Chapter 155 - Meeting Man and Mounting Woman
After Angelica and the others got out of the bath and finished changing, we moved into a strategy meeting.If by any chance I end up having some kind of spell cast on me by Erin, these two are the only ones I can rely on.A Holy Maiden with high base stats, and a wielder of wicked debuffs.If they maneuver well, there's no doubt they'll be a considerable fighting force.
...Maybe I should just have them join the battle from the start?
If that happens, to prevent Angelica and the others from getting caught up in the Intelligence Reduction debuff, I'd need to ask that Ayako-chan over there to cast the seven types of debuffs on them.
But, lowering the rationality and moral sense of these two, who already stand out for their precarious behavior, is terrifying because I have no idea what they'd do then.Earlier, they were doing whatever they pleased, trying to lose their virginity at the slightest opening. Saying something like, "There's some membranous trash stuck deep inside my crotch, could you get it out with your finger?" as if it were nothing, and trying to get me to break their hymen—I think that's a disqualifying statement for a human female.I want to say, don't talk about it like it's just cleaning your ears.
It even starts to feel like, even if I don't do anything, if I leave it to Angelica and the others, won't they just take down Erin with some mysterious momentum?Of course, that would be way too cruel, so I won't do it.
"...Right. Ange, I want you to act as insurance in case of emergency. If Erin casts some kind of spell on me, you're the only one who can break it. The only users of Dispel are me and Ange."
"What exactly should I do?"
Angelica is sitting on the floor in a girlish pose, looking up at me. She's in a precarious outfit of just a white T-shirt on top, and apparently no bra.Various things are visible through the gap in her collar, but describing them in detail is impermissible as a human being.
"Starting tonight, I'm going to take Philia with me and move to lure Erin out. If there's a day when we don't come back by morning, that means something happened."
"I don't like the idea of Father going out late at night alone with the High Priest..."
"That's not something to worry about at a time like this. ...If we don't come back by morning, Ange, you go with Ayako-chan to Otsuki Books and have the three types of debuffs cast on you. Once that's done, have the debuffs cast on this Ayako-chan the same way I did, and search for me while preventing Intelligence Reduction. ...I'd rather it not come to that, though. Just imagining you two with Rationality Decay is terrifying."
"So we're the rescue team in case you fail, Father. Understood. Since it's an emergency, I'll let that last problematic remark slide."
Can I ask one question? Ayako-chan raised her hand. She's properly wearing pajamas, both top and bottom, but the problem is they're men's wear.She's casually wearing my sleepwear.It's so baggy that various parts are slipping down, and her shoulders and cleavage are completely visible.Before even getting to whether it's erotic or alluring, the nerve to nonchalantly slip into someone else's pajamas frightens me.
"...Why do you need to take Philia-san with you to lure out Erin-san? Isn't just firing magic into the sky, Nakamoto-san, enough to have a sufficient attracting effect? Could it be you just want to use the battle as a pretext for a rendezvous with Philia-san? If that's the case, then I... I..."
"Please don't casually let the light die from your eyes. There's nothing shady about it. It's that, you know. Philia's role is to be a decoy."
"...A decoy?"
"I'll cast Concealment Magic only on myself, and head to some deserted place with Philia. Then, I'll fire high-level light magic into the sky. When Erin comes, the only thing that'll enter her field of vision is Philia standing there in a daze, right? Erin will surely interpret it as Philia having sent a signal with magic. However, the Philia in question has lost her sanity. She won't understand. Still, Philia is technically an ally, so she should try to protect her. Well, she'll be wide open."
"...And you'll strike there."
"Exactly. Also, there are cases where Erin might not notice the magic in the sky. In that case, we have no choice but to bet on Erin visually spotting Philia and coming closer. In short, Philia is live bait."
"It's rare for you, Nakamoto-san, to be so harsh in your handling of a woman..."
"She won't die even if you kill her, that one. It can't be helped that she gets treated more roughly than Ayako-chan and the others."
It's too atrocious to say aloud, but Philia also serves as an emergency reset button—that's another reason I'm bringing her along.If everything fails, I can just cut Philia's head off.If I do that, we'll time-slip back to the world a few minutes prior, and I can redo things.
From Erin's perspective, the reset button would be left unattended, but I can't imagine Erin, with her strong sense of camaraderie, killing Philia...This makes me feel like I'm the villain somehow, which gives me a strange feeling, but it can't be helped.
I'll do anything to protect my birthplace and my current family.That's all there is to it.
"Anything else you want to ask?"
Ayako-chan shakes her head. Angelica does the same.Philia is sitting on the sofa, hugging her knees, staring intently at my face. In that posture, from under her skirt, you can see her Paper Diaper instead of panties, but Philia probably doesn't have the intellect left to care about that....She shouldn't.
I approached Philia and called out, "Shall we go for a walk?"Philia energetically stood up, let out an excited "Let's go!" and hugged me.Just like a little girl.She wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her large chest against me, laughing, "A walk with Father!"A body of twenty-nine, a mind of a six-year-old, and an actual age of forty-five. Everything about Philia is mismatched and unnatural.
"You're sticking too close to Father!"
As I soothe Angelica, who's started making a fuss, I think.
It's my responsibility that Philia was broken. If, by chance, she's secretly regained her sanity, and ends up opposing me—
At that time, I'll dispose of her without hesitation.
Killing an immortal woman is the role of the man who is the object of her affection.Moreover, Philia and I once had a relationship of unrequited love for each other.There's no one else suited for it, and even if there were, I wouldn't want to leave it to them.
"...Come on, Philia."
I took Philia's hand and headed for the front door.When we stepped outside, it had become completely dark.The sky was clear, a star-filled firmament.If I fired magic into the sky, it would surely be visible no matter how far away you were.