The Demon King’s Blessing
Three months later, in Hilsend Village.
Under the blue sky and white clouds, a girl around fifteen years old was lazily lying on the grass, enjoying the spring sunshine.
Suddenly, it felt like someone had walked up to her and blocked her sunlight.
The girl slowly opened her eyes and saw a strange old woman quietly standing beside her.
She rubbed her eyes, a bit puzzled, and asked, “Grandma, is there something you need?”
Joy hesitated for a moment and slowly asked, “Child, do you know Roderick?”
“Roderick? Of course! He’s my grandfather,” the girl replied.
“Oh, so you are Roderick’s granddaughter,” Joy said, a gentle look appearing in her eyes. She softly added, “What’s your name?”
“Amelia,” the girl answered.
“Amelia, Amelia…” Joy repeated the name a few times, smiling as she said, “What a lovely name.”
“Thank you for the compliment,” Amelia nodded and inquired, “Grandma, are you looking for Grandpa Roderick? Do you want me to show you the way?”
“Of course, that would be a help.”
More than ten minutes later, Amelia walked back home with cheerful steps. She spotted a young woman washing clothes in the yard and threw herself at her.
“Mom, I’m back!”
Franca was startled and responded with a hint of annoyance, “You little girl, always scaring me like that; do you want to give your mom a heart attack?”
“Hehe.” Amelia grinned and then said, “By the way, Mom, I brought a guest home.”
“A guest?” Franca slightly tilted her head and noticed the old woman standing at their door. She looked puzzled and asked, “Who are you?”
“Hello, I’m Joy. I’m here to find Roderick,” Joy replied.
“Oh, is that so…” Franca nodded.
Though she was somewhat guarded towards the sudden stranger, just as she was about to ask further questions, a strange spiritual fluctuation passed through.
“Take her to find Roderick.”
Franca paused for a moment and then quickly stood up, smiling slightly: “Please, follow me.”
Joy nodded and followed the young woman inside.
It was a large house, and the interior was quite luxurious with complete furnishings. It was clear that the owner of the house was quite wealthy.
Joy followed the young woman to the second floor, where in the living room, a young, robust man was polishing his armor.
“Balth, where’s Dad?” Franca asked.
“He’s sleeping inside,” the young man replied. He looked up and suddenly noticed the old woman behind Franca, asking curiously, “Who is this?”
“Should be a friend of Dad’s,” Franca said, turning around to prepare to open the bedroom door.
But Balth hurriedly stopped Franca: “Hey, what are you doing?”
“Of course, I’m waking Dad up!” Franca said. “Didn’t you hear me say we have a guest?”
“I heard you,” Balth replied. “But you know, the old man hates it when anyone disturbs his sleep. Do you remember how he acted the last time someone tried to wake him?”
“Goodness, he’s over fifty, but his fighting spirit hasn’t diminished a bit.”
“That’s not my concern; we can’t make the guest wait.” Saying this, Franca pushed Balth’s hand aside and stubbornly tried to open the door.
“Hey, calm down, Franca. If the old man really gets angry, it won’t be a joke.”
“Get out of the way, don’t block me.”
“Why do I feel like you’re extra cranky today?”
“Damn it, Balth, how dare you insult me!”
“I didn’t!”
“You did!”
Seeing that the situation was getting tense, Joy quickly stepped forward to intervene: “Hey, young people, calm down, calm down.”
“How about this, I’ll just take a quick look without waking him up. Would that be okay?” Joy suggested.
“Uh…”
Balth still seemed a bit hesitant. He knew his father’s temperament too well—stubborn, extreme, and when angry, he would recognize no one.
But at that moment, another spiritual fluctuation came through.
“It’s fine, let her in; nothing will happen.”
Balth was stunned for a moment and then nodded: “Okay, just be careful; if you wake the old man, it’ll be troublesome.”
With that, Balth and Franca stepped aside to clear the way.
Joy nodded and then pushed open the door.
Inside the room, a rugged-looking old man was lying in bed and sleeping soundly.
