Is That My Daughter?
“Huh? Of course it’s another ‘me.’ I said she’s the closest to me because she understands my position. There’s no way ‘I’ could like myself, right?”
No.
That’s not true.
I like you.
Because it’s ‘me.’ Precisely because it’s ‘me,’ I like you!
—Hearing something like that makes it hard to control my emotions.
BOOM.
The power the Heavenly Demon ‘me’ had been emitting grew even stronger.
She’s angry too. No matter how much she’s another ‘me,’ this is way too oblivious!
“Lord Male God! I’ll save you right now!”
At that moment, Monica Grace suddenly appeared.
What is she doing here all of a sudden?
“Lord Male Go… kuhk.”
The jet-black energy that poured out of my body immediately suppressed Monica and knocked her unconscious.
Whoa. Is this power really coming from my body?
It completely overwhelmed the next Vampire Lord in one go. Monica is no weakling, yet it happened with nothing but pure aura!
“Some random vampire bitch tried to butt in without knowing her place, so I knocked her out. Don’t worry, Rebecca, Bathory. Since ‘Gaeul’ doesn’t want a fight, I won’t attack you further as long as you obey his words.”
—How dare a rootless vampire set her eyes on our ‘Gaeul’?
“And you, ‘Gaeul.’”
When the Heavenly Demon called out to the other ‘me,’ he flinched and turned to look at me.
Wait… he’s not actually scared of me, is he?
“I have not given up on you. I am the only one qualified to be your true wife. Therefore…”
—This won’t do. I can’t hold back any longer. At this rate, I fear I will lose my reason and ravish ‘Gaeul’ right here.
Huh?
—I shall sleep inside you for a while. I leave the rest to you.
Wait, wait, wait, wait—you caused all this chaos and now you’re dumping the cleanup on me?
How am I supposed to deal with Rebecca and Bathory!
—Do not worry. They have already lost the will to fight… You should be able to handle it…
Hello?
Hello!
Just like that, control of my body returned to me, and the Heavenly Demon’s voice disappeared. The aura that had been surrounding us vanished as well.
What was she trying to say at the end?
And why did she leave it sounding like a confession!
Ugh. Should I just confess right now?
But she’s convinced that there’s no way I could like her.
Fine. This time I’ll pretend nothing’s wrong, spend time with her, and slowly win her over. I don’t want to confess in an atmosphere like this anyway.
After all, she’s ‘me.’
I already know all of ‘Gaeul’s’ tastes and preferences.
And our secret—Delusion—is something only the two of us know. Not even Bathory or Rebecca.
“…Never mind. It’s nothing. Hey, Bathory, how are you going to fix that broken wall? Hurry up and repair it.”
Better change the subject quickly.
The house is a total mess right now, so telling her to fix it should work, right?
“Um… Female Autumn, did your vibe just change?”
Was the shift in speech pattern that obvious? There’s no way I could speak like some Heavenly Demon! Using that kind of tone would just feel awkward and make things even weirder! Why did the Heavenly Demon have to talk like that…
“Do not worry, Madam. I will fix it with magic right away.”
Clap.
While I was still trying to figure out how to respond, Rebecca used her magic to repair the living room wall. The house, which had been filthy with debris, returned to its former clean state.
“How’s that, Master? I’m much more useful than that vampire over there, aren’t I? I’ve served you faithfully for ten thousand years, you know~!”
Rebecca declared proudly, hands on her hips and chest thrust forward.
“Tsk. Given time, I could fix it too. There is nothing in this country I cannot resolve at will! Autumn. Tell me anything you need! Hmm… Your identity is still ambiguous, isn’t it? I shall take care of it.”
Bathory, clearly annoyed by Rebecca’s performance, pulled out her phone and started making calls.
“Karen, it’s me. I need something done. What? Handle that trash later. This is extremely urgent!”
Uh…
Whew. At least they were so busy competing to look good in front of ‘Gaeul’ that the situation somehow passed.
And so we all sat down and discussed our future living arrangements.
In the end, both Bathory and Rebecca decided to live in our house.
Excuse me, this is our house—why are you two just moving in without permission?
Still, they were necessary for the other ‘me’s’ identity issues, meals, and so on, so I couldn’t exactly refuse.
Because it was all for ‘Gaeul’…
That said, does this mean a battle for ‘Gaeul’ is about to begin?
