Master Is Mine Alone, You Know!?
In the game, Aqua would calm down from the warmth of the protagonist holding her.
Told to think like water, she would come to regard herself as water itself.
But for her, water was the only path that still connected her to the mother she had lost — the most important thing in her world. So the story had always drifted toward a rather obsessive attachment to the protagonist.
Huh....
Originally, she would treat him like a substitute for water. Whenever there was no water around, she would try to stay glued to his side. That same intensity of attachment made her an obedient companion.
A little dependent, sure — but that was her identity as a character, so there was no helping it.
In the game, she was a free unit handed out during a swimsuit event story. Being by your side felt like a given, so I hadn't felt any particular resistance to the idea of her simply following me. That was why I'd picked that option.
The problem was that the dialogue was similar, and the actions I'd taken were nearly identical, so I'd assumed the result would be the same.
I never expected that the mere difference of who saved Aqua — me instead of Master — would change things this much.
"A-Aqua. I'm not Aqua's mother...."
"Mom...."
I could feel the warmth of Aqua leaning against me as she cried. Cutting her off with a clean denial felt... complicated.
No, seriously — how did I end up becoming her mom?
Of course, the very act of endlessly waiting for her mother was already an enormous source of pain for her. So when someone who looked similar to her mother registered as water to her senses, maybe her mind had twisted it into the idea that her mother had returned.
This is insane.
Tell a girl who already believes her mother has come back that it's just a delusion, and that she should keep waiting for her real mom?
She'd already been wounded by losing her mother once. Forcing her to go through that loss all over again was basically the same thing.
Even I couldn't bring myself to do that. So I reached the bathhouse without managing a proper rebuttal.
I set her into the water, then splashed cold water on my face to clear my head a little.
Assuming everything will go according to plan is arrogance.
This may be a world inside a game, but it's a real, existing world that simply runs on nearly the same system. I need to handle things improvisationally to some degree, reading the situation as it comes.
Right. The problem was that I panicked. Nothing's fundamentally different.
Even if I end up being her mom, the fact that she follows me well doesn't change.
I calmed myself as best I could and looked at Aqua. Getting into the water did seem to settle her somewhat.
"Now that... Mom is here, the water shouldn't matter anymore. But I'm still somehow scared...."
"That...."
So getting into the water doesn't just make it all go away, huh.
I fretted over what to do, then slowly wrapped my arms around her and patted her back until she calmed down.
"That doesn't matter. If Aqua wants to be in the water, then she should be."
Hmm. It really does feel like I've somehow acquired a daughter.
Though with a body that mature, anyone looking would find the "daughter" label pretty strange. But right now it was just the two of us.
"There, settle down. You're resting comfortably in the water right now, aren't you?"
"Mm...."
"So you can let go now...."
"Don't go."
"Ah."
She was worried I'd vanish the moment I let go of her hand.
I'd just wanted a convenient combat asset. Instead I felt like I'd picked up a burden. Weird feeling.
"Feeling better?"
"Mm."
"Let's go."
"Okay, Mom."
Everyone who saw Aqua following me and calling me Mom was stunned. Master, startled, asked if I already had a kid, and I had a hell of a time explaining the situation.
As if she could actually be my kid, you idiots.
"Mm...."
And when evening came and we went to the hot spring, the atmosphere grew even more delicate.
Aqua, insisting she would stay with Mom, clung to me and wouldn't let go — going beyond that, practically fused to me, sitting astride my lap. And Master, staring daggers as if this was something that could not be forgiven.
It was basically a competitive setup, and it left me extremely cornered.
Keeping Master from getting too close wasn't a bad thing in itself, but I was terrified it might make Master go berserk instead....
In the first place, having a girl cling to me like this is a bit....
Not that I disliked it. But honestly, brushing it off like it was nothing was hard.
At least she was calling me Mom and holding on with pure innocence, so it was manageable.
"Aqua, I'm in a position where I have to attend to Master. Blocking things like this is a little troublesome."
"Mm...."
Still, maybe because the hot spring was full of water — once I explained, she listened remarkably well.
Hmm. Finally Master's expression softened a bit.
"M-Master?"
"Hold me too."
"No, I mean.... Hah!?"
A body far larger than mine settled astride me in front, with a weight that felt almost like being pinned flat. Of course, compared to my strength the weight was light, so there was no sense of being crushed — but the sheer size of the body I could feel still left me with a strange sensation.
