Chapter 40 - Shan Shan
I woke up with a start.
It was morning.
According to the smartphone in my hand, the time was 6:21 AM.
My brain hasn't fully awakened yet.
Since I slept on a futon laid out on the floor, I feel like my sleep was somewhat shallow.
My neck and shoulders are also creaking with pain.
No matter how you look at it, we couldn't all three use the same bed, so I decided to sleep on the floor.
That Angelica girl even suggested sleeping on the floor with me, but once I persuaded her that she should understand a parent's desire to prioritize their daughter's sleeping comfort, she complied.
Because of that, Angelica and Ayako-chan are sleeping soundly in the bed.
They are both wearing the same pattern of pajamas.
Though their styles differ between Western and Japanese, they are both beautiful girls.
If they just kept sleeping, it would be fine for them to just be cute. Especially Ayako-chan.
I headed to the toilet and finished my business.
I washed my face and brushed my teeth. I still can't shake the sleepiness.
Since I can't help it, I scooped some water in the kitchen and gulped it down with loud swallowing sounds.
The sharp, cold sensation down my throat wakes me up just a little.
I wander back to the living room.
Today's recording starts at 9:30. I still have plenty of time.
I thought about turning on the TV because I was curious about the news, but it would be bad if I woke the two of them with the sound.
Left with no choice, I decided to make do with my smartphone.
I tap the screen and search for news sites.
'Authority on pluripotent cells, proliferating. Human experimentation on their own!?'
'Genius table tennis girl Yui-chan, clone appears'
'Japan national soccer team, copies appearing one after another'
...A series of similar titles follow.
It seems the culprit has lost all restraint and has entered a phase of mass-producing humans one after another.
For now, they haven't strayed from the point of increasing those with high abilities.
If that's the case, it makes the fact that Ayako-chan was proliferated even more of a mystery.
No matter how you look at it, this girl's abilities fall within the range of an ordinary person.
Her academic ability is slightly high, but even that is only enough to get into the advanced course at a middle-tier high school.
If there's anything outstanding about her, it would be her appearance.
But if they used that as a selection criterion, they should be able to increase celebrities as well.
And yet, besides Ayako-chan, the humans who have been split off are only those who have produced outstanding results in intellect or physical strength.
There isn't a single actress or idol type.
Why was it Ayako-chan?
If they were to wish for another Ayako-chan even to the point of breaking the rules they themselves established, what kind of reason would that be?
As I was groaning while thinking about such things, I saw something moving restlessly on the bed.
My beloved daughter is waking up.
"Good morning, Ange."
Angelica let out a groan somewhere between a "muu" and an "nn" and gave a big stretch.
"Good morning... Father, you're early."
"You couldn't sleep much."
Angelica headed toward the bathroom while rubbing her eyes.
There is only one thing to do first thing in the morning.
"...I can hear everything, you know."
Just as I thought I heard the sound of splashing water, the sound of toilet paper being unrolled—kara-kara-kara-kara—began to ring out.
I want to move to a bigger house with thicker walls soon.
As soon as possible.
Having the living sounds of a teenage girl leaking through is far too dangerous.
A few minutes later, Angelica approached with tato-tato footsteps.
Since she had been making jaba-jaba noises in the washroom for a while, it seemed she had finished washing her face and brushing her teeth.
"Hey, Father."
"What is it?"
I reply casually while keeping my eyes on my smartphone.
I also wonder if I should start making breakfast soon.
"Did something happen with Ayako-san?"
In my agitation, I drop my smartphone.
"...Wh-what are you talking about... She's just someone I protected during a life-saving incident... Nothing happened..."
"Hmm."
Angelica narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Father, weren't you constantly afraid of Ayako-san?"
"...I'm still afraid now. That hasn't changed."
"Really? Don't you think she's scary but cute?"
"Huh? Why would I?"
"I saw it, you know," Angelica says.
Saw what?
It couldn't have been a scene of her sucking her finger.
Because at that time, you were taking a shower. It's physically impossible.
"You woke up to go to the toilet in the middle of the night, didn't you, Father?"
"...Y-yeah. I certainly woke up once. Wait, were you awake too, back then?"
"You peered into the bed at that time, didn't you?"
"...Is that a crime? I was worried about your sleeping face. Besides, Ange, you don't sleep well, do you? If I left you alone, you'd sleep with your stomach exposed, so I thought I had to fix it for you."
