Yue leaned forward and said, "Yes, Meggie. What did you just ask your father?"

"Gah!" Meggie's panicked voice echoed over the speaker. "M-Mom's there too!? Wait, where the heck are you guys?!"

Aurora giggled.

"And is that Rory I hear?!"

John kept his eyes on the road and continued to drive. But as he did, he said, "Well, we're on our way to visit your Uncle Titor and Aunt Amadeus, as well as your new baby cousin."

"New cousin? Oh, right. Aunt Ama had a baby... Wait, I'm getting sidetracked." Meggie took a deep breath and then said, "I'm serious, Dad. You were right. You can't keep protecting someone forever, so... I want to make Emma able to protect herself. Can I?"

John glanced back at Yue. "Wifey?"

Yue sighed and let out a wry smile. "It seems our daughter takes after you a great deal, Husband..."

John chuckled and said, "I think she takes after both of us, Wifey. She's just as stubborn and determined as you, you know?"

Meggie huffed and said, "I'm RIGHT here! Can you two stop flirting! And I'm serious!"

John chuckled. But then he focused and said, "I know, Meggie. But no, teaching Emma cultivation isn't allowed. To start with, there's a hard cap to the levels you can reach through cultivating in this world... and the moment we start letting people cultivate, a lot of crazy things are going to happen. Murphy's Law is a thing here, and that's definitely only giving it more ammo to work with."

Meggie was quiet. But then she said, "What the heck is Murphy's Law?"

"Don't worry about it. But anyway, you can teach her martial arts though. And you can help her refine her physique a little bit... but just a little." John paused. "By a little, I mean to the level of an average skilled athlete. Not to the level that Rin's at, alright?"

Meggie sighed. "...Okay. But... won't it still be dangerous? What if she's going home after school alone and-"

"Then just make sure you're always around her to stop those flags- I mean events." John stopped at an intersection, waiting for the light to turn green. As he did, he said, "But think rationally too, Meggie. Emma isn't the sort of person to be in places where that would happen, and if she is, you'll usually be with her. So it'll be fine. All you have to do is get her to the point where she can stand up for herself against bullies."

Meggie paused. Then after a long while, she sighed and said, "You're right, Dad. It's just... I'm worried. If I hadn't been there... if those kids were a bit more cruel..."

"Hey. Speaking from personal experience, stop that." John started driving again after the light turned green. Then he glanced towards the dashboard, staring at Meggie's name displayed there. "The worst didn't come to pass, and since you know about it, now it never will. Just remember that. Until the moment it arrives, both positive and negative outcomes are equally likely and equally illusory. So choose the positive one and work to make sure it comes to pass."

Meggie laughed. "You're right Dad. I guess I'm just being dumb."

"No, you're being a kid. And that's fine." John smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Aurora stuck her fist up at that and said, "Ba! Ba yu Megi!"

Meggie giggled and said, "Love you too, Rory."

John chuckled and said, "Alright. That's settled. But now..." John turned serious and said, "That's all, right? You aren't planning to do anything to those kids?"

Meggie was quiet.

John waited.

And then Meggie said, "I want to Dad. I really, really, really want to. But Emma said she just wants it to stop. And she doesn't want me to do anything."

John let out a slow breath and nodded. "Alright. Good. Leave it at that then."

"...You want me to just sit back and pretend they didn't do anything?"

"Of course not." John shook his head. "But-"

At that time, Yue spoke up. "Just because the victim did nothing and desires nothing does not mean the perpetrators will go unpunished, my sweet daughter." A malicious light flashed in her eyes and she said, "Those students dared to come to my esteemed academy and play at tyrants instead of utilizing the painstakingly gathered resources and structure for success I planned..." She let out a dark giggle and said, "Well, I suppose one must always kill a chicken first before the monkeys behave~"

John glanced at her and frowned. "Oi, Wifey..."

Yue giggled. "Relax, Husband. I won't leave any trouble behind~"

"That's not what I'm... You know what, we'll talk about this in private."

Meggie spoke up. "Wait. What's Mom going to do, Dad? What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it, Meggie." John reached for the dashboard and said, "Love you, good night, and have fun with your new girlfriend."

Meggie stammered. "E-E-Emma is not my-"

John ended the call.

Yue giggled and said, "You love teasing our daughter, don't you?"

John chuckled and said, "I can't help it. Meggie gets flustered just as cutely as you do, Wifey."

Yue let out a warm smile.

John paused. "...But you aren't like going to torture those kids, are you?"

Aurora waved her arm and giggled. "Ba! Borchur!"

"No, Rory. Absolutely not. Torture is bad."

"Awwwww."

John sighed.