Chapter 839 - 27: This Isn’t a Maid Café!
Could it be that you’re angry because of this too?
Although, upon careful thought, there is indeed a legitimate reason.
"Speaking of which, I actually didn’t know about your situation, Alice. It wasn’t a deliberate concealment."
Gu Mo explained gently, looking seriously and sincerely into the eyes of the blond maiden before him, spreading his hands to express his helplessness.
"You should be able to discover it too. I only heard from Shinki a few nights ago, and the time you learned of this was completely in sync... Before that, I had no mental preparation for this aspect, just thought you were someone related to Shinki."
He was well-prepared for this question and knew Alice would certainly have resentment about it. Fortunately, in this regard, he still had room for explanation, for he truly hadn’t imagined it at the time. He could only say he guessed the connection between Alice and Shinki but didn’t guess the connection between Alice and himself...
——What a big surprise.
Additionally, Alice should have been in the Demon Realm all the time, hidden thoroughly by Miss Shinki.
And after secretly running out, Shinki couldn’t rest easy and bestowed various blessings and protections on her precious daughter——
Among them, concerning hiding her presence, cutting off malicious peeping, and divination...
Such counter techniques, who knows how many there were.
These elements added together were enough to mislead Gu Mo’s normal perception. He wasn’t constantly on high alert, maintaining his perception at the most sensitive level, nor would he randomly increase power to meticulously explore the mysteries of the maiden.
Alice knew it was like this too. After all, she still remembered the events of that evening, and Shinki explained some past events to her later. But knowing is one thing, and she continued to stand there expressionless, unusually annoyed, lowering her gaze without meeting his eyes.
She lowered her head, her expression slightly obscured by shadow: "I didn’t ask you about that... I only said, how should I address you now."
"..."
"..."
"Hmm, then... can you really call me ’Father’?"
Gu Mo blinked, tapped his chin in thought for a moment, and then looked at her with some anticipation.
"..."
"..."
Stare——
Alice’s brows twitched; she couldn’t help but lift her head, straining to maintain an expressionless look, and glared at him hard, feeling almost at her limit.
"Just kidding, you can call me however you like regarding titles. Mister outsider works, directly using my name works too, given that you surely aren’t mentally prepared to accept me as a father..." Gu Mo chuckled lightly, appearing nonchalant as he spread his hands.
But those eyes, reflecting the Inner Sea of Stars, held some hint of regret.
Indeed, although she asked how she should address him, in reality, she had no say in deciding... This isn’t a maid café!
However... everything’s okay!
After all, not appearing for over a thousand years, and then suddenly having a father appear—who would be happy about that? Of course, one couldn’t expect Alice to accept it peacefully, and her current reaction and behavior were completely reasonable.
Gu Mo was ready for the long haul, hoping to make up for his debts to Alice as much as possible.
The blond maiden glared at him again, then glanced at the distant big tree. Although she couldn’t sense her mother’s presence, that silver, shiny strand of hair was completely exposed.
"... Come in! Dragon God!"
She tightly grasped the doorknob with one hand, the other clutching her skirt, repeatedly squeezing and releasing, as if showing the intensity of her inner emotional activity. Ultimately, reluctantly, she stepped aside, leaving a cold remark, and turned into the house.
The two small puppets flying around behind the blond maiden curiously looked at the young man outside, then slowly followed their mistress.
Gu Mo exhaled lightly; it seemed fairly smooth——
At least Alice didn’t show too strong a refusal to even see him, which made things much easier.
......
Puppet House.
Located deep within the Magic Forest.
Although he’d passed by here many times, Gu Mo was being invited inside this western-style mansion for the first time.
The mansion wasn’t very large, but besides the main section, there was a two-story tower on the side. Whether it was an Alchemy Tower, a Magic Laboratory, or purely a library, the internal space was estimated to be quite large, with no shortage of defense techniques and barriers.
The interior layout was thoughtfully arranged, neat and orderly, and quite cozy.
There was a fireplace, wardrobe, sofa, and coffee table; everything felt simple and beautiful, yet carried a touch of exquisite girl’s sentiment.
Gu Mo sat on the sofa, from where he could see through the window a corner of the forest outside, where the trees were dense yet just left a corner of the sky visible, allowing a view of the clear and serene azure and the golden sunlight pouring down.
In the gloomy and dim primeval forest, this glimpse of scenery is quite rare, instantly brightening one’s mood and dispelling any particular sense of melancholy.
