Adam could hardly accept any of this, and the thought of his own blood, his own daughter, becoming one of those terrifying creatures who laughed maniacally while sowing destruction and death on the battlefield almost drove the human mage to a breakdown, rousing him frantically from nightmares time and again.
With such a future in mind, Adam found the powers that once enthralled him and the knowledge he had coveted to have lost all allure. If possible, he would have preferred to travel back in time, dead set against agreeing to that initial transaction.
But reality was cruel, and the mighty force of time was not something he, as a kind of human mage, could hope to touch. Faced with the even more formidable Dragon Witch Euphilia, Adam had no choice. He knew it was impossible to persuade the fearsome Dragon Witch to abandon her intent of training her daughter to be a war fanatic.
For the Dragon Witch was naturally the most excellent among armed witches, with the brutality of dragon-types inscribed in their genes, their instincts calling and guiding them to the battlefield.
Luckily, just as Adam was nearing despair, he was surprised to find that the terrible witch Euphilia seemed indifferent to his insignificance and had no intention of banishing such a weakling. It appeared the witch wanted to give her daughter a complete family, hence did not wish for Adam, the father, to vanish but instead, unexpectedly trusted him.
Euphilia even bluntly told him that once the child was born, she would need her father's care because she might have to go to battlefields, lacking the time to spend with her child. She might not be a qualified mother, hence hoped the child would receive ample paternal love.
At that moment, Adam realized that this bloodthirsty witch on the battlefield, who was as terrifyingly potent in his heart as deities themselves, might unexpectedly have a bit of low emotional intelligence. She was so naive and didn't understand human emotions at all.
This was the terrible witch's weakness, but also the only opportunity the insignificant himself could exploit.
Thus, Adam agreed. He even deliberately elaborated on various parenting skills that he had just learned in front of Euphilia, tricking the powerful yet internally innocent witch into believing he was an extraordinary parenting expert.
Adam's plan ultimately succeeded. After being pregnant for five years, Euphilia gave birth to a healthy daughter. The newly-minted mother, the Dragon Witch, was so excited that she called Adam to join in welcoming their daughter's arrival and generously allowed Adam to participate in the naming ceremony.
At the time, the Witch Territory was actually facing a critical battle. Winning this battle would secure the family's ascent into the upper echelons of the Dragon Kingdom. Euphilia, already weakened from childbirth, was soon to rush to the battlefield.
However, still excited, the Dragon Witch expended a significant amount of magical power to bestow her daughter with a True Name immediately and then, reassured, handed over her daughter to the "parenting expert" Adam to take care of before she left for the battlefield.
Before leaving, the traditionally stoic Dragon Witch was unusually joyous, even playfully interacting with her daughter, who was dozing in Adam's arms.
"Stay home and wait for me. I'll come back and always be with you once this battle is over,"
the new mother, the Dragon Witch, promised.
And then there was no more "after that."
Upon her triumphant return, Euphilia discovered that her home had been burglarized, her newly born precious daughter and that despicable human mage had vanished without a trace, and nobody knew where they had gone.
The accursed human even specifically took the most top-tier Anti-Divination Treasure from her vault, making it impossible for Euphilia to find them through the omnipotent divination.
The infuriated Dragon Witch was helpless. She could only convert her grief into strength, beginning a furious expansion of her territory to gather enough manpower to search the world for her daughter.
But the Witch World was just too vast; such a needle-in-a-haystack approach theoretically had almost zero chance of success.
However, who says this isn't a world governed by idealism? A believing heart is the greatest magic, and the strong witch's obsession sometimes does turn into miracles.
Just today, sixteen years later, after tracking countless suspects carpet-style, Euphilia finally sensed that similar magical power originating from the same source as hers in a remote, eighteenth-tier small town.
Her eyes rolling back like a dead fish's, she was truly dumbfounded by her bizarre lineage.
Life is hard, the witch sighed.
Sigh, what sins did I commit in my past life to deserve such parents?
Don't ask; asking just makes me tired.