Chapter 172 - The Negotiator, Ayako Otsuki
I had a strange dream.
It was the kind of dream that made me worry about my subconscious—becoming a black Swallowtail Butterfly and sucking the nectar seeping from a young girl's armpits.
Clearly, it was influenced by the actions I had committed right before falling asleep.
"...What the hell has happened to me?"
I muttered to myself as I opened my eyes.
This was the first time in my life I had ever woken up feeling so peculiar.
Compared to dreams of the battlefield that left me traumatized, or dreams of losing Elsa, this was far better, but looking at it from the perspective of a human being, it felt like things were heading in a much weirder direction...
Well, whatever.
I'll think positively.
Thanks to playing around with Angelica and the others, my heart is being healed. That must be it.
Forcing myself into a state of defiant optimism, I pushed my upper body up.
"Nn."
Suddenly, a sweet aroma tickled my nostrils. It was an appetizing scent, like when passing by a cake shop. I could also hear the sound of something being cooked over a fire from deep within the kitchen, so someone might be making food.
When I peeked at my smartphone, it was already 1:00 PM. I see, it's lunchtime. I should put something in my mouth.
I put strength into my legs, trying to crawl out of bed. Then, I realized something soft was tangled around my right leg.
"...Is it Ange?"
I don't know what kind of sleeping position she has, but Angelica was clinging to my right leg, her face resting somewhere near my navel.
If I breathe through my nose in this state, wouldn't I be sniffing my crotch directly?
"Ange, Ange. Wake up."
I shook her slender shoulders, urging her to wake.
Angelica made some fussy, whining sounds like "nnya-nnya" for a while, but eventually, she snapped her eyes open and...
"...Good morning,"
she said, smiling bashfully.
"You slept quite a bit."
"We did."
"It looks like Ayako-chan is making something, so let's go eat."
"Papa, Papa!"
"What is it?"
Angelica sat up, brought both hands in front of her head, and puffed out her chest. It was a pose like a gravure idol, emphasizing her bust and armpits. Her expression was also fitting, with a seductive look in her eyes.
"...What are you trying to do?"
"Eh? Aren't you going to suck on them?"
"I'm not in the mood for that anymore."
I wonder where that blazing flame of desire went.
Most likely, the Rationality Decay was lifted while I was sleeping.
I had successfully returned to my usual, ascetic, healthy, and gentlemanly self. I felt like voices of protest would erupt from various quarters, but regardless, my usual self is a gentleman through and through.
"I'm going over there first."
Leaving the still-sleepy Angelica behind, I headed for the toilet.
After finishing my urination—which was slightly less sharp than it was in my twenties, going joro-roro... joro-roro...—I washed my hands in the washroom, rinsed my mouth, and washed my face while I was at it.
The state of a man in his late twenties right after waking up is quite terrible, with eye crust and bedhead and all.
When you live with the opposite sex, you can't help but worry about how you are being perceived.
After fussing with my face in front of the mirror for a bit and getting myself into a presentable state, I walked toward the kitchen.
"Good morning, Ayako-chan."
"...Good morning," came a thin reply.
Ayako-chan was wearing an apron, staring intently at a frying pan. She probably couldn't take her hands off the cooking.
Thinking it might be better not to disturb her, I was about to back away when I heard the click of the stove being turned off.
"...Nakamoto-san, here."
"?"
"...Please!"
Ayako-chan raised both hands, averting her eyes bashfully.
"...What is that?"
"Oh? Aren't you going to suck them, the armpits?"
"Like hell I am!"
Apparently, I am thought to be quite the armpit fetishist, but I wanted to shout loudly that that's not it at all.
That was just a temporary lapse due to Rationality Decay; in my normal state, my obsession with armpits is negligible. At most, I'd think something like, If I dipped sashimi into a beautiful girl's armpit sweat, it might act as a substitute for yuzu soy sauce with a faint saltiness and acidity; that would be delicious, but I am not a pervert to the point of putting that into practice.
I am perfectly normal.
This is normal, right?
Is it?
I'm starting to lose confidence in myself.
It's undeniable that as a result of being seduced every day by beautiful, father-complex daughters, things have become somewhat distorted.
Seriously, what is wrong with me? I shouldn't be thinking about eating sashimi with a beautiful girl's armpit sweat... though it's safe if it's a Married Woman in her late twenties' armpit sweat.
"That was close. Obsessing over a minor's armpit sweat would make me nothing more than a pervert."
An alarm was ringing in a corner of my mind, telling me it wasn't a matter of age, but I decided to ignore it.
"By the way, what are you making? It smells amazing."
"...I tried making Hotcakes. Since everyone is tired, I thought they might want something sweet."
"You're thoughtful. Yeah, I definitely felt like eating something like that."
I nodded, thinking that at least I wasn't in the mood for rice.
"...Thank goodness... If Nakamoto-san is happy, then it's worth making..."
Ayako-chan lowered her raised hands and began to sway her body restlessly, clutching the hem of her apron.
Her domestic, reserved behavior—truly the epitome of a Yamato Nadeshiko—sent a twinge through my masculine heart.
Man, this is nice.
"Ayako-chan, if you get married, you'll surely be a wonderful wife. ...A wonderful Married Woman..."
"...Eh..."
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Ayako-chan asked, her cheeks flushing. Her pale skin ignited in an instant, turning the color of an apple. From her collarbone to the top of her chest, she was also bright red; I could tell her entire body was blushing.
"D-don't say such strange things... I won't be able to look at you, Nakamoto-san, because I'll be too embarrassed..."
"You're so innocent."
I worried that if she blushed over something like this, she'd be snatched up by a bad man, but considering she's living with me, she might already be in the clutches of a bad man's fangs.
...This is bad, isn't it?
I'm supposed to be fulfilling the role of a guardian, yet every day the distance between Ayako-chan and me closes in a romantic sense. Moreover, my relationships with Angelica and Philia have also progressed.
Am I being too sleazy? I started to calm down, so I tried to shift the topic to something serious.
"That's right. It seems like the debuff you gave me, Ayako-chan, has worn off."
"...Ah, yes. I understand. ...I just have to weaken you again, right?"
"Yeah. But it's not just this Ayako-chan; I'll have to borrow the strength of that Ayako-chan over there as well. It's a bit of a pain."
"...Is the me over there not very cooperative?"
"It's not that, but I'm not that close with the Ayako-chan over there."
"...Then, how about using this as bargaining material?"
"This?"
Ayako-chan took her smartphone out of her pocket and held it up at face level.
"I often take secret photos of your abs and the contents of your underwear while you're sleeping, Nakamoto-san, and I think if I show these images to the me over there, she'll do whatever I say."
"O-oh. Why did you think it was okay to let me, the person themselves, hear that?"
"Because Nakamoto-san already belongs to me, don't you? ...That obvious thing doesn't matter, so I'll try to contact the me over there now. ...If the address hasn't changed, it should work..."
I take it back.
There's no way such a dangerous girl could become a good wife.
Who else but me could look after her?
Perhaps, in the sense of isolating a dangerous person from society, I might have to support her for the rest of her life...