During the few days she had to spend getting used to having a new daughter like Finney around, the Subjugation Team successfully occupied the former lair of the villainous Demon King, Valo.
They publicly proclaimed that the Hero had kicked the evil Demon King to death like a stray dog on the side of the road.
‘Hmph. Talk about a moral victory. Talk about delusional battle reports.’
Since things had already reached this point, Valo could only let them have their win.
Regardless, she had Narrowly escaped Kaika’s [Filial Daughter Ending].
She had now entered the [Fall of the Country Route], which could only be triggered if “the protagonist failed to be a good Demon King but maintained a normal mother-daughter relationship with Kaika.”
A few days later, the massive Subjugation Team made a triumphant return.
Their destination was a name Valo knew all too well—the Havoc Empire.
In the setting of [Valorant], the map of the alternative world consisted of the protagonist’s Demon Clan, the Havoc Empire, and several relatively neutral civilizations.
The Havoc Empire was the faction in most direct conflict with the protagonist, who played the role of the villainous Demon King.
Under normal circumstances, if the protagonist wanted to defeat the powerful Empire and rule the world, the player had to carefully manage their forces in addition to raising their daughter.
They had to stabilize and control the treacherous, rebellious subordinates of the Demon Clan who felt the protagonist was merely a hereditary successor.
Even that wasn’t enough. The protagonist also had to use the unique trait of the Demon King’s bloodline to search for “Holy Relics” that could combat their fated end.
These acted as prerequisites for the perfect ending; if too many were missing, the player would be stuck cycling through various ordinary endings.
Clearly, on this timeline, Valo had lost everything.
It was currently noon.
Blue banners fluttered in the wind, and the buildings of the castle gleamed under the sunlight.
As the carriage carrying Valo entered the capital of the Havoc Empire, the cheers of the NPCs lining the streets to welcome the Subjugation Team’s lightning-fast return echoed from a distance.
Who would have thought that the so-called villainous Demon King was actually just a little girl who couldn’t even twist open a bottle cap?
Moreover, she had been packaged as the “Hero’s long-lost mother” to sneak into the Empire.
Sitting inside the carriage, Valo was not as carefree as Kaika, who was curiously peering out the window.
Her current situation was far from ideal.
Although she had dodged Kaika’s [Filial Daughter Ending], she had been forced into the [Fall of the Country Route] and brought right into the enemy’s headquarters.
This was like a sheep entering a wolf’s den. [Scripted Kill] events would only increase in the [Fall of the Country Route].
Before she could find an opportunity to cut her mother-daughter ties with Kaika and Finney, she had to carefully maintain the [Blackening Value] and [Justice Value] of these two little ancestors.
If either of their stats maxed out, killing her would be as easy as breathing.
This was a delicate balancing act.
Soon, the surrounding cheers faded, and the Subjugation Team’s convoy began to split up.
Just as they came to a halt, the now-familiar voice of the Female Hero, Finney, interrupted Valo’s deep thoughts.
“Mother, we’ve reached our destination.”
This was the result of Finney’s training over the past few days—she called her “Mother” with complete naturalness now.
“Kaika, can you help Mother out of the carriage?”
The carriage door opened, and the Hero acted like a truly filial daughter.
Behind the young girl followed several NPCs from the Subjugation Team.
The moment these NPCs saw Valo, they bowed in unison with such respect that it felt as if they were greeting a member of the high royalty.
“Mother, thank you for your hard work!”
Valo’s eye twitched. ‘Who taught them to call me that?’
It was undoubtedly the result of Finney’s packaging.
In the eyes of outsiders, she was now the young-looking widow mother of the two girls; Finney was the older sister, and Kaika was the younger one.
Her “mother” persona even had a tragic backstory.
Apparently, when the Hero was young, she had been forcibly abducted by a perverted Demon King who had a thing for young-looking wives.
She was forced to remarry, and her husband had sacrificed himself.
She only had enough time to send Finney away, while Kaika was used as a bargaining chip by that “villainous” Demon King to force her into submission.
