Third Best Option

Miel sat in silence.

Adam Renier Brazinger.

His meditation was disrupted, his mind spiraling down a well of memories. Every so often he would remember his true name and it would fill him with a rage that was difficult to temper down. Maybe the reason his visage was always so unmoved was precisely because he had gotten so used to burying this name and everything that came with it down into the depths of his soul.

Realizing that his blood wouldn't be calming down any time soon, Miel began to think about the problem at hand. Not only was he worried about his daughter who was making progress that was far too slow in comparison to his expectations, but there was also the issue of this mysterious organization.

Aina seemed to be improving everyday, gaining more thing to add to her own 'moral' code and slowly building up what could be considered to be a 'personality'. But the main issue was that it most definitely wasn't her…

Miel had no idea who this 'Leonel' character was until Yuri and Savahn explained to him that he was his daughter's first boyfriend.

In truth, Miel had a difficult time accepting this, as any father would. At the very least, he wanted his daughter's first boyfriend to be vetted by him. How would she know what was or wasn't a good man without him by her side? Wouldn't she have to slowly test by herself in that case? Wouldn't that result in her making a lot of mistakes?

Miel had never really considered this possibility before, and maybe that was because he was too foolish. His daughter was human, after all. Who was he to tell her she couldn't have feelings for another? Wasn't it his fault to begin with that he had never been there?

But this wasn't even the main root of the problem any longer. Of course Miel felt lacking, but the root cause of his worries was that Aina seemed to be trying to build herself up as a second Leonel. She had hinged her whole world around this 'love' she said she felt for this person and had begun to build up qualities she believed he had from the ground up.

The problem then was obvious: Whatever the end result would be would never be his Aina.

To state the obvious, Aina and Leonel were almost nothing alike.

One hated to kill, the other was indifferent to it. One wanted to save the people of the world, while the other was only interested in bettering her own life and those she cared about. One was a slave to analytics and refused to rely on his own instincts, while the other was a battle maniac fully prepared to rely on whatever it took to make herself stronger. In fact, Aina's entire ability was based around her instincts.

It wasn't so exaggerated that they were polar opposites, but there were definitely fundamental and foundational differences between them that could never be equated.

Aina's own self seemed to realize this as her progress forward was at a snail's pace. It seemed that while she was rebuilding her personality, she was simultaneously going against everything that made her, her.

Miel really didn't know how to deal with this situation. The only way seemed to be to convince Aina that her love for Leonel wasn't that important, but he couldn't find it in himself to manipulate his daughter like that.

The second best option seemed to be to have Aina meet Leonel again. At least that way, it might trigger something and act as a catalyst for the real Aina to awaken.

But, not only was there no guarantee for this to work, it was also extremely risky. Who knows what this Leonel would say to his daughter if they ever met again? Aina seemed to repeat all the time that he hated her now, what if he said something in a rage that would send Aina spiraling down a dark path?

The third option and the one of least risk while potentially being able to work would be to have Aina replace Leonel of her own accord. If she chose to replace Leonel, the foundation for her personality would no longer have to be his qualities and she would finally be able to follow her own path.

This option was slightly different from the first option. Rather than convincing Aina that Leonel wasn't important, it would be allowing her to move on. Leonel would still be an important memory to her, but he would shift just enough to the background that the true Aina could shine through.

In truth, all of this made Miel greatly hesitant. He hadn't wanted to interfere in his daughter's awakening process, but he hadn't expected this Leonel to be such a problem. It would have been easiest if he had sealed memories of him away before doing this, but by now Aina's mind was too powerful for even Yuri to handle.

'… If I allow things to continue on in this way, I'll lose my daughter forever.'

Miel closed his eyes. The risks weighed heavily on his heart but he knew that inaction was no longer an option. Aina would no longer be if he didn't step in.

That led Miel to the second problem: the mysterious organization.

He knew well that it was already too late for him. That organization didn't accept anyone beyond the Fifth Dimension as they had a specific method of molding Sixth Dimensional existences to groom powerhouses. However, this was an opportunity he wanted for Aina, not himself.

The trouble was that even a spot to participate in a selection was hard to come by, giving this spot over to a Vassal, especially one that only had a single generation to offer for now, would be a hard pill for the Viola family to swallow.

That said… It seemed that his first and second problem had the same solution, did they not?

'This plan will make me an enemy of the Viola family, but for the sake of my daughter…'Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

Miel's gaze snapped opened, a cold light hidden within.

He needed to use the Viola family, but he would never allow his daughter to exchange her innocence for something like this. Even if he had to massacre them to their last person after they had fulfilled their worth, he would do so.

With a flip of his palm, Miel revealed a talisman. It glowed for a moment before a familiar voice spoke out on the other side.