Chapter 36 - Are You Really Human?
When I returned to the living room with Ayako-chan, Angelica was still basking in the afterglow from earlier.
She wore a dazed, blissful expression, as if her consciousness had drifted off to somewhere else entirely.
That somewhere else was surely a world line where I was running a parts factory.
A life where my wife ran away due to worsening finances, I drowned myself in drink every day, and eventually laid my hands on my own daughter Angelica — a fiendish father.
I figure she's diving into roughly that kind of dimension.
"Come back already."
I clapped my hands in front of her face, snapping her back to reality.
For a moment, Angelica looked startled, then, seeing Ayako-chan, she screamed, "The bookstore devil is here!"
"Huh, so this girl is the one who increased?"
"That's right."
"...She didn't multiply on her own, did she?"
Angelica skillfully shifted her hips, wriggling backward to create distance from Ayako-chan.
She was on extremely high alert.
"...It's been a while."
"...Hello."
To Ayako-chan, who gave a small bow, Angelica hesitantly returned the gesture. Her movements were stiff.
In the other world, greetings came in three varieties: "hugs," "handshakes," and "kisses." It was a European-style culture.
Having grown up in that kind of environment, Angelica's bow was a bit awkward.
"Well, have a seat."
When I spoke, Ayako-chan quietly sat down.
She took a triangular sitting position, resting her chin on her knees.
A clear pose of "I'm not letting my guard down." Ayako-chan was also wary of Angelica.
As for me, I sat cross-legged and scratched my eyebrow absently.
There was no conversation.
When talkative Angelica fell silent, the room went completely quiet — I was really feeling that.
"...Ah, how about we eat something?"
Angelica reacted to the suggestion I made to somehow change the atmosphere.
Oh, did she cheer up? I interpreted it conveniently.
"Before that, there's something I want to confirm."
Angelica said with half-lidded eyes.
"Ayako-san... was it? Did this person really become two? How did you verify it?"
"Oh, about that."
I pulled out my phone and showed her a photo of Rio and Ayako-chan together.
"I think you've already noticed this, Ange, but this tool can display people from far away, just like a TV. You can even talk, and it's portable. It's probably the closest thing to those far-sight crystal balls from that world. Those were usable for telepathy, right?"
"...Rio-san is shown here."
"When she was with this Ayako-chan, I asked Rio to search for the other Ayako-chan. Then this image was sent. The same person existed in two places."
Angelica furrowed her brow and stared intently at the screen.
"...Father, do you use your smartphone to regularly contact Rio-san?"
"That's irrelevant right now. Totally irrelevant. Let's talk about the Ayako-chan multiplication incident."
"I want to learn how to use a smartphone too. I'm curious about who you talk to and what you say, Father."
"Listen, secretly peeking at someone else's smartphone is considered a serious breach of etiquette. That's the rule of this world. Anyway, can we talk about the Ayako-chan increase? Huh?"
Why did it feel like I was digging my own grave with a rock drill from the start?
Rumble rumble rumble. Like, this diameter could fit a thousand people.
At this point, it wasn't just my grave anymore — it was a mass burial site.
"Anyway, the point is, are you convinced that there are two Ayako-chans?"
"Hmm... well, I'll accept that much."
Angelica still seemed to have reservations, pouting her lips.
"But is this Ayako-san really human?"
"...Quit calling her a devil already. She's a victim."
"That's not what I mean."
Glancing sideways at Ayako-chan, Angelica explained.
"Couldn't it be that someone is transforming to look like Ayako-san, rather than her actually being duplicated? There were monsters like that, right? Did you try Status Identification?"
"Transforming... I see, I hadn't thought of that."
Since it was a rare monster, I'd completely forgotten, but that was a possibility.
If so, was this Ayako-chan here actually a monster from the other world in disguise?
And if that was the case, were Nakamoto-senshu and Komai-yondan the same?
I glanced at Ayako-chan, who was huddled by the bedside.
The conversation had been full of fantasy words like status and monsters, but she must have grasped that they were talking about her.
Her eyes darted around nervously, and she took a defensive posture, hands up.
I pointed at Ayako-chan and chanted briefly, "Status Open."
As usual, a long-winded, cryptic remarks section appeared, but the content was exactly the same as before.
"...She's Ayako-chan herself. No mistake."
