The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1250

Having been driven to turning his back on his own family, Mit couldn’t hide the deep disappointment he felt toward his father. “So what if it’s a family principle? Is that really more important than everything else?”

“The head of a noble house sometimes has to make choices he doesn’t want to make, just to protect the house,” Josiah informed him.

Letting out a hollow sigh, Mit clenched his teeth. “Is that more important than stopping your own daughter from getting sold off to a piece of trash? A family member that could’ve been saved with just a little compromise?”

She shook her head. “It’s easy to say that when you’re not the one in his shoes. Besides, didn’t you treat your own family like baggage not too long ago?”

He stammered, “T-That was... That was different!”

Someone who was raised with a sense of superiority, always getting what he wanted, underwent all kinds of changes once they no longer had that sense of superiority.

Josiah reached out and poked his forehead. “So? What now?”

“What do you mean...? I haven’t come up with anything else to do yet.” 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

“I knew you were an idiot the moment you ran off without a plan...”

At that moment, there was nothing he could do. He had no connections, no real skills, and no resources to fall back on. The most important thing eluded him.

“I can’t think of a way to break the engagement with the royal family.” His voice stayed calm, but it was clear that he was frustrated.

With nothing else to occupy his mind, he wandered all the way to the area near Central Academy. Before he even realized it, he found himself walking into the same slums where his life changed.

“This is where I passed out...” he murmured.

“Doubt it means anything that you found yourself at this spot now. Not like there’s anything to find here.”

“Yeah, I guess. This is just where I met Isera.”

“Oh, that maid you’ve got a crush on?”

“D-Don’t be ridiculous! She’s just someone who saved my life, that’s all. I was planning to move Isera and her siblings to a better place in Chyde territory once this whole mess was resolved...”

However, before he could finish, his eyes abruptly widened. He could see that the house where Isera lived had collapsed into rubble, and broke into a sprint without a second thought.

He heard the sound of bushes rustling as a group of thugs suddenly began closing in, smirking as they surrounded him and pulled out switchblades.

“Hey, young master. You think you can just wander in here like it’s your place?”

“Was it you?”

“What...?”

“I asked if you’re the ones who did that to Isera’s house.” His voice had turned ice cold.

It had already been unbelievable that a girl supporting her siblings had survived for years in such a lawless place. He had no clue why he hadn't thought about it sooner.

Killing aura began emanating from his body, so the thugs frowned and drew their knives.

“What, you think it was us? Don’t make me laugh. That house got wrecked by one of you noble types.”

Mit’s breath caught in his throat. “What are you talking about?”

“We’re here because our boss once told us to keep a watch on that girl’s place and ensure she could live safely. The ones who suddenly came and tore it down were people from your side.”

Josiah rubbed her chin, clearly intrigued, while Mit’s eyes shot open. “Explain. In detail.”

* * *

“It’s about time they showed up.” Davey glanced up at the dark night sky and set aside the last of the documents on his desk.

It wasn’t as if there were no alternatives if the Sacred Grass became unavailable. Still, there were two reasons why he had been paying such close attention to the Chyde family’s happenings.

First, he couldn’t help but worry about how his disciple was doing. Second, he had received a cooperation document from the Holy Empire not long before.

Knock, knock.

“Your Highness, the guest you mentioned has arrived.”

“Let him in.”

Amy bowed and left to fetch the guest. She soon returned, escorting a man with a visibly haggard expression into the office.

Davey greeted him, “It’s quite a distance from your lands. How did you manage to get here?”

“I used a mana gate,” the man responded

Davey turned around with a chilling smile. “Fancy seeing you again, Count Chyde.”

“I’ve decided to accept your offer.”

Davey let out a faint chuckle. “Says who?”

“P-Pardon...?”

“You were stiff and unyielding to me back when it didn’t suit you. Yet now that you need my help, you suddenly change your mind? It’s not necessarily a bad thing, Count Chyde.” Davey sat down and crossed his legs. “But tell me; do I look like someone with that much free time to you?”

A mere count thought he could walk in and declare a deal with him, the Saint of the Continent who was a prince of Rowane Kingdom, with the intimidating moniker of ‘one-man empire.’

That level of audacity was impressive in its own right.

Davey looked down at him arrogantly. “Count Chyde.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Did you come here thinking you could leverage the fact that I needed the Sacred Grass to buy my political support?”

“I won’t deny it,” he confirmed.

“Then I’m curious why someone who so stubbornly clung to his principles suddenly changed his attitude?”

The count remained silent.

“Let me guess. It's just guilt, isn’t it? You can’t stand the idea of living with a stain on your record, so now you're trying to clean it up.”

The count had nothing to say in response.

“Living by your principles is fine, Count. But when the flowers in front of you are all withering and dying, it’s absurd to insist on calling yourself a guardian of the forest.”

Facing such sharp criticism, the man faintly trembled.

“You have to either pick one or the other. Whichever you choose, no one’s going to blame you for it.”

