Chapter 40
I abruptly opened my eyes .
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It’s morning already .
According to the smartphone in my hand, it’s currently 6:21 A . M .
I’m still not fully conscious yet . I was sleeping on the futon I laid out on the floor, so I couldn’t sleep well . My neck and shoulders are all stiff now .
Three people won’t fit a single bed, so we decided that I would sleep on the floor . Angelica said that she would sleep on the floor with me, but I managed to persuade her by asking her to understand the feelings of a parent who prioritizes the sleeping comfort of his daughter .
Anyways, that’s how Angelica and Ayako-chan can sleep peacefully on the bed .
The two of them are wearing pajamas with the same pattern . There are clear differences between a western-looking girl and a Japanese-looking girl, but both of them are beautiful regardless . If only they’ll stay sleeping, they’ll always be cute though…especially Ayako-chan .
I head for the toilet and finished my business there . I then washed my face and brushed my teeth, only to find that I still couldn’t shake my drowsiness away, so I headed for the kitchen and drank some water . The feeling of having water go down your throat wakes me up a bit .
I unsteadily went back to the living room .
Today’s recording session should start from 9:30, so I still have a lot of time .
I was interested in the news, so I thought of turning the TV on but I’d feel bad for waking the girls up so I decided against it and decided to fiddle with my phone instead . I tapped on the screen and looked up some news site .
[Increasing the Power of Pluripotent Cell; A Human Experiment of your Own!?]
[Clone of the Genius Table Tennis Player Yui-chan Appears]
[Clones of Japanese National Football Team Members Appear One After Another]
Lots more similar titles are lined up .
It seems like the culprit has gone out of control¹ and had begun to mass-produce people again and again .
For now, the culprit still aims for skilled people, which only muddies the water as of why they decide to clone Ayako-chan . No matter how I think of her, her abilities are nothing more than a normal person . Her academic ability might be quite high, but at best it’s an average for someone who aims to go into higher education . If there’s anything that would be considered outstanding, it’s her physical appearance .
Then again, if that fits the bill, then a lot of celebrities should’ve been cloned as well, but so far the people who has been cloned are those who are a cut above the rest in terms of intellect or physical strength . Not one idols or actresses had been cloned .
Why her? What would be their reason of breaking their own rule and wish for another Ayako-chan specifically?
Murmuring to myself as I tried to make sense of it, I saw someone squirming on top of the bed . It’s the awakening of my beloved daughter .
“Good morning, Ange . ”
Angelica lets out some groans before stretching .
“Good morning…daddy…you’re early today . ”
“I couldn’t have a good sleep . ”
Angelica rubbed her eyes as she headed for the bathroom .
There’s one thing you must do in the morning .
“…and I’ll be able to hear all of them . ”
The sound of water flowing and the sound of toilet paper rolling resounded .
I want to quickly move into a larger place with thicker walls . ASAP . The noises of a teenage girl’s daily life is dangerous .
Several minutes later, Angelica pattered her way to me . Judging by how I heard some splashing in the washroom earlier, I figured that she had washed her face and brushed her teeth .
“Dad?”
“What is it?”
I gave a curt reply while still looking at my phone . I also thought that perhaps it’s time for me to make breakfast .
“Did something happen between you and Ayako-san?”
Shaken, I lowered my phone .
“…W-what are you talking about…I just saved her, and now I’m temporarily taking care of her…that’s all…”
“Hmmm…” Angelica threw me a doubtful gaze .
“Haven’t you been scared of Ayako-san, dad?”
“…I still am . That doesn’t change . ”
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“Really? Even if she’s scary do you still think she’s cute?”
“Huuh? What’s with that?”
“I saw it, you know?” Angelica said .
What did she see? She shouldn’t have seen when Ayako-chan started sucking on my fingers, right? She should’ve been taking a shower at that time so it’s physically impossible for her to see it .
“You went to the toilet late at night, didn’t you?”
“…y-yeah, I recall going to the toilet once . You were awake?”
“You looked at the bed, didn’t you?”
“W-What’s so bad about it? I was curious on your sleeping face . Besides, your sleeping posture is bad, you know? If I were to leave you alone you’ll sleep with your stomach in the open so I thought I had to fix it . ”
I’m your father after all, I added as a bluff .
“Riight . As usual, you fixed my disheveled pajama and even put the blanket back on me . ”
“Y-Yeah . What about it?”
