this position to you?”

When Garid first entered the Crimson Aegis and rose to the position of vice-commander, he was called Commander.

He still used their names in private settings, though.

“Cough cough!”

“Garid….”

“Hey, don’t worry…. I have no plans to die before I see you get married and have kids….”

“Then you’re saying you’d die with me when I do?”

“Hey, that’s not right! Even if you don’t have kids, you still need to get married. Dying alone would be too lonely.”

“But you’re not married either, Garid.”

“Yeah, but I have a daughter. A daughter who has grown up beautifully and makes me proud.”

“…Hmph.”

Due to the aftereffects of injuries sustained from the ‘snake’, Garid’s condition gradually worsened until he could no longer get up from his sickbed.

“…I’m sorry. I wanted to see you get married, but… it seems I can’t keep that promise.”

“…You never promised anything in the first place, right?”

“Haha, is that so…? Then I’m relieved….”

“Garid….”

“…Kana.”

“…”

“…Canaria.”

“…Yeah.”

“…My proud daughter, Kana. I love you.”

“…I love you too, Dad….”

What is it about just saying “Dad” that feels so embarrassing?

It was only in the moment of farewell that I could reveal the feelings I had kept hidden.

***

Recently, if you were to ask people which broadcast is the most popular on Fishick, they would undoubtedly point to one specific show.

Joanie’s Broadcast Shining at #1 in Real-Time Viewer Rankings.

Some might say it’s only natural for her to be popular with such high viewer counts, but the massive gap between her stream and the one in second place every time she goes live wasn’t just a coincidence.

And that was made possible by the Gravekeeper… now known by the name Canaria Grasis.

There was a suspicion that the developer might have downed a few bottles of alcohol when creating this absurdly difficult raid. A tomb adorned with a magnificent sword, cutting down all who come near it while outright rejecting humans.

It was clear to everyone that there was a deep story behind it, and people were captivated.

When the once-grumpy Kana finally opened her heart and revealed her name, it caused some viewers to smile warmly without realizing it.

Viewers were so engrossed in the process of Joanie becoming friends with Kana that they felt as if it was happening to them.

When Kana stood in front of the grave and uttered the word “Dad,” they had no thoughts in their minds.

This was because they couldn’t understand.

Even with the familiarity of a game in English, people were desperate for a Korean patch. But very few managed to learn the language of the game world, Granick, which was far more unfamiliar.

And it wasn’t just the locals.

Pronunciation, way of thinking, grammar, etc…. People are inherently optimized for the language of their native country, making it quite challenging to suddenly learn a different one.

— “Games are supposed to be fun, so why do I have to study in a game?”

For those reasons, many people either gave up on learning Granick or only memorized a few easy words.

However, not everyone was like that; some viewers, including Joanie and a few players, consistently studied Granick, allowing them to interpret Kana’s words.

“She said ‘Dad’…”

— ‘Gasp’

— ‘Gasp’

— Oh my god!!!

— Not my baby!!!awww

It might be a word that slipped out due to suddenly missing her dad.

But standing before the grave and speaking with eyes that looked like they might burst into tears, could one really think that?

Unless you were utterly oblivious, it was a scene that left no choice but to shut your mouth.

[No, you bastards]

Are you even human?? To steal from a child like that? Are you really trying to steal the belongings of her dad right in front of her?

[Comments]

—? Why is this dude suddenly going crazy?

┗ Is it time for his meds?

┗ (Link) Go check it out

┗ What is this?

┗ You bastards; how can you act like that and still be human?

┗ What a quick change of pace

Kana calling out “Dad” in front of the grave and the sword stuck there.

It was only natural to assume that sword was her father’s keepsake.

[I didn’t know!]

I didn’t know it was a keepsake…! Did I expect that to happen? Damn it; If I had known, I wouldn’t have acted that way.

[Comments]

— Isn’t it normal to think that if something is stuck in a grave, it’s a relic?

┗ You just can’t resist Excalibur.

┗ Hey, don’t say that!

┗ You really believe that?

— Are you watching, Indiana Jones?

┗ ??? : What the hell, don’t drag me into this;

— Even in our industry, this is a bit…

In the middle of a lively argument, the mood changed to silence whenever a mention of parents came up—this was, in technical terms, a situation where they became tallulah (stunned silence).

The post written by the person who first discovered Canaria was bombarded with criticism, and soon, the targets of their ire became the engineering students who were just trying to run for Perclun.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, they expressed their grievances.

[No, I wasn’t trying to steal anything!]

I just wanted to participate in the raid—

Don’t associate me with them!!!!!!!!

[Comments]

— So you mean you just wanted to beat up a girl who lost her father at a young age and lives alone?

┗ Wait a minute!

┗ Wow, what trash.

┗ Wow, what trash.

┗ That’s not true!!!

— Officer, this guy is the one!

— There’s no trash like this in the world.

[Honestly, this is just an RPG rule.]

Didn’t everyone do this when playing RPGs as a kid?

When you find an open house, you’d go in to loot it, and if there were jars or empty boxes, you’d break them.

You didn’t know the backstory; if it looked somewhat interesting, you’d want to interact with it, right?

[Comments]

— Dude; the level of freedom is different.

— These days, in other games, if you loot in front of someone, you get arrested.

┗ Isn’t that normal?

┗ Old games didn’t have that.

— The author is currently imprisoned in the imperial jail; please take down the post.

┗ How did you know?

┗ I was caught while looting a house and was thrown into jail right away.

┗ What is this situation?

┗ So you couldn’t just loot without getting caught? LOL

While there were a few people genuinely cursing, most took it as a funny incident.

After some time filled with laughter and chatter, posts about war or Canaria started appearing little by little.

[The ones who are the most pitiful right now are]

The outlaws, of course.

(The Knights of the Lo Arka Empire.jpg)

The knights came and cheered for their victory, but

(Canaria’s complete annihilation.jpg)

They were all wiped out in an instant, LOL.

It’s honestly absurd even to look back on it;

To think that even the rank 1 player was struggling and got wiped out in one hit—how strong could that possibly be?

[As of today, the idol of Silia is Canaria!]

(Canaria appears.gif)

(Canaria’s complete annihilation.gif)

(Canaria laughing.gif)

(Canaria fighting Yuki.gif)

A goat that’s both cute and strong…

Looking at her again, she’s incredibly adorable;

I want to give her a candy and pat her head.

[Comments]

— Pedophile! Pedophile!

— uhh… (dials 911)

— Ugh, this is a bit too much…?

— (Canaria in shock pose)

┗ ??? The pose is already out?

┗ (Canaria nodding pose)

[But am I the only one thinking this?]

Isn’t she the strongest NPC to come out so far? That could be reasonable.

But isn’t it weird for a kid who could just be a middle schooler to defeat well-trained knights?

And not just barely win, but completely wipe them out with just two swings?

It’s clear that the game developers were being too obvious about it, which turned me off a bit.

[Comments]

— I agree; I feel a bit off about it too.

┗ It’s not just a bit off, it’s a lot.

┗ Shut up, damn it.

— It does lack some plausibility.

┗ Not just some.

— Maybe she’s a polymorphed dragon?

┗ So she was Grasis, huh;

┗ It was a deus ex machina situation;

┗ What the hell does that mean, you nerd?

┗ The nerds are getting excited and using impressive words again.

Regardless of all this, it was undeniable that Canaria had become a popular figure in the community.