Of course, the buff brought by the scenery also depends on the situation—
At least in the current situation, Miss Alice would definitely not be in a pleasant mood just because of this little bit of nice scenery, just as she is now quietly sitting over there, holding the magic guidebook in her hand with a cold expression, quietly reading, seemingly not wanting to deal with anyone.
The attitude expressed is also very clear—
Just say what you have to say.
And once you’re done talking, you can leave.
In summary, that’s probably what it means.
Gu Mo thought seriously; he naturally keenly read the resistance signals permeating the air, which were messages emanating from the spirit wavelengths of the blond maiden. However, he wasn’t dumb, resolved to play oblivious to the atmosphere.
Having already recovered from the initial shock, no longer in a rare state of turmoil, he could rationally think and naturally confirm that if he really followed Alice’s resistant mindset, choosing to simply say his piece and then leave...
Then Alice might not actually be pleased.
His gaze casually scanning the surroundings, leisurely going over it in his mind again and again, he wasn’t in a hurry to say anything.
Until the air seemed to solidify bit by bit, and the girl quietly reading the book gradually reached her limit of patience, just at the moment when the atmosphere was utterly tense, he timely withdrew his gaze, looking towards Alice’s direction, seemingly curious as he opened his mouth to ask:
"Alice, are you really interested in puppetry magic?"
"..."
The fingers grasping the magic guidebook slightly tightened, the blond maiden took a deep breath, using it to slightly suppress the inexplicable emotions surging in her heart. Almost unable to hold back, the other party grasped the timing very subtly, but she felt even more infuriated.
Not even glancing at this person, she continued to sit on the sofa with her head down, forcing herself to focus entirely on the magic guidebook spread open on her lap, although from just now to now, Alice actually hadn’t been able to absorb any of its content:
"If you have something to say, just get on with it! Lord Dragon God!" Her tone full of sarcasm.
—Exactly, once you’re done talking, you can leave!
"If you’re really interested in puppetry magic, how about I lend a hand? I heard from Miss Shinki that you’ve always wanted your puppets to have life..." Gu Mo smiled faintly as he spoke, naturally having done thorough research before coming.
Alice was slightly stunned, only then remembering that this person’s identity was actually the Demon King.
When once in the Demon Realm, she hadn’t heard anything, but after sneaking into the present world, she heard such legends, yet always thought it was nonsense, just propaganda by outsiders who didn’t understand the inner workings of the Demon Realm.
It wasn’t until a few days ago that she realized it was indeed true.
Half the creator of the Demon Realm, who hadn’t founded the Demon Realm itself, had established the foundation of the magic system, which was the cornerstone of the unique demon path civilization. Even the knowledge and techniques she had been pursuing in the field of puppetry were left behind by him...
Alice felt an extremely contradictory emotion she couldn’t describe.
For something she loved most, puppetry magic, was knowledge left by this detestable guy, and she was still pursuing his work even now...
For a moment, she had the impulse to throw it all away.
But looking at the two adorable little puppets in front of her, helping her change the tea—the Shanghai puppet cautiously poured out the cooled tea from the cup, while the Penglai puppet struggled a bit with the teapot bigger than her body, adding tea to the cup... how could she possibly abandon this!
Pressing her lower lip tightly, she raised her eyes filled with anger and spoke rigidly—
"Is this a deal?"
"If you think this way makes it easier to accept, then you can think of it like that." The white-clothed, black-haired young man opposite her smiled somewhat helplessly, looking at her earnestly, "But I don’t see it that way myself, and I hope you understand that..."
"I don’t understand..."
Alice averted her gaze, speaking angrily; the resistance in her emotions seemed even more intense.
"Then think it over a bit more. There’s plenty of time, after all..."
Gu Mo smiled gently, but wasn’t overly concerned; he was here now to express an attitude and to account for his daughter. At this moment, a strange feeling arose in his heart, akin to the previous stir, but even more wondrous.
Daughter...
He has a daughter...
Perhaps his family doesn’t know what an accomplishment he has made, even simply appearance-wise, looking like someone in their early twenties, having an eighteen-year-old daughter... isn’t this just a gender-swapped version of Irisviel? The more he thought about it, the stranger it felt, something he couldn’t dwell on deeply.
If the family found out, surely they’d be unable to withstand the shock.
But keeping it secret indefinitely doesn’t seem right either...
Gu Mo shook his head; this was actually an easier issue to resolve. He hesitated, looking towards the blond maiden opposite him: "Alice... I’d like to take you and your mother home for a visit, what do you think?"
This might be a kind of... the most straightforward way of acknowledgment?