The meeting with Siegfried and Theresa.
Resolving Mei's and Sin Mal's mental afflictions.
Officially taking over the Sect Master position.
Meddling with the development plan of the sect for the next thousand years.
Meeting with my new partners.
…
Shit.
The backlog I had after ten years of absence is nothing short of my college experience.
I decided to forgo the other things and focus on the first one.
In a blink, I arrived on the Moon. The Moon surface remains quite desolate. All of the infrastructures are centered around the rebuilt Palace of Selene. The huge corpse of the Herrscher of the End disappeared after Kiana's embrace.
Aside from a select number of Palaces, I saw thousands of entrances leading to the Imaginary Space. These entrances are scattered all over the Moon's surface. It does not interfere with the real world.
Kiana is essentially the landlord with thousands of potential spiritual herb gardens. Once the problem of insufficient workforce is solved, there will be a steady stream of spiritual plants from the Moon down to Earth.
Of course, it is destined to take up a lot of time.
I waited for a while but to no avail. She must still be sleeping. I decided to wander around.
Unsurprisingly, there are three people present on the Moon: Mei's counterpart (whom I prefer to call Queen Mei), Hei Xuanyuan, and Sirin. All three of them are in seclusion (i.e., sleeping). Out of them, Sirin stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm, though I did not sense any fifth level Tao Heart on her. The other two remained at the middle stage of the Golden Core Realm.
With the Nascent Soul Realm as the highest benchmark of today's Earth, almost everyone who fought against the Honkai remained at the upper percentile.
Numerous idle thoughts floated in my mind until someone hugged me from behind.
"So you haven't forgotten to drop by. Humph."
"How do you want to make up for it?" I asked the Tuna behind my back.
"Dual cultivation."
"Alright…"
Upon hearing my words, she let go of me. I looked back and met her star-like pupils. Kiana's temperament is absolutely crazy at this moment. The mix of elegance, gentleness, ethereal… every single description fitting an immortal fairy fits her.
Coupled with her Finality battlesuit, it made my heart skip a beat.
"Let's meet with your dad and aunt."
"Are you sure?"
A hint of worry appeared on her pupils.
"Maybe it will end badly. My old man… he's not the type to compromise easily."
"This is my responsibility. Otherwise, wouldn't I become a generic scumbag from third-rate novels?"
A light chuckle escaped her throat.
Kiana stepped forward and took hold of my right hand.
"As long as you won't forget about me… everything else is fine."
A pang of guilt struck my heart.
"Don't feel guilty. It's something we chose together."
Kiana's words really stopped me from feeling guilty.
That's it.
I will pamper her a lot... with lots of dual cultivation session.
*****
"This day finally came…"
A full ten years.
That was how long Siegfried waited to talk to the couple.
When he discovers that Shi Tian has another girlfriend, the looks on his face are terrifying. He tried to talk to his daughter about it but was rejected. Instead, she came up with the proposal of talking together once Shi Tian wakes up.
For one of the saviors of humanity, Siegfried had no choice but to relent. Nonetheless, the sense of confusion and bafflement he felt when Shi Tian had two girlfriends did not disappear.
"Such a responsible kid is actually…"
He chose not to comment further. It wasn't as if he was any better in his earlier years. Before he managed to defeat Cecilia, he was trained by a lot of Valkyries. Though he had zero romantic entanglements with them, Siegfried teased them from time to time.
What he did not expect, however, was for Shi Tian to do it for real. That was something he could not tolerate as a father.
Theresa shared the same perspective as his, thus it turned into a meeting of four of them.
Moments later, the short Theresa entered the door. This meeting took place within the Federation's central building. Her short stature did not diminish the authority she built over the past few years.
"I am telling you in case you lose your temper." Theresa coughed seriously as she continued, "Your daughter can beat you with a finger."
"..."
Siegfried could not retort to her. Kiana really can beat him with a single finger.
"The kid, too."
Shi Tian can also beat him with a single finger...
"You're making it look like I am looking for a fight."
"Thank goodness you are not."
The years as the Federation's president shifted the dynamics between Teriri and Siegfried. The former is dominating the latter in terms of word play…
'Is this what years of being a leader does? It's… terrifying.'
He was destined to never be able to gain superiority on the once gullible loli principal again.
Soon, the couple arrived. Siegfried was about to say something when his words got struck on his throat.
The two acted lovey-dovey and did not find feeding dog food to them. Once they sat down, only then did they stop.
"Greetings, Principal and Father-in-Law."
The two did not say anything except for a nod.
"You must have known why we wanted a meeting." Theresa initiated the conversation. "Does Kiana accept your behavior?"
"Aunt Theresa… It's me. I suggested it to him."
"..?!"
Kiana began explaining the entire story to them. Her discovery of Seele's feelings, the ordeals they went through inside the Bubble World…
Before their bafflement reached its peak, Shi Tian intervened.
"It's not just her suggestion. I also considered it myself. I have a fault in this rega—ow."
Shi Tian looked at the hand that pinched his waist. He seemed unfazed externally, though he already began saying his prayers internally.
"Father-in-law, Principal, I won't leave Kiana. I know words are not enough to convince you, so I am asking for a chance. A hundred, no, a billion years from now. I will always stay by her side."
The twist and turns of this meeting silenced Siegfried and Theresa. The two-man act of them owing up the responsibility showed how deeply they cared for each other.
Questions such as "Why didn't Kiana say it early on" arose, though the sharp Theresa saw through it.
'A mutual effort… just like Siegfried and Cecilia.'
It wasn't just them who grew up. Shi Tian and Kiana learned a lot of things when it came to maintaining a healthy relationship. The two of them speaking up is much better than only one of them doing the work. It shows their utmost sincerity.
"There's nothing left to say. I am in no position to separate you two. Siegfried?"
"...Neither am I. Just one thing."
He stared at Shi Tian with an extremely serious look.
"I am watching over you. The day you break your promise is the day you can no longer call me father-in-law."
"Understood."
Everything looks like it was resolved peacefully.
There was just one problem, however.
Theresa organized her thoughts and looked at her son-in-law strangely. She confirmed several times and concluded this only appeared now.
'Why does he smell so good..?'
*****
A/N: Even the Aunt won't be spared...