My Dad, the Demon King, Is a Big Problem

Chapter 73

"No. Absolutely not...!"

Baal vehemently rejected the thought, his revulsion palpable. Eat something made by a filthy human? Not just any human, but Lloyd's daughter, crafted specifically for her father?

Disgusted to his core, Baal tried to stop Lloyd.

"I said no! Absolutely not!"

Lloyd, drawing strength from reserves he didn’t know he had, took another step forward.

"No matter how hard you try to stop me... it’s useless. My daughter insisted I eat at least one bite."

"Don’t count on it! You’ll be obliterated before it even touches your mouth!"

"Go ahead, try to destroy me if you can."

With determination, Lloyd planted another trembling foot forward. The cake Crescent had made was still a considerable distance away.

He gritted his teeth and pushed on.

There was no way he would let Baal win, not now. Today, a strength unlike anything he’d felt before surged through him, overwhelming his usual limits.

It was because of Crescent—her presence, her love—so near, so tangible.

He hadn’t realized just how much he had missed her.

"Baal. Do you think I enjoy feeding my daughter’s food to you? I wouldn’t spare even a speck of it for you."

"You speak as if that trash cake is worth its weight in gold, fool."

"It’s worth far more than gold—it’s imbued with my daughter’s heart."

"You wretched fool!"

Baal’s soul writhed in fury.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Lloyd managed three more steps.

He noticed something curious—Baal always reacted with revulsion whenever he spoke fondly of Crescent.

Step by step, Lloyd began using that knowledge to provoke him further.

"You’ll never know the joy of having a daughter. You’ll never taste a birthday cake lovingly made by her. Truly pitiful."

As expected, Baal shuddered with rage.

"You, on the other hand, will witness your daughter dying right before your eyes. Will you still call yourself happy then?"

"That will never happen."

Lloyd smirked with confidence.

Crescent had grown stronger than he had imagined. The fact that she had outsmarted a 23rd-ranked demon to deliver him a cake spoke volumes about her intelligence and bravery.

"She’s my daughter, after all. My precious little girl. My sweet, smart baby."

"Arghhh!"

With a howl of rage, Baal collapsed to the ground.

Lloyd clicked his tongue in disdain.

"Can’t even handle a bit of affection? Some Demon King you are."

"Shut up!"

But Lloyd had no need to continue.

His gaze softened, filled with warmth and longing.

Though it had been just a single night, it felt as though several days had gone by. That’s how much had happened in the Demon Realm.

Just then—

“Meteor! Crescent!”

A familiar voice called out. I turned to see Alruin, Evan, and the other knight companions running toward us. Their faces were alight with excitement, but Alruin’s in particular was noticeably flushed.

“What took you so long? I thought my heart was going to stop! Every minute felt like an hour waiting here!”

“Ah, Master,” I mumbled.

Had we really been the last to return?

I opened my mouth to reply but faltered, unsure of what to say.

How should I begin explaining why Meteor and I had been so delayed?

While I hesitated, I scanned the faces of my companions one by one. Suddenly, something I had completely forgotten came rushing back to me.

Amid the group of knights, there was Adrian.

The sight of him made me involuntarily cry out.

“Ahhh! Sir Adrian! You’re alive?!”

“Crescent!”

As if waiting for this moment, Adrian darted toward me like an arrow, his arms outstretched as though we were long-lost family reunited after years apart.

Before he could grab my hands, I quickly moved them behind my back.

I was happy to see him alive, but holding hands was a bit much.

“I knew you’d survive!”

“Thank you, Crescent. I’m truly happy to see you again. Honestly, after I fell below the cliff, I don’t remember anything. But there’s one thing I do recall—I was so worried you’d freeze to death that I wanted to throw you my shabby coat. Did you happen to receive it?”

Adrian’s gaze scanned me anxiously, checking to see if I had taken his coat.

I was still wearing it, of course. The moment he recognized his own jacket, Adrian’s eyes grew wide.

“Ah, so you did get it!”

“Y-yes, I did. I honestly didn’t think you’d make it, but you still worried about me being cold... Thank you.”

I spoke earnestly.

Regardless of my lack of romantic feelings for Adrian, I was genuinely grateful for his thoughtfulness.

It seemed that, for once, there was a flicker of sincerity in his otherwise playful demeanor... or so I thought.

Not that it really mattered much in the grand scheme of things.

“Ahem!”

A loud clearing of the throat interrupted us.

Turning, I saw Alruin, now looking much calmer.

“Yes, it’s a relief Adrian survived. But we were thrown into chaos when you and Meteor didn’t return right away, Crescent. It was less than ten minutes, but usually, we all escape from Magi at the same time.”

He finished speaking with a slight exhale, as if to release the tension he’d been holding.

Before anyone could respond, Lucas suddenly burst out:

“That’s what I’m saying! What happened in there?!”

Lucas’s voice was just as heightened as everyone else’s, his face flushed with excitement.