I act tough, saying, "Because I'm your father."
"I see. As usual, Father fixed my disheveled sleepwear and pulled the blanket back over me."
"O-oh. So what of it?"
"And then you did the same thing to Ayako-san sleeping next to you, and even stroked her head. Like this, kusha."
"..."
She was watching that much?
"...You didn't do it to me. You didn't do it to me. You didn't do it to me!"
"No, there's no deep meaning. Look, isn't it pitiful? Ayako-chan was split off for a strange reason and can't go back to her own home, right? I just thought it was quite unfortunate. It was sympathy and compassion. I would have done the same thing even if the person were an animal."
"...That rapid speech is suspicious, though."
Actually, I'm terrified thinking whether this girl has been feigning sleep frequently until now.
"I can't help but wonder if some event occurred last night that made you feel affection for Ayako-san. It makes me suspicious, doesn't it?"
"...There's no way... Ayako-chan and I haven't really been alone together since we returned home. It was only for the few dozen minutes you were in the shower."
"If you have a few dozen minutes, you can do all sorts of things, right?"
I might be doomed.
A father is a creature that cannot win against his daughter.
That's just how our compatibility works. It's like water against the fire attribute.
"...Ange... uh..."
"Do something to me too."
"...Eh?"
"If you don't do something to me too, I'll be upset."
"Huh?"
Angelica's eyes are gleaming intensely; rather than a rom-com heroine, her gaze is like that of a shark stalking its prey.
I am a piece of meat drifting on the ocean surface.
"...Do something... what?"
"Something bad."
"I told you, nothing happened with Ayako-chan... damn it, crying is cheating."
I don't understand.
I was just seriously contemplating a bizarre incident since morning, so why must I be caught up in a troublesome romantic entanglement?
Did I do something?
I don't think I did anything that strange?
While a girl who has feelings for me was in the bath, I just happened to look at another girl I picked up with lecherous eyes and got called out for it.
That's worth ten thousand deaths.
And it's me.
I'm the rising ace of the beast world. I'm on a pace of ten wins a year. Though the more I win, the more I feel like I'm finishing as a human being.
"...I'm sorry, Ange. I'm sorry. Anyway, it's fine if you just decide that I'm entirely at fault, so please stop crying."
I try to soothe her somehow by stroking her soft blonde hair.
To tell the truth, if we're talking about females currently living, I like Angelica the most. There's no doubt about that.
Not in a strange sense. I cherish her very much in a position like a younger sister who is also like a daughter.
If the age difference were ten years less, I'd be so far gone that I'd already view her as a romantic interest.
With Ayako-chan, it was just a momentary lapse.
If a girl who holds affection for you gets close, it doesn't feel bad, does it? It's like the feeling of doting on a junior.
The mole on her nape is the culprit for everything. It's all that thing's fault.
"Did that explanation make you understand? You are the most important to me."
"...I want a mole on my nape too. With that, Father would be finished in an instant."
"You haven't understood at all, have you?"
I glance toward the bed, wondering if Ayako-chan might wake up if we keep making this much noise.
She might be feigning sleep, but there's no sign of movement.
Whatever, I don't care anymore. Let it be.
If you want to ask, ask!
"What should I do? Can't words convey it?"
"...I'll forgive you if you do something lewd with me."
"I told you, that's impossible."
From early morning, she clings to me and asks for something outrageous with teary eyes.
And here I am, wanting to be parent and child with her.
Parent and child...
Parent and child, huh.
"Fine. I just have to show it through action, right?"
That's right, parent and child.
Angelica was born in another world. She's a foreigner. This kind of thing is just a greeting between parent and child over there.
Therefore.
I pressed my lips against Angelica's.
"Do you understand now?"
We are still parent and child. It's safe.
That was a close one.
Since Angelica was Western, I escaped.
If this were a Japanese girl, it would have been counted as a male-female relationship.
I feel like doing this to a girl I've known for less than a month would be a legal issue even overseas, but if it's legal in my heart, then that's fine.
It's a matter of feeling. Or rather, I don't even know what I'm thinking right now.
"...That was a kiss to try and cover up your guilt, wasn't it?"
"I haven't had a single moment of guilt in my entire life."
Angelica is glaring at me with red eyes while pressing her finger against her mouth.
