Chapter 1: A Father’s Frankness

My surname is Lü, my given name is Erlu, and my full name is Lü Erlu.

This is the name I hastily came up with after I transmigrated from Earth to this other world.

As for my name before transmigrating, I have already forgotten it.

After all, that has long since ceased to be important.

Because in this different world, I have found my own direction and goal.

That is, to become a qualified stay-at-home dad!

Before transmigrating, a truck suddenly burst into my home and came crashing toward me.

Looking back on it, it was simply ridiculous to the point of death.

At that time, I even complained in my heart about how the protagonists of stories were always being killed by trucks every day.

It was so boring.

I never expected that, living on a high floor, I would actually be killed by a truck that was teleported right to me.

Damn it. ‘Is there some great hand playing with me?’

When I opened my eyes, I had inexplicably transmigrated to this wonderful other world.

I was born into an ordinary blacksmith’s family, and with my memories intact, I grew up from an infant.

I was extremely proud back then.

I became a genius youth.

While my peers took one month to understand language or things, I could become familiar with and use them in just a few days thanks to the knowledge and memory techniques I knew.

Therefore, because of my extraordinary talent, I was discovered by the royal family.

My future profession was decided by the King, who spent resources to train me into a great researcher for the Human Empire.

From then on, I spent my time with books.

I felt curious about everything in this world.

After all, it was the kind of world many people dreamed of, so I took every book very seriously.

By the time I reached my teens, I did not disappoint.

I became a researcher and a magic technologist.

I even developed the technology to store mana, allowing ordinary people to use the staves in their hands to cast magic.

But the good times did not last.

Not long after, the Demon Dragon King appeared in the sky, causing various damage all over the world.

I was not surprised at all by this, because it was a classic trope of other-world stories.

So, I became the Hero’s —

Support.

I really wanted to curse.

After the Demon Dragon King appeared, I truly thought that as a transmigrator, I would be chosen as the Hero, obtain the Hero’s power, and embark on a story of defeating the Demon King and marrying a princess.

Because of this, I waited with a pounding heart every day for my “golden finger” to arrive.

Then, one day, I received a letter from the King.

After reading it, I sat weakly in my chair and sighed.

The content of the letter was very simple.

A person with the Hero’s power had finally appeared in the Empire.

As the youngest and most outstanding magic technologist in the Empire, I was appointed to follow the Hero and subjugate the Demon King.

I had been included in the Hero’s party.

That was my first thought at the time.

After all, if the plot followed the usual tropes, I would either be the cannon fodder who blocked a blade for the Hero to trigger their sudden power boost, or I would be a background character who followed the Hero on the successful path to defeat the Demon King.

The protagonist’s halo was placed on the Hero, after all.

Regarding this, although I had some complaints, perhaps this was my fate.

The writer of fate could even make a truck teleport to the thirty-first floor of my home to kill me — which was absurd enough — so I was too lazy to complain anymore.

Damn it.

The journey of subjugation was much as I expected.

The Hero was an ambitious young man.

Beside him was a saint priestess who admired him, a warrior who acted as a tank, a mage who provided firepower from the back, and me, a slightly redundant support magic technologist.

Setting me aside, this party composition was truly classic.

Dragon Quest and Dungeons & Dragons, aren’t they all arranged like this?

After facing one obstacle after another, the Hero’s party established a deep friendship…

Right?

I always had a strange feeling.

Although my interactions with them were friendly enough, it felt very superficial.

It didn’t feel like the brotherhood one finds in stories after experiencing life-and-death situations.

Later, after going through various events, only the final three major stages remained.

Specifically, two of the Demon King’s capable subordinates, the Vampire and the Succubus Queen.

During the story of subjugating them, I felt a surge of compassion.

That was a decision I would never forget for the rest of my life.

It could be said that it changed my life, allowing me to find happiness and a sense of mission.

“Hero, do not think that the world will change after you defeat me…”

These were the last words left by the Succubus Queen after she was pierced through the heart by the Hero’s arrow.

The Hero’s party naturally disregarded them.

Including myself, I thought the same way.

I didn’t know if the world would change after subjugating her, but at least there would be one less race in this world that created nightmares, right?

As someone who had experienced a civilized society, I would cover every queen or racial leader with a white cloth after their death.

If I was free, I would even dig a grave for them so they could rest in peace.

‘Try being a human in your next life.’

While the Hero’s party went to rest, I went back intending to clean up the aftermath.

Instead, I discovered a lovely yet pitiful sound of crying.

I followed the sound and discovered that behind the throne of the grand Succubus Castle, there was actually an infant hidden under a cloth!

I pulled back the purple cloth and found a pair of small succubus horns.

Beneath them, two adorable eyes looked at me tearfully, and the baby’s mouth made *aba aba* sounds.

‘What a pitiful little baby! Alas, it’s a shame you’re a demon…’

I couldn’t help but feel regret in my heart.

To cut the weeds and pull out the roots — a baby who could be in the Succubus Castle likely had an extraordinary identity.

“Oh, oh — “

I used my finger to coax the baby while bringing her to the grandest room in the castle.

I intended to at least let her lie on a soft bed and leave with a smile before I ended her tiny life.

*Aba… heehee!*

The baby was amused by me and laughed.

I laughed too, but… it was time.

I placed her on the bed and picked up the prepared dagger.

I aimed at the baby’s neck, intending to stab with the quickest and swiftest force so she would die without pain.

I raised my hand, gritted my teeth, and swung.

*Aba ba… ba ba, heehee…*

!!!

The sharp tip of the blade stopped in midair, only a few centimeters away from the baby’s soft neck.

‘Did… did she just call me Papa?’

My heart was touched, or more specifically, I was jolted awake.

Why should an infant be executed just because of their race the moment they are born?

“Human nature is inherently evil,” Xunzi said.

Human nature is born toward evil; goodness is what is cultivated through education.

In this world, my current status as a researcher and my opportunity to accompany the Hero — aren’t they all because of education?

If I didn’t have my memories from before transmigrating, if I didn’t have the books written by predecessors in this world, or even if I didn’t have my diligent blacksmith parents.

I would be nothing!

Aren’t all people who possess benevolence, righteousness, and etiquette created through education?

I looked deeply at the baby, who was now staring curiously at the dagger and even preparing to reach out a hand to touch the sharp blade.

Those innocent eyes didn’t even know the danger of the dagger.

What did she do wrong?

Is she wrong because she was born into a succubus family?

I don’t know.

But to me, this was clearly unfair to an infant who couldn’t even speak.

And so, I put down the dagger.

With a mix of concern and nervousness, I pinched the baby’s small cheek before picking her up.

“There now. From now on, I am your Papa.”

The baby in my arms seemed to understand, as she laughed.

“Pa pa — “

Hearing that soft, sweet voice and seeing her smile that curved like a crescent moon, my last trace of concern was wiped away.

In this story of the Hero defeating the dragon, at the very least, let that invisible great hand give me a chance to try and educate her.

“Thank you.”