Foreigner Volume 6, Chapter 86

Volume 6 Chapter 86, Shock ~ 26

　High Mentor Graham Coogan, who had refused to be retired, was working energetically. He is still unable to leave his office because there are still some minor tasks to be completed, but he will be able to take over these tasks within a couple of days. Around that time, the head of the Holy Sword Clan would have finally arrived here.

　He is no match for Satoru on his own. The High Mentor was not at all happy with Satoru's behavior, and he felt as if his face had been smeared with mud.

　Of course, he had his own tricks of the trade that he knew from his position as High Mentor.

　The difference in the soul in this world is absolutely close. Satoru not only has a soul so huge that even his granddaughter Sheryl cannot read it, but Satoru also has Leia Löwenstadt, who is probably the 【Immortal King】 and a legendary existence, in his shadow, and he has the daughter of a flying dragon named Minerva with him. There is no way he can challenge the battle without a Holy Sword Clan.

　The duties and responsibilities he has held since assuming this position 30 years ago are enormous. The chief secretary asked the High Mentor, who was assigning tasks and responsibilities so that he would be prepared in case something happened to him.

「High Mentor-sama」

「Hmm? What's wrong?」

「Umm ...... the guest is ......」

　Seeing the reluctant look on the chief secretary's face, the High Mentor knew that this guest must be a scumbag. He had a few ideas. When he recognized the face of a thin, middle-aged man behind the secretary, he knew it was the worst guest he had ever had in his life, and he sighed openly. Honestly, I didn't expect him to come here yesterday.

「Why must I go to such trouble to meet my own father?」

　Edward Coogan, son of High Mentor Graham Coogan, entered the office of the High Mentor with a grumbling look on his face. Even though he is the son of the High Mentor's own blood, it is not easy for the High Mentor to meet with his son on the job, considering his position as the head of the Academy of the Wise, the highest academic institution in the world. Edward, no matter how stupid he is, should know that much, but he must be really angry that he can't do what he wants. This tendency has been evident in him since he was a child. He took it for granted that he would get his way, and when he didn't, he would immediately sulk and throw tantrums. I guess he didn't educate himself well enough―A feeling of ashamed deep down inside of me.

「Edward」

「Father. It's been a long time.」

　He is resolute to the end, but he is looking at the chief secretary, who has guided him here as if he is in the way. High Mentor sighs again, blatantly, and turns to the chief secretary and nods his head. The chief secretary, understanding the High Mentor's intention, bowed deeply and silently, and left the room.

　Alone in the High Mentor's office, which was a little less cluttered than usual, the father looked somewhat coldly at his own son.

「...... what do you want?」

　The chief secretary is gone, hmmm, one sniff. Edward slammed the table with an emotional bang and gave his own father a frightened look.

「Baron Dantes' son. What have you done to him!」

「That one, huh. That was an unfortunate incident.」

　Graham returned it aloof, not caring at all about the intimidation of Edward. The old father who passed his own argument easily like the wind in the willow, and Edward ate the watermark and still attacked it.

「If it is settled with that it is an unfortunate event,......, I'll be damned if I'm going to let you get away with that.」

「Hmm? What kind of standing did you have? Even now, you're just a useless parent clinging to your daughter.」

「!!」

　Quickly and Edward were at a loss for a response to his harsh reply. Edward did not understand the whole story, even though he had come here today, but he knew from Baron Dantes' rebuke that his father had made the request to Raymond through Sheryl, and that Raymond had died as a result.

　He just wanted to complain to his father about Raymond's case, and of course, it would have been better if he could have extracted money or something from his father, but he didn't really have a purpose.

　Shallow, even for my child―Graham was deeply disappointed. This foolish son was born with a soul that was only slightly better than ordinary, and although he was not that stupid, he was strong in his convictions, timid and shortsighted. How could he have grown up to be such a shallow man? His daughter Sheryl grew up to be smart and good-natured with a high soul, not unlike her father, but whether Sheryl or Graham, Edward was always dragging them down.

　I'm at the end of my rope, and it's time to give up on them―In fact, Edward apparently doesn't yet know that he made that decision early this morning and had been working on several things.

　Graham, who had successfully taken control of the conversation, cast a contemptuous glance at Edward.