"Hmm," Angelica made a surprised face.
"Then maybe she's splitting into copies due to some sort of status change?"
"I've never heard of anything like that."
Just in case, I also tried Dispel.
"...Nothing happens."
"It doesn't seem like any status change is applied."
Angelica and I exchanged glances.
"Hmm... But it's still not decided that she multiplied. Someone might have created a Homunculus that looks just like Ayako-san. I've heard that if the abilities are completely identical and the memories are copied from the original, the identification results would be almost the same as the real thing."
"Were you always this suspicious?"
"If I reluctantly agree to let this girl stay, I want to investigate thoroughly, or I'll feel like I'm losing out. I need us to consider all angles and resolve this incident quickly. ...Because otherwise, Father, you'd be too worried to play with me."
Having finished speaking, Angelica stood up abruptly.
She grabbed Ayako-chan's wrist and pulled her to her feet as well.
"I'm going to check if she's human. Father, you must absolutely not look. Got it?"
With that, like a crane coming to repay a favor, she dragged Ayako-chan to the bathroom.
Given her attack power of 300, carrying one girl was probably nothing to her.
"...What are you planning to check?"
If she was going to confirm whether that Ayako-chan was a Homunculus, what part was she planning to inspect?
A Homunculus is an artificial human created through alchemy.
Usually they're small, but it is possible to make them human-sized.
However, doing that sacrifices other performance aspects.
For example, pale pigmentation, sparse emotional expression, or missing body parts.
"—Ah. No. Why. Please stop."
From deep inside the bathroom, a suggestive voice came through.
Ayako-chan was letting out moans.
I quietly turned on the TV and raised the volume. I'm a gentleman.
I operated the remote and changed the channel to an infotainment show.
There really were more captions and screen-in-screen boxes than before.
These days, it wasn't unusual to see two boxes floating at once.
Ah, I couldn't care less about the noises from the bathroom.
I tried to think about trivial things as much as possible, avoiding imagining what Ayako-chan was going through.
'Magician Nakamoto, Astonishing Hip Power!'
'Ahahahaha!'
Hollow laughter echoed from the screen.
It was the exact show I was on.
Me watching TV like this, and me reflected on the screen as a performer.
It was like having two versions of myself — the present and the past.
Was Ayako-chan feeling the same way?
After a few minutes of contemplation, I heard pattering footsteps from behind. Turning just my head, I saw four white legs.
Angelica and Ayako-chan had returned.
"She's definitely human. I can say that for sure."
Angelica puffed out her chest, while next to her, Ayako-chan was bright red. Her hair was disheveled, and her breathing was ragged.
"I see. So she's not a Homunculus."
"Every single part was entirely human."
Angelica nodded deeply. I decided not to ask what parts she checked and how.
"So next, we need to confirm whether the Ayako-chan who was with Rio is a real human too, right?"
"That would be the case... but are we going to the bookstore now?"
"Yeah, I guess."
While we were going out, we might as well grab dinner somewhere.
I told Angelica to put on something to wear over her clothes.
"Ayako-chan, you're coming too."
"...Me showing my face at home is..."
"What if I said I can make you invisible? Would you believe me?"
"Is that also magic tricks?" she replied in a voice barely audible.
"Something like that. No good? It'd be more convenient with you around, Ayako-chan."
Otsuki Books closed at six in the evening.
So I'd probably use Concealment Magic to sneak into the residential part.
If Ayako-chan guided us, we should be able to break in with minimal movement.
"...Invisible..."
"You're taking too long."
Angelica slipped her arms into a beige fur coat and leaned her face close to Ayako-chan.
"Can't you trust Father? He's a Hero, you know, a Hero."
"A Hero?"
"Yes, yes. He's the strongest Hero. And until recently, he was assisting a great artisan who inherited technology from a nation with over four thousand years of history."
"S-stop it, Ange."
Don't spout weird stuff like you're bragging, "My dad's a pilot."
Ayako-chan knew I used to work at a ramen shop, you know.
"Anyway, just come with me. You must be hungry too, Ayako-chan. We were planning to eat out tonight anyway."
I decided to drag her outside without giving her a choice.
I took the bewildered Ayako-chan's hand and left the apartment.
Locking the door behind us.
Dinner and investigation had begun.