Chapter 69: Time Witch
There was a brief silence before hushed voices drifted from inside the room.
Soon after, the sound of the door unlocking echoed out, and a beautiful woman came into view.
Seeing his wife, a smile spread across Amon’s face.
Kayla gave him a light, warm hug and smiled faintly.
"How was work today?" she asked, leading him into the sitting room.
"It was fi..." Amon’s words trailed off, his calm expression quickly morphing into one of shock.
"Hi, uncle." A childish voice greeted him with a smile.
Her smile revealed a pair of dimples, and her silver hair framed her face perfectly, making her look even more beautiful.
"Mira..." Amon called out in surprise, not expecting to see her so soon.
Seeing that Amon still remembered her, Mira smiled.
"It seems you two really do know each other," Kayla interjected with a chuckle before explaining.
"Mira arrived at noon and told me she was looking for you, so I asked her to wait behind. After telling me that she had nowhere else to go in the meantime, I told her she could spend the night with us if she still wanted to wait for you, and she agreed."
Hearing his wife’s words, Amon immediately understood that the time treasure had likely led her here.
He walked over and gently ruffled her hair.
"It’s nice to see you again, Mira."
"Hehe..." Mira chuckled like a little child, and Amon could feel her hidden excitement.
But he could also sense the sadness buried deep within her eyes.
Mira was the little girl Amon had encountered previously while going to eliminate the demon infant organization from the warehouse.
During that encounter, he had died.
Only because of Mira had he survived.
But it was on the condition that he would save her sister, who was trapped inside an SSS-rank dungeon.
Looking at the little girl standing before him, Amon felt a faint sense of pressure settle onto his shoulders.
She had upheld her end of the bargain.
Now it was his turn.
Amon knew that he still lacked the strength to accomplish that. After all, the boss monster of an SSS-rank dungeon was a god.
However, based on his calculations, within a few days he should be able to help her.
Even so, seeing the hope hidden behind her eyes made him feel slightly uneasy.
Expectations were far heavier than any mountain.
’It seems she’d have to live with us over the next few days.’
Amon thought about it and found that it didn’t seem like a bad idea.
She could be someone his daughter could interact with.
Since coming to this world, his daughter hadn’t interacted with any humans aside from him and his wife. Having her spend time with a little girl close to her age would be nice.
Mira didn’t trigger Amon’s danger sense, so he wasn’t overly cautious around her.
At least for now.
While all these thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, Amon finally recovered himself and turned toward his wife.
"Did you prepare something for her to eat?"
Kayla pinched him with a pout.
"Don’t you trust your wife again? I made sure she ate until she couldn’t move!"
"Hehe... Uncle, Auntie is right. She kept filling my bowl until I was almost crying," Mira explained while gesturing with her hands.
Glancing at the interaction between the couple, a smile containing both longing and sadness appeared on her face.
Amon nodded.
"Alright, you should get some rest for now, okay? It must have been a long journey here. We can talk tomorrow."
He ruffled her hair and gave her a wink filled with hidden meaning.
However, Mira was smart enough to understand.
From how Amon had reacted after Kayla pinched him, she guessed that Kayla didn’t know about his true strength.
After all, how could a powerful awakened feel pain from something as insignificant as a pinch?
Kayla glanced between the two of them with wide, curious eyes, wondering what was going on.
Not wanting to pry too much, Mira heeded Amon’s advice and excused herself to the guest room.
"Alright, Uncle, Auntie. You two have a lovely night."
There was a strange maturity in her tone.
Hearing her words, Kayla chuckled.
"You talk like an adult when you’re just a child. Get some rest, dear."
Mira nodded before heading toward the guest room, leaving the couple behind.
As soon as the sound of the door closing echoed through the house, Kayla felt someone hug her from behind.
Instinctively, she tensed.
Then she relaxed, feeling her husband’s warm breath brush against her neck.
"Did you miss me?" Amon whispered against her skin.
"Hubby, there’s a little kid in the house..." Kayla said reproachfully, gently ruffling his hair to signal that they would continue this some other time.
"I know..." Amon replied, but he still didn’t remove his hand from her waist.
Instead, he pulled her closer, inhaling her warm, feminine scent.
His wife smelled like home.
Amon suddenly had the urge to remain like this for a little while longer.
However, he knew it would inevitably come to an end.
"Let’s stay like this for a little while longer," Amon said quietly.
Kayla let out a soft breath and agreed.
Silently, she began rambling about her day.
"By the way, I discovered that our daughter seems to be getting heavier than normal. Do you think there’s something wrong? Should we go to the hospital and do a checkup on her? I’m worried that something might happen."
"Don’t worry about it. She’s fine," Amon replied, easing his wife’s worries.
He knew this was likely due to his daughter’s strength increasing at an alarming rate.
Amon was curious about when she would reach E-rank and allow the system to gain access to even more generous rewards.
However, he pushed that thought to the back of his mind.
"Huh? If you say so... it seems I was worried for nothing," Kayla whispered, her voice growing softer.
After a while, she continued.
"The little girl, Mira... she seems unique in a way."
She paused, as though carefully choosing her words.
"I don’t know how to explain it. You heard how she spoke while you were here. It’s as though she possesses a maturity far beyond her years. Could there be something suspicious about her?"
Hearing her words, Amon pondered for a moment before answering.
"Mira’s situation is a bit special, but you can rest assured that there’s nothing wrong with her."
He knew that Mira was only like that because she had been forced to mature far earlier than she should have.
After her sister’s departure and the countless timelines she had experienced, she had likely witnessed more death and suffering than most adults.
Things no child should ever have to endure.
All of it had slowly shaped her into who she was.
Even while interacting with the two of them, Amon could feel that she subconsciously felt a little awkward around Kayla.
However, whenever she was near him, perhaps because of the sense of security he provided, she seemed to relax.
As though there was finally someone capable of carrying the burdens she had been forced to shoulder alone.
Just like her big sister once had.
Amon couldn’t imagine how much the little girl carried inside her small frame.
Still, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
’Since she can manipulate time to such a vast extent, could she perhaps know about the coming calamity?’
The moment the thought surfaced, Amon couldn’t suppress it.
He didn’t even know what he was facing.
If he knew what was coming, then perhaps he could prepare for it properly.
Amon’s eyes narrowed slightly.
’If she can look into the future...’
His thoughts abruptly halted.
A chilling possibility surfaced in his mind.
What if Mira wasn’t searching for a way to prevent the coming calamity?
What if she already knew it couldn’t be stopped?
The room suddenly felt much quieter.
Amon’s expression darkened.
If that were true...
Then the future might be far worse than he had imagined.
...
Author’s Note: What do you think of the Chapter?
