Chapter 63

An elf man returned to his homeland after a one-and-a-half-month absence. Although he was in his mid-forties, due to the characteristic of elves and fire foxes to age slowly, he looked like he was in his late twenties.

He had been on a long-term stay in a country across the sea due to certain circumstances. Originally, he was supposed to bring his youngest daughter, but since she "ran away as he had anticipated," he went with his eldest son and a few subordinates.

Upon returning to his hometown, he headed straight for his own house.

"Ah, Cyril. Welcome back."

"Cyril, welcome back. You're right on schedule. I've prepared a feast, so look forward to it."

"Thank you. Lucie, Kuu."

The man was greeted by an elf beauty and a fire fox beauty. Both were Cyril's wives and the same age as him. Thanks to the characteristics of their races, they looked young like Cyril.

Two of Cyril's three wives were present.

"Has anything changed in Elsie?"

The elf man, Cyril, asked the two beauties.

This country, Elsie, was a nation where elves and fire foxes were the main inhabitants, and many other races gathered. Despite being a small country, it possessed overwhelming technological and military power.

Thanks to this, it was a country that other nations did not dare to invade. In the past, an empire that was once called the strongest in the world was destroyed after attempting to invade Elsie.

Cyril himself was in a class of his own. The only Rank 6 in the world. The man who created the underground labyrinth. He was revered, and feared, almost like a god in this world.

"Well, nothing much has changed. The runaway girl, Kuna, hasn't returned yet."

"That's right. I thought she would cry and come back within two weeks, but she's surprisingly persistent. She's the crybaby among her siblings, but she's stubborn."

Despite their daughter not returning, there was no particular worry in their voices.

The reason was that they knew Kuna's strength and trusted Cyril's words before he left Elsie.

"That girl won't be back for a while. ...It might be a while before she returns here."

Cyril murmured as if he knew the future.

"That's good. ...However, Kuna is strong and smart, but she's a bit absent-minded. I'm worried she might be deceived by someone bad."

The fox-eared beauty, Kuu, whispered.

Kuna, the girl, was somewhat absent-minded and got scared easily without someone by her side.

"I understand your concern, Kuu. There were a few possibilities that could have led to that, but this time it's fine. She has friends who will protect her. They seem reliable, so I can trust them."

"You sound very confident after being away for over a month."

"I'm worried about my daughter too, and I've taken various measures. She will gain much more by being out in the world than staying in Elsie. I pushed her to get stronger in the outside world."

"Was the engagement talk to make Kuna run away?"

"No, that was genuine. If she had allowed it, I wanted her to be happy in a distant land. Being in this continent where mana is active is toxic to her. She has too much talent. Even when she was young, her outbursts were so powerful that the entire Illac had to intervene, and many were injured, including me. Since then, I've disabled about 70% of her magic circuits, but even so, no one in Elsie could beat her at Rank 1. If she stays on this continent, it will happen again. The thought of it happening when she's at a higher rank makes me shudder. If things continue as they are, Kuna will eventually be crushed by her own talent."

Cyril chuckled, sat down, and sipped the tea that the elf beauty had prepared.

"Wait a minute, Cyril. Kuna's destination is the Sealed City of Erin, right? Isn't she raising her rank rapidly?"

"Yes."

"If her rank rises and that happens, no one can stop it. Even with her malfunctioning magic circuits, it's that serious."

"I told you. Kuna has friends now. They will surely guide her."

Cyril replied calmly to Kuu's panicked voice.

"But, something that even Cyril can't do..."

"I called someone who can do what I can't. Besides, there will come a time when Kuna's talent is needed. [Destruction] is imminent. One Rank 6 isn't enough; I need three more... The moment Kuna refused to go across the sea, I counted her and her friends as part of our forces. Rank 6 isn't achievable through effort alone; only the chosen ones can become it."

"Are you really sure it's okay?"

"It's fine. Trust your husband and daughter."

"...You really are something, Cyril."

