Chapter 55
The conversation with the Hero went on longer than I expected.
I heard stories from his days as a Hero,
and even told him about a few Easter eggs and hidden achievements he hadn’t known about.
“So, what is it about my son that you fell for? His face? Or maybe his personality?”
“It’s not like that!”
…And got teased by that shameless shipper.
More than anything, the Hero and I got along well.
We were both from Earth, and we were both nerds who loved the same game.
Even if our playstyles were different, we shared one thing: we truly loved [Gaia Academy]!
We chatted for a while, until…
“So, back then, I…”
“What did you do then, Leon?”
“E-Elisia?”
Saintess Elisia appeared, resting a hand on the Hero’s shoulder, wearing an incredibly cold smile.
Saintess Elisia was always so compassionate.
Thanks to her holy power, she hadn’t aged at all and looked exactly as she had in the game. Seeing her in person made me incredibly happy, but…
‘S-scary!’
With that compassionate face wearing such a cold smile, I couldn’t feel any joy at seeing her; I was just scared.
They say good people are the scariest when they get angry.
I didn’t know why she was angry, but for now, I had to save him.
If I got caught in the crossfire, I might get erased…
And behind her stood Airi the mage, Elpia the Divine Archer, and Nia the thief.
Airi had that uniquely childhood-friend pout, Elpia just looked jealous, and Nia…
-Staaare
was looking this way with completely dead eyes.
…Scary. Forget how strong they were; their vibe was terrifying.
Why were they looking at me like that…
“So, Leon? What are you doing here?”
“W-well, you see! I met a junior from the academy, and she said she was Plien’s daughter! So we were just talking for a bit…”
“Oh, I see. So you stood your wives up to seduce your friend’s daughter?”
…Huh?
Did she seriously think I was having a secret rendezvous with him?
I mean, it was a secret rendezvous in a way…
Of course, I could understand how the four of them felt to some extent.
They were all incredibly jealous women, even if the degree varied…
They’d probably come to an agreement among themselves, right?
They’d share the Hero between the four of them, but never let him add another woman. Something like that.
Hmph. I have Ian, okay? Why would I want to do anything with that womanizing Hero…
‘No, that’s not what I mean.’
Ahem. Anyway.
“Do you have any excuse at all, Leon? Have you gotten tired of us and decided you want to play with a younger girl?”
“It’s not like that! We just started talking, and got along better than I expected, so the conversation went on a little longer!”
Wow. The Hero. Until just a moment ago, he’d seemed at least somewhat dignified, but he’d thrown all that away and was begging pathetically.
…He was even looking over at me with an expression that desperately begged for help.
Didn’t he realize that made him look even more suspicious? The women’s glares were getting fiercer by the second.
…They were all looking at me except the Saintess.
“Haa…”
At this rate, I felt like I’d get a hole in my stomach, so I should probably help him.
“If that’s not the case, then what is? If you stood your wives up to chat and laugh with a young girl in this secluded part of the park, then what on earth could it be…”
“Excuse me, Saintess, may I say something?”
“Oh? You’re…”
If I left her alone, this conversation would probably go on forever instead of ending, so I cut Elisia off and stepped in.
The Hero looked at me as if I were his savior, while Elisia looked at me as if to say, Go ahead and try saying something.
…This really made me feel like his mistress.
Sigh…
“First of all, I have absolutely no relationship of the sort you and the Hero are imagining. I was simply curious about how he defeated the Demon King, and the Hero kindly answered my questions.”
I wasn’t lying.
I did ask him to tell me about fighting the Demon King, and I had absolutely no intention of getting involved with the Hero like that.
“You sound very confident. But that’s how Leon is, you know? He has a knack for making people fall for him without even realizing it. And you’re having this kind of conversation in such a secluded place?”
No, that’s not true. He does it on purpose.
…
He seemed embarrassed, too, as he turned his head away slightly. And this guy’s the Hero?
I glared at the back of the pathetic Hero’s head, then started trying to persuade Elisia again.
“Of course, I understand how it might seem suspicious for a man and woman to be alone in a secluded place like this, but that’s only because I thought there was no need to talk about the Hero’s experiences in front of a crowd. I’m not going to fall for him.”
“I don’t know. From where I’m standing, it looks like you’ve already fallen for him.”
The argument with Elisia continued after that.
Whenever I said something, Elisia ignored it completely and just said whatever she wanted.
With Airi and Elpia backing her up, it was more exhausting than I expected.
The Hero? He was cowering over there and no help at all, and Nia was glaring at me hard enough that I didn’t need anyone to tell me she wasn’t on my side.
“Why don’t you try making another excuse?”
Sigh… They all lose their minds whenever it’s about their husband.
Seriously, what reason would I have to like an old guy like that?
