The sun unknowingly moved upward and finally reached midday.

Under the scorching sun, valuable shade was provided by the rows of umbrellas on the beach and the sunshades strung between several palm trees.

"Ouch... it hurts... "

"Mom, it hurts..."

"I told you to put on sunscreen."

Sitting cross-legged on a dustproof mat, Aya poured cooling lotion onto her hands to relieve the sunburn, scolding the girls and the animal-eared loli lying on both sides of her.

After playing crazily on the beach all morning, Ellie's delicate skin was severely sunburned under the sunlight, with her back from shoulder blades to lower back turning red.

Chirp was in a similar situation as well. Aya never thought that the ancient civilization that created Chirp, a living endless magic Yuan core, had never considered sunburn issues...

Well, it was just unexpected for Aunt Aya and Uncle Tiran, who bizarrely raised the humanoid alchemical core that could potentially have a profound impact on Magic civilization as their daughters.

"I didn't expect it to hurt so much. And, Miss Fiona didn’t apply sunscreen either; isn’t she fine right now?"

Ellie lay pitifully on the mat, not daring to move, feeling as though any slight facial expression or movement would bring a sharp pain.

"You can't compare yourself to little Fee."

Aya was speechless.

Who is Little Angel? Despite feeling a bit less noticeable lately and being in the Holy Rank, both Tiran and she hadn’t broken through Holy Rank yet in the Lower Realm and were struggling in front of her. But after enduring the sun for so long, Ellie was feeling refreshed.

"Sob... Playing with Mom and Dad was so much fun, I forgot..."

The little loli was also aggrieved.

"Good girl, Chirp~ It's okay; let me help you heal."

Aya placed the bottle of lotion she was holding on Chirp, releasing a ring of milky white light.

Under the healing wind, Chirp’s sunburn quickly disappeared, leaving her skin as good as new.

Then, Aya applied the sunburn cream she had prepared on Ellie's back. Despite the girl struggling due to the pain, Aya firmly held her in place.

"Ouch! Aya, what are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm helping you apply the cream."

"Why are you being so rough? It hurts! It's not fair; I want a healing spell like Chirp's..."

Aya sighed and looked sincerely at the girl, explaining with deep concern:

"My magic is too strong for ordinary people. If it were a serious injury, it would be fine, but for minor injuries like sunburn, excessive healing from me could cause harm as the excess magical energy converted into the body might damage you. Chirp is different; she has a strong absorption and storage capacity for magic, so I can do this."

While saying this, Aya's hands were not idle, meticulously applying the lotion on the girl's back despite her struggles.

"But it hurts too much! Aya, be gentler!"

Ellie's eyes were welling up with tears.

"It's for the better absorption of the medicine. Don't worry; I definitely don't hold a grudge from our last pool incident~"

It was because of that incident?! Ellie peered back at Aya, finding her familiar maid smile masking the unmistakable darkness in her narrowed eyes.

This wasn't the gentle and cute Aya she knew before!

As the girl wailed, Aya completed her revenge on the pool incident.

"What did you do to me just now, Aya?"

Tiran, who was cleaning himself with fresh water nearby and had heard the commotion, looked over and twitched his eyes at the sight of Ellie lying on the mat panting, with irregularly spread lotion on her body.

"Ahh, I'm truly sorry, Ellie! I didn't mean to! Somehow, I was controlled by dark emotions just now!"

Frantically apologizing, Aya's actions confirmed his suspicion. This was the real Aya.

So, she must have learned quite a bit from Tiran.

The girl turned her face away silently.

"It feels like so much has happened... Oh, forget it. It's time to cut the cake, come over quickly."

Tiran pulled Aya up from the ground and greeted the others nearby.

Under the largest sunshade, a huge three-tiered cake on a metallic stand stayed fresh under the frosty Chi emitted by Vivienne.

The bottom layer was about half the size of a door panel, with fluffy cake beneath the snowy white cream, complemented by a carefully crafted durian ice cream and Chirp's special mixed fruit jam as the base. With the ice cream maintaining its temperature, even in this scorching summer, it made one quite appetizing.

"It looks fantastic."

Even Aya couldn't help but marvel, though she had tasted it before; seeing the finished product was a different feeling.

"Hehe, Tiran, why don't you give more compliments to Mommy~"

Vivienne nodded in satisfaction and eagerly looked at Tiran.

"Don't give me that demanding look! Geez."

Tiran instinctively turned away, but two seconds later, he reluctantly turned back, whispering like a sulking but reasonable child.

"T-Thank you, Mom."

"Yes, yes! What else?"

The queen was very pleased and nodded repeatedly.

"T-There's nothing else! I'm not good at speeches for this kind of occasion!"

Tiran stomped his foot, quickly grabbed a knife from the side, and thrust it into Aya's hand. "Aya, hurry and cut the cake! Let's share it with everyone!"

"Wait, aren't we supposed to light candles and sing a birthday song first?"

"It's this young lady's birthday today! I say cut, so cut!" Tiran anxiously grabbed Aya's hand and guided it towards the cake.

"Just wait, let me cut! Stop pulling, you're getting cream everywhere!"

Amidst the chaos, everyone present watched the two playfully bicker, somewhat accustomed to it – even Vivienne was enjoying the scene.

Despite the commotion, the two managed to cut the top two layers of the cake properly. It seemed Vivienne had indeed prepared enough portions when she made the cake.

"Did everyone get a piece?"

Handing out the last plate with cake on it, Tiran turned around and scanned the audience.

"I got mine!"

"Thank you, Prince Tiran!"

"It would be great if you could invite us to your next birthday too!"

...

Listening to the friendly responses, Tiran felt somewhat dazed.

In a few days, he would turn eighteen. In the world he originated from, this age would be standing at the doorstep of college entrance exams, looking forward to the future.

"It really is a completely different life... but not bad at all."

Seeing Aya wiping off the cream from cutting the cake off her hands, Tiran couldn’t help but smile.

At the moment when the fork was about to cut into the cake, a massive explosion suddenly resounded from the trees on the cliff above the beach.