Chapter 1181 - There Are No Pipe Dreams
"Could I ask you?"
"Ah, yes..."
On the table. Shown the glass that had emptied before I knew it by Tetsugo-shi, it wasn't that my waiter blood was stirring, but I reflexively picked up the beer bottle.
And yet, even while pouring.
"You seem greatly troubled. Though it is only natural."
"..."
I was indeed troubled... or rather, because I was directed a reaction and playfulness that went far diagonally above my expectations, or rather my hopes, I truly didn't know what to do.
"Thank you. As expected, you look the part."
"...I am humbled."
That said, that ingrained skills do not betray you is the same in both the real world and the virtual world. Finishing pouring while avoiding any clumsy blunders, Tetsugo-shi offered his thanks and a compliment... and took another sip.
He probably knows my entire part-time job history. It's a bit late for that now—
"There is only one thing I require of my daughter's 'partner'."
Apparently, there is no time for me to catch my breath. As he quietly set down his glass, Tetsugo-shi gazed at the table where several dishes were already lined up... which is to say, without turning his gaze toward me.
As if muttering to himself, yet certainly spinning words directed at me.
"No matter what happens, to surely stay together until the end. To pledge that 'single thing' without fail, and to always reach out a hand when she seems about to disappear."
Just like listing wishes.
"Really, just that is fine. What she needs is...—the absolute necessity for her is only that. ...Ah, Kasuga-kun."
While staring off somewhere, he said,
"Regarding that point, I do not doubt you."
"..."
He gave me, in words, a 'trust' that made me hesitate to return any half-hearted reply.
"I am glad it was you."
"..., ......"
His black eyes looked toward me once again.
In many senses, the words to reply would not come out from the back of my throat.
"...It is certainly a relationship that is more than a little complicated, but the current situation where the four of you love each other is, if anything, preferable. This is no joke either."
"............That is"
"For me, having more 'family' who will walk the future with her is honestly preferable. You could also rephrase it as reassuring. ...Alicia-kun especially."
Of course, Liliania-kun is also an irreplaceable existence as a close and intimate emotional support—adding those words, which were probably a follow-up for Nia, or perhaps his true feelings.
"If she... if Sora nods to you, I had absolutely no intention of interfering from the very beginning. From the start...—from the moment I proposed the fake engagement to you."
"......You knew it would turn out like this."
"Yes. And I wished for it to turn out like this, too."
He, who must be a father extremely far removed from a "normal father," indeed. Without hesitation, he voiced his true feelings, which a normal father would never declare.
"Kasuga-kun."
"...Yes."
And then, after taking a breath, Tetsugo-shi called my name,
"—Even so, and precisely because of that, I will not tolerate half-measures. You understand, don't you?"
He declared with a sharp glint in his eyes, accompanied by an ocular pressure that would normally make me shiver in fear.
I did not avert my eyes. For a reason different from fear, I was embarrassingly aware that my eyes were moist... but if I didn't meet his gaze here, it would truly be a lifelong shame.
Therefore, at close range.
"Yes."
I replied straight and resolutely.
"Do not do something half-assed like one-third."
"I will not go back on my word. I will dedicate my entire life to each one of them."
As if showing a life-or-death determination that this was not a moment to flinch—
And then,
"...—Haha, of all things to say, do you plan to squeeze out three lifetimes' worth of love?"
As expected, he painted over everything with a gentle smile,
"Precisely because it is the you I know, I shall believe that you will pull it off."
Finally, unable to bear it... he patted my shoulder in a friendly manner as I nodded and looked down to escape his gaze.
◇◆◇◆◇
"—No, my apologies. My mouth just wouldn't stop."
"No, no...! Not at all...!"
Thus, a few hours later.
After finishing the 'conversation' that needed to be had, we moved on to a lavish dinner party that seemed to have been prepared from the start as a 'celebratory feast.' While keeping company with Tetsugo-shi, who was in an unprecedentedly good mood—or rather, talking lightly and cheerfully to the point of slightly breaking character—everything passed in the blink of an eye.
As he stood up and apologized with a very relaxed expression, I hurriedly shook my head.
"I enjoyed it too. ...Um, truly."
Not out of mere politeness, but because I had been given a good time.
To be honest, my memory of the taste of the food is slightly vague, but I thoroughly enjoyed the battle of boasting about his 'beloved daughter' and my 'beloved' from different perspectives with this doting father-sama.
Of course, as expected, it must be thanks to the caliber of the great Representative Yotsuya-sama. I had thought this before, but I couldn't help but feel an atmosphere close to our [Commander-in-Chief].
A caliber that makes one feel at ease to talk. That is surely what you call true charisma.
"Haha—it is nothing but a pleasure to know I will likely get along well with my son-in-law."
"......Um, not yet, okay? I haven't, um, received an answer yet."
That said, I wish he wouldn't resemble him to the point where his dignity quietly goes missing when he becomes a papa. If it were Gossan, I could retort without reservation or mercy... but against Tetsugo-shi, I still can't bring myself to go that far—
"Well then, Nozomi-kun. Shall we go?"
"Yes."
For a little while longer, at least until my heart catches up, as the dignified father-sama of my beloved.
Please keep keeping a stern eye on me.
And with that, Chapter Six, Section Two is hereby concluded.