Qualifications of a Legal Wife (1)
Qualifications of a Legal Wife (1)
Seo Haru was a woman who regarded Yujin as her father.
She was waiting for him.
Alone in the Training Room.
[Daddy, what time will you come tomorrow?]
[Hmm... I'll be exercising in the Training Room first, so probably in the evening.]
'Daddy was weak, so Haru would help him exercise. Then she would pat him lots and lots.'
Her daddy was so weak that one poke seemed enough to make him collapse, yet he had admirably decided to exercise.
As his daughter, Haru had to help him.
She would pat him, hug him tightly, and praise him for doing such a good job.
Then Daddy would be happy and try even harder.
The thought made Haru's lips curl upward on their own.
However,
—Creak.
"We're here... Oh? Haru?"
"......!!"
'The super-strong lady!'
Even though Yujin, whom she had been waiting for, had arrived,
Haru focused not on Daddy, but on Aika.
Her gaze was full of wariness.
"Daddy. Who is that woman?"
'Where did he find someone so scary? She was the most frightening person Haru had ever seen.'
Her response was sharp, but entirely natural given how she had grown up.
Haru had been raised among villains, where strength was law.
To her, great strength meant danger.
Now a monster had appeared whom she wasn't sure she could protect Daddy from even at full strength.
Her first instinct was to be wary.
...Of course, a few words would have dispelled that wariness.
Haru trusted Daddy more than anyone.
One word from Yujin that everything was fine would have reassured her completely.
Knowing that, Yujin began to explain calmly.
'This was probably the first time she'd met someone physically stronger than herself. No wonder she was afraid.'
"Haru, this woman is..."
"———Haru, listen to me!"
Alice's interruption cut off the explanation.
Everyone turned toward Alice.
Her eyes widened with determination.
'I had to stop that lecher!'
Alice was the only woman who had recognized Aika's indecent thoughts.
In Alice's mind, Aika had already become a villain from one of her 'Eye' stories.
At first, she'd pretend to be a kind mentor, then gradually reveal her true nature.
She'd begin by groping Yujin under the pretense of instruction.
If Yujin objected, she'd threaten him: 'The top-ranked S-rank is personally teaching you, and you dare refuse?'
And when Yujin finally couldn't endure it and threatened to call the police?
Abduction. Confinement. Conditioning. Naturally, those would follow.
The comparatively delicate Yujin would be pinned beneath her and mercilessly violated.
The hag would say something disgusting like, 'You claim to hate it, but your body is honest, isn't it?'
Absolutely not. As his fellow Pine-Needle Snow enthusiast, I would protect Yujin’s chastity.
Her delusion had become needlessly vivid and specific.
It was exactly how someone would think after exploring the vast world of 'Eye' in only a few days and bookmarking more than two hundred favorite works.
"Alice? What are you...?"
"Pinky. What?"
"The truth is..."
Alice began whispering into the innocent Haru's ear.
She hoped that even if she couldn't stop Aika herself, Haru's recklessness might disrupt the situation.
—Whisper, whisper.
"She hit Daddy."
"Yes! Fortunately, he wasn't badly injured, but he even coughed up blood...!"
Alice didn't need to invent anything to malign her.
Aika had kicked Yujin the moment they met, and Yujin had coughed up blood.
She only had to state the facts calmly.
Haru's eyes narrowed.
Everything was proceeding according to Alice's plan.
'Now, Haru. Drive that violent, lecherous woman away from Yujin...'
—Grind.
"She hit Daddy?"
"......Huh?"
———The only flaw in Alice's plan was that her provocation worked far too well.
What kind of person was Haru?
A child raised among villains.
Even after losing nearly all her memories, an instinctive fear of violence remained inside her.
To Haru, violence meant killing or being killed.
In her mind, Aika had already become a bad person who tried to kill Daddy.
It was a catastrophe born of Haru's incomplete education.
'Now that Haru looked, Daddy seemed strange too. She could smell blood faintly.'
-Whoooosh....
'Daddy was weak. Haru had to protect him.'
Her aura surged in an instant.
It was the precursor to her Innate Talent, 'Awakening,' which temporarily raised her attributes.
"H-Haru? What are you..."
"Bad."
-KWAAAAAAAANG!!!!
"Kyaaah!!?"
Then came the surprise attack.
Only ten seconds had passed since Yujin entered the Training Room.
Aika threw herself aside in alarm.
'Why was that girl...? My disciple first!'
"Stay behind me!"
—Thud.
From Aika's perspective, a strange woman had suddenly charged in while calling Yujin 'Daddy.'
Was she dangerously obsessed with him?
Then again, her disciple was handsome. It was hardly surprising that strange women gathered around him.
With that thought, Aika first moved Yujin to safety.
Of course, to anyone who understood the situation, her intervention was pointless.
'I understood why, but she should have listened before acting. Seriously, Haru!?'
"W-wait! Listen to me, Haru!"
Yujin urgently reached out to stop her.
Inside, he was shouting, 'Stop fighting over me!'—a line utterly unsuited to the self-proclaimed Hypnosis Breeding Guy.
