Black stood there at the head of the table, and his frame cast a long shadow across the birthday cake.

The faint smirk that was on his lips a second ago was gone, now replaced by a cold, calculating gaze that felt so heavy.

Beside me, Viora’s hand was still gripping mine under the table, and because of that, I could feel the small vibrations of her mana, ready to erupt at the slightest movement from him.

But I didn’t break eye contact. I kept my posture relaxed while leaning back in my chair with a faint, steady grin.

"You really don’t know when to step back, do you?" Black murmured, his voice dropping into that chilling tone I remembered from the Gate. The suppressed gravity field around him rippled, making the ceramic mugs on the table vibrate slightly.

Before I could answer, a sharp, authoritative voice cut through the suffocating tension like a knife through butter.

"Adrian."

The gravity pressure around Black vanished instantly.

We both blinked, and our eyes snapped toward the mother. She was standing up from her chair as she glared directly at Black. Her face was twisted into a scowl that looked far more practiced and terrifying than any boss monster’s roar.

"You are forty-five minutes late for your own daughter’s sixth birthday," she said with an authoritative voice. "And the very first thing you do when you walk through that door is stand there, scare our guests, and talk about your stressful work? Do you have any idea how long Yuna was sitting by that window waiting for you?"

Black, the man who could casually flatten an entire horde of monsters with a single flick of his wrist, actually flinched at his wife’s words.

His broad shoulders dropped slightly, and his jaw slackened as he stared at his wife. For a few moments, the unidentifiable Hunter looked like a schoolboy who had just been caught stealing candy.

"Min-Ah, I was just—"

"I don’t care what meeting got delayed," she interrupted him, pointing a spoon toward the empty chair across from us. "You are home now. Wash your hands, sit your butt down, and behave yourself in front of Woo Jin and his girlfriend. We are celebrating today, not auditing a construction site."

I had to bite the inside of my cheek so hard just to prevent myself from bursting out into laughter.

Beside me, I felt Viora’s shoulders shake slightly. She was suppressing a giggle too.

Black stood frozen for two seconds, looking between his fiercely scolding wife and my smug face. Finally, he let out a long, defeated sigh that seemed to drain all the terrifying aura right out of his body.

"Alright," Black muttered. "I’m sitting. I’m sitting."

He walked over to the kitchen sink, thoroughly washed his hands, and then came back to take the empty seat at the head of the table.

The way he pulled the chair out and slumped into it looked remarkably human. It was completely bizarre. In this room, under the watchful eye of a woman with a spoon, he was just a dad who was in big trouble.

"Yuna!" the mother called out toward the stairs, and her tone instantly shifted into a sweet and gentle one. "Daddy is ready! Come down so we can cut the cake!"

"Yay! Daddy is ready!"

A flurry of loud, happy stomps echoed from the second floor, and Yuna came flying down the stairs. At least now, her yellow raincoat was finally discarded. She had changed into a tiny pink dress that made her look like a little princess. She didn’t care about the weird atmosphere; she just threw herself straight into Black’s arms and buried her face into his dark gray coat.

Black caught her effortlessly, pulling her up onto his lap. The transformation on his face was instant. The cold, dead look in his eyes vanished completely and was replaced by a warmth so genuine it made my chest feel strangely tight. If I somehow had to kill him, how would I do that?

"Happy birthday, my little star," he whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"You promised you would be here at two," Yuna pouted, crossing her small arms just like her mother had done a moment ago. "Mommy said you were dealing with heavy boxes again."

"I know, I’m sorry," Black said, and his voice was so soft I could barely recognize it. "The traffic near the logistics terminal was terrible. But look, I brought you the thing you asked for."

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, beautifully polished silver music box. When he wound the tiny key at the bottom, a soft, enchanting lullaby began to float through the living room.

Yuna’s eyes lit up like stars. "Wow! It plays the ocean song!"

As the little girl happily played with her new toy, the mother began cutting the large, star-shaped birthday cake. She handed the first slice to Yuna, the second to Viora and me, and finally placed a piece in front of her husband.

Eating cake with an enemy was definitely not on my bucket list, but as I took a bite of the sweet vanilla frosting, I found myself watching them closely.

This was the Black family. A terrifying mercenary who moved through the darkest corners of the world, an ordinary civilian woman who managed his household with an iron fist, and a sweet, innocent little girl who loved the ocean. Black had built a literal fortress around them. Every single defense artifact hidden in the ceiling, every stabilization scroll on the windows—it was all designed to keep the monster of his other life from ever touching this fragile, beautiful reality.

He wasn’t fighting for fame or rank. He was fighting to keep this specific room safe. That was the conclusion I came to.

"Mister," Yuna suddenly spoke up, her mouth covered in white frosting as she looked at me from Black’s lap. "Do you work with Daddy a lot?"

"Sometimes," I replied, taking a slow sip of the clean water the mother had poured for us. "Your dad is very good at handling... heavy pressure."

Black paused, his fork hovering inches away from his cake as his eyes slid toward me. There was a faint warning in his gaze, but I just smiled back innocently.

"Daddy is the strongest!" Yuna cheered, shaking her small fists in the air. "He can lift me up all the way to the ceiling with just one hand!"

"Is that so?" I chuckled. "Well, he definitely has a lot of tricks up his sleeve."

"Alright, Yuna, stop talking with your mouth full," the mother said while wiping the frosting from her daughter’s chin with a napkin. "Let our guests eat in peace."

For the next half hour, the room was filled with the pleasant sounds of a normal family celebration. We talked about Yuna’s school, her favorite drawing books, and how the rainy season was making everyone catch the flu.

And when we heard about the rain, I let out a small cough into my fist, and Viora also subtly nudged my leg under the table because we were reminded of our rooftop dance.

Eventually, the plates were cleared, and Yuna began to look drowsy, her small head nodding against Black’s chest as the excitement of the day finally caught up to her.

"I’ll take her upstairs to change for a nap," the mother said and gently lifted the sleeping child from Black’s arms. Then she turned to Viora and me with a warm, grateful smile. "Thank you so much for staying, you two. It really meant a lot to her."

"Thank you for the delicious food," Viora replied as her voice perfectly mimicked the tone of a polite, well-behaved guest.

We watched the mother carry Yuna up the stairs until the sound of the bedroom door closing signaled that we were officially alone on the first floor.

The absolute moment the mother’s footsteps vanished, the cozy, warm atmosphere of the living room dissolved into nothingness.

And Black slowly leaned forward, resting his elbows on the wooden table. The gentle and doting father was gone, and the cold, calculating mercenary was back.

"You utilized my daughter to get inside my walls," Black spoke. "That was a highly volatile gamble, don’t you think?"