Cynthia’s daughter.

“Wait, daughter?” Nanami asked with an eyebrow raised in confusion.

“Hm? Did I not tell you?” Cynthia asked. “I have a daughter about Will’s age.”

“First I’m hearing of it,” Ruth said. “Then again, we should’ve asked.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I don’t really like talking about my personal life, so it’s my fault,” Cynthia admitted.

“W-Wait, is your daughter…” Nanami’s gaze turned towards Belphegor. Or more likely, Cynthia believed, towards the body the old demon was occupying.

“What?” The old man asked.

“No, she’s not Jack’s daughter,” Cynthia said. “She’s… from a previous relationship. A very short relationship.”

Nanami flinched and grimaced. “S-Sorry. I won’t ask more.”

Anna walked over to Cynthia. “Want me to go get that flash drive for you?” she offered.

“No. I’m the one who asked her. The least I can do is go meet her. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Cynthia left Will’s apartment and entered the elevator. The ride down presented her with the quiet time and silence she was actively trying to escape.

Will was missing. Her William was missing. The young man she took a liking to, who she decided to sleep with on a whim because he was just so handsome and sexy. The young man who ended up becoming a pillar of strength for her was missing and in danger. Her heart almost couldn’t take it.

Work was a good way to keep her mind elsewhere. It always was. It just so happened that, while she had her laptop with her, there were a couple of files she hadn’t backed up on her cloud storage and were only in her flash drive. She was sure her daughter wasn’t doing anything important, so she asked for a favor. The fact that she asked for a new coat instead of making an excuse confirmed that.

…

“You have to be safe, Will… I can’t lose you,” she muttered under a heavy sigh.

Cynthia arrived at the first floor, stepped out of the elevator and walked out of the building, finding her daughter’s car parked just outside. The young woman stepped out of the silver luxury sedan and took off her sunglasses.

“What are you even doing in this backwater neighborhood? What’s in this building?” the girl asked.

“Hello, Melissa. It’s good to see you, too,” Cynthia greeted dryly.

Melissa Davis, Cynthia’s only daughter. She had her way before she even met Jack, and when she married the man Melissa saw no reason to change her last name. She had long blonde hair, just like her. She was about Will’s height, too, now that she thought about it.

“Here’s the flash drive,” Melissa said, handing Cynthia the small device, then looking up at the building again. “Now, seriously, what’s with this place? A new office building? Here?”

“I’m… with some friends right now,” Cynthia said, crossing her arms below her chest. “We’re dealing with something important right now.”

“Something important? Work stuff?”

“Kind of, but it’s mostly… personal.”

Melissa raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Oh? Is it about the man you left Jack for and who you refuse to tell me anything about?”

Cynthia sighed. “Perhaps.”

“Come on! You introduced Jack to me the day you met him but you can’t tell me anything about this guy? Why all the mystery?”

“Oh? And why do you refuse to tell me the reason you broke up with that nice young man from your university?”

Melissa scowled. “I told you, I just got bored of him…”

Cynthia sighed. Her relationship with her daughter wasn’t the best. She had admitted as much to Will one time. But with all this stuff about magic and the underworld, she could tell her even less. Explaining the divorce, at least, was easy because Melissa never liked Jack to begin with.

“Sorry, Mel, but I have stuff to do. Here, fill your car,” Cynthia said, giving Melissa her own credit card, making the younger woman’s eyebrows shoot up.

“W-Wait, your…”

“Buy that coat if you want,” Cynthia said. “Just don’t go crazy or we’ll talk when the bill arrives.”

Melissa smiled from ear to ear and jumped to give Cynthia a hard kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, mom! You’re the best!”

Cynthia smiled, but she couldn’t really feel happy about it. She watched Melissa drive off in the car she had bought for her when she graduated high school.

She always defaulted to that, huh? Using money to make her daughter happy. She was aware it wasn’t the right response, but… Cynthia wasn’t ready to be a mother, much less a single mother.

Work hard, get ahead, secure a high, stable income to be able to raise that girl properly. Work hard to give her a good education and a worthy life. Work hard so she grows up wanting for nothing.

…

Cynthia often wonders if her daughter thinks of her as a mother at all.

She went back into the building, took the elevator up and returned to the apartment, somehow more tired than she was just minutes ago.

“Oh, good. The lass in back,” Belphegor said, looking at Cynthia.

“Hey, I know you measure time differently from us, but Cynthia is far from a ‘lass’,” Amelia told him.

“And here I was about to feel flattered,” Cynthia said with a faint chuckle.

“No, of course I know that. I mean our missing princess has come home. Now the question is, where is the lad? Let’s hope our princess has the answer to that.”

“W-Wait, sir, what are you talking about?” Nanami asked on behalf of everyone.

“Do you have another one of those elixirs, lass? Give one to Cynthia here and you’ll have your answer.”

Stunned, Cynthia turned to look at Nanami before finally nodding in agreement to the proposal. Nanami went into her bag and procured another vial of the pink liquid.

Cynthia hesitated for a moment, but if Nanami, the one who made the thing, deemed it safe, then she would trust her. Besides, she had made it with Will’s magic, and she had been on the receiving end of that plenty of times already.

She drank the potion, feeling strong heat coursing through her body, feeling faint pleasure similar to that of a coming climax. Then, she heard a voice inside her own head.

‘Oh, thank GOD you can hear me now! It’s me! Ishtar! Sorry, but do you mind if I take over your body for a moment? I’ll explain everything.’

Cynthia thought her chest was about to burst from joy. She had never heard this exact voice, but she knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was indeed Ishtar and gave up her body without a second thought.