"What? Really? That fu.."

With what was happening outside at the moment, it wasn't hard to convince Emma that her father had gone out to check on the situation.

"Aih.. why did he just leave without telling me anything? He hasn't changed at all.."

She grumbled several times, but in the end, she gave up and accepted the situation.

It was good that she did.

As I listened to her mutter and groan about her father's sudden disappearance, I felt a pang of guilt rise up inside of me.

It wasn't so much from the fact that I... or the other me, had killed Waylan, but rather from the fact that now the two people whom she cared for the most had both passed away.

Her life..

It was really pitiful when one thought about it.

'Should I tell her the truth later, or should I just change her memories?'

I didn't think the second option was feasible.

Whether or not I made an effort to conceal the information from her, she was going to find out about her father's disappearance in one way or another.

'How should I tell her the news?'

That was the biggest problem.

I couldn't just tell her that her father was someone known as the Protector of the Seat of Diligence and was the one responsible for the deaths of millions of humans.

He was also the same person who murdered her mother once he realized she was no longer of any use to him, and the only reason he kept her close to him was because of her talent, which was worth nurturing.

'She always did seem to lag a bit behind the others.. I guess he must've slowed down her path forward on purpose.'

"Ugh."

I groaned and ruffled my hair.

The situation was more troublesome than I anticipated.

'If only Kevin was here..'

He was the one who was good at handling these types of matters.

"What are you going to do now?"

Overhearing Emma's voice, I turned to look at her. Her expression seemed to have recovered, and her eyes were on me.

I pursed my lips.

"I think I'll go back. I got what I wanted already."

"Oh, I see."

Emma nodded her head.

"Do you want me to follow you out?"

"No, it's okay."

I shook my head, refusing her offer. To be honest, I'd rather not interact with her at the moment. I found myself struggling to think of how to break the news of her father's passing to her.

In the end, I chose to leave and think of the solution later.

'I'm sure I can think of a way..'

My expectations weren't very high.

"Alright then. I won't see you out."

We parted ways not long after that, Emma and I both. After reappearing right in front of her mansion, I turned around and looked back at it while sighing.

This really was...

Troublesome.

***

"You're back?"

When I got back home, the first person I saw was Amanda. She seemed happy to see me. She had her hair pulled back into a ponytail and wore a nice apron.

Seeing her like this brought a nice change.

Especially after what I just went through.

"Are you cooking something?"

"Mhm."

Amanda nodded her head. Though her expression didn't give it away, I could tell that she seemed rather excited.

I knew her long enough to know how she felt, despite not showing it outwardly.

That being said..

"You don't seem to be surprised by what happened outside."

"Oh, that?"

Amanda's body paused.

When she turned her head, her head cocked a little.

"I was shocked at first, and I tried to call you several times, but you didn't answer."

"You did?"

I took out my phone and noticed several missed calls. I smiled wryly at the sight.

This was my bad.

"What happened after that?"

"Nothing much."

With a little shrug of her shoulders, Amanda patted her hand on her apron.

"I figured you were busy since you're the Alliance head."

"That's fair."

"hum."

After going into the kitchen, Amanda returned with a large cake in her hands. It was not very big, about the size of a football, and it appeared to be piled high with whipped cream.

My eyes lit up at the sight, and I sat down on the sofa.

I liked cakes.

Rubbing my hands together, I leaned back on the sofa. Pondering over something, I turned my attention back toward Amanda.

"Still, that doesn't explain why you don't seem surprised by it."

"Well..I've seen far more shocking things."

Amanda looked at me and smiled. historical

"When I noticed that what was happening was harmless and the mana density increased, I went back to making the cake.."

She suddenly pursed her lips, and her brows furrowed.

"..I almost burned it because of it."

She seemed rather resentful at that fact.

"Oh."

I nodded my head and took a small slice of the cake.

The taste was rather good. She had come a long way from the times when she would add far too much cinnamon to her food.

It was very sweet..

"You've improv―"

I stopped halfway through my sentence. Looking at Amanda's plate, which was filled to the brim with cake, my mouth twitched.

This girl...

Noticing my gaze, Amanda brought her spoon to my mouth.

"You want some?"

"..I'm good. I still have my own piece."

"Oh."

Amanda looked at my plate and frowned.

"Is that enough for you?"

"You don't think?"

My size was what someone would call normal. In comparison to hers, which practically filled the entire plate, it looked like nothing.

Just when did she turn into such a glutton, and where did all of that food go?

When I looked at Amanda, she seemed to be as fit as ever. Rather, it seemed that she had lost a little bit of weight.

'What's going on?'

"Hold up."

