As a Reward for Saving the World, I Was Reincarnated Into a World Where Girls Are Super Aggressive and Chastity Roles Are Reversed!! …Or So I Thought, Until It Turned Out to Be an Overbearing Yandere Harem of My Former Companions Who Loved Me Too Much - 20

Chapter 20: Silvia and Papa

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“Papa… What are you doing?”

Silvia’s trembling voice echoed in the quiet room. The hand that had been clinging to my arm let go, and she marched straight toward her father, Arcous. Her face, which until a moment ago had been tinged with shyness and nervousness, was now flushed red with anger.

“W-well, this is…”

“I asked what you’re doing! Why are you even here!? And with that shady mask on, sneaking after us in secret…! Just what are you thinking!?”

Silvia tore the mask right off Arcous-san’s face as he fumbled for an excuse, then glared at him.

“Calm down, Silvia. I was only worried about you…”

“Worried!? And since when does worrying about your daughter mean secretly tailing her on a date? Is that really what the Elder of the Elf village should be doing!?”

Arcous-san faltered under the force of his daughter’s outburst, but he cleared his throat, trying to preserve some dignity. Then he turned his sharp gaze on me.

“Hero Kazuki-dono. It’s true that my daughter has been in your care and that you defeated the Demon Lord. But I cannot believe that alone would make this child accept you. She has always been shy and closed off, never opening her heart to anyone outside the family. To think that merely journeying together would lead to an engagement… I simply cannot believe it! Perhaps Silvia only went along with this story to avoid marrying another elf?”

“What are you talking about!? That’s not true! My feelings are real!”

Even as Silvia glared back, Arcous-san smirked and pulled out an old but beautifully preserved letter, reading aloud.

“Yet in her letters, all she ever did was complain about you, Kazuki-dono. ‘He flirts with the Saintess and the Sword Saint. He gave me a gift, but his taste is terrible. I guess I’ll wear it since I have no other choice…’ Your mother was chuckling as she read them. ‘This girl really is hopeless,’ she said.”

“Why do you even have the letters I wrote to Mama!? Kazuki, that’s not how it is, I…”

“Yeah, I know. You just couldn’t be honest, right?”

“Ugh… He’s gotten so composed, even kind of cool. Ugh, geez… If he keeps smiling at me like that, I’ll just fall for him even more…”

As I smiled gently at the flustered Silvia, her face reddened, and she muttered to herself.

So the tsuntsun elf has finally become a true tsundere elf, thanks to this chastity-reversed world. 

Even the content of the old letters changed their meaning in this world. And besides, I had always known—even back when we were in the same party—that for all her sharp tongue, she trusted me.

“W-what is this? You two have the air of a long-married couple…”

“Papa, listen!! Kazuki is… Yeah, his mouth is foul, and he’s a blockhead, and ridiculously dense, but… But he’s kinder than anyone, and when it matters most, he risks his life to protect me! Whenever I was in trouble, he was always right there! Of course I… Of course I would fall in love with him!”

She spilled it all out in one breath, then gasped as though realizing what she had just confessed, face crimson as she looked down.

Whoa… Silvia, actually listing off my good points. Even though she had done that just to keep up the act, it was still incredible.  She would never do that back in my old world. If I failed to respond to this performance, I would be failing as a man. 

“Thanks, Silvia. I like that part of you too. I like the way you’re never honest, but deep down, you always care for your companions.”

“Eh!?”

“Like how you’d say, ‘If you don’t eat properly, you’ll drag us down when it counts,’ but still give me extra meat since you knew I liked it. Or how, when I was about to break under the pressure, you’d snap at me, ‘Do you really think you can defeat the Demon Lord like that, idiot!’ Or how you secretly watched over me while I trained with the Sword Saint.”

“Uuugh… If you noticed all that, you should’ve told me then! Then I could have been honest way sooner…”

When I said it with a smile, Silvia let out a strange squeak and froze. Arcous-san, watching our exchange, only furrowed his brow deeper.

“Damn it, what is this brain-melting feeling from watching my daughter flirt with a boy… B-but…”

“Fine, Papa! Then I’ll show you… Behold! The power of my lo-love with Kazuki!!”

“…Why’d you stumble on that word?”

“Shut up! It’s embarrassing, okay!?”

Despite snapping back at me, Silvia lifted her head as if steeling herself, then clung tightly to my arm again. This time, she pressed herself against me more boldly, her soft chest squishing against my arm as she leaned in to whisper by my ear.

“Hey, Darling~♡ Could you show me that bracelet again?”

“Uh, what’s with that sweet voice!? That’s terrifying!!”

“Show me again!!♡”

Silvia looked up at me with upturned eyes, her voice dripping with sugar in a way I’d never heard before.

