Akatsuki Translations

Goufa Fenex first realized his observational skills when he was a young child.

He could instantly tell which ingredients sold by the Temple were good and which were bad just by looking at them.

He noticed the flaws in the products his carpenter father was selling at a glance and pointed them out, only to be struck for his trouble.

He quickly recognized the poor quality of the paintings his wasteful mother bought and put a stop to it.

He came to a realization: there were various valuable things lying dormant in this world. And most of them were falling into the hands of those who had no understanding of their worth, pointlessly diminishing their value.

What a waste! Those exquisite items were just too “pitiful.”

With this thought in mind, he began his activities. He collected good items and bought bad ones at low prices to resell. When he realized his observational skills also applied to people, he started investing in promising adventurers, earning even more money.

His subordinates increased. His organization expanded. In the process, his father disowned him, saying, “Money lending is a job for scum!” So he moved his base of operations to prime real estate in Proudia, the center of the world, and further expanded his business. His goal at the time was to eventually buy out his father’s woodworking guild with money.

Well, various things happened, but his life was mostly smooth sailing. He believed that he was making full use of his rare talents, and that this would continue.

However, a storm-like turning point in his life came a few years after he had moved his base to Proudia.

――My, how impressive. There’s so much here.

That year, a young girl who didn’t look like she had even reached ten years old came to Golfin’s office. Just as he was carefully polishing each of the powerful relics and magic swords he had collected, he was startled by the sudden intrusion of this mysterious young girl.

But what surprised him was not her unlawful entry.

Goufa’s 【Observing Eye】 saw through the power hidden in her body.

Eyes that seemed to have gone through numerous battlefields. A body terrifyingly trained through some kind of rigorous regimen. A smile that seemed cheerful despite the hellish days she must have endured. Moreover, unusually long ears. Probably an elf “half-breed.”

She was an abnormal girl in every aspect. He was shocked and frightened. Could she be an assassin hired by the dark guild, sent by some good-for-nothing adventurer whose prized sword he had taken?

――Wh-what are you? he stammered.

――Mister, become my papa, she said.

――…Huh?!

The proposal that came out of her mouth left Goufa astonished.

At the same time, his life would take a significant deviation from that point on.

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At the residence of Goufa Fenex, Guild Master of the 【Golden Phoenix】

“Ever since that idiot girl came and settled in my house uninvited, it’s been nothing but trouble day and night! She’s a real delinquent, that girl!” Goufa ranted.

“Oh, these tea cakes are delicious! So much sugar!” Rabin exclaimed.

“You’d eat dirt if it had sugar on it. But yeah, these are good,” Jain agreed.

『Would you like me to sprinkle some magic stones on them?』 Lynne offered.

“Don’t you dare!!” Goufa shouted.

The group had rescued Goufa Fenex, the Guild Master of the 【Golden Phoenix】, and after various events, they were invited to his residence. As expected of the leader of the continent’s top financial guild, his home was in a prime location, spacious and grand. It was probably the best place a city dweller could hope for as a priest.

In this luxurious home in a prime location, Lynne’s group found themselves listening to his complaints (though Lynne was the only one taking it seriously).

『I know we have a friendly relationship with Diz, but being complained to like this…』 Rock mused.

“There wasn’t a single person who called themselves her friend who wasn’t a con artist! Let me complain!” Goufa insisted.

『The Hero is extremely lonely, it seems』 Rock observed.

Apparently, that was the case. He seemed to be under a lot of stress.

“But in the end, you adopted her, didn’t you?” Lynne asked.

“Forcibly!! Before I knew it, that girl was in my family register!! It’s like a horror story!”

Indeed, it did sound like a horror story. It was quite a forced situation. His irritation was understandable to some extent. However, it didn’t seem like he was entirely fed up with the current situation.

“Come now, hasn’t the house become livelier since Diz came to stay with you?” Sonya, Goufa’s wife, who had welcomed Lynne’s group, interjected.

Judging from Sonya’s demeanor, it didn’t seem like Diz was having trouble fitting in at all.

“Even if city dwellers have money, there are still birth restrictions, so having a larger family is a blessing. Despite the challenging environment around her, that child herself is a good kid,” Sonya added.

“Well, that’s true, but… Wait, Sonya, stop serving these expensive tea cakes to these people! They probably can’t even tell good sweets from bad!!”

“But this is the first time Diz has had friends over, hohoho,” Sonya laughed happily.

Her laughter didn’t seem like that of someone who had a strange girl suddenly thrust upon them. It was probably a sign that she trusted Diz.

While the welcome was very much appreciated, Lynne thought it might be better to stop serving the cakes to Rabin, who was devouring them messily, just as Goufa had pointed out.

