There Are No Outsiders Here

"Get up and talk. If you still acknowledge me as your dad, get up and talk."

Han Mingxuan tossed the belt casually onto the floor, then sat down behind the desk.

Curze quickly made Han Mingxuan a cup of tea, then sat upright before him.

The Night Haunter did not take the other chair, but stood to the side.

"Tell me why you did it."

"Dad, we..."

"Curze, you know perfectly well that I've trusted your abilities from the start, so nothing you do would surprise me."

"You also understand how much I trust you, so you've never hidden things from me. Although learning to keep things hidden isn't a bad thing, I've taught you that you must never hide anything important."

"I know it was Konrad's idea for you to do this."

Han Mingxuan took a sip of tea and quietly looked at the Night Haunter.

"Father, I... I wanted to prove myself."

Prove himself?

"By doing what?"

"Father, I come from a parallel world. The future there is very dark, and I ultimately met my own destruction."

"I know. You said that in your letter. Tell me something I don't know." Han Mingxuan shifted in his seat.

"Admittedly, Father, you are the most competent, most knowledgeable, greatest and gentlest father I have ever met, whether in my original world or this one."

"But I'm not worthy."

"I come from that dark future, that twisted world. But in this world, standing before Curze, whom you have guided, I'm an outsider."

"Do you remember when I first arrived? I was a bat that had become a spirit, and I..."

"You told me to help young Curze, to think of it as sheltering my own brother from the storm and giving myself a chance at redemption."

"So I wanted to prove myself!"

"The way you raised Curze has already shown that, no matter what, you are the greatest father in this universe."

"I also need to prove that I, an outsider from another world, the son you personally acknowledged, am worthy of your pride."

"So you suggested that Curze move an entire planet without telling me?"

"Yes, Father. I was the one who instigated it from the start."

Instigated it, my ass!

"What exactly was your goal?"

"I wanted this young brother of mine, under my guidance, to take as few detours as possible and become a qualified... as early as possible."

"Qualified what?" Han Mingxuan looked at Konrad.

"A qualified leader."

"No, you meant a qualified demigod. Am I right?"

"Yes, but Father..."

Han Mingxuan cut Konrad off.

"My son Curze was already a qualified leader when he was able to gather his people in a short time and take control of Quintus Hive City."

"He's not just qualified. He's excellent, truly excellent!"

"He doesn't need anyone else to teach him how to be a leader. He's grown up and has his own judgment."

"I've taught him every principle I could. He might become a kindhearted, softhearted good man, or even a weak good-for-nothing, but he will never become a demon."

"That alone is enough."

"I've never asked much of him. Just staying alive in this world is an extravagance."

"So if he can die a good man, that will be my greatest comfort."

"You, on the other hand, Konrad, want him to become what you once dreamed of being, to prove to me that you're a worthy son. Am I right?"

"Yes, Father. I... I'm sorry."

Alas!

Huangpizi, oh Huangpizi, you've really done nothing but good deeds.

"Do you still consider me your father? Do you still acknowledge me? Tell me the truth."

"Of course! Even though I've only been here a short time, from the moment you wrote back to me, you became the father I acknowledged!"

"No one can change that!"

Good, that settles it.

"Remember this, Konrad. You and Curze are both my sons. There are no outsiders among my sons, and neither of you is an outsider."

"I have only one demand of my sons: in this damned world, don't be foolish, and don't become demons."

"With great power comes great responsibility. You both possess power rarely seen in this world. If you become demons, you'll bring catastrophe upon the universe."

"So as long as you don't become a demon, it doesn't matter whether you're a Living Saint recognized by everyone in the universe or a great hero who wins every battle."

"Even if you're a landowner who has seized a mountain and made himself king on some planet, as long as you can face your own heart without falling into corruption, you're a worthy and outstanding person."

"That is my... only hope for the two of you as your adoptive father."

"Father..."

Neither Curze nor the Night Haunter knew what to say.

Their father's wishes for them were simply too modest.

Yet those modest wishes were as dazzling as the sun, so warm they burned.

Curze was all right, but for the Night Haunter, such wishes stirred a feeling in his heart that he had never felt before.

It was something he had never experienced.

Perhaps he had seen it in that ambitious brother of his.

When that brother spoke of his mother, he would give people that same feeling.

This is probably... love.

"All right, that's all I have to say. The two of you can think about the rest yourselves. I'm a little tired, so I'm going back to rest."

With that, Han Mingxuan stood up and walked out with his hands behind his back.

Both Curze and the Night Haunter felt a tightness in their chests.

They could see that their father, who was not yet thirty, was in the prime of his life.

But now, as they watched him walk away, there was an indescribable heaviness about him. His steps seemed a little slower, and his back was somewhat hunched.

"Dad! You'll always be my dad! Always!"

Curze remembered clearly that, ever since he could remember, Han Mingxuan had only called himself his adoptive father when Curze asked about his origins.

Only that once.

Ever since then, his father had treated him as his own.

Today, he had said something.

As your adoptive father...

Curze did not know what that meant, but he understood that perhaps something had always weighed on his father's heart.

"In the future, just don't keep any important matters to yourselves. There's no need to go to so much trouble over the second phase of Nostramo's reconstruction. I'll find a way."

Han Mingxuan waved at them without turning around, his voice weary.

It wasn't that he was upset about Curze acknowledging his biological father in the future. He had always been clear about where he stood on that matter.

What really gave him a headache was the question of their education going forward.

Huangpizi was a socially anxious science-and-engineering guy with his family debuffs maxed out, and only a few of Curze's brothers could even be called normal.

They were a whole family of extraordinary characters.

Given Huangpizi's habit of working anything useful to death, Han Mingxuan figured he would have to teach his demigod nephews how to be decent people too. Just thinking about it was exhausting.

Why is my life so hard?!