Chapter 64 - D-Rank
Lunch finished, Angelica stood up without a sound.
It was a movement as if she'd been pulled up by invisible strings.
"What's up?"
"I'm getting ready."
As she said it, she put her hands on the hem of her camisole.
She flipped it up with force, exposing her white stomach.
Incredibly, she was about to change clothes right in front of me.
Even if I tried to escape to the bathroom, Ayako-chan was in the middle of doing her business in there.
Excretion in front, undressing behind.
There was no refuge for me anywhere.
Thus, I could only choose the cowardly measure of "turning my back and keeping Angelica out of my field of vision."
The strongest Hero, cowed by just two girls.
What would the people from the other world say if they saw this?
"Hey, Daddy."
"What?"
"I want you to help me change."
"What the hell are you saying?"
You weren't always this much of a spoiled child, were you?
Or rather, until yesterday, you were supposed to be changing clothes so I wouldn't see you.
Just what kind of change of heart happened?
"Because Ayako told me. She said until last year, her father helped her change clothes, and they even took baths together. She said, with a triumphant look on her face, 'This is the father-daughter relationship in Japan'...! Isn't that unfair!? Just by being born a Japanese girl, you get this kind of bonus!? I was so frustrated, so frustrated, I ended up sulking in bed."
"Let me tell you, that's not normal at all. Don't take everything Ayako-chan says at face value."
"Never mind that, just help me. It's enough if you either put my bra on me or help me put on my panties."
"Those are exactly the two things you must not do."
Is this how, while I'm not around, Ayako-chan will steadily instill warped knowledge and values into her?
Because I picked up the worst girl imaginable for her education, Angelica's danger level is increasing more and more.
Just how far will she end up complicating her father complex in the end?
"Daaaddy."
In the end, I gave in to her pleading and decided to help only with fastening the hook of her bra.
I compromised to the very limit, and this is the boundary.
Anything more is unbearable, so it's impossible.
Or rather, this is reverse sexual harassment, I'd be the one crying, I protested, and as a result, Angelica reluctantly agreed.
"This is child neglect. From now on, you'll help me with everything."
With a huffy face, Angelica was putting her legs through a pink tight skirt.
Even though it's winter, it's knee-length, and just looking at it makes me worried.
She seems to be wearing stockings at least, but their defensive power is practically zero.
For her upper body, she wore a knit with white frilled sleeves. Over that, she had thrown on a light pink fur coat.
Apparently, this was the finished look.
She spun around on the spot, twirling, and asked for my impression with a "Look, look?"
"It suits you, it suits you. But maybe you should tone down the exposure a bit..."
"I'll get hot walking around anyway. This country is warm."
"...Well, the world over there had a cold climate. Maybe your body hasn't gotten used to it yet."
"Right? You start sweating right away too, don't you, Father?"
Or rather, this outfit, I'm seeing it for the first time.
Did she buy it herself?
It seems Angelica and Ayako-chan consult with each other while doing online shopping.
I'm the one who gave them the money as an allowance.
So, in our home's closet, clothes I'm not aware of increase day by day.
The same goes for underwear.
If you open the drawer under the bed, a scene that could rival a lingerie shop spreads out before you.
For mental health reasons, I absolutely won't do it, though.
They'll probably start dabbling in cosmetics soon too, and when that happens, we'll finally have nowhere to put them.
We have to find a good property and move, and soon.
While searching for demi-humans, I decide I might as well try visiting a real estate agent too.
I take out my smartphone and search the map.
The nearest real estate agent around here is... as I'm doing that, I heard the sound of water flushing.
It came from the bathroom.
I could also hear the sound of air freshener being sprayed, pshh pshh.
"Ayako seems to be finished."
Out of consideration for a woman's heart, it's polite to wait a few minutes.
I put on my coat, turned up the TV volume, and killed time.
Before long, Ayako-chan returned to the living room with a face that said, "Nothing dirty could possibly come out of my body, you know?"
Preparations complete.
After I and Angelica took our turns in the bathroom, we energetically leaped out the front door.
Sortie start.
When we had walked to the park, Angelica let out an "Ah."
It was a feeling like she had noticed something important.
"Is it okay for me to be like this? You always cast Concealment on me, don't you?"
"This time it's fine."
I hesitated a little, but today we'll go without hiding her appearance.
Demi-humans, starting with goblins, are deeply greedy and have a weakness for beautiful girls.
I feel bad for Angelica, but she'll have to serve as both radar and bait by herself.
If by any chance we encounter the police and are asked to show a visa or something, we can just use Concealment then for the first time.
If her figure suddenly vanishes, wouldn't the officer first doubt their own sanity?
Angelica is a possessor of unearthly beauty, after all.
I'd like to think that if we push through with "Officer, you're just tired," they'll interpret it as a hallucination.
More than goblins, I'm wary of this country's laws.
