"Theo~! Close your eyes please~," Haze asked, smiling brightly.

That beautiful smile of hers had made me fall for her the first time we met on the cold streets of that small city.

That was a funny encounter, but it was still enough to make me bound to her.

She was my sun, moon, and twilight.

She is timid but one of the happiest people I had seen.

Her eyes are special, but that's not the reason I like them.

Their deepness, the joy of life, and warmth towards everyone around her made me fall for them.

Looking into her shining purple eyes, I blinked and a smile painted my face.

As we were sitting on the grass, I got closer to her and almost into her face.

She looked at me in confusion, not knowing what I was doing.This chapter's initial release occurred on the N0v3l-B1n site.

Leaning even closer, I kissed her neck and returned to my spot with a satisfied smile.

Her calm, cheerful expression changed, and the blush that was as pink as her hair popped up on her beautiful face.

"H-hay! Alf is here too! What d-do you think..."

Her cracking, beautiful voice was my favorite thing about her.

She was just... gorgeous~.

"Ok, ok. He wasn't looking so calm down~. See, I'm closing my eyes just as you asked~."

"But-. Ok, don't open them~."

She wasn't angry but just flustered from the sudden attack, so she calmed down pretty quickly.

'As cute as ever...'

Who would make a crown of flowers sitting by your side and tell you to close your eyes for that?

We both know it was stupid but... still adorable.

Feeling the light touch of flowers on my head, I smiled.

We all are a child at heart after all.

"Ok, open your eyes~," she chuckled while holding my hand.

I got a strange feeling from her laughter and opened my eyes.

I saw her smiling, and she was trying to hold back her laughter.

"What is so funny-" before I could finish my question, we heard a burst of laughter from the other side.

"Hehehehehe... dad?! What is that?"

Alf was laughing while covering his mouth. It was surprising to see him laughing like this.

I wanted to see what was on top of my head, but... I just stared at him.

He was quieter these past few days than his usual self.

His self-declared rival was not with them right now.

He was upset and barely laughed like this.

Right now, seeing him laugh like that was enough for me and for her, too.

She didn't know we would get such a joyous reaction from the small prank, but... it was worth it.

He stopped when our gaze was strangely too much for him and turned away with an embarrassed look, just like her.

I took out a small mirror from my storage device, which was in a form of a ring.

"You did pretty good work on this one, my love~," I genuinely praised her with my heart.

Her decoration skills were considered one of the best in the capital and when it came to decorating flowers... she was the best.

At least to me... she was the best.

I looked more closely at the crown and smiled.

It was a crown made of fresh flowers that formed the shape of a lion's head.

It was a blue lion with black eyes and pink teeth.

It looked pretty cute to me, so why were they laughing?

"What's there to laugh at this?" I asked, genuinely confused by their reaction.

"Oh, dear~. You see, for us to see that cute face under a ferocious lion.. is quite entertaining~," she blushed but chose to explain and smiled.

'Is it? Well, if something like this can make them happy, I would even wear a hippo on my head.' I laughed and hugged her.

One was a smart child who liked magic, the other was a childish mom who loved playing.

Now, if only Eon was here... things might have been more fun than now.

Big sister Nolen was doing good and brother Brian has also started returning to his normal self.

I can understand his position very well as I would be the same as him if something similar happened to any of them.

He was there and still couldn't save Eon.

What could be more devastating for a father like him?

"Haaa..."

A deep sigh suddenly escaped my mouth as I looked at her.

She blinked and blinked again, and with her third blink, she caught up to my thoughts.

A worried expression clouded her beautiful, smiling face.

I didn't want this reaction, so I grabbed her hand.

"He will be back," I spoke in a confident tone.

"Right...?" Alf said from the other side of the table.

Though there was uncertainty in his voice, his eyes were confident.

"Yes..."

Haze answered instead of me, tightening the grip on my other hand.

I simply nodded to affirm and smiled at him.

I didn't show it on the outside, but I was worried.

Just surviving in that hell could change a person to a great degree.

Even if he safely returns to us, some scars on his heart will remain the same.

But... that can be healed with time.

He will definitely be ok.

I hoped and smiled again.

***

An older-looking person in a butler's uniform looked over the garden in front of the great house from above.

His eyes contained sorrow, anger, and worry.

He was Zhen, the butler that personally served as the head of the house and a [Origin skill] user.

He was a professional assassin with a great experience.

He has been serving this house even before the birth of their second child, Nolen.

He was almost a grandfather to them, and he loved this family.

He was a part of this big family and seeing everyone so down these past few days had made a great impact on him.

He already hated those damn demons, probably as much as Brian.

It devastated him when he heard the story of how things had gone wrong, but he was somewhat proud.

He was proud of his young master.

Eon had really protected them, but... it was still bad.

He was now most probably in a forbidden zone.

He knew what type of places they were.

He had experienced such a place for a brief moment and he knew... they weren't somewhere a 6-year-old should be.

They were a place no one should be if they weren't confident in their skills.

It would already be a miracle if he could come back from there, but that forest, in particular, housed the greatest number of ferocious energy beasts.

Not only beasts but also plants, rocks, weather, and nature were at their highest strength there.

If he were in Eon's position, he might be able to survive for a bit longer, but... coming out of it was a distinct challenge itself.

You go deep, then deeper, and then you continue there.

They did not know much about these forbidden zones, but he knew a bit more than nothing.

If you aren't strong enough, you can not do anything there.

Even as a 6-year-old child who was surprisingly a (tier-1) mage, it was difficult.

It would be a miracle if he could kill the weakest (Orange) ranked beast with his life on the line.

A surprise attack from even a (Red) ranked beast was enough to kill a tender child like him.

But if he could miraculously overcome those challenges, he will be on an extraordinary level than normal experts.

Just survival in those places could show the strength one had.

To survive hell, one must need a powerful mind and resolve.

And he knew... Eon had both of them.

A mind strong enough to resist a demon's [Hypnosis] and resolve strong enough to save his parents before his own life.

If anyone could actually have a chance to survive here... it was him.

"We will be waiting, young master... as long as it takes."

He muttered and walked back to report to his master.