Chapter 309: This is really embarrassing
Hearing the voice at the door, Isla Ash sighed helplessly after personally pressing the switch to open the room's door.
Seeing his daughter sigh, Leo Ash felt that something was vaguely wrong.
Although it seemed like everyone around him inexplicably loved to sigh, but now...
—His daughter, who had only been "born" a few months ago, was actually affected by this symptom too. Wasn't this just a little bit off???
"Eh, Dad, what's wrong?"
Seeing the complex look flash through Leo Ash's eyes, Isla Ash asked curiously.
"Didn't you say you had something to talk about? Why did you suddenly go silent right after coming in?"
*Ah, although my daughter is growing up fast, every time I hear her call me 'Dad', I always feel so complicated.*
Walking over to Isla Ash's side, Leo Ash gently stroked her hair and asked softly.
"What, am I that unwelcome? Can't your dad just come chat with you when he has nothing else to do?"
"Hmm, how should I put this..."
After putting away her information light-screen, Isla Ash looked up at Leo Ash.
After hesitating for a second, Isla Ash nodded.
"At least, in my opinion, now isn't the right time."
"What's wrong?"
Hearing Isla Ash's words, Leo Ash pretended to be angry and ruffled her hair into a mess.
"So Dad needs to check the clock just to see you, is that it?"
"Yep."
Escaping from Leo Ash's demonic grasp using a lighter version of the Herrscher of the Void's power, Isla Ash said matter-of-factly.
"The Dad right now is different from before. You just became the Schicksal Archbishop today, so your responsibilities must be even heavier."
"Under these circumstances, on your very first day, you're skipping work to come chat with your daughter—Dad, this isn't good for your reputation, is it?"
...
*No, wait. Being sensible is a good thing, but this...*
[Stop 'this'-ing. Your daughter is way more sensible than you.]
*To be honest, I can't refute that.*
*I'm starting to suspect that the things Elysia taught her actually weren't all that much.*
[Yeah, that woman pays close attention to balancing work and rest.]
[For your daughter to turn out like this—have you even thought about whose fault it is!]
*Ah, could it be... because of me?*
[Isn't that obvious? She already has the tryhard gene in her, and after coming to your side, you, the number one tryhard king, dragged everyone around you into being tryhards too. Being exposed to that, she'd naturally develop in that direction.]
*It's really because of me???*
*But Isla and I have only known each other...*
[Yep, less than two months. And for about 40 to 50 percent of that time, you were soaking in water.]
[And even when you were at the Schicksal HQ, you rarely spoke to her alone. In this situation, the dad is a workaholic, and the daughter has the workaholic gene and the workaholic's abilities. Naturally, she'd easily be converted into a workaholic too.]
"Ah, Dad, don't make it look like the sky is falling."
Seeing the expression on Leo Ash's face seem to get worse and worse, Isla Ash said helplessly.
"Other people complain that their kids aren't sensible. My growing up faster shouldn't be a bad thing, right?"
"Or could it be..."
At this moment, Isla Ash, having thought of a certain possibility, had a strange smile on her face.
"Dad feels like I'm growing up too fast, and you've lost that sense of accomplishment from 'raising a daughter', so now you're sad?"
"Or maybe..."
Isla Ash leaned in close to Leo Ash, watching him with a grin.
"Dad, don't tell me you weren't mentally prepared to become the Archbishop at all, so now you're all bottled up inside and wanted to come to your daughter for comfort?"
*Ah, this is bad.*
[Ah, this is really bad.]
[Your daughter saw right through you. You've completely lost face now.]
"Wait."
Seeing Leo Ash's expression freeze completely, Isla Ash jumped back a step in shock.
"Did I... guess right?"
"...Should I be saying 'as expected of my daughter' right now?"
Gazing at his daughter with a complicated look, Leo Ash vaguely felt that any dignity he had as a father had just completely vanished in front of her.
Trying to find a blood relative to chat with and relieve his stress... basically, to be coddled... and then having that thought seen through by his daughter. For a second, he truly had the impulse to think, 'Ah, what's the point of living, I should just jump.'
"About this, Dad, aren't you overthinking things a bit?"
Looking at the thoroughly embarrassed Leo Ash, Isla Ash whispered.
"You're only seventeen. At the end of the day, you're just a teenage boy."
"Wanting someone to coddle you at a time like this... it's really not that embarrassing."
"As long as that person... isn't me."
"If you're really feeling a lot of pressure, you could go find Grandma Theresa... oh, that's probably not a good idea."
"If the elders won't work, your peers are definitely OK. Mom Kiana, Mom Yuna, Mom Mei, Mom Fu Hua—they'd all be more than happy to accept every part of you."
*No way, I feel so humiliated.*
"If you can't bring yourself to do it..."
Seeing Leo Ash's evasive gaze, looking left and right, Isla Ash suddenly became serious.
"Dad, this isn't going to work."
"Being the Schicksal Archbishop might not require you to be ruthless and black-hearted, but at the very least, you need to be able to be completely shameless."
"Your skin is so thin. I'm really worried about whether you can do this job well in the future."
"The reason I'm working as a little kid isn't because I like doing this stuff. It's purely because I want to help you, Dad, so you can have fewer burdens."
"But now, I get it—Dad, your mindset is all wrong."
Isla Ash, having said this, pointed righteously at Leo Ash's nose.
"You just finished telling all the uncles, aunties, grandpas, and grandmas of Schicksal 'you are all just as important,' and now you're starting to try and shoulder everything yourself, even being this cautious about relaxing."
"The man in the game is lost, but the bystander sees clearly. Right now, I, the bystander, see it clearly—you piling pressure on yourself on one hand, while being so cautious about relaxing on the other, will only make the pressure on those around you skyrocket too."
