The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

It was clearly the first time Davey ever saw this appearance.

Yet, somehow, he still immediately realized the girl was Evangeline.

She smacked her lips, as if savoring something in her sleep. She then laughed softly. Seeing this, he wondered if she was awake now.

She was a child no older than two or three. He knew there was no way such a young child would have developed knowledge of proper conduct around others.

He then figured she was simply happy to have found her father. But thinking about it, he knew that couldn’t be the case—she had nestled into his arms and fallen into a deep slumber, just as she did as a baby.

Although her appearance was now that of a teenager, someone in their mid-teens, her behavior was reminiscent of a child around five or six.

“Davey! Evangeline…!”

Illyna belatedly burst through the door. As she looked at the girl sleeping soundly in his arms, she placed her hand on her forehead, exasperated.

“Wow… She really went to her daddy right away? She’s been so obsessed with you, even when she first started babbling… But how did she even know you were here?”

“W-Well…” she stammered with a complicated expression. “Her body was suddenly engulfed in light, then grew this much in an instant. I was so shocked I ran to bring Perserque, but… she had disappeared by the time I got back.”

Davey had anticipated her growth pains having a profound impact, but he had no clue an ancient dragon would grow so rapidly.

She was only two years old. Humans her age were just beginning to toddle.

When Evangeline and Darian first managed to flip themselves over; when the two began crawling; when they sat up on their own for the first time, after so much effort; when they struggled to stand and used the wall to support themselves; when they took their first steps; each momentous achievement in their growth brought immense joy.

But now, a wave of emptiness and bittersweet nostalgia washed over him.

Davey silently gazed down at the girl sucking her fingers in her sleep, then gently brushed her cheek.

“Evangeline inherited Eclipse’s bloodline. I thought she’d certainly be exceptional, but… this goes beyond that.”

“Well… there’s no problem with her body, right?”

“Who knows… It’s my first time raising a child, after all.”

Davey had learned countless things from the heroes, but taking care of children wasn't among them. The closest he had was some rudimentary knowledge of pediatrics.

The issue was that Evangeline was too unique for conventional knowledge to apply to her.

“Davey, Evangeline… My goodness…”

Eventually, Perserque and Aeria arrived after hearing the news from Illyna, their faces filled with astonishment.

It seemed they were feeling the same as Davey.

* * *

“Paper!”

“Good job. What about this one?”

Illyna pointed at a book.

“Book!”

“That’s right. And this?”

This time, she pointed at a chair.

Evangeline widened her eyes and answered brightly.

“Daddy?”

“Hm… No, this is called a chair.”

“Daddy?”

Evangeline, who had been sitting as if she didn’t care what Illyna said, suddenly stood and spun around. She then spotted Davey who had been watching in secret, then charged at him and grabbed his hand.

“Daddy!”

“When… did you get here?”

“Just now. But wow, hiding from or finding Evangeline is not easy.”

“Daddy! H-Hide and seek!”

“Have you been studying a lot?”

“Yes!”

Evangeline giggled brightly, covering her eyes with her small hands to show him what to do.

"C-Count to a hundred! Then you have to find me!"

"Alright, alright.”

“Yay!” she squealed, dashing off with a laugh.

Evangeline had always been a cheerful child, with an undeniable spark of brilliance.

"Children learn fast, don’t they?"

"Not like this. Evangeline is on a whole different level.”

She had the makings of a perfect disciple. As she giggled and stormed around the house, Davey watched her with a warm smile.

"Hmph. You want me to deal with the Zodiac or whatever constellations? Yeah, right. Let them choke on it.”

What mattered more—far more—was watching his daughter laughing and running, calling for him to play.

Davey remained still, waiting for Evangeline to hide. She was a daughter who wanted to spend time with her father. He remembered how King Krianes had told him to give her everything he could, so she’d never doubt how much she was loved.

‘Yes, I will do exactly that, Your Majesty. I’m not going to treat her the way you treated me.’

Despite Darian and Evageline having different origins and growth rates, he was planning to give equal amounts of love and precious memories to them.

After the promised hundred seconds had passed, Davey started his search. He had truly been surprised when she slipped past his keen senses earlier. Her innate talent for concealing her presence was extraordinary, perhaps even surpassing that of her biological mother, Eclipse. But at the end of the day, she was still a child.

Davey heard her laughter echo throughout the mansion. It seemed as if she wanted him to find her, and she was giving him hints just in case he couldn’t find her.

He searched every nook and cranny of the building, but he eventually found himself led out of the mansion. He climbed the clock tower that stood in the center of Heins Territory, finding her at the top next to the bell.

"There you are," Davey said, stepping into view.

"Ahhh!" she cried, startled, before collapsing onto the floor.

She quickly broke into laughter, running in for a hug.

“Daddy!”

"Alright, since daddy found you, shall we head back now?"

“Yeah, yeah!” she exclaimed, her excitement bubbling over.

