Chapter 94 - Your Status Notes
By morning, the situation had worsened further.
Angelica and Ayako-chan had begun insisting that they too be taken to the hotel where the High Priest was being hidden.
"Unless I confirm it with my own eyes, I can't be certain whether the High Priest has truly lost his sanity,"
said Angelica.
"Indeed. There's a possibility he's faking a mental breakdown because he wants Nakamoto-san to put him in diapers. I know I would. I'd even like to do that right now,"
said Ayako-chan.
Just as there's a saying that those prone to cheating are the most suspicious of their partner's infidelity, people suspect others within the bounds of what they themselves would do.
In short, the more wicked a person is, the more wicked their imagination.
I want to shout at the top of my lungs that normal people don't feign madness because they want an old man to tend to their bodily needs.
The period where Philia and I weren't getting along was longer, but even so, I want to defend this line to the death.
I absolutely hate the idea of a serious antagonist's final fate being a diaper fetish.
Being insane is still far better.
Or rather, I find myself thinking that Ayako-chan and the others might already be insane in a different way from Philia.
"No matter what anyone says, Philia's mind is abnormal. The Status Appraisal gave that result."
Hmm, Angelica makes a sour face.
For her, being from another world, having the Summoned Hero's appraisal result played as a card likely leaves her no choice but to back down.
However, Ayako-chan, a modern Japanese person, looks dubious.
Fiddling with the chest button of her pajamas,
"What's a Status Appraisal?"
she asked.
"How should I put it... You know how I can use various mysterious abilities, right? It's part of that. I can appraise all kinds of substances. A simple explanatory note is also displayed."
"...Is it something like spiritual vision?"
"More sci-fi than occult, I guess? I see it in a layout like a game."
"...Huh... That's rather strange..."
It seems Ayako-chan's pajamas don't quite fit her.
The chest area looks tight, as if the buttons are about to pop off at any moment.
If they fit her height, the chest is tight; if they fit her bust, the sleeves are too long.
Though the difference is between breasts and pectoral muscles, she has the same problem as me.
"Can you appraise me too?"
"Huh?"
"No, just out of curiosity... I wondered what kind of description it would give."
Ayako-chan's appraisal result. I recall the status notes, an unprecedentedly long text depicting the inner life of a bizarre sex criminal.
It said things like she wanted to drug me, or wanted to use my stubble as a body scrub...
"It described you as a girl who loves reading and likes men like her father."
"...I see... That's surprisingly normal..."
In life, I believe kind lies are necessary.
"...Huh... I-I've never talked to you about my type of man, have I, Nakamoto-san...?"
"Hadn't you? Maybe you hadn't. Uh, so, you were in love with your father until last year or something? That's the forbidden love thing, right?"
"Ah—!! Ah—!!"
Ayako-chan shakes her head furiously, hair flying wildly.
At this sudden fit, Angelica looks startled.
"Ah, were you trying to keep that hidden? My bad."
Considering she confessed to me, the spitting image of Oyaji, I think that was practically an admission of liking fatherly men.
While she has the nerve to calmly engage in father-daughter incest debates, having her old crush exposed is apparently just plain embarrassing.
The female heart—no, the father-con heart—is hard to understand.
"...By any chance, Father, have you ever used Status Appraisal on me?"
Angelica asked with a probing look.
Her right hand is rubbing the back of the distraught Ayako-chan.
"I have."
"When did you... Wh-what did it say, my status notes?"
"It said you have strong sexual desire and curiosity."
"..."
Angelica's face flushes bright red.
It seems she has some idea why. Given her daily behavior, it's only natural she would.
"...I understand well. It seems you truly do possess the power to see the essence of things, Nakamoto-san."
Ayako-chan seems to have finally regained her composure, nodding in understanding to herself.
Now, as if trading places, Angelica has lost her calm, but ignoring her is probably the safest bet.
"...If that ability confirmed Philia-san's madness, then the possibility of it being an act seems unlikely."
"Right?"
"...Though if you were protecting Philia-san and fabricating the appraisal results, Nakamoto-san, then I'd be at a loss."
"You'd suspect me that far?"
"...I do trust you, you know."
She stares intently at me.
Ayako-chan's eyes are pure black and large. And because they reflect less light than most people's, they have a unique intensity.
"I swear to God, it's the truth."
Well then, it can't be helped, Ayako-chan says with a sigh.
"If Philia-san is in that state, someone has to take care of her, right..."
"...R-right? You finally understand?"
"I think the safest option is to put her in some facility, so I'll look into it later."
"...She doesn't have any ID she can use in Japan. No place will take her, I'm telling you."
Hmm, Ayako-chan furrows her brow.
"Don't tell me we're about to start nursing care here, in this house."
"...I do feel sorry about it."
"...I thought I'd be able to live a sweeter life if I stayed here."
"Well, but it's not like she can't use her limbs or can't feed herself. She's just a big-bodied kid."
"That seems like the most troublesome kind... If she starts wandering, we'll be in trouble."
"...That's true too."
"For now, please let me go to the hotel once. I can't tell how bad it is without seeing her myself. And depending on the situation, there might be things we need to buy."
"Got it."
In any case, I'm honestly glad she's shown a willingness to cooperate.
Ayako-chan and I talked it over between the two of us and decided to head to Philia's place right after breakfast.
Putting it off won't improve the situation.
If we're going to do it, sooner is better.
"Well then, I'll make breakfast."
"Huh?"
"I feel bad about it. I'll do it today."
Telling Ayako-chan to rest, I call out and head to the kitchen.
Thinking about making a girl do something like a helper for free from now on fills me with guilt.
I open the refrigerator and take out ingredients.
I'll just fry some eggs, maybe go Western style... As I'm planning the menu in my head, Angelica speaks to me from the side.
She seems somehow fidgety, or rather, restless and squirming.
"...I'd like to ask you something."
"What?"
"Um. Was that really all that was written in my Status Appraisal? B-besides the part about having strong sexual desire and curiosity, was there anything else strange written...?"
"You're worried about that? There wasn't any other big information."
"...Was there anything about the number of times?"
"The number of times for what?"
"...Ah, if there wasn't, then it's fine!"
Leaving behind an incomprehensible parting line, Angelica zips back to the living room.
The maiden's heart is complex.
What on earth is she worried about? I scoff through my nose as I crack the eggs.
I apologize for cutting corners, but I plan to make scrambled eggs.
If I add a vegetable salad and bread to this, it should make a passable breakfast.
As I'm cooking like that, the sound of the TV starts coming from the living room.
Ayako-chan must have turned it on.
It seems they're watching a morning news program, and the follow-up report on that dragon incident is being repeated.
'Uh, regarding the giant creature that appeared at the Metropolitan Government Building...'
Wouldn't it be fine to just call in the Self-Defense Forces quickly and have them exterminate it? I hold this detached impression.
But thinking about it carefully, maybe it's difficult precisely because the location is right in the middle of an urban area.
Is it my turn to step up after all?
Even with the Philia situation, a troublesome problem has come flying in.
'Ah! Everyone, please remain calm! Please remain calm! The footage is disrupted, but! A change has just been observed in the giant creature! Another one has flown in... This is... What is it doing?'