Ashe stood dumbfounded as the little girl clung to his leg, responding to everyone around him with blank eyes.

"Hey, she called you daddy. So... does that make you her hero?" Harvey teased. Surprisingly, he remembered Ashe's earlier words and turned them into a joke.

Iger seemed to catch on immediately. A smirk spread across his lips. "Ashe, I never expected you to have such a... big child. Since we're not in the Blood Moon Kingdom, I can sincerely congratulate you both on your reunion."

Ashe protested, "That's not it! Look! My hair is black, and hers is white. How could we possibly be related?"

"That can only mean your genetic material lost the fight," Iger said lazily, drawing out each word.

The little girl wailed. Tears streamed down her face, and she smeared snot across Ashe's pants. She looked up at him with a pitiful, pleading gaze. "Daddy... do you not want me anymore?"

"I'm not your father!"

"Yes, you are! You're my daddy! Waaaa... don't leave me!"

If this were a nephew back home, Ashe would have long since disciplined the brat with a pig-roasting punishment. Yet seeing her tear-streaked, somehow still unbearably cute face, his clenched fists softened on their own.

He thought, If only I'd been this adorable as a child... Maybe I could've stolen money without being scolded. During spring outings, everyone would've fought to be on my team. Girls might even deliberately tease me just for attention...

"Well, that works too," Ashe muttered.

He glanced at Annan and found her watching their father-daughter act with amusement.

Annan said, "Anyway, Heath, now that you are already under my command, if she's willing to serve you, then she naturally belongs to me as well. Shake hands with her."

He corrected, "Just call me Ashe from now on."

After adjusting how she addressed him, Ashe lowered his gaze to Lys and extended his hand. "Alright, listen up. This is how life works. You end up getting bullied by bad women for no reason."

This time, Lys didn't resist. She wrapped her tiny hand around his index and middle fingers.

Annan drew a purple hand cannon from her cloak and aimed it at their joined hands. "Ashe, tell her two things. First, she must obey you for the next 101 days. Second, she must not leave your side. Lys, you may also set two conditions for him, anything at all. Only then will the contract be valid."

Ashe had no choice but to obey her command. "For 101 days, you must listen to whatever I say."

Lys's large, sparkling eyes gleamed with mischief. "But Daddy, you have to listen to me too."

A streak of purple light shot from Annan's cannon, transforming into a chain that bound their hands. The glowing marks stretched all the way to their hearts.

Ashe thought, This is absurd. I listen to her, she listens to me... wouldn't that just make it an endless loop?

Ashe pressed on. "And you must not leave me during these 101 days."

"I won't leave you, Daddy," Lys said through her tears, smiling again. "But you have to protect me properly too!"

Another blast of purple light etched the second vow onto their hands.

"Very well," Annan said, glancing at Cliose. "Now, all the outlanders are under my control. Everything's settled, right?"

Cliose crossed her arms and said, "I have no more debts with you."

She sounded stern, her red-rimmed eyes betrayed a hint of vulnerability. "Hurry up and go. We still need to take photos."

Annan put her hands on her hips and replied with a smile, "By the honor of Dolan, I won't betray your trust. I hope you achieve your ideal rank in the Weaving Festival."

The butler, Pankey Mikalis, snapped his fingers lightly. An icy staircase extended quietly beyond the tent ceiling. Annan looked at them. "From now on, you're no longer outlanders. You're temporary operatives of the Funeral Agency. Follow me. I've already prepared clothes and food."

"Yes!"

Lys rubbed herself against Ashe's clothes, smearing snot and tears, then leapt forward to grab Annan's hand like a tiny shadow. Ashe's jaw nearly dropped at the sight of the little actor glued to their boss.

"She... she's not supposed to be so fearless..." he muttered.

Harvey patted his shoulder. "When you signed the contract earlier, why didn't you let her speak first? That way, even if she made unreasonable demands, you could have refused. Now, with these vows, you might end up spending your life on her."

Iger walked past, sighing heavily. "Even a little girl you just met can tell instantly that you're the easiest to deal with among us."

Ahead, Lys glanced back at Ashe, her large, bright eyes sparkling with mischief. She winked and waved. "Daddy, come over here!"

