Chapter 110 – Sorry for the Worry (5)“Dah…”
“Uwa…”
Jaja and Nana"s eyes instantly lit up when they saw Gasara standing there silently.
They were itching to move their bodies and were about to jump up.
Nana even grabbed my clothes tightly for a moment and opened her mouth wide emotionally.
Fufu…
This reaction is just as I expected.
Jaja, may be the curious one, but it"s actually Nana who has the best chance of success.
The first toys Jaja and Nana saw after they came to our house were the small stuffed dog and cat toy that Mik.u.ma had bought.
The twins didn"t fight each other and instantly decided on their own favorites, with Jaja getting the dog. Nana doesn"t even let go of the stuffed cat when she goes to bed. In fact, there are even times when she won"t go to sleep unless she"s holding it until just before she goes to sleep.
Sometimes she"ll be unfaithful, but in the end, she always holds her favorite.
When my dad saw that, he went and bought a series of animal musical instruments, and then he went even further and bought a series of educational toys that are all animal-related.
Jaja and Nana share the toys with each other without fighting, and they each have their own favorites.
Jaja"s favorites is a dog or monkey. Nana is a cat or a bird.
That"s right, Nana has a huge crush on the cat family!
Saeki, who is a cat person, often comes to the house to play with them, and Yuri-san takes care of them every day, so the twins have become familiar with beastmen.
Saeki is very good at playing with the twins because she herself has the personality and body of a child, and Yuri-san"s maternal strength is guaranteed.
To top it all off, there was the incident at the ranch last month.
Since the incident, Nana and Jaja have been fond of animals with fluffy fur.
A terrestrial sparrow called Chunchu that lived at the ranch.
Perhaps awakened up by the chicks that Jaja played with, or by holding Kaiser Maru, the large Chunchu, the master of that flock that Nana met, they made a habit of jumping on the fluffy and cozy towels and blankets.
Now, let"s take a look at Gasaraio-kun here.
As a lion tribe, he is a true and honorable member of the cat family. Moreover, he is the king of beasts.
He even has a magnificent fluffy mane, the proof of his status as a king. His appearance looks as if it was made just for Nana so to speak.
It"s perfect.
Perfect.
I wonder what Nana and Jaja"s reaction would be to seeing Gasara like that.
I know what they will do.
“Ah!”
“Uwa!”
The twins reached their hands toward Gasara.
“Good! Go play to your heart"s content!”
I slowly spread my arms open.
On cue, Jaja and Nana flapped the small wings on their backs and took off.
“Dah! Uwa!”
“Kya, kya!”
“Waaa”
A dazzling smile blossomed and Jaja and Nana jumped straight to Gasara.
Jaja was at the chest and Nana was at the head.
They each found their preferred spot and clung to it with all their might.
Gasara, who is doing as he was told, was rigid and panicked.
“K-Kazamachi… what should I do?”
“Don"t think! Feel it!”
Don"t think! Feel!
Unleash your instincts that is deeply rooted within you as a beastman!
“Cute is justice.”
Though Rouge said it, but it"s the truth.
Because our girls are super cute.
”Lion person, I"m jealous…”
Rouge grumbled from behind me.
Maybe it"s because I saw her earlier, but it sounds like a very dangerous line of dialogue.
“O-oi. It"s dangerous.”
Jaja, who was clinging to Gasara"s chest was slipping and looked like she was going to fall.
Of course, there"s absolutely no way she"s going to fall off because I"m watching out for her, but I"ll let Gasara move here.
“Ah!”
“Uwa”
Jaja fell as expected because of the bold move she took, which was characteristic of babies.
Gasara caught her with both hands.
”… Dah”
“O-oh.”
Gasara held Jaja"s sides as he adjusted her position, and Jaja looked at Gasara"s face in wonder.
“Bwah!”
“Oops!”
Gasara was caught off guard and was surprised when Nana, who had been clinging to the side of his head, started to move.
