Chapter 244 - A Man of Deep Darkness
Even if I was flustered, being able to get this close without me noticing was no ordinary skill.
Among the women in my household, the only ones with such refined body movements were Philia or Chloe.
...It didn't smell like pee, so it probably wasn't Philia. Chloe, maybe? As I was making such a rude guess,
"Da, da, da, aaah!"
The owner of the presence energetically hugged me from behind.
White arms wrapped around my neck, and a modest softness pressed fluffily against the back of my head.
That old-fashioned way of addressing me, that elasticity that felt like a B-cup... no mistake.
It was the homunculus created (without permission) using my semen, Chloe, making her appearance.
"Hey. Don't suddenly cling to me like that. You scared me."
"If you're free, let's go play outside."
Glancing at the smartphone in my hand, I could see Gondo sending me one high school girl picture after another.
It even came with a message that was less "han-gure" and more "full-gure": "I'm gonna have these girls pour drinks for you tonight, so come on out. You can take one home too, it's free."
Of all the times, he sends this kind of crap when my own daughter is clinging to me.
...Damn it, for a yakuza, he sure collects nothing but black-haired, clean-cut types.
Steeling my heart, I mechanically continued deleting the high school girl images.
"Sorry, but I'm working. Go keep Philia company over there or something."
"Really? You're not making plans to play with girls like you always do?"
"N-no, it's not that. This is... uh... it's insider trading."
"Insider trading!?"
Chloe's knowledge of modern things was spotty, so throwing around difficult terms often confused her.
At least she seemed less familiar with Japan than Angelica, so the success rate was high.
"Well, I've got a lot on my plate, like tax evasion and being a major shareholder. You might not understand, but adults in Japan have all sorts of things they have to do."
"I-I see. So it's the adult world."
A soft sensation brushed against my cheek.
It seemed Chloe had rested her chin on my shoulder and started peering at the screen.
"...I can see a picture of a high school girl hitching up her skirt."
"This right here is the cornerstone of the Japanese economy..."
"Geez! If you want to play with girls that much, then play with me! Let's go to the park and do something halfway between soccer and a date!"
"If I was seen fooling around outside with a fifteen-year-old girl, I'd get reported to the cops immediately."
"Even if we're father and daughter?"
"We don't look like father and daughter, that's the problem. If I was having fun with you outside, the scene would look like compensated dating."
"You think so? I think Lord Father and I look quite alike."
"Where?"
"Our hair color is the same. And the position of our moles is the same."
Was she serious? Sometimes I wondered if she was incredibly naive.
My own daughter, and I worried about her future, or something like that.
"Most of humanity has black hair, you know. It's the most common color, so it's not proof we're related. And as for moles, you'd have to strip me to check the position, wouldn't you?"
"If we play naked, we could show off our mole positions to everyone around us, couldn't we?"
"That'd get me arrested for a different reason."
And besides, I can't concentrate on operating my phone when you're clinging to me, you know?
I don't have time to be fussing over a blood-related woman.
Since I had no interest in being intimate with a blood relative, my treatment of her was inevitably rough.
I pushed Chloe away with a cold voice, the kind I never used with Angelica and the others.
"Sorry, but you and I don't look alike at all. I think we just look like strangers."
"...Eh?"
"Your face is almost all your mother's. You look just like Teacher Lili, don't you?"
"...Well, that's true, but..."
"It's incredibly hard to prove that a flashy-faced beauty like you is my biological daughter. Geez. If my genes had come out stronger, things wouldn't be such a pain..."
"Heheh."
"I love you, Lord Father," Chloe said, hugging me even tighter.
What did I do?
"Hey, hey, Lord Father. Then let's play soccer inside the house."
Still saying crazy things, Chloe climbed over the back of the sofa and sat down next to me.
With her position changed, I could finally see her properly.
"Ball games are definitely something you're not supposed to do inside the house. ...Wait. What's with that outfit?"
"Huh?"
"Is something weird?" Chloe tilted her head.
Let me tell you, right now, everything about you is weird.
"That stretched-out, baggy T-shirt is no good (it's not just a peek, it's a full-on chest gap), and the fact that you're only wearing panties on the bottom is the worst! There's a limit to being sloppy!"
