Chapter 134 - If You Satisfy This, Then That...
Angelica's finger was pointing at a room in the apartment. My room.
"I wonder what it is. I feel an intense darkness."
"Darkness? ...Are you using Perception or something?"
"No, this isn't a skill; it's animal instinct, or perhaps a woman's intuition."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
If we're talking about the darkness dwelling in my room—
"It's Ayako-chan, isn't it?"
"I had a bad feeling, so I tried using my Perception skill, but Ayako's malignancy is even more intense than before. It's displaying in a dark reddish-black color, like a festering wound."
"So she's in a pretty bad mood."
Is it really okay to use a skill meant for detecting demons and evil spirits to gauge the mental state of an ordinary Japanese girl?
"Why is Ayako angry? Did the High Priest have an accident with her bladder or something?"
"I can't tell if your intuition is good or bad, Ange."
Good grief. As the Hero, I'll have to enlighten this slow-witted Holy Maiden.
The current Ayako-chan is snapping because I brazenly spat out sweet words to you in the living room.
Moreover, since the two of us went out immediately after, she thinks we're out on a tryst or something.
Honestly. This is why dense foreigners are such a handful.
In short, it was mostly my fault.
"..."
I can feel my back becoming damp with sweat.
I have a violent urge not to return to the apartment.
"Hey, I don't want to go home today. Let's stay somewhere else outside."
"I didn't expect such maidenly dialogue to come from an adult male with a body like steel..."
Leaving me behind in my girly state of terror, Angelica marches forward with steady steps.
Thinking it would be bad to use my daughter as a shield, I scramble after her in a panic.
"Wait, wait, it's dangerous! I'll go in first. You follow behind me."
"Father, you're being too fearful. Ayako has some quirks, but her sexual preferences are perfectly normal for a girl, so I think you can talk it out with her."
"No, her sexual preferences are the most problematic part, though?"
The person who considers that normal is also quite a dangerous individual, I think, as I am once again reminded of the terror of my father-complex daughter.
That's right, in the single regard of sexual preferences, these two are incredibly compatible...
I wonder what kind of conversations Ayako-chan and Angelica usually have?
It's probably better not to ask, but leaving it unasked is even scarier.
So, when I tried to probe a little, it seemed that while there was some discrepancy—with Angelica being part of the "duty faction" and Ayako-chan being part of the "biological father faction"—they mostly only talked about father-daughter marriages.
...And, it seems Angelica prefers situations where she takes a passive role and is doted on by the father. On the other hand, Ayako-chan tends to lean toward a more specialized direction, like 'tending to fathers in a livestock pen within a father farm'... A father farm?
"I'd like a more detailed explanation of that."
I ask fearfully as we climb the stairs.
My fear has now surpassed its limit, but Angelica continues with a tone that suggests it's no big deal.
"She mentioned a dream of becoming the owner of a ranch where only fathers are raised, and making it a system where they get fed every time they mate with Ayako. Even I can't keep up at that level, though."
"I get it, that's enough."
If Ayako-chan's sense of human rights ever strengthened, she might be arrested as a political criminal.
If such a dangerous person's mind is becoming clouded, this is a genuine crisis.
It's not like I'll lose in a fight, but when the opponent is a beautiful girl who harbors romantic feelings for me, it's very difficult to deal with.
In a sense, this is invincibility. Unless one is quite cold-blooded, I don't think I can treat her poorly.
Is it "the weakness of being in love"...? No, that's not quite it.
What exactly are the emotions I hold for Ayako-chan? I feel like sympathy is the largest component, but I can't help feeling that the next closest thing is dread. And as for her appearance, it's a great feast for the eyes, so thank you! That's the feeling.
Thinking about it that way, the closest emotion might be what one feels toward a "beautiful ghost in a horror movie." Like, she's incredibly eerie, but because the actress playing her is so sexy, she's strangely alluring...
Am I thinking incredibly rude things right now?
I shake my head and sprint up the rest of the stairs in two strides.
In the meantime, I arrive in front of the room.
I let out a long breath to steady my nerves.
Alright.
I'm going to make plenty of excuses.
Just as I was about to take out the key with a pathetic determination, the door was opened from the inside first.
"...Wel...come home."
Speak of the devil, I suppose. Ayako-chan makes her appearance.
It seems she heard my footsteps and came to greet me.
"Ah, yeah. I'm home."
"...You're early..."
A voice so thin one would have to listen closely to catch it.
