The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Chapter 1392.2

Count Falkos's intelligence was better than expected. Or, to be more precise, the pieces fit perfectly.

“Haah. this is unbelievable.” Willow sighed, looking at the man sprawled out in front of her. “Is this really Macguffen?”

“Hee, hehehehe.” His bizarre grin, unchanged even when facing Willow, showed he was not right in the head.

“Rinne analyzes that awakening is required.”

As Rinne, who was holding Darian, formed a crowbar of dark light in one hand, Willow stopped her.

“No, Darian’s watching. I'll give it a try.” She slowly approached the man, extended her hand, and activated her power. “He should be able to handle this.”

A pure white light flowed from her hand, but it soon disappeared.

“Hmm. Nope.”

“Rinne requests an explanation of the situation.”

“He seems alive, yet isn't. The soul left, and what's left is something like a specter, I guess. It looks like he's been left alone for quite a while, probably dead for over a week by now.”

According to the intelligence, he hadn't come out of the abandoned building for a week. It seemed Macguffen was also involved in the drugs Count Falkos had been looking for.

They’d found him quickly because of the drug. freёwebnovel.com

“Nastier than I anticipated. Long-term drug addiction without treatment means you slowly die. But unlike regular drugs, this one makes the body randomly mimic a living person even after death after prolonged use.”

It looked like rigor mortis, but worse. It wasn’t a good outcome.

“No wonder Lyndis is going after them so hard.”

“The whereabouts of Chef Macguff's son...” Rinne began.

“Seems like it'll be hard to find, but I think I have the overall picture. This guy hid Chef Macguff's son somewhere to make money. Then, he faked his death to trick everyone, pinning all the blame on the Gelup Merchant Group. Finally, he went into hiding here and sold the information, using Chef Macguff to pocket the money.”

“And now he’s dead.”

“I bet he never thought he’d die like this.”

In the end, the gambling addict brother's greed crossed the line, having sold some of Heins Territory’s secrets in the process. The Gelup Merchant Group would take all the blame, yet even if that failed, no one would suspect the already-dead Macguffen as the culprit.

It seemed he had likely planned to change his name, pretend to be someone else, and run away. However, being addicted to drugs, he seemed unaware that his life was about to end.

Rinne had stayed quiet all that time as if she was deep in thought, then remarked, “Well, if things are like this, we won’t be able to find where MacGuffin is.”

It was then. Darian, on Rinne’s back, wriggled free and patted over to pick something up. He then tried to put it in his mouth.

“Darian! No! Don’t do that!” Willow was shocked when he suddenly tried to put what looked like a piece of paper into his mouth.

She quickly snatched it and scolded him, “Hey! No! You can't just pick something up and try eating it!”

“Waaah!”

As he wailed, Willow made a frustrated face. However, she soon frowned after reading what the letter he had been trying to eat said.

“This is...”

Her expression hardened slightly.

* * *

Davey returned to Heins. He looked quite tired, having finished retrieving and destroying the information that had been leaked externally.

“Dad, we found Chef MacGuff's son.”

“Oh? Where did you find him?”

“In a letter sent to MacGuffen, there was a letter from a woman who was looking after MacGuffin for him. It seems he hid him by just leaving him with someone nearby so MacGuffin wouldn't know the truth.”

“And where is the boy now?”

“He's at Chef MacGuff's private home for the time being. There's someone to look after him for a short time, so there won't be any issues,” Willow said with a self-assured grin.

“Good. You did well! So, what would you like me to do now?”

He was telling her to name her reward for handling the matter well.

“I thought about it a lot... How about having mercy on... Chef MacGuff?” she requested.

Davey didn't think that would work. “Chef MacGuff is the person who caused this entire situation.”

“He's a victim, too. His brother, MacGuffen, kidnapped his son and used him. He had no choice, he needed to save his son.”

Davey briefly pondered her persuasion, then said, “Willow. If I give a pass to everyone like that, it sets a precedent.”

She continued to insist, “I know that, but... he must’ve had no choice. If someone held your life hostage and told me to bring something, I don’t know how I’d react...”

“It’s still a no.” His firm answer slapped her ears. “Chef MacGuff will be executed in accordance with the rules. I won't touch his son since I can't apply guilt by association.”

Willow slammed the table in anger, shouting, “Dad!”

While it was true that Chef MacGuff had leaked the secrets, he was also clearly a victim.

“No,” he responded, staying firm.

“Dad, are you really going to be like this?!’

“And what about you? Do you really want to use the reward I give you that way?”

“I'm surprised you're such a cold-hearted person, Dad. Honestly, this is...”

Davey sighed once he saw her teary eyes. After thinking for a long time, he finally asked, “That’s really your special request?”

“He's a chef who served you for years! Don't you feel any affection for him?! Of course, thinking about the principles, punishing him is right, but... he's a victim.”

Davey sighed heavily at her plea. “That's your judgment, is it?”

“Sob. I really don't want to see him die...”

Davey nodded at her answer. “They say a parent can't win against their child. Fine, let’s do as you wish.”

“Really?! Thank you, Dad! It's hard to forgive, but you've saved a family!” Willow hugged Davey and rejoiced. He smiled bitterly.

After that day, Chef MacGuff became a person who was officially dead, and Willow quietly helped him leave without being noticed by others.

He bowed to Willow to express his gratitude and apologized for leaking the secrets.

“Go,” she told him. “This is all I can do for you. Leave and live happily with your son.”

“Thank you, m’lady! Thank you!” Chef MacGuff, who repeatedly expressed his gratitude, looked up at Davey, who was watching him through a distant window. He slowly bowed his head.

Yet, Davey turned his head with a cold expression and disappeared from view.

