Changed Time

The room was deathly silent.

Only the babies' innocent babbling and the little sisters' somewhat frightened eyes, seeing their brother angry for the first time.

Xingyu calmly ate her food. She realized that her younger brother's behavior was simply because he had been suppressing his emotions for too long and needed to vent.

Duyao wanted to teach her disobedient younger brother a lesson, but instead, the clueless Qiji sat on her.

The white flowers that Heross had inadvertently nurtured swayed gently in the breeze.

"If I don't discipline you for three days, you'll be climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles. But if I give you a beating, you'll listen to me... Waaah!"

Venom had only taken a few steps when the women pulled him back together; a real fight would only strain the relationship between father and son.

"Kino, Arthur, I... I didn't know it would turn out like this!"

Kara was undoubtedly the most heartbroken, tears streaming down her face.

One is Kino, whom she wants to protect; the other is the outcome between herself and Kino. They ended up like this on their happiest day.

It was also because I usually ignored Arthur's feelings.

"Kara, trust me."

Kino lifted Kara from her half-squatting position and handed her to the women.

She half-squatted down and looked at her second son.

"You're asking for it, you brat!"

"I don't smell bad."

Upon hearing this, the women instinctively looked at Duyao and Qiji, who were now fighting again.

Venom slapped each of them away with one hand.

"Arthur ..."

Kino's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly drowned out the brief silence after Duyao and Qiji were swatted away, as well as Kara's suppressed sobs.

He offered no explanation, no anger, not even a hint of embarrassment at being offended; he simply looked calmly at his son, who had borne too much too early, yet was as stubborn as a block of Krypton ice.

"... You're right."

This statement surprised everyone, and even the cold barrier in Arthur's eyes seemed to show a slight, imperceptible crack.

Kino's half-squatting posture brought him almost eye to eye with Arthur. His deep eyes held no condescending judgment, only honest scrutiny.

"I have never been a good father. My firstborn children, Duyao and Qiji, never gave me any trouble from the moment they were born."

Kino glanced sideways at the twins who had just gotten up and were baring their teeth at each other, but were being warned by Venom's glare.

"Their biggest 'problem' is that they fight each other, but they never really need my and Venom's attention and comfort as their father and mother."

His gaze swept over the infants in their swaddling clothes— Sofira, Leia, Danqing, Aria, Delilah, Regra, Heross —these newborn little lives, each with extraordinary talents.

"I had a misconception."

I thought all children were like this, born with gifts, growing up naturally under their mother's protection, with the father's role perhaps only becoming important when they needed guidance and strength to face the world.

Arthur's eyes flickered slightly.

"I'm not a good husband either. Although we have children, I haven't proposed to them or had a wedding yet."

Kino looked at him, her gaze gradually softening and hardening.

"But, Arthur, you're wrong about two things."

The boy's eyelashes fluttered.

"I'm not coming back to receive cheers and glory, nor is it merely to fulfill the label of a 'father'."

Kino's voice was gentle yet carried an undeniable power.

"I've come back because this is my home, my love, and my children—including you, Arthur Zo-El."

For the first time, he clearly stated Arthur's full name, emphasizing the Krypton bloodline he inherited.

"Also, for me, the past can be changed. I have never missed your past; I have always been here."

As soon as he finished speaking, golden light burst forth from Kino's body.

Arthur couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

Suddenly, a new memory appeared in my mind.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a strange man.

When I was learning to walk, a pair of large hands carefully protected me from behind.

The first time he lost control of his power, his uncontrolled Heat Vision was about to erupt when a hand covered his eyes.

Day and night, fragments of memory flash by rapidly.

The bystander with an encouraging look when he first clumsily tried to condense snowflakes with freezing air.

When my sisters were born, I was the one who, along with the busy mothers, waited outside the delivery room and was the first to touch the newborn's cheek with my warm fingers.

While Duyao and Qiji were once again fighting fiercely, their energies swirling wildly, that person watched the show with his whole family, making bets.

"You... I..."

Arthur stared at the man in front of him in shock, his throat feeling as if something was blocking it, and he couldn't make a sound.

What immense power this is! Time seems to lose its meaning before it.

Although he had heard about his power from his mother, aunts, and uncles, Arthur was deeply shocked when he actually faced it.

Not only Arthur, but everyone present experienced changes in their memories.

For the past three years, Kino has never left them.

The children's last bit of unfamiliarity with Kino disappeared, and their eyes were filled with affection.

"What should you call me now, Arthur?"

Kino said with a smile.

"... Father."

The coldness in Arthur's eyes gradually melted, replaced by a hint of embarrassment.

After three years of companionship, all those things I said before seemed like utter nonsense.

"Since you've called me father, it means our father-son score is over. Now let's settle the score for making my daughter, Kara, cry."

Kino's smile deepened, carrying a sense of satisfaction at seeing a promising student, but then a dangerous mischief crept into it.

"Do you know what happened to the last guy who made my wife cry?"

Arthur's expression froze. Of course he knew; they were still a famous tourist attraction in Hell.

"Leave the rest to me. If you don't discipline them for three days, they'll be climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles. If you can't bear to watch, you can leave."

Venom stepped forward, a long black whip appearing in his hand. His dangerous gaze instilled fear in Arthur from his very genes to his very heart.

If Arthur still dared to vent his grievances and resentment towards Kino, then when facing Venom —the "mother" who truly gave him life—his deep-seated awe instantly overwhelmed all rebellion.

Duyao and Qiji forgot about fighting at this moment, their eyes wide with a hint of schadenfreude and... a deep sense of shared misery? After all, they were all too familiar with Venom's "education".

"Aaaaaah!"

After it ended,

Arthur lowered his head, picked up his spoon, and for the first time felt that the lights in his dining room were so warm and bright, and the aroma of the food was so tempting.

My butt hurts so much.