CH 72.4

He said that in a small voice and father turned over and clashed his hand in front of his face as if he’s praying.

「That makes me less and less qualified as your child’s godfather. The name Blackbeard Schenker only brings trouble.」

Suddenly, father clasps my right hand with both of his.

He must have been in his early 50s but his hands were dry and knotted like dead wood.

「Listen to me, Sawadi. You and your children must live by abandoning the name Schenker from now on. Do not take on the iniquities and debts of your ancestor.」

Father, who remained downcast, suddenly looked small.

My big father, who always looked out for us with a smile on his face, the strong father who bowed down for us but never gave in on anything he couldn’t give in on, had somehow grown small and shriveled, aged like a dried persimmon.

Even so, I couldn’t say yes to that.

「No」

Father looked up to me slowly after hearing my answer.

He looked like a good man that is wrinkled with hardship.

「Our ancestor may have been a sinner but what does that have to do with me or my children? If I’m scared of such relics of the past, I will never make it in the society of mages where all kinds mountain like evil doers can be found everywhere.」

In the world of mages, life is always at stake.

War, political strife, irresponsibility of superiors, or even mere chance, there’s always a bomb lying around that can kill you instantly.

Even Laura-san, a daughter of a great noble, almost died in this crazy world.

If I had known that their world was like this, I definitely wouldn’t have thought of becoming a mage.

However, that’s why I won’t be scared just because of the curse that my ancestor has left.

「But……」

My reluctant father is pleading and is facing me as if our noses were about to touch each other.

I’m not angry with him, not even questioning him, I’m just feeling lonely.

「Dad, can’t you just listen to what I’m saying? I only want you to bless my child. I want him to know that he was born because his father, mother, and grandfather wanted him to be born.」

「But……」

「Please, dad. Just consider this as my last selfish wish. I don’t want your Schenker name but I want you, my father, to be the godfather of my child.」

My father, in his own way, must have been thinking seriously about me.

However, even if I had to push his feelings aside, I wanted to make a connection between my father and my unborn child.

I wanted my unborn child to know that he or she is carrying the blood of such a person.

「No……」

He closed his eyes, raised his eyebrows, and remained silent for a moment before wiping away a single tear with his hand and finally, shaking his head.

「Understood, I’ll name your child.」

「Really!?」

「Just be really careful about Blackbeard and never let your child out of your sight.」

「Yeah, of course.」

Father stood up, looking as if his soul was taken out from his body and pulled out a bottle of strong liquor from the cabinet.

He poured the wine into a half empty glass, downed it in one gulp, and said,

「If it’s a male, Noah, and if it’s a female, Lacus……I’ve been thinking about them for a year.」

「Dad」

He turns his head and smiles and pours my glass.

After drinking all the sake on the shelves that day, we slept side by side on the couch next to each other and got up midday to deliver the names to Laura-san.

Three weeks later, healthy twins were born and the names Noah and Lacus were both used.