During your heartfelt reunion, the atmosphere shifts as another figure approaches. Leon, with an aura of confidence, walks toward Cleo. He wraps Cleo in a warm embrace, pulling her close before planting a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Wha...?"

Your mind stumbles for a moment, processing the unexpected sight. 

But before you can piece together your thoughts, Lizz's elated voice breaks through your confusion.

“Aaaaa! Daddddd!” she yells with childlike joy.

Your heart rate spikes. "WAIT! WHAT'S HAPPENING NYAAA!?" 

And panic is coursing through your veins.

Dad? 

Leon?

The word echoes in your mind. Did Lizz just refer to that man as... her dad?

Leon turns to face you, a mischievous twinkle in his eye and a teasing smirk playing on his lips. "What's wrong, Felicia?" he inquires, clearly enjoying your bewilderment.

A rush of realization hits you. No wonder why you thought that he looked so familiar! Of course! You've seen him before; there’s a painting of him back at your house! In the portrait, a younger version of Leon stared back, his features sharp and refined. He looked way younger in the portrait than he is now, and that’s probably why you failed to recognize him at first.

But, anyways, this is Leon Var Lucarias, Lizz’s father and Cleo’s beloved husband!

Your stomach churns. Oh, Felicia, you've made quite the first impression, haven’t you? How will Leon ever approve of your relationship now?

Determined to redeem yourself, you rise, bowing deeply to show respect. "I–I'm so sorry nya! I'm Felicia, I didn’t recognize you at first and—"

But Leon, being a pretty chill guy, interrupts your fumbling apology.

“Don’t worry, haha.” he reassures with a chuckle. “And thank you very much for taking care of my two precious girls when I’m gone.” 

"Ah! Yo- you are welcome nya!"

And then, Leon's gaze drifts to the others. 

“Arlen, Aelrindel, Belle and Calix, great to see you guys too,” he continues. “You guys sure have improved a lot.”

“Ah, thank you Leon,” Arlen replies, smiling. “Good to have you back. How did your mission go?"

From what you know, Leon was on an important mission earlier. It was something related to a demonic cult in a nearby town.

“Well, I’ll talk to you guys about that later.”

“Sounds good,” Arlen agrees.

"But first, is anyone hungry? Anyone down for steak? My treat, of course.”

Hearing that, your ears perk up, and without missing a beat, “NYA!” you shout enthusiastically.

“Alright!” Arlen says, slowly getting up. However, “Urgh!” he instantly sits back down. “Well, I guess… ughh… I still need a moment to recover first.”

Seeing Arlen struggling like that, Leon laughs. “Well well, Blood Break’s aftereffects are quite awesome, no?”

“Indeed.” Arlen replies, and you can hear the pain in his voice.

Turns out, the dragon guy also suffers from side effects of Blood Break. When Lizz uses Ouroboros Exchange, both she and the target will share any side effects. Probably 80% of that effect goes to Arlen 20% goes to Lizz, but given that Arlen has a draconic body, he’s now taking it like a champ. And thanks to their shared burden, Lizz recovers very quickly too, especially compared to the last time she used it and passed out during the fight against the horned demon.

So, Ouroboros Exchange…

Pretty amazing skill, right? 

---

Later, at the T-Bone Tavern.

Still the same thing as usual: a giant T-bone steak for you, Cleo and Arlen; Mirabelle has steak salad while Calix just sits there in her cat form and watches. Meanwhile, Aelrindel is chewing vegetables again. 

And Leon? 

He eats a lot! He ordered two giant steaks and a big jug of frothy beer!

But… something’s wrong. This reunion with your family feels too good to be true…

“Aren… aren’t you guys going to ask why I was away nya?”

Yeah, both Lizz and Cleo didn’t seem to be bothered at all, it's as if your days-long disappearance barely registered to them. The way they reacted after seeing you was too… happy? There wasn't any trace of worry or concern at all! It doesn’t make any sense!

However, their replies confuse you even more.

“Huh? You went on a secret mission with Elemiah, right?” Lizz replies with a question back.

Huh?

Elemiah?

Where the heck does that information come from?

You are extremely confused right now. 

“Huh, is there something wrong?” Cleo, probably seeing the confusion in your face just now, voices her concern.

“Ahh— Umm— I… No, not at all nya.”

You're at a loss for words.

“Ah! Shoot!” Lizz exclaims, tugging on her mother’s arm, “It’s a secret mission! She’s probably wondering how we knew about it!”

“Oh, that! Haha,” Cleo laughs. “Don’t worry Felicia, it was Elemiah who told us about your mission himself. He didn’t tell the exact details, of course, he just let us know that you were going to be with him for a while, so that we wouldn’t be worried. The mission wasn’t anything too dangerous, right?”

Aha! So that’s how it was! 

However, that doesn’t make you any less anxious at all!!!!

After all, freaking Elemiah!?

Come meet me at the Church midnight tonight

His words once again surface, making you incredibly uneasy. 

What the heck is he planning right now!?

Just… how much does he know? Does he know the whole thing between you and Nightingale then?

The deeper you delve into these thoughts, the more tangled and perplexed you become.

Anyways, after a brief consideration, the best thing you can do now is just go with the flow. Elemiah, for some weird unknown reason, just covered up for you, so there’s at least one good thing out of this mess. For the meeting with Elemiah later, you decide not to think about it anymore, since doing that won’t be any helpful.

Before long, everything comes back to normal. Waitresses bring more food, and you continue enjoying your time. Afterwards, you accompany Lizz's family for a leisurely afternoon in the local market, followed by a serene evening at another famous restaurant that offers a breathtaking view of the Merton East river.

Since it has been a while since Leon is back home, they talk a lot. There's a lot of catching up to do. Time flies, and before you know it, it’s already night. You remember what you need to do, you politely excuse yourself and make your way to the Church of Divine Lights.

And now, standing at the front imposing gate, your heart is pounding.

Elemiah… 

What the heck is going on with him?

You don’t have a very good feeling about this.

---

Please forgive me, I can only generate omelet :((( steaks are impossible.