The room was sealed shut, windows covered, and Lin Luo sat on a chair, facing the person opposite him, feeling a degree of tension. It had been a long time since he felt this way, yet truthfully, the sensation made him feel as if he were returning to an ordinary life.

Konoe Eion poured a cup of tea for Lin Luo, and then another for himself. After sipping his tea, he remained silent, seemingly deep in thought, choosing his words carefully. Lin Luo felt a bit vexed; what was the meaning of this silence? Furthermore, how much did the other party know? And what were his intentions?

"Teacher Lin Luo..." After several minutes, Konoe Eion finally spoke. Before he could continue, and in order to prevent the harem from being jeopardized, to maintain the peace of the 'compromised ship,' and to ensure that any potentially disharmonious conversation would not leave this room, Lin Luo promptly cast a soundproofing barrier.

The barrier was unremarkable, but with his current abilities, he could execute it almost without anyone noticing. Should anyone outside attempt to breach it, he would sense it instantly.

"Teacher Lin Luo, I suspect you already have an idea why I sought you out, so I won't beat around the bush and will speak directly." He paused, then continued, "I want to know precisely what the relationship is between you and my daughter, Moka?"

You're too direct, sir!

Lin Luo felt a flush of embarrassment. He had removed far too many layers of subtlety—this got straight to the core, this wasn't how it was supposed to go.

"Well, how should I put this?... How much do you know?" Lin Luo hesitated before asking back. He found it strange; he had felt a flicker of fear just now, which was impossible! He was significantly stronger than Konoe Eion, so what was there to be afraid of? If being afraid was because he was involved with his daughter, then facing Tōsaka Tokiomi shouldn't have caused him any stress either, right?

After much thought, Lin Luo couldn't figure it out. Was it the difference between a small girl and a young maiden?

"Heh, I don't know a great deal," Konoe Eion chuckled before saying, "I only heard from Al that when you fought him at the Martial Arts Tournament, you called him 'Father-in-law,' and the one you addressed was a clone of me. Is that right?"

"Ptooey!"

The tea Lin Luo had just brought to his lips erupted in a spray. Fortunately, his aim wasn't too poor, and he didn't splash Konoe Eion. Wiping his mouth, Lin Luo had only one thought: Al, I'm going to kill him!

"...If I said it was just something I muttered casually, would you believe me?"

Konoe Eion shook his head. "Actually, I didn't initially believe it; I thought Al was just joking with me. But then I remembered the incident during the school trip, so I specifically sought out Setsuna to inquire. According to her, she once saw you and Moka embracing and kissing passionately on the mountaintop. It was only then that I believed Al."

Lin Luo was utterly stunned. For a father to discuss his daughter being intimate with another man so calmly—was this truly alright? Had he fallen behind the times? Or was this the general sentiment in Japan? Then again, Setsuna reporting on this—he definitely needed to discipline her later.

Without waiting for Lin Luo to speak, Konoe Eion continued, "Don't blame Setsuna. Although she has great talent in swordsmanship, her personality is rather rigid, and her mind doesn't turn quickly. It wasn't that she intended to tell me about this; I had to circle around a few times to coax the information out of her. What I want to ask is... Teacher Lin Luo, are you involved with Moka?"

"Well, that's roughly the situation," he admitted calmly. The matter was out in the open; denying it further would be excessive. This was going to come out sooner or later; it was just a matter of time. Lin Luo readily admitted it.

"Heh, I see," Konoe Eion smiled, lowering his head to continue drinking his tea, saying nothing more.

Although Lin Luo had no idea what his ultimate plan was, he had calmed down by this point. Since the truth was out, there was no need to hesitate further. He absolutely had to take Moka away; even if Konoe Eion disagreed, it wouldn't matter. Of course, gaining his approval would be best, as he didn't want Moka to be unhappy.

"By the way, how old is Teacher Lin Luo this year?" Konoe Eion suddenly asked.

"...Eighteen, I think," Lin Luo replied uncertainly. His true age wasn't eighteen, of course, but after merging with the Book of Contracts, he had reverted to twelve. He gained one year for every contractor he signed, and he had signed nine so far. So...? Well, it didn't really matter, as his body stopped aging once he became the King of the World. Both his build and appearance remained that of a young man of eighteen or nineteen, like Yukari-sama—forever eighteen.

Oh, Yukari-sama was seventeen, wasn't she?

