Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Who's Your Daddy?
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Who's your daddy?
The protagonist of the NTR Tsukuru Game, Dyke, had extremely limited social connections.
At best, that meant the heroines, plus a few extra NTR male characters.
He was far from what you'd call a social butterfly. If anything, he was more of a total loner.
So, the people he knew could be counted on one hand.
'Well, that's just Dyke for you.'
The 'me' who had possessed Dyke's body wasn't like that. I'd actively reached out and built the relationships I needed.
Local nobles who governed the provinces, the royal family, and various other powerful factions. I'd made a real effort to get on good terms with them whenever possible, and it had paid off.
Without me, Dyke wouldn't even exist in this world anymore. The moment the heroines abandoned him, he'd have turned into a total wreck.
'There's actually an ending like that.'
A bad end where the hero shirks his duty, leaves the Demon King unchecked, and the world perishes.
'Anyway.'
Why had this train of thought even started?
'The female guests I ran into at the bathhouse.'
It began because of those strangely familiar guests.
I hadn't recognized them when they were cloaked in robes. Hadn't even tried to.
Staring someone down like that would be rude.
'And they were covered in robes anyway.'
Complete with hoods. Which meant they didn't want their faces seen.
I couldn't exactly awaken my senses and peer through like some creep. So, I didn't realize who they were.
But then I saw their bare faces in the bathhouse. And their stunning figures too.
My eyes got quite the treat.
'In a backwater village like this, the only sight worth seeing was Denis's breasts.'
Very grateful guests, they were.
Back to the point—
Their faces rang a bell. Like I'd seen them somewhere before.
And they had skills that were hard to believe.
'I've been living here ever since I beheaded the Demon King and visited the royal castle.'
That meant I'd met them back during my days as an active hero.
No matter how much I'd expanded my circle, women as gorgeous as these guests? I'd remember them. But nothing came to mind.
"Uncle, what're you thinking about?"
Lisa hopped up and plopped right onto my lap.
"You're heavy."
"That's why—maybe the weight'll snap you out of it."
Lisa had changed a lot since five years ago. Not in a womanly, mature way, but she'd gone from little kid to proper girl.
Time had done its work.
"Mind's back now. Get down."
I pushed her off her back. She whined but shuffled over to the seat across from me.
"So, what were you thinking about? You didn't even react when I called."
"Just some old memories."
I racked my brain, going through everyone I'd met during my hero days. Desperately trying to place the guests.
"Old memories..."
Lisa's face turned bittersweet. I could guess what 'old' made her think of.
"Not that old."
"Huh?"
"Just... people I knew."
Denis and Lisa knew the rough outline of what I'd been through. With the Cradle of Abundance Inn as my base, they couldn't help picking things up.
Tina dragging in that blond tanned punk and whatever they got up to in her room. The potbellied noble who came looking for Celine and acted like a total ass. Alicia, reeling from some shocking event, trying to do something drastic in secret all by herself.
Denis and Lisa heard and saw it all indirectly, serving as the player's viewpoint. In the end, they knew everything.
It was right here that the broken Dyke breathed his last.
That's why mother and daughter both flinched at 'old memories.' There were no good ones in Dyke's past.
"...Why bring up people you know all of a sudden?"
Lisa looked up at me with anxious, trembling eyes. After all our time together, she'd grown attached—like family—and here she was worrying.
Even after losing all the heroines, it didn't hurt or anything. But she fretted I might be having dark thoughts.
Such a sweet kid.
I chuckled and said,
"The long-term guests looked familiar. Thought I knew them. But no dice. Must be my imagination."
"Ah..."
Lisa's eyes went wide, like she'd remembered something, and continued.
"If that's it, Mom said the same."
"Hm?"
"Said the guests seemed familiar, like she'd seen them before. Voices too."
"......"
If it was just me, it could've been my imagination.
But if someone else thought the same? Might not be.
'Do I really know them?'
Who the hell could they be?
I headed straight to Denis at the counter.
No beating around the bush. I asked point-blank after seeing her face.
"You too, Denis? The guests seem familiar?"
"...The guests are familiar?"
"No, not that."
Not the male guests' junk.
"Lisa said the long-term guests' faces and voices felt familiar?"
"Ah."
Denis nodded.
"Yeah. When I took their money at first, their voices rang a bell. Why?"
"Well, I saw their faces earlier too. And they look familiar. Like I've seen them before."
It wasn't just familiarity. They had skills.
Enough to see through the stealth of a former hero at level 99. Thinking it over, this was no ordinary situation.
"Saw their faces? When? Earlier?"
"In the bathhouse. Bumped into them coming out after cleaning."
"Yeah? Nothing happened?"
"Happened..."
Denis had no idea about the circumstances. She just thought, oh, they bumped into each other.
Nothing weird about running into someone there.