Her earlier pitiful act had been a ruse, clearly designed to lower Ashe's guard.

First, the impossibly fortunate Everlasting Doom, then the crying, rapid-fire elf archer, then the scheming organization leader Purple Moth, who sold us... then rescued us... and now a little girl, trying to squeeze out the last of my value...

Ashe pinched the bridge of his nose. "The concentration of bad women tonight is a bit too high, don't you think?"

***

At the outskirts of Caimon City in the Blood Moon Kingdom.

Freya had finished dressing and changed Serena into clean clothes. She looked at the tiny limbless girl with tender eyes. A circle of crimson light, forged into a collar, tightly encircled Serena's neck, marking her as an outlander.

Freya asked gently, "Feeling cold? Do you want another layer?"

Serena replied with a humble, ingratiating smile. "Thank you, sister. It's much better now. You don't need to trouble yourself."

"It's no trouble at all..." Freya murmured.

Adela's voice called from the distance, "Freya, can you come out for a moment?

Freya glanced at Serena. The limbless girl's eyes were misted with tears, her expression fraught with fear and longing. Her lips trembled, but no words came.

Her heart melting, the veela adjusted the lamp, making Serena more comfortable. "I'll be right outside. Don't worry."

The girl nodded firmly. "Okay. I'll wait for you."

Freya stepped out with Adela, moving to a spot farther from the river.

"What's wrong?" Freya asked.

​​"Don't you think it's about time we notify the church?" Adela said, arms crossed. "You saw the collar on her. It clearly marks her as an outlander, just like the foreign invaders who caused the 422 Incident. She's a source of disaster!"

Freya shot back fiercely. "She's just an unfortunate soul who fell into the Virtual Channel while escaping! There's no way she's a spy. Who would send a girl with no hands or feet, who can't even move on her own, into foreign lands?"

"Who knows if what she's saying is true..."

Freya countered, "But her body doesn't lie. You've seen it yourself. In this world, there are certainly barbaric, ignorant nations that worship girls who've lost their limbs as sacred, treating manipulable dolls as statues. She barely escaped that hell. How could we possibly send her back?"

"The church might send her to an orphanage—"

Freya's voice hardened. "Adela, have you ever seen a single child with physical or mental disabilities in an orphanage?"

Adela fell silent. In the Blood Moon Kingdom, infants born with defects were often denied even the right to live. Children who became disabled later could sometimes regain function with a healer's help, but Serena's limbs had already healed fully. It was beyond any healer's ability to repair.

"So what's your plan? Fit her with mechanical prosthetics?"

"Not yet. She's too young. Mechanical limbs would severely limit her growth."

"What do you mean?" Adela gripped Freya by the shoulders. "You're not thinking of raising her yourself, are you?"

Freya avoided her gaze. "But she needs care..."

Adela ground her teeth. "She's a human, and a minor, not a pet! We could turn a blind eye to an outlander, but raising a child is different. Raising a foreign minor still counts as a violation of the Bloodline Prohibition Law. Only orphanages under the church have legal authority to care for minors!

"Besides, have you earned a Child Care Provider Certificate, or even interned at an orphanage? Ordinary people must undergo exams and training to work there. Raising a child is not something just anyone can do! What right do you have to raise a minor when you haven't even properly raised yourself?"

"I will learn."

"Why can't you understand?" Adela's voice cracked with mounting frustration. "You're a veela! You're only supposed to respond to men. And now you are planning to raise a girl?"

"It's fate," Freya said calmly.

Adela froze.

Freya continued, her voice steady. "It just so happens we met her, and Serena is a foreign minor who needs care. The majority of the Blood Moon Kingdom will be hostile toward her. I'm not doing this as a charitable act. I am the only one who can save her here."

Freya whispered, her voice trembling, "If I do nothing, she will die. I have a fragile heart. I can't bear even a trace of guilt."

Adela sighed, realizing she had probably exhaled more in the past few days than in the last decade. "But if you're reported, you'll be breaking the law."

"So what? It's not my first time breaking the law—"

Just then, a weary, commanding voice came from the side. "That's a statement I won't ignore, young ladies."

They shivered and slowly turned, only to find a tall man in the dim blood-moonlight. He was clad in a Bloodrage Hunter uniform and stood on the opposite riverbank.

