Chapter 109 – Sorry for the Worry (4)“Is it here?”
“Yes, Yuri-san is watching them. But there are other mothers inside, so please wait outside for a moment.”
With that, Aoi opened the door and walked into the napping room.
There were curtains set up just outside the door so that you can"t easily see what"s going on inside.
I"m told that the napping room was set up for moms with babies.
If I stepped in the room, even if I was nursing, it would feel awkward, and I couldn"t complain if I was lynched at worst. I"m scared. I"m terrified.
“Hey, hey, Kazamachi. Why do I have to go in there?”
Gasara blamed me in a voice laced with trepidation.
With Rouge positioned behind him, he couldn"t easily escape.
I"m not worried about it after all this time, but to Aoi, Gasara is still the enemy of the twins, so it"s also meant to rea.s.sure Aoi.
I tried to explain to her in as simple of a way as I could saying that it was part of my plan to get the twins and Gasara to meet each other, but she didn"t seem to like it.
Well that"s expected and no matter how many times I say it, I understand.
But it"s also true that if we don"t clarify the position of Gasara and his siblings here, we"ll be left with a lot of uncertainty about them in the future.
Regardless of how much they say with their mouths that these three people, including Gasara, will never reveal the ident.i.ty of Aoi and the others, I"m still worried.
I"d like to get them on my side in one fell swoop, so that I wouldn"t be as anxious.
That"s why I brought Gasara here.
“Just shut up and follow me. I won"t do anything bad.”
The line was said to rea.s.sure him, but it came across as more of a villainous phrase. I wonder how much credibility there is in this line.
“Lion person, show your hands.”
“I already said I won"t take out my weapons here!”
It looks like Rouge is having a pretty good time.
“Nii-chan, are you done with your treatment?”
The door to the nap room opened and Shouhei came out from inside.
“Oh, you were inside?”
It"s supposed to be all women inside, except for the little ones.
“I was embarra.s.sed to be a man all by myself. But Yuri-san said it was alright and forcibly took me in. At first, they cried a lot and it was hard for Aoi-neechan and Yuri-san.”
I"m surprised the other people didn"t say anything.
I would have definitely been screamed at.
Well, Shouhei looks younger than he is, and after all, he"s a handsome man.
Society is designed to benefit good looking people, d.a.m.n it!
“Um, who are those people behind you?”
Ah, I see. This is Shouhei"s first meeting with the two of them, right?
”Ah, this is Rouge. Rouge Richte. The one that that d.a.m.n rat was picking up.”
“Ah. I"m Rougerichte Dranglow. Are you Kunpei"s brother?”
Rouge, who was introduced, held out her hand to Shouhei with the same expressionless expression as ever.
”Ah, yes. I"m Kazamachi Shouhei. It"s nice to meet you.”
Shouhei took her hand and looked at Rouge"s face.
Curious eyes.
”Well-behaved good boy.”
Rouge stroked Shouhei"s head with one of her free hands.
Apparently, you"ve been recognized as something to protect from the child loving Rouge"s perspective.
“You"re wary of me, but not rude. Good boy.”
“Eh, no.”
Shouhei, fl.u.s.tered by those words, took a little distance from Rouge.
”It"s okay. It"s not a bad thing at all. You should be very careful about the safety of yourself and your family. Kunpei, your brother is smart.”
Right?
The second son of the Kazamachi family is a splendid, cool, handsome man that doesn"t bring shame.
Unlike the first son, who has nothing but shame and notoriety.
It"s sad.
“And next to her is Gasara, the kidnapper.”
“That"s why I said I"m reflecting, okay?”
I know. I"m just kidding.
It"s just that it"s the easiest way to explain it to my family.
“Kidnapping, Jaja and Nana? Nii-chan?”
Shouhei looked at me and Gasara with a dubious expression.
As I thought, the keyword “kidnapping” seemed to ring a bell right away. It"s a great help that the conversation can progress quickly.
“It"s not a problem. Don"t worry.”
“If you say so…”
Like Shouhei, the current Kazamachi family puts the twins first, no matter what.
They are sensitive to the possibility of harming those two.
”Are Jaja and Nana still sleeping?”
“They just woke up. They can"t calm down in an unfamiliar place and wakes up easily. Now that Aoi-neechan is here, she"s trying to get them to stop crying with Yuri-san.”
They"re not used to it and there are a lot of people here.
In the current state, I don"t know when we"ll be able to go home.
I guess they"ll have to get used to it? We"ll have to do something about it.
“Thank you for waiting. Kunpei-san.”
The door to the nap room opened and Aoi came out, holding Nana in her arms.
“Uuuh~”
Nana, who had been crying earlier, was squeezing the jersey Aoi was wearing with an uneasy look.
“Nana! It"s papa!”
Finally!
I still didn"t feel relief until I saw her face.
“Dah.”
I was waiting for her with my arms outstretched, and she clearly refused.