For years, she had endured humiliation and compromise by the Demon King’s side, sacrificing her fragile body just for the safety of her younger daughter.
Fortunately, the elder daughter she had risked her life to protect eventually became the brilliant Hero, defeated the Demon King, and reunited with her.
The clouds had finally cleared to reveal the sun.
Anyone who heard the story from the Subjugation Team was moved to tears.
However, Valo felt like her reputation as the villainous Demon King had been utterly dragged through the mud.
Though she was annoyed, there was nothing she could do. In her current situation, she could only follow Finney’s lead.
“Ahem. Mother, this is your first time in the Empire, so there will surely be many things you aren’t used to. Given your Demon Clan identity, even though everyone basically knows you’re my mother now, there might still be some extremists who pose a danger to you…”
The Hero coughed with feigned solemnity and immediately snatched Valo’s arm away from Kaika.
She then continued with the arrangements. “So, until I find a suitable place for you to live without being disturbed, please bear with staying with me for a while.”
“During that time, if you need anything, just ask the teammates in my party. They are all friends I’ve adventured with, and they will treat you just like their own mother.”
Valo was already breaking into a cold sweat. ‘No, no, no. I have enough daughters as it is.’
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Finney’s voice rose with excitement. “Ah, Mother, they’re here.”
Valo looked over as several young women stepped out of the rear carriages and walked toward them.
There was a blonde girl dressed as a nun with a pair of pure white wings on her back.
This was one of the rarest races in the game, the Skywing Race.
More importantly, her identity was a heavy hitter—she was the Saintess of the Empire’s largest Church.
A dark-skinned, white-haired Dark Elf girl was dressed as a witch. Valo remembered this shorty was supposedly a once-in-a-century genius witch from the Witch Society.
Then there was a Princess Knight of the Empire who practically radiated “high class and status.”
Valo recognized Finney’s teammates at a glance. After all, their character designs stood out completely from the NPCs.
However, before she could even think of how to respond, these remarkable individuals made some truly outrageous statements.
The Saintess spoke first, her tone appropriately holy.
“Praise the Goddess. Are you the long-lost mother Finney spoke of? I have heard of your deeds. You are truly a heroic mother. I would like to transcribe the story of your spirit for everyone in the Church to study. I wonder what you think of that?”
‘Please, don’t.’
The Dark Elf was indeed a brat, just as the game settings described.
“Auntie Valo, let me just ask one thing… may I ask one thing? With a body like yours, how did you manage to raise two daughters?”
‘You talk too much!’
The Princess Knight was even more overly familiar.
“Auntie, my relationship with Finney is like that of true siblings. Since you are her mother, I shall call you Mother as well.”
As she spoke, she actually prepared to drop to one knee to acknowledge the relationship!
“Mo—”
‘Stop! Don’t you dare kneel!’
Valo remembered clearly that these three teammates of Finney’s were also among the “starting daughters” one could choose in the game!
She did not want to become the mother of even more girls through some bizarre misunderstanding!
Fortunately, just as she was about to abandon her persona and stop the Princess Knight’s dramatic display…
A youthful yet cold voice rang out from behind them.
“What is all this noise in front of the solemn and quiet Clock Tower?”
The Hero Party, which had been filled with a cheerful atmosphere, suddenly went silent like mice seeing a cat. They stood up straight, their gazes nervous and cautious.
In an instant, Valo saw a long-haired Elf girl who was even shorter than her.
The girl was rebuking Finney with a stern gaze. It was as if the great feat the Hero had just accomplished by defeating the Demon King didn’t earn this little girl a single ounce of favor.
“Finney, as the Hero, mind your image.”
The respect in Finney’s gaze and her subsequent response silently spoke of the Elf’s status and authority.
“Yes… Adoptive Mother.”
“Hmm?” The Elf girl’s brow furrowed. Her cute face held an innate, piercing coldness. “Address me by my title in public!”
“…Yes, Great Sage.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.