Regarding the situation unfolding before his eyes, Leo Ash truly felt...
--So relieved.
He had chosen to bring his daughter to his room on the very first night purely to prevent her from using this power she might possess in front of Kiana.
Although the current Leo Ash, with the Blank Key and Seven Thunders of Retribution, should be able to suppress a single-core Sirin, this didn't mean he could completely ignore the problems that Sirin's awakening would bring.
With the plot having deviated this much, if Sirin, after awakening, were to demonstrate the combat prowess of a 'Herrscher of the Void played to theoretical perfection', then things would get really serious.
Sirin herself was talented in many aspects, and Kiana's efforts over the past few months would have somewhat enhanced Sirin's personal strength in that regard.
Once Sirin truly unleashed the power of the Herrscher of the Void, setting aside whether Leo Ash could defeat her, even if he did win, a Herrscher of the Void who realized the vast difference in power could still escape.
A Herrscher who hates the world, can flee anywhere, and could potentially trigger a large-scale Honkai Eruption and create Honkai Beasts to slaughter humans wherever she goes, would be an absolute disaster for the people of this world.
Even though Su, who held the Key of the Void, had a similar long-distance teleportation ability to the Herrscher of the Void, Leo Ash still hoped to avoid this problem if possible.
"Daddy, are you thinking 'this ability can't be known by others'?"
Looking at the silent Leo Ash, the child put away her triumphant expression and spoke to him cautiously.
"Don't worry, I'm Daddy's daughter. How could Daddy's daughter be an idiot?"
No, my dear daughter, I never thought you were an idiot.
On the contrary, your excessive cleverness is putting more and more pressure on me.
"When I was chatting with Mommy earlier, I noticed a few things."
When she mentioned her mother, a barely perceptible shadow crossed the girl's face.
"Mommy Kiana is very gentle, but she's not very cunning, and I didn't sense this power, which should have 'originated from her', in her body."
"As for Mommy Yuna, I can feel that I haven't made her unhappy, and she also possesses a power similar to mine, but..."
At that moment, the girl looked at the small white flower that had suddenly appeared in her hand and sighed helplessly.
"She's clearly avoiding me. Looking at it this way, Mommy Yuna must have something on her mind."
"And that's why I didn't use these two powers in front of everyone."
On the side, Rin looked at the girl before her and felt that her understanding of today's events might have been slightly off.
In Rin's view, Leo Ash was facing a group of girls ready to make a move on him, which should have led to, if not a bloodbath, at least a very stressful situation for him.
But after the child appeared on the scene, everyone who was poised to strike or cowering in the corner halted their offensive.
After all, trying to hit on a guy in front of his daughter was, for these thin-skinned young girls, something that carried a certain amount of psychological pressure.
But the appearance of Leo Ash's daughter could clearly trigger an even more exciting storm of blood--or so Rin had once thought.
However, now, Rin found that her thinking was completely and utterly wrong.
Since the child's appearance, not only had the girls' advances stopped, but the child herself had proactively declared that 'a child's parents don't necessarily have to be a married couple'.
Her appearance had indeed become an obstacle for the others, but when the 'obstacle' itself made such a declaration, everyone gained new hope.
After defusing the crisis around Leo Ash, she was still trying her best not to become a burden to him in this regard.
Moreover, from observing everyone since the beginning, the child had clearly demonstrated an outstanding ability to read people.
To be honest, from Rin's perspective, this child's brain was clearly much more useful than her white-haired mother's.
If this child were by Leo Ash's side, a sensible and intelligent child would obviously alleviate his stress.
If that's the case, the drama I get to watch will be significantly reduced.
But just at that moment, I actually... breathed a sigh of relief???
Am I going soft?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Due to the conflicting thoughts in her mind, Rin's gaze towards the father and daughter instantly became much more complex.
Unable to accept this change of heart, the Previous Era Herrscher gave the girl on the bed a deep look before choosing to leave the room.
"Although I'd love to say 'as expected of my daughter', to be honest..."
Looking at the slightly worried child on the bed, Leo Ash walked to the bedside and pulled his daughter into his arms.
"You are far more outstanding than this good-for-nothing old dad of yours."
"Mm, I'll take that as a compliment from Daddy."
Pressed tightly against Leo Ash's body, the sorrow on the girl's face gradually dissipated.
"Daddy, although I know you and Mommy Yuna and Mommy Kiana aren't a married couple, but..."
"Mommy Yuna definitely has something on her mind, but Mommy Kiana... she always gives me a feeling that something isn't right."
"I'm just a child, after all. Even if they have worries, they wouldn't tell me, so..."
"--Can you find some time to help them?"
"Mm, I promise you."
Holding his daughter in his arms, Leo Ash truly felt a sense of unprecedented peace.
Blood relatives.
In two lifetimes, this was the first time I had embraced a relative connected to me by blood.
I used to be so used to being alone that I didn't think not having blood relatives was a big deal.
But now...
This feels terrible.
I'm actually starting to get lost in this feeling.
"By the way, Daddy."
As if remembering something, the girl suddenly struggled out of Leo Ash's arms and looked at him with curiosity.
"It's been so long, have you thought of a name for me yet?"
"Yes, I've already thought of one."
Looking at the girl before him, Leo Ash spoke a name he had decided on earlier.
"Isla Ash."
Using mana to write the two Chinese characters in mid-air, Leo Ash smiled at the girl before him.
"This is your name. Are you satisfied?"
"I'm satisfied with anything Daddy gives me, it's just..."