Nana"s was in a bad mood, though it seemed to be partly due to waking up in her sleep.
Nana shook her head and buried her face in Aoi"s small chest.
It"s not like I"m in shock, you know!
“Unnn~”
Nana squirmed in Aoi"s chest.
Poor thing. Normally, she should be sleeping soundly in the dining room of our quiet house at this time.
“Kunpei-kun. It sounds like you had a hard time.”
“Bah!”
Following Aoi"s lead, Yuri-san appeared with Jaja in her arms.
As soon as Jaja saw me, she held out her arms towards me with a big smile on her face.
”Jaja!”
Barely responding to Yuri-san, I put my hands under Jaja"s outstretched arms and lifted her up.
Thank G.o.d! If even Jaja was cold to me, I wouldn"t have been able to recover in my current physical and mental state!
I"ll be able to play with Nana to my heart"s content later! Absolutely!
“Dah! Kya!”
"”Mmm! That was so scary, right! It"s all right now!”
I"m going to rub your cheeks to make up for all my worries.
Yeah! This! Cutie!
“Kya, kya!”
Jaja was laughing out loud with joy.
Ah, I"m so glad I"m alive! I"m really glad I"ve worked so hard to get here!
”Fufu, she couldn"t get used to the atmosphere here until now, and has been unsettled for a long time, you know? Even Jajchan, who is not very shy, was still afraid when there are so many unfamiliar people.”
“Yuri-san, thank you. You really helped me a great deal.”
“It"s okay. Aoi and Shouhei are almost like my grandchildren. Ah, if that"s the case, then I wonder if the twins are like my great-grandchildren?”
Is this person a Saint?
“…Dah.”
“Does Nana want to go there too?”
Nana, who had been pampered by Aoi, pulled her face away from her chest to look at me and Jaja.
She leaned over to nod at Aoi"s question and pointed her right hand at me.
”Ah. Dah.”
It"s a rare occurrence.
What is it? Did I make you jealous?
Okay, okay!
You"re always welcome! I didn"t expect Nana to act spoiled so quickly!
“Come on.”
I held Jaja with only my left arm, leaving my right arm free for Nana.
“Yes, say welcome back to Daddy.”
With Aoi"s a.s.sistance, I put Nana on my right arm.
The weight of happiness.
Even though they"re small, it"s two people. It"s tiring, but it"s nothing compared to the rush of euphoria.
“I"m home, Nana.”
“Au.”
Shaking her head like she was nodding, Nana rested her chin on my right shoulder.
I rubbed my cheeks against the hair whorl on the top of her head. The feel of Nana"s hair, which has recently become more fluffy, unlike Jaja"s smooth hair, is comfortable.
“Dah!”
“Oh, Jaja as well. I"m home.”
I think I"ve been focusing on Nana too much, and Jaja clapped me in the face.
“Are you okay, Kunpei-san?"
I gently put my hands on my back and Aoi looked at me with concern.
“Hmm? Yeah, I"m fine.”
“Kunpei-san, I"m afraid that if it"s about Jaja and Nana, you"ll put up with the pain.”
Gah.
“Does it really not hurt, even now?”
Gah.
“Are you pushing yourself to hold Jaja and Nana?”
…Why are there so many espers around me? Is it that obvious?
To tell the truth, since leaving the gym, my back has gradually started to regain its sensation.
To be honest, it hurts a lot now. It hurts so much that it"s hard to even bend my back.
”Just for now. When you"re done, I"ll be angry if you don"t get some sleep, okay?”
“Yes…”
I whispered back.
If she stared at me with her moist eyes, I wouldn"t even be able to come up with an excuse.
”K-Kunpei… um, I, I…”
“Hmm?”
I turned around when my sleeve was tugged on and I saw Rouge standing right behind me with a red face.
“Introductions. Introduce me to those very cute, no, adorable, um, you know, angelic children.”
Her eyes were glazed over and she was breathing heavily.
Her expression was as expressionless as ever, but I can clearly see that she was excited.
”O-oh. The girl with the black horns like Aoi is the older sister Jaja. The girl with the fluffy hair and white horns is the younger sister Nana. Here, why don"t you two say nice to meet you?”
They can"t though, can they?
I was overpowered by her intensity and showed her the twins.
“Au?”
“Ah?”
Neither Jaja nor Nana had a good reaction.
What is this?
Dad, what"s going on with this older sister?
You could almost hear lines like that.
“Ah… c-cute. Jaja and Nana. Good names. Very good names. Names of the old dragon heroes. Fitting.”
Enraptured, Rouge looked at the twins with the corners of her eyes lowered.
“I am Rougerichte Dranglow. An Arc Dragon of the Earth Dragon Tribe. I am the only daughter of Rubynein Dranglow, the Earth Dragon King. The one who will protect you.”
“Dah?”
“Au”
The twins were still looking at Rouge with blank expressions.
