The Assassin Girl Who Stayed by My Side in Another World… Somehow Followed Me Back to Modern Japan - Chapter 20: Look at Me—Not That Little Square Thing

Chapter 20: Look at Me—Not That Little Square Thing

Bit by bit, I started to wake up.

I could feel something warm in my arms—Aira, of course—so I carefully reached over her to grab my phone from the charger, making sure not to wake her.

…Still only 5 AM, huh.

Well, we did go to bed earlier than usual last night, but odds are, this was just my body sticking to old habits from the other world.

Back there, it didn’t matter what time I went to sleep—I’d always be up before sunrise.

There was always something to do for Aira’s sake.

But here?

There’s literally nothing to do this early.

Might as well try to fall back asleep.

So I closed my eyes again…

…But yeah. No chance.

I was fully awake.

Guess that “early riser” routine is hardwired into me now.

And even though I’ve physically regressed, you’d think I could at least nap a little longer.

…Well, whatever.

Still plenty of time before school, so maybe I’d play a game or something—for the first time in forever.

Despite how much I used to love games, I hadn’t touched one since coming back to this world.

Console and PC games were out—Aira was basically fused to my side, so there was no way I could move around freely.

That left my phone.

No contest.

…Not that it really mattered anyway.

Even if she wasn’t clinging to me, we were sharing the same bed—if I suddenly got up, she’d probably notice right away just from the shift in presence.

Now then… what should I play?

Let’s see…

This one—nah, I barely remember the story. Might be better to skip it for now.

I mean, come on—expecting to remember the plot of a game I last played eight years ago? That’s asking a bit much.

Not like it’s my fault, but… still kinda disappointing.

I do remember it being fun, though.

…Maybe I’ll go back and rewatch the story later using the recap feature or something.

Pretty sure it had one.

For now, I’ll just play this one instead.

No story involved—perfect for killing time.

As I quietly played on my phone—sound completely off so I wouldn’t wake Aira—she suddenly stirred under the covers.

Looked like she might be waking up.

Pretty sure I didn’t cause it.

I’d been super careful—barely even moved while playing.

“……”

Since she was still snuggled right up against me, it was hard to tell, but maybe she just rolled over in her sleep?

Either way, I stayed quiet and kept tapping away at my game—

Until suddenly, Aira poked her adorable face out from under the blanket…

Right between me and my phone.

“—!”

“…Mmm. Good morning, Hiroto.”

“Ah—y-yeah. Morning.”

…She caught me off guard. Her face suddenly popping up that close? Yeah, I nearly jumped.

“It’s still early, y’know. You can go back to sleep if you want.”

Trying to play it cool—and also to hide how warm my face was getting—I shifted just a bit, peeking over the top of Aira’s head to resume my game.

“Muu… Forget that square thing. Look at me instead.”

She puffed up her cheeks in frustration, then scooted even closer—bringing her face way too close to mine.

“H-Hey, that’s way too close…”

Last night, I was too sleepy to notice—and she was mostly buried under the blankets, so it felt fine.

But now that I was fully awake…

I really did sleep this close to her, huh?

…Well, she is my daughter, so it’s not that big of a deal or anything.

Definitely better than the whole bathing situation, at least.

“Look at me, okay?”

“I-I am looking! See? I even turned off my phone. Happy now?”

“…Mm. Okay.”

Whether she was actually jealous of my phone or not, the second I shut it off, she backed off just a bit.

Then, instead of diving back under the blanket, she gently rested her head against my chest—with a soft, satisfied look.

…Maybe she’s just acting a little funny because she just woke up.

Yeah. That’s gotta be it.

Still… that side of her’s pretty cute too.