Since dinner began, Li Wei had been under Tsukika’s unrelenting scrutiny.

He sensed the Demon Lord was scheming something unpleasant. Though he couldn’t pinpoint her plan yet, he knew the evening held no good.

But catching sight of the candy Tsukika idly rolled across the table, his heart stilled.

He did hope she’d eat the candy he’d brought—but showing even a hint of that wish would tip her off.

Noticing his gaze, Tsukika picked up the beautifully wrapped candy, toyed with it briefly, and smiled.

“This candy, specially bought for me by the Chosen Hero… I can’t bear to eat it so soon. I must cherish it.”

“Just like this meal, prepared only for me.”

“No other Demon Lord gets to taste the Chosen Hero’s cooking, you know~”

Li Wei replied flatly, “Is that so.”

“If you cherish it that much, skip the meal too.”

“That won’t do.”

“If I don’t eat my fill,” Tsukika said with mock shyness and feigned fear, “I won’t have the strength to handle the Chosen Hero tonight.”

Li Wei’s face stayed placid, as if he hadn’t heard—but his thoughts drifted.

He’d resolved to survive, yet had no intention of becoming the Demon Lord’s nightly exercise tool.

Even stripped of his sacred duty, being pinned beneath her night after night was unbecoming for a former Chosen Hero—and frankly, his body couldn’t take it.

So he’d prepared a double safeguard for tonight.

Soon after dinner, hoping to enlist his daughter—the first layer of his plan—Li Wei found the chance utterly gone.

“What do you want? I don’t feel like dealing with you,” Yue Lin said, arms crossed, her ahoge standing proudly defiant. She might as well have shoved him away with a Buddha’s Palm.

Li Wei watched dumbfounded as she slipped into the small bedroom and shut the door.

This wasn’t right. She shouldn’t have rejected him so bluntly.

He turned to Tsukika. “Did you say something to Yue Lin?”

A tipsy flush stained Tsukika’s pale cheeks, glistening under the lamplight—utterly enticing.

She crossed her white-stockinged legs, tugged her collar open slightly as if overheated, fanned herself with delicate fingers. Her crimson eyes surveyed Li Wei with playful certainty.

“Nothing much.”

“I just saw she’d been bullied too harshly today. Let her rest.”

“Speaking of which… How cold-hearted of the Chosen Hero. Abandoning your daughter for years, offering no compensation—then bullying her? Isn’t that too much?”

Tsukika shifted into a pitiful pose.

“I know my actions angered you. But if you’re upset… take it out on me, this mother. Not our daughter.”

Anyone hearing this would imagine a dark tale: a wicked Chosen Hero tormenting a fragile demon mother and daughter.

Had Li Wei not been the victim, he might’ve believed it.

“Are you truly willing to bear it?” Li Wei watched her feigned fragility calmly, searching for an opening.

“Of course. Anything. Even calling you ‘Dad’ in my daughter’s place?” Tsukika smiled.

Li Wei’s composure shattered. His thoughts short-circuited.

“I just remembered I have things to do.” Under her gaze, the air grew stifling. *A wise man avoids crumbling walls.* He retreated toward the study—maybe an escape awaited.

Tsukika didn’t stop him. “Seems the Chosen Hero, having tasted last night’s delights, can’t wait for the next round?”

Li Wei: “?”

He said nothing, glancing casually at the window beside her.

Then his eye twitched. Crimson light silently flooded the living room.

Stunned, Li Wei turned to her. “You’re serious?”

She’d activated her Domain to seal the space?

For someone like him—with no status panel?

Tsukika’s face stayed blank. “You are humanity’s strongest. How could this weakest Demon Lord afford carelessness? *Even a lion uses full strength to hunt a rabbit*—wasn’t that your saying? Besides… I’m just a poor little rabbit~”

Li Wei: “…”

Since when does a little rabbit pin a lion down and have its way with it?

“Shall we begin here… or in the bedroom?” Tsukika added softly, leaving no room for refusal.

Li Wei glanced at his daughter’s shut door, sighed, and turned toward the bedroom.

Their battlefield shifted swiftly behind the closed bedroom door.

Freshly bathed in a nightgown, Tsukika watched Li Wei—forced into a bath, now lying on the bed—a faint smile playing on her lips.

“The Chosen Hero seems… unwilling to cooperate.”

Seeing his eyes tightly shut, feigning zen-like detachment, she chuckled.

Her bare foot pressed down gently.

Goosebumps raced across his skin. A current-like tingling wildly stimulated his nerves.

Li Wei suppressed every reaction, eyes closed. “If I weren’t cooperating, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Oh? So you’ve done all you will… and the rest is up to me?”

Tsukika felt no anger. Gazing at the obedient figure beneath her feet, euphoria bloomed. Her crimson pupils seemed to bleed into bewitching pink.

Soon, Li Wei felt her cunning.

He resisted fiercely, mentally replaying his battle against 【Annihilation】, his holy sword straining against her assault.

*As long as I don’t rise, I remain undefeated.*

Tsukika didn’t stop. Sensing his resolve, she narrowed her eyes. “Ah. I see.”

Li Wei nearly faltered. Before he could steady himself—

“Is it because I changed my appearance?” she teased sweetly.

“This teenage form… does it unsettle you?”

“Do you… prefer my previous form? Smaller… cuter?”

Li Wei: “????”

Humiliation flared—but he stayed silent, eyes shut. *Her words hold no power if my mind stays clear.*

“Very well. Your will is truly unshakable,” Tsukika sighed with feigned regret. “Then I’ll make do. After all~ small things are cute too.”

“????”

Then—Tsukika witnessed a medical miracle.

Blinking in surprise at Li Wei abruptly sitting up, she smiled. “Alright. I admit… that was hasty.”

Li Wei shot her a dead-fish-eyed glare.

It wasn’t weak will. Her assault was just… too potent.

Confused, he watched her. He’d expected victory gloating—but she made no move.

*Isn’t she worried I’ll… cool down?*

Sensing his doubt, Tsukika clasped her hands behind her back. “Truthfully… I still hope you’ll be more proactive. You do enjoy this too, don’t you?”

“Why go through unnecessary trouble? This would fulfill your goal anyway.” Li Wei’s gaze turned wistful.

Tsukika’s voice softened. “But my goal isn’t merely the Source Blood’s growth. Have you forgotten so soon, Chosen Hero?”

“To make you fall in love with me… willingly.”

The words echoed in his ears.

Li Wei’s eyes flickered. “You should know… that’s utterly impossible.”

*Wasn’t this strained dynamic already our limit?*

*We’re destined adversaries.*

*Yet I’ve chosen to give up—and truly have no recourse against her.*

Tsukika: “Did you ever imagine… bearing a daughter with a Demon Lord?”

“Wasn’t that also impossible in your eyes?”

Li Wei fell silent again.

“Enough idle talk. We must hurry. I know… expecting the steadfast Chosen Hero to take initiative is impossible. So we begin step by step.”

Li Wei shook his head—then froze.

Tsukika produced a candy as if by magic. The wrapper unmistakably from his purchase.

“Would you feed me this candy first?” She blinked, making a request.

“Just one word.”

Li Wei said calmly, “No.”

“…”

Tsukika tilted her head, smiling. “Chosen Hero… when did I ever say you had the right to refuse?”