Recognition and a Name

"Eh? The hell you mean, 'eh'?" Seigfried's fists clenched.

For some reason, Seigfried felt inexplicably irritated and wanted to give that person a beating.

And never mind being a deck scrubber—what kind of avant-garde performance art was an aerial split? Wasn't he afraid of splitting his crotch open midair?

As a man, just imagining such a difficult move made his groin go cold.

It was indeed rather difficult for men. If the letter's writer could pull it off, then he was truly ruthless. The pain from even one split would definitely be exquisitely agonizing.

Seigfried covered his weathered yet mature face. As members of the Kaslana family, the men were handsome and the women beautiful.

Though his storm-worn face could not compare to Kevin's, it was obvious that Seigfried had been a handsome man in his youth. Otherwise, Cecilia probably would not have given him a second look if he had been ugly.

"Dad, what's written there? When are you going to teach me how to read?"

The white-haired ball of fluff blinked her big, sparkling eyes and asked curiously, anticipation shining in them as well.

Seigfried lowered his head and looked at the white-haired ball of fluff. His heart held guilt, self-reproach, and a newfound resolve.

Though he did not know who this stranger was, he knew just how terribly he had behaved over these past few months with her. He had kept running away from things; it was simply disgraceful to the Kaslana family.

"It's nothing, Kiana..."

Though he still hesitated, Seigfried decided to give this name to the white-haired ball of fluff. He had not treated her as a substitute for his "deceased" daughter. From now on, she too would be Seigfried's daughter.

"Dad, is that my name?"

The white-haired ball of fluff—no, she should now be called Kiana Kaslana—looked at Seigfried in delight. Over the past few months, she had asked about her name many times, but Seigfried had always hemmed and hawed his way through it. Each time, she had remained disappointed for a long while.

"Yes. Kiana Kaslana, my daughter!"

Seeing how excited Kiana was, Seigfried felt even more guilty. He opened the lunchbox Zhang Wei had sent.

What met his eyes was an exquisite meal. It was not exaggerated enough to glow, but it had a balanced mix of meat and vegetables and was highly nutritious. Seigfried immediately felt awkward. What he and Kiana had eaten before had either been potatoes, hunted game, or pizza grilled with Shamash. If Kiana did not have the Kaslana family's superhuman constitution, she probably would have gone to another world by now.

As an adult and a powerful warrior, Seigfried had no problem eating that sort of thing.

He had forgotten that although Kiana was a clone, she was still a child. She had probably suffered quite a bit these past months, especially since she was now immune to his cooking. Her poison resistance had probably been built up by eating it.

He did not bother testing it for poison. He trusted that there was no problem with it. The sender had indeed put thought into this. To avoid Otto's pursuit, he still could not take Kiana wandering through big cities, so staying in this remote village was safer.

"Eat, Kiana. This is for you!"

Seigfried placed the lunchbox before Kiana. He refused to believe it. Tomorrow, he would stay put and see just who had been delivering these things.

"Wow~"

"Nom nom~"

"It's so good, Dad. You should have some too!"

Kiana was very satisfied with the lunchbox. Several grains of rice clung to the corners of her mouth, but she had not forgotten Seigfried.

The taste of this lunchbox made Kiana instantly fall in love with it. If Zhang Wei had seen this, he surely would have sighed that Mei's cooking was truly Kiana's Noble Phantasm—even little Kiana had been won over.

"It really is delicious!"

The old father Seigfried movingly picked up a piece. Compared with what they had eaten these past few months, what he cooked was practically inedible.

Even Kiana thought so. Though she was still a child, she was not stupid. She could still tell which food tasted better.

The first time she ate Seigfried's Shamash cuisine, she had nearly died on the spot. Over the past half year, she had forcefully eaten her way into poison resistance. But it had been personally made by her dad, so she could only endure it.

The two white-haired figures, one big and one small, were at their happiest today. Seigfried had untied the knot in his heart, while little Kiana had received Seigfried's recognition and gained a name of her own. Though it was freezing outside, she still felt warm inside.

The next day...

"Trying to stake me out? Heh..."

Zhang Wei arrived near the village as usual with Mei's food. At once, he sensed Seigfried's presence. Though it was well hidden, it had nowhere to hide from his perception.

Still, Seigfried's behavior was perfectly normal. As an experienced warrior, it would have been strange for him to lower his guard so easily.

It was not yet time to meet. Perhaps in the future, I might even have to call you Father-in-law.

Thud!

He placed the items from afar and knocked on the door while he was at it. Seigfried opened the door with a baffled look, and upon seeing the lunchbox and letter, immediately rushed out of the village. He scanned the surroundings but found no one, utterly confused as to how they had been delivered. It never occurred to him to consider the Herrscher of Void's authority, since she had already been defeated.

An expert!

Seigfried silently said to himself that anyone capable of doing this soundlessly was definitely an expert—at the very least, an agile S-rank Valkyrie. He had never heard Schicksal mention anyone like that.

Then, a person suddenly came to mind: Anti-Entropy's Welt. With his abilities, perhaps he could evade Seigfried's senses. But Welt should have had no reason to do something like this, right?

[Mr. Seigfried, just as I guessed, you did not leave and instead waited there for my arrival. Sorry to disappoint you, but there is no need for you to meet me for now. Hahaha, I have no ill intentions toward you...]

Seeing the contents of the letter, Seigfried sighed helplessly. He was not a fool, so naturally he would not stake out Zhang Wei there every day. No threat was the best outcome.

"Dad, what happened?"

Little Kiana asked curiously. When Seigfried rushed outside, she had grabbed a bat and waited vigilantly for him. Seigfried had taught her to do that.

"It's nothing. This is today's dinner delivery!" Seigfried shook his head and placed the Skyfire Twin Pistols on the table. Even he had not figured out what was going on. They would probably meet someday.

"Oh~"

Little Kiana nodded as though she understood, but did not ask further. She trusted her dad, so she happily dug in. It tasted just like yesterday—so delicious. The person who cooked it must be a great beauty, right? She really wanted to meet her.