"Hm?"

Amanda extended her hand toward my mouth and pressed her finger against the side of my lips. She brought her finger, which was now filled with cream, to her mouth after tracing it down the side of my lips.

I looked at her in complete bewilderment, and as if she could read my mind, Amanda frowned and reprimanded me.

"Eat your food. It's rude to look at others while eating."

"Haa.. alright."

Letting out a sigh, I took a bite of the cake.

For some reason, it tasted a lot more bitter.

***

"Do you resent me?"

It was a question that came abruptly, and I had a hard time processing it.

I had just hopped on to visit my family and saw my dad sitting on the sofa with the lights turned off. Apparently, Nola and Mom had gone outside together.

"I don't get.. what you mean. Resent you? Why would I ever resent you?"

I sat myself down on the sofa and looked directly into my father's eyes.

He stared back at me, and despite my best efforts, I couldn't quite make out what he was thinking.

He was one of the few people I could never find myself able to read.

"I'm sure you know this, but I find it very hard to express myself. It's something I've been trying to work on for quite a long time, and despite my efforts, I still struggle with it."

I quietly listened to my father's words. Indeed, he wasn't one to express his emotions often. He was sort of like how Amanda was at first.

Perhaps it was because of him that I felt so comfortable around her.

"I know.. and I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

He didn't need to express himself for me to understand that he cared for me. His actions spoke louder than his words.

The fact that they were willing to shoulder such debts just for me to enter the Lock was enough to make me understand.

".. I'm glad you feel that way. I may not express it, but I am truly happy with who you have become. I'm a little embarrassed that I wasn't able to do better, but when I say that I'm proud of what you've achieved, I mean it."

He silently smiled, and rummaging through his pocket, he took out a certain something and handed it to me.

"What's this?"

"Happy birthday."

"Uh?"

I looked up in surprise.

"Birthday?"

Today was my birthday?

Wait, was that why Amanda made a cake today?

Click―

The lights turned on, and a few faces I was familiar with showed up all of a sudden.

"Happy birthday!"

***

―Following the Strategist's orders, members of the Lust Clan will be heading in the Dwarven Portal's direction. To reiterate, members of the Lust clan should travel in the northwestern direction toward where Dwarven Portal is located.

A raspy voice echoed within the mind of every demon within the Idoania.

'Head toward the dwarven Portal?'

Spurt―! Tearing her gaze away from the elf in front of her, who slumped shortly after, Angelica's head raised up.

She scowled when she heard the command, but when she turned her head and saw everyone else in her clan flying in the air and listening to the command, she had no choice but to do the same.

'How odd.'

Angelica's brows furrowed as she observed her clansmen moving about without making a great deal of commotion.

It was the first time she had seen members of her clan be this obedient, and she could only speculate that it was because of this so-called "Strategist."

To be completely honest, she did not know very much about him. She only knew two things about him: one, that he was someone whom the Demon King had personally recruited, and two, that their record was impeccable, with not a single loss under their name.

Not only that, but some rumors had it that even the Clan Chiefs respected him. This was not something that she could ignore, and it baffled Angelica.

The fact that he had built his reputation over the course of a few years was the most surprising aspect of this matter. It served as further evidence of the formidable nature of the person who acted as this strategist.

'I should try to report this to Ren when I return.'

She had a great deal of information that she needed to impart to him. During her time in the clan, she became embroiled in a number of political disputes and came to learn a lot of things.

If not for the war, things would've been..

'Should I be happy or annoyed by the war?'

She was a demon.. but after coming back home, she was more than certain that her decision to join Ren was the right one.

"There you are."

Angelica turned around just as she heard a voice coming from behind her. When she turned her head, she was confronted by the person she had hoped to avoid seeing the most.

"Why are you following me?"

"Didn't I tell you before?"

"The answer is no."

Angelica's facial expression distorted.

She was becoming more and more annoyed by his antics.

It was obvious that all he cared about was the position he'd gain after 'marrying' her due to the influence her mother held, and Angelica understood this... The fact that he didn't even try to conceal his intentions was what made Angelica loathe him even further.

"It's fine if you refuse. In the end, it's not up to yo―"

WHOOOOOOOM―! The area around the two of them distorted, and at the same instant, both of them came to a stop. When she looked up ahead, she saw a crack form in the air above her that slowly expanded to reveal over ten different dwarves wearing large suits that towered over her figure.

They were all holding a device in their hands, and it was pointed in their direction. The air began to warp right at the very tip of the device, and Angelica's expression changed drastically.

"Ah...!?"

WIIIING―! WIIIIING―!

Ten large beams headed her way.

"Shit."