Inside Lord’s room, just after his conversation with Talia and Sanya.

The room was bigger than what had been projected during the Astral Projection. The room itself was about 40 square meters and the floor was made out of wood. Lord’s round couch was in the middle of the room, with a few drawers and other pieces of furniture made of dark wood here and there. The room was a bit luxurious, but still quite simple.

Lord was sitting there on his couch. His eyes were staring at the thin air, deep in thought. He suddenly leaned his body backward, like he tried to lean back in a chair. An extension of the couch immediately appeared from the side behind him and formed into something like the back of a long chair. The extension came from the inside of the couch as an opening was made when he leaned back. The shape adjusted itself to Lord’s back.

Lord seemed accustomed as he did it naturally. His eyes were now looking upwards. He recalled the conversation that he just had. The blue-haired girl that he saw growing, finally with the one that she loved. The one that she loved was a small girl that succeeded in surprising him. His eyes closed.

“...Sanya Cliff. I wonder if it’s a coincidence that she is able to use the bell so well, while Talia is able to use the sword. I keep thinking that letting Talia keeping both the bell and the sword might not have been an excellent idea.”

Lord remained there, immersed in various thoughts for a few minutes. the only door of the room, which was on his right suddenly opened. However, Lord didn’t look at the identity of the person that opened it. He knew only a handful of people that would dare to open this door without asking, and only one of them was currently on the Stellar Temple.

The door was also made of black wood. It was a double door without a handle, as it slid inside the wall when it opened. The person who entered was a beautiful woman who could pass off as a college student. She emitted a mature air around her, just like a big sister that one could rely on. Nevertheless, she looked a lot like Lord as she had dragon-like features, even if it was toned down compared to him.

She had long scarlet hair with some hint of blue at the tips. Amidst it, there was a pair of small obsidian horns pointing backward. Her eyes were the same as Lord. However, she didn’t have a tail at her waist. Her height was a few centimeters higher than Talia’s. She was wearing a crimson sleeveless tailcoat military-like uniform. A black belt, with a something like a hook on the side, was around her waist. Her arms were covered with black arm sleeves, and a few colorful bracelets, like Lord’s, were around her wrists. Behind her was a floating cube of around 20 centimeters in size. The cube had several blue lines all across its surface and it followed the woman inside the room.

The woman arrived just beside Lord and put her hands on her hips as she looked down at him with a thin smile. The cube that followed her attached itself to the hook using a hole located on one of its edges. The blue lines dimed until it completely shut down. Lord finally opened his eyes and shifted his stare to her.

“What is it, Turiul?” The woman, Turiul, answered with another question.

“You looked at Talia’s return in her world during the entire day, right? You were a bit absent-minded since she left. And from the look of it you just did an Astral Projection. Did you contact her?” Lord put his hands on the back of his head and he sighed.

“...Yes, she confessed to Sanya Cliff, and they are now going out.” Turiul seemed surprised, but she quickly put up a big grin on her face.

“She sure doesn’t waste her time, our little glutton! So, did you meet Sanya? From Talia’s description, she should be quite a normal human girl.” Lord’s face turned blank.

“Talia gave her the Radiant Bell.” Turiul nodded as she crossed her arms.

“Knowing her position, it’s normal that she wan-”

“She is already able to control it and the bond seems strong.” Turiul paused for a few second before she could understand.

“...Eh?”

“Also she talked back in anger to me because she thought that I only see Talia as a human weapon when I gave her a warning.”

“Wai-”

“And she even kissed Talia on the cheek in front of me because she was jealous that I could harbor some feeling for her.”

“...In what ways is this a normal human girl? Also, she thought that you could love her. Well, knowing that you had lived with her for 50 years, it’s normal for her to be a bit jealous.” Lord shrugged in response as he sat up on his couch. He looked at Turiul’s hair, and more precisely at the blue tips.

“Even if I wanted, I would never have been able to have romantic feelings for her. If I had not been a dragon, she could have been my daughter.” Lord looked in the air with a face filled with nostalgia, and a little bit of pain. Next to him, Turiul pouted with her face turned away.

