Seeing Homura's reaction, Su Mo was a little surprised.
He had originally thought she was going to get to the bottom of things, and he hadn't planned on hiding anything anyway.
He didn't expect her to simply stop asking, unconditionally ignoring the special nature of the Gold of the Rhine.
Even after a hundred loops, it seemed her guard was still a little low.
However, for a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl, she was already doing quite well. He couldn't ask for too much.
"Big Brother Su Mo, then I'll give this back to you. Don't go losing something so important!" Seeming to sense Su Mo's surprise, Homura blinked and handed the ring over.
Since she had chosen to trust him, she was truly capable of not asking any questions.
However, Su Mo didn't accept it. "No need. Since it's in your hands, consider it a gift," he said with a shake of his head.
To him, it was just an item he could create at will. If Homura hadn't specifically brought it back, he wouldn't have even bothered to retrieve it.
"Eh? Is that okay?" Hearing Su Mo's words, Homura was taken aback. Her kind eyes looked down as a faint blush crept up her cheeks.
It's a ring! Can you just give something like that away?
Su Mo, however, didn't notice the girl's reaction, thinking she was concerned about something else.
So he nodded slightly and explained, "Don't worry, the curse of the Gold of the Rhine only affects those with greed in their hearts. You're not one of them."
"Besides, as my daughter, even if only in name, these items can't have any negative effects on you."
"Wear this ring, and you will, to some extent, gain the power and wealth of a king. While it offers no combat bonuses, it can be used to disperse crowds, and you'll be able to obtain a reasonable source of income without any effort."
Simply put, it was a common life-skill item that combined the effects of Leadership and Golden Rule. If Homura had obtained this ring earlier, she wouldn't have had to worry about her medical bills. Even without leaving the house, she could win the lottery and find money every day.
An ordinary person would surely be tempted by the effects of the Ring of the Nibelungs, but Homura was different.
Her lips pouted slightly, her fair cheeks puffed up a little, and her sparkling eyes remained fixed on Su Mo as she shook her head slightly. "That's not what I meant! But... thank you for the ring, Big Brother Su Mo. I'll treasure it for the rest of my life!"
"No need to be so dramatic. It's not that useful to you," Su Mo said, shaking his head.
"It's not an exaggeration. This ring is very important to me. Thank you, Big Brother Su Mo!" Homura cradled the ring in her palm, held it to her chest, then hugged Su Mo and buried her head in the blankets.
She secretly tried to slip the ring onto the ring finger of her left hand.
---||---
At seven in the morning, when it was time to get up and wash, Homura's sleepy mumbles could still be heard from under the covers.
"I... I do..."
"Yawn! What's Homura-chan saying? She's willing to do what?" Madoka, woken up by Su Mo, stretched and tilted her head, looking at the seemingly blissful Homura with a puzzled expression.
"You can wake her up and ask," Su Mo, who was already up, said casually. "It's getting late. Even if the school has already processed the paperwork, you should still leave a little earlier than usual, right?"
"Oh, right!" Hearing this, Madoka remembered they were enrolling Homura in school today. She immediately perked up and woke Homura.
Homura was a light sleeper and didn't like to stay in bed. Even though she was resting in a safe space she had confirmed, she was quick to react when Madoka woke her.
Although magical girls had a self-cleaning function, she still washed up with Madoka.
Just then, from the second floor of the house next door, Madoka's father was already waving a rice paddle in Su Mo's direction. "Su Mo-kun! Madoka should be up by now. Come over for breakfast, or you'll be late!"
The closest points between the two houses were Madoka's and Su Mo's balconies. At this distance, less than five meters apart, they could easily communicate without shouting.
For Tomohisa Kaname, it was a common occurrence for his daughter to stay over at Su Mo's house when she was tired from playing, and he wasn't the least bit worried.
As long as Madoka didn't oversleep and wasn't late for school, it was fine.
