Chapter 39

That’s still going to be fine, I replied.

“At worst, there will only be another me.”

The idea that you have to fight another you is pretty disgusting.But that’s a likely circumstance.What would happen if another me grew from that head that was cut off from me?There’s also the possibility of that me being transported from that parallel world into this one.

“I’m a piece of trash after all. I’m not gonna be surprised at whatever he does. I just happen to be standing sane here because I have Ange with me. Otherwise I’d have fallen deep down because of despair.”“…”“Maybe if there’s another me that did not get to meet you, Ange, it’s likely that he’d go around cutting people in half and healing them back to full. I don’t know what would motivate him to do that though.

I don’t know what she’s thinking, but Angelica tightened her hug on me.

“…you always jump straight into self-torture, don’t you dad.”“It’s not self-torture. I’d say it’s just a logical self-analysis.”“I think the culprit is not another you, dad. I’m sure he’s just another summoned hero. No matter how many dads there are, I know that you won’t cut someone in half for no reason.”

That’s the kind of person you are, asserted Angelica.

“Aren’t you thinking too highly of me?”“It’s not an overestimation!”“…I’m just wondering how you could trust me this much.”

Half happy and half embarrassed, I stroked Angelica’s head.

“It’s because I’ve known you for several years, dad.”“Huh? …oh, you mean you’ve heard rumors and stuff?”“I’ve read books about you too, you know? The title is The Hero Keisuke’s Adventures.”“Ah, I think I’ve heard of it.”

I think it was published during the 10 years I was there.The royal family published the book with national funds to promote the legitimacy of the hero they summoned.It doesn’t contain much details from my accounts, and instead it contains more of the grandness of the royalty.

“Did that book find its way into the Temple for the Sacred Maiden too?”“It’s everyone’s favorite book after all.”“I remembered that I was illustrated as a beautiful young man in that book though…”“Funny, isn’t it? Dad isn’t the beautiful type.”

Please be considerate of that, I said, pinching her cheek.It stretched more than I’d expected.She’s slender, but there are some parts of her that are unbelievably soft.The body of a young girl is full of mystery.

“But I like the real dad better than the illustration, you know? You’re very kind.”

Angelica put her hand on top of mine.She looks like she’s a bit enchanted.

A sixteen-year-old daughter sitting on my lap as she hugged me while I’m petting her cheek.

This is a condition where I couldn’t make excuses anymore.Wouldn’t it be bad if someone were to see this?Heck, isn’t there a third person in this house right now?

And then…Speak of the devil and he doth appear.

“Thank you for preparing a change of clothes as well.”

Ayako-chan arrived at the living room with a wet patter of her feet.With a magnificent splendor, I tossed Angelica onto the bed.What a hero. That was nothing.It was hella suspicious, but that was nothing.Lying on her back on top of the bed, Angelica pouted.

“G-Go take a bath!”“Dad, you coward.”

Where did that sweet atmosphere go?Angelica scoffed and dashed for the bathroom, leaving only me and Ayako-chan who just got out of the bath.Just the two of us.Ayako-chan rubs her head with the towel on her hands.I could smell the shampoo and conditioner from here.She’s dripping water to the floor, but it doesn’t feel like they contain the same fragrance.

“…did you have a fight with Angelica-san?”“No.”“…is that so.”

Anyways, the relationship between Ayako-chan and I is one between people who happened to see each other at the bookstore.Our age is too far apart, and we didn’t have a common thing to talk about while Angelica and I can talk about the other world.

So what should I talk to her about?

We don’t have much time, so I guess I’ll just tell her about what she needs.

“We have a hair dryer, you know? Look, over there, next to the pot. Go ahead and use it.”“Ah…okay.”

Ayako-chan said I’ll be borrowing it and and crouched down to look for something.It seems like she’s looking for a socket.Her crouching pushed up her buttocks against her pants, so her panty line can be seen.It was something I shouldn’t be seeing, so I immediately turned toward the TV.

“There should be a trash can over there. The socket should be next to it.”“…I found it.”

I heard her plugging in the cord into the socket, and after several seconds, the dryer the hair dryer started blowing.

Thinking that it should be fine now, I turned to look at Ayako-chan again.I thought that it would be a bit suspicious if I kept turning away.I’m at an age where I want to pretend that I’m not shaken by it.

Ayako-chan took a bunch of her hair and thoroughly dried it.Her fingers are moving so tenderly.They say that a woman’s hair is her life, so it’s understandable that she’d take care of it meticulously.To be fair, the cuticles of her hair is very impressive.Her damp hair glistens like the wet feathers of a crow.

I wonder what this feeling is.I feel like I want to keep looking at her fiddling with her hair. I felt a meaningless sense of unease.I wonder if this is a man’s instinct.It shouldn’t be an obscene body part though…

As I was getting restless by myself, Ayako-chan hung her head and started drying the top of her head.I could clearly see her white nape.Although not as fair as Angelica, Ayako-chan had a fairly light complexion. I’d bet she’s had the fairest skin for an Asian.

I found that she has a small mole between her shoulder and her neck.Why? Why is it that a single speck of melanin pigment deviation could look so enticing?

Wait wait,Why am I getting enticed? She’s a high-schooler. If I continue looking at her nape I’d feel something that I shouldn’t.Thus, I looked downwards, down to her back.Because of that, I noticed something even worse.

Ayako-chan isn’t wearing a bra below her pajamas.

The clothes were thin, and I can’t see any lines of her underwear.She got her underwear cut in half too, so I guess it was obvious.Angelica’s size wouldn’t fit either.I also heard that a lot of people chose not to wear one to sleep too.

This is bad.

Am I sheltering such a girl?Judging with my eye, I think Ayako-chan’s height is about 160cm, a little taller than an average girl.She’s borrowing Angelica’s sleepwear, the person with a smaller stature than her, so wouldn’t there be a lot of places that seem like it would burst out from the pajamas?

Thus, I swore to myself to keep my sights to her neck and above when Ayako-chan turns around. Yeah, let’s do that.

“Nakamoto-san, are you going out with Angelica-san?”

Just as I swore to myself, Ayako-chan turned her whole body towards me.I wish she wouldn’t pose herself in a way that would emphasize her body line like this.

I don’t care what it takes, just don’t let her find out about this…