Chapter 90 - Late-Night Meal
By the time I arrived at my apartment, it was past ten at night.
Out taking care of another woman, coming home late at night.
I'm a terrible father.
As I opened the front door, wallowing in self-loathing, Ayako-chan appeared in an apron.
"...Welcome home."
I stretched my neck to peer into the back of the room and saw Angelica curled up on the bed.
"I'm home. Looks like Ange fell asleep."
"...It seemed like she was trying to stay awake, but she's a morning person, you know. Before I knew it, she was like that."
"She's weak at night, that one. Aren't you sleepy, Ayako-chan?"
"I was waiting for you, Nakamoto-san."
"For me?"
"I thought you might be hungry. I was standing by, ready to make a late-night meal. Though you might have eaten out already."
"...So that's why the apron."
That's right, Ayako-chan said with a faint smile.
Somehow, I felt like I was doing something terribly wrong.
Felt like it—or rather, that was probably exactly the case.
While I had a girl (under eighteen) waiting to make me a meal, I'd been in a hotel bathroom doing all sorts of things with a woman I kept there (an illegal resident).
This was villainy of an unheard-of caliber.
...If I could make an excuse, I haven't crossed the line with Philia.
It's as close as it gets, but I've managed to hold back and pacify things right at the edge.
I'd like to think it's a non-lethal blow, so I should be acquitted.
"Huh? You smell like shampoo. Did you take a bath somewhere?"
"—Huh?"
Isn't it just your imagination? I said, playing dumb with all my might as I took off my shoes.
"But there's a floral scent wafting around you."
"...A woman leaned against me on the train home, maybe that's why."
"Heh heh. You're a magnet for woman trouble, aren't you, Nakamoto-san?"
She said "heh heh," but Ayako-chan's eyes weren't smiling.
"May I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Why have you been coming home late these past few days? You're currently on leave, pretending to be sick... right? You don't have any business that would keep you tied up late, do you?"
Ayako-chan stared at me without blinking.
Physically, there's no way I could lose to her, but she was unbelievably terrifying.
"I-I have days where I want to spread my wings a little too, you know. I've been buried in work for so long."
"...So you're saying you've been out playing to unwind?"
"Something like that."
"...What kind of play is that?"
"Why are you so concerned about it?"
"Is it a kind of play you can't tell me about?"
There was no way I could say I'd been confining a foreign woman, dressing and undressing her.
"...Pachinko! I've actually been playing pachinko! Ha ha ha! Man, I know it's a bad hobby and all, but—"
"...Do you like gambling?"
"Yeah, yeah, that's it. I keep it within my allowance, but it's not a great image, right?"
"...Generally speaking, that might be true."
"Right? I've got my own stupid pride, so I couldn't bring myself to say it."
Sorry for making you worry about something weird, I said, forcing a fake smile.
How I felt was like a mouse being glared at by a cat.
I'm not a bad mouse, I'm a terribly unappetizing stuffed animal, you'll throw up if you eat me—a pitiful prey trembling in fear.
"...I don't mind. My father used to play occasionally too."
"Oh? That's unexpected. Well, I guess being a university professor comes with its own stress."
Must be tough, I said with a half-hearted show of sympathy as I headed toward the living room.
I felt a mysterious pressure from Ayako-chan behind me, but I pretended not to notice.
I plopped down in front of the table and turned on the TV.
Every channel was probably just the same old specials about the dragon commotion, but having some noise was better than nothing.
Right now, I wanted any excuse to avoid talking to Ayako-chan.
'The government, regarding the giant creature that flew to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, has requested that unnecessary provocation be avoided, while also...'
I stared at the screen with an attitude that suggested I found the late-night news utterly fascinating.
Beside me, Ayako-chan sat in seiza, silently gazing at my face.
...Could it be she's gotten wind of the Philia situation...?
I glanced at her sideways, and our eyes met.
She gave me a sweet smile.
She didn't look angry. But there was an eerie intensity about her.
Wanting to physically distance myself from Ayako-chan for the time being, I casually muttered, "Maybe I'll eat something."
"I'm a little hungry, maybe from walking around. Could I get you to make me a late-night meal?"
"Really!"
In an instant, the seventeen-year-old's face lit up brightly.
"My father also eats something on days he comes home late. That's right, that's how men are, isn't it."
If it wasn't just my imagination, Ayako-chan's voice sounded buoyant.
Is making a home-cooked meal for me really that enjoyable for her?