"...Well, fine. I'll let you off the hook here. You were a famous eccentric because you were known for never kissing anyone except Elsa-san, Father."
"That was widely known too?"
"...Since that Father went this far, it's safe to assume it had that kind of meaning, right?"
Even if it was just a greeting in the other world, to me, it felt like a quite intense expression of affection, so I couldn't bring myself to do it lightly.
Angelica is, in a way, my second kissing partner in my lifetime. Even though she launched a surprise attack right when we met.
"...From now on, I'll have you do it more frequently."
"What was that?"
"I'll have you do it when you go out and when you come home too!"
"That's unreasonable, that's like a newlywed couple."
"I came here to become a newlywed couple!"
The two of them start shouting and clamoring together.
Ayako-chan is tossing and turning. Scary.
But I don't care.
Whatever.
Due to sleepiness, fatigue, and hunger, my brain's functions are starting to slow down.
A lovers' quarrel is hard on a sleep-deprived body.
"...How troublesome... I want to shan shan... if I had just been shan shan-ing, it wouldn't have come to this..."
While clutching my smartphone, I reflect on a rhythm game that is no longer with us.
I'm not dead, but I'm so pushed to the limit that such an expression comes out.
Idol Maker: Princess Live.
A rhythm game where you repeatedly perform score attacks by tapping the screen in time while watching footage of polygon beautiful girls dancing.
During play, a shan shan sound rings out every time you tap. Apparently, all games of this type are like that.
Since I returned to Japan, this has been my mental stabilizer, and I've even spent money on it.
And yet, lately, I haven't been able to play it at all.
I'm busy. There are girls in the house. I'm holding back because I think the sound will be loud.
Even while traveling, I refrain out of consideration for the fact that it might look bad if a celebrity is playing a beautiful girl game.
I'm worried about public perception.
"...I want to shan shan... I want to be healed..."
It's at the point where withdrawal symptoms might appear.
I even start to think that's why my thoughts are gradually becoming strange.
My eyelids fall on their own, and my field of vision narrows.
Being interrogated by Angelica since morning, feeling an indescribable fear toward Ayako-chan, the proliferation incident and all that—everything is far away.
To be blunt, it's probably because I'm sleepy, but with drowsy eyes, I have become a patient who repeatedly mutters "shan shan."
"...Father...?"
"I want to shan shan... and I want to sleep... it's so troublesome since morning..."
"F-Father? What is 'shan shan'?"
Angelica peers in at me worriedly.
She's actually quite sweet, so after she's finished teasing me, she looks after me like this.
She's easy.
"Shan shan is just shan shan. You don't even know that? Until you came here, this was my reason for living."
"Huh...?"
"I want to do it... I want to play..."
It's not fun at all if you play with the sound muted.
That's why I don't think about playing while you guys are in the room.
In fact, before I can even play, you come at me demanding attention whenever you have a spare moment, so there's no way I can play a game calmly.
"Um. Can I ask one thing? What kind of act is 'shan shan'?"
"It's a game, a game. A game to push one's own limits. When it goes well, it feels amazing. Your brain juices just go wild."
Angelica has a puzzled look on her face.
"...Is shan shan a pleasurable game?"
"Of course."
The sense of accomplishment when you clear a high-difficulty song is just... it's more than just refreshing.
"Um... Father, do you shan shan often?"
"I haven't been able to do it at all since you came here. I'm being considerate."
"...Is it something you can't do if I'm here?"
"It makes noise. It's erotic. There's no way I'd do it while you're here."
The idols' outfits are a bit extreme, and there's breast swaying and such.
Playing it in front of a teenage girl might be a somewhat improper game.
"...S-so, shan shan is a noisy, erotic act. ...Um, Father, do you feel refreshed when you do that?"
"I feel incredibly refreshed. It's super exhilarating!"
"...I-is it that much? ...Um, did you also shan shan often when you were in that other world?"
"No way."
There are no smartphones in the other world.
It's entertainment exclusive to the modern world.
"I started doing it after I came here."
"...Th-then, did you become obsessed with shan shan after losing Elsa-san and becoming a lonely person?"
"Well, I guess so. ...It heals the loneliness... that was my only hope..."
I am finally tearing up.
The spirit of a rhythm game addict is so fragile.
"I want to shan shan... actually, maybe I'll just do it here. I don't care about the sound anymore. I'll blast it at full volume."