Of course, I knew it wouldn’t get through to them no matter what I said, so I decided to use my trump card.
I really didn’t want to use it. I really, really didn’t!
“Why have you gone quiet? Have you run out of excuses…”
“The truth is, Ian and I are in a relationship!”
“Eh.”
Screw it.
…
“I-I’m sorry. I made a ridiculous misunderstanding…”
“…I’m glad the misunderstanding has been cleared up at last.”
After dropping the bombshell that Ian and I were dating, I talked with them for a while and completely cleared up the misunderstanding that I’d been cheating with the Hero.
…The problem was that they started treating me like their daughter-in-law.
“Ahem. Daughter-in-law, if there’s anything you need, just let me know. Consider it an apology for earlier.”
“That’s right. We should give our daughter-in-law anything she wants.”
“We haven’t even promised to get married yet…”
Why were they already calling me their new bride and daughter-in-law?
Fortunately, the Hero wasn’t so oblivious as to say, ‘Didn’t you say you weren’t in that kind of relationship earlier?’
I wished he’d keep his mouth shut altogether, since he’d finally shown some tact.
Besides Elisia, the other three had suddenly started acting so warmly toward me, too.
“Sorry about earlier, daughter-in-law. My husband’s such a womanizer, after all.”
“Exactly. Dozens of girls confess to Leon every year, you know? He’s so stupidly handsome…”
“Hee.”
Dozens of them?
Well, from the outside, the Hero did have the air of a mature, handsome middle-aged man.
His wives hadn’t aged at all, while he was the only one who had. Did that mean he had a hard time at night?
With four wives, even the Hero’s holy sword might have struggled.
“Hero. Womanizer.”
“Guh.”
So that was why they called him a womanizer all the time. I’d never heard the Hero called that in the game…
I guess this was another sign that this world was reality.
More importantly, I was worried about what was happening now.
For the moment, the Hero was playing along with my act, and Ian wasn’t here, so I could get away with the lie. But if Ian showed up later, he might find out it was a lie.
And then hell would break loose all over again.
So I had to hope Ian wouldn’t come…
“Plia! I’ve been looking all over for you… Huh? Mothers?”
Damn it, they say you jinx things by saying them out loud.
No, I didn’t even say it out loud. Damn it.
“You were taking so long, so I got worried and came to look…”
“Oh my, Ian. If you had such a pretty girlfriend, you should’ve introduced her sooner.”
“…What?”
“That’s right, Ian. Were you planning to keep such a pretty daughter-in-law all to yourself?”
“Daughter-in-law?”
Ian looked at me, bewildered.
With his gaze showing that he had no idea what was going on, all I could do was blush and look away.
…I’m screwed.
…
Daughter-in-law, huh…
She said she wanted to talk with my father alone, so I stepped away for a bit.
It was Plia, after all. There must’ve been something she wanted to ask my father, the Hero.
I wondered why she’d sent me away… but Plia’s eccentricities weren’t anything new, so I let it go.
…She hadn’t fallen for my father like those other young ladies, had she?
I believed that couldn’t be the case.
But when she took so long, I went back to check…
My father was crouched in a corner for some reason, and Plia looked away the moment our eyes met.
On top of that, my mothers were already treating Plia like their daughter-in-law.
…Could it be?
I already knew how jealous my mothers were.
And, of course, I knew my father had a habit of unconsciously seducing women.
…In other words, it was entirely possible that my mothers had mistaken Plia for someone having an affair with my father.
There was a huge age gap, so you might wonder how ridiculous that was, but… most people who fell for Father were young ladies.
Young ladies younger than Plia often fell for my father, too, so my mothers might have mistaken things.
And Plia must’ve lied that she was dating me to get out of that situation.
Otherwise, my mothers wouldn’t be treating Plia like their daughter-in-law.
So what I had to do here was play along with her act.
And take the chance to satisfy my own selfish desires while I was at it.
-Grab!
…?!!
“Oh my. I wonder who he takes after to be so bold?”
I hugged Plia from behind while she had her head bowed.
Is this what they call a back hug? I rather liked how Plia fit perfectly in my arms.
“Yes, that’s right. We thought it was a little too soon to tell you, but yes. We’re dating. Aren’t we, Plia?”
I deliberately whispered softly in her ear, and her body shivered.
Just as I thought. I’d suspected it before, but her ears were a weak spot.
I had to make the most of that weakness.
“Plia.”
“Yeees…”
I whispered to her once more, and Plia answered in a tiny voice, her ears red all the way to the tips.
…She was so cute I nearly lost control.
Phew. Hold back. Hold back and keep holding back. I can pay her back in bed later.
Just you wait.
-Twitch.
As if she sensed what was in store for her, Plia’s shoulders twitched and trembled, but Ian didn’t notice and only grew more excited.