Being shown this domestic side of her filled me with an overwhelming sense of guilt.
"Please wait. I'll have it ready right away."
So saying, Ayako-chan turned around.
Using a hair tie, she deftly gathered up her hair.
And that's when I realized it—today, Ayako-chan had nothing showing through the back of her shirt.
She was braless.
She's usually more the type to feel the cold, so what on earth was going on?
She also had about two buttons undone at her chest, transforming into a strangely provocative girl.
This kind of sloppy dressing is supposed to be Rio's thing, I thought, having the worst kind of reaction.
A guy who has acquaintances like a high school girl in charge of sloppy dressing and a high school girl in charge of cooking could probably be called the ace of the scumbag world.
While I was thinking such things, Ayako-chan headed to the kitchen and started opening the refrigerator.
I watched with a somewhat dismissive feeling, wondering if a teenage girl could really make a late-night meal an old man would like.
If she brought out some stylish, healthy menu, I could be relieved and disillusioned.
Well, young girls are just like that, I'd think. In the end, they're just cooking for their own self-satisfaction.
On the other hand, if she made a rich, heavy dish just the way I like it, my suicidal thoughts would go off the charts, thinking, "While I'm keeping such a thoughtful girl waiting at home, I'm..."
Please, spare me from that.
That won't happen, right?
It absolutely won't, right?
As I continued observing with a feeling like prayer, I witnessed Ayako-chan's hand gripping a pack of frozen gyoza.
No, way...?
As I trembled in astonishment, Ayako-chan put a frying pan on the heat.
After a moment, she picked up a bottle of sesame oil and calmly began drizzling its contents in.
A crackling, popping sound echoed, and a fragrant aroma tickled my nostrils.
Even so, gyoza, of all things.
It's probably one of the top menu items a middle-aged man craves in the middle of the night.
Why, I wanted to ask.
Why do you understand exactly what an old man wants done for him?
When I timidly asked, Ayako-chan answered in a quiet voice.
"My father also craves something greasy for a late-night meal."
I see, that's a daddy's girl for you, I suppose.
When you think about it, it's a simple thing, but the world is full of girls who can't even do this much.
Could Ayako-chan actually be a prime catch? Even such a vulgar thought began to well up.
"...What else are you making?"
"Agedashi tofu. Though it's leftovers from dinner. This one just needs to be microwaved and it's fine."
"Did you eat that with Angelica?"
"Yes! I thought you might want some too, Nakamoto-san, so I made extra."
Stop it, don't go lining up all the popular izakaya menu items.
I can't drink alcohol due to my constitution, but I generally love the kind of food that goes well with drinking snacks.
Why do you keep doing things just like a thoughtful young wife?
By now, my guilt was about to burst, and I was driven by an urge to confess everything.
But I suppressed my impatience and forcefully crushed my true feelings.
What good would it do to tell Ayako-chan about Philia?
It would only invite pointless trouble.
Right now she's acting like a Yamato Nadeshiko, but I mustn't forget that this girl's inner nature is that of a villain.
When I lent her my computer, my search history was contaminated in a single day, after all.
'Father Daughter R18 Video'
'Adult Male Sleeping Pills Duration of Effect'
'Keisuke Nakamoto Stripped Photo Manipulation'
I mustn't forget the chills I felt when I discovered she'd been researching with those kinds of terms.
That last one was so niche it didn't show up on any search engine.
Who the hell would even want that?
That's right. Ayako-chan is a genuine, full-fledged deviant, the likes of which you rarely see.
I mustn't let her surface attitude sway me into thinking, Huh? Isn't she just a normal good girl?
What awaits beyond that is a trap. Below it, a pitfall bristling with thorns lies in wait.
This girl is a deviant.
This girl is a deviant.
This girl is a deviant...
I chanted this in my heart as I turned my eyes to the TV.
An elderly announcer was reading that yet another dragon seemed to have appeared.
Apparently, it was cooperating with the dragon that appeared first, and they were starting to build a nest.
To put it bluntly, it was a catastrophe, but right now, I had all my nerves focused on Ayako-chan.
The dragon outside was less of a concern than the girl inside.
The thought that days like this would continue every time I came home late from babysitting Philia was unbearable.
No matter how much I told myself that her inner nature was twisted, being devotedly cared for by a young, beautiful girl—it would be stranger not to develop feelings.
What should I do?
Would it be better to just tell her everything?