"A-Are you satisfied?"
"Mm."
Liking me enough to steal even a child's seat....
No matter how hard I think about it, I still can't understand Master's mind. Just what is so great about me?
"I understand. If that's what Master wants...."
Even if I was a little emotionally shaken, as someone who serves Master, I ought to do at least this much.
By the way, everyone was having a great time in the hot spring.
Anyone watching would think this was a hot spring club, not a swim club.
In reality, more people liked hot springs than swimming. Levant, who founded this guild in the first place, had just wanted a fun guild where people wore swimsuits — so she'd recruited members without distinguishing between the two. The only one who actually had any interest in the ocean or swimming itself was Marine, and she was the only one I felt sorry for.
Cotton and Aldehyde, who especially loved hot springs, were enjoying the bath with thoroughly blissful expressions. They seemed to thoroughly enjoy bathing time in general, too.
"Hmm...."
Come to think of it, I needed to get closer to those two as well. I'd been slowly building affection through the hot springs, but they'd probably just see that as a reward for working hard. I needed material that would let me approach them from a completely different angle.
They both like bathing....
Granted, Aldehyde enjoyed the hot spring itself more than bathing per se. But compared to the others, she still liked baths.
...If they like getting clean, wouldn't they feel a strong fondness toward someone who washes them well?
"Master."
"Mm?"
"I'll talk to those two, so could you wash their hair for them today?"
With Master's hair-care skills, couldn't those two pushovers be conquered in an instant?
It started from that very simple question, but the more I thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
"I'd rather not."
"I know, but still."
"I'll try."
Master nodded in agreement. The moment I was ready, I brought Aldehyde over. Of course Cotton had followed Aldehyde, so I'd effectively brought both of them.
"You'll wash our hair?"
"Our Master is incredibly skilled at hair care, you see."
"Really?"
"Yes. So normally, Master handles all of my hair care."
Aldehyde had looked uninterested at first — but the moment she learned that the upkeep of my hair was Master's work, her expression shifted into mild curiosity.
I figured once they tried it, their whole opinion would change, so I pushed hard with the attitude that one taste of curiosity would be the end of it.
"Hmm...."
There was a reason I'd deliberately put Aldehyde first.
Honestly, Aldehyde would be satisfied, but she didn't particularly revel in bathing itself, so there was a decent chance her reaction would be lukewarm. But if even she was thoroughly pleased, Cotton would absolutely get interested and want to try it too.
Conversely, if Cotton went first and fell in love with it, Aldehyde would say she didn't need to experience it herself and shove every opportunity Cotton's way. Aldehyde was quite soft on Cotton, and the type to coolly abandon her own mild curiosity if it meant someone else could enjoy themselves.
"Wow, that's incredibly refreshing and skilled. I'm genuinely surprised.... And there's barely any damage to the hair texture, even."
"Right? Until now, since this was Teacher's Master and all, and they never did anything, I thought they were useless. But they were a far more important Grand Teacher than Teacher herself...."
Hmm....
Something felt off.
I'd clearly asked Master to wash both of their hair. And the result — them marveling at Master's skill — was perfect. Master's evaluation had skyrocketed in an instant, to the point that for those two, Master had become far more important than me.
A truly perfect ending....
So why does this feel so unpleasant?
My chest felt tight. From the moment Master started washing their hair, I'd had to suppress the impulse to stop it, over and over.
Just why did I hate this so much?
"...From now on, just teach them the method. Washing their hair yourself is forbidden."
"Mm...?"
I want to be in that seat.
No — that seat was mine to begin with.
...The way these weird thoughts keep circling in my head, I really am a little off.
"Alright. From now on, it's exclusive to you."
"Hah!?"
Th-That wasn't what I meant to that extent....
No, it kind of was, but hearing it said so directly made my heart feel like it was about to break down.
"M-Master?"
"So don't worry and just take it."
"Th-That's nice, but if you do it here I'll be in big trou—! Hnyaang!?"
When Master does my hair, weird noises come out of me, okay? With all the other girls right here, if I get subjected to that kind of thing — I'll be too embarrassed to play teacher starting tomorrow...!
"Sorry. Jasmine is too cute. I can't hold back."
"Stooop...! Hyat!?"
...And so, right in front of everyone, I ended up getting thoroughly doted on by Master.