Chapter 160 - The Yandere Big Sister with Narrow Vision and a Fully Modified Body, But Who Loves You Very Much
As I groaned while pressing my fingers against the space between my eyebrows, Erin peered in at me with a worried face.
"...Are you okay?"
"...Were we really husband and wife?"
"...Are you doubting me?"
"...It's not that, but..."
I couldn't believe this woman was the partner I had lived with for many years. And yet, the contradiction of feeling affection for her felt sickening.
The sensation that emotions which were not my own were being brought in from the outside was nothing short of eerie.
My head throbbed with a splitting pain.
"...Gu..."
"...Keisuke?"
I slumped down as if collapsing and clutched my head.
"...Keisuke, you look like you're in pain... If there's anything I can do, please tell me."
"...In that case, could you give me some water and food...?"
"...Are you hungry?"
"Yeah. ...I feel like I'll be back to normal once I eat."
"...But there's no food of any kind here. ...Should I go buy something?"
"Please."
"...What kind of things do you want to eat?"
What I wanted to eat.
Something my stomach could handle even while I was feeling unwell...
"...Sushi... and... curry... and... beef steak..."
"...I don't really understand the food culture here, but that sounds like a heavy menu. ...Can you fit it in your stomach?"
"...A Hero's stomach is built tough, no problem. To me, it's like porridge."
"...I-I see."
"Also, go buy some rubber."
"...Rubber?"
Once my stomach is full, there's only one thing to do.
The reason Erin resisted earlier was probably because she "wants to prioritize work for now and doesn't want to get pregnant," and as long as we use contraception, there shouldn't be any problem.
"They should sell them at a convenience store around here... If you don't know, just ask the clerk. Say, 'Please give me a condom,' in a loud voice."
"...Understood. I'll buy plenty."
After a small nod, Erin headed toward the entrance.
Before long, the sound of keys rattling began, and the girl claiming to be my wife hurriedly went out to shop.
It sounded like she was struggling a bit with opening and closing the lock; is Erin not used to this house yet?
While clutching my head, filled with questions, I moved to the adjacent room. To the room where Philia, the daughter I had made Erin bear, was.
Right now, I wanted information, even if just a little. If I asked her, I might find something out.
"...Even so, this kid doesn't look like her parents at all."
I looked down at Philia, who was sleeping on her back with her silver-blonde hair spread across the floor. Her deeply carved beauty made her look like a pure-blooded Caucasian woman no matter how you looked at her. If at least her eye color were dark, I could believe my blood was in her, but what was it...?
"Tei."
I forcefully pried Philia's eyelids open to check her eye color.
They were blue.
"Dammit! Erin was having an affair! No matter how I look at it, she can't be my daughter!"
She must have been planted with seed by some Caucasian man somewhere.
Don't screw with me, I have no interest in raising a child that resulted from cuckoldry...!
From the despair of being betrayed by my trusted wife, I fell onto all fours and wailed loudly.
Naturally, Philia, who was caught in a situation where her eyes were forcibly pried open during sleep and an adult man was sobbing next to her, had no choice but to wake up. She sat up and stared at me with a look of confusion.
"...Nn... Where... am I...?"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Eriiiiiiiiiin! I believed in you! You did something so vile! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"...Hero-dono?"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"...What is the meaning of this?"
"You aren't my daughter!"
"Yes, I am not your daughter, but..."
Philia tilted her head curiously. From her tone, as if she already knew I wasn't her biological father, had she heard everything from Erin? Had she conspired with her mother to mock the foolish father who fell victim to cuckoldry?
"...What color is your blood...? You don't care about me at all, do you!? Huh!? Who do you think raised you!?"
"I was raised by the priests at the convent."
"Is that so! You're saying you have no memory of being raised by a father who was never home! What a joke!"
"You seem quite delirious. ...Ah, it's Erin's brainwashing."
Philia let out a small sigh, and then suddenly grabbed my face with both hands in an eagle grip.
Then, she spoke while looking into my eyes.
"Dispel."
The moment I heard those words, a sensation like fog clearing inside my head occurred.
The self that believed Erin was my wife, the self that believed Philia was my daughter, the sadness of being caught up in a non-existent affair scandal—all sorts of retroactive memories and emotions vanished without a trace.
"...Huh... Philia...? ...Eh. You can talk normally?"
"That's my line. Have you returned to normal properly?"
"O-Oh."
"Very well," Philia said, releasing her hands. She had a somewhat exasperated expression.
"...Sorry, I showed you something unsightly. It seems Erin's skill made me believe she was my wife."
"...Is that so."
As if she had fallen right into the trap, Philia curled one side of her mouth.
"Serves you right. You should give her some moxibustion."
"Aren't you going to lend a hand? Just before I was done for, you crushed the Swallowtail Butterfly, didn't you...?"
"...That was only because my consciousness returned so suddenly that I acted out of surprise."
Somehow, Philia looked a little embarrassed.
"Suddenly? I thought for sure you had regained your senses much earlier."
"N-No way. My sense of self was recovering vaguely, but it wasn't this clear."
"...Are you serious... I thought you had regained your intelligence long ago, but had instead awakened to the joy of having a younger man diligently dress your diapers, and were continuing to pretend to have regressed to an infant on purpose..."
"...What do you take me for?"
She directed a gaze at me that seemed to say she wished I would just die.
This might be the moment my negotiations fail.
"Please do not lump me in with those rutting girls you are keeping around. ...It is checkmate, Hero-dono. You have been defeated by Erin."
"Won't you help me?"
"Why should I cooperate with a man who tried to kill me? Is that not the height of arrogance?"
It seems she is holding a grudge about being burned by me.
This is bad. If Erin comes back, there's a risk they will attack me together.
...Even if I try to escape from here on my own before Erin arrives, I don't know if I can successfully flee while being pursued by Philia.
Even if I could get outside, if I encountered Angelica and the others who are likely looking for me, I might be taken hostage.
In the first place, Philia knows my house, so this is like gaining a highly skilled assassin who can launch a surprise attack on my home at any time.
Could this be... checkmate?
"...Damn it."
Becoming half-resigned, I lay down spread-eagled.
"Isn't there anything... anything..."
"By the way, Hero-dono... why are you naked?"
"Eh?"
I realized it when she pointed it out.
Come to think of it, while I was being brainwashed, I was about to start things with Erin and ended up in nothing but my underwear.
"I don't know where to look. Why don't you put something on?"
"What's with you, are you feeling embarrassed?"
"...Do you not think this is unsightly?"
"It's Erin's fault, though."
"...Erin changed your clothes?"
I rolled over.
Changing clothes is too much trouble now. Shall I just die naked? As I was becoming reckless, Philia asked a question in a trembling voice.
"...Could it be... that Erin did something strange to you?"
"Eh?"
I rotated my body halfway and faced Philia again.
"...What happened, Hero-dono. What occurred while I was sleeping?"
"...If you say it was 'done' to me, it might have been."
Philia put her hand to her mouth, wearing a serious face.
"Surely not, Hero-dono... E-Eh, you weren't raped by Erin, were you?"
"..."
I wondered what kind of person worries about the sexual victimhood of a muscular male Hero in a pairing with a petite female mage.
However, considering Philia's intensity of assumption and her precarious temperament, silence was likely the correct answer here.
I softly lowered my eyes and tried to make a consciously depressed expression.
"...I thought Erin was a scary person."
"...I see."
Philia bit her lip and stared at the floor with bloodshot eyes.
"I understand."
"Understand what?"
"...I will kill Erin."
Philia stood up soundlessly and clenched her fists tightly.
"I will kill that woman. I will erase that wicked, rapist woman without a trace."