The Assassin Girl Who Stayed by My Side in Another World… Somehow Followed Me Back to Modern Japan - Chapter 16: It’s Embarrassing… But More Than That, It Makes Me Happy

Chapter 16: It’s Embarrassing… But More Than That, It Makes Me Happy

What am I supposed to do about Aira’s bath…?

I still didn’t have a good answer to that as we walked home, hand in hand—until finally, my house came into view.

…Yeah. We were here.

“Aira, sorry, but it’s probably about time you—”

“Understood.”

Before I could even finish my sentence, Aira vanished.

…The feeling of her hand in mine was still there, so I knew she was right beside me—but she gave off zero presence otherwise.

Still as stealthy as ever, huh.

Impressed as always by her skills, I walked the rest of the way home—still holding hands with my now-invisible daughter.

“I’m home~”

“Welcome back, Hiroto~ The bath’s already ready! I went in first, so take your time and enjoy!”

Nee-san’s voice called out from the living room—warm, familiar, comforting.

Just hearing it grounded me even more.

Like, yeah… I really had come back to this world.

…But that bath problem hadn’t gone anywhere.

Normally, it’d be easy. I take my bath, then Aira goes in after me.

The problem was… Nee-san was here.

If she heard someone else in the bath when it was supposed to be just the two of us living here, it wouldn’t just be weird—it’d be downright creepy.

Best case? She thinks it’s a ghost.

Worst case? She thinks there’s an intruder.

Crap. What do I even do now?

“Y-Yeah. Thanks, Nee-san!”

Still feeling a little nervous, I called out my thanks and made my way toward the bathroom.

…Man, now that I think about it, I’m really glad she didn’t notice the shopping bag.

Nee-san had no idea Aira even existed, so if she’d seen that… it would’ve looked real bad.

I mean, if it were just clothes, maybe I could’ve played it off.

But there were bras and panties in there—including one set that was definitely on the risqué side.

“Hiroto, what’s wrong?”

Just as I reached the bathroom—still holding hands with invisible Aira—she suddenly asked me that.

She was speaking out loud, which probably meant she figured Nee-san wouldn’t hear us from this distance.

“…Just trying to figure out what to do about your bath.”

“? We can just bathe together.”

…Honestly, I kinda expected her to say that.

Still—

“Yeah, no. That’s definitely not happening.”

“Why not?”

“Why not?!”

“We used to bathe together back in the other world, didn’t we? Why is it not okay now?”

“T-That was when you were, like, fourteen or fifteen!”

And even then—she only bathed with me once after turning fifteen.

It was practically all when she was still fourteen.

“It’s only been a year. So it’s fine.”

“…Even if you say it’s fine, Aira, I’m the one who’s not fine!”

“Hiroto, wait… are you saying you’d get flustered? Back in the other world, I tried stuff like ‘oops, dropped my towel,’ and you never reacted. You didn’t see me as a girl at all.”

“Wha—y-you did that on purpose?!”

I kept my voice as low as possible so Nee-san wouldn’t hear, but yeah—I couldn’t stop myself from reacting.

…She wasn’t wrong, though. I never did think of her that way.

But back then, she always looked super embarrassed whenever that kind of thing happened, and I felt so damn guilty about it.

And now she tells me it was all an act?!

Yeah, no. I’m not just letting that slide.

“Okay, then. Tell me, Hiroto. I’m your daughter, right? So why is it that just one year later… and with a body that honestly hasn’t even changed that much—Why would taking a bath with me suddenly be a problem? Does it make you nervous?”

Just as she said that, Aira suddenly reappeared—she’d been invisible this whole time.

Then, without missing a beat, she wrapped her arms around me, pressed her body close, and looked up with those wide, puppy-dog eyes—like she was trying to seduce me.

…Seriously, when did she even learn how to do stuff like this?

Calm down. Deep breaths. Just relax.

She’s your daughter.

There’s absolutely no way you’d ever get flustered. No way.

…But still.

Bathing with a 16-year-old girl—even if she is your daughter—is just asking for trouble.

“…You’re not saying anything, so that means something, doesn’t it?”

“N-No! It’s not like that at all!”

“Then it’s fine, right?”

“Wha—h-hey, wait! Hold on a sec!”

Aira suddenly started undressing, and I scrambled to stop her.

“…You said you wouldn’t get flustered, right? Then it’s okay.”

“N-No! Of course it’s not okay—w-wait, just hold on, okay?! Stop for a second! I-I get it! Fine! But… at least do it like we used to. Wrap a towel around yourself first!”

I knew it.

Even if she was my daughter, taking a bath with a 16-year-old girl was definitely not okay.

And yet… I still said it.

Sure, part of it was because I knew she wouldn’t stop undressing unless I gave her some kind of compromise.

But still…

No matter the reason, the words had already left my mouth.

“…Okay.”

Even though I kept telling myself there was no way I’d ever get flustered, deep down… yeah, I was already starting to regret this.

That said, Aira—her face completely red—gave me a reluctant nod.

So, yeah…

Guess stripping in front of me was kind of embarrassing after all.

…But then why did she still look so annoyed?

You’d think the embarrassment would cancel out the attitude.

“…I’ll face this way. You face the other way and get changed, got it?”

Without bringing up the weird tension hanging between us, I kept it simple and started taking off my own clothes.

…She didn’t say anything back, which kind of bugged me—but I forced myself not to think too hard about it.

Even as I listened to the quiet sound of her undressing behind me.