My Dad Is a Popular Villain in a Comic Book - Chapter 19

The following day, Albin joined the hunting party as they set out.

The Earl’s entourage had already scouted the area in previous days, identifying a monster in the form of a fox near the Earl’s woodland. It was believed to be a low-level monster with unique fur, and the Earl intended to peel it to make a shawl or collar for his lover. Low-level monsters had strength comparable to ordinary wild beasts and, in the weak form of a fox, were well within the capabilities of the entourage, who possessed some magical talent. However, if it had been a mid-level monster, priests and warriors would have had to step in though, generally, mid-level monsters were not considered suitable prey for aristocratic hunts.

Once the fox’s territory was determined, the entourage and servants had preparatory work to do before the Earl and his guests arrived to hunt in person. They had to set traps, track the prey in advance, and drive the target into a designated area so the nobles could discover it with ease. Before that, the Earl and his guests would engage in idle chatter; for nobles, a hunt was primarily a social event, a form of entertainment.

However, after last night’s downpour, the weather today was freezing. Riding on horseback with the cold wind lashing their faces was torture; their ears felt like they were about to freeze off. The ground was slick and muddy, making it unpleasant to walk the horses, so some guests simply made excuses to stay curled up in their carriages or parked in sunny, warm spots, occasionally making a half-hearted attempt to look for prey. At the end of the day, social interactions were the priority regardless.

The attendants had no such choice. They grumbled to one another behind their backs and scattered. Albin observed the departing party and asked curiously, “Did Mr. Padma not come?”

An attendant beside him asked, “Who?”

Another replied, “That new butler. I heard he stayed back at the villa to prepare a secret seasoning for the Earl. Perhaps he’s just being lazy.” Once the topic was broached, those around them chimed in one after another. “The Earl certainly values this new butler, though Mr. Padma is always smiling at everyone—much more easygoing than the old butler.”

Padma seemed well-liked, and there were many ready to speak up for him. “It’s normal for the butler not to come. I heard he is quite skilled at cooking monster meat and served nobles before. He even came with a recommendation letter from a noble.”

The attendants and servants chatted about this and that, but Albin didn’t pay much attention. He wasn’t feeling well his focus was drifting, his head was dizzy, and his body felt abnormally heavy. He didn’t know if it was because of the biting cold, but even though he wore thick clothes, he couldn’t stop shivering.

He tried to keep his spirits up, and taking advantage of the fact that everyone was unfamiliar with him and the guests and attendants were distracted, he quietly lagged behind and ran into the woods. He found a trap the attendants had set earlier—a small cave designed so that one could enter but not exit. The infant was placed there.

Foxes were highly vigilant creatures. If other traps failed or they missed their shot during the chase, they would drive the fox into this area. At that point, the infant’s cries would lure the fox into the cave, leaving it with nowhere to run. To prevent the presence of humans from alerting the fox, no one had been left to guard the spot.

Albin seized the opportunity to pick up the infant and inspect him. Thankfully, the child was safe and sound, still sleeping sweetly.

He was just about to leave when he turned to see an elegant and dainty fox. The fox had an exotic coloration a pale pink and white mix, with limbs that looked like it was wearing white gloves, and a large, white-tipped tail flicking behind it. Its pink-crystal eyes watched him, though the black cross-star pattern in its pupils looked somewhat terrifying, marking it as a monster.

Albin froze, staring eye-to-eye with it.

Stare.

Monster… fox… this is the prey the Earl is targeting?

Was a pink fox a unique monster species? He seemed to remember seeing a fox like this in the memories of the little boy from the slums back in the blood-wine pool. Remembering Padma’s words about how monsters would bite the infant “bait” to death once they realized they had been tricked, Albin protected the baby and spoke in a rush: “I’m not here to capture you! I’m just here to take him away…”

He was like a little chimney, puffing out clouds of white mist as he spoke.

Seeing him acting with such caution and seeing that his expression didn’t seem feigned a flash of surprise crossed the fox’s eyes. This child followed us here just to save this infant? No, that’s absolutely impossible. Humans, even human children, were insidious and cunning creatures. He wouldn’t be fooled as easily as Emerald. This was just another way for humans to lure him into a trap.

