Lego turned on the living room light, his tired face visible in the dimness—clearly just woken up.
Light footsteps sounded from upstairs, and Mother Cyra came down.
She was first startled.
"Lord Liam, you're back already?"
Seeing her daughter, she quickly stepped forward in her slippers and hugged her tightly.
"Hehe, my adorable Celia~"
"How was your time in the human world? Did Lord Liam protect you properly?"
The mother, as tall as her daughter, had eyes full of pure, watery concern and a trace of worry.
"H-Husband was very good to me."
"Was he?"
Cyra didn't outright agree.
She personally checked Celia over carefully for a moment before sighing in relief.
"No wounds. It seems Lord Liam was truly attentive."
"Huh?"
She rested a fingertip on her chin, looking at her daughter with a puzzled expression.
"Wh-what is it..."
Before Celia could react, Cyra suddenly reached out and lifted the skirt of her daughter, who was standing obediently in front of her.
Exposing the pink underwear Liam had given her.
"What are you doing, Mom!"
Celia's cheeks burned. She hurriedly used one hand to press her skirt down and pushed the mischievous mother away.
"Wah, no... it's a strange scent..."
Cyra stumbled back a step, steadied herself, then tapped her lip with her index finger, contemplating.
"How could Mom's senses be wrong?"
"H-how could there be a strange scent?"
"There is~ I smell it every time I see my daughter now. But it definitely wasn't there before you left..."
"I know! You two did it again—"
"Don't say it!"
Celia knew exactly what she was about to say.
Instantly flushing with shame and anger, she cut her off immediately, hugging the man's arm and burying her hot face against it.
Her mother's sensitivity to scents was sharp, but she never expected she could even detect such a...a tangled, mingled scent this clearly...
Doesn't that mean... every time...
Liam, who had maintained a faint smile since entering the house, ruffled the girl's head.
"I cherish her as much as you do. How could I let her come to any harm? Miss Cyra, you can rest assured leaving your daughter with me."
"And, Mr. Lego."
He turned to Lego.
"Hahaha."
Lego, who had been watching from the side, laughed.
"Naturally. Liam, you are a Tier 5 expert. We couldn't be more reassured having our daughter in your hands."
"Thank you for your recognition, Mr. Lego."
Liam, who outside was a robber quick to anger, was actually being polite now.
"No need for thanks. Have you eaten? I can have Cyra cook something for you. I doubt you've tasted her cooking, Liam?"
"I have, actually. But I wouldn't mind tasting it again."
Lego's spirits lifted.
He walked to the dining table and cleared away the unwashed bowls and chopsticks from the evening.
"Good, come sit."
Over the past month, Liam had hardly ever entered Celia's parents' house.
Most of the time, it was Celia visiting alone, with his permission.
Now that he was finally here, Lego naturally didn't want to miss this opportunity.
He was their son-in-law, after all.
Even if this couldn't directly help the elf clan, he wanted to seize the chance.
—Unbeknownst to Lego, Cyra had actually visited their villa countless times already.
By seniority, Lego was technically Liam's father-in-law, and over a hundred years his senior in age.
But facing such a powerful figure, he never presumed that status.
A powerful demon expert wouldn't lower himself before lowly elves.
Now, Lego only hoped his daughter could live a good life with Liam.
As parents, their own situation didn't matter.
As long as she was happy, even if taken away from the elf clan, it was acceptable.
Moreover, the clan's actions had been unfair to Celia.
The Elf Chief had judged Liam not an enemy at a glance and acted on that judgment.
Over time, Lego couldn't help but feel some guilt towards his daughter.
When Lily came to notify them, the contract was already set.
If they hadn't offered their daughter then, not only would Lily, the pillar of the elf clan, suffer severe backlash...
But also, if the contract broke, Liam, freed from its constraints, might in his anger bring disaster upon the entire elf clan.
Though it seemed selfish, Lily had her reasons for acting this way.
Furthermore, she was utterly confident, not acting blindly.
The result, as expected, succeeded.
If they hadn't used Celia, they would have had to watch helplessly as the clan's millennia-old treasure was given to an outsider for nothing in return.
Apart than having Celia—the only one with fertility—bear children, Lily couldn't think of another way.
Magic like creating duplicates didn't exist in this world.
Lily, as an elf, held no personal ambition, only seeking the safety of the elf clan.
But asking Liam to protect the clan for a hundred years as the price was likely impossible no matter what.
Statistically,
the next human invasion would probably be in a hundred years.
Even if he agreed, guarding for just a year or two would be long yet useless.
A full hundred years?
Even if Liam promised to arrive in time before an attack,given the short lifespan of demons, he likely wouldn't live that long.
Thinking from Celia's perspective, if she later found out the Chief was unwilling to offer her to Liam to bear children for the clan,and instead just handed the crystal ball over empty-handed—
—then, even knowing she'd have to become a girl and endure certain things, Celia would have cursed Lily out.
That was Tier 3 power...
A chance to double the elf clan's ability to resist external threats.
To defend against humanity, this level of sacrifice was necessary.