Probably because the experience of having her father stand in front of her just now was too unfamiliar, Yue Lin was absent-minded the whole way back.

Only after they got inside, when Li Wei asked with a teasing look, “Yue Lin, can’t bear to let go of Daddy’s hand?” did she suddenly snap back to herself. She immediately stomped her foot and let go of that awful man’s hand.

Damn it.

I let my guard down.

How could she possibly forgive him so easily over something like that?

And this annoying man hadn’t even looked like he wanted to apologize from the start.

Yue Lin puffed up again and glared at Li Wei with renewed caution.

Li Wei had still been thinking about how to tease his daughter some more, but then his expression froze slightly.

It was as if Yue Lin had an emotion antenna on her head, while Li Wei had some kind of “special radar” installed on him.

Even without seeing her yet, Li Wei had a feeling that Tsukika was back.

With that thought, he paused for a moment, then pulled open the outer door.

But the instant the door opened, Li Wei couldn’t help going still.

His gaze met the girl standing at the entrance.

She had silver hair, crimson eyes, an elegant long dress, and the refined hairstyle of a noble young lady.

She had inherited Tsukika’s original beauty completely, but all the childishness had been washed away. This was the peerless form Li Wei had imagined—what Tsukika would look like if that petite body grew into a young maiden.

“What’s wrong, my Hero?” Tsukika clearly wasn’t surprised the door had opened. She lightly pinched her skirt and gave a graceful little curtsy. “Can’t even recognize your own beautiful wife anymore? The one you’ve studied so thoroughly?”

Her innocent, lively manner made her look like a noble lady who had escaped from a gilded cage.

That kind of intelligent beauty felt as if it carried the blessing of all purity and wisdom.

Li Wei silently swept a glance over Tsukika’s chest.

“Now I recognize you.”

This grown, more human-leaning form of hers really had gone beyond his expectations. But of course, he wasn’t about to ask about the secret himself. Otherwise, who knew how badly she’d mock him.

Tsukika: “????”

The smile on the Demon Lord’s face stiffened.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean I recognized you the moment I heard your voice.”

“My voice? Then what was that look just now?” Tsukika asked with a cold smile.

“What look? I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.” Li Wei shook his head and put on a perfectly innocent face. Then his eyes quickly dropped to Tiffany, collapsed at the doorway by his feet.

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

“Tiffany? Why are you here?”

The moment Li Wei opened the door, the killing intent and malice Tsukika had pinned onto Tiffany were dispersed.

But the elf girl was clearly only just snapping out of the daze of having her whole life flash before her eyes. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she looked at Li Wei.

“Mr. Li Wei... did you die too?”

Li Wei was silenced on the spot.

He couldn’t answer Tiffany, so he looked back at Tsukika.

“What did you do?”

“Relax. She won’t die,” Tsukika said flatly.

“This shameless cow-elf was sneaking around outside my husband’s house with that look on her face, like she wanted to steal a bite. I only gave her a tiny little lesson.”

As she said that, she suddenly narrowed her rose-red eyes and looked at Li Wei with a half-smile.

“You care about her a lot? Seeing me bully her made your heart ache?”

“This is the human world.”

Li Wei let out a light sigh.

“I know that. That’s why she’s not dead, isn’t she?”

Tsukika smiled as she walked toward Tiffany.

“Miss Cow, are you alright?”

Looking at that beautiful little face, Tiffany suddenly went pale. It was like she had finally come back to her senses. She jumped up at once.

Using both hands and feet, and with unbelievable agility, Tiffany scrambled behind Li Wei. Then she nearly bounced into the air and grabbed his arm tightly.

“Mr. Li Wei, sh-she... she...”

Tiffany’s voice trembled.

But Li Wei’s mind also blanked for a moment from that sudden attack, because in that instant, a soft, abundant mercy he had never once felt from Tsukika swallowed his arm whole.

“?”

The moment Tsukika saw that, her face darkened at once.

A cold smile, beautiful enough to be devastating, appeared on her lovely face. Her scarlet pupils seemed to slowly stain deeper, like blood spreading through them.

At that moment, even Yue Lin, who had been standing in the room with her arms crossed and watching coldly, couldn’t help shivering. Then she silently retreated farther into the inner room.

Without changing expression, Li Wei pulled his arm out of Tiffany’s embrace. Then he looked at her seriously.

“Tiffany, didn’t I tell you to go back? Why did you come running over again?”

He really did have a headache.

This dumb girl had no idea what she was facing...

And she was still using that idiotic little seduction routine of hers. At this rate, there’d definitely be a monument to her on the elves’ hall of suicidal stupidity.

“I-I was just worried about you, Mr. Li Wei.”

Tiffany still hadn’t realized how serious this was. She spoke in a small, aggrieved voice.

She admitted it. Just now, she really had been terrified by that girl who didn’t look fierce at all. The chill she’d felt in that instant when their eyes met still seemed to linger in her heart.

As a level 58 elven ranger, Tiffany was still some distance away from earning a title, but among the Chosen Hero’s party, her strength already counted as above average.

And yet a single glance from the other side had nearly scared her into wetting herself.

Tiffany could hardly imagine what kind of power that was.

Not even Vivian’s older sister, the long-famous Sword Empress, had ever put that much pressure on her.

That oppressive feeling even reminded Tiffany of the despair she’d felt as a child, imprisoned in the Demon King Citadel.

That kind of intimidation felt like the trembling aura leaking from a Demon Lord.

And yet... she never once connected Tsukika’s identity to the demon race.

Mr. Li Wei had once been the strongest Chosen Hero. How could he possibly be in league with demons? With how upright he was, if even a trace of demonic aura got on him, he’d probably want to cut it off himself.