Fragments of long-ago memories flashed through the fox’s mind. Back then, he had been a young fox. Because of his unique fur color, he was targeted by nobles early on and dragged into a hunting ground. At that time, he was indeed just a low-level monster, barely stronger than an ordinary fox. After being chased to the point of exhaustion, a little boy had appeared before him, helping him escape the pursuit. That little boy had tricked him into trusting him, caught him, and killed him, hoping to present the fur to his noble foster mother. In the end, that little boy had also become someone else’s prey, sent off as a sacrifice.

Humans were such wicked existences. He looked at the white-haired child before him with disgust. Let’s test what kind of schemes this kid is hiding. He had planned to be caught by the humans and sent to the dinner table anyway, so pretending to be fooled wouldn’t matter. It might even help that idiot Emerald realize the true face of humans.

He feigned a gentle tone: [Where do you intend to take this cub?]

Hearing him speak, Albin was momentarily stunned. He blinked, dazed, and asked: “A… a fox that can speak human language? A fox spirit?”

The fox snorted inwardly this human had already communicated with Emerald; he was a good actor. But he played along: [I am speaking the Monster Tongue. You can actually understand my words?]

“I thought I was just a Snake-Speaker; I didn’t realize I could also understand monsters…” Albin pondered. Wait. Emerald is a monster too, so does that mean I can just understand the Monster Tongue, and I’m not a Snake-Speaker after all? Albin was sorely disappointed.

Still, he answered the fox’s question: “I’m taking this child to the Temple of Love. I heard they take in these homeless children. If this child stays here, he will surely die. His father is a slave and cannot protect him, and the nobles don’t even treat him like a human.” Albin couldn’t understand the existence of slaves, nor could he understand how the children of slaves could be used as tools.

Seeing his indignant look, the fox poured cold water on him: [Even if you save this one child, other children will be abandoned as bait in the future. I have heard plenty of such things.]

Albin lowered his eyes, clutching the child in his arms tightly. “I know…” The world was filled with far too many things he considered unreasonable. He thought of what Latu had told him—if he could become the Saint, he could make the entire kingdom obey him. He whispered, “If only I could have successfully become the Saint of the Wine God back then…”

The fox was surprised. The last little boy who had tricked him and was dragged off for sacrifice had been terrified, resisting with all his might, and suffering greatly when he sank into the blood-wine pool. That was something even cunning nobles wanted to escape so why was this child eager to be sacrificed?

[I heard the mortality rate of being sacrificed is very high, and it is very painful.] Mentioning the sacrifice, the fox subconsciously revealed a look of disgust.

“I experienced it once; it is indeed painful. But if I succeed, I can order the nobles to stop doing this.”

The fox glanced at him. [You are truly naive. Those nobles might say they won’t do it in the open, but what about when they ‘accidentally’ hunt a monster and a child is bitten to death? Wouldn’t it be the same?]

Albin’s face crumpled with worry. “They are truly wicked,” he muttered. “How could they!”

[Humans have always been this way.]

Albin thought for a moment and then had a sudden inspiration: “Then I’ll forbid the priests from purifying the poison for them! If they get poisoned and have no way to be purified, then they won’t consume you monsters, and they won’t sacrifice little children anymore!” Although he couldn’t stop it 100%, it would certainly be an effective deterrent. His red pupils shone brilliantly, excited that he had thought of such a good idea.

His face was flushed, and his demeanor seemed a bit off; the fox could tell at a glance that he was likely sick.

“Thank you, Mr. Fox! You are so smart. Talking to you has helped me think of so many things, and I feel even more motivated!” Albin flashed him a weak but vibrant smile. “I will definitely work hard to become the Saint!”

The fox looked at his bright, pure eyes. Even he, who was accustomed to human treachery, couldn’t find a single flaw in them. He suddenly remembered the dreams Emerald had told him about, where this child was willing to offer his entire body of blood and even kill gods to save all monsters.

As a monster eaten by humans, the fox hated the humans who wanted to eat him; he hated the humans who treated mutation and monstrous transformation as novel experiences and jokes. Why weren’t these humans the ones cursed back then? Why can these insidious creatures even be called human?

He thought with malice: Since humans love to eat the flesh of monsters so much, then eat my flesh and all go to hell! He hunted these greedy humans. He was both the prey and the hunter.

