What If the Strongest Villain from the Original Story Became the Protagonist's Ally? - Chapter 61 - Daughter, and What Lycoris Is

“Excuse me. I’ve brought dinner.”

Knock knock—the room door was knocked, and a maid entered pushing a service wagon. She efficiently arranged the dishes from atop the wagon onto the table.

Today I was having dinner in my room. Iris was probably having dinner with Lycoris in the dining room about now. So I would quietly enjoy dinner in my room by myself.

“…Hm? Isn’t this amount a bit much? You never prepared this much before.”

The number of plates arranged and the amount of food served was clearly more than usual.

“Princess Iris said that Yuu-sama eats very well, so we should increase the number of dishes. Also, this is for the young lady’s portion.”

“Young lady…?”

The maid’s gaze moved behind me. Following her line of sight… Nana was at the entrance.

“I’m eating together too.”

“Seriously? No wonder the amount was so much.”

The dishes arranged on the table included not just my portion but Nana’s as well. So that’s why it was nearly double the usual amount.

“Is that bad?”

“It’s not bad. I was just surprised because it was sudden. You’re lonely, right? I’d rather eat with Nana than alone too, so it’s fine.”

“Yay. All the favorite foods are mine.”

“Oh…? You’ve become quite bold in what you say.”

“Papa’s a big eater.”

“All the meat is mine.”

“If you’re not nice to your daughter, she’ll hate you.”

“Guh!?”

That was quite a critical hit.

This little one… As time passes, she’s identifying and studying my weaknesses, isn’t she? Her verbal attacks were getting sharper and sharper.

But since I wanted Nana to grow, I’ll give her lots of meat. Eat plenty.

“Munch munch… delicious.”

“She’s already eating. Who’d she inherit that gluttony from?”

“Papa, obviously. Papa gets scolded by Iris-sama for that too.”

“Correct. I’m the type who doesn’t hold back.”

You know those people who hold back at friends’ houses and don’t touch the snacks or meals that are offered? I’m the type who easily eats everything by myself. The real fun begins when the friend and their family start thinking “Show some restraint…”

“Hey Papa.”

“Hm?”

“The person having dinner with Iris-sama, why did she come here?”

“Lycoris? That child is a princess of a small kingdom. She has to participate in the birthday festival of His Majesty, with whom they’ve formed an alliance. That’s also the duty of royalty.”

“Normally wouldn’t another prince come?”

“Normally, yes. But she has talent. Incredible talent. In the future, that will be useful for defeating the Empire. So their side can’t withdraw Lycoris’s demands either. I believe according to my memory, the princes of the Prominent small kingdom don’t have talent.”

It was a cruel story. A woman, who was normally inferior to men in strength, had gained talent that could only be described as being loved by God. That’s why her position in the succession order rose, and now she was the small kingdom’s envoy.

In the original story, she grows strong enough to defeat the final boss Yuguram. No fool would let such an important figure languish in their country.

“Hmm… so that means she’s strong?”

Nana asked directly.

Was she curious about her abilities?

“She’s strong. If the current Nana fought her, you’d definitely lose. Even if there were a hundred or thousand Nanas, you couldn’t win.”

“That’s a lie. Numbers are important in combat.”

“If the opponent is ordinary, yes. But Lycoris is different. She’s strong enough that Iris recognizes her and can stand shoulder to shoulder with Iris. More than anything… you have bad compatibility with her.”

Her strength lay in the same simple place as Iris’s. No matter how hard Nana tried with underhanded tactics, she couldn’t damage Lycoris. That’s why no matter how many there were, she could never win.

“Mmm… there are too many strong people around.”

“Hahaha. You’re plenty strong too, Nana. It’s just that Iris and Lycoris are monsters. Against others… like the soldiers guarding the palace, even Nana could win. Some exceptions I know have truly inhuman abilities.”

“It doesn’t have much persuasive power when Papa, who’s like a representative of these monsters, says it.”

“That’s true.”

I was the strongest in the story. Even including Iris, Lycoris, and the other heroines, none could win in pure ability.

Using various things and exploiting openings, Iris and the others achieved victory. In other words, even with all the main characters joining forces, Yuguram was still stronger.

Honestly, having seen the entire scenario, I could say that luck was involved in Iris and the others’ victory. They grasped that one victory out of ten attempts at that time.

“By the way, how strong is Lycoris-sama compared to Papa?”

“That’s… another difficult question.”

Sorry to Lycoris, but compared to Yuguram, anyone would be like an ant to a lion. Just as an elephant and human couldn’t win in bare-handed combat, from my perspective there wasn’t much difference between Iris and Lycoris. If I got serious, I could kill either in one hit.

So I was troubled by the answer.

“In a head-on clash, Lycoris would lose to me in one hit. Using underhanded tactics, she might barely be able to withstand one hit… that’s about it.”

“I don’t really understand.”

“Neither do I.”

But that’s about the gap between us.

Even several years later when they’d matured, the two of them couldn’t defeat Yuguram.

Our conversation continued as we stuffed our cheeks with dinner. We got excited mainly talking about Lycoris.