"I really want to say, ’You have the wrong person.’"

But Lyle knew that arguing was pointless. Those eyes, so close, conveyed just how unwavering the queen’s resolve was.

"I would not make that mistake."

Her assertive words gave Lina Dreya a touch of coolness, but that was not why Lyle submitted to her. He had struggled, and then he realized a fact. Defender Lina’s Combat Power far exceeded his own, though to others it might seem like a flirtatious exchange between a man and a woman.

In reality, it was a lion toying with a chick.

"Your behavior is without any pretense, the same in reality as in dreams. Making the connection was not difficult."

Lina loosened her grip, after the initial excitement, seemingly recalling the queen’s poise. With an appreciative look, she naturally went to straighten Lyle’s collar—a queen’s essential lesson in appeasing her subjects.

Crack.

Reality often disappoints, and in the face of the valorous queen’s strength, Lyle’s collar became torn fabric dancing in the air.

The high collar turned into a V-neck, and the pale skin of Lyle’s collarbone, as if bearing the coolness of ice, froze the smile on the queen’s face and the atmosphere.

Lyle covered his chest, took a large step back into the corner, positioning himself between the portraits of Dreya’s previous two kings. Looking at the dignified men in the paintings, Lyle silently beseeched in his mind.

Mr. Reed, I hope you understand, it’s not my fault.

The silence probably lasted ten seconds before Queen Lina continued with a quiver in her voice.

"Of course, the main reason I recognized you... was a woman’s intuition."

"Mr. Reed returned because of you, and Dreya won the victory. Now, you have come again, bringing with you Dreya’s future."

"I didn’t believe in fate before that dream."

"So, Evil God, what price must I pay?"

Nia’s slender tentacles, having transformed, wove into a net and filled the space at Lyle’s collar, finally making it less awkward.

"To repair the relationship with Mr. Reed is my only wish."

"I think I understand. For the sake of my country, I will heed your advice." Lina took a step again, and the sound of her footsteps on the floor was like a deluge and wild beasts to Lyle.

Having no retreat, the queen approached step by step, like a smiling demon.

"I don’t believe anyone would selflessly sacrifice for another. Mr. Lyle, I think it is necessary to give you some ’kindness’ so Dreya can profit more, in an adult way."

That face, combining a girl’s immaturity and a ruler’s maturity, a scent blending sweat and blood, assaulted Lyle’s face with each breath—he couldn’t help but swallow.

That face, with slightly dry lips, loomed larger in his vision. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Smack.

Two black tentacles acted as guards for the final five centimeters, pinching the girl’s expression into a pout, one on each side.

Nia emerged from Lyle’s chest, stretching her limbs in the air, and with a puffed-out face, she perched on top of Lyle’s head.

"Nia is angry! No biting Lyle!"

The tentacles whipped through the air, expressing their owner’s irritation, their sound awakening Lyle’s thoughts, gaining a small distance from the stupefied Queen Lina.

Queen Dreya had never seen a creature like Nia. Surprise filled her eyes as she looked at the twisted being that only appeared in bizarre nightmares.

"What is this?"

Nia’s voice carried a clear humph, "Nia won’t tell you!"

Lyle patted Nia’s tentacle, but the girl stubbornly shifted its position.

"This is Nia, my Gift, and also my..." Half? Or daughter? Lyle was weighing his words, but Nia had already given her answer.

"Nia is Lyle’s master!"

"Hmm? How did you become the master!" Lyle protested against the injustice he faced.

"Hmph! That’s how it is!" Nia said, starting to count on her fingers.

"Lyle has to feed Nia, play with Nia, and tell Nia bedtime stories!"

The first two items he had indeed done, but when had he ever done the last one? Lyle and Nia, who had turned her back, exchanged looks—his confusion and her matter-of-factness intertwining.

When Nia slept, as it were, entering his shadow was also entering rest. In that case, these so-called bedtime stories were actually his own muttered soliloquies; it seemed there was some truth to that.

"Do you remember any stories I’ve told you, Nia?"

Nia’s tentacles entangled as she fell into a pensive tangle.

"The Shimmering Thousand and One Ways to Die?"

"The Spine Wheel and Forty Explosions?"

"The Hungry Flesh Nourishment Guide?"

"..."

Nia really was a good kid; she hadn’t gone astray.

"All right, all you said is correct, but! How did this become a master-servant relationship? I am clearly your guardian."

"Not at all! Nia is the Evil God! Nia is Lyle’s master!" The tentacles began to wrap around Lyle’s head, turning it into a black giant zongzi.

The Evil God savored the sacrificial blood meal, the Evil God listened to the servant’s prayers, the Evil God felt the Angel Envoy’s praise.

It seemed... it really was a master-servant relationship.

After Nia’s childlike meddling, Lyle’s progress with a certain queen was also interrupted; having witnessed Lyle’s closeness with an unidentifiable creature, Queen Lina seemed to have let go of that peculiar fixation and entered into a state of national leadership.

Under Nia’s hostile surveillance, Lyle and Lina reached a series of agreements, including trade exchanges and political diplomacy matters among the three City of Wandering, Dreya, and Liveser tribes. Lyle was merely a messenger in drafting the initial proposals.

"Don’t forget Mr. Reed; he loves you, just, he’s not good at expressing it." Leaving behind one last sentence, Lyle was planning to leave.

"Lyle, you don’t seem to be under the City of Wandering."

"That’s right, I come from Andrei Academy."

"Then, can the power behind you also help us? Dreya is in need of revival; perhaps we can have more exchanges."

Lyle had an odd look on his face.

"You wouldn’t want it, Your Majesty, our service doesn’t extend to your kind."

After wiping off the cake crumbs hanging by Nia’s mouth, Lyle turned back.

"Andrei is a Lich Academy; we serve the dead, for those who do not wish to stay in their graves."

Stepping out of Dreya Tower and into the shadowy streets, Lyle finally breathed a sigh of relief.

That was close; I almost betrayed Alianna.

"Nia."

The black slime slowly extended from behind, morphing into Nia’s form, like a child who had done something wrong and felt aggrieved.

Lyle pinched her rubbery cheeks, feeling her spirit relax gradually.

"You seem to dislike Queen Lina very much."

"Nia hates her."

"Why?"

"Because she doesn’t like Nia." Lyle recalled the moment when Nia had first appeared, the look of surprise and... rejection on Lina Dreya’s face. Even though Nia had already taken on a human shape, to the average person, she still looked like a monster.

Lyle’s extended stay at Andrei Academy had caused him to overlook the outside world’s gaze. Nia couldn’t get the outside world’s favor, and neither could he.

The individual named Lyle Butler had already broken away from what is [normal].

But none of that mattered.

Nia cared about the gaze of others; she had grown up, she cared about how others felt about her.

"If staying with people who don’t like Nia means Lyle won’t like Nia either."

Lyle took the less lively Nia into his arms; she had grown quite big, nearly the same size as Lyle.

"I will always like Nia, more than I like myself."

"You’re lying, Nia is Lyle, to like Lyle is to like Nia, to like Nia is to like Lyle."

Holding Nia, Lyle laughed heartily in the dark where there was no light.