As they made their way down, she looked up at him curiously.

“Daddy!”

"Yes?"

“How did you find me?”

Davey paused for a moment before answering.

“No matter where Darian or Evangeline are in the world, daddy will always know.”

"How?"

"Because I’m your dad.”

“Hehe.”

He could tell that Evangeline was in a good mood. As Davey gave her a piggyback ride down the clock tower, the people passing by offered warm and cheerful remarks.

“Your Highness, what a heartwarming sight.”

"Does it look that way?" Davey replied with a grin.

“Ehh, my daughter runs the other way as soon as she sees me,” the vendor lamented.

Davey chuckled. “You should’ve spent more time playing with her.”

“Ah, yours words cut deep, Your Highness.”

“Jealous, are you?” Davey said, handing the vendor a silver coin.

"Just get me one skewer."

"What flavor would you like?" he asked while turning to Evangeline.

She hesitated, making a timid face.

“Umm… Mommy said no snacks…”

“It’ll be our little secret.”

She no longer frowned, hearing his assurance. Instead, she cheerfully giggled as she pointed. “Soy sauce flavor!”

“Soy sauce it is,” Davey told the vendor.

"They say nobles are calculative even within their families, Your Highness."

“You say that in the wrong company, and you might lose your head.”

The vendor chuckled. “I only dare say it because it’s you that I’m talking to, Your Highness.”

With deft hands, the vendor prepared the skewer and handed it to Evangeline, who eagerly accepted it with a bright smile while sticking out her tongue in excitement.

“Thank you!”

“Oh, my little lady, come by again!”

“Yeah! You bet! I will!”

Davey continued to piggyback her as they strolled further along the street. But soon enough, something grabbed her attention, and before he could stop her, she leaped off his back and darted toward it.

She was mesmerized, eyes sparkling with wonder as she watched the large fountain in the lake.

“She looks happy, doesn’t she? Almost annoyingly so,” a voice said dryly from behind.

“You’re down here again. Shouldn’t you be busy?” he said while keeping his eyes on Evangeline.

The figure behind him was none other than First Saintess Daphne, who had manifested before he knew it. She was no ordinary demigod, having been elevated to a transcendental being far beyond comprehension. The very fabric of space had been wrapped up by her; the axis of time had been locked in place, leaving everything around them frozen.

“No, not really. I’m just here because of those Zodiac bastards I’m sure you’ve already heard about.”

“I have.”

“They’ve got a pretty annoying system required to take them down. I couldn’t be bothered with it, so I’m passing the responsibility to you.”

“I’m retired.”

“Retired? My ass, retired. It was just yesterday that you were born—what kind of brat retires before they even turn twenty?”

“This one right here. And, for your information, my mind’s been active for more than a thousand years.”

“You fucking bastard! We’re supposed to be resting spirits, and now you’re making us deal with your mess while you sit back and relax? How the hell does that make sense?”

“Oh, come on. Why not just let me off the hook? At least until the kids grow up.”

“You’ve really gone full dad-mode, haven’t you?” Daphne muttered, chuckling as she leaned against the same railing he was resting on.

“Davey.”

“Not happening.”

“Did I say anything yet, you idiot?”

“The Zodiac bastards are gathering strength to fight each other, right?”

“Right.”

“Then why not feed them the excess vitality of Thanatos? Let them settle it themselves, out in some isolated dimension far away from here.”

The third moon Thanatos was overflowing with vitality. Conversely, the twelve Zodiac constellations drew their power from vitality and were gearing up for a fight among themselves.

Davey couldn’t care less about why they wanted to fight each other. He just knew that it’d be a good idea to give them surplus energy, to stabilize things and let them settle their own business.

“Do you even know what their goal is?” Daphne asked.

“Nope.”

“Didn’t you bother to translate and interpret the stone tablet Odin gave you?”

“Not yet, no. I got lazy,” Davey answered calmly.

Daphne sighed in response. Without warning, she swung her knee and jabbed him in the thigh.

"Consider for a second—why did Goddess Freyja go through the trouble of sealing those fucking bastards in the first place?!"

"Well, I suppose you’re right…"

"Oh well, seems like you won’t be taking care of it, judging by that attitude of yours. But it seemed like Odin was hoping you’d handle it.”

Davey was certain she was just too lazy to do it herself.

"What else should I say to a boy who doesn’t want to do something?”

"You really descended here just to nag me about this? I bet it was a tough process to drag yourself down here.”

“Not entirely,” she replied, her tone suddenly serious. She then directed her attention to Evangeline. “That kid.”

Davey followed her gaze and nodded.

"The physical growth of ancient dragons finishes in the blink of an eye, but their minds aren’t up to speed with their bodies.”

"Yes, that seems like what’s happening.”

In other words, Evangeline was already done growing up physically. In just two or three years, she had reached full maturity; it was as if she had been rapidly cultivated using an overpowered serum.