「I had told Sir Dantes not to contact the target of this project, but he selfishly contacted the target, and it was an accident. I hate to say it, but he had it coming.」

　That was his untruthful view as a High Mentor on the Raymond case. He doesn't know how it happened, but Raymond was definitely the one who ignored his advice to stay away from the target. When the information came in that the target had been accompanied by the half-elf to the Dark Green Forest, Sheryl had expressed her concern that they might be getting too close, and that this might have resulted in the huge explosion.

　Graham was right, but the circumstances leading up to that point were beyond the scope of his imagination.

「No, that's...」

　Edward, who was unaware of the situation, was again at a loss for words as he tried to launch a counterargument. Graham sniffed as if to show off.

「Well, it's unfortunate that Baron Dantes no longer has a direct male lineage. And his marriage proposal with Sheryl is automatically off the table, too.」

「That's it!」

　Edward raises his voice, as if he is going to take back control of the conversation this time, and hits the desk hard again.

「Father, how many times do you have to interfere with me!」

「Which one of is the one who interfering!!」

　A loud, thunderous voice, unthinkable from his old body, struck Edward. Edward flinched as Graham's face lit up with a fury that he thought he might be seeing for the first time. The old sorcerer, who was still one of the most powerful soul in the world despite his age, had made a name for himself as an adventurer in his youth, and Edward would have no chance against him if they were to face each other directly.

「If you really think that your life was spared 10 years ago solely because of your own achievements, then you've made a big mistake!」

「W-what did you say ......」

　Edward looks aghast.

　Ten years ago, the death of the king's younger brother occurred as a result of Edward's early withdrawal from the war he had been sent to fight, or rather, to retreat from the war after realizing the disadvantage of the situation in the war he was forced into. Edward was blamed for leaving the royal younger brother to die, and he himself was forced to leave his position as a nobleman. Edward felt that the king's younger brother's rush was the cause and that he should have been the one who had done something to limit the damage to his troops, but no one would take his opinion into consideration. Because everyone knew that it was Edward's cowardice that was the cause.

　He was aware that the royal family wanted to kill him, and as a result of his diligent court maneuvering, he was only forced to leave his position as a nobleman and avoided losing his life, but being forced to leave his position as a nobleman was a humiliation for him. Moreover, Edward was convinced that neither the death of the royal younger brother nor the great defeat in the battle was his fault, and he had honestly felt a growing resentment toward the royal family, the Senate that had not helped him, and against his father―He had no idea that Graham was also involved to save his own life.

　In the aftermath, Graham also lost various things. Keeping distance from Edward was one of them. He owed a great debt to the royal family of Ares, and he had to use his magical powers and inventions for the benefit of the royal family. As the head of the Academy of the Wise, he should not have lent his power to a particular country.

「How much of debt did I owe the royal family because of that one incident? You probably have no idea how much I've had to work to repay that debt. How can the royal family have overlooked you when you are no longer a nobleman!?」

　Edward was astonished when the point was made. Certainly, the royal family would have no reason to overlook someone who had left their royal brother to die. Nobles and royalty value honor. If he had been chased out of the nobility, he could not have known when the assassin's hand would be turned on him. He thought that his survival to this point was the result of his court manipulations at the time, but the court manipulations had not directly involved the royal family, let alone the Senate...

「In the first place, Sheryl is not your tool! How much you have upset that girl's destiny. Are you aware of that!?」

「T-that's the thing, it's all about my daughter's happiness.」

「That's why you're marrying her into the Baron Dantes' family? For what?! You think that's what that girl wanted!?」

　The skinny old man, even while sitting in his chair, is relentless in his shouting, which echoes throughout the room. Edward was honestly pressured by Graham. He was supposed to complain to his good-natured father, who had rarely done anything to anger him, but how did this happen? Questions are circling in his head.

「You missed an opportunity at the right age because of your fiasco, you caused trouble in Maylander's house because of your notoriety, and you decided to get engaged your daughter without her permission, what kind of a parent is that!」

「S-since you kicked me out, I had no choice but to go to my late wife's parents' house in shame.」

「You fool! Why do you think the house of Meylander helped you!? Not you, because Sheryl was there!」

　When it was decided that Edward would be forced out of the nobility, Graham was quick to take his granddaughter Sheryl under his wing at the Academy of the Wise and bowed directly to the Viscount Maylander family, which for Sheryl was her mother's family. Originally, Edward had intended to take care of Sheryl alone, but he followed Sheryl around like a goldfish and settled down at the Maylander's house as if it were a matter of course. Even though the Maylander were bitter about it, they could not speak out directly, and Graham had paid the Viscount Maylander several times over.