『Well, thanks to your work, we’ve been helped too. Akane’s Shocking and Thrilling Transformation Series, that’s a rip-off from here, right?』 Rock asked.

“I had heard that the 【Golden Phoenix】 was being used to support the Hero’s activities, I see,” Lynne commented.

“Sneaking in as an adopted child aiming for assets is practically a con artist’s method! And she keeps taking things out and bringing them back broken…!!” Goufa grumbled.

After muttering complaints for a while, Goufa glanced at them cautiously.

“Earlier, that man called someone ‘Akane.’ So, is Ur among you?” he asked.

“He’s not here. He’s the guild master of the guild Rock and I belong to,” Lynne explained.

“We’re from different guilds too. What’s with that brat?” Jain asked.

However, Goufa seemed somehow uncomfortable. He groaned, looking up at the ceiling as if finding it difficult to speak. Then, Sonya beside him laughed with genuine amusement.

“Hohoho, Diz often writes about Ur and Akane in her letters, so he’s curious about what kind of boy he is,” Sonya revealed.

“Stop it!!” Goufa yelled.

Goufa shouted at the very interested Sonya, then sighed.

“…I’ve heard that Ur and Akane, that idiot girl, and the 【Golden Phoenix】 have gotten into a rather complicated relationship. I just thought I’d like to hear about that,” he admitted.

“I see…” Lynne responded.

Indeed, their relationship was difficult to express in a few words. Although Lynne had heard about the situation, there were still things she didn’t quite understand.

The fact that Ur and Akane harbored no ill feelings towards Diz, despite having reasons for a grudge, made the situation even more complicated.

If that was what he was concerned about, Lynne felt she might want to try to explain… but,

“…It would have been better if he or Akane were here, given the opportunity,” Lynne said.

『Sorry, our relationship with them is more ‘business-like’,』 Rock added.

The members present, both Lynne and Rock, had rather straightforward relationships with Ur and the others. Rock had known them for a long time, second only to Shizuku, but due to his personality, he didn’t delve deeply into Ur and the others’ affairs. Lynne trusted Ur and respected Diz. However, it didn’t feel right to discuss intricate matters about them in their absence. At least, they felt it wasn’t their role to do so.

“We don’t even need to mention us,” Jain said dismissively.

“Jain-san, you still drink with Ur occasionally, don’t you? I’m just an outsider,” Rabin added.

Needless to say, the two from the 【White Serpent】 were even less involved. Somehow, they had assembled a group of people who maintained a respectable distance from Ur and Diz. It could only be described as bad timing.

However, Goufa shook his head.

“No, it’s fine. If I faced him directly, it would be even more awkward. This is a thank you for you lot who helped me. It has nothing to do with that delinquent girl or this Ur character.”

Saying this, he stood up and retreated to the back of the room. After a while, he returned holding something and presented it to Lynne.

“You were looking for sturdy gloves for spell casters, weren’t you? Take these.”

“…What are these?” Lynne asked.

“They’re the 【Astral Gauntlets】. Made from the same material as that delinquent girl’s cloak. Thin, durable, and with extremely high magical conductivity. They’re top-notch.”

Lynne tried them on. At first glance, they seemed to be sized for a normal person, but the moment she put them on, they instantly fit her small hands perfectly.

As he said, they were so thin that she barely noticed she was wearing them, yet she felt no worry about them tearing or wearing out. It felt as if she had donned a second skin.

“…These are wonderful, but aren’t they very expensive?” Lynne inquired.

“Take good care of them!!!” Goufa shouted.

“They are expensive, aren’t they? I’ll pay for them,” Lynne offered.

She had a decent amount of money. She received her fair share of earnings as an adventurer from Ur, and she had also been properly compensated by Gradol for Uuga’s maintenance using the White King Formation.

But Goufa pushed them back to Lynne.

“I don’t need it. I told you, didn’t I? This is a thank you gift.”

“But I wasn’t the one who subdued the mob…”

“This is also an investment. It’s not a bad thing to earn a big favor from an adventurer who’s going to grow.”

Goufa said this as he looked at Lynne.

“【Lynne of the White King Formation】, I’ve heard about you from that delinquent girl too. They say you’re an astonishing magic user.”

“Compared to the power of the 【Hero】, I still can’t do much,” Lynne replied modestly.

“Don’t worry. According to my ‘assessment’, you’re going to make even greater strides from here on out.”

With that, he touched Lynne’s hand and looked at her. His eyes no longer held the earlier shrillness, but instead were filled with the thoughts of a parent for their child.

“Please help that child from a reasonable distance. It seems she has another big job coming up. That delinquent girl.”

“…I understand. I want to be of help to Diz-sama as well.”

Lynne nodded at the parental affection that the word ‘investment’ could hardly conceal. She felt she had seen the core of where Diz’s values, her righteous ethics of helping the weak and humbling the strong, had been nurtured.

