"No. Absolutely not...!"
Baal vehently rejected the thought, his revulsion palpable. Eat sothing made by a filthy human? Not just any human, but Lloyd's daughter, crafted specifically for her father?
Disgusted to his core, Baal tried to stop Lloyd.
"I said no! Absolutely not!"
Lloyd, drawing strength from reserves he didn’t know he had, took another step forward.
"No matter how hard you try to stop ... it’s useless. My daughter insisted I eat at least one bite."
"Don’t count on it! You’ll be obliterated before it even touches your mouth!"
"Go ahead, try to destroy if you can."
With determination, Lloyd planted another trembling foot forward. The cake Crescent had made was still a considerable distance away.
He gritted his teeth and pushed on.
There was no way he would let Baal win, not now. Today, a strength unlike anything he’d felt before surged through him, overwhelming his usual limits.
It was because of Crescent—her presence, her love—so near, so tangible.
He hadn’t realized just how much he had missed her.
"Baal. Do you think I enjoy feeding my daughter’s food to you? I wouldn’t spare even a speck of it for you."
"You speak as if that trash cake is worth its weight in gold, fool."
"It’s worth far more than gold—it’s imbued with my daughter’s heart."
"You wretched fool!"
Baal’s soul writhed in fury.
Taking advantage of his distraction, Lloyd managed three more steps.
He noticed sothing curious—Baal always reacted with revulsion whenever he spoke fondly of Crescent.
Step by step, Lloyd began using that knowledge to provoke him further.
"You’ll never know the joy of having a daughter. You’ll never taste a birthday cake lovingly made by her. Truly pitiful."
As expected, Baal shuddered with rage.
"You, on the other hand, will witness your daughter dying right before your eyes. Will you still call yourself happy then?"
"That will never happen."
Lloyd smirked with confidence.
Crescent had grown stronger than he had imagined. The fact that she had outsmarted a 23rd-ranked demon to deliver him a cake spoke volus about her intelligence and bravery.
"She’s my daughter, after all. My precious little girl. My sweet, smart baby."
"Arghhh!"
With a howl of rage, Baal collapsed to the ground.
Lloyd clicked his tongue in disdain.
"Can’t even handle a bit of affection? So Demon King you are."
"Shut up!"
But Lloyd had no need to continue.
His gaze softened, filled with warmth and longing.
At last, he reached the spot where Crescent’s smashed cake lay within arm’s reach.
Finally.
Even though the cake was in ruins, the love and care Crescent had poured into it remained intact.
He could see all the longing and affection embedded in every layer.
"Crescent…"
Tears welled in his eyes.
"Arghhh!"
From within, Baal’s piercing scream echoed, the Demon King unable to endure the flood of emotions—tenderness, sorrow, and love—overwhelming Lloyd.
Ignoring Baal’s protests, Lloyd reached out with boundless affection.
Nothing could stop him now.
Plop.
At last, Lloyd pinched a small piece of the cake between his fingers.
The red cake layers gave off a faint, sweet aroma of wine.
Lloyd had never particularly sought out wine before, but now the scent seed more delightful than anything he had ever slled.
Perhaps he would grow to love wine after this.
"Stop! Stop it!"
Baal thrashed and writhed, his protests growing weaker.
Tears glistened in Lloyd’s eyes as he raised his hand to his lips.
Opening his mouth wide, he took a generous bite of the cake.
For a mont, ti seed to stop.
Even the presence of the Demon King inside him faded from his awareness.
Had he ever tasted anything so good?
No—this was the most heartwarming, profoundly moving thing he had ever eaten.
The cake wasn’t just food. It was a testant to the love of a daughter who had grown up so much in the six years they had been apart.
It was unforgettable.
"...Delicious. Truly delicious, Crescent."
A single tear rolled down Lloyd’s cheek, but his lips curled into a tender smile.
The love Crescent had imbued in the cake radiated through him like a wave of warmth, spreading to every corner of his being.
As that warmth filled him, Lloyd realized he felt stronger than ever.
"This was the best birthday ever. Thank you, my daughter."
***
I blinked a few tis, my vision gradually clearing. It didn’t take long for my surroundings to co into focus.
The scene before was the suburban road where we’d been before entering Duke Winterly’s Winter Domain.
‘Morning? Has it already turned to morning?’
The sun was up, signaling that the night had passed.
Though it had been just a single night, it felt as though several days had gone by. That’s how much had happened in the Demon Realm.
Just then—
“teor! Crescent!”
A familiar voice called out. I turned to see Alruin, Evan, and the other knight companions running toward us. Their faces were alight with excitent, but Alruin’s in particular was noticeably flushed.
“What took you so long? I thought my heart was going to stop! Every minute felt like an hour waiting here!”
“Ah, Master,” I mumbled.
Had we really been the last to return?
I opened my mouth to reply but faltered, unsure of what to say.
How should I begin explaining why teor and I had been so delayed?
While I hesitated, I scanned the faces of my companions one by one. Suddenly, sothing I had completely forgotten ca rushing back to .
Amid the group of knights, there was Adrian.
The sight of him made involuntarily cry out.
“Ahhh! Sir Adrian! You’re alive?!”
“Crescent!”
As if waiting for this mont, Adrian darted toward like an arrow, his arms outstretched as though we were long-lost family reunited after years apart.
Before he could grab my hands, I quickly moved them behind my back.
I was happy to see him alive, but holding hands was a bit much.
“I knew you’d survive!”
“Thank you, Crescent. I’m truly happy to see you again. Honestly, after I fell below the cliff, I don’t rember anything. But there’s one thing I do recall—I was so worried you’d freeze to death that I wanted to throw you my shabby coat. Did you happen to receive it?”
Adrian’s gaze scanned anxiously, checking to see if I had taken his coat.
I was still wearing it, of course. The mont he recognized his own jacket, Adrian’s eyes grew wide.
“Ah, so you did get it!”
“Y-yes, I did. I honestly didn’t think you’d make it, but you still worried about being cold… Thank you.”
I spoke earnestly.
Regardless of my lack of romantic feelings for Adrian, I was genuinely grateful for his thoughtfulness.
It seed that, for once, there was a flicker of sincerity in his otherwise playful deanor… or so I thought.
Not that it really mattered much in the grand sche of things.
“Ahem!”
A loud clearing of the throat interrupted us.
Turning, I saw Alruin, now looking much calr.
“Yes, it’s a relief Adrian survived. But we were thrown into chaos when you and teor didn’t return right away, Crescent. It was less than ten minutes, but usually, we all escape from Magi at the sa ti.”
He finished speaking with a slight exhale, as if to release the tension he’d been holding.
Before anyone could respond, Lucas suddenly burst out:
“That’s what I’m saying! What happened in there?!”
Lucas’s voice was just as heightened as everyone else’s, his face flushed with excitent.
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