"Sleep!? Is this a time to sleep!?"
"Explain yourself first—what's going on with Klee!? Then you can sleep!"
Lin Mo fumed inwardly.
[Oh, you mean Klee?]
[Isn't she your daughter?]
[What, you don't want to take responsibility as a father?]
[Pah! Scumbag!]
"No! I admit that in the parallel world of the first reincarnation, I was indeed her father," Lin Mo shot back.
"But this is already the hundredth reincarnation! She should've forgotten me by now, shouldn't she?"
[I might've been in a hurry to go to sleep and forgot to create a new parallel world for you.]
[Sorry. I'll remember next time.]
"What 'next time'!?"
"This is my last reincarnation—what next time are you talking about!?"
[Alright, what's done is done.]
[Besides, little Klee being around won't affect your mission in this life, right?]
[If it really bothers you, why not just fool her a bit?]
[Tell her you're just a traveler who happens to look like her father. Wouldn't that work?]
"Seems… not impossible."
Lin Mo thought it over and quietly nodded.
Given Klee's innocent, childlike nature, she was pretty easy to convince.
[Alright then. If there's nothing else, I'm going back to sleep.]
The system's voice vanished.
Lin Mo lowered his head and looked at Klee, who was still crying her heart out.
Her little mouth drooped, tears falling one after another—
It tugged painfully at his heart, making it hard for him to lie to her.
"Phew…"
Lin Mo took a deep breath.
In the end, he decided not to acknowledge the father-daughter bond.
He still had a mission to complete.
He would be traveling across Teyvat with Lumine in the future.
And Acting Grand Master Jean would never agree to let Klee travel so far.
If he admitted the truth now, another separation would be inevitable.
Since that was the case—
Better a sharp pain than lingering agony.
"Little one, you've mistaken me for someone else."
Lin Mo softened his voice as much as he could.
"Look closely. I'm not your dad. My name is Mod Ganqing. I'm a traveler."
Klee froze at his denial.
She lifted her small head, staring at him with pitiful, watery eyes.
When she looked at that familiar face again,
memories from her childhood surged up uncontrollably.
Forty years ago, Knights of Favonius Headquarters.
"Hahahahaha! Alice!! Did you hear that!? Klee called me 'Dad'!"
"Come on, Klee, be good—let Daddy give you a kiss~"
"Mwah~!"
Klee would never forget it.
Lin Mo's booming laughter echoing through the entire headquarters.
Or the scratchy, bearded kiss he planted on her cheek.
Twenty years ago, Stormbearer Mountains.
"BOOOOM—!"
The explosion made Klee shrink tightly into Lin Mo's arms.
"Hey—Alice, don't go overboard!"
Lin Mo shouted at the tall red-haired figure in the distance.
"You're always blowing things up! What if Klee learns from you and turns naughty?"
He looked at the devastated mountainside, worry clear in his eyes.
"Hmph! You won't let me play in the city~"
"And now that we're out here, you still won't let me have fun~"
"What kind of stingy husband are you, huh~!"
Alice stomped her foot in displeasure.
"Rumble—!"
The mountain trembled violently.
"See!? Look what you've done!"
Lin Mo panicked as cracks spread across the rock face.
"You've blown the mountain apart! At this rate, Stormbearer will collapse someday!"
"Th-Then what do we do…"
Even Alice grew nervous.
"If Grand Master Varka finds out, he'll definitely come after us again!"
Lin Mo made a snap decision.
"We run! And absolutely don't admit it was us!"
"Hehe~ Mommy is amazing~"
"Amazing my foot. Klee, be good—never be as mischievous as your mom~"
Eighteen years ago, Cider Lake.
"Klee~ tell Daddy—when did you start becoming a little troublemaker, huh!?"
Lin Mo's expression was stern.
He'd just discovered that Klee's backpack was stuffed full of Jumpy Dumpties.
Terrified, he immediately brought her to the lakeside.
"Heehee~ Mommy taught Klee how to make them~"
Klee grinned proudly.
"Daddy, look, look~ I'll give you one too~"
She happily held up a red bomb toward him,
utterly unaware of how dangerous the situation was.
"Sigh…"
Lin Mo couldn't bring himself to scold her.
Turning toward the lake, he said gently,
"Klee, it's not that you can't play with bombs like your mom."
"But you have to promise Daddy—never play with bombs in the city."
"Look at all the fish in the lake."
"Klee can fish with bombs here, and Daddy will grill the fish for you."
"Remember—never, ever use bombs in the city. Otherwise Daddy won't let you play anymore. Understand?"
His face was serious.
"Okay, Daddy~! Klee will be super, super good!"
She nodded earnestly.
"Good girl."
Lin Mo smiled in satisfaction.
To prevent her from secretly playing with bombs while he wasn't around,
he handed her a notebook solemnly.
"Since Klee is so well-behaved, Daddy's giving you this—your Dodoco Diary."
"From now on, write down everything you do every day. Honestly."
"Got it?"
"Heehee~ thank you, Daddy~!"
Klee hugged the diary like a priceless treasure.
Fifteen years ago, Knights of Favonius.
"Leaving? Isn't this a bit sudden?"
Grand Master Varka looked at the troubled Lin Mo, puzzled.
Lin Mo's expression stiffened, but he nodded firmly.
"Yeah… I want to go on a long journey. Before Alice comes back, I'll have to trouble you to take care of Klee."
Nearby, a young Jean asked curiously,
"Uncle, will you be gone for a long time?"
Lin Mo only smiled, not answering.
He crouched down and gently patted Jean's head.
"Jean, you're such a good child. I'll leave Klee to you. Make sure she doesn't get into trouble, alright?"
"I will take good care of Klee!"
Jean replied seriously.
"Daddy, Daddy~ when will you come back~?"
Klee tugged on his clothes, blinking her big eyes.
"I don't know how long I'll be gone," Lin Mo said softly.
"But if Klee behaves herself, Daddy might come back earlier."
"Really!? Really!?"
Klee beamed with joy.
What she didn't know—
That once Lin Mo left,
he would never return.
For the first few years after he left,
Klee waited eagerly for her father to come back to Mondstadt.
But every time she asked the Knights when her dad would return,
no one ever gave her a straight answer.
Even someone as innocent as Klee eventually understood.
Her father probably wasn't coming back.
She was depressed for a long time.
Thankfully, with Jean and Alice by her side,
she finally accepted that her father's return date was unknown.
And now—
Seeing that familiar face again,
Klee was absolutely certain.
Her dad was back.
Lin Mo watched as the tears in Klee's big eyes seemed to stop.
Thinking his persuasion had worked, he couldn't help feeling smug.
"See, little one? Look carefully. I'm really not your dad, right?"
"You… you are Daddy!"
Klee snapped back to her senses, stomping her feet anxiously.
"Daddy is lying! Lying! Lying!"
"Ah… this is bad."
Lin Mo rubbed his temples.
He wanted nothing more than to acknowledge her.
But with a mission on his shoulders,
he truly didn't want Klee to suffer another farewell.
Just then, Klee's little ears twitched.
Suddenly, she lit up.
"That's it! Klee thought of a way to tell if you're Daddy or not!"
"A… way?"
A sense of dread crept over Lin Mo.
Klee put her hands on her hips and declared triumphantly,
"Daddy has to answer one question from Klee!"
"If you get it right, you have to admit you're Klee's Daddy!"
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T/N:
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