"Madoka's up," Su Mo nodded, then looked behind him.
"Good morning, Dad!" At that moment, Madoka, having just washed up, walked over in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes and letting out a long yawn. She leaned against Su Mo and greeted her father.
"Good morning! You look like you didn't sleep well. Madoka, don't tell me you kept Su Mo-kun up playing late again?" Looking at his daughter's languid state, Tomohisa started nagging like a mother hen.
After he was done, he said apologetically to Su Mo, "Su Mo-kun, sorry to trouble you with taking care of this child!"
In Japan, the age of majority for women is twenty, but the legal minimum age for marriage is sixteen. In this environment, high school sweethearts getting married was not uncommon.
Although Madoka was a bit younger, according to the "childhood friend" rule, it wasn't a huge deal for them to live together, or even have a child.
Madoka's parents were already happy to see the two of them together, and their impression of Su Mo was basically that of a future son-in-law, so they naturally weren't concerned about the propriety of a boy and girl living together.
He was just worried that his daughter was being thoughtless and causing trouble for Su Mo. What if he started to dislike her because of it?
Hearing her father, Madoka pouted. "I wasn't causing trouble for Big Brother Su Mo!" After saying that, she remembered the incident with Homura and lowered her head guiltily, sneaking a glance at Su Mo. "I-I wasn't, right?"
From Madoka's perspective, Su Mo's entire presence in her world was due to her request.
As for saving Homura, adopting her, and arranging a place for her to live, all of that was also to fulfill her wish and put her mind at ease.
To have a Tier 7 existence, someone who could crush a universe with one hand, indulge her whims just to save a single girl she cared about... any domineering CEO romance plot paled in comparison.
Though Su Mo had only done one thing, he had managed to drastically increase the affection of two people at once.
"Madoka..." Seeing his daughter's guilty look, Tomohisa knew she had been willful again. He immediately drew out his words, putting on a stern expression.
"Ah! I just remembered I haven't changed yet. Dad, I'm going!" In front of her family, Madoka was quite lively. She immediately chickened out, hid behind Su Mo, and ran off, leaving Su Mo to face her father.
Watching Madoka's fleeing figure, Su Mo shook his head. "Don't worry, Mr. Tomohisa. Madoka is very well-behaved. She didn't cause any trouble."
"Sigh, you always cover for her like this! I know you're a gentle person, Su Mo-kun, but you can't just spoil her like this forever, can you?" Tomohisa sighed and shook his head, but didn't say any more. "Forget it, I'll let her mother deal with her when she gets back. Whatever I say is useless."
Then, he added naturally, "After Madoka changes, you should come over with her for breakfast like you always do, Su Mo-kun. I've already made it."
In his memories, Su Mo, living alone, often had meals with their family, which was one of the reasons for their close relationship.
"Okay, thank you, Mr. Tomohisa." Su Mo didn't refuse, but after a moment's thought, he added, "However, could you add an extra portion for breakfast from now on? A girl named Homura Akemi will be staying at my place. She's about the same age as Madoka."
Given their relationship, there was no need to mention payment. Just bringing a gift when visiting was enough.
"Another child? Of course, that's no problem. It's just one more pair of chopsticks." Tomohisa agreed readily without hesitation.
After agreeing, he paused for a few seconds before adding with a hint of nervousness, "But, may I ask, what is the relationship between this girl named Homura and you, Su Mo-kun?"
The childhood friend he had carefully nurtured for his daughter... was he about to be snatched away by a girl who fell from the sky?
It wasn't that he was being overly sensitive, but the new girl being the same age as Madoka clearly created competition. "Don't tell me... she's your sister, Su Mo-kun?"
Preferably a blood-related sister, that way she's destined to lose, and this old father won't have to worry.
"No." Su Mo's shake of the head made Tomohisa's heart leap into his throat. Then, he answered, "She's my daughter."
"???"
Say what now?
Tomohisa was completely dumbfounded.