Chapter!
Chapter 9 - My step-daughter ran away from homeEight o'clock passed, but the front door still remained closed. This isn't right… We sat in the dining room the entire time; it was painful, simply staring at the door.
"Um, Laetia, it's gotten really late, hasn't it? She should have known to come home by now, right?"
"She should have."
Laetia was propping up her head with her hand on her right cheek.
"I wonder if she ran away from home… When I was a child, I did that once or twice myself…"
At the words "ran away from home," I felt myself consumed with dark feelings of guilt.
It couldn't have been our argument this morning, could it have? But I don't think I said anything out of the ordinary. Laetia had agreed with my points, too…
Wrong. That wasn't the issue at all. Whether or not I said something wrong, whether or not it was my fault, my daughter may have run away from home. That being the case, as a father, I already knew what I had to do.
I stood up.
"I'll go look for her. Please try to think of places Angelica might be."
"No, I don't… This is the countryside, so whether it's the town or somewhere else, they're all pretty far. There are so many places she could be."
"Even still, I'll look in those places. It's nighttime and my daughter isn't home yet, what kind of father would just sit back and wait for her?"
More so since she's a teenager. It's not impossible for her to have gotten involved with some shady men. …Well, she is the hero, so if they were just thugs then she could probably handle them with a single punch, but, since she's at the same time a runaway girl, I couldn't guarantee that she couldn't be swayed by someone clever. If she had alcohol or some sleeping pills, she'd be just as defenseless as anyone else while asleep.
"I will definitely find her. Even if Angelica doesn't see it that way, I am her father."
I rushed out of the house.
This morning, I had tried to appeal to Angelica with words. However, words by themselves aren't enough to change someone's feelings. On top of that, this was between family, which further complicates things. Because we're family, I need to support my words with actions.
I ran. I ran faster than most humans could run. It was hard to teleport to a place I had never been to before. And I couldn't just fly in to some town I had no interest in as I pleased. Oh well, even on foot, it wasn't that far, so I wouldn't lose much time.
I went around to bars and leisure establishments asking around if anyone had seen the hero Angelica. One guy responded by exclaiming "Demons are looking to kill the hero!" Of course he would. However, it was hard for me to stay calm when I heard that.
I wanted him to shut his mouth. "'My daughter isn't home yet even though it's this late. So, I'm looking for her.' Even you can imagine that, right? You understand?"
The man turned his back on me. I suppose I couldn't expect anything more. I was the demon lord, after all.
Ten o'clock. I didn't find Angelica in any of the bars or establishments around the town. It was possible we just missed each other, but I didn't want to return home to find that she still wasn't back. Where else could she have gone? She wouldn't set off on a journey by herself, would she? If so, then there was a time limit for how long I had to find her.
I'm still the demon lord, though. I won't get tired just from this. I still had more than enough stamina left. Still, I felt like I was being mentally cornered.
Perhaps, if I could ask her friends, they might know of some place I may have overlooked. I was only searching based on hunches and presumptions, after all.
Suddenly, it dawned on me.
A friend. I had forgotten until now that I did know one.
I teleported to the mage girl's, Selene's, house. I went up and knocked on the door. The man I met before, the one who looked like her older brother, answered.
"I apologize for coming by so late at night. Did the hero Angelica by chance come here? Her mother is worried because she hasn't come home yet."
I didn't want to make things complicated, so I left out the part about me being her father. I wasn't here to explain any of that anyway.
The man looked down at his feet. A bitter smile mixed in with his expression. It was as though he was embarrassed about something.
"I'm sorry to say that she did not come here. Have you asked anyone else in the party? They might have more information for you."
"I see. I'm sorry to have bothered you."
"B-But… she's the hero, right? I don't think you have to be that worried for her… She's a lot stronger than a typical girl, so… Plus, she's an adventurer, it should be pretty standard to go out on a journey for days at a time…"
"Thank you very much. But—you're talking as though you already know that she's safe."
It was really easy to read humans. Swindlers aside, people who weren't used to lying always exhibited a sense of discomfort that immediately gave them away.
"That's not… She's not here. If you want, I'll call my sister Selene—"
"It's fine, elder brother."
The mage girl Selene cut in from behind the man. Even though she was at home, she still wore the black hat indicative of a mage. That said, it didn't seem like she was going to throw any spells at me.
"Mister demon lord, if you are looking for Angelica, she is currently in my room," she said stiffly. "You may enter if you wish. Please, come with me."
I followed after Selene.
Inside her room, Angelica was lying down on the bed. Considering she was in pajamas, it appeared she was planning on staying the night here.
"Huh?! Why is the demon lord here?!"
Angelica was so surprised that she yelled out, flustered.
"He came here asking about you, so I allowed him in. I believe it would make things worse if we tried to drive him off."
"But wait! You promised you'd say I wasn't here! You can't just break a promise like that!"
"Yes, I lied to you. However, to tell someone that you are not here would also be a lie."
Suddenly, a smile surfaced on the mage girl's face.
"Furthermore, the face the demon lord was making looked like that of a father who was truly worried for his daughter from the bottom of his heart. Even I could recognize that."
"Mage Selene, I give you my thanks."
I bowed my head to her.
"As a matter of fact, considering my role in this, I should have instead earned your condemnation, so please, pay no mind to it."
Thus, I was able to find Angelica.
— — Chapter 10