“And then you did the same thing to Ayako-san and even gave her a pat on the head…and you took your time with it . ”
“…”
You saw that much?
“…you didn’t even do it to me . You didn’t even do it to me . You didn’t even do it to me!”
“No, there wasn’t any deep meaning behind it! See, don’t you feel sorry about her? Because of some weird reason, Ayako-chan had been split into two and because of that she can’t go back home, you know? I thought I felt sorry for her, so it was just sympathy and compassion . I’d do the same even if it’s an animal . ”
“…that rapid talking makes you suspicious . ”
Rather, has this girl been feigning sleep the entire time?
“I wondered if there were any events last night that could make you feel something towards Ayako-san . It’s really suspicious . ”
“…of course not…Since we came back here there weren’t any time when me and her were left alone, right? Except for the several minutes when you were in the shower . ”
“You can do a lot of things in between several minutes though, right?”
This might be it for me . A father can not win against his daughter . That’s how our affinity works . It’s like I’m someone with Fire attribute while she’s someone with Water attribute .
“…Ange…um…listen…”
“Do something to me too . ”
“…huh?”
“You gotta do something to me too .
“Huuuh?”
Angelica’s eyes are sparkling . Not like a heroine of a love comedy, but rather like a shark lurking after its prey, and I’m but a piece of meat floating on the surface of the ocean .
“…Do something…like what?”
“Bad things . ”
“I’m telling you I didn’t do anything to Ayako-chan……damn it, that’s unfair . You can’t just start crying out of nowhere…”
I don’t get it . I was just seriously thinking about the recent bizarre incidents, but for some reason I got swallowed by a worrisome infatuation . What did I do? I didn’t dosomething that weird, did I? All that happened was that the girl I picked up were ogling me indecently and started sucking on my fingers while another girl that has feelings for me was in the bath . That person deserves a death sentence, and that person is me! I’m the ace of a fucked up world . I’m in the pace of the Tokachi era² . The more I win the less of a decent human being I feel like I am .
“…My bad, Ange . I’m sorry . For now I’ll admit that everything’s my fault . Please don’t cry . ”
I stroked her soft blond hair trying to calm her down . If I were to be honest, at this moment in my life, I love Angelica the most . That’s without question . I don’t mean it in a weird way of course . I love her like a daughter or a little sister, and I hold that position dearly . If our age difference is less than 10 years, it’s possible that I would possibly consider her as a romantic partner .
On the other hand, I only felt that Ayako-chan and I closed our distance only briefly . You wouldn’t feel anything weird from being approached by a junior of the opposite sex, would you? For her I only felt that I’m just doting on an underclassman . If you want to blame someone, blame that mole on her nape . That thing’s a war criminal .
“Can you understand from my explanation? I cherish you the most . ”
“…I want to have the same mole as well . I’d be able to entrance you in a heartbeat then . ”
“You don’t get it, do you?”
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With this much ruckus, I won’t be surprised if we woke Ayako-chan up, so I glanced at the bed . While I’m not sure if she’s feigning sleep or not, at least there were no signs of movement . Ah well, I’ll do anything at this point . Whatever happens, happens . If she wants me to ask then I’ll ask .
“What should I do? Can I not convey my sincerity through words alone?”
“…I’ll forgive you if you do lewd things with me . ”
“I’m telling you that’s not possible . ”
It’s so early in the morning and she’s clinging to me begging for something crazy with tears in her eyes . I want to stay as a parent and child with this girl though .
Parent and child…parent and child, huh .
“Alright, I just have to show my sincerity by actions, right?”
That’s right . Parent and child . Angelica was from that other world . In other words, she’s a foreigner . Over there, this is just a greeting between a child and her parent .
That’s why .
I pushed my lips toward Angelica’s .
“Do you get it?”
We’re still parent and child; I’m still on the clear . That was close, but it’s safe . Angelica counts as a Westerner, so it’s close but safe . If I were to do this to a Japanese, it would count as a relationship between the sexes . It would probably be a lot of trouble even abroad if I were to do this to a girl I met about a month ago, but as long as it’s legal in my mind, that’s fine . It’s just how you feel about it . Or rather, I’m not sure what I’m thinking about right now .
“…you did it when you have something to feel guilty about, so it’s a kiss to distract me, isn’t it?”
“I’ve never felt guilty about something since I was born . ”
Angelica touched her lips with her finger and glared at me with her reddened eyes .