Looking at the two Shenzhou characters in the air, a hint of unresolved doubt still lingered in Isla Ash's eyes.
"On the way to find Daddy, the pink-haired auntie said that everyone's name has a meaning."
"So this name means..."
"--Don't overthink it, my silly daughter."
Seeing the confusion on the girl's face, Leo Ash said very naturally.
"Before today, I wasn't prepared to be a father at all. Of course, I came up with the name on the spot. It doesn't have any deep meaning."
"I just remembered that I had a classmate in the past whose name had a rare character that was very troublesome to write."
"You'll have to write your name in many places in the future, so I could only think of a name that didn't seem too perfunctory, didn't sound too bad, and didn't have too many strokes."
"Mmm..."
Hearing Leo Ash's explanation, Isla Ash suddenly moved closer to his face and sniffed intently, a subtle expression appearing on her face.
"I have a feeling Daddy is lying."
"You know..."
Seeing the expression on his daughter's face, Leo Ash lightly tapped her on the head and said with mock seriousness.
"This matter ends here. Do you know how you should answer tomorrow when everyone asks you 'how did you get here'?"
"Mm, I've already thought it through."
At that moment, Isla Ash bounced off the bed and onto the floor, planted her hands on her hips, and confidently declared four words to Leo Ash.
"I! DON'T! KNOW!"
"Right, that's it--if anyone asks, you just say you were guided by a pink-haired auntie and came here in a daze."
This child is really much more outstanding than me.
[Yeah, if this System couldn't see so much, it would be really hard to imagine she's your daughter.]
[But thinking about it, you were already not normal to begin with. And this child not only has your bloodline, but also Yuna's and Kiana's.]
[No matter what, those two are chosen ones. A child who combines the best traits of all three of you, plus the prenatal education completed by Elysia through the Flawless Key...]
[Whoa, your killing intent just shot up to the maximum index of 200%. Did you guess something?]
Do I even need to guess?
That bastard Otto is up to no good. Now that the fact that Kiana, Yuna, and I have a daughter can't be hidden, he will 100% make a move.
A person with adaptability for both the Herrscher of the Void's core and the Herrscher of Death's core is clearly a more suitable candidate for the 'Herrscher of the Void' in his plan than Sirin, who relies solely on her own traits to forcibly operate the Herrscher of the Void's core and the Gem of Serenity.
He will 100% try to make a move on my daughter, so of course, I'd want to kill that old geezer even more.
[Wow, the power of a father's love is truly great.]
[But speaking of which, if you dote on your daughter so much, why lie to her?]
[The 'Isla' in Isla Ash's name means "to rely on," "to be close to," and can even be extended to mean "to be attached to and reluctant to leave."]
[Putting Ash and Isla together, doesn't that mean Leo Ash wants his daughter to always be with--]
Enough!
Just shut up, ahhhhhh!!!!
[Whoa, you're already this worked up? It's not that serious.]
[You're the one who gave her the name. With your daughter's intelligence, it's only a matter of time before she figures out the meaning. What's the point of getting so flustered now?]
Later is later, now is now.
Damn it, I'm not even ready to be a dad, and I gave my daughter a name like that--this is just too pathetic!
[You're always so hung up on the strangest things.]
[Sigh, whatever. Be hung up if you want. Anyway--although the drama I got to see today was much less than expected, with her around, there's sure to be no shortage of entertainment in the future.]
System, please don't be like this.
I actually really want to respect you, the one who granted me power--can't you just shut up for a few days?
[But you know very well that this System doesn't want your respect.]
[I'll keep quiet for today, after all...]
[--There's still plenty of drama to come.]
.....
Same time. Inside Kiana's room.
In Kiana's room, Bronya could only let out a helpless sigh as she watched Kiana, who had been giggling foolishly ever since they came in.
It felt like ever since her body was completely healed by Miss Durandal and she regained her normal emotional circuits, the number of times Bronya sighed had been increasing more and more.
"Eh, Bronya???"
Seeing Bronya suddenly sigh, Kiana finally remembered that she was the one who had invited her to her room to help her strategize.
But after just a few sentences, Kiana had drifted off into a fantasy after mentioning her daughter, leaving Bronya hanging.
Kiana knew this was really wrong, so she immediately apologized.
But, after all...
--This is my and Senior's daughter.
My and Senior's daughter, hehehe.
My daughter is so cute, hehehe.
Senior dotes on her too, hehehe.
"Kiana..."
Watching Kiana apologize halfway before drifting back into her fantasy, Bronya suddenly asked Kiana with utmost seriousness.
"You... don't actually think you've already won, do you."
"Eh? Of course not!"
Being called out by Bronya like that was like having a bucket of cold water poured over her head, and Kiana instantly sobered up.
"In fact, I feel like... the situation is very wrong!"
Although her daughter was really cute, the words her daughter said at that time served as a wake-up call for Kiana.
No one ever said a child's parents have to be a married couple--that's what she had said.
At first, Kiana really thought that since she and Leo Ash had a daughter, she was set for life.
But after her daughter said that, she realized--she was truly an idiot.
She hadn't realized something that even her daughter already knew.
Kiana, who had considered herself a genius just a few months ago, now felt that--she should just give up on thinking and go ask someone with a good head on their shoulders.
"Anyway, I know I still need to work hard, so..."
"Teacher Bronya, please guide me!"
Sigh, Kiana, you're really beyond comment.
Since we've known each other, you've said this to me countless times.
But every time I guide you, after you've studied seriously...
--How many times have you actually put what you've learned into practice?
...