Cyril and Kuu laughed together. They had spent so much time together that they understood each other just by looking at each other.

At that moment, a visitor roughly knocked on the door of Cyril's house. Cyril opened it.

"Hi, Cyril. Your cute, cute Yurie is here to visit."

There stood a late-teenage girl with short brown hair and emerald green eyes.

She was short and had a cute but slightly mischievous face.

"...It's been a while. You're calling yourself Yurie now, and your appearance has changed, so I didn't recognize you at first. So, you're using that name and form now?"

"Yep. My previous name was too famous, so I changed it."

"True... Still, isn't that the uniform of the Sealed City of Erin's knight school? Isn't it a bit much for your age? How old are you?"

"Oops, I can't say more than that. How rude to ask a lady. If you keep saying things like that, I won't tell you anything about your precious Kuna."

Cyril raised his hands in surrender. He, too, wanted to know about Kuna. Even if he knew the future, he wanted to gather live information.

"Okay, okay, you're cute. You're cute. Tell me because you're cute."

"...That's a bit concerning. Well, whatever. Kuna is doing well. Actually, she didn't even notice me. I even changed her diaper once."

"No, I don't think it's easy for her to connect you with her former senior at the same school."

"You're right."

Yurie smiled brightly.

"As you asked, I'm pushing her hard to raise her rank. Those kids have potential. Even though I'm pushing them to the brink, they're overcoming it."

"That's my daughter."

"Sure, sure. Overprotective, overprotective. Anyway, she successfully reached Rank 2 within a month. At this rate, it will be in time. Now, how should I push them next?"

"You seem to be enjoying it."

"Well, Kuna is cute, Soji is fun to tease, and Anne's dedication is inspiring. It's a great party. ...So much that I want to break it."

Yurie's face was momentarily filled with malice. Cyril realized this was the face she made when she found a new toy and chuckled.

"That's enough. After all, the one you're dealing with, even in a false world, challenged me. He survived even after I used [The Silver Dragon of Destruction] on him. He's not that easy to kill. I experienced all possibilities with that god, but he was the only one I couldn't kill."

"Ugh, you couldn't kill him with that? Even considering the equivalent of Rank 6 magic power, that's abnormal. Haha, interesting. That's why Kuna could easily defeat a Rank 2 at Rank 1. So, it wasn't just because of her connection to Kuna."

Yurie laughed, rolling on the floor.

"But, isn't it strange? You called someone who would protect Kuna in any situation, yet you faced her in a false world. You, even in a false world, opposed your daughter."

"...I'll do what's necessary. The fastest way to see if someone would risk their life for my daughter is to put them in that situation."

"Typical. You haven't changed. Also, here's a souvenir. I brought it from an old acquaintance."

With that, Yurie took a letter from the bag on her back.

It bore the seal of the Kingdom of Corinne.

Cyril opened the letter.

"I see, an invitation to the sword-wearing ceremony of Kval Besta. ...Should I go?"

"Wow, that's rare. I thought you weren't interested in such things."

"I want to see Kval Besta again after a long time. It's a sword made by Quiero. Also, I want to meet the man who is with Kuna. It will be the first time I meet him in the real world."

Cyril smiled. Despite the simple expression, there was a strange intensity.

Lucie, Kuu, and Yurie were trembling.

Lucie and Kuu started whispering to each other.

"Hey, Lucie, isn't Cyril a bit scary?"

"Basically, Cyril is overprotective. Remember how he was when Lucie got married?"

"Yeah, that was intense. I hope the boy Kuna's friends are with is okay. Cyril doted on Kuna the most."

"Kuna was also quite a daddy's girl. I can understand why Cyril dotes on her. ...I'm not sure if it's okay. Let's trust Kuna's boyfriend. At least, let's pray that Cyril doesn't kill him."

Cyril's two wives watched the passionate Cyril and prayed that he wouldn't go too far.

Starting today, a new chapter begins.

In this chapter, the truth about Anne's father, which was not revealed in Chapter 2, and Kuna's secret will be uncovered.