“…Well, that’s fine . I’ll let it pass for now . You’ve never kissed anyone else other than Elzsan so you’re quite an oddball, aren’t you dad?”
“Is it really that well-known?”
Even if the people in that world see it as a greeting, in my point of view, it’s still a strong way of expressing your affection, so I didn’t want to do it so liberally .
Angelica is the second person I’ve exchanged a kiss with . It’s more like a surprise attack though to be honest .
“…I’ll have you do it more frequently from now on . ”
“What?”
“I’ll have you do it before you go out and when you come back home, okay!”
“That’s too much! That’s like a married couple!”
“I came with the intention to be married with you!”
Ayako-chan turned over in her sleep and hit something . She’s scary…but whatever . Whatever happens happens . Because of my drowsiness, fatigue and hunger, my head is not working properly .
The two of us ended up yelling at each other . This sleep-deprived body can put up with a lovers’ quarrel .
“…this is so troublesome…I wanna be healthy³…if I’m healthy this will be…”
Holding tightly to my phone, I remembered of the late rhythm game I played . It’s not really dead, but I was so cornered that I automatically thought of that expression .
Idolmaker Princess Concert; a rhythm game where you tap at the screen on the appropriate time to accumulate your score as some pixel beauties dance in the background . When you tap the screen, there’s a sound of bells jingling, and it seems like people would feel better playing it³ .
When I came back to Japan, this used to be what numbed the pain, and I even spend quite a few bucks on it .
Still, I haven’t been playing it recently . I’m so busy, and there’s a girl in my house, so I held back thinking that I don’t want to bother her with the noise . I also held back considering what would they think of me if they see me playing a game with girls on it .
I was paying attention to how society sees me .
“…I wanna do the jingles³…I wanna be healed…”
I feel like I’m getting withdrawal symptoms . I even thought that perhaps this is why my thought process had been messing up recently .
My eyelids grow heavy and my vision starts to fade . I’ve been interrogated by Angelica from early morning, felt the pure dread that came from Ayako-chan and had to think about the cloning incident . I think I’m turning into a mentally ill patient that can only mutter the word “jingles”
“…dad…?”
“…I wanna do the jingles…I wanna sleep…it’s nothing but troubles since early morning…”
“D-dad? What do you mean jingles?” Angelica looked at me with a worried expression .
She’s too soft more than one way, so even after all that she’d still be concerned . She’s a simple one, really .
“Jingles is jingles . Can’t you understand that? It was my sole purpose in life before you came . ”
“…huh?”
“I wanna jingle…I wanna play…”
I can’t play with it muted, it’s just not how it works, so I couldn’t possibly play it with you two in the room . Besides, playing aside, every time I have a spare time you would ask me to pay attention to you so I can’t possibly have a time to sit down and play a game .
“Umm…can I ask something? What kind of act is this…jingles you speak of?”
“It’s a game, you know, game . A game to push yourself beyond your limits . It feels really great if you can do well in it, like you’ll feel a rush in your brain . ”
Angelica looked suspicious .
“…so jingles is a form of playing that feels very good?”
The feeling of accomplishment after finishing a song with high difficulty level is way more than just refreshing .
“Um…do you often do this…jingle, dad…?”
“I haven’t done it since you came here . I’m holding myself back . ”
“…so it’s something you can’t do with me around, is it?”
“There’ll be some sounds and it’s lewd, so obviously I can’t do it with you around . ”
The idols’ costume can be a bit extreme at times and their boobs tend to jiggle a lot . It’s a game you can’t really play in front of a girl in her teenage years .
“…s-so it’s a type of play that lets out some sound and it’s lewd…um…do you feel refreshed after doing that?”
“Super refreshed . It’s really refreshing . ”
“…r-really…h-have you jingled in that world as well?”
“Of course not . ” I didn’t have my smartphone back then . It’s a form of entertainment only available in the modern world . “I started to do it once I went back here . ”
“…t-then did you start to be completely absorbed in it after you lost Elzsan?”
“Well, yeah…It heals your loneliness…that alone was my only source of hope…”
Before long, I was moved to tears . The heart of a rhythm game addict is a brittle one .
“I really wanna jingle…Should I just do it here right now? I don’t care about the sound anymore . I’ll just do it full volume . ”
“Y-You can’t do that!! What are you thinking! Where’s your pride as a hero!?”