Nana placed her b.u.t.t on Gasara"s left shoulder and began to use her hands alternately to play with his puffy mane.
“Ah, don"t reach your hand too far back…? It"s going to get tangled.”
With Jaja on his right arm, he supported Nana on his shoulder with his left.
“Dah! Dah!”
It"s amazing.
Nana"s happy face is one I don"t see often.
Her short, thick tail was swaying from side to side, the wings on her back were flapping rhythmically, and her little eyes were sparkling.
”Guh”
What is it?
It"s going exactly as I planned, but it"s so frustrating.
What is this jet-black feeling that"s bubbling up from the depths of my soul?
What will happen to me if I let these emotions get the better of me?
d.a.m.n it she doesn"t make that face that often, even when she"s playing with me.
“… Remember this, furball.”
“Eh?”
In response to my murmuring, Gasara turned his head.
It"s okay, don"t worry.
”W-what"s with the scary look on your face?
“I was thinking you were having a great time with my daughter.”
Ah, I couldn"t hide it.
Yeah, let"s keep going like this.
“What do you think?”
I took a big step forward and approached Gasara.
“O-of what?”
A frightened Gasara gave a weak reply.
“Look. That innocence. Especially Nana. That perm, and white, upward-curving horn. You"re already overjoyed, aren"t you, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d…”
“What the h.e.l.l is wrong with you?”
“Don"t shout or you"ll scare my girls.”
Take a deep breath, Kunpei.
You have to control your jealousy.
“Nii-chan, for the first time in a long time, you"re scaring me too. Calm down.”
Oops, even Shouhei is scared.
Dangerous.
I gently shook off Shouhei, who was holding my right arm, and consciously make a smile.
It"s not my goal to scare you.
“Look, that kid with straight black horns you"re holding is Jaja. That"s the older twin sister, okay? Isn"t it the cutest thing, when she looks at you with that vacant look?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Look more closely. Look at her little hands. Isn"t it lovely, holding on to your clothes so tightly?”
Jaja looked up at Gasara, completely entrusting her body to him.
Jaja is cute when she"s smiling, but she"s cute even when she"s not smiling.
“Look, do you see those eyes staring at you?”
“O-oh?”
“… Heh”
Jaja laughed as Gasara examined her face.
”……O-oh.”
“Oh, you just thought she was cute, didn"t you?”
I took another step and went around to Gasara"s left side.
I gently placed my right hand on Nana"s back as she sat on his left shoulder.
“Now look at your Nana. She"s already obsessed with your fur, isn"t she?”
“Dah! Au!”
“ah.”
Gasara moved his head as he was told to.
Their eyes met as Nana sat on his shoulders.
“Dah!”
“Heh, hehe”
Seeing Nana"s expression of delight, Gasara"s expression slackened.
Alright.
I guess I"ll give it another push.
”It would be a hoot if you came in here spoiled and unprotected like this.
“ah.”
“And look, Jajchan is in front.”
“Ah!”
Jaja spread her arms out and buried her hands in the mane.
“Oops, Nana"s starting to bury her face in there too?”
Nana leaned over and starts to bury her face in the mane.
Jaja was enjoying the sensation of moving her buried arms up and down.
“Ah how enviable. Aoi, later. I also want to do that later.”
“Ru-neesama, please be quiet.”
Rouge, who was sucking her index finger and making a heartrending noise was treated coldly by Aoi.
”How do you feel?" Hey? What"s on your mind, Gasara? Tell me.”
I brought my face close to Gasara and asked in a whisper.
"Why don"t you just be honest with yourself and answer the question?”
Mmm-hmm.
Guh.
With his eyes tightly shut, it seemed like Gasara was enduring something.
“Oh my goodness, those two look like they feel so good.”
At a little distance, Yuri-san let out a cheerful comment.
“How is it? Hey, how is it?”
“Okay! I get it! She"s cute! She"s so cute!”
Falldown….
You"ve fallen.
