Was Siegfried Kaslana a man who couldn't control his lower half?
The answer was no.
If one were to ignore the fact that he failed to fulfill his wife Cecilia's dying wish—to take care of Kiana—he was a perfect husband, perhaps even with a hint of being a doting one.
Cheating was impossible. He would never cheat in this lifetime. He wasn't cut out to be a playboy; he could only get by in life by being completely devoted to his wife.
And yet, this very man was now knocked to the ground by a punch from his adopted daughter, for the alleged crime of not being able to control his lower half.
"Don't be so angry, Kiana."
The young man, who had been holding a miniature camera to record this beautiful moment in life, casually tossed the photographic equipment into his shadow and walked over to the fuming Miss Kiana.
"Perhaps there's a hidden story here."
"What hidden story could there be for abandoning his daughter and pretending she doesn't exist?" Miss Kiana retorted, clearly disagreeing with Li Zihan's statement. She shot a cold snort at the white-haired uncle who still hadn't figured out what was going on.
She had always thought her own life was miserable enough.
The hardships she had endured during her two years of abandonment were oceanic. But according to Li Zihan, her sister had it even worse.
This revelation had changed some of her plans. For instance, she had originally intended to beat Siegfried up just once. Now, she wanted to beat him up three times.
Once for herself, and twice for her abandoned sister.
"Or could it be, Ah Li, that you're just like my old man? A man who can't control his lower half?"
The white-haired dango, who had taken a hand-edge strike to the chest during her close-quarters brawl with a certain someone, shot him a dangerous look.
Ah Li isn't exactly an honest man either, is he?
"What kind of joke is that? If I couldn't control my lower half, Mei would have been pregnant long ago," Li Zihan said, raising an eyebrow. His tone was dead serious.
"Huh?! Ah Li, you dare to make a move on Mei!"
Upon hearing that name, the white-haired dango's eyes flew wide open. She leaped in front of Li Zihan, stood on her tiptoes, and grabbed him by the collar.
Her sparkling, azure eyes were wide and round, her fierce expression like that of a hissing kitten.
"Isn't that obvious? If I'm not going after Mei, should I be going after you?"
Even with a girl of monstrous strength grabbing his collar, Li Zihan showed not the slightest hint of being intimidated.
He had been at a disadvantage earlier when fighting Kiana because he hadn't prepared his magecraft. Now that he was ready, he wasn't scared in the least.
"Just how out of my mind would I have to be to choose a good-for-nothing who needs someone else to manage her life as my lover?!"
"Besides, if I were to marry a woman who suffers from intermittent loss of intelligence and have children, the offspring's IQ would also be a problem, wouldn't it? I can't just sacrifice the next generation for my own personal pleasure!"
One stinging remark after another fell upon the white-haired dango's ears, causing a delicate blue vein to pop on her fair forehead.
She really, really wanted to tie this guy up and throw him directly into Tokyo Bay.
"As if I would even be interested in you!" Miss Kiana hissed, her teeth itching. She was dying to plant another slap on Li Zihan's face to make them symmetrical.
"And another thing, Mei is mine!"
"If you dare to lay a hand on Mei, just see if I don't beat you until you're scrambling on the floor for your teeth!"
Siegfried, who had long since climbed back to his feet, watched the two arguing in the distance without a word.
His thoughts were still stuck on the phrase, "abandoning his daughter and pretending she doesn't exist."
Since Kiana was able to set a trap to lure him out, she obviously knew he was watching her, so she couldn't be considered "non-existent" in that sense.
Connecting that to what the young man had said earlier—you should know your daughter's whereabouts—the answer became clear.
"So, you already knew," Siegfried said, his expression extremely bitter. He seemed to understand why "Kiana" had greeted him with a punch.
"Isn't that obvious?!"
The white-haired dango, who had just been trading barbs with Li Zihan, spun around angrily. She lowered her center of gravity, channeled power into her right leg, and then—
Her entire right leg whipped out, generating a powerful wind pressure as it shot straight toward the bewildered Siegfried.
The whip kick, carrying immense force, easily struck Siegfried's chest and sent him flying.
The force of this blow was immense. The impacted Siegfried crashed into the wall, and a huge, spiderweb-like pattern of cracks spread out from the point of impact, a shocking sight to behold.
"Seriously, even if having an illegitimate daughter is disgraceful, you can't just abandon her to suffer outside!"
"Dad, did a Honkai Beast kick you in the head and give you a concussion?" "Kiana" demanded, retracting her leg, still fuming.
The punch she threw just now was for her own year and a half of wandering. This whip kick was for the sister she had yet to meet.
She wasn't worried about causing any serious injury. Siegfried was, through and through, a meat-shield type of fighter. In his prime, he could even tear into an Emperor-class Honkai Beast with his bare hands.
A guy like that certainly wasn't going to end up in the emergency room from a few of her hits.
"Cough, cough... illegitimate daughter?" Siegfried coughed heavily, his voice laced with clear hesitation. He had never messed around in his life.
He wanted to say something, but before he could get the words out, the young man who seemed to be on excellent terms with "Kiana" walked up to him.
A smile was on his face as he clapped Siegfried on the shoulder, his voice extremely low and tinged with mockery.
"It's all the same, isn't it? Both are children who can't be seen in the light of day."
"Hey, Ah Li, what are you saying to my dad?" "Kiana" asked, having clearly noticed Li Zihan's strange behavior as she walked over.
"Of course, I'm asking for his guidance on how to touch the butts of every Valkyrie in Schicksal within three years," the boy, who was obviously not talking about that at all, replied, turning his head to face the girl. His voice was light and cheerful.
"I also want to become an upstanding person like my esteemed father-in-law."
"Huh? Dad, you did that kind of thing?" Miss Kiana's eyebrows shot up. She had never expected such a story from her own father.
So while she was desperately fighting to survive and find him, her old man was gallivanting in a sea of flowers, having the time of his life!
Siegfried remained silent. He had been completely captivated the moment he met Cecilia. How could he have had any interest in being a playboy?
"Mhm," Siegfried finally said, his tone devoid of joy or sorrow.
He was no playboy, but he was, indeed, the father of the "illegitimate daughter" Kiana spoke of.
Kiana's eyes widened. She desperately wanted to step forward and deliver another punch to Siegfried on behalf of her mother.
But before the white-haired dango could throw a punch, the young man's light voice drifted into her ears.
"Alright, you can head back for now. Your esteemed father-in-law and I have some things to discuss."
"Huh? Why should I listen to you?" Miss Kiana was clearly not going to fall for that.
"You owe me a favor. It's time to pay up," Li Zihan's answer was crisp and direct.
Miss Kiana, who did indeed owe him quite a few favors, stiffened. The expression on her little face crumbled, and she turned and left.
She really did owe Li Zihan a pile of favors.
Once Kiana had departed, Li Zihan smiled at Siegfried.
"Mr. Siegfried, would you be willing to chat with me for a bit?"