Therefore, he couldn’t understand how Albin, a human who was consumed by monsters, could have such kind thoughts. In his mind, that was Emerald’s ridiculous, imaginary dream. He believed that the child must hate monsters, just as he hated humans. Yet, when he looked into those clear eyes with his own, he suddenly felt that maybe it wasn’t all a lie. On one hand, he was starting to half-believe Emerald’s words, and on the other, he still couldn’t bring himself to believe in humans.

Just as Albin bent over to leave the cave, the fox blocked his path.

[Do you want to take me away? I am very weak right now. You might as well hand me over to that noble; that way, the infant can survive, and the noble will reward you.] He lay down, feigning a limp to show he was injured and posed no threat. [Or you could choose to hand me over to the priest. My fur would certainly fetch a good price, allowing you to live without worry for a lifetime. You might even be able to taste my meat the priests would purify the poison for you. This is a delicacy only nobles enjoy; being eaten by you wouldn’t be so bad compared to being eaten by those detestable nobles.]

He kept poking at Albin’s malice toward monsters.

Albin hurriedly set the infant down gently and rushed over to him. The fox sneered inwardly. Sure enough, all humans are the same.

“Are you hurt?” Albin scrambled to pull at his leg. “Where?”

He checked the leg the fox had just been feigning a limp with and didn’t see any obvious external wounds.

“Is it a fracture?” After seeing the fox nod, Albin, relying on a bit of knowledge from his elementary school emergency aid class, ignored the freezing cold and untied his red scarf, wrapping it around the fox’s leg to stabilize it. The length and thickness of the scarf were clearly over the top; the fox’s right foreleg was wrapped into a large “rice dumpling,” looking even larger than the fox’s head.

Albin was very satisfied, giving instructions with a sense of accomplishment: “You are so smart, you shouldn’t get caught, right? Make sure to rest well; the elders say broken bones take a hundred days to heal! Don’t be so pessimistic your fur is beautiful precisely because you are alive.”

The fox, whose foreleg couldn’t move and who had just been lectured: …

Did you not hear a word I said? Don’t you have any hesitation at all?

I am a monster! What human bandages a monster!

Although he still didn’t want to trust humans, deep down, a thought was beginning to form: If only the person I had met back then had been this child. Perhaps then, he wouldn’t have been deceived.

Just as this thought emerged, a scene suddenly appeared in his mind. He saw from a first-person perspective Albin clutching his clothes nervously, yet with an extraordinarily determined expression, as if he had made up his mind to do something.

He was suspicious could he have seen this child before? Was that the past, the future, or perhaps just another dream like Emerald’s?

While he was dazed, Albin picked up the infant again.

“Oh, right, Mr. Fox.” Albin had something he wanted to ask. “If you live in these mountains, have you seen a white-haired, red-eyed man with long hair? That is my father. He walked into the mountains last night, and a heavy storm started not long after; I don’t know how he is doing now.”

The fox looked up and answered: “I haven’t seen him.”

Albin nodded, disappointed.

“Then goodbye, Mr. Fox.” Holding the baby with both hands, he couldn’t wave, so he tilted his head and gave the fox a wink.

Albin walked in the opposite direction of the hunting party, intending to sneak the infant away. The fox looked left and right; even after he had left, he didn’t feel the presence of any other humans. He stared at the red scarf on his foreleg, feeling odd, a sense of emptiness from not being tricked.

Was that kid really just here to save the infant?

Watching the direction in which Albin left, the fox gritted his teeth and followed quietly. It must be “playing hard to get”! The trap must be up ahead!

Albin clearly didn’t have much of a sense of direction, wandering around blindly in the forest and heading deeper into areas where there were no human footprints. His steps were swaying, and he felt that his breathing was becoming more and more labored. He recalled the crude route map, trying to walk outward based on his memory. He had already arranged for the coachman to pick him up in advance; all he had to do was get out of these woods.

Just get out…

Seeing the woods ahead becoming open, Albin quickened his pace in excitement. The moment he stepped out of the woods, he tripped over a rock and nearly fell. He kicked the rock away, steadied himself, and scanned his surroundings. Outside the woods was not the pickup point he had expected, but a massive cave.

He focused his gaze ahead.

He saw a dragon.

It was a demonic dragon, completely silver-white, but with starry blood-red pupils.