In side the sitting room, Desaray sat on one end of the room while her father sat on the other end. She hated having to do this, but it was to protect her father from her aura. “What did you want to talk about?”

“I’m sorry,” Ricky said softly, his voice slightly choked. 

“Dad, why are you apologizing!? You did nothing wrong. It was something out of our control.” Desaray wanted to go forward and hug her father, but she couldn’t. She could only stay where she was and look at him with a pained expression.

“I should have jumped. I should have done something to get to you.” Ricky eyes were filled with tears. He had wronged his daughter. He should have figured out some path to getting to her.

“If you jumped at the level you were at at that time, you would have died! I am glad you did not jump. Plus…. Becky and the others would not have survived without you. I know you lied about your arm. You lost it protecting them, right?” Desaray smiled as she held out her hand. Hina came out of her hair and landed on it. “Hina, go to my father and give him a hug for me, please.”

“Okay!” Hina flew over and landed on Ricky’s shoulder. He looked at the small figure who leaned in and hugged his neck. 

“Hina is an Ice Spirit. I can’t get close to you at this time, so think of Hina as an extension of me.” Desaray said softly. “Dad. You have always been my hero. Since I was young, I have always looked at you as the blueprint of what it means to be a hero. A person who is willing to do whatever he can in his time of need. You knew if you left Becky and the others, they would die. Even if you could get down with small injuries, what about them? You know, out of all of us, I had the best chance of survival since you taught me. Who knew it would have taken almost two years for us to see each other again?”

“You are right….” Ricky smiled bitterly. “I did think that way, but I still feel I let you down. Desa, you are my pride and joy. I love you and want nothing but for you to be happy. I am glad to see that you have been able to grow this much in a short time. You have formed an impressive kingdom. You have made new friends and allies. You have created a place for yourself. And you did all that on your own without me. 

“I know your physical age is twenty now. But in Earth years, from the day you were born, you are still only sixteen. You are still my little girl. So let me say this. You have done well. You should be proud of yourself.” Ricky wiped his tears and gently patted Hina on the head, causing her to giggle.

“Dad, even if I was one thousand or one million years old, I will always be your little girl,” Desaray replied with a gentle smile. “ I do not know how old I will live to be. My system seems to be forcing me to become a true goddess. Either way, I promise you that I will keep this Kingdom and its people safe and will fight against the demon queens to make sure that you can live a long life. I do wish for you to spend some time with me. We have a two-year gap. I also need to level you up so I can hug you. I want my dad to carry me in his arms and give me a piggyback like he used to. So, Dad, while it might be a little annoying, just put up with things for now, and I promise in at least a month, you will be able to sit next to me instead of halfway across the room. Until then, let your granddaughter give you plenty of hugs and kisses.”

“Hah….” Ricky let out a sigh as he looked at his daughter. “DO you think I am about hardships? I am willing to walk through a sea of fire if it means I can gain the ability to stand at your side. But to think my little girl has a daughter of her own. You know I almost died when you said Lily was your daughter.” 

“Haha! I should have explained it better. Sorry.” Desaray grinned. “But look! I became a blue dragon!”

“That you did. A beautiful one at that. I will need to keep the boys away from you.” Ricky sighed. His daughter had really become too beautiful.

“I don’t care too much for men. They can not match up to my standard of what a man should be like. Who is better than my father? I am pretty content with my current life. I have Lilly and close friends at my side. I am quite happy. Even more so now that I have my father and friends back!” Desaray felt lucky. Everyone she cared about was now within her sights. She no longer had to worry whether her father was dead or alive. Now, she just had to protect it all.