To them, I must be an incredibly insulting hunter.
"Do you have a policy for the search?"
"Ah, sorry it's so rough, but it's like this."
We'll walk around town, and I'll use Status Appraisal on the red dots Angelica finds with her detection.
If it's a goblin, we'll drag it into the shadows and interrogate it.
Just repeating this over and over.
It's steady, rough legwork, but will you come along? I check with her.
"...It seems like it'll take an awfully long time..."
Honestly, if I split myself again, it would probably save a lot of trouble, but if I do that, Angelica gets sad.
When I seal away self-destructive methods, my options become limited.
"Well, I'll just think of it as being able to have a date with Father for a day."
Saying "It can't be helped," Angelica linked her arm with mine.
The chest that she had been scratching vigorously in the room pressed softly against my elbow.
Angelica had her coat open in front. Meaning, the sensation was transmitted fairly directly.
I could even understand the feeling of my elbow being caught in her cleavage. A terrifying weapon.
"...It disrupts my concentration, so could you not press that area so close?"
"Ehh, does it make you feel weird? From your daughter's boobs?"
She was a terrible little devil. Angelica was grinning, looking truly happy from the bottom of her heart.
"What's so amusing?"
"Because, Father, you're properly getting excited by my chest. I was honestly convinced I had low-rank breasts, so I was losing a bit of confidence."
"Wha, what's that? There's a ranking for breasts?"
"Huh? This world ranks women's breasts, doesn't it? Like the Adventurer's Guild."
The Adventurer's Guild, that organization that ranked the roughnecks who spent all their time in dungeons with grades like A-rank, B-rank, and so on?
"What do you mean?"
"...Apparently, I have D-rank boobs. Ayako told me."
"D-rank...?"
"Before buying underwear, she measured my size with a measuring tape. And it turned out I'm D."
"..."
You, that's not a rank, it's about cup size.
If it's a D-cup, that's not low-rank, it's high-rank.
Knowing everything, the embarrassment that prevents me from saying it is the heart of a man.
"But it's laughable, isn't it. Ayako is apparently E-rank. Even though she's lower ranked than me, she was acting proud for some reason. Is that what you call defiant bravado?"
"I, I see. Ayako-chan is E, huh."
"Yes. I want to Rank Up to C-rank quickly and widen the gap with Ayako."
"...No... I think it's fine as it is..."
"That's no good! A desire for self-improvement is crucial in all things. I'm aiming for the top, AAA-rank!"
For my part, I wanted to switch to a different topic as soon as possible, even a second sooner.
There's an indescribable itchiness, as if I'd been suddenly thrown into a girls' locker room.
"Father, your face is red."
"...Shut up."
"Is it something to be that embarrassed about? Even though you're an old man."
You have a cute side too, Angelica was enjoying the pleasure of rolling me around in the palm of her hand.
"Since I want to see Daddy's reaction, maybe I'll talk more about boobs."
"S, stop it..."
Being toyed with by a girl half my age. This is my life.
"It's really just like it says in books, isn't it? Men are weak to this kind of talk?"
"...Shut up."
As expected, it's frustrating to keep being played with, so I try to argue back.
"Give me a break with the boob talk already... it's chipping away at my mental strength."
"Ehh. Hearing that makes me want to continue even more."
"Look. Try thinking about it from the opposite position."
"Opposite?"
"Er, well. How would you feel if I pressed my crotch against you and talked about how it compares to other men? Regardless of like or dislike, it'd be massive damage, right? Or rather, that's practically a crime."
"..."
"Ange?"
"...Even though I grew up for sixteen years in a place with only women, there's no way I can properly imagine a scene where a man presses his crotch against me! No way! Father won't let me touch it either, so I can't form any image of what it feels like at all, you know!? I want to try imagining it too, you know!?"
"Don't get all teary-eyed on me!?"
I had honestly suspected that she was secretly touching mine while I slept, so I'm filled with apologetic feelings.
Come to think of it, that Angelica, she aggressively sneaks into my bed and makes body contact, but she was always careful to never let her hand touch my private parts no matter what.
It seems her core is still that of an innocent maiden, after all.
"I was wrong, so don't cry... Alright, you can cling to me however you like today, so cheer up."
She's a mercenary one.
Angelica switched to a smile in the span of a second, and even demanded we hold hands with intertwined fingers.
For my part, it felt like, whatever happens, happens.
"We absolutely look like a couple like this, don't we?"
"...Yeah."
Just do your detection, please, I implore. I want to switch my consciousness from twin hills to goblin hunting.
"I'll do it now, I said."
Angelica closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
It seems she's finally in the mood to fulfill her original role.
[Party Member, Holy Maiden Angelica has activated Detection Skill]
[While the skill is in use, 3 MP will be consumed per second]
"...Ah. There's one, already. If we go straight ahead, we'll run into a red dot."