「A foolish father who is indebted to his daughter is talking big. Who is paying for your food and clothes now? It's me, and Sheryl! Not you!」

　Edward was born and raised as a noble. He took it for granted that he would have food and clothing, and never thought about the money needed for these things. In the first place, he had never thought of earning money by working. When he was forced to leave the nobility, his lands and most of his possessions were confiscated, but he never went out for shopping, and although he occasionally gave small sums of money to obtain information from the Senate, he asked for it from Maylander's house.

　Edward's face paled at Graham's thunderous anger, and he had no words to reply.

　Once a person gains a privilege, when he or she loses it, he or she scrambles to regain it. They will not put their feet down where they have landed. Privilege is such a sweet poison.

　And for Edward, who had grown up taking that privilege for granted, it must have been a huge shock when it disappeared. Graham, who had managed to calm his own pulse by clutching his heart, looked sharply at his flinching son and pronounced that he had turned his hand earlier that morning.

「......I've included a request to have you removed from Meylander's house.」

「Wha......!」

　In response to Edward's voice of surprise, the High mentor took a small bag from his own desk drawer and tossed it to Edward. There was a heavy clatter. A gold coin, Edward immediately realized. Unsettled, he looked alternately at the gold at his feet and at his father's face.

「This is my parting gift to you, it's cut-off money. Don't ever show your face to Sheryl again. The same goes for the Maylander house.」

　Graham had Sheryl temporarily cut off her contact with Edward by having her sleep here at the Academy of the Wise and had given strict orders to Maylander's house that if Edward had gone out, he was never to be allowed to enter the mansion again. He also asked that Edward's few personal belongings be thrown into the rickety carriage. Edward was a real nuisance to the Maylander family. If the High Mentor, his own father, had asked him to do it, the Maylander family would have been more than happy to do so.

「W-What right did you have to do that?」

　When Edward tried to argue in a trembling voice, Graham responded with a cold stare.

「How do you feel about what you did to Sheryl?」

「T-that's what a father does to his daughter ......」

　In response to the dismay in his voice, Graham replied without hesitation,.

「It's the same thing. I am a father to my children.」

　Edward's cheeks flushed with red. He is a busy man, turning blue and red at the same time, he thought to himself, as he shoved the bag full of money in his jaws.

「If you live a decent life, you'll have enough money in that pocket. Don't ever think of returning to the nobility again.」

「Gununu」

　Gritting his teeth, Edward picked up the money bag at his feet like a beggar. It was heavy. It was the first time in a while that he had such a large amount of money in his hands, but it was also the amount of money he used to be able to spend normally when he was a nobleman. Throwing a contemptuous glance at Edward, Graham returned to his face, not as a father, but as a High Mentor, and rang the bell in his hand. It was to call his own secretary. Soon, one of the secretaries shows up.

「Did you call me, sir.」

「Yeah. Get the guy out here.」

　Edward's forehead was covered with blood vessels as the High Mentor told his secretary.

「Huh? Haa. ......」

　Confused, the secretary complied with the High Mentor's order. He pulled the slender Edward's arm and made him leave the High Mentor's room.

「Father! You are  ......!」

　He was a little out of control, but Edward, a skinny, useless warrior, was no match for the secretary, who was also the High Mentor's bodyguard. Remembering Edward's hateful face, which disappeared with the secretary's bow, the High Mentor exhaled as Graham Coogan.

「Well, if you're going to hate, you should hate me. ...... You won't hear from me again.」

　No matter what he says, the other party is a child of his blood. It honestly pains him to have to treat him ruthlessly in this way. However, Edward has used up all the money he had leftover from his love and affection. If he had been a more sensible child, he would not have caused so much trouble, not only to himself but also to his daughter Sheryl.

　Shaking his head, Graham Coogan puts his son, whom he will probably never see again, out of his mind and returns to his duties as High Mentor.

　However, even Graham Coogan, who prided himself on his wisdom, was either still excited by his regrets over the separation from his own son, or he was unaware of the matter. He thought it was enough to separate Sheryl from Edward, and he did not tell his subordinates about the separation, thinking that it was only blood relations that would lead to the separation.

　This fact would later lead to a tragedy.

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