Her skin is pale as if it had been bleached, and the swell of her breasts pushing against her apron from the inside looks as if they're about to burst.
She has the appearance of a refined yet somehow provocative young wife, but her insides are abnormal. People are not to be judged by their looks.
"...Nakamoto-san, isn't your hair a little damp?"
"Eh? ...Ah, maybe I sweated. I did run a bit. Hahaha."
"Ayako, I'm home."
Ayako-chan fixes her gaze intently on Angelica's hair as she arrives late. Please, don't notice, I pray in my heart.
"...And Angelica-san's hair... doesn't it also feel strangely moist?"
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
Angelica and I both play dumb at the same time. It's what you'd call perfect synchronization.
"...And somehow, there's a scent like you've just stepped out of the bath... When it comes to opportunities for men and women to bathe together, I can only have vulgar imaginations... I hope it's just my imagination."
I think it's your imagination, I think to myself.
"I-I agree with Father."
"...That perfect synchronization is what bothers me... Please, let me hear the details later..."
With a graceful chuckle, Ayako-chan retreats into the back.
A slender, supple, feminine silhouette from behind.
The way the bra hook is protruding from her back is so erotic... No, this is no time for such terrible escapism.
I whisper "Status Open" in a low voice and attempt to appraise Ayako-chan.
When you don't know what a girl is thinking, status appraisal is the way to go.
The remarks column is truly reliable.
【Name】Ayako Otsuki
【Level】42
【Class】Housework Assistant
【H P】96
【M P】666
【Attack】66
【Defense】66
【Agility】66
【Magic Attack】666
【Magic Defense】666
【Skill】Father Complex (Madness), Weakening Magic
【Remarks】A girl who was forcibly split. Due to the massive amount of experience points Keisuke Nakamoto acquired being distributed to the Party Members, she is growing into a powerful rear-guard.
Feeling inferior because her official identity as Ayako Otsuki is monopolized by her other self, she finds her identity in performing housework and devoting herself to Keisuke Nakamoto. She believes, "If I clean the room every day and make delicious meals, someday Keisuke-san will love only me."
...You believed it.
That was my only emotional support.
But right now, it seems Keisuke-san likes Angelica-san more than me. Because I have no chance of winning. It's only natural that he would prefer the bright and cute Angelica-san over a dark girl like me who thinks about nothing but disgusting things.
That's right.
Anyone would choose Angelica-san if it were between her and me.
I'm mediocre at both studies and sports, a pervert who fell in love with her own biological father, and on top of that, I've increased to two people so I have no right to live; I'm a deviant who masturbates thinking about Keisuke-san, who looks after my life, so it's only natural to abandon someone like me.
I really am no good. I'm a child who shouldn't be living. It's better if I die.
I'll die tomorrow. I'll cut my wrists and die. Then Keisuke-san will worry about me, and for that moment alone, I can monopolize that person's heart.
...Why does nothing go right...
Even though I love him this much, this much, it doesn't reach Keisuke-san. Even though I love Keisuke-san more than anyone.
Even though I would let Keisuke-san do anything to me. Even though I would give him my everything. My life, my rights, my freedom.
Even if I die, I love him.
Even though I love Keisuke-san more.
Even though I knew Keisuke-san before Angelica-san did.
Even though I love Keisuke-san the most.
Even though I love him more than anyone.
Even though I love everything.
His voice, his eyes, his nose, his mouth, his ears, his Adam's apple, his arms, his legs, his chest, his abdomen, his back, his hips, his blood, his nerves, his organs, his eardrums, his pelvis, his red blood cells, his white blood cells, his immune system—I love every single thing, every single thing so much I can't stand it.
If it's me, I would accept everything about Keisuke-san.
It's definitely me who loves him more.
Even though I love him.
Even though I love him.
Even though I love him.
Even though I love him.
Even though I love him, I love him, I love him, I love him, I love him, I love him, I love him, I love him, I love him, I love him.
"..."
...This is my first experience with a remarks column that switches to the subject's perspective halfway through.
With trembling fingers, I continued to scroll down the bar.
But no matter how far I scrolled, the string of "even though I love him" would not end.
This is likely the longest status window in history.
I softly closed the window and turned my eyes toward Ayako-chan, who was wiping the table. She had a gentle smile on her face, but that made it feel like the calm before a typhoon, which was terrifying.
"...This is bad..."
If I don't provide some kind of follow-up, Ayako-chan is on the verge of exploding.