"Let me try," little Mia said, "I want to gather loads and loads of wealth."

"Fighting for money won't do," Eleanor shook her head.

"Then... fight for the world's finest cuisines!" Little Mia raised her hand and said.

"Don't you have any loftier ideals?" Eleanor was at a loss for words.

Through the [Oath of Faith], she could obviously tell that little Mia was speaking the truth, and her willpower was quite strong. Yet, as a holder of the Will Law, she could not at all agree with those childish reasons.

"But." Little Mia felt a bit wronged. She really couldn't think of anything more worth striving for than 'money' and 'food'.

Then she saw Miel standing in front, subtly mouthing a hint to her.

"Right!" Mia immediately realized, proudly raising her arm, "Fight for our Azure Longsword Team!"

Before she even finished speaking, a white light symbolizing faith shone on her, noticeably enhancing her physical strength, agility, power, and reaction speed.

Mia is indeed a good child, Eleanor thought, turning her smiling gaze towards Peggy.

Peggy, on the other hand, had already thought of an answer and spoke without hesitation:

"I will clear all enemies ahead of Aske."

With just a simple sentence, the sudden burst of intense radiance indicated that its purity was no less than that of a virgin's vow, causing little Mia, who was closest, to scream as her eyes stung to the point of almost tearing up—she quickly activated Body Conceptualization.

Once the light faded, Eleanor looked at her, half-surprised, half-serious.

After a moment, she gave a faint smile:

"Me too."

In the distance, Aske was sitting bored by a tree, seemingly deep in thought.

Nora and Medea sat beside him, smiling and chatting with each other.

"What's going on?" Nora asked with an amused expression, smiling, "Why is everyone playing with Ellie's skill as if it were a lie detector?"

"Maybe they think it's fun," Medea said casually, gently stroking her abdomen.

Nora's gaze lingered on her flat belly for a moment, her expression momentarily freezing before she slowly said:

"But, Ellie's about to attempt breaking through to a Demigod, and I'm only Lv.18 now."

She sighed as though mocking herself and then heard Aske's low response:

"No rush, it's a matter of time."

"When is she planning to hit the Lv.20 threshold?" Medea suddenly asked.

"This afternoon, I guess," Nora replied.

She stood up, dusting off her dress, and continued walking toward the manor—it's time to prepare lunch.

"Don't do that," Aske said.

"Do what?" Medea asked.

"Don't you understand?" Aske questioned.

Medea's expression changed slightly, then she lowered her head, saying nothing more.

"Listen." Seeing her regret, Aske softened his tone, "You're about to become a mother now, you can't act as recklessly as before, without restraint... think about how you saw your mother back then?"

Medea was momentarily stunned, unsure what to say.

"Mothers, after all, are a child's role model," Aske said earnestly, "If you feel your mother didn't do well in this regard, shouldn't you avoid letting your... our daughter, take the same path?"

"I..." Medea slowly calmed herself, speaking solemnly, "It's not that I dislike her, I just..."

"...just don't want to become a Demon like her."

"Then you should strive even more to become a role model for our daughter, rather than continue to pursue pleasure and mischief, until she doesn't even want to call you 'Mother' anymore."

"And what about the father?" Medea suddenly widened her eyes, staring at Aske, "If I'm willing to be a good mother for her, would her father heartlessly abandon us?"

"You're still hung up on this," Aske sighed.

"I've always been hung up on this!" Medea gritted her teeth, "And you won't even give me an answer now!"

"I told you," Aske said, somewhat frustrated, "I'll go back, but I'll also come back!"

"What if you don't come back?"

"I promise!" Aske said seriously.

"Promise my foot! What are you promising on?" Medea questioned him.

"What do you want?"

"I want foolproof security, can you provide it?" Medea asked.

"Then we can't continue this discussion," Aske said.

"We'll see who has the skills," Medea coldly said, "I'll do my best to ensure our daughter won't be born without a father."

"Don't get too worked up and upset the baby," Aske sighed and said.

Medea was stunned again, then her gaze softened as she gently rubbed her still unchanged flat belly.

After a moment, she suddenly raised her head again, showing a somewhat hopeful expression:

"Aske, what if I say I'm willing to go with you?"

"You won't be the Enchanting Demon Queen?" Aske was a bit surprised.

"Without you, what's the point of being a lonely Enchanting Demon Queen?" Medea said bleakly.

In that moment, Aske was somewhat overwhelmed with emotion, and he sighed and said:

"Alright, let's go together then."

"Mm," Medea nodded, but then quickly thought of something and realized, "No, I still have to stop you."

"Why?" Aske wondered.

"Because if only one person can return at most," Medea worriedly said, "you'll definitely slip away before I can even react."

Aske: ..........

It does seem like that's indeed the case.

"I have to go ask Miel," Medea said, then stood up and began to briskly walk towards the manor.

Aske continued sitting on the grass, absentmindedly pulling at the weeds by his side, watching Medea's departing figure in a daze.

At present, his feelings towards Medea are very complex: on one hand, there's anger and even disgust at her forceful behavior, and a strong aversion to her overly selfish nature; on the other hand, he is very clear that at this point, part of the responsibility should still lie with him.

A few years ago, Medea accused him of "playing with people's emotions, neither accepting nor rejecting, just dragging it out as if by the end of the world, all problems would be solved."

This wasn't a false accusation: in fact, he did act that way. Because accepting would betray the other party, and direct rejection would fear them losing heart and leaving, so he could only forcibly pretend to be a steel straight man, keeping all the girls who confessed to him hanging around, working for him.

In this perspective, what happened to him later seems almost deserved. Like a philanderer stepping on several boats getting axed by one of the girls; murder itself is legally wrong, yet the public might still be willing to grant the killer some slight sympathy.

Moreover, compared to her thoroughly unprincipled mother, Medea could almost be regarded as a refreshing current in the Enchanting Demon Realm. No promiscuity, no indulgence, wholeheartedly following him for four years, yet forced into the position of an aging, unmarried female Demigod (similar to an older, unmarried female Ph.D.).

Precisely because Aske recognizes his own shortcomings, he can never truly bring himself to hate Medea, in addition to the fact that the child in her womb is indeed innocent... Aske can't help but feel his heart soften at the thought of their unborn daughter.

After all, she is his flesh and blood, his first child in this world. As someone who grew up in a single-parent family, Aske is all too familiar with the pain of a child growing up without a father.

Sigh, stuck between a rock and a hard place.

He lay back in the grass, staring blankly at the sky.

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