“Ow, ow, ow…”
“Are you okay, Big Sister?
Let me heal you.”
Aura clutched her chest as she crawled out from the ruins, looking completely disheveled.
Seeing this, Mare, who had been watching from the sidelines, immediately ran over.
He looked at her with concern, a green magic circle lighting up in his hand as he placed it over her chest to treat her wounds.
Although not an expert in the field, Mare still knew a few healing spells.
“I’m fine.
As expected of a Supreme Being…
I’m still far too weak.”
Feeling the tingling, cool sensation spreading through her chest, Aura spoke with a sense of dejection.
Though she knew there was a massive gap between her and the Supreme Beings, she hadn’t expected it to be this vast!
From the start of the battle to its end, she had been one-shotted in less than three exchanges.
It weighed heavily on her heart.
If a Floor Guardian couldn’t even withstand a few moves from a Supreme Being, what was the point of their existence?
Moreover, she had failed her Father’s expectations.
It was utterly humiliating.
Her Father must be feeling terrible right now, seeing her defeated so easily.
Aura stole a glance in Naiyuan’s direction, then quickly looked away in fear.
She was terrified of seeing disappointment in his eyes.
To her, that was the most frightening thing possible.
Their creator, Bukubukuchagama-sama, had already left; if her Father also found her useless and chose to leave, what would she do?
At that thought, Aura couldn’t help but tremble.
She was afraid, not daring to lift her head.
Seeing his sister’s state, Mare was frantic.
He wanted to say something but didn’t know how, eventually looking toward Naiyuan for help.
Sensing Mare’s gaze, Naiyuan exchanged a look with Momonga standing beside him and walked toward the two.
“Aura!”
Naiyuan spoke gently as he looked down at the dejected Dark Elf on the ground.
“Ah!
I’m sorry, Father!
I didn’t live up to your expectations!
Please give me another chance!
Next time…
next time I definitely won’t make the same mistake!!”
Hearing the voice from above, Aura flinched and began explaining loudly in a panicked tone, her entire demeanor one of extreme agitation.
“Look up, Aura.”
“Father, I…”
Aura lifted her head fearfully, but what awaited her wasn’t a look of disappointment, but an expression of tenderness and concern.
“You are my child, Aura, so there’s no need to be afraid.
If anyone should apologize, it’s me.
After all, I’m the one who arbitrarily set that goal for you.
Can you forgive me?”
Naiyuan gently stroked the head of the trembling Aura with his left hand.
Instead of blaming her, he took the fault upon himself.
“How could it be Father’s fault?
It’s clearly because I was too weak and failed to meet Father’s expectations!”
Feeling the warmth of the palm on her head, Aura whispered her protest.
“Well, as your father, I don’t think you did anything wrong.
In fact, I think you did quite well.”
Naiyuan shifted his tone, offering her encouragement.
Perhaps Naiyuan’s words were effective, as Aura stopped arguing.
Instead, she gave a soft “mm” and nodded shyly.
No child doesn’t want praise from their parents.
Upon hearing Naiyuan’s encouragement, Aura finally succumbed to her feelings.
Though their settings stated the siblings were seventy-six years old, mentally they were still children.
Furthermore, for Dark Elves, seventy-six was barely past early childhood.
With Mare’s support, Aura stood up and gathered her dropped weapons.
Even though she had been defeated, her heart was filled with an immense sense of happiness.
Even after her failure, he hadn’t given up on her; he had even encouraged her at the end.
What incredible kindness.
“As expected, only Father, as a Supreme Being, is truly fit to rule Nazarick.
By comparison, Momonga-sama and Herohero-sama fall quite short.”
Aura looked at the three Supreme Beings standing before her, thinking secretly to herself.
“Momonga-sama and Herohero-sama are a bit in the way.”
“No, I shouldn’t think like that.
All three Supreme Beings are existences we must protect with our lives.
But if it were Father…”
As she gazed at the three, the thought entered her mind involuntarily, startling her.