And she thought, perhaps I should write a letter home after so long.

“Eeeeh! That’s not fair! Jain, Rock, and I were the ones who took down the mob!” Rabin complained.

“You hardly did anything,” Jain retorted.

“Ah, shut up! Fine, come here!! Take whatever you like!!!” Goufa yelled.

『HAHAHAHA! We’ve lucked out! It pays to help people!』 Rock laughed.

And so, Lynne and her companions’ shopping trip ended in unexpected success.

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It was a night some time after Diz, the 【Hero of the Seven Heavens】 candidate, had become Goufa’s child.

―― That’s enough! You! Are you still planning to go out in that condition?!

Goufa was furious.

After somehow swallowing her incomprehensible background and various twists and turns, getting enraged at Diz’s attempt to silence him with a large sum of money, clashing with her countless times, and finally accepting Diz as his “daughter”, Goufa couldn’t let this one slide.

―― It’s okay, just don’t go outside, alright? Diz said.

―― How could it be okay?! At least heal your injuries!

She was covered in blood. Although she often came back with terrible injuries, today was different. She frequently took out the magic swords and sacred swords stored in the house, and returned multiple times, each time covered in wounds. Both her equipment and herself.

He thought she might be going to the 【Dungeon of Sin, Proudia】, but it didn’t seem so. Considering the time between her comings and goings, she was getting injured within this city.

But strangely, when looking out the window, there was nothing unusual. It was just the usual vibrant night scene of Proudia. Yet he couldn’t understand where she was getting injured.

―― Just rest! I won’t allow you to keep bloodying up the house anymore! Goufa demanded.

―― But if I can’t overcome this, I can’t call myself the Hero, Diz replied.

―― You don’t need to call yourself such a thing!

Goufa snapped in front of Sonya, who had hurriedly brought recovery potions and towels. His patience had reached its limit, seeing the girl smile as if nothing was wrong in front of the worried Sonya every time she returned covered in wounds.

―― What do you mean you can’t become a Hero if we don’t let a child like you fight on the bloody frontlines?! Such a guardian of the world is wrong in itself!!

―― Well, I guess it is pretty crazy when you put it that way, Diz admitted with a chuckle.

But then she smiled, a carefree smile.

―― But you know, I like Goufa and Sonya, she said.

―― Huh?!

―― I’m looking forward to my little sister being born, and I quite like everyone at the 【Golden Phoenix】 too.

She smiled brightly, looking at Sonya’s slightly swollen belly and the 【Golden Phoenix】 guild members who had come for work and were now worriedly watching Diz.

―― So I’ll do my best. Because I’m happy to be able to protect everyone.

Saying this, she dashed out again. Goufa had no time to stop her. No one could stop the steps of someone who had already stepped forward as one of the world’s strongest seven, a guardian of humanity.

――…!! Make sure you’re back for dinner!!!  Goufa shouted, his veins popping.

Only to this last shout from Goufa did Diz pause for a moment, turning back with a big smile and waving her hand.

Goufa woke up.

He must have dozed off in the living room. He had been dreaming of the past. Probably because he had talked so much about that delinquent girl during the day. It was a nostalgic dream. But it was also a vivid memory of the past that he still remembered clearly.

“…Really,” Goufa muttered.

He picked up a letter placed on the desk.

“That child, she hardly ever comes home, but she’s so diligent about sending these,” Sonya commented.

“That idiot doesn’t understand at all how a parent feels receiving a ‘will’ from their daughter,” Goufa grumbled.

Goufa glared at it with a bitter expression. Every few years, Diz would send these wills to Goufa and Sonya. She would forcibly leave them, saying, “Because I don’t know what might happen.”

Unable to throw them away, Goufa’s office had accumulated Diz’s wills.

“…It’s that time again, huh?”

The timing of the 【Will】 was uncertain. Sometimes it would be sent in less than a year, other times several years would pass. And at those times, the【Hero Diz】 would return to the City of Sin, Proudia, prepared for her own death. Each time, Goufa and Sonya would end up feeling like their hearts were being squeezed.

Naturally, Sonya gently wrapped her hands around Goufa’s, which was tightly gripping their daughter’s will. She turned her usual gentle, yet strong-willed eyes towards Goufa.

“I’m sure it’ll be alright. That child will definitely come back to us,” she reassured him.

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

“We also got a message from Rorona and the others saying they can return from the academy dorm today. Why don’t we ask if Diz can come home tonight too? It’s been a while since we’ve had a family gathering.”

“…Who knows if that delinquent girl will actually come home properly,” Goufa said, finally cracking a smile.

The father, troubled by his free-spirited daughter, finally managed to smile.