Damien was confused at first. For Elitra's scent to be on him would make sense since she had been hugging him and rubbing her body all over him only a few moments ago, but aura was different.
Every being possessed their own unique aura, which essentially embodied everything they embodied. But for another person's aura to mix into one's own, it meant that the two had a much more intimate relationship.
Only through dual practice could someone else's aura be imprinted onto one's own, and when Damien realized what Demon King Lucius had assumed when he first saw him, the panic started to set in.
"Senior, calm down! It's not what it looks like!"
"Not what it looks like? Are you saying this King is mistaken? You bastard actually dared to lay a hand on my daughter!"
"Senior! Calm down! Impulsive is devil! I didn't do what you're thinking, I just took something from her that had been bothering her for a while!"
"You what?!"
Damien had only worded it in such a way because he didn't know if he should mention the Nihility Flame in front of so many people, but he immediately regretted it. An overprotective father was truly unreasonable.
The pressure on Damien's shoulders had already reached an extreme level. Left with no other choice, Damien reached out his hand and let out a wisp of the flames within his body.
A dense golden flame flickered at the tip of his finger. Since Damien hadn't explored his flames since the change, he wasn't able to separate the Nihility Flames from his new golden flame, but he knew it didn't matter when he felt the pressure on his body start to lessen.
"You…where did you get this flame?"
The Demon King calmed down after seeing the flame. He wasn't stupid, and he wasn't a 4th class for nothing. He could clearly feel the aura of Nihility Flames from the golden flame in Damien's hand. His own Nihility Flames were reacting as if to verify what he sensed.
Damien's words started to make more sense to the Demon King now that he'd seen it. Since Elitra had been born with the Nihility Flame Seedling in her body, her natural aura carried an extremely similar property to the flames themselves.
Demon King Lucius already knew the feeling of Elitra's flame aura like the back of his hand since he was the one who raised her. Since Damien had her flames instead, it would make sense why he had mistakenly thought Damien had forced himself on his daughter.
"Boy, you should learn how to express yourself properly. Otherwise you'll die one day due to the misunderstandings you cause."
Although the Demon King also understood why Damien had chosen not to say it outright, he was an old monster. There was no way he'd lose face by admitting his mistake.
'Thick-skinned is an understatement for this kind of person.' Damien sighed inwardly as he finally relaxed.
"Senior should already know where I got this flame from. But there's no need to worry. I received it with consent and without harming the original owner."
"I see..."
The Demon King Lucius also sighed. He had come to speak about important topics, but things had devolved into such a trivial dispute.
But there was no way he'd trust the words of a stranger so easily.
"If it is as you say, then it shouldn't be a problem for me to see her, no?"
"This…it's a bit difficult."
Damien hesitated. He didn't want to reveal the existence of the Sanctuary so easily.
The Demon King seemed to understand that there was some sort of secret involved, so he immediately signaled the Demon Generals to retreat. Now that his projection had been formed, he only needed them to continue supplying mana. It didn't matter if they left his position while they did so.
Seeing this, Qing Tan also dragged the unwilling Feng Qing'er away. No matter how curious and playful she was, she knew her limits. Even as a projection, a 4th class existence could cause them great harm with his aura alone. Now wasn't the time to be willful.
She would just pester Damien until he spilled everything after the conversation ended.
After everyone had left, Damien did a quick sweep of the area with his awareness before summoning Elitra from the Sanctuary.
"Master!"
Just like before, she called out excitedly before pouncing into his embrace.
Damien froze. He felt a frighteningly cold glare land on him immediately.
'Fuck me!'
He was so caught up in proving his innocence that he had forgotten about a glaring fact.
The girl in his embrace was happily calling him master while ignoring her father who was standing right in front of her. Damien felt a massive headache coming on.
"Ehem, Elitra, why don't you take a look around before acting." He said wryly.
It was only after he mentioned it that she scanned the surroundings. When she finally noticed the man she had been ignoring, her eyes went wide as saucers.
"F-father! Since when were you here?"
"Since the beginning."
"I-I see! W-well then…bye!"
Elitra took off running with her face more crimson than her eyes. She wanted to dig a hole and hide in shame.
Damien quickly teleported over and grabbed her before bringing her back. The girl seemed to have forgotten that her mana was still sealed.
Demon King Lucius sighed lightly. "You're still the same as always."
He seemed relieved. Ignoring the whole 'Master' thing, if Elitra was still able to act so willful and cheery, it was obvious she hadn't been mistreated.
"Thank you for taking care of my daughter."
He sincerely thanked Damien. Meanwhile, Damien was sweating buckets.
'Let's make sure he never figures out that she was legless until about 5 minutes ago. That's probably for the best.'
"It's no problem. How can I mistreat the daughter of a 4th class existence? It's simply impossible."
"Hmm. But you somehow got the daughter of a 4th class existence to happily call you Master. You must be feeling proud of yourself."
"Okay let's not twist the facts here. She called me Master first and I begrudgingly accepted it."
"I called you Lord first, though! I'm calling you Master now because you seemed to like it better!" Elitra chimed in.
"Ha…Haha…"
It was Damien's turn to feel like running away. This girl seemed hell-bent on bringing trouble to him.
'I think I'm starting to regret taking her as my maid, cough, I mean servant. Yeah, servant.'
Seeing the interaction between the two made Demon King Lucius smile inadvertently. Truth be told, it had been a long time since Elitra could behave so freely.
Her Nihility Flames had been a burden that she was never able to properly carry. Now that the burden had been lifted from her shoulders, she seemed to have reverted to her previous self.
And while he wanted to give his daughter more time to act joyful, as well as figure out the whole thing about her calling the man in front of him Master, he knew he didn't have much time as a projection. Those matters could be taken care of once they met in person.
"Very well. Now that I've seen my daughter safe and sound, I'd like to get to the topic I originally came to speak to you about."
Damien also became serious when he heard the words.
"How do you feel about forming an alliance with me?"