The male ‘Gaeul’ is currently convinced that he could never like himself.
Under those conditions, competing against Bathory and Rebecca…
It’s quite the disadvantageous situation.
But I have to try. Who else is going to become his true wife if not me? The only one who can truly understand and accept ‘me’ is myself. As if I’d ever give up.
VVVVVVVMMMMM—
Something shimmered and expanded before my eyes.
A portal…?
And from that portal (presumably)…
“Dad!”
A woman burst out and threw herself into my arms.
…Dad?
“Dad… When you disappeared because of that bitch’s trap back then, I was so scared I didn’t know what to do! I’m so glad you’re safe.”
Excuse me? I’m your dad?
I’ve been single for twenty-three years, you know? Who are you, lady?
“Dad! I’ve been looking for you for so long! Let’s go back to our little nest, just the two of us♡.”
The woman was wearing elegant armor that shimmered with gold and blue. Her hair was a vibrant orange, tied to one side with a blue cloth.
That aside, why is such a beautiful woman calling me Dad? Am I supposed to be her father?
She doesn’t even seem like she belongs to this world. She literally came out of some kind of portal!
“Dad? Why aren’t you saying anything? Your one and only precious daughter, Diana, has come to find you! …Did something happen to your mind?”
Diana? And that blue cloth tying her hair.
Wait a second—Hero Diana?
Then she must be another being created when my delusions became reality.
So it didn’t end with Rebecca.
That means more beings from my delusions could show up here at any time!
We’d just barely resolved the Rebecca and Bathory situation, and now there’s an addition!
“Hold on. Who the hell are you? Calling Autumn ‘Dad’?”
“Master has a daughter?”
Ugh. Now Bathory and Rebecca are getting involved too. This is just making everything more complicated!
“Who are you people? What did you do to my dad?”
Aaaargh. I finally stopped the fighting, and now this?
“It’s okay, Diana. These are my close—extremely close and precious—people.”
“Dad! I’m so relieved you still recognize me! …But you said they’re precious to you?”
The light vanished from Diana’s eyes!
In my delusion, Diana is my daughter, but she also sees me as her lover.
Of course she’d get angry if I called other women precious in front of her. But if I hadn’t said that, Rebecca and Bathory would’ve thrown a fit! What was I supposed to do!
“I-I’ll explain everything. First, let’s all sit down and talk. Come on, Bathory and Rebecca too. Let’s talk at the dining table over there.”
I headed toward the table as I spoke.
Diana, Bathory, and Rebecca all followed with expressions that clearly said they refused to accept any of this and demanded an immediate explanation.
And in the distance, the other ‘me’ stood there with a look of pure horror on his face.
“So yeah… that’s how things are between me, Rebecca, and Bathory.”
“…That’s impossible. Dad has women this deeply involved with him? …Dad is supposed to be only mine… How dare these rootless…”
Diana shook her head vigorously, muttering with an expression of utter disbelief.
“Now then, Autumn. Care to explain who this woman is?”
“That’s right, Master! You have a daughter? Is she your biological child? Then who is the mother? Master~.”
Bathory and Rebecca pressed me to explain quickly.
“Um… Well. First of all, let me say that my memories of Diana’s world aren’t complete.”
“Eh? Dad, you don’t remember everything that happened with me? Really?”
Diana shot up from her seat in shock.
Well, even I would be devastated if the person I loved more than anything—especially if that person was my dad—lost parts of their memory. Still, I only remember the intense moments. I don’t know the stuff in between… I never deluded that much detail. I only focused on the important parts.
“To be precise, I remember all the powerful memories I had with you. But the parts in between are a bit fuzzy…”
“T-That can’t be… Our memories together…”
Diana collapsed back into her chair, devastated.
“Anyway, Diana is my biological daughter.”
!!!!!!
“T-That’s impossible. Autumn is my husband… We haven’t even had our first night yet…”
“M-M-Master’s baby… I’ve waited ten thousand years… and some other woman got to have his child first?”
Bathory and Rebecca muttered in utter horror.
“Then who’s the mother?”
“Yes, Master! Who is the mother!”
Bathory and Rebecca leapt to their feet and demanded.
Uh…
How am I supposed to explain this? There’s no way to put it into words.
From the start, Diana believes she doesn’t know the truth about her mother.
That was how I set it up.
In my delusion…
Diana’s mother is Diana herself.