The count slowly rose to his feet. Then, after a brief moment of hesitation, he knelt down.

“Please, Your Highness. There’s no one else I can think of who might be able to resolve this situation,” he begged, voice trembling. “Mit’s mother died giving birth to him. I loved her so much... and when I lost her, I fell into grief.”

The child born from his mother’s death. It was justifiable for the count to not like him, but her final words had been a plea to take care of her youngest. Unable to hate him, and unable to love him either, the count had simply left Mit alone, only doing the bare minimum expected of a father.

The pieces of Mit Chyde’s troubled past began to fall into place. Part of it was certainly due to his own foul temper. Even so, a child was often a reflection of the environment in which they had grown up.

“When I realized something was wrong, it was already too late. Your Highness... I am an immature man. Even if I love my children, I don’t know how to say it.”

Davey silently sipped his tea, listening with closed eyes.

“I was raised to believe sternness was the best way. I thought it’d help them, eventually. The same goes for the family. Our house is the only shelter that protects our family. It’s the foundation that keeps us going. I have a duty to protect it, and—”

“Count Chyde, stop circling around the point and get to it,” Davey muttered in annoyance.

He lowered his head. “I didn’t preserve this family by living through strict principles. I was just an incompetent father who didn’t know how to deal with his own children and ended up hurting them. I couldn’t even say that I’d take care of it before the wedding. Even just saying that one sentence was too hard for me.”

There was nothing inherently wrong with protecting a family through unwavering principles. However, in the process of keeping those principles, he had also left deep scars on his children.

“I already saw how Mit changed. That boy who once couldn’t tell right from wrong... but he’s finally found his own way. Seeing him like that, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was any better than him.”

Even if he followed the rules, it was absurd for him to not feel anything when watching his family fall apart in the name of principle.

Thud!

The count slammed his head on the floor. “Please help me! Lend me your wisdom, so that I can protect my youngest and my daughter from that beast of the royal family.”

He wasn’t asking for power. He was asking for wisdom, signaling that he didn’t intend to dump everything on Heins Territory.

Davey couldn’t help but smirk with satisfaction. “Aina.”

Following his call, she silently appeared from thin air. The count’s eyes widened slightly at the sudden emergence of the dark elf.

“Give me the documents,” Davey softly commanded.

She handed over a set of cooperation papers sent from the Holy Empire and Empires.

Those papers were the reason Davey, who had already been keeping an eye on both the Chyde family and the Bosta Kingdom out of concern for Josiah, had begun digging deeper.

The reports told him the Empires and the Holy Kingdom[1] were secretly investigating a recently discovered banned substance derived from Sacred Grass, known to significantly enhance soldiers’ physical abilities. While only a small quantity had surfaced, the substance appeared to be the result of extensive research. There was a strong suspicion it was already being developed and manufactured somewhere.

Davey had been surprised to learn that someone was secretly researching and developing a drug using Sacred Grass for the purpose of abusing it.

“Don’t you find it strange? Even with his privileges, what kind of authority does a low-ranking prince have to stake a claim to the throne and go after the Chyde family of all people?”

Objectively, there was no benefit for him. His obsessive persistence seemed to imply there was something more behind it.

Once Davey started digging, the pieces began falling into place.

Without something else happening behind the scenes, there would’ve been no reason to target the Chyde family.

The count, clearly a sharp man, seemed to finally realize just how a powerless prince like Vasilion had managed to orchestrate such a massive scheme.

Davey began, “I’ve got a decent scenario for you. Interested? The Bosta Kingdom is relatively small, and their military isn’t all that strong. So, to strengthen the throne and solidify their position, the royal family came up with a dangerous plan.”

“Using Sacred Grass to manufacture narcotics...”

“Narcotics don’t just refer to drugs. Stimulants, enhancers, they all count. Some versions of the drug they’ve developed supposedly grant lasting enhancements after only a single dose. There’s even a rumor that some experts have managed to break through their upper limits with it, though that’s probably nonsense.”

The royal family had already begun research into creating combat drugs from Sacred Grass.

However, the distribution of Sacred Grass was tightly regulated by the International Federation. Even for royalty, openly diverting the substance was impossible. They had also signed an agreement, after all.

So, their solution was to use Prince Vasilion as a surrogate. By secretly siphoning supplies from the Chyde family’s reserves, they could carry out their experiments in the dark. The key to that plan was the Chyde family’s cooperation.

“Yet you’ve always unknowingly danced around their plans by just sticking to your principles. It must’ve driven them mad.”

Instead of stagnating in that stalemate, they chose to take control themselves.

“Prince Vasilion definitely has someone that he trusts. There’s no way he could’ve done all this unless someone even higher inside the royal family was quietly supporting him.”

Count Chyde trembled, clenching his fists as he gnashed his teeth.

Davey continued speaking, “They probably tested the waters using that crazy delinquent Mit. After burying him in massive debt, they must have planned to have the royal family bail him out and clean things up.”

It sounded reasonable.