"But, I'm your biological daughter, right? Seeing my underwear doesn't do anything for you, does it? Lord Father is a stubborn opponent of incest, so you wouldn't get excited seeing my body, would you?"
"W-well, that's true, but... Ah! And you're not even wearing a bra!? What are you forcing your father to see!?"
"Because if I wear a bra, the sensation doesn't really get through when I hug you, Lord Father. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of being born with breasts? Since I have chests that are more sensitive than a man's, I think I should use them effectively."
"You are wrong."
A girl's breasts are not sensory organs. They should be feeding organs.
If a moose said, "I'm thinking of using these antlers to fly!" with sparkling eyes, its extinction would be inevitable.
You should use your body correctly.
"You're banned from going braless from now on. I'm going to make you wear a bra even inside the house."
"What's that! That's abuse!"
As if to protest, Chloe started patting my shoulder.
"I don't want to wear a bra at home! They're like restraints! The metal parts rub and make me itchy! And they get all sweaty!"
"Could it be that you just don't like bras?"
"Yeah."
"That too," Chloe nodded.
Man, this is a problem.
My daughter is a hardline anti-bra activist, and I'm troubled. Where am I supposed to consult about this? A psychiatrist?
"Well... maybe I could stand it if Lord Father put it on me."
"Oh, is that all it takes?"
"Eh?"
Leaving her with a "Leave it to me," I stood up and headed straight for the women's shared bedroom without hesitation.
Being extremely careful not to wake Philia, who was sleeping soundly, I opened the dresser and retrieved a palm-sized bra.
I walked straight back to the living room and sat down on the sofa.
"Come closer. I'll put it on you right now."
"...Are you serious?"
"I'm used to it from Angelica, Rio, Ayako-chan, and Philia, so it doesn't bother me anymore. You didn't know because you're not on the sleeping-together rotation, but I'm the one who takes off and puts on their bras and panties."
"The absolute worst."
Hahaha, say what you will.
I sat Chloe on my lap and, with a fatherly touch, put the bra on her.
[Chloe's Affection Level has increased by 500.]
"...Are you really happy about something like this?"
"I-I'm not happy or anything. I'm just thinking I might let you hold me now, that's all. It's not like I'm excited. Don't get the wrong idea, okay?"
"You're totally excited, aren't you. For a young woman, that's the highest level of excitement."
She's really become a spoiled brat, I thought, ruffling her hair.
It felt like I was playing with a kitten. Her trademark ponytail even looked like a cat's tail now.
"Not long ago, you had the air of a gallant young knight. How did you end up like this?"
"It's Lord Father's fault. If a father in his early thirties is kind to them, most teenage girls would go crazy, wouldn't they? Lord Father's appearance could easily pass for an older brother. It's your fault I turned out this way."
"Is that so?... Maybe it is. If a boy going through puberty was treated kindly by a mother in her early thirties, he'd definitely go insane... And with a face that could pass for an older sister. I really am a being of deep darkness..."
"You're being surprisingly understanding?"
"I've been trained in this line of reasoning by Angelica."
But that doesn't mean I can overlook the fact that she has romantic feelings for her own father.
"Hey, why don't you get a boyfriend? Maybe it'll cure your daddy complex a little."
"No way. Other men besides Lord Father look like mites talking to me."
"Go to an eye doctor. My face is just a slightly above-average plain guy. There are plenty of handsome guys outside. Go hook one."
"Maybe you should get your eyeballs replaced!? I've never seen a man cooler than you, Lord Father!"
"H-huh? That makes me kinda happy! But no means no! In your case, it's seriously not a joke, so get interested in other men!"
"No. I'm going to marry Lord Father."
It's heartwarming when a little girl says, "When I grow up, I'm going to marry Daddy," but a grown daughter screaming about marrying her daddy is extremely unhealthy.
What a waste of talent she is.
Her face takes after Teacher Lili, and her combat ability is inherited from me—a beautiful girl swordsman...
"Ah."
I suddenly realized something from my own monologue.
That's right, she's here. A cheater warrior who truly inherited my genes is right in front of me.
...If I introduced Chloe to Sugitani-san, couldn't I use her to cover up a lot of things?
The manga adaptation starts serialization in today's release of the August issue of Dengeki Daioh!