'Guys don't care either. Cleaning lady there or not, it's cheap.'
Swap genders, feels a bit off, sure.
'She probably thinks they bumped while I was heading out after cleaning.'
That was the limit of what Denis could wrap her head around.
No way she'd imagine the guests ignoring the cleaning sign, slipping into the changing room to undress, and running into the secret male cleaner passing through.
"Yeah, nothing. Just on my way out after cleaning. Hm."
"If I knew their faces, I wouldn't forget. It's all fuzzy, weird huh?"
"Starting to get senile maybe."
"Senile? Hey!"
Senile, ajumma—words Denis hated most.
"I'm still spry! Super popular! And I'm only thirty-three!"
"Prime of life."
"You teasing me?"
"No, dead serious."
No sarcasm intended. By Korean standards, she was three years younger than a baby.
Denis, not getting my sincerity, pouted her lips out.
"You teased my age? No fun tonight."
"Ah, boss. Sis. That's harsh."
She knew how much I was looking forward to it.
I urgently whispered in Denis's ear. Lowered my voice in case Lisa heard.
"No fun tonight, I might have a wet dream. Been holding back too much."
"......"
Denis didn't deny it. She knew my condition better than anyone.
"...No more age jabs from now on."
"Wasn't a jab. I'm serious? You're still in your prime, sis."
"Teasing again."
"Guess I should shut up. You don't get my heart. Better not talk."
This was going south—tonight's romp might fall through.
Ding-a-ling—
While giggling and chatting with Denis, the inn door swung open. Someone came in. New guest? I turned to check.
Me, Denis, even Lisa—we all perked up like meerkats, eyeing the newcomer.
Unfortunately, no new guest. It was today's check-in long-termers.
The mysteriously familiar women.
'No robes now.'
They'd just bathed. Putting on the same soiled robes would be silly.
"...They look familiar, right? Like people I know."
I whispered in Denis's ear again. She nodded slightly.
"Yeah."
The long-term guests shook out their wet hair as they headed to a table. Not their rooms.
Lisa dashed over to gauge their intent.
"Shall I prepare a meal?"
"Got beer?"
"Of course!"
"Beer then. More like snacks than a full meal. Not really hungry."
The black-haired woman snapped her fingers, tossing Lisa a tip.
Spiiin—
The silver coin spun perfectly into Lisa's palm. Silver, not copper.
"Gasp!"
Lisa's eyes bulged. Way too generous for a tip.
Loyalty surging, she snapped a salute.
"Got it! Coming right up delicious!"
"Heh heh heh. Looking forward to it."
The women smiled, clearly finding Lisa's antics adorable.
In the midst of it, I felt it. Their eyes scanning me over.
'What the hell?'
My former hero, level 99 senses screamed a warning. Be on guard against these women.
But my mind kept softening. Pretty girls had that unavoidable pull just by existing.
"Uncle! Help!"
"Uh, uh..."
Denis whipped up snacks, Lisa handled serving. Beer too—quite the load.
'Whatever.'
Denis went all out on the snacks. No specific order, so innkeeper's choice, anything goes.
Make a pile, bill later.
"That's a lot."
Way too much for three. Even as a meal, overkill.
"Then we all eat together. Hey, kid."
"Yessir!"
The black-haired one beckoned Lisa. She scurried over.
"Lady, your portions are huge—too much for just us sisters? So, sit and eat with us."
"Really?! Is that okay?"
"Yeah, eat up."
"Yay!"
Tons of meaty snacks. No wonder Lisa's eyes lit up.
In cartoon terms, drool would've been streaming from her mouth.
The black-haired woman stared at Lisa settling in, then shot me a glance.
"Bring that uncle too."
"...Uncle too?"
"Heh heh, yeah."
Lisa's half-hearted reaction drew snickers from the women.
"You were gonna ditch uncle and eat alone? No loyalty."
"N-no! I wanted to eat with uncle too!"
"Then why not?"
"It's guests' food... not ours, so calling uncle felt kinda..."
"What if we say okay? You'd bring him then?"
"Obviously!"
"Alright, fetch uncle. And lady too. Might as well all eat together. Can't finish it ourselves."
"Yessir!"
Lisa rushed over, grabbed my hand, and dragged me. I sat at their table in a daze.
"Ah."
Facing the three directly now, it hit. Like lightning in my brain.
The hazy memories sharpened crystal clear.
"Tina."
The black-haired one resembled Tina,
"Celine."
Blond like Celine,
"Alicia."
The white-haired one a dead ringer for Alicia.
"...Who the hell are you."
I pointed my fork, radiating killing intent.
"Heh... Pretty sharp."
The black-haired woman grinned. Unfazed by my aura, she took a swig of beer.
The blond one sighed, glancing at the black-haired troublemaker.
"...I'll explain, Father."