Hearing the voice, Puck shuddered and turned to see Emilia lying on the medical device, now wide awake.
The girl's violet eyes burned with embarrassed fury as she glared at him.
Seeing this, Puck wore an expression of impending doom and couldn't help asking Kanae Kocho:
"Miss Kocho, didn't you say Lia would be unconscious during treatment~?"
"Are you certain this counts as unconsciousness?"
"My, my."
Kanae Kocho covered her cheeks with a troubled expression:
"Well... what I meant earlier was a sleep-like state, not complete unconsciousness."
"Huh?"
Puck stiffened, turning back to face Emilia's interrogating gaze. He gulped and asked:
"So, my adorable daughter... exactly when did you start eavesdropping?"
Blushing fiercely while lying on the device, Emilia turned her head aside and said:
"From when you said I was the cutest in the world."
Puck instantly bristled: "So you heard everything from start to finish!!"
As he spoke, Puck watched Emilia removing the equipment from her body and hastily hid behind Luo Shu's head, peeking out to say:
"Wait, Lia, let me explain!! I was just joking earlier."
"Explanations are useless, prepare to die!!!"
In the next instant, chilling ice spikes shot out like bullets.
...
Five minutes later.
"Please don't mind Puck's nonsense earlier."
The silver-haired elf in a white dress with purple trim repeatedly bowed in apology.
After apologising, she turned to the grey-furred cat with bandages wrapped around its head, floating mid-air:
"Puck, you should apologise to Mr Luo Shu too."
"Um, sorry about that..." Puck apologised, muttering, "I shouldn't have suspected you wanted to have children with Emilia."
"That wasn't it!! That was never mentioned before!"
Emilia raised her voice, her face particularly red, whether from embarrassment or anger:
"Puck, are you doing this on purpose?"
Hearing this, Puck immediately put on an aggrieved expression:
"How could that be? I was just being wary of this guy trying to steal Lia away from me!"
"Facing someone who wants to take your daughter away, any normal parent would say something, right?"
"I can't exactly celebrate and send you off happily, can I?"
Emilia's face turned red as she angrily rolled up her sleeves to discipline Puck again:
"That's clearly not what I was talking about."
Seeing this, Lacus immediately reached out to stop Emilia:
"Alright, alright, don't be angry, Emilia. Puck just cares about you too much."
"But Puck always..." Emilia puffed her cheeks angrily, "...does things he thinks are for my own good without ever considering my opinion."
"I did consider it."
Puck floated over at this point and retorted:
"That's precisely why I did it."
"After all, even without me, if Aya asked you to consider joining the Hidden Management Department, you'd still agree, wouldn't you?"
"It was the same when you joined that Desire Faction before. I told you it wasn't reliable, but you insisted on joining, and that time there wasn't even an invitation from Aya."
"I..." Hearing this, Emilia guiltily turned her head away, unable to meet Puck's gaze.
Seeing this, Puck couldn't help but sigh in resignation:
"You always think about others before yourself."
"It was fine back in our original world - at least I felt I could still protect you. But this world isn't as safe as our old one."
'I can barely protect you anymore, that's why I'm trying to find someone who can.'
Thinking this, Puck said helplessly:
"Emilia, you need to grow up!"
Truth be told, Emilia's wilfulness wasn't a one-off occurrence. It was only because Puck cared so deeply for her that he'd always indulged her behaviour.
But after seeing Emilia stubbornly confront the Demigod Kotori Itsuka, Puck finally realised this indulgence couldn't continue.
If not for Aya Tokoyogi's intervention this time, Emilia might have truly died here.
Considering this, Puck had no choice but to toughen his stance.
"I... understand, Puck," Emilia said softly, her expression unreadably complex.
Seeing Emilia yield, Puck crossed his arms and nodded, then glanced at Luo Shu, who was watching from the sidelines:
"So, how's the show, young man?"
After watching the family drama unfold, Luo Shu stroked his chin and chuckled:
"Somewhat entertaining."
As he spoke, he glanced at Puck and narrowed his eyes slightly:
"How much did Aya tell you?"
"Only that a contract might solve the problem. There wasn't time for deeper explanations."
Puck frowned, his expression turning serious:
"Though I remain sceptical that a mere contract can resolve Satella's dual personalities."
The three personalities within Emilia's body.
The most dangerous was undoubtedly the Witch of Envy persona - filled with destructive desires, it was both the most perilous and powerful.
Even with Emilia and Satella working together, they could barely suppress it.
True, Emilia had gained considerable benefits from hosting the Witch of Envy persona.
Her body had advanced to Demigod Rank, obtained a Top Tier Class, and her power far surpassed her peers - all thanks to the Witch of Envy.
But compared to the risks, these advantages were almost negligible.
"Using a contract? So Aya's interested in this too..."
Luo Shu stroked his chin, looking intrigued.
When Familia members joined the Divine Pantheon, their awakening ritual would automatically reinforce them in the most beneficial direction.
This was Luo Shu's conclusion after observing numerous Familia inductions.
If this held true, Emilia's Familia membership might genuinely provide a solution to her triple personality issue.
Considering this, Aya Tokoyogi - who knew something about the Divine Pantheon - giving such advice wasn't particularly surprising.
'Though I didn't expect Aya to already be researching contracts.'
'Had she not approached me first and signed that contract about automatically joining the Familia upon Natsuki reaching Demigod Rank, I'd have started eliminating her for investigating Familia contracts.'
This concerned Luo Shu's fundamental survival mechanism - he wouldn't tolerate non-members probing contract secrets.
Only Aya's special circumstances and Demigod status earned her this leniency. Otherwise, Luo Shu doubted his patience would stretch so far.
With Aya paving the way, Emilia's situation had actually become quite straightforward.
Thinking this, Luo Shu produced a contract scroll and addressed Emilia and Puck with a smile:
"So you've reached a consensus about the contract?"
Puck glanced at the scroll before shrugging:
"At this point, we're boarding the pirate ship whether we like it or not, no?"
Meanwhile, Emilia hesitated slightly:
"I might not be much help, but... please take care of me."
Hearing their responses, Luo Shu smiled and handed the contract scroll to Emilia.