“I didn’t have any of that since the beginning . I’m gonna do it . If I said I’m going to do it I really mean it . Witness my way of life!”
“YOU CAAAAAN’T!!!”
Angelica desperately clung onto me, shaking her steaming red face . Why are you so against it anyways?
“I’m sorry dad! It’s because I teased you too much that it’s come to this, isn’t it…? B-besides, you can’t do it because you suddenly have to live with a girl, right? You’re at your limit, right?”
“So you can understand me, I see . Then let me go, I wanna pursue the path of the jingles!”
“You can’t!! I’m here…and Ayako-san is also just over there you know!? She’ll definitely be able to hear it!”
“She can hear it if she wants . She can do what she wants . ”
I glared at my phone, but Angelica, with her face red as a tomato, said with a burning emotion;
“…I-is there anything I can do to help? No, please let me help . I’ll take the responsibility of pushing you to your limits…O-or rather, I want to help!”
“No, you can’t . It’s a single player game . ”
“R-Right…it’s really a game for one…but…still…I think…it’s the responsibility of a wife . ”
“Aah, no, it’s not a completely single player I guess . I’ve gotta compete to get a better score than other players across the country . ”
“Huh?”
“There’s a competitive element to it too . There’s an event happening every month, and so I had to work full power to participate .
Angelica’s face turned from red to blue .
“…dad…you compete on how many times you jingle with other people?”
“Of course . I’d have to drink some stamina recovery items if necessary and do it the whole night . ”
“The whole night…”
“At most I’ve done it 40 times in one go I think . ”
That time when I did 40 songs in a row I was really tired . Not physically, of course, I was mentally exhausted . My physical prowess as a hero didn’t matter .
“F-Fourty!? Fourty in a row!?”
“Is it really something you need to be that surprised about?” Angelica’s mouth opened and closes silently before continuing . “Y-You’re amazing, dad…As expected of a hero…the best in the world, right…” she said to herself as if understanding something .
“Hmm…well that’s about it…if you’re interested in it then should I teach you?”
If she also plays it then I wouldn’t have to hold back in playing it in front of her . There’s been a lot of girl gamers recently so it’s not really that weird . Maybe she’ll be interested in how cute the costumes are .
“…t-teach me what…?”
“Hm? How to play it . It’s fun once you’ve learned how to do it . I think it’s better for you to get used to these types of entertainment anyways . ”
“…Learn how to…I already know about it…you know that, right?” Angelica fidgeted as she muttered, “I can’t do it a lot of times like you can though…”
“Huh? You’ve jingled before, Ange?”
“…I did it just yesterday! I did it reluctantly to get back at you though…”
Did she fiddle with my phone and played it when I was in the bath? I guess she’s really interested in my phone . Maybe she accidentally opened the app when she was looking at what girls I’m in contact with .
“Then that makes it easy . Let’s play it together . ”
“…together?”
“Let’s do it quietly so we don’t wake Ayako-chan . ”
“Quietly…”
“We still have time before I have to make breakfast so…how many times can we do it?”
“…um…If I continue on, I can probably do it three to four times…I can’t do 40 times as you can…”
“Of course we won’t do that . ”
I opened the app and I muted it . There’s nothing as lifeless as a muted rhythm game . Still though, playing a game with a girl really makes it a bit more interesting for some reason .
“Y-your phone? Are you going to use that piece of wood? …you’re a peculiar one, dad…”
Angelica looked at me with questions, but I still continued to tap away to the tune .
“Are you looking?”
“…yes . There are some girls with big eyes dancing in there . ”
“This is what I mean by jingles . It’s this rhythm game . ”
“Huh?”
I went ahead explained the idea of a mobile game to Angelica . She muttered “how did I misunderstand like that” with a grim expression on her and she felt relieved for some reason, but I think her response is not bad .
With untrained fingers, Angelica tapped on the screen this time .
“…it’s difficult . ”
“It’s difficult for the first few times . Besides, you’re playing it with it muted, so it’s hard to follow the rhythm . ” Her ears are still untrained too .
“Is it just me that’s too dirty…?”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, before patting her head and saying that she’s a good girl .
“I’ll be making breakfast soon, so you can go on and play it a bit more . ”
“…yeah . ”
As I opened the fridge, I remembered that I need to make another portion of breakfast . Fortunately since I’ve cleared my head as Angelica is still being amused with the game, I think I can make a delicious breakfast .