“Then that brat suddenly got his act together, shot up to the 3rd Circle in no time, and proved his innocence. So, the royal family had no choice but to activate the backup plan.”

Their fallback, Berah Chyde.

“Berah is...”

“Put simply, she was sacrificed in the power struggle between you and the royal family. The method they used to sway her? Easy peasy. There was apparently a maid who saved Mit Chyde on the day he nearly died.”

The count was only just now learning that.

“He had special feelings for that maid. The prince knew that too, so he likely told Lady Berah that they’d use the maid to threaten him if she didn’t play ball first.”

Even though the two probably didn’t talk much, a sister who cared for her brother would find it to be a simple decision.

“She likely thought ‘If my father, who only cares about the family name and never his children, is going to marry me off in a political union anyway, I might as well use the opportunity to protect my brother.’ A noble sacrifice, really.”

Bang!!

The Count slammed his fist to the floor, unable to contain his anger.

It seemed the decision his daughter made, based on the behavior she had seen from him, had finally got the best of him.

“Careful, you’ll crack my floor.”

The count took a moment to get himself back under control. “Kh. Khm! My apologies. Is this information true?”

“Well, it’s certainly not false. As you know, I’ve got strong ties with both the Empires and the Holy Empire...”

For the more specific details, Davey had received a quiet nudge from Emperor Lyndis, his father-in-law, and from Sullivan, the hopelessly doting brother who’d do anything for his sister.

“It’s not hard to find the solution. Since the Bosta royal family is preparing to use Prince Vasilion as a sacrificial pawn, all we have to do is spook them enough that they cut him loose themselves.” Davey spoke calmly as he stood from his seat, “Amy, prepare a document for the Continental Union.”

“What kind of document...”

“Count, let’s keep it simple.”

All Davey had to do was state that he had personally launched an official investigation regarding the performance-enhancing drug made from Sacred Grass.

“We already have the culprit, so there’s no need to drag it out. Once it becomes clear that I’m officially investigating the Bosta royal family, they’ll immediately sever all ties with Prince Vasilion. They’ll lose no time cutting all support and framing him to kick him out, and the Chyde family can then use that as justification to officially break off the engagement. Once that happens, the royal family won’t be able to mess with your house anymore. That way, there’s no need for me to personally join hands with you to solve this.”

‘How’s that? Simple, right?’

The Count looked at Davey, stunned.

“Honestly, you could’ve resolved this on your own. If you hadn’t been so damned stubborn this whole time, you could’ve protected both your family and your children without my help.”

Principles alone weren’t enough.

“Sometimes, softness is stronger than hardness. You know why reeds never break?” As the Count looked at him with dazed, confused eyes, Davey scribbled on the document and handed it to Amy.

It was then that the Count murmured quietly, deep in thought, “What will the kicked out Prince Vasilion do next...?”

From his experience, someone abandoned by the royal family could do anything. However, it didn’t matter in this case.

Davey reassured him, “Lady Berah will be fine. But Mit Chyde, who stormed out of the house, is a different story.”

“If he acts recklessly...”

“He’s got Josiah by his side, so you don’t have to worry.”

No matter what those bastards tried, they couldn’t possibly do anything to a 6th Circle mage.

Still, something nagged at Davey. While there was no one who could harm Josiah, if she encountered someone who forced her to use her Vampire Lord powers, it’d be a real headache.

As Davey pulled on his black coat and rose to his feet, he muttered, “Every time I feel like this, something always goes wrong.”

“Where are you going?” the count asked.

“Bosta Kingdom.”

He had to take care of his chaotic disciple before she caused any real trouble, but something suddenly poked at him.

[O Lord, your humble lamb prays... Your grace is incredible and immense!]

The arrogant prayer of his saintess, Shuneria Recken, echoed, dragging his mood down even further.

“Can’t you pray properly, you psycho saintess...”

Another prayer came flooding in.

[Your little lamb begs of You, for your lamb needs your power desperately! Please bestow me with possession once more! Please come and save my life!!

Whuuum!!

Possession? If anything, that kind of magic was more like bestowal, where he provided her with energy. It made no sense for a saintess to use possession holy magic. Then again, it was the same psycho saintess who had summoned Davey herself.

She couldn’t do much at all, yet she somehow knew how to perform the ritual for possession. Even watching it happen, he found it hard to believe.

It was definitely the work of Goddess Freyja, who had told him to get a taste of his own medicine.

At the moment, Shuneria lacked the ability to complete a possession on her own, so Davey paused and lent her a portion of his divine power. The urge to unleash divine punishment on her bubbled up.

Sharing divine power with a saintess wasn’t something Davey did often, and so it took him several tries before succeeding. By the time he had figured out how to send the proper amount of divine power, a full day had already passed.

After he was done, he saw the utterly exhausted, sleepless Count Chyde in front of him.

‘Sorry about that. My saintess is... well, a bit of a mess.’

1. It seems different from the Holy Empire. ☜