“Dad couldn't have been comfortable with it either. Go. No one will discover you on your way.”

“I will always hold this favor in my heart, m’lady.”

Willow felt like she was about to tear up. She immediately turned away.

MacGuff, who had been in charge of Heins' kitchen, finally left for his hometown.

* * *

“Rinne questions if Master Davey will let him go.”

“Yes,” he responded, “because that's what Willow wanted.”

“Rinne evaluates that, by the rule of law, he should be executed.”

“Rinne.” Davey quietly turned his head. Rinne looked him straight in the eye. “Just let him go. What can I do when Willow wants it so badly? Don't track him down or anything. Just let him go.”

Rinne ultimately didn’t reply.

* * *

A considerable amount of time had passed since Chef MacGuff left Heins Territory.

He silently drove the carriage on his way to the Lyndis Empire. As soon as he entered the Lyndis domain, he stopped the carriage in a massive forest.

He quickly looked around, rushed to a spot, and slowly crawled under a large tree knot hole. Using a shovel that was hidden inside, he started digging up the ground.

After digging for what seemed like an eternity, he unearthed a large chest.

The root cause of all the trouble wasn’t MacGuffen after all.

MacGuffen, in fact, was a genuine victim who was tricked by his brother's proposal into causing trouble, only to end up dead from drug addiction.

The person who manipulated the Gelup Merchant Group and his brother to clear himself from all suspicion and cleverly used the situation to even save his own life.

It was all MacGuff’s doing all along.

“I apologize, m’lady, but I truly want to raise my son like a rich man's son. I can no longer work in that place.”

It was a simple accident caused by greed.

The accident of him losing his sense of taste.

He had initially tried to ask Davey for help to receive treatment, but he knew the story of a similar incident when someone in the same industry completely destroyed their sense of taste after accidentally eating a poisonous mushroom.

Just as it was impossible to revive the dead, it was virtually impossible to revive a completely dead sense of taste. He had become unable to properly cook any longer.

He thought that if that fact became known, he wouldn't be able to maintain his position as a chef, and his income would become unstable.

Thus, he succumbed to greed. He met his brother, a gambling addict who was practically his lifelong enemy, secretly fed him drugs, and told him about the plan. He said it was a chance to make a fortune, that he wouldn't have to risk his life doing mercenary work anymore, and could even spend a certain amount of money on gambling.

That was how the secret-leaking plan came to fruition.

He also said that as a precaution, they’d fake his death to protect his life. After all, no one could do anything to a dead person.

His brother, of course, called him crazy. Yet McGuffen, living on the edge where living felt like death itself, eventually accepted it.

He hid his nephew, instigated a conflict with the Gelub Merchant Group, and created a fake corpse to throw the whole situation into chaos.

In the process, both MacGuffen and MacGuff would become officially dead, but that didn’t matter. He’d just change his name and live in a small, remote territory that was isolated from the world.

However, MacGuffen didn't recognize that he was the only variable in this plan, which made him the most dangerous to MacGuff.

MacGuff induced his brother to take drugs long-term, which ultimately led to his death. The brother who knew the truth died waiting for his brother to return with the money, unaware he was being betrayed by his own flesh and blood.

Afterward, MacGuff completely pinned his brother as the source of the trouble, turning himself into one of the victims.

If he hadn’t been addicted and could think clearly, he would’ve noticed what was happening. Yet by the time things escalated, his judgment had already completely clouded.

“Phew.”

Sweating with tension, he slowly dragged the chest out. He loaded it onto the carriage and was about to sit back on the coachman's seat.

Then, a chilling sound rang out.

Slash!!!

Chef MacGuff suddenly felt that his vision was strange, and soon realized his viewpoint had become higher than usual. His body wouldn't move, either.

He stared blankly ahead, then realized he was seeing things much lower than before.

It felt as if he were touching the ground.

Soon after, he saw someone approaching. He was completely unaware of what was happening to him.

Unfortunately for him, that was the last thing he saw before losing consciousness.

* * *

After MacGuff left, Willow wore a happy smile, thinking the matter had ended well.

“Oh?” Willow nudged Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon, who were playing with a children's puzzle. “Hey, where's Darian?”

Red Ribbon’s head tilted to the side. “Darian? I dunno!”

“Hey, how can you not know, you dumdums...”

Then, Blue Ribbon, who was poking the sleeping Abel's cheek, also started to cry. “Sob. Villow is getting mad...”

Willow was instantly flustered. “Oh! No, I mean... Haah. Nevermind. I'm sorry.”

“Sob. I'm sorry, Red Ribbon was bad. We... we have to find Darian.”

“It's fine. Go play. I'll go look for him.” She waved her hand and left the room. “Darian? Darian O'Rowane! Where are you?!”

She looked for him everywhere.

It was then.

“Vill-oh!” Darian giggled as he waddled over to Willow from a distance.

“Darian O'Rowane!” She quickly picked him up and frowned. “I told you not to wander off alone. What if you get hurt?”

“Gya!! Gya!!”

He was so happy. Willow laughed helplessly and shook her head.

“Senior, have you finished playing?”

“What did you say, you punk?”

“Oh. Nothing. Also, please return to the sanctuary. There’s a lot of work to do.”

“Hey. Hey! Wait! After playing a little bit more!”

“That's not possible.”

“Urghhh. I don't want to!”

Willow, who had been just about to relax, was dragged away by her junior, Neltarid Mk II, who had come to find her.

As Davey watched the two bicker, he picked up Darian, whom she had left behind, and spoke.

“Leaking secrets isn't something that happens that easily.”

He meant it wasn't something that could happen just because an opportunity arose.

“Darian, your sister seems to become clumsy when feelings are involved.”

Darian only giggled and burrowed into his father’s chest.