Family heirloom, then turned into a demon girl

Chapter 416 Mission: 02-7 Reconciliation
"...I said Jillie is better than me."

In the reception room, Mr. Nero laughed softly.

Gillie and Virgil were talking at the door, so the two people inside couldn't have failed to hear. Mr. Nero's sentiments would likely have reached Virgil as well, so Nero said nothing.

Although he didn't say anything, his expression looked a little better.

A moment later, Virgil pushed the door open and walked in, his expression still icy. He looked around, his gaze resting on Nero's face, who was scrutinizing him, and then lowered his head.

"..."

He remained silent, moving his lips with difficulty, but no sound came out. It seemed that this was so difficult for him. Nero looked at him motionlessly, his eyes meeting Virgil's shaking eyes, and it seemed that only then did he regain his voice.

"Nero, I..."

Virgil faltered after just two words. But at least he was prepared this time. Gritting his teeth, he chose a lighter topic to start with: "I'm sorry for breaking the promise about the gift."

Compared to the previous apology, which seemed like an attempt to shirk responsibility, this one truly could be considered an apology. Nero's expression relaxed slightly, which gave Virgil some confidence in what he was about to do next.

He began, “So, also, I’m really sorry for letting you live alone for so many years.

"I'm really sorry for giving you an unhappy childhood."

They say the beginning is always the hardest, and for Virgil, this scene was the perfect illustration of that. To him, the thought of him apologizing would have seemed impossible and incomprehensible. But fate was unforgiving. Faced with a daughter he had never imagined existed, Virgil felt compelled to apologize, even if it made no sense.

Or, why not? This was a hurdle he had to overcome.

Just like the hardest part of an apology is saying the first words, the hardest part of building a good relationship with your daughter is also doing the first thing well. Once Virgil said the first apology, the rest of the apology fell into place naturally, and he now only hoped that the next thing would develop in the same way.

If so, that's great.

Mr. Nero also looked at the blonde girl beside him, and everyone in the room focused their attention on her. Virgil's formal apology was an unprecedented honor for him, and he wondered how this person with a similar past would respond.

In front of Virgil, Nero curled his lips slightly, turned his head, and avoided Virgil's sight.

Virgil's heart sank immediately - but just as he was about to wonder if he wasn't sincere enough, Nero spoke awkwardly.

Her voice was quiet, barely a whisper. But in a room so quiet that even breathing was as clear as thunder, it was still remarkably loud. As these light words faded into the air, Virgil's mouth, beneath his hood, couldn't help but move upwards by a millimeter.

"Forgive you."

Nero said so.

She wasn't really that angry to begin with; she was just thinking, "Why are these people named Virgil so indifferent?" and she was just letting her anger out for a moment. Now, Virgil's proactive apology impressed her, leaving her feeling embarrassed.

"Actually, it's just tsundere." Samael, who rarely spoke, started with a complaint. Nero didn't answer, but secretly made up his mind to break it and rebuild it.

With her face turned sideways, she secretly glanced at the much more relaxed Virgil, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but want to rise: What? It turns out that the Virgil in the previous world was abnormal. The Virgil in front of her who has turned over a new leaf is still quite likable.

It must be the world's fault. There's something wrong with that world itself. Otherwise, why would Dante become such a foul-mouthed person? At this thought, Nero's thoughts suddenly stopped. Her gaze continued to drift to the side, landing on Mr. Nero.

"Why are you looking at me?" the guy said unhappily.

He might have thought Nero was mocking him, saying, "Do you have a father who's so kind to you?" But that was pure skepticism; Nero wouldn't think that.

Turning around, Nero saw Virgil still standing at the door, and said in confusion, "Dad, please sit down."

Virgil quickly found a seat and said to Nero again, "I'll give you the gift later."

"No need."

"No, it must be made up."

His tone was so firm that Nero stopped trying to stop him.

However, Virgil, who was standing at a loss at the door before, was still at a loss after sitting down. He wanted to speak but felt that he had nothing to say. He could only sit there with his hands folded, turning his head from time to time to look at Nero, and then quickly moving away to avoid being discovered.

...There's no topic to talk about. Virgil sighed in his heart.

Nero saw the same thing. They'd met less than twice, spending less than forty-eight hours together, and their understanding of each other was superficial. Without anything serious to talk about, it was probably difficult for them to find a topic to talk to each other about.

Of course, if you really want to find it, you can find it.

Mr. Nero acted as the icebreaker who could find a topic to talk about: "By the way, I've wanted to ask you before, you two..."

He pointed at Nero and Virgil and asked, "Did you really travel through time?"

"It depends on how you understand 'time.'"

Nero subconsciously began with a riddle, but Virgil's explanation was relatively easy to understand: "It was in a time dimension beyond our own."

But this still seemed a little hard for Mr. Nero to understand. So he said, "Huh?"

"A line is a dimension. No one can jump from one point to another within this dimension," Nero explained. "But as long as you jump out of this dimension, you can achieve this jump. If you think of time as a line... do you understand?"

"I seem to understand a little bit."

Then Nero turned to Virgil and asked, "Speaking of which, Dad, do you know what's happening in the Demon Realm right now?"

She hadn't even asked Mr. Nero this question yet... Of course, she guessed he probably didn't know much. But if it was Virgil, who had also been to the Little Garden, he might know something.

"Of course," Virgil replied as expected. "Besides, I'm afraid I know more than any of you."

(End of this chapter)