"I heard from that lunatic Hercules once that, when an ancient dragon’s mind matures to a certain point, they become adult dragons. The timing varies depending on the dragon."

"Fascinating biology lesson."

"Take good care of her. From what I’ve seen, she’s a rambunctious one.”

"Hey, that’s my precious daughter you’re talking about. ‘Rambunctious’ is a bit much."

"Oh, please," Daphne shot back, flipping him the middle finger. “I know you think it too, you fucking hypocrite.”

She then reset time to its normal flow and started walking away.

"I’m just here to chat,” she added, pausing to glance back.

"And by the way, you said you’re not going to do shit because you’re retired or some shit, but did you ever wonder why the other heroes haven’t come down and strangled you yet?”

Davey knew they were the kind of folks that would drag him back to work the second they heard he’d retired; they were folks who had dragged even those who perished back to work.

The reason they didn’t say anything was—

"There’s a difference between a vacation and retirement. You’re not getting out of this—you’ll end up dealing with those bastards whether you like it or not."

"I’ll pass on that, thanks."

"Who said your opinion mattered?" Daphne sneered with a complicated face. “I give it six months."

She then turned toward Evangeline and engaged in a conversation.

* * *

“Fuck.”

Clank.

“What?”

“Fuck?”

The real trouble began at dinner that night.

Evangeline suddenly blurted out a curse word.

Perserque narrowed her eyes toward Davey, while Illyna and Aeria both made shocked faces. He just placed his hand on his forehead and sighed.

"Damn it, Daphne…"

It had completely slipped his mind that there was no way she had taught Evangeline anything remotely appropriate, considering her reputation as the god of curse words.

* * *

Half a year had passed.

In that time, the Zodiacs had remained completely silent. Of the twelve constellations, only two had awakened, and there had been no further activity. Even the problem with Thanatos, the third moon, had not escalated into anything urgent. Time simply moved on.

During those six months, the Heins Territory had flourished, amassing wealth beyond imagination. Aeonitia had come up with a bold proposal for funding a project, and it had turned out to be another major success. Portable clocks, moon grass leaves, prosthetic eye implantation, and more—they were innovations that transformed the territory.

Heins Territory even introduced a banking system, taking the initiative to implement low-interest policies to stimulate its economy. The results were unprecedented, wealth generating even more wealth.

But not everything had gone smoothly.

- Dad! I left to go be an adventurer! Don’t look for me! I’ll grow into an amazing hero and come back someday!

“Ah…”

‘She’s giving me a headache…’

"My goodness… I didn’t think she would actually…” Perserque groaned, tiredly cradling her chin as if she shared in his pain.

"When did she run away?" Davey asked.

"It looks like it was last night. Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon are missing, too,” Aerie chimed in.

‘So the three of them escaped together!’

"And, um… it seems she took Transcendence’s Demise with her."

‘Evangeline O’Rowane!!!’

In those six months, she had grown at an astonishing pace. Physically, she appeared to be in her mid-teens, but her actions had often betrayed her childish mind. Yet, during this short time, she had absorbed knowledge and skills at an alarming rate.

She mastered etiquette, manners, academics, world history, mathematics, sciences, languages, biology, and medicine as if they were second nature. Her memory was nearly perfect, and she retained vast amounts of information effortlessly.

But that wasn’t all.

Her innate nature as an ancient dragon began to show. Without receiving any formal training, she was already crafting and combining spells on her own. Even with the simple principles Davey had taught her in passing, she was able to make them into her own.

In just six months, she had become a supreme expert, a 5th Circle mage. It was an achievement that would make lifelong dreamers feel hopeless at the unfairness.

Objectively, if Evangeline gained practical combat experience, she could easily surpass those in the master-levels.

Davey had been her teacher, which made her progress a little less surprising, but her pace of growth was still extraordinary. Then again, considering her lineage, it wasn’t the most impossible thing to happen.

Evangeline was the only daughter of Eclipse, and her talent far surpassed even that of her mother. Her mastery over spiritual energy was already exceptional, so he figured it wouldn’t be too weird if her magic abilities became even better too.

Word about her absurdly accelerated development hadn’t spread out yet, but Davey couldn’t help but feel a pounding headache.

He remembered how Daphne had told him something was going to happen in six months, which he had denied. Now, he stood corrected.

“Davey,” Perserque called.

"I’ll go find her," Davey replied. "She couldn’t have gotten far."

The three—Perserque, Illyna, and Aeria—let out a collective sigh of relief.

"She really is more of a handful than we could’ve imagined," Illyna muttered, shaking her head.

"Take care of the territory while I’m gone.”

"You should take Rinne with you," Perserque suggested.

"I’ll wait for your return, Davey," Aeria added.

"Got it.”

Children running away from home was one thing. But a daughter who declared her intent to become an adventurer, and managed to vanish beyond the continent—in a single day—was a completely different story.

ChubbyCheeks & FriedNook's Thoughts

Editorb’s Thoughts

What a precocious little lady :D

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