Joy slowly approached him, clearly seeing his features and confirming he was the person she wanted to find.
To be honest, it had been forty years, and many memories had faded, but she had never forgotten her family for a moment.
Gradually, Joy’s eyes grew moist as she looked at Roderick, who was snoring in his sleep, and couldn’t help but smile. She then reached out her hand and slapped him on the right side of his face.
“Hey, you little brat, what time is it? Why are you still sleeping?”
Roderick was instantly awakened and shot up, angrily shouting, “Damn it, who is the fool that dares to disturb my sleep?”
But Joy was unafraid and swiftly delivered another slap to Roderick’s left cheek: “I slapped you, what about it?!”
Balth felt he was about to pee himself and hurriedly dashed into the room to stand in front of Joy.
His old man was a distinguished A-Rank Adventurer; if he ever lost control and punched Joy in the face, it could be fatal.
But in the next moment.
“Step aside.” Roderick glared at Balth and coldly said.
“Hey, Dad, listen to me; this old lady might be…”
“Bang!”
Before Balth could finish, Roderick kicked him aside and slowly walked up to Joy, raising his hardened palm.
“Dad, no!” Balth exclaimed.
“Smack!” The sound of a huge slap echoed throughout the entire room.
But that slap did not land on Joy; instead, it struck Roderick’s own face.
“Smack, smack, smack!”
Roderick slapped himself three more times, leaving red marks on his weathered face.
Yet his expression showed no pain; on the contrary, he began to laugh uncontrollably.
“I can’t be dreaming, can I?”
“Idiot, of course not.” Joy smiled as she caressed Roderick’s face, gently saying, “Roderick, I’m back.”
“Ah!!!!”
Excited cries echoed through the entire room as Roderick rushed to hug the old woman, shouting with all his might, “I knew it! I knew it! I knew you were still alive! Hahaha, hahaha!”
Roderick’s face flushed, tears slowly streaming down his pale cheeks as countless memories surged into his mind.
“Hey, you little brat, how can you still be sleeping so late? Get up and get to work.”
“Oh my silly brother, eat more; look at you, so skinny that you probably can’t even defeat me. What will you do if someone bullies you in the future?”
“What? You got beaten up!”
“Go to hell; if you dare bully my brother, I’ll make sure your mother doesn’t recognize you.”
“Oh, it’s just a confession failure, what’s there to cry about?”
“Alright, alright, don’t cry; it’s just a little Fenny. I’ll help you win her over.”
“How is it? I didn’t lie, did I? Isn’t it particularly nice to have a girlfriend?”
“Roderick, hurry up and come with me, the Demon Tribe is coming.”
“You filthy demons, don’t you dare touch my brother!”
“Roderick, run! Run! Don’t look back! Just run!”
“…”
Joy embraced Roderick from behind, gently stroking his head: “Oh dear, don’t cry. At your age, what’s there to cry about?”
“I’m not crying; I’m not crying.” Roderick hastily wiped away his tears and said loudly: “Sister Joy, welcome home.”
……
In a dark hall, Gideon was watching everything in the room through a phantom screen.
Seeing that Joy and Roderick finally reunited, Gideon let out a sigh of relief.
It was a tumultuous journey, encountering bandits and low-level monsters, with Nia and Hunt getting injured and forced to leave the team, and Joy’s legal documents not being processed, and so on. The one-month journey had stretched to three months.
Fortunately, he still had a “Phantom Clone” with Joy, so whenever she encountered trouble, he could lend a hand to turn danger into safety.
Though the process had been a bit winding, he ultimately managed to safely bring Joy back to her hometown.
“Joy, from now on you will live with Roderick and them.”
“Roderick is a trustworthy person.”
“In my previous life, I’ve seen him; he searched for you his entire life and never forgot your existence.”
“With him by your side, I feel at ease.”
Gideon waved his hand, and the phantom screen instantly vanished.
At the same time, the phantom shadow in Joy’s shadow turned into ashes.
“Goodbye, Joy. I wish you happiness.”
