NOVEL NEXT Chapter 30: Little Lilith's Fury
East Mediterranean.
Mia suddenly leaped into the air, teleporting the massive swarm of drones away from a distance.
Then she landed back on the deck, diving into the Squad Leader's arms.
"Aske! Hehe, Aske." Mia snuggled up to him playfully, while Aske held her and tapped her nose, finding it a bit amusing—this grown woman still had the heart of a child.
Miel sat quietly nearby, peeling grapes from a basket and feeding them to Aske and little Lilith one by one.
Since the last conversation in the cabin, Miel had spoken to Mia about something, and the two had reached a consensus, agreeing to stay by the Squad Leader's side together.
Aske was naturally delighted with the company and care of the two, enjoying every moment. Little Lilith, though she had two new aunts, didn't seem particularly happy, but rather a bit subtly annoyed.
"What's up with my dad... How did he manage that?" she thought to herself.
Lately, she hadn't stopped trying to stir things up, but that pink-haired aunt... according to her mother, she should be a half-elf, who seemed to have the ability to see through people's minds, easily read her intentions, making Lilith too intimidated to say much.
She could only huff and compete with Mia for attention, like fighting for her father's embrace. Thanks to her age and being the daughter, little Lilith often ended up winning, leaving Mia quite annoyed.
So, Mia would hug Aske and shower him with kisses, then provocatively glance at little Lilith.
"You kissed the wrong spot!" little Lilith declared proudly, "You should kiss the forehead instead."
Mia: ???
"Turns out you don't understand anything." Mia clasped her chest, looking at little Lilith in pity.
"What?!" Little Lilith felt utterly humiliated. She was the daughter of the Enchanting Demon Queen, level 2 in transcendent abilities at the age of 5, inheriting the wisdom of the Red Witch, and yet... well, indeed didn't understand anything.
So she secretly vowed that tonight she would sneak into her father's cabin to see what the two aunts Mia and Miel were up to.
...
That night.
After arranging the night watch, the sailors headed to the lower cabins to rest.
As Squad Leader, Mia and Miel's quarters were on the upper level. Being above the waterline, the cabin windows could open, allowing the cool sea breeze to flow in.
Little Lilith, using her Mind Blind Zone ability, slipped in quietly while the door was ajar and hid in the corner of the cabin, wordless.
She saw Aske sitting by the cabin window, diligently writing something.
Even with the slightly picky aesthetics of an Enchanting Demon, she had to admit her father was quite the charming handsome guy… a mature handsome guy.
Nonetheless, her aunts also possessed good looks, strength, and status, so why were they all so fixed on her father? Unless he had something beyond personal charm.
As Lilith pondered this, she saw Aunt Mia walking out of the bathroom, looking as if she had just finished bathing.
On the ship, fresh water was a precious resource—or it used to be—but for Miel, as long as there was a bucket of fresh water, it meant countless buckets in a parallel world.
Therefore, a bathroom was built next to the captain's cabin, convenient for everyone to bathe anytime.
After Mia finished her bath, she wrapped in a towel and climbed onto Aske's lap, making little Lilith tremble with anger.
"That's my spot!"
But Mia obviously couldn't sense her thoughts. She just clung to Aske's neck, being coquettish and asking the Squad Leader to tell her a story—which gave little Lilith a sense of imminent replacement.
"I haven't even had my father tell me a story!!!"
"What are you doing?" Suddenly a voice sounded beside her, almost scaring little Lilith out of her wits.
She quickly turned her head, only to see Aunt Miel beside her looking at her curiously.
Aske immediately stood up, lifting Mia off his lap.
Mia instantly flickered to the ground and then used a Ripple Sword—little Lilith was teleported to the deck.
When little Lilith, furious, dashed below deck once more, she found the cabin already locked from the inside.
Aaaaagh! She smashed and kicked the door in rage, but the opposite side received all the impact in silence, unmoved.
"They're up to no good again! Not letting me know!"
...
"The drone swarm signal is silent."
Above the ocean, Nora, flying with vast wings flapping, suddenly spoke to her two companions.
"As expected," Medea remarked, "Where did the swarm get teleported to?"
"The sea floor," Nora replied, "crushed by the water pressure."
"Soon their ships will meet the same fate," Sigrdrifa coldly predicted.
"Sigrdrifa, we're here to reclaim Aske, not to kill them," Nora gently advised, "Their activities in the Mediterranean don't pose any threat to your status in the Northern Realm."
"Suit yourself," Medea shrugged, "They've always been your enemies anyway."
Nora didn't respond, her thoughts drifting once again.
Though both sides seemed to be cooperating at present, she and Eleanor were at a severe disadvantage.
Eleanor was pregnant, and complications with the fetus required hospitalization and care. Nora's physical condition was similar, and she wasn't the kind to excel in direct confrontation; fighting alone was out of the question.
In essence, the predicament she faced was that successfully reclaiming the Squad Leader would ultimately be to the benefit of Medea and Sigrdrifa.
Undoubtedly, with Medea's abilities, she could hide Aske in a place no one could find, like some corner of the Purgatory Plane.
Conversely, if they failed, Miel could take the Squad Leader to the distant Ilanian Plateau, making retrieval even harder.
In reality, both outcomes were unacceptable. The key was that Nora was the weakest in this triangle, unable to leverage the advantages of her Church Court Holy Daughter status and even her combat capability was impaired by pregnancy.
Introducing external forces to break the current balance was necessary.
Theodora and Peggy, campaigning in the East Mediterranean, were undoubtedly the best choice. Alternatively, if Aske returned to Constantinople, Nora and Eleanor at least could see him, with a chance to reclaim him.
If he fell into the hands of Medea or Miel, retrieving her husband would be nearly impossible—because he simply couldn't be found.
Therefore, Nora had already used secret communication channels to discreetly notify Theodora in Jerusalem, urging her to quickly send Peggy to contest for the Squad Leader.
The only question was whether Peggy could make it in time.
Hold on, Aske! Nora silently prayed.
I will come to save you!