"I'm just a kid who doesn't know any better, but I really don't understand—is just wanting to relax your mind such a heinous crime?"
[This is outrageous! How can a daughter lecture her father like this! To prove you still have your dignity as a father, right now you should obviously—]
*Dammit, stop trolling.*
*You actually think she's totally right, don't you.*
[Sodayo (That's right). See? You're understanding the System more and more.]
[Think about it. Ever since you started 'doing it' with Kiana, you've really just been treating it as 'work' to 'help them adjust their mentality'.]
[In fact, as a result, the pleasure you get from it is far less than what you'd get from a normal session.]
[You even treat 'doing it' as 'work'. You're really not acting like a normal person.]
Staring at the silent Leo Ash, Isla Ash just felt...
—Ah, my dad is so much more difficult than the pink-haired little sister described.
Before coming to her father's side, Isla Ash had heard the pink-haired little sister describe what her father was like.
Back then, Isla Ash didn't understand why the pink-haired little sister looked slightly worried when she mentioned her father, saying, 'Ah, your dad's mental state is a bit... abnormal. You have to stay by his side, okay?'
But now, this was way beyond just 'mentally abnormal'.
She seriously suspected that the death of her grandparents due to the Honkai had a much more severe impact on her dad than it appeared on the surface.
To the outside world, her father was a playboy who was generally on the right track but had a harem on the side.
But in reality, she now felt her dad's mentality was more like that of an ascetic monk.
During the time Leo Ash was missing, Isla Ash had learned about her difficult father from others.
Back then, Leo Ash didn't have this 'harem guy' persona. So, to those around him and the people at Schicksal HQ, Leo Ash was a super tryhard who either trained or went on missions, and barely went out, bought things, or enjoyed good food during his downtime.
He clearly had enough money to enjoy life, but he barely ever used it.
Combining that with his current mental state, Isla Ash felt that before her dad could even defeat the Honkai, he would probably be defeated by illness first.
Even though the two of them, father and daughter, weren't even eighteen combined, Isla Ash somehow felt like she was already worrying about Leo Ash's 'old age'.
At this moment, Isla Ash, who had completely reversed their roles, felt deeply...
—Sigh, what a nag. And he's my dad. This is really embarrassing.
At this point, Isla Ash felt a little regretful.
If she had known her dad's symptoms were this severe, maybe she shouldn't have been so smart just now. If she had just obediently played the part of his "little padded jacket" and soothed her dad's heart, things probably wouldn't be this complicated.
"Hey, you. Are you thinking something rude right now?"
Leo Ash looked at Isla Ash's 'this is bad' expression, playfully 'forcefully' twisted his fists on her temples, and said to the bitter-faced Isla Ash.
"Your dad here has seen it all. How could it be your turn to worry about me?"
"Don't overthink it. I just felt that as a father, I've barely spent any time with you since we met, let alone fulfilled my responsibilities as a father. That's why I came to see you."
(Isla's Internal Monologue) *But you practically admitted it earlier—never mind, I'd better keep that to myself.*
*Dad, oh Dad. You right now are just suffering to save face.*
*Auntie Rita and Auntie Bianka can't change you.*
*Mom Kiana, Mom Yuna, Mom Fu Hua, and Mom Mei can't change you.*
*Grandma Wraith, Grandma Himeko, and Grandma Theresa are even more hopeless. Even if they saw through Dad's heart, Dad would just naturally resist their lectures as elders, so he wouldn't listen to their advice at all.*
*I just want Dad to live a little more easily, but now...*
—Why is this one thing... so difficult?
Listening to Leo Ash's lecture, an imperceptible sadness flashed in Isla Ash's eyes.
*Could it be that... everyone who has had something important stolen by the Honkai...*
—ends up with a heart as twisted as Dad's?
...
Apocalypse Family - Internal Cemetery
Inside the Apocalypse family cemetery, Theresa looked at the tombstone and cenotaph she had prepared for Otto, feeling incredibly complicated.
In truth, there were plenty of Otto's 'bodies'. If Theresa had wanted one, Leo Ash would naturally have given one to her to bury.
But in Theresa's view, what her grandpa had done was already outrageous enough.
After his death, taking his Soulium Body and forging it into new Soulium weapons to fight the Honkai...
—Although doing this couldn't wash away Otto's sins, it at least brought Theresa a small bit of comfort.
By now, with Su and Fu Hua's help, Theresa had completely broken free from the influence Otto had exerted on her using Fenghuang Down.
And after reading all those files, Theresa finally understood just how many hateful, foolish things her no-good grandpa had done in the past.
But, no matter what anyone else thought, Otto Apocalypse was still her grandpa.
Theresa Apocalypse and Otto Apocalypse had their conflicts and differences, but even so, the bond between them was by no means false.
"Sigh, Grandpa."
Letting out another long sigh, Theresa gently stroked the name she had carved onto the tombstone with her own hands, murmuring to herself.
"You committed too many sins in this life. You're 100% not getting into heaven."
"I hope that in the time to come, you can properly reform yourself down there and try to get reincarnated sooner."
Feelings of sadness... perhaps Theresa felt them now.
But the grieving woman felt not a trace of hatred for Leo Ash, who had killed Otto.
If anything, she was actually very worried about Leo Ash, who had been forced to take on that responsibility.
Schicksal Archbishop. This was not a position Leo Ash should have taken.
But now, after Otto exposed himself, Leo Ash, who had killed him, had undoubtedly become the most suitable candidate for Archbishop.
But at the same time, with this child's mentality, after becoming the Archbishop, he would definitely try to squeeze even more out of himself.
*I can't help him bear that responsibility. I can't ease his heart.*
*Maybe I've never changed, not since the very beginning.*
*In front of my students, I...*
—have perhaps always been a useless person.
......