Elina looked at Odin silently for several moments and felt that she needed to answer his question seriously this time.
Ever since she had arrived in Asgard, she had often called him "Father" without even realizing it, as though both her mind and heart had already begun accepting his presence beside her.
She lowered her head slightly in embarrassment, then gave a small nod and said in a hesitant voice:
"Alright... alright, I don't mind if you become my father."
Only a single second of silence passed.
Then Odin burst into laughter from the depths of his heart—a rare, genuine laugh that escaped him naturally, so much so that even the winged horse turned its head toward him in surprise.
Odin looked at Elina with a broad smile and said with obvious happiness:
"Well done! Well done, little one. You made the right choice."
The moment he said that, he started laughing again, while Elina sat there staring at him with mild astonishment, unaccustomed to seeing someone like him laugh with such honest joy.
At that very moment, while Odin was happy that Elina was gradually becoming attached to Asgard, events elsewhere in the world were unfolding very differently.
Inside the kingdom of the Demi-Humans, an important meeting was being held within the massive royal hall.
The king sat upon his throne with a dark and furious expression, while ministers and commanders stood in heavy silence, discussing what they should do after betraying the Dark Elves, who would now receive the dragons' wrath in their place. There was no doubt that the Dark Elves' reaction would be extremely violent once they learned what had been done.
Tension filled the entire hall.
The king thought for a long time, but he could not find a suitable solution to the current crisis. Eventually, he suddenly changed the subject of the meeting and said coldly:
"Have you still failed to discover who killed my sister... and made her steal the treasure of the Demi-Humans?"
The moment he said that, silence fell across the hall.
Everyone knew the extent of his rage over what had happened.
His anger had reached the point where he personally killed his sister's husband for failing to protect her, and afterward wiped out his entire family.
Some of the ministers trembled silently, while one of them sighed inwardly before finally deciding to speak.
The minister bowed slightly and said carefully:
"Your Majesty... whoever did this must possess terrifying magical abilities."
The king looked at him with obvious annoyance and said:
"Say something useful, Minister."
The minister swallowed nervously, then nodded quickly.
"My apologies, Your Majesty. What I mean is that there are very few magic users capable of entering and leaving the kingdom without anyone noticing."
He paused briefly, then continued:
"And by coincidence... one of the individuals who previously entered our kingdom's borders was the Crown Prince of the Human Empire."
Silence filled the hall for a moment.
Then the king narrowed his eyes suspiciously and said:
"Are you trying to say that humanity was responsible?"
The minister nodded quickly.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Do not forget that a great catastrophe struck their capital some time ago, turning it into land unfit for habitation. They certainly lost many treasures and resources there, and perhaps they wished to compensate for those losses through theft."
Then he added in a persuasive tone:
"And humans are well known for greed and taking advantage of opportunities, Your Majesty."
The king fell silent for a moment and began considering the minister's words seriously.
When the minister noticed this, he hurried to continue:
"Especially since we were occupied at the time with the legendary flower and the dragons' visit. It is possible that we neglected our defenses slightly."
The minister stepped closer and spoke with greater confidence:
"The Crown Prince of the Human Empire must have exploited his fame and magical skill to infiltrate the kingdom and carry out his actions."
The moment he finished speaking, the king's expression gradually changed.
Then he struck the arm of his throne angrily and declared:
"You are right... it must have been him!"
Rage flared in his eyes as he continued:
"Those filthy human thieves would never waste such an opportunity!"
As for the minister, he sighed inwardly with relief and pride, pleased that he had successfully directed the king's suspicions exactly where he wanted them to go.
The king sat silently for several moments, then thought to himself:
"We must confirm whether these suspicions are true... before doing anything reckless."
Afterward, he raised his head and looked toward one of the men standing in the hall before ordering him firmly:
"Go and inform our spies within the Human Empire to investigate the matter."
He paused briefly, then added coldly:
"And report every new development to me immediately."
The moment the king of the Demi-Human Kingdom finished speaking, something strange occurred within the hall.
Suddenly, one of the shadows between the massive pillars moved unnaturally. Then it separated itself from the wall and vanished in an instant, as though it had been nothing more than part of the darkness itself.
The ministers and nobles widened their eyes in obvious shock.
None of them had expected another person to be inside the hall besides themselves.
They had been discussing matters of extreme secrecy and danger—subjects no ordinary person should ever hear.
But the truth was that the king had secretly placed one of his most powerful soldiers inside the hall from the very beginning, without anyone noticing.
That man was one of the most important and dangerous individuals in the kingdom.
That was precisely why everyone was so shocked when they realized he had been there all along.
After a few moments, however, the ministers finally understood the reason behind the king's actions.
After what had happened to his sister, he no longer fully trusted anyone.
His sister had been killed within his own kingdom, and even now, after all this time, he still did not know who had done it.
Because of that, he had begun suspecting that someone present might have hidden important information from him, betrayed the kingdom, or at the very least failed catastrophically in their duty.
So he no longer relied on them as he once had.
The ministers sighed silently as they realized this, then looked toward their king with tense expressions, each one thinking about how to prove their loyalty and usefulness.
The king understood what was going through their minds the moment he looked into their eyes.
He sighed quietly, then turned toward one of his ministers and said:
"Go to the Dwarven Kingdom and inform them that we are prepared to assist them in their hidden war against the Elves, provided they assist us as well."
He paused briefly before continuing in a calm but decisive tone:
"I want one of the artifacts stored within their treasury... the one that reveals truths."
The king narrowed his eyes as he continued:
"I am certain they possess treasures that may help us discover who committed this act. I only need a single clue... after that, I will handle the rest myself."
The minister listened carefully to his king's orders, then bowed quickly and said:
"Do not worry, Your Majesty. I will carry out your command and return from the Dwarven Kingdom with the artifact you desire."
The king nodded in approval, then looked toward another minister and gestured toward him.
"And you—go to the Kingdom of the Merfolk and speak with their king about restoring our alliance."
Then he added in a deep voice:
"We must restore that alliance. It will be extremely useful to us in the future."
He fell silent for a moment before continuing:
"It is true that they have become weaker and more cowardly than they once were... but they still possess the strongest naval army on the entire continent of Mira."
The minister sighed respectfully and said:
"It is a great honor that you entrust me with this mission, Your Majesty, but... do you truly expect them to listen to us so easily?"
Then he added hesitantly:
"Especially after we withdrew from our alliance with them because of the Dark Elves."
The king let out a cold, quiet laugh and replied confidently:
"Do not worry."
A faint smile appeared on his face as he continued:
"Their king owes me an old favor from the past. He will not embarrass you. In fact, he will certainly agree to ally with us again."
The Demi-Human meeting continued for a long time after that.
They discussed many important matters, future plans, and potential alliances. Yet despite all those discussions, they still could not find a real solution to their greatest problem with the Dark Elves, and that alone was enough to cast a shadow of anxiety across the entire hall.
(Author's Note):
Hello everyone! Thank you for your continuous support of this novel; your comments and interactions mean the world to me.
Stepping away from our story here for a moment, I wanted to share another project I've been working on with great passion. I have started publishing a webtoon (comic) on the Webtoon platform titled "Me and the Wolf."
It is a [Comedy / Fantasy] story about a miserable young man and a cunning wolf who is constantly getting him into trouble! If you enjoy my writing style and the way I build scenarios, I promise you're going to love this comic.
I would be so grateful if you could go check it out, subscribe to the series, and let me know what you think in the comments there!
🔍 Search on the Webtoon app for: [Me and the Wolf]