Chapter 6 - Starting as Parent and Child
I looked straight into her emerald eyes and spoke to her as if to reason with her.
"You probably don't really understand your own feelings."
"...Do I look that much like a child to you?"
"You do. Your resentment toward the people who forced you into the status of a Holy Maiden, your curiosity toward men in general, your fangirl-like admiration for the Hero, your hunger for fatherhood, and your sympathy for me. All those emotions are jumbled together, and you're mistaking it for love."
"...It's not like that."
"The moment you made it look that way, it was your failure."
Angelica bit her lower lip and lowered her eyes, the succubus-like expression from before gone. (T/N: lowers eyes, signaling submission or dejection)
She looked down, trembling slightly.
Eventually, a transparent drop traced her cheek and fell toward her chin.
Had I hurt her? Or had she felt something from my words?
I didn't know. I didn't know anything yet.
I didn't know what you were thinking at a time like this. That was how little I knew about you.
"...You're still only sixteen. You should explore various possibilities."
As Angelica covered her face with both hands and shook her head, I spoke to her with as much sincerity as possible.
"For now, let's wait until you're an adult. If you still have romantic feelings for me then, I'll consider it. But not now. It's too early."
Age shouldn't matter, though. Angelica, muttering in a tearful voice, was as young as her age suggested.
"Why don't you see various things in this world, meet various people, and then come up with an answer? You might fall in love with a boy your own age."
"This is... you're rejecting me, aren't you?"
"It's not that. I just don't want to do something like taking advantage of a child's loneliness."
The biggest reason was that I couldn't imagine any woman other than Elsa.
But I possessed the cunning not to say that out loud.
Because I was an old guy.
A dirty adult.
Unlike you.
"Right? There's no way to go back to that world anyway. So I don't mind living here together. For now, why don't we start as parent and child? It's a trial course. For both me and you."
"A trial...?"
"The relationship between father and daughter might turn out to be surprisingly comfortable, and you might stop seeking anything more. It would be no laughing matter if, after entering a romantic relationship, you realized that what you actually wanted was a father. ...Apparently, that's common for girls who date much older men."
"I'm different!"
"Different," she said.
She really was an adolescent child, I thought, as a protective feeling welled up within me.
It was as if my previous awareness of her as a woman was a lie.
...That's right. Even if it was only for a short while, the fact was that I had been aware of her.
Damn, it was pathetic at my age.
It was practically a crime.
In a situation like this, was it better to hide it or to say it honestly?
If I pushed her away too coldly, it would be like declaring she had no feminine charm. Did I need to follow up a little?
I placed a hand on Angelica's shoulder and said, pretending to be casual.
"...Um, you know. It's not like I feel bad being adored by a cute girl. To be honest, I thought my heart was going to stop."
Suddenly, the Holy Maiden looked up.
She really was a fickle one.
"So there's a chance...!?"
"If I were in my teens, I would have fallen for you long ago."
"You can fall for me even in your thirties, can't you?"
"No."
"Ehh—"
"No."
I pushed back the forehead of Angelica, who was aggressively bringing her nose close to mine.
I felt relieved at the suddenly relaxed atmosphere.
"Since I'm your guardian from now on, listen to what I say."
"...I'll make you my partner soon enough, though."
"Yeah, yeah. I get it, so let's just eat and go to sleep today. I'm tired."
"No way. I finally wanted to try staying up late in this world."
"You'll stop growing taller."
"Ugh."
As I thought, she was concerned about that. It was amusing.
"Alright, food, food. I'll fry some gyoza for you. They're delicious, though your breath will smell a bit."
"Is it an old-man-like dish?"
"W-Well, yeah."
I opened the refrigerator and took out some frozen gyoza.
If I made some random meat and vegetable stir-fry to go with this, and added miso soup and rice, she'd be full.
It was a very Japanese menu for someone from another world, but there was a reason.
I was testing whether the seasoning of this country suited her palate. If she showed a rejection reaction, I'd focus on Western food from tomorrow.
...Come to think of it, food expenses would be for two people now.
I suddenly felt discouraged, wondering if I could support us on my earnings.
Was it time for me to find a proper job?
If I was going to support a girl, I couldn't keep living in poverty as a way to punish myself.
If I looked properly, I might find physical labor that could make use of my Hero specs.
Like a martial artist or a stuntman.
Though I wasn't keen on it since it seemed like I'd stand out in a bad way.
As I lowered my shoulders and spread oil in the frying pan, Angelica spoke to me from behind.
"But Hero-sama, you were truly worried about me earlier, weren't you?"
"Of course."
"That's unfair, doing that. ...I've ended up liking you even more, Hero-sama."
"Why?"
"So it was true that you're 'Natural Charmer Keisuke.'"
"Did I have a nickname like that over there?"
"It's a famous story," she laughed, the previous gloom gone.
She was a girl with a bright personality who didn't let heavy topics drag her down.
She surely wasn't a bad girl.
That was exactly why I wanted her to be happy.
She should be with someone younger and better than me. Someone other than me.
"Smells good. Is it a garlic dish?"
Angelica, twitching her nose, was adorable like a cat.
That's right, this was a cat in human form. If I thought of her that way, no mistakes should happen.
"I'm so lucky to have a father who's good at cooking."
"If you think of me as your father, you'd better help with the housework starting tomorrow."
And so.
Angelica polished off the finished dinner in no time.
She even asked for seconds, so she probably wasn't just finishing it out of politeness.
She said the seasoning was more complex than in the other world and wasn't bad. She had a pretty good palate.
It was delicious for me, too.
Eating dinner while talking to someone else for the first time in a long while made it taste exceptional.
A girl who was the polar opposite of Elsa in both appearance and temperament.
Would I be able to play the father figure well?
"Daddy, if you have nothing to do, let's make a baby."
"Shut up and go to sleep."
I just had to make it work.