What Tiffany didn’t know was that if she said that out loud, Li Wei would be too ashamed to show his face.

Standing behind him, she only felt as if her cold blood had finally found warmth again. Her stiff body gradually recovered too, as if she had regained some courage.

Of course, Tiffany still didn’t dare look at Tsukika’s face. She quietly tried to justify herself.

“On the way back, I happened to see Mr. Li Wei with that little girl again. I was worried he wouldn’t be able to take care of her alone, so I thought I’d come help.”

When Tsukika heard that, the coldness on her face suddenly faded. It was as if she’d thought of something amusing. Her soft pink lips curled up.

“So Miss Cow has a kind heart too.”

Being called a cow over and over made Tiffany blush a little. How could such a beautiful girl say something so crude?

But... if you put it that way, what would Mr. Li Wei think? He’d only be more attracted to me, right?

Tiffany secretly watched Li Wei’s expression and found that he was looking at her too, with a complicated gaze. There seemed to be helplessness in it, and even a trace of pity.

But before any joy could rise in Tiffany’s heart, Tsukika spoke again in that faint, drifting tone.

“But sadly, there’s no need for your concern. The little girl you mentioned is my daughter with Li Wei. We’ll take good care of her.”

“Oh. I see...”

Tiffany nodded.

“Then I’m relieved.”

She patted her chest, looking like she had finally let out a sigh of relief.

But after a moment, she suddenly froze in place and said blankly,

“Wait... what did you just say?”

“Daughter?????”

...

“What did you say?? A daughter!!!?”

Some time later, another shocked voice rang high through Dawn’s camp.

Vivian, who had been fiercely slashing at an iron dummy labeled “Li Wei,” let out a cry even more unbelievable than Tiffany’s after hearing the news.

Tiffany looked utterly lost.

Her head drooped so low in dejection it was practically sinking into her chest, like an ostrich trying to bury itself.

Vivian suddenly became so flustered she could barely speak. She threw down her sword and strode over to Tiffany. At first she wanted to grab the girl by the collar and shake her, but after realizing there was basically no fabric to grab, she switched to shaking Tiffany by the shoulders instead.

Grinding her teeth, she said, “Don’t stop halfway through! What exactly happened? How does he suddenly have a daughter??”

“It’s that little girl we saw at the merchant guild before,” Tiffany said softly. “She’s Mr. Li Wei’s daughter.”

“That girl... she looked four or five years old. How could she possibly be his daughter??”

Vivian froze for a second after hearing that, but then she let out a breath of relief. Looking at the idiot elf in front of her, she suddenly felt embarrassed for having taken this seriously.

Right.

She’d almost forgotten.

Tiffany was an idiot.

This stupid elf had definitely misunderstood something.

“A four- or five-year-old daughter would mean Li Wei got involved with some woman five or six years ago. Back then, he was still the strongest Chosen Hero. All his energy was poured into the campaign against Annihilation. There’s no way he’d have run off to have a child with some woman.”

Vivian calmed down.

Li Wei was annoying now, yes. But even she wouldn’t deny it—his past self... was someone worthy of admiration.

And more importantly...

Back then, Li Wei hadn’t even accepted that annoying woman. Even if, to everyone else, the two of them looked like a couple.

As Vivian thought that, a sternly beautiful figure flashed through her mind, and she suddenly bit down on her lip.

Ever since she was born, she had lived under that hateful woman’s shadow.

Suppressing the irritation in her heart, Vivian suddenly looked at Tiffany suspiciously.

“Did that guy tell you something?”

“He deliberately said he had a daughter, then tricked you into coming back to find me, just so he could use that news to provoke me?”

Vivian felt like she had discovered the truth.

That guy still couldn’t let her go in the end, could he? Making up some daughter and all that—he just wanted to shake her up, wanted to see if she still cared about him.

But there was no way she’d fall for something that simple.

Tiffany shook her head.

“No. Mr. Li Wei didn’t say anything.”

“Then why?”

“How are you so sure that girl is Li Wei’s daughter? Didn’t you just believe one side of the story?” Vivian curled her lip.

Only this stupid elf could get fooled that easily.

Li Wei... still not giving up, huh?

If he’d just lowered his head properly to her back then, wouldn’t all this have been avoided?

Tiffany had no idea what Vivian was thinking. She was still immersed in the misery of having her home turf stolen, so she answered honestly.

“Because his wife threw me out.”

Vivian said, “What does that prove?”

She gave Tiffany a speechless look.

Then, after a stretch of silence, her eyes slowly widened. Her whole body trembled.

“What did you just say?”

“W-wife?!”

Vivian started to doubt her own ears.

“Yeah, wife.” The more Tiffany thought about it, the angrier she got.

Humans really had no sense of self-restraint.

How could someone have a wife and still shut other women out?

“Why didn’t you tell me that part first?!” Vivian was shaking with rage.

Tiffany didn’t understand what Vivian was so mad about. She blinked and said, puzzled,

“You didn’t ask.”

“I… I…”

Vivian was left utterly speechless and dejected by her own Miracle Walker teammate. She stared at Tiffany’s innocent expression for a long moment, then turned her head away and slammed a fist against the nearby iron training dummy, her voice trembling:

“This is… unbelievable! Just to spite me—”

“Did he really go so far as to hastily marry some random woman… and even take on another man’s daughter?” Vivian’s eyes burned with fury and profound disappointment.

What happened to you? How did you fall this far?

The former strongest warrior—the only man ever worthy of the Sword Empress—reduced to this farce? Snatching up a woman of dubious origin on a whim, then raising someone else’s child?

“Yeah…”

Tiffany murmured, equally perplexed, “Why would Mr. Li Wei choose this… over staying with Dawn?”

Vivian’s face froze.

A sharp pang struck deep inside. She felt utterly wounded.