Whoa. She really feels like my fiancée right now.

While I was still inwardly moved, she grasped the wrist where I wore the bracelet and raised it up for Arcous-san to see, along with her own.

“Whoa…”

“Kazuki gave me this bracelet. And I accepted it. You understand what that means, don’t you, Papa?”

“W-what… Silvia… Are you serious…?”

The warmth of Silvia’s delicate palm nearly short-circuited my brain. I was certain this was the first time I had ever held a girl’s hand.

Watching us, Arcous-san’s face paled rapidly.

“N-no… Silvia, the daughter who once said she’d marry me when she grew up… With some random hero… Is this what they call NTR…?”

“Well, Papa? Do you still doubt our love after this?”

Silvia smiled triumphantly. Arcous-san growled in frustration, then shouted as if this was his last available resort.

“…Then prove it with a kiss! If you truly love each other, you should be able to do that much!”

““Wha—!?””

Even Silvia and I were struck speechless by that.

What father asks for a kiss!? Then again, this is a chastity-reversed world… 

Normally, the girl held the power here, but in a chastity-reversed world, Arcous-san would definitely take it as a proof of our sincerity if I stepped up now. Besides, with my fast reflexes as a Hero, I could stop right at the last moment. 

“Fine. Silvia. Let’s show Father-in-law our resolve.”

The moment I said that, both Silvia and Arcous-san blurted out, “Eh!?” in shock.

“F-father-in-law!? How can you just call my Papa that!?”

“Y-you have no right to call me that!!”

“It’s part of finishing the act. Come on.”

When I whispered with a serious gaze, Silvia hesitated, then nodded, her face red with both shame and determination. We slowly leaned toward each other. Silvia gently closed her eyes.

Damn… When she keeps her mouth shut, she actually looks beautiful.

Our lips were about to touch when—

“W-wait, wait, wait! Enough! I get it already, so stop right there!!!”

Arcous-san’s desperate scream filled the chamber. He covered his face with both hands, shoulders trembling.

“…I’ve lost. That face… I’ve never seen my daughter look like that before…”

When he finally raised his head, his eyes were wet with tears, but his expression was strangely relieved as he looked at me.

“Hero Kazuki-dono… My daughter is stubborn and lacks charm, but… Please, I leave her in your hands…”

“Yes! Leave it to me, Father-in-law!”

As I answered with a bright smile, Arcous let out a wailing cry like a child and collapsed in tears.

★★★

“…So, looks like we got your father’s approval after all!”

“You idiot…! What would you have done if we’d actually had to kiss!?”

“I was planning to stop just in time. Anyway, I guess that wraps up our little engagement act.”

The transfer magic dissolved, returning Kazuki and me to the back alley of the market. I could tell my ears in the mirror were bright red. My heart was pounding. I knew he was just playing along with me, but… Meeting him again made me realize my feelings had grown much deeper than I’d thought.

“Well, whatever. Papa went home bawling, so the rest of the village will give up for a while. Thanks for helping me out.”

“No problem. It was a nice bonus for me, too.”

“B-bonus… You idiot…”

I almost burst out smiling at his words. Because if this little fake engagement had been a bonus for him, that meant he was happy to play my fiancé. And if Papa hadn’t stopped us just now, then I probably would have…

“Hey… Kazuki, if you don’t mind…”

I was about to ask him—to be my real fiancé—when I suddenly sensed two presences behind us.

“I’m glad you enjoyed your date with Silvia-sama. But what was this about pretending to be engaged?”

“Could it be that Silvia forced you into unnecessary trouble, despite your busy schedule, Kazuki-sama?”

When we turned around, Celestia stood there with a smile full of saintly grace, and Shinon with a perfectly blank expression. But their eyes were anything but smiling. Their highlights in their eyes were gone, replaced with bottomless darkness.

“Ah, Celestia, Shinon. Thanks for guarding us. I’m sure you were worried when we disappeared so suddenly.”

“Don’t worry about it, Kazuki-sama. I sensed no malice in that magic.”

“Even so… So she was moving in secret behind our backs. As Kazuki-sama’s personal maid, I’ll need a thorough explanation.”

The sulking Saintess and the yandere maid didn’t even try to hide the killing intent aimed squarely at me.

“…Fine, I’ll explain everything. Also… I’ll be joining the harem too.”

““What!?””

Both of them cried out in shock, while I smirked. Of course they were surprised—elves usually had only one partner for life. But through this whole ordeal, I had realized it clearly.

I love him.

“Still… Who would’ve thought it would turn out like this?”

Looking at Kazuki’s dumbfounded face, I couldn’t help but recall the old days.

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