Why was she thinking such things?
How could a Guardian be so disrespectful?
It was a great sin, yet she couldn’t help but fantasize.
On the other side, Naiyuan had no idea what his child was thinking.
He looked at Momonga and sent a [Message].
“I say, Momonga, did you have to be so ruthless in a spar?
You knocked off a huge chunk of Aura’s HP.
Good grief, just how many buffs did you stack?”
Naiyuan looked at Momonga with a hint of exasperation.
That buff-loaded punch had genuinely startled him.
He had originally planned to let them go for a few rounds before stopping the duel, but he hadn’t expected the fight to end in a single blow.
He didn’t even have time to speak.
It was lucky that Momonga had only used a standard Warrior-class knockback skill, which didn’t deal much inherent damage.
Otherwise, Aura would have been in real danger.
Of course, the swift conclusion was also due to the fact that Aura—a long-range class—decided to engage Momonga in melee combat.
She was fragile to begin with, yet she charged in for close quarters.
Naiyuan didn’t know what to say.
Was this what they called a “ranged fighter with a melee heart”?
“Ahem, I just thought it was better to be cautious, so I used a *little* bit of enhancement magic.
I didn’t expect it to be that powerful.
To be honest, I was surprised too,” Momonga replied over the [Message], sounding a bit embarrassed.
After all, Aura and Mare were Naiyuan’s “children” in this world.
Beating someone’s child right in front of them felt a bit underhanded—almost like he was the villain.
“Sigh, you should probably go over and show some concern for Aura and the other.
It wouldn’t be good if they started harboring resentment, though the chances of that are slim.”
Naiyuan saw that Momonga was sincere and didn’t press further, simply telling him to go and show some consideration for his subordinates.
“Naiyuan, you really seem to like these NPCs.
It looks like you’re well-suited to raising kids.
You’ll make a great father.”
Herohero walked over to Naiyuan, resting a slime hand on his shoulder as he joked.
“Tsk tsk, isn’t that obvious?
A great man like me is a rare resource.”
Naiyuan replied via [Message] while striking a flamboyant pose, appearing quite self-absorbed.
Herohero: “You’ve definitely got everyone beat when it comes to being shameless!”
Naiyuan: “Better than having no face at all, you pile of tentacles and slime!”
Momonga: “Naiyuan, I feel offended.”
Naiyuan: “Ah, right.
Sorry, I forgot you don’t have a face either, Momonga—just bones.”
Naiyuan: “Wait, does this mean I’m now the most handsome guy in Nazarick?
One of you is a skeleton and the other is a slime.
You can’t even compete with me!!”
Herohero, Momonga: “I think you should choose your next words very carefully (Cold Sneer).”
Naiyuan: “Just kidding, just kidding!
Hey, hey, don’t hit me!
It’ll look bad if Aura and Mare see!
My image!!”
Herohero, Momonga: “Who cares about your image!!”
Standing to the side, Aura watched the scene quietly.
When she saw Herohero and Momonga raising their fists to playfully pummel Naiyuan, her expression instantly darkened.
“They dare to strike such a kind and gentle Father…
As I thought, the presence of Herohero-sama and Momonga-sama only hinders Father.
I’ll have to go talk to Cephys about this.”
Aura’s mind raced before she decided to speak with the NPC created by her Father.
He would surely understand her perspective.
“Mare, what do you think?”
Aura glanced at her brother, her eyes darting.
It would be even better if she could get Mare to join her.
“I think Herohero-sama and Momonga-sama are being very mean.
Father is so gentle, yet they’re kicking and punching him.”
Mare spoke unhappily as he watched the scene, clearly disapproving of the other two Supreme Beings’ actions.
“Then let’s go find Cephys later.
We can discuss this issue with him.”
“Cephys?
The one created by Father?
Sister, do you mean…?”
“Shhh!!
So, are you in?”
“Ugh, okay.
I want to help Father too.”
Mare hesitated for a moment but finally gritted his teeth and agreed.