“d.a.m.n… what kind of creature is this? It"s foul play.”
“I know, right?”
There"s no one who wouldn"t be moved by this soft feeling, warm creature that spoils you without reservation.
If anyone can stay composed, then that guy has no emotions.
But, well, it"s terrifying.
They"re not even a year old yet, and they"re already like that.
I"m sure these kids are going to become demonesses.
I will make sure to discipline them.
“You were going to kidnap and sell these cute little girls, weren"t you?”
“Guh.”
Gasara"s face cramped and bent back a bit.
“Do you see now? These kids are here now, and they are being spoiled by you. There"s nothing wrong with that. It doesn"t matter if you"re the kidnapper or not, they"re just playing with you in a pure and innocent way. You know what I mean, don"t you?”
If this doesn"t make sense to you, I"m going to have to hit Gasara without holding back.
Gasara took a deep breath, closed his eyes and exhaled.
Then he quietly opened his eyes and looked at me.
“… Ah. Once again, I"m painfully aware of it, of our… no, my careless behavior… sorry.”
“…phew.”
It"s like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
“Please. We just want the girls to grow up okay. That"s all we want. We don"t want you to do anything for us. So, Gasara.”
I slowly lowered my head.
I"m so helpless and pathetic, and this is the only way I can do it.
“Please overlook us.”
Please.
Jaja and Nana.
Aoi and now Rouge, too.
I just want our family to be together and have a normal, everyday life. That"s all.
I slowly raised my head and looked straight into Gasara"s eyes.
“… so like I"ve been telling you for a while now. We, the Paradise Siblings, are going to wash our hands of the dragon. We definitely won"t tell the other hunters or the a.s.sociation. I swear it in my brother Seijitsu"s name. …and I understand what you meant by having me meet these little guys.”
Gasara said and patted Nana"s back.
”… Ah, please. I"ve only known you for a day, but I trust you.”
This guy.
Gasara is a man worthy of trust.
I"ve been convinced of it on the way here.
This big lion beastman trusted Makio, protected the children, fought with me, and worried about me.
I looked at Aoi.
She looked at me, Gasara, and the twins with a complicated expression, and I could clearly see the anxiety mixed in her eyes.
It"s natural.
She is not stupid enough to so easily trust someone who has harmed her before.
It"s a natural part of being a mother, and a strong instinct for a mother.
That"s why it"s my job to relieve that suspicion, and to protect her.
I"m a father.
And her partner.
Aoi noticed my gaze and nodded with a bitter smile.
She wrinkled her brow, as if she were troubled.
I"m so pathetic that I made that look painful to watch.
I have to be strong.
It"s the same this time.
I ended up only defending myself against Ruten and the Rock Wolf, and if not for Rouge, Gasara, his siblings, and Aoi, I would have already died.
I slowly walked towards Aoi.
Because I was doing it unconsciously, I didn"t realize what I was doing until Aoi"s face was right in front of me.
I feel very drowsy, almost like I"m floating in the air.
Still, there was one thing I had to say.
I locked eyes with Aoi for a few seconds.
I reflexively put my arm around Aoi"s back as she looked at me in a strange and confused way.
I could hear Aoi"s panicked voice in my ear.
But I couldn"t understand what she was saying.
Ah, that"s right.
I guess I was tired after all.
That"s right. I ran a lot, and I endured a lot.
I"m tired and weak.
Combine that with the pain on my back wound and I was confused.
I"m not sure if I"m clearheaded or not, but all I know is that I"m holding Aoi in my arms and leaning on her right now.
It was the same at Tusk Crag, though.
There"s been so much going on lately, I guess I"ve gotten used to losing consciousness.
Experience tells me that in a little while I"ll be off to the world of dreams.
So I have to say something before I do.
“Sorry for making you worry.”
I couldn"t hear Aoi"s reply anymore because of my hazy consciousness, but I knew that her arms, which had been unknowingly put around my back, had gently and strongly hugged me back.