A Father's Blind Love for His Daughter

"Charm, as we call it, refers to the natural, unforced attractiveness that a person possesses. The higher someone's charm, the more popular they are in society," Linton explained slowly. "If we were to quantify this concept, let's assume the average person's charm is 5, and yours is 9."

"I'm only 9?" Iris interrupted Linton.

"Alright, alright, you're 10, you're 10," Linton conceded helplessly. "Your charm is 10 points, and mine is… negative 10."

"Didn't you say 0 was the lowest? Why is yours negative?"

"That's right," Linton said calmly. "But that's for normal people. I don't fall into that category."

"What do you mean?" Iris looked a little confused.

"Let me give you an example. If someone in your school, someone you see every day, walks to school with you, walks home with you, and participates in extracurricular activities with you, would you feel close to them?"

Iris nodded. "If it's just normal classmate interaction, there's no problem."

"But what if you found out that this classmate isn't like us? What if they were a monster, or some other non-human creature in disguise? Would you still choose to be close to them?"

"..." Iris hesitated for a moment. "I was going to say that if the person's behavior wasn't harmful, then interacting wouldn't be an issue. But deep down, I still feel like monsters aren't good people, so my choice would be to stay away from them."

"Exactly. Those who are not of our kind are bound to have different intentions. This is a common thought among all living beings."

"Are you saying? You're not human?"

"Are you calling me names?!" Linton shot her a glance. "Of course I'm human. Every single hair on my body is pure human DNA."

"Then why..."

"Because I'm a Necromancer," Linton sighed. "No magic-user who wants to achieve anything does so peacefully. Unlike warriors who rely on their martial prowess, every magic-user learns a vast amount of knowledge on the path to self-improvement. There's a saying: the more you know, the more you realize you're just a ripple in the vast river of history. So, some people choose to give up, to stop pursuing. But those greedy magic-users try to become the brightest star among all the stars in the destiny."

"Unfortunately, I'm the latter, and also a Necromancer who delves into forbidden mysteries."

"After transferring to the Necromancer class, it meant I had come into contact with the concept of 'death.' But this power cannot be borne by ordinary people, nor can it be accepted by them. The dead should not be alive; this is the order of the world. And I have broken this order, so naturally, I am incompatible with the world."

"To summarize, I am someone not accepted by the world. The first impression everyone gets when they see me is, 'This person is good-looking, but I have a bad feeling about them, I should report them.' Something like that.

This was part of the introduction to the Necromancer class. Linton had translated it into easy-to-understand terms before explaining it clearly to the girl.

Hearing Linton's seemingly casual explanation, Iris felt a surge of sympathy.

"Is there no way to resolve this?"

"Actually, charm primarily affects first impressions. After spending more time with someone, if they don't dislike me, the subsequent impact isn't as significant. However, to avoid being questioned unnecessarily and to have fewer troubles, it's better to wear this outfit."

"As for why your reaction to me is different from how others would react... I think it's probably because our souls are linked by a chain that I control."

"Is that so?" Iris blinked. "So, when I thought you were good-looking just now, was that also you subconsciously taking the lead?"

"What are you thinking?" Linton said helplessly. "First of all, I'm not the type to care too much about my appearance. If you were just an empty shell, without your own consciousness, then I could control your movements. But to change someone's consciousness, only professions like Mind Mages can do that. Your good first impression of me might be because our powers are of the same origin, and 'rules' weren't involved. Or perhaps, it's simply because my appearance is indeed quite good?"

"Oh..."

Iris turned her head away again.

So that's why she felt an inexplicable sense of closeness to him. It turned out she had been assimilated by him.

"Screech—"

Just as Iris was lost in thought, the entire carriage suddenly stopped, and her body tilted to the side due to inertia.

"We've arrived."

Linton clapped his hands and got off the carriage first. Iris patted her cheeks and followed behind him.

It was still early, and the starry canopy still hung in the sky. The streetlights were scattered, suggesting either early risers or those who hadn't slept all night.

Following the path indicated by the mission system, Linton and Iris navigated through several alleys, only slowing down when they spotted a shop with a flag bearing a sword and a hammer.

"Right, why did my father give such a large sum of money to you all?" Iris asked, walking beside Linton and tilting her head slightly.

In fact, her stature was considered tall among men her age, estimated to be around 1.7 meters barefoot. But walking beside Linton, she was still a head shorter, and had to tilt her face up slightly.

"Hmm..." Linton carefully glanced at the girl's face, which was full of questions, unsure how to explain.

He couldn't exactly say, 'Your dad was brainwashed by them and wants to sell his house to pay them Offering Gold.'

After a slight hesitation, he found that Iris hadn't looked away, so he had to brace himself and say, "The Truth Society believes in the True Lord, and the True Lord is like the morning star in the night, guiding people. So, I think perhaps he was confused about his future, which led them to proselytize him… after all, his life doesn't seem to be going very well."

"Is that so?"

Iris looked thoughtful.

The Kingdom of Blossoms was a free country, with no restrictions on personal beliefs. It was just that because the Lord of Blossoms was the deity of this land, more people believed in him. But that didn't mean there weren't other small sects, like the Wild Boar Cult.

Her father was confused about his uncertain future, yet the Lord of Blossoms hadn't offered him guidance, so he turned to believe in another small sect that truly helped him… it seemed plausible?

After all, people in this era lacked spiritual entertainment and could only fill themselves with faith.

Iris nodded and didn't ask further.

Linton knocked on the blacksmith's door and softly recited, "The path beneath our feet is yet to be forged."

"The radiance bestowed by the True Lord shall guide the way."

The door was gently pushed open, and a burly man emerged from within.

Linton took out a package. "This is what Mr. Lizer entrusted to you."

"Thank you for your trouble, sir," the man said, taking the package with a sigh. "If it weren't for the large amount of Offering Gold, we wouldn't have bothered you to come out so late. Though I didn't expect we'd actually get it."

"It's nothing."

Hearing a ding sound by his ear, Linton's mood improved considerably.

"But I am a bit curious, why was Mr. Lizer willing to offer such a large sum of money to thank the True Lord?"

The man stroked the rough beard on his chin and said, "Mr. Lizer has a daughter who was a reserve knight in the Flower Knights. She hadn't been officially promoted by the time she turned sixteen. He thought she was going to be given up on, so he wanted the True Lord to guide her path to promotion."

Linton blinked and looked at Iris beside him.

Iris simply gazed at the sky, seemingly unconcerned with their conversation.

"So, did the True Lord's light fall upon her?"

The man spread his hands helplessly. "For the True Lord, even small positions like Knight Captain or Reconnaissance Captain wouldn't be difficult. So, agreeing to it wasn't a big problem. But after we looked into the information, we found that this gentleman's daughter seemed a bit too outstanding. Within the Knights Order, she's even being groomed as a future leader. The reason she wasn't promoted was simple – she dueled constantly and had a terrible temper."

"Meaning, even without the True Lord's guidance, his daughter's future path was already bright and boundless?"

"That's right, but the father doesn't seem to be aware of this," the man said. "Originally, the True Lord doesn't accept offerings unrelated to the light He shines upon. But that gentleman thought his Offering Gold wasn't enough and insisted on paying more. In desperation, we set a price of one million to try and dissuade him, but unexpectedly, he actually produced it."

"Perhaps this is the blind love of an ignorant father for his daughter."