“You have guts to say this when your daughter is right here…” Lord finally smiled. Then, his body vanished from the spot. He suddenly appeared behind the pouting woman. It was not like Talia’s fast movement, but more like an instant displacement. However, Turiul seemed familiar with it as she didn’t raise an eyebrow. Instead, she smiled with a small blush as she felt the powerful, yet gentle hand of her father on the top of her head.

Lord passed his hand through her flowing hair like he was touching his dearest treasure. His eyes narrowed. “You say this, but you also think of Talia as a little sister. If she had no world to return to, I would have gladly adopted her even if she did not reach her current level of strength.”

After a moment, Lord stopped. His face was more serious than before. “I plan to tell Sanya about what happened with Talia.”

Turiul opened her eyes wide open as she turned around. She could only speak after a second. “Talia told you to not tell Sanya about it. After what happened with the Seraphin, she should be able to control it. She might just don’t want to scare her too much. So-”

“It might not be so simple as it looks like, Turiul. You also saw Talia’s healing two years ago. If she could perfectly control it, she would not even have taken a few days to heal.” Lord’s eyes were resolute as he looked at his daughter.

Turiul seemed still unwilling, causing Lord to sigh internally.

“If Talia finds out, I’m prepared to not be forgiven. However, I’m too worried about the two of them. During my long life I never saw something like this, and at her current level, she only needs to lose control once to make her world vanish. It’s for this reason that I had to test the one that she loved. If she was too weak-willed, I would have let her in the dark. But, she successfully passed my test, making her capable of knowing the truth. Talia is hardworking, but she would not easily talk about her deepest problems. It’s better to have someone in her world that know about the situation. I can’t always look at her.”

Turiul had complex feelings about his plan. In the end, she took a step forward in order to hug Lord. Frustration filled her. “...I know that I’m not strong enough, so please protect her.”

Lord put his hand once more on her head. The depth of his eyes shone in a blazing red light. The aura of a transcendent was emitted from all parts of his body. “Don’t worry. I will not let another member of my family die.”

--------------------------------------

6:29 in the morning. Sanya was sleeping comfortably in her bed. She was wearing a simple sleeveless shirt and the lower half of her body was clad only in her underwear. The bed comforter reached all the up to her neck. Her sleeping face was so cute that if Talia had been here, she would have already taken photos of it using the best camera that she had, and put it as her phone wallpaper.

Suddenly, the alarm clock on her side set off, creating an annoying sound. This time, Sanya’s face distorted as her sleep was perturbed. Once again, if Talia had been here, she would have destroyed this alarm clock without leaving a trace behind.

With difficulties, Sanya finally raised up and stopped the alarm. She rubbed her cloudy eyes and yawned. She heard a crystal sound coming from her neck, causing her to check it. When she touched the choker at her neck, she also felt the sensation of her hand on it. her eyes mostly cleared up as she recalled what happened yesterday.

‘...Talia came back yesterday and we are now dating. She also gave me this choker.’ Sanya activated the bell in the same way as she did yesterday. The first time she used it, she was under pressure, making her quite unsure of how she had done it. But, this time her mind was calm. She naturally activated the bell. This time it only glowed instead of shining. Even so, a barrier was produced and it enveloped a zone around Sanya.

‘The intensity of light coming from the bell is different from yesterday, especially when...I...Oh my god. Just what did I do yesterday?...’ Sanya buried her face in her palm as she retracted the barrier. She recalled everything that happened, which included the way she had acted toward Lord, the one who had taken care of Talia.

‘What was wrong with me? It’s true that it was irritating the way he talked about Talia, but I could answer in another way. I didn’t have to yell at him like this.” Cold sweats formed on her back. Lord was the Head of the Protectors of Worlds, while she was just a normal human. Even more, it was rude to talk like this to the one that saved Talia from a suicide.

‘Also, I kissed Talia twice, and once on her cheek in front of him. I also asked for a goodnight kiss yesterday night. How embarrassing! Seriously, what was wrong with me?’ The reason behind her actions was due to her unstable mind. She had been extremely worried during an entire week, then Talia came back, making her feel happy. Then, worried from the fight against Sarah and the arrival of the army. After this, stupefied with Talia’s 50 years outside this world. All of this made had made her quite moody.

In the end, Sanya got up from her bed. Her face was slightly red. She headed toward her closet. ‘I hope that today will not be as strange as yesterday…”

Sometimes, a wish can not be granted.