Chapter 129 - Date or Dead
I turned off the faucet and faced toward Angelica.
Her two moist blue eyes were staring straight at me.
As usual, looking into those eyes made my heart feel restless.
There was a demonic light in them that could drive a man mad.
I tried my best to feign composure and placed my hands on Angelica's shoulders.
I brought my face close to her ear and spoke as if to admonish her.
"As I told you before, I won't consider you a romantic interest until you become an adult. Please understand."
"...Why is that?"
She glared up at me, as if asking if she was really that childish.
"It's not that. It's because you are precious to me."
Glancing briefly toward the living room, I saw Philia jumping around on the bed.
As for Ayako-chan, she had her back turned to us while folding laundry. However, she was definitely eavesdropping. I could tell. This conversation was being overheard.
Therefore, a slip of the tongue was absolutely unforgivable.
"If I'm precious to you, then why can't you just hold me gently?"
"...It's precisely because you're precious that I'm choosing not to hold you. You understand, right?"
"I don't understand at all."
"No... it's... well... Ange, you're a minor... and you're small... and thin... it feels like you might break if I touch you... or rather, I can't just handle you thoughtlessly..."
Hmm? Angelica raised an eyebrow.
I couldn't tell which part of her expression held what intention.
"T-That's why, um. It's because I wish for your healthy physical and mental growth that I'm trying to exclude you from being a sexual object. Do you get it? If you were just some woman I didn't care about, I wouldn't be feeling this conflicted, believe me."
"Is Father feeling conflicted about me?"
"...Eh? ...Ah, w-well. ...Even now, honestly, it's hard for me to even look you in the eye... Is that okay? Listen, physically, I feel your feminine charm to the fullest, you know? A young, beautiful girl! You smell good and your chest is big! I could hold you as much as I want! But I'm desperately suppressing it with reason and parental affection, trying to fulfill my role as a guardian! I'm probably the man who loves Ange most in every sense of the word!?"
"Ah! Father is being reckless again and saying embarrassing things!"
[Angelica's Affection Level has increased by 200]
Was that a slip of the tongue? I glanced sideways at Ayako-chan.
I could see her gripping my boxer briefs tightly, trembling with rage.
This is pretty bad.
It's a case of "if you favor one, you lose the other." At this rate, we might end up in a messy daytime soap opera.
Our house has knives, and Ayako-chan is quite skilled at handling them.
"...Let's change locations. Besides, we were originally supposed to go out, just the two of us."
Taking the hand of Angelica, who had begun to speak in an entirely cheerful voice, I headed toward the living room.
Approaching Ayako-chan alone was a bit too scary for me to manage.
"Did you hear that conversation just now?"
"..."
You definitely heard it, right? I asked Ayako-chan with certainty, but she silently shook her head.
I could see an image of dark-attribute flames flickering behind her, but if she claimed she didn't hear it, I had no choice but to believe her.
"Ange and I are going out for a bit."
"...I see."
Will you be late returning? she asked in a voice devoid of emotion.
If we head out now, we might not be back until night.
"We might end up having dinner out, just the two of us."
"...I understand."
Scary.
The highlights in her eyes were getting smaller and smaller.
"Um, Nakamoto-san."
"Hmm?"
"When you return, could you give me the opportunity to speak with you, just the two of us?"
"...With Ayako-chan?"
"Yes."
A: No. I don't want to die. I refuse.B: I'm tired today, and I want to go to sleep early when I get back. Can we do it another time?C: Of course, you're more than welcome. After all, it's between me and Ayako-chan.
"Today I'm tir—"
"Around ten-thirty. I'll be waiting at the park next door."
"Yes."
There was an irresistible pressure in her voice. I couldn't refuse.
"Father, what do you think I should wear?"
At Angelica's incredibly bright voice, a question arose in my mind: why is this girl so unfazed?
I whispered softly to Angelica, who was rummaging through the drawer under the bed, putting on a one-woman fashion show.
(A-Ayako-chan is angry, right? What do you think I should do?)
(Why would Ayako be in a bad mood?)
(...Didn't you feel anything when you were talking to me in the kitchen just now?)
(When I'm close to you, Father, my whole head turns into nothing but you, so I don't care about my surroundings. Was Ayako doing something?)
Is this a case of a complicated father complex, or does she simply have no interest in her surroundings?
It's probably both.
In short, Angelica is a proper foreigner.
She doesn't look around as much as a Japanese person would. She doesn't pay attention to her surroundings.
It's like she's saying, "I am my own person, and I shall walk my own path!"
Conversely, Ayako-chan, who was a Yamato Nadeshiko for better or worse, showed her versatility by turning into a human bugging device while folding laundry.
"Come to think of it, Ayako looks down, doesn't she? Did something happen?"
To Angelica, who tilted her head curiously, Ayako-chan responded with a bright smile, saying it was nothing.
＊ ＊ ＊
In the end, after much deliberation, Angelica chose the clothes I had first bought for her.
A gray hoodie, a black tight skirt, and tights. In short, they were clothes chosen with Rio's sense, but since they were her first gift, she seemed to have an attachment to them.
...I wonder if she's wearing the underwear from that time too.
"Fufun. I've properly made sure my panties are the ones from that day, too."
"What a coincidence, actually I wondered for a split second what you were wearing... wait, you don't have to show me!"
We're in the middle of town!
I instinctively looked around, thinking about what we'd do if someone saw us, but I couldn't find any people.
The residential area, transitioning from afternoon to evening, seemed to be taking a brief respite before the upcoming rush hour.
It could be called lonely, or it could be called quality time for a parent and child.
Walking side by side with Angelica on the deserted road. Both of our shadows stretched longer than our heights, making me realize the sun had already begun to dip.
"Shall we—hold hands?"
"That's a bit too embarrassing."
"Can't we just use Concealment Magic? Then it'll be a world for just the two of us."
Then she asked in a somewhat worried voice, "By the way, is it okay for me to show my face so openly today?"
"Yeah, there's no problem with that. In fact, that's the main point of this outing."
"?"
"...I have something to give you later."
"Look forward to it," I said, hurrying her along.
It wouldn't have mattered where I gave it to her, but since I hadn't been able to dote on Angelica lately, I decided to entertain her for a while.
In short, it was family service.
It is definitely not a date. Definitely.