Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: Cecilia
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"...Lia?"
Something utterly incomprehensible kept happening one after another. Was I dreaming right now? It made sense if Hyun-ah had mentioned Cecilia's name, and if I'd heard Cecilia's voice in reality, and if this was all a dream. Haha, what kind of dream is this?
"Hee-hee. That's right. I'm Cecilia, your daughter. Hmm, so this is the world where Father lives?"
...I'd tried to escape into denial like that, but the warm body heat of Cecilia hugging me from behind, and the sweet fragrance wafting from her, reminded me that this moment was undeniably real.
Was this seriously happening? All of this was actually real...?
The character from Heroine NTR appearing in reality, and then a complete third party like Hyun-ah knowing about her too—all of it real? ...Did that even make sense?
Facing such an bewildering moment, I gave up on thinking altogether.
"This is Cecilia?! What the— she's a foreigner... Huh? But wait...? Father? Bro, you have a kid?!"
"Hyun-ah, hold on a sec..."
"Forget holding on, answer me now! Were you divorced, oppa? When the hell did you even have a kid! This is... uh, uh? What is this really...!"
No, Hyun-ah... I'm already confused enough as it is, so could you just stay calm for a bit? My brain had frozen because reality was outpacing my thoughts, and now Hyun-ah—who seemed even more shocked than me—was charging at me without even taking off her shoes. Caught between Cecilia behind me and Hyun-ah in front, I was completely surrounded.
Kids, give me a minute to think. I haven't even grasped the situation yet. This has never happened before. My head was starting to hurt.
"Hmm... She's quite the noisy one. Father, shall I handle her? I knew you'd have women in this world too, of course... but I can't forgive anyone rude to you."
"Lia, hold on..."
"W-What? Hey, you! ...No, wait... Ah, what do I even call you... Ugh, um, Cecilia? Could you step out for a bit? I need to talk to your dad."
"Hee-hee... I think you should be the one stepping out? Are you really going to interrupt father-daughter time without any sense?"
No, no, why was the atmosphere turning like this? I was already dizzy enough, and now this was making it worse. If they started fighting here, it'd be a disaster... Sigh, I had to pull myself together first and sort this out before anything exploded.
"Okay, both of you, stop! Let's talk this out calmly. Yeah? You're both way too worked up right now."
"Worked up? How could I not be?! You said you didn't have a girlfriend, oppa! You said it! So what's she?!"
"Oh my, do you have memory issues? I clearly said I'm Father's daughter, Cecilia... How pitiful."
"You, you little—! Don't just go around calling yourself my man's daughter. Talking like that to your future stepmom is only gonna hurt you!"
"......Father, what is this woman even saying? Stepmom? Ha, hee-hee, hahaha... Is she delusional or something?"
Kids... didn't you hear me say to calm down...? My efforts to settle them both went up in smoke in an instant, and watching the two of them glare daggers at each other over me made me want to pass out.
Cecilia, who did you learn that sarcasm from? Dad never taught you that. And Hyun-ah, you must be so excited that you're blurting nonsense—stepmom? Who? You? We're not even officially dating yet. Please snap out of it...
...That's what I wanted to say, but I couldn't get the words out. Honestly, I was a little scared. The idea of their attacks turning on me made me dizzy.
"Both of you, calm down... Hyun-ah, I'll explain everything, so take off your shoes first and come sit. Okay? I'll tell you all of it. And Lia, Hyun-ah's a friend of mine, so don't be rude. Yeah? For my sake, at least."
I couldn't just sit there, so I grabbed each of their shoulders in turn, looked them in the eye, and spoke calmly. Telling them to behave.
"Oppa, you stay out of it! We're talking... Ahh, ugh...? Haaah..."
-Thud
Ugh... But why was she suddenly collapsing like that? I told her to behave, not faint... I caught the suddenly crumpling Hyun-ah and turned to ask why, only to see Cecilia blushing as she hugged me again.
"I calmed her down. Hee-hee. Good job, right?"
Cecilia, knocking people out just because she doesn't like them...
Scary kid...
Was this what caused it...? Reading the notification I'd overlooked, I finally understood what Cecilia had been talking about.
"Our souls connected?"
"Yes... it's true. After Father said he'd return... in that fleeting moment, I felt our souls link."
When I asked how she'd found me, she brought up souls, which confused me at first—but apparently, once the Heroine NTR ability unlocked her summoning, our souls had bonded. Thanks to that, Cecilia pinpointed my coordinates and performed a dimensional jump here.
"Haa... Father..."
It would've been impossible for anyone else, but Cecilia was such a genius that she'd pulled it off. What an incredible daughter. My shoulders swelled with pride.
"So, how long can you stay?"
"Mm... until morning like this. Hee-hee..."
But she couldn't stay here forever. Due to the world's suppression force or whatever, she had to pour mana into maintaining her presence, so once her reserves ran dry, she'd have to go back.
"That's a shame. I wanted to show you around everywhere."
"Hee-hee. This isn't the end, right? Haa... Since you can call me with your ability... finish what you need to and summon me again."
"Yeah... of course."
But if I was right, once Cecilia returned to the romance-fantasy world this time, she wouldn't be able to come back on her own like this. The world pauses while I'm away, so she couldn't recharge mana.
To see her in reality from now on, I'd have to spend points to summon her... which gave me even more reason to finish that romance-fantasy world. An hour a day was too short. It was just a tease...
I needed to get as strong as I'd planned, return to the romance-fantasy world, and see the ending. Even a B-rank would do—finishing it was priority now.
"By the way, Lia. You look really happy right now?"
"Haa... Of course... A young Father is just too much... I loved your mature charm too, but this wild side... Haa, sorry. I didn't think I was so shallow, but... the current you is just unfair..."
For my daughter Cecilia—who was even more excited than usual, clinging to me, breathing raggedly, and caressing my face—I had to.
Good, the biggest mystery was solved. Now for the next one... but Hyun-ah, knocked out by Cecilia, showed no signs of waking. This wasn't a big problem, right?
"Hee-hee, don't worry. She seemed mentally unstable, so I just put her to sleep for a bit. I could wake her forcibly, but... haa, I want to stay like this with Father a little longer. ...Can't I?"
I'd been about to ask Cecilia just in case, but she answered preemptively, gazing up at me with teary eyes. No, this was unfair. I couldn't refuse that.
"Lia... be a good girl. Once this is done, I'll love you until morning, so get up and help now."
"No... I don't want to waste even a single minute or second of this..."
Cecilia, straddling me and refusing to let go from my embrace, was so adorable—yet her stubbornness, ignoring my words, worried me. Was this puberty? A late rebellion? She'd never acted like this before...
But thankfully, hearing my follow-up made her revert to her sweet, dutiful daughter self. She beamed and woke Hyun-ah.
"While Lia's here in reality, she'll be your little sister, so you have to yield as the big sister. Right? That's your responsibility. So listen to Dad. Okay?"
Treating her like a big sister made Cecilia happy...
Cute kid...