Chapter 56: Expanding Defense Perimeter
As dawn breaks, I immediately tried to take a look at Ayako-chan’s status, and just as I feared, her level went up by a lot. Her attack and agility didn’t go up by much, so that’s a relief, but anything that has to do with her magic powers have been blown out of proportions.
Seems like the girl had a talent to be the rearguard of the party. She even ended up learning a skill called Weakness…though as far as I know, it’s a debuff that shouldn’t be available to anyone who doesn’t have a dark or demonic attribute, which means Ayako-chan had a dark attribute…to no one’s surprise.
But…that doesn’t really matter. The thing that concerned me most is that an ordinary person had learned magic. If they have been living in Japan for ages, they wouldn’t be able to get these skills, and they only awaken this potential because they’ve gotten EXP and skill points that are not native to this world.
As I fold my arms and groaned, thinking what to do now, I noticed something briefly.
“Debuff?”
Could it be?
I beckoned Ayako-chan over and she came closer.
“I’m going to need you to follow what I said and make a chant, okay?”
“…a chant?”
“Did you remember that you heard about a skill in your head last night?”
“…I was so sleepy, so I thought I was hallucinating as always.”
“…as always?”
I avoided going too deep into it since it’s scary.
“Anyways, can you point your finger my way and say Lower Strength? That should activate the skill.”
“Oh…kay? It’s a bit embarrassing, isn’t it? Like we’re make-believing…” said Ayako-chan before casting the spell.
In an instant, my body grows heavier, a sign of my strength decreasing as I start to succumb to the pressure of gravity.
“Woah…this is…it’s so effective…”
“Are you okay!?” asked Ayako-chan in panic, which I should be thankful about. The girl firmly grasped onto my shoulders and bringing her entire face closer than necessary.
“Thanks, Ayako-chan. With your debuff, it’s possible for me to live as a normal person.”
“…huh?”
“I think Ange is getting a bit too strong too, so I actually want you to cast it on her as well.”
“…what do you…?”
And then, although it was a sentence that might invite some misunderstandings, I still have to say what I have to say:
“Can you stay with me forever? I need you in my life.”
“OF COURSE!”
Just as Ayako-chan replied with absolutely no delay nor hesitation, Angelica came rushing out of the bathroom saying “Babymaking~ babymaking~”, but the instant she saw Ayako-chan and I, she froze.”
“…huh?”
【Party Member: Holy Maiden Angelica‘s Possessiveness1of Nakamoto Keisuke is increased by 500】
“No, please, there’s nothing to feel guilty about. Ayako-chan, please say something too.”
“He said he wants to stay with me forever.”
“AYAKO-CHAN!?”
【Party Member: Holy Maiden Angelica‘s Possessiveness of Nakamoto Keisuke is increased by 5,000】
“Daddy…you went and said all of those things yesterday, and now you’re already proposing another girl…?”
“No, that’s a mistake, listen—”
“I can’t believe you! I’m going to have you make a baby with me right now!” she said, before leaping straight into me.
“You can’t…god damn it, I can’t shake you off because my strength is sapped!” freewebnove(l)
“What happened daddy? You’re not resisting at all, you know? Don’t tell me you wanted this from the start? Your mouth’s telling me no but your body’s telling me yeah, is it?”
Angelica completely went on the offensive and pushed me down fiercely.
“Ayako-chan! Quickly cast the debuff on Ange! Please!”
“Awawa…”
As I witnessed Ayako-chan struggle in panic, I had a feeling that…I am happy right now. Despite the chaos, I feel somewhat fulfilled. Looking in retrospect, I’ve been thinking that my life is a huge piece of shit ever since I came back from that other world, but now? There’s a girl who desperately wanted to pick me up, which led me to think that it might be better if I think about myself a bit more. Would you want to see a girl who said she loves you to deal with a septic tank? Of course not, so I can’t stay a piece of shit forever.
“We’re going to have a daughter, and she’s going to have a little brother, okay!!” yelled Angelica, with her hands pinned behind her back by Ayako-chan.
If I want to protect this daily life, I will need to protect myself a bit more, and I should put an end to self-abandonment to fulfill that. In short, to expand my defensive perimeter, I need to include myself in that as well.
“Sorry, Ange. I get what you meant. I’ve seen the light, so please forgive me.”
“You’re not making any sense!!”
As Ange slumped over under the effects of the debuff, I moved away and started preparing breakfast. I put a frying pan on top of the stove and poured some oil in it.
I broke an egg, and two egg yolks came out on top of the frying pan. With a wry smile as I say they’re two peas in a pod, I continue cooking.
【Just like Earthlings and Otherworlders, isn’t it?】
Elza asked through the System Message, to which I replied with “That’s true”. I’ve heard that we’re originally the same being anyways. Seems like there’s still a lot that I need to ask Kana about.
I was be the type of person to pull away from everything and doubted everything, and I would also doubt that conclusion, but just for today, I didn’t feel like it. For today…well, I guess I’ll do that after I finish entertaining Angelica and Ayako-chan.
That’s what it means to treasure yourself, right?
_______________________________________________________________
Author’s Note:
This concludes the 2nd volume. I’m thinking that Rio would be the center of attention in the 3rd volume.
1 Previously “Desire to Monopolize”
This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by (f)reew𝒆b(n)ovel.com