"Th-that's impossible, obviously! What are you thinking! Where did the Hero's pride go!?"
"I never had any of that to begin with. I'm doing it, I'm telling you. Just watch my way of life."
"Noooooooo!"
Angelica clings to me tightly, shaking her head with a bright red face.
Why are you interfering so much?
"I'm sorry, Father. It's because I bullied you too much, isn't it? That's why it's come to this... A-and, if you suddenly start living with a girl, um, you won't be able to do it anymore, right? You're at your limit of endurance, aren't you?"
"You understand after all. Then let go. I'm going to master the way of shan shan."
"You must not master it! Even though I'm here... Ayako-san is right next to us too!? She'll definitely be eavesdropping!"
"If she wants to listen, let her. I feel like just letting her do whatever."
As I glare at my smartphone, Angelica said with a face so red it looked like it might catch fire.
"...Is there anything I can do to help? No, please let me help. ...I'll take responsibility for pushing Father to the edge. ...I-I mean, I want to help."
"It's impossible. This is a single-player game."
"R-right. It certainly is single-player. ...But... but... I think that kind of thing is also a wife's job..."
"Ah—no, isn't it not purely single-player? You compete for scores with rivals all over the country."
"Eh?"
"It has competitive elements too. When there's a monthly event, I go all out on grinding."
Angelica's complexion is turning from red to blue.
"...Does Father... compete with others regarding the number of times he shans shans?"
"Of course. If necessary, I'll chug stamina recovery items and do it continuously all night long."
"All night long..."
"My record is forty in a row."
When I ran forty songs in a row, even I was exhausted.
It was likely fatigue stemming from mental rather than physical strength. The Hero's body should be incredibly sturdy.
"F-forty!? Forty in a row!?"
"Is that really something to be that surprised about?"
Angelica's mouth hung open, and she was convincing herself alone, saying, "Father is amazing... no wonder you became a Hero... you're the strongest in the world..."
"Hmm. Well, I guess... if Angelica is interested too, it might be convenient. Shall I teach you?"
If she becomes a rhythm gamer too, there will be no need to hold back.
They say the number of female users has been increasing lately, so it might actually work out.
Saying things like, "This outfit is cute."
"...Wh-what are you going to teach me?"
"Hmm? How to play. It's fun once you learn it. I thought it was about time you experienced this kind of entertainment, Ange."
"...There's nothing to learn... I already know. ...You know it too, don't you, Father?"
Angelica whispers while fidgeting, "I can't do as many times as you, Father, though."
"Eh, Ange, you've done shan shan before?"
"...You were doing it just yesterday! Even if it was just to spite me!"
Did she play it on my smartphone without permission while I was in the bath?
She certainly had shown interest in my smartphone.
I wonder if she accidentally launched the app while she was checking who I was contacting.
"Then it'll be quick. Shall we do it together?"
"...Together?"
"Quietly, so we don't wake Ayako-chan."
"Quietly..."
"It's only until I make breakfast. I wonder how many times we can do it."
"...Um... I... if it's consecutive, um, three to four times is my limit. ...Forty times like Father is a bit..."
"I don't do that many."
I launched the app and put it on mute.
There is nothing as hollow as a silent rhythm game.
Even so, just playing with a girl gives it a strangely festive feeling.
"T-the smartphone? You use that slab? Isn't it too specialized?"
While feeling suspicious of Angelica's grim expression, I silently continued to clear the songs.
"Are you watching?"
"...Yes. Some girls with big eyes are dancing."
"This is shan shan. It's a rhythm game."
"Eh?"
I explained the concept of handheld games to Angelica.
For some reason, she gave me an expression like "I haven't heard of such a thing, what a misunderstanding I had," but since she looked visibly relieved halfway through, it shouldn't be a bad response.
Angelica taps the screen with a probing touch.
"...It's difficult."
"It's probably like that at first. Besides, since I'm playing with the sound off, it must be hard to keep the rhythm."
Angelica's ears are still red.
"...Could it be that my heart is the most corrupt of all?"
"What are you talking about?"
I pat her head, thinking Ange is a good girl.
"I'm going to make food soon, so you can play with that for a while."
"...Yes."
Come to think of it, I realized there was one more person for breakfast as I opened the refrigerator.
Fortunately, while playing around with Angelica, my mind has cleared up, so I feel like I can make a delicious meal.