"Eighteen. Moka is fifteen this year. Age-wise, there isn't an issue..." Konoe Eion pondered slightly. Lin Luo could tell from his tone that he wasn't against it.

After a moment, Konoe Eion continued, "Teacher Lin Luo is exceptional. At such a young age, your power already surpasses ours. If I am not mistaken, you should be stronger now than Nagi was back then. If Moka can marry you, I would be very satisfied. Of course, the prerequisite is that you truly love her." As he said this, the smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by a hint of sternness.

Lin Luo understood a father's concern for his daughter's future, so he didn't mind. He nodded and stated seriously, "I can guarantee that. I sincerely love Moka."

Konoe Eion observed Lin Luo's face intently for a long time, seeming to gauge whether he was lying. After a while, he smiled. "Good. With those words, I can rest easy. Come, have some tea."

Saying that, he poured some water into Lin Luo's cup. Lin Luo wasn't particularly thirsty, but out of respect for his future father-in-law, he drank the tea. Just as he took a sip, another statement came from across the table, "Teacher Lin Luo, that young lady, Misaka Mikoto, she is also your girlfriend, correct?"

"Ptooey!!" This time, Lin Luo sputtered much more violently, nearly swallowing the cup whole... Damn it! Can the topic not switch so rapidly?

He was reeling. How was he supposed to answer this question? If he said no, it would clearly be unfair to Mikoto, and since the other party asked, it implied the half-sibling relationship was definitely out. But if he said yes... Well, if Lin Luo were the father, and his future son-in-law was involved with another woman, he would break that man's legs... This was a third leg!

"Don't worry, don't worry," contrary to Lin Luo's expectation, Konoe Eion didn't seem to take it to heart. He appeared generous and even comforted him, "Seeing your reaction, I know my guess is mostly correct. But you don't need to fret over it; I won't stop you from being with Moka because of this."

"Ah?" Lin Luo was completely stunned. He was juggling two women, and one of them was your daughter, yet you, the father, are telling him not to worry? Am I hallucinating, or are you being excessively magnanimous?

Lin Luo couldn't comprehend it.

"Heh heh," Konoe Eion chuckled, as if sensing Lin Luo's confusion, and explained, "Actually, it's quite normal for men to have multiple wives and concubines. Although the laws have changed now, this phenomenon hasn't entirely disappeared. Moreover, the Konoe family is a very old and traditional lineage. In the generation before my father-in-law, this custom still existed in the family. It was only from my father-in-law's generation onward that the family officially adopted monogamy. So, frankly, while we won't actively support this situation of yours, we won't oppose it either, as long as you don't mistreat Moka."

So that was how it was... Lin Luo suddenly understood. As the saying goes, women turn bad without money, and men turn bad with money. Even in this current era, they might not dare to act openly, but the number of people secretly keeping multiple partners was immense. And this was Japan, after all, which tended to be more liberal in some respects, especially given the ancient roots of the Konoe family.

"That goes without saying; I will absolutely not mistreat Moka." Facing such an open-minded father-in-law, what else could Lin Luo say? If only Mikoto and the others could be as understanding as Konoe Eion.

"Mmm," Konoe Eion nodded, then smiled, "But speaking of which, I truly never imagined that Moka would end up marrying the same man as that 'Gospel of Darkness,' Evangeline, hahaha."

It was a good thing Lin Luo wasn't drinking tea at that moment, or he would have sputtered again.

"Say, just how much do you all already know about me?" Lin Luo felt that perhaps, apart from the Book of Contracts, he had absolutely no secrets left.

"Not that much, just what I mentioned, and that fake diploma."

"...You even know about that?" As expected, his doctorate was gone too.

"Even though we act rather casually, we aren't completely unconcerned about everything," Konoe Eion stated. "In fact, after the school trip concluded and you revealed your power, we launched a series of investigations into you. However, just like with Chou Rinne, we found absolutely nothing about your origins. The only thing we uncovered was that fake diploma. But since you haven't committed any acts detrimental to Mahora, we chose not to expose it."

"I see," Lin Luo nodded. It seemed he had indeed underestimated Mahora. Although most people in Mahora were blockheads lacking common sense, there were quite a few shrewd individuals. Uncovering that fake diploma alone was no simple feat.

Not to mention that his relationship with Eivan and Mikoto was also exposed. While Al played a part in stirring things up, if Mahora didn't have a capable intelligence network, Konoe Eion likely wouldn't have believed the one-sided account from that unscrupulous person, Al.

Well, no matter how you looked at it... the outcome was not bad.