"Hahaha, you said you wouldn't recognize me, yet you called me Dad so readily. What's going on?"
Nero's Void Mask vanished, revealing the face of Xiao Xun's chef father.
Xiao Xun turned to Helisha behind Nero, "Then you are my dad, so she must be..."
Helisha's Void Mask also disappeared. "Naturally, your dear mother."
Xiao Xun's eyeballs nearly popped out. He never imagined this. Stammering, he asked, "I heard my cousin say you two were traveling abroad?"
Helisha nodded. "That's right! And this isn't our country!"
"Originally, we wanted to conquer this planet and present it as a wedding gift to our future daughter-in-law. I didn't expect you, my son, to ruin it all."
Xiao Xun scratched his head. "No wonder you attacked Santiroman last. I really thought Santiroman had something you feared."
Helisha smiled. "Don't you like surprises?"
Xiao Xun put the pieces together. "So, I'm a demon's son?"
Helisha grabbed Xiao Xun's ear. "How can you insult yourself like that? You're insulting us too. If they say it, you say it."
"Mom, I won't dare, I won't dare."
Nero looked at the sky. "Hurry up and tell your subordinates to stop fighting. If the three elders hadn't known your background beforehand, your men would have been wiped out long ago."
"I heard you're already married and even got a license in the original world. Why were you so secretive? You didn't even tell your parents about such a big event as getting married."
"You're wrongly accusing your son. I couldn't contact you! Who knew you were demons... such powerful beings."
"Do you think you became a Chaos Elementalist for no reason? It's our bloodline, yours and your father's. Of course, it's mainly your father's bloodline. And that ring you're wearing, would your future father-in-law give you something so precious for no reason?"
Xiao Xun was astonished. "So you knew all this..."
"The only surprise is that you joined some damned Gatekeeper Society."
Xiao Xun suddenly felt wronged. "I'm also a bit curious. Since our family is so powerful, why did you run a restaurant in the countryside of that world?"
Helisha put her hands on her hips and glared at Nero. "Ask your dad!"
Nero scratched his head awkwardly. "Let's skip the child's presence. Shouldn't we go see our daughter-in-law quickly?"
Xiao Xun grabbed Nero's arm. "Dad, since you're so powerful, and you're the god of the undead, can you revive all my friends?"
"Would you be happy if you were resurrected as a different species?"
"Definitely not. Can't they be restored to how they were before?"
Nero smiled. "You think too highly of your dad. You've already understood the sixth law of the universe, haven't you seen through the meaning of life and death?"
Helisha also nodded solemnly. "Don't say your dad can't do it. Even if he could, he wouldn't."
Xiao Xun understood. "Okay, I get it."
"You really get it?"
"I get it."
Xiao Xun looked at their attire. "With so many people watching below, you're just going in like this?"
Helisha retorted, "Otherwise? Should we go back and put on makeup, change clothes?" As she spoke, she pulled Nero's hand. "They say a son shouldn't dislike his mother's ugliness, a dog..."
Xiao Xun quickly interjected, "Son doesn't mean it that way. Now that everyone knows your identities, if you go in so openly, they'll think son has made peace with you, which would be too..."
Nero snorted. "Whoever dares to speak nonsense, I'll eliminate them."
"They might not say it, but they'll think it."
The two spun around, and their clothes instantly changed into the local attire. "Is this acceptable now? Don't worry, I've already set up a barrier, otherwise your people would have come over long ago."
Xiao Xun nodded in satisfaction. "This is good, this is good. Let's go!"
Saying that, he was about to fly down but was pulled back by Helisha. "You're just like your dad. What's the point of having that space ring if it's just for decoration?"
Inside the castle, the teleportation barrier opened, and the three appeared inside. Mu Jiahe, with her pregnant belly, was looking at the sky from the balcony.
The sky was now empty, completely calm, with only Borgard and Boldergard circling and keeping watch near the castle.
"Jiahe, Mom and Dad are here to see you."
Mu Jiahe was first startled, then overjoyed. "Xiao Xun, you're alright?"
Xiao Xun smiled and asked, "What could possibly happen to me?"
Mu Jiahe ran over. Xiao Xun, fearing she might trip, quickly went to support her.
"Jiahe, we meet again. It's been almost a year, hasn't it? We haven't seen each other since you celebrated the New Year."
"Uncle, Auntie, why are you here?"
She then whispered to Xiao Xun, "It's so chaotic here right now, why did you bring them?"
Nero looked at Mu Jiahe with displeasure. "With such a big belly, and you still call us Uncle and Auntie?"
Helisha hit Nero's arm. "You're so stingy. You haven't even given the child a renaming gift, and you expect her to call you what?"
Then, she pulled out a golden pearl from nowhere. "This thing, called the Eye of Rus, was given to us by someone else. We didn't use it. They say it represents a star. Your Flame Family likes this the most, so we're giving it to you."
Mu Jiahe was stunned. "You know I'm from the Flame Family..." She then looked at Xiao Xun. "Why did you tell them everything?"
"Don't misunderstand, it wasn't our son who told us. Isn't Santiroman the Flame Family!"
Saying that, he walked in front of Mu Jiahe, took her hand, and placed the golden eyeball into her palm. "Take good care of yourself during your pregnancy. We're here specifically to help with postpartum care and to look after our grandchild."
"Thank you, Uncle, thank you, Auntie!"
This time, Helisha was unhappy. "Why are you still calling us Uncle and Auntie?"
Mu Jiahe immediately changed her address. "Dad, Mom..."
The elderly couple exchanged glances and smiled in agreement. "Ah!"
Just as Xiao Xun was immersed in the joy of family reunion, his body trembled violently, the scene before his eyes blurred instantly, and his body temperature drained away, leaving him surrounded by cold.
After a dizzying spin, Xiao Xun felt rainwater flowing down his hair, his vision completely obscured by the rain.
The surrounding scene slowly became clearer. It was the unfamiliar yet familiar alley opposite his cousin's residential complex. Pedestrians hurried past on the streets ahead and behind, and no one "noticed" this place.
Xiao Xun struggled to support himself on the ground with his hands, but he had no strength in his body. A smile played on his lips, and his last words before closing his eyes were, "So... Heh heh, luckily it was a dream..."
— End of Novel —