The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.
On the Sixth Floor, the night sky was dotted with stars, and the Coliseum was brightly lit.
"Mare, perk up. You're about to meet Father."
Aura, dressed in a small white suit, straightened her younger brother Mare's collar and smoothed the wrinkles in his clothes.
Mare tugged at the hem of his short skirt a few times, clutching his staff as he spoke timidly. "Sister, do you think Father will really accept us, like Lady Bukubukuchagama said he would?"
As soon as he finished speaking, tears began to stream uncontrollably from his heterochromatic blue and green eyes.
"What Lady Bukubukuchagama said must be right."
Aura raised a finger and tapped her useless little brother on the head.
She recalled Lady Bukubukuchagama's words. "If you want to capture Helant San's heart, you have to use children. He's famously soft-hearted."
That was all well and good, but Lord Helant was also one of the Supreme Beings. What if he did not accept them?
"Sister."
Aura looked at her brother's delicate, tearful appearance, and her eyes lit up slightly.
"Mare, make sure you look cute when you cry later."
Mare: ???
"Momonga, the Sixth Floor belongs to Aura and Mare, right?"
Inside the passage of the Coliseum, Helant chatted with Momonga as they walked toward the exit.
"Yeah, they're Bukubukuchagama-chan's NPCs." Momonga seemed to recall something and teased in a cheerful mood. "If you had made things official with Bukubukuchagama back then, Aura and Mare might already be calling you 'Father' now."
Helant stepped out of the passage, a smirk tugging at his lips as he glanced sideways. "That's… impossible."
Before he could finish, he heard a lively voice shout out.
"Father!"
Aura dragged Mare along, charging forward with the momentum of an entire army, rushing like a young calf until she stopped right in front of Helant.
She pulled Mare into a proper standing posture and flashed a bright smile. "Hello, Father. And hello to you too, Lord Momonga."
Mare kept his head lowered beside her and said timidly, "Hello, Father. Hello, Lord Momonga."
"Pfft." Momonga could not help but laugh and tease, "So what were you about to say just now?"
Helant looked down at the two little ones who did not even reach his waist, feeling a little helpless.
He crouched down and gently stroked Aura's and Mare's heads with his large, warm hands.
"What's this about calling me Father?"
The warmth of Helant's touch made the two children feel deeply attached, and they instinctively leaned closer to him.
Aura reacted quickly, though her voice lacked some of its usual confidence. "Lady Bukubukuchagama told us that Lord Helant is our father."
What should I do? Will Lord Helant accept us?
I've already lost Lady Bukubukuchagama. I can't lose Father too.
"Father…" Mare bit his lip, his nose stinging. Tears poured out like a burst dam. "Does Father not want us anymore? Waaah…"
"Uh, no, no. Hey, don't cry." Helant hurriedly took out a tissue and wiped Mare's tears.
Why is this little ancestor crying? Bukubukuchagama, look what you've done.
At this moment, Helant's resentment toward Bukubukuchagama reached a new level.
To put it simply, it felt like an irresponsible wife had abandoned two poor children and flown far away.
"All right, I won't abandon you. You and Aura are both lovely children, and I like you very much."
Mare stopped crying instantly. Together with Aura, he looked up at Helant with a flushed face.
Father said we're cute.
Helant gave a helpless smile, picked up the two children, and said to Momonga, "As my good brother, aren't you going to give the kids a meeting gift?"
"Huh?" Momonga had been enjoying the scene and was caught off guard by Helant's sudden question. He stood there in a daze for a moment.
Seeing two pairs of blue and green heterochromatic eyes staring at him so pitifully, he thought for a bit.
"Candied Haws, a New Year's special edition recovery item. They're very precious." Momonga reluctantly took two sticks of Candied Haws from his inventory.
With great hesitation, he handed them to Mare and Aura.
"Thank you, Lord Momonga." Mare and Aura took the bright red Candied Haws and began eating them bite by bite.
Aura even held a candied haw up to Helant's lips. "Father, have one."
"All right, all right, I'll eat it." Helant bit into a candied haw, and the sweet-and-sour glaze and fruit burst in his mouth.
Afterward, Helant sent a private message through the friend channel.
"Momonga, you're really something. You only gave them two sticks of Candied Haws."
"What do you mean 'only' two sticks? I only have twelve of these candied haw recovery items in total. They're very rare."
Momonga looked at his inventory with heartache, then shot Helant a resentful glance.
Helant laughed helplessly. He had forgotten that their Guild Master's nickname was "Hoarding Squirrel."
Although the Candied Haws looked ordinary, they were indeed a New Year's recovery item released in a past year, limited to twelve per person and meant specifically for collectors.
"Heh, it seems our Nazarick logistics master has become a real winner in life. Arriving in a new world with a son, a daughter, and a beautiful wife."
Momonga noticed that Aura and Mare looked blissful in Helant's arms, while Helant quietly watched the two little ones eat, occasionally accepting the food they offered him.
The scene truly looked like a happy father with both a son and a daughter.
Bukubukuchagama-chan, well done.
At that same moment.
"I told you that you were just a wet-behind-the-ears brat, Aura. To think you would lack the etiquette to eat while clinging to a Supreme Being's arms, arinsu."
A portal opened, and a petite Gothic Lolita with a generous chest stepped out, walking gracefully while holding a parasol.
"Lord Momonga, Lord Helant, good day to you, arinsu."
"Hello, Shalltear." Momonga recognized her as his friend Peroroncino's NPC.
Helant nodded in acknowledgment. Aura bit off the last candied haw, and her expression changed, losing its earlier cuteness.
"Let me guess, Shalltear. You used a portal to get here because you padded your chest too much today and were afraid the padding would fall out if you walked too far."
Shalltear's face stiffened, and she bared her small fangs as she glared at Aura.
Aura jumped down from Helant's arms and deliberately leaned her head toward Shalltear's chest. "You fake chest."
Shalltear's pupils trembled, her chest heaving with anger. "You flat-chest have no right to talk to me like that."
Aura smirked. "I'm only seventy-six. I haven't even started developing yet."
"Damn you, you wet-behind-the-ears brat."
"Fake chest!"
Mare looked up at Helant and felt it was not right to keep clinging to his father's arms. He jumped down and watched the two of them argue, looking completely at a loss.
Momonga nudged Helant with his shoulder and smiled. "Remember how Peroroncino and Bukubukuchagama used to argue like this too…"
Helant nodded and pricked up his ears to listen.
The two little ones arguing like this was actually quite cute.
"Enough. You are being far too impudent in front of two Supreme Beings."