The hunter asked kindly, "What other crimes have you committed? Confess voluntarily now, and the Heresy Court will reduce your sentence. Your thirty-day detention could be cut to fifteen."

Freya stepped back, stammering, "I... downloaded pirated videos. Does that count?"

Then, in a sudden movement, she dashed into the tent and scooped up Serena.

However, as soon as she emerged, the hunter was already at the entrance.

In the pale moonlight, he seemed like a sovereign of darkness, a demon trampling over life itself. His scarlet eyes blazed like the brightest light, radiating overwhelming pressure. Freya could barely stand, while Adela had already collapsed onto the river stones in terror.

"I've received notice from the church. An outlander has crossed the Virtual Channel into the Blood Moon Kingdom..."

The hunter's gaze fell on the limbless girl with the crimson collar in Freya's arms. "She looks... pitiful."

Freya's voice trembled as she shielded Serena. "She's not a spy from another land! You don't need to—"

"Of course not," he interrupted, smiling faintly. "Just a moment ago, the Virtual Channel upstream has vanished. Any contingencies set by foreign sorcerers are completely nullified."

Freya's eyes lit up. "Then—"

The hunter's hand rested on his sword hilt. His voice turned icy. "But according to the law, outlanders must die."

Sensing the deadly chill, Serena shrank in Freya's arms.

Freya wanted to flee, but her legs refused to move. She drew on the last of her courage, forcing herself not to kneel. She closed her eyes and whispered, "This Blood Moon... is it really so cruel and barbaric? Maybe I should have left with him back then..."

The hunter laughed. "Interesting. Even if I don't kill her, she cannot survive. Orphanages won't accept an outlander without a chip. Raising a minor as a private citizen is illegal. She has no means of independent survival. The Blood Moon Kingdom is vast, but she has nowhere she can belong."

"I will take care of her."

"Even if I don't arrest you, can you guarantee she'll be well hidden? Your neighbors, your landlord, how sure can you be that they won't notice anything? Your kindness is admirable, but it's impulsive."

"Then should we just watch her die?"

"There is another way," The hunter suddenly reached out and took the girl from Freya's arms. "I'll raise her myself."

Freya froze. She exchanged a glance with Adela, and they both thought of the same thing. A pedophile!

As if reading their minds, the hunter added, "Don't misunderstand. I'll mostly be away for work, but I'll hire someone to care for her. If you want, you can help, so you can see with your own eyes that she isn't mistreated."

"Are you not afraid of being reported?"

He said with a calm smile, "No. I'm a Bloodrage Hunter, not a powerless college student."

Freya was about to protest when her friend softly called her name, "Freya."

She looked at Adela and saw fear and pleading in her eyes. Her heart sank. She couldn't act selfishly and drag Adela into this.

Freya sighed helplessly. "I still don't understand. Besides being a Bloodrage Hunter, you're also a Blood Saint. Adopting a foreign minor violates multiple laws... why do you do it?"

Across the Blood Moon Kingdom, it was well known that the Blood Saint Clan upheld the strictest laws, while the Moonshadow Clan was the kindest. Yet the Bloodrage Hunter before her had shattered that notion by daring to defy the highest laws.

"Yeah... why do I do it? I'm still searching for the answer," he said, his tone wavering. "Perhaps it's because I know the limits of the Blood Saints, and I need to go beyond them. Or perhaps... I was influenced by that man."

He looked at the girl now in his arms. "Kid, from now on, I'll be your guardian. It would be rude of you not to introduce yourself."

Serena's expression darkened. Oh, great... Just when I finally had that foolish woman under control. I could have rebuilt the Four Pillars Cult without a hitch. And now this man shows up. He's going to be far trickier to deal with.

She could sense that, on the surface, he might be looking at her, but deep in his eyes, he was chasing some phantom she didn't understand.

Damn it. First Ashe Heath, and now this hunter... The concentration of dangerous men tonight is just too high.

"Serena Bright," she whispered, trembling.

At that moment, the blood moon broke through the clouds, illuminating the hunter's weathered face and streaked gray hair with crimson light.

"I am Gerard Westminster, Hunter No. 307791. Nice to meet you, Serena. I have a feeling we'll get along very well."