The NTR Hero Knelt Before the Demon King – Chapter 159

“I’m so proud of you for enduring such a long journey, my daughter.”

“Yeah, really… it was tough, Mama.”

Eliza was throwing a bit of a tantrum—kind of—at her mother, Elias.

Even though she was over a hundred years old, she still acted like a little girl in front of her mom. Eliza began to pour out her woes about her situation.

“Honestly… why did I have to go all the way there just to change some guy’s gender? And Cleopatra kept asking me to teach her, clinging to me the whole time. In the end, there was that General Helene from the Empire bothering me too. Everything was just so tangled up; it was exhausting!”

“Is that so?… That’s great! You must have made lots of new friends again.”

“I-I don’t mean friends… They’re not the type you can label so simply. They’re all just wrapped up in these weird vibes.”

“Oh ho? If you think so, then I guess that’s how it is.”

Elias listened to her daughter recounting her experiences in the Falcon Empire.

But as a mother, Elias didn’t perceive such behavior in her daughter negatively at all.

Eliza had very few people to call friends apart from Nyadan.

However, in just a few months, the number of people she could consider friends had notably increased.

Of course, technically, half of them could be considered slaves, but from Elias’s perspective, those little details didn’t matter much.

‘Honestly, I was worried about how limited her social interactions were… Thank goodness I don’t have to worry about that anymore.’

With that thought, Elias began to show a calm smile toward her daughter, who was simultaneously voicing complaints but looking rather pleased.

After a while, Eliza finished her lengthy tale and started to gulp down the cup of tea in front of her.

Without realizing it, her excitement had left her throat a little parched.

Meanwhile, watching her daughter, Elias suddenly felt compelled to ask a question that had been on her mind.

“By the way, how have you been getting along with Nyadan lately?”

“Puh! Cough! Cough!”

Caught off guard by a critical hit, Eliza suddenly choked.

Seeing this, Elias, who was unaware of the specifics, instinctively raised an eyebrow and handed her a handkerchief.

“Ugh…”

“What’s wrong? Did you two have a fight?”

“Ah… No, not that… It’s just that… things have been a bit complicated…”

Eliza spoke awkwardly, trying to convey her mixed feelings.

Elias began to wonder if Eliza’s relationships with her friends had caused her to drift away from Nyadan.

“Mom is worried about your friends, but… please don’t neglect Nyadan too much, okay?”

“That’s not it! Neglect? It’s more like we’re getting way too close for comfort!”

Just then.

“Eliza, I’m here!”

“Whoa!”

“Huh?”

In the next moment, a familiar figure suddenly entered the reception room.

Upon Nyadan’s arrival, a look of deep embarrassment swept over Eliza’s face.

On the other hand, Elias thought that this child didn’t seem like a proper noble either, but she decided to greet Eliza’s ‘friend’ politely.

However…

“Ah! Good afternoon, my lady!”

“…Huh? My lady?”

With a sparkle in her eyes, Nyadan called Elias “my lady.”

Elias’s mind was immediately flooded with questions about this radically altered address.

Then,

“Honestly… Eliza. Do you even know what time it is? We’re already an hour late from our promised time. I was getting worried since you didn’t show up, and look at you now.”

“Huh? No way… I just got home a little while ago… Wait, it really is true.”

Eliza revealed her astonishment as she checked her watch.

As she did so, Nyadan didn’t hesitate and suddenly pulled Eliza into a tight embrace with a beaming smile.

“Wait… wait… we’re in front of Mom here…”

“What’s the problem? I said before, it’s about time we let it out, right? It’ll come out sooner or later anyway.”

Nyadan spoke, glowing with affectionate warmth.

On the other hand, witnessing this scene, Elias felt considerable confusion.

The Nyadan she remembered, the Elite Guard Four Kings, wasn’t like this at all.

Though diligent, she didn’t show any remarkable enthusiasm, and due to her shy personality, she didn’t try to socialize or take interest in many things. She was practically an inconspicuous presence.

In other words, she seemed to crave a peaceful existence, like a plant. But now, the present Nyadan was openly displaying affection.

Not merely as friends, but conveying something deeper without hesitation.

Elias felt a strange mix of emotions and concern about this fact.

Cautiously, she decided to ask Eliza.

“Umm… daughter? About what Nyadan just mentioned…”

“U-uh… you see… it’s… uh… well, Mama…”

“Yes, my lady! Just as you’d guessed, we’re currently dating!”

“!! W-what?!”

Nyadan exuberantly dropped a bombshell in place of the stuttering Eliza.

Confronted with this confirmation, which had been merely speculative until now, Elias was momentarily left in shock.

‘Wait… what? Is this real? But Eliza seemed to like a Hero not too long ago… What suddenly changed? And Nyadan is a girl! Could it be our Eliza… got her heart broken by the Hero and ended up going down this path… or could it possibly be because of me?’

Without clarity on the circumstances, Elias was in no position to draw any definitive conclusions. However, she knew that her current situation was something she couldn’t warmly embrace.

The present demon races didn’t care too much about such matters, but for Elias’s generation, those actions were hard to accept on many levels.

‘Could it be that the uptick in friends recently has anything to do with this? Not being able to be with a boy she liked makes her find solace in this kind of relationship… And that Dark Elf and that Elf slave too… Could it really be our daughter?’

Nevertheless, Elias couldn’t outright oppose her daughter’s choices.

Totally restricting the incomprehensible actions of the younger generation contradicted her principles.

Additionally, this concern was compounded by her unique situation, preparing for her remarriage with Samson.

It was a well-known fact that a parent’s remarriage greatly affected their children.

Elias was now feeling more troubled, worrying if her daughter’s strange path was influenced by her own decisions rather than the Hero.

Finally…

Amidst the confusion that lingered, Elias, as a mother, reached a singular conclusion.

That was…

“!? Um… Mama?”

“? My lady?”

In the next moment, Elias approached Eliza with a serious expression.

Watching her mother approach like this, Eliza and Nyadan couldn’t help but worry that she might be angry, yet they felt they had to accept whatever was coming.

‘Well… it’s true that Elias-nim might feel shocked… but it’s a mountain we have to cross one day, after all.’

‘Mama… are you going to hit me?… In that case, I guess I have to take it… Ugh, damn… How did things end up like this?’

As they braced themselves for whatever shouting might come, Eliza quietly awaited her mother’s next steps.

However…

“!?”

In the following moment, she felt herself wrapped in a warmth.

But instead of the direct pain or sharp anger she anticipated, it was the comforting embrace of Elias being a mother.

“M-Mama?”

“…I’m so sorry… I’m really, really sorry, my daughter… sob…”

“…What?”

Elias’s voice rang with a mix of tears and apologies.

Eliza couldn’t help but feel bewildered at this situation…

As Elias continued to murmur tearful apologies, she added,

“Sniff… Sniff… I’m sorry for going ahead and preparing for a remarriage without considering how our daughter might feel… sob… I’m truly, truly sorry.”

“Ah… n-no… that’s not it…”

“It’s okay… it’s all… all my fault… I messed up, so our daughter is blameless… Everything is my mistake…”

“…Sigh…”

Feeling yet another unnecessary misunderstanding piling up, Eliza let out a deep sigh.

Seeing this scene, Nyadan felt a sudden wave of guilt wash over her as she silently maintained her quiet presence.