It had no effect.
-Thwack!!!
'Daddy, Haru will save you soon.'
To Haru, this was a battle to rescue Daddy from a monstrous enemy.
She was risking her life. There was no room to listen to Yujin.
"Haru... Tch. Master! That child is...!"
"You can explain later!"
Aika had no attention to spare for Yujin either.
Unlike Haru, her reason was hardly noble.
—Jiggle.
'Damn it, why now!? If I moved too quickly, my clothes would come undone!'
She couldn't listen to her disciple because she was preoccupied with her chest.
...She had hurriedly removed the bandages for first aid only moments earlier.
She'd managed to rearrange her clothes afterward, but hadn't had time to rewrap the bandages.
In other words, she was currently braless.
With her loose hakama threatening to fall open at the slightest movement, the situation was perilous.
'And if I moved too quickly, they'd bounce everywhere...!'
Freed from their restraints, her breasts swayed from side to side whenever she twisted her body.
And she was expected to fight like this?
One sword draw might expose far more than her blade.
She'd rather die than expose the chest she was already so self-conscious about.
'I had to keep the front closed... What if my disciple noticed I was wearing nothing underneath? What if he thought I was shameless...?'
—Fluster, fluster.
'She was easier to fight than Haru expected... No. It was dangerous. Haru should take Daddy and run.'
Barely three seconds had passed.
Seeing an opening, Haru launched herself forward.
She ignored Aika, who had not moved a single step and was doing nothing but defend, and rushed directly to save Yujin.
Haru slipped past Aika's side.
—Whoosh.
"......!!!!!?"
'No. This was no time to worry about that. I had to protect my disciple!'
Aika's expression changed instantly, and she gave chase.
Without hesitation, she moved to restrain the woman rampaging like a wild horse.
She moved at the limits of human speed, befitting the world's top-ranked S-rank.
The result was threefold.
'Daddy, Haru will take you somewhere safe...'
—Grab.
"Not so fast!"
First: Aika stopped Haru just before she reached Yujin.
—Jiggle.
".........!!!!!?"
'Why wasn't Aika wearing underwear...? Oh my. Her nipples were inverted.'
'Even bigger than mine... Pfft.'
Second: Aika's greatest insecurity was exposed to all three women.
And finally—
-Squeeze.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
'What the hell was this disaster!?'
Yujin slammed his eyelids shut the instant bare skin appeared. A scream.
As his inner monologue suggested, the situation had become a complete disaster.
* * *
The battle between Haru and my master ended in barely ten seconds.
Despite a matchup that could have gone down in awakener history, the result was...
—Carefully.
"Um... Did you perhaps see anything earlier...?"
"No? Pfft."
"......."
My master suffered a heroic defeat.
—Slump.
"Daddyyy..."
"Keep your hands raised. I never had a bad daughter who threw punches at people without warning."
"Haru thought Daddy was in danger..."
"Then you should have asked Daddy first."
'This truly felt like raising a child.'
Haru was receiving a stern scolding from me.
...There had been no winner in that fight.
There had been no need to fight in the first place.
I couldn't even comfort my master.
I knew exactly why she was embarrassed, but I could not let her know that.
So I focused on scolding Haru.
"You know who she is? She's the world's top-ranked S-rank—more impressive than Granny."
"Yeah. That's why she's dangerous..."
"She isn't dangerous at all. She agreed to teach Daddy."
"Oh. Teach Daddy?"
"Right. So treat her respectfully from now on. Understood?"
"Okay. Haru is a polite child."
...Now I felt guilty for scolding her.
She still lacked education, but she was genuinely a good child.
I decided that was enough punishment.
"From now on, ask Daddy before hitting anyone. If you hit people without permission, Daddy will spank you."
"It won't hurt even if Daddy hits Haru."
"...Then I'll have Granny do it."
"Haru doesn't want that. She'll listen to Daddy."
"Good. Put your hands down and apologize to Master."
-Swoosh.
Her hands dropped immediately.
Only then did Haru sprawl comfortably on the floor, as though her life had finally been spared.
Using her ability appeared to have left her exhausted.
"Phew. Um... Daddy's Master."
'The more I watched her, the more she felt like a real daughter. She was adorable. Why had I never had children before the regression?'
Even while thinking that, I watched her immediately try to speak to my master.
She seemed ready to apologize exactly as I'd told her, and a smile rose naturally to my face.
"U-um? What do you mean, 'Daddy'?"
"It's complicated, but she's my adopted daughter."
"Adopted daughter...?"
My master was understandably bewildered, but I decided to explain the details later.
I smiled and waited for Haru to continue.
I expected a cute, honest apology that would bring out a fatherly smile.
"Sorry for hitting you. Haru thought you were bad because she heard you hit Daddy."
"Don't worry about it. I don't know the details, but my disciple's adopted daughter is no stranger to me. Besides, I was unquestionably at fault..."
"As an apology, you can have Daddy. Be his mommy."
"If Daddy's Master becomes Daddy's Mommy, the baby will be full and smile."
"......!!!!!?"
I had been handed over.