“I have always been good friends with your mama, Aoinoun. She"s like a little sister to me. So you are like my nieces. You can rest a.s.sured that you will be safe with me. I will protect you with all my might.”
Rouge declared while lifting the corners of her eyes.
Perhaps this was the kicker.
“Hah, haa, K-Kunpei. Can I p-pat their heads?”
Her face slackened all at once.
”…Well once you calmed down and catch your breath.”
What"s with that rough breathing? What"s that look in your eyes?
If Rouge wasn"t one of our friends, I"d be hitting her as hard as I could.
“Fuu, fuu, haaa”
Scary. Really scary. I feel like the twins are in danger.
Huh? Did she have this kind of character? Isn"t that a terrible gap?
“Well then, excuse me. I"ll stop right away if it hurts.”
Rouge gulped as she reached out her hands with bloodshot eyes.
Some kind of strange tension filled the air.
Shouhei, who was standing next to me, squeezed my pants like he was worried.
Aoi also had a stiff expression, not knowing what"s going on.
”Uu.”
Duh.
Rouge"s hand was on her head. I heard a short, mysterious voice from the twins.
“…Hmm”
With her eyes wide open, Rouge slowly moved her hands.
“…Rouge?”
“…Hmm”
Huh?
“Hey, Rouge.”
“…Hmm”
Rouge"s hands never stopped.
“Ru-anesama?
“…Hmm”
Aoi"s question was only returned with a halfhearted response, and Rouge continued to stroke the twins" heads without even blinking.
”Hya”
“Nmnn”
”Rouge!”
“Ha!”
I got impatient and raised my voice and Rouge jolted back.
“T-that"s enough, right? Jaja and Nana don"t like it either.”
“S-sorry.”
Rouge pulled away from me, fl.u.s.tered.
She dropped her shoulders apologetically and took a handful of her own bright red hair and twirled it around the ends of her fingers.
“They were too cute and I lost control of myself. I"m so sorry.”
“O-oh”
It was terrifying because her eyes weren"t focused at all.
“I"ll do it properly and in moderation next time so I want to touch them again.”
“Y-yeah. As long as Jaja and Nana don"t mind, you can do it as much as you like, okay?”
Look, even Aoi is pulling back a little.
“I"m so glad I came. Angels, Ai gave birth to new angels… Children are the best after all. I can feel my heart being filled just by looking at them”
…Maybe we"ve invited in a new threat.
I"ve seen the truths of the world.
What are you talking about?
“So, Kunepi-san. What should we do with that kidnapper over there? Bake him? Or shall I steam him? Or maybe evaporate him?”
“Hii!”
Gasara, frightened by Aoi"s words, shuddered.
”…I already explained it to you, right. You said you wouldn"t do anything so disturbing.”
“I know. I know, but I just can"t help but think back to that moment…”
I guess she hates Gasara so much that a joke doesn"t sound like a joke.
I might have to think about aftercare for Aoi later on as well.
It"s like she"s suffering from some kind of mental trauma.
Well, of course.
It would be traumatic to have have the children you gave birth to s.n.a.t.c.hed away from you.
“For now, hey, Gasara. Don"t worry.”
I decided to deal with Gasara first, and took a step closer to Gasara, who continued to tremble.
“No harm will come to you at all. I swear.”
“ah, o-okay.”
Okay, let"s lay down the groundwork.
“You got it? Don"t talk until I tell you it"s okay? You can move, but don"t move too much, okay?”
That"s important.
First impressions are so important.
In fact, Rouge seems to have failed to do so, and the twins are pressing their bodies against mine to get as far away from Rouge as possible.
Poor guy…
“O-oh.”
“I don"t think it"s going to hurt, but whatever happens, don"t ever scream, okay? I mean, if you make the little guys cry, think of the thunderb.a.l.l.s that Aoi will throw at you.”
An iron fist from me and a cold stare from Shouhei will come as a bonus.
If you"re unlucky, Rouge might also burn you.
I know it"s bad, but forgive me for this level of intimidation.
You and your siblings have done the most abhorrent thing to the Kazamachi family.
“… O-oh!”
As if he thought it had already started, Gasara straightened his back and stood at attention.
That"s convenient. Let"s keep moving forward.
“Okay, then.”
I turn my gaze back to my beloved girls in my arms.
Jaja was biting my left shoulder, and it"s actually hurting like h.e.l.l since earlier.
Nana was resting her chin on my right shoulder and was pressing her body against me, trying to get as close as possible.
The key to this strategy, is Jaja and Nana.
Our toy lineup at home. I came up with this plan based on the one that Nana is particularly fond of.
“Jaja? Nana? See that?”
I moved my chin towards Gasara.
The twins turned around with a curious look on their faces.
“Look”
Now, Gasaraio Riot-kun. Prepare to writhe in agony.
“It"s a large kitty cat!”
Spoil yourselves with stuffed animals, my super cute little ones!