Chapter 42

“Lateia, ever since our remarriage, I, Garto Ryuzen, have intended to put every effort into building a harmonious family environment. In particular, I have racked my brains to ensure that I wouldn’t be disliked by my teenage stepdaughter—who is also the Hero Angelica—and to make sure things didn’t become awkward for her.”

Man, I really did rack my brains until they practically turned to dust…

If only Angelica had been a boy, it might have been a bit more relaxed. No, no, those kinds of sentimental thoughts don’t matter right now.

“Yes, you have become a wonderful father to Angelica. She feels it, too. Given her personality, she probably won’t say it honestly, but I can tell.”

Lateia’s evaluation made me truly happy.

“I was also eager to fulfill my role as Angelica’s father. I believe I have achieved that to some extent. However—”

I stared intently into Lateia’s eyes.

Then, I slowly added:

“I, Garto, am Angelica’s father, but I am not Lateia’s father. I am Lateia’s husband.”

This is what it means to convey romantic feelings, isn’t it, Torualina?

To firmly confirm the very natural fact that I love her.

That was the role of this day.

“I love you as your husband, my wife Lateia.”

Lateia nodded, tears welling in her eyes.

“Thank you, dear.”

Ever since the remarriage, I had been conscious of behaving as a good father.

That is important, of course, but the reason I remarried in the first place was that I loved Lateia.

Occasions to convey that love seemed to be scattered everywhere, yet they were unexpectedly few.

The relationship inevitably shifts toward being between a father and a mother.

But it would be strange if, before that, there wasn’t a relationship of love between a man and a woman.

That was why I wanted to convey it on this day, her birthday.

“Happy birthday, Lateia.”

“Yes, I don’t think I’ve ever had such a wonderful birthday before.”

“May I put the ring on you?”

Lateia nodded, and I slipped the ring onto her hand.

“This ring is so luxurious, it might look a bit strange on someone like me.”

“Don’t disparage yourself like that, Lateia. You are the wife of the Demon King and the mother of the Hero.”

Lateia was, without a doubt, a great presence. There was not a single mistake in that statement.

“Dear, by the way, how long do you intend to keep up this way of addressing me?”

Lateia asked, giggling.

“Ugh… You think I’m pushing myself, don’t you…”

To tell the truth, she was spot on. I was incredibly nervous. In fact, I was still nervous even now!

“If we’re too ‘lovey-dovey,’ it’ll just make Angelica uncomfortable. When we get back, I’ll go back to addressing you more formally as Madam Lateia…”

If the atmosphere of the house changed permanently, Angelica would surely complain that it was hard to be there. She might even turn rebellious. It would be a bad look for a Hero to go astray.

“Yeah, I like the cool version of you from tonight, but I also love the usual ‘un-Demon-King-like’ Demon King version of you.”

In the end, it seemed I was just dancing in the palm of Lateia’s hand…

When we returned home, Angelica was already there.

“Welcome back, you two. Did you have fun?”

“Angelica, Garto gave me a ring~. It’s so, so beautiful~.”

“Isn’t it a bit weird to brag about that to your own daughter?”

Ah, things were already back to the usual atmosphere. I have to admit, I felt more at ease this way too.

I’m not exactly the type of character meant for putting on airs.

Maybe the reason I wanted to remarry Lateia was because I yearned for a gentle home where there was no need to be on guard.

Once Lateia went to take a bath, Angelica spoke up.

“So, how did it go, Demon King?”

“Everything went off without a hitch.”

Angelica clapped her hands together.

“Good for you. I’m sure Mama is happy.”

“It’s all thanks to everyone who gave me advice, including you.”

I’d have to thank Torualina and Selene too. Maybe I’d give them some sweets. Though, I did wonder what kind of Demon King gives sweets to a Hero’s party mage as a thank-you gift.

“I did everything I needed to do. We had a wonderful time.”

However, for some reason, Angelica’s face turned bright red.

I didn’t recall saying anything strange.

“When you say you ‘did everything you needed to do’… does that mean… you know… you did the ‘baby-making’ stuff too…?”

I choked violently.

“Don’t ask things like that! I didn’t mean it in that sense at all!”

Great, now the father-daughter relationship is going to get awkward again… Please stop stepping into that kind of territory!

“Demon King, you’re denying it, but you’re not saying you didn’t do it. So, you actually did, right?”

Angelica pressed the issue, barely letting me speak.

“I… I am under no obligation to answer… I have the right to remain silent… Besides, if you think a Demon King answers every question a Hero asks, you’re dead wrong…”

“Whoa… just from that reaction, it’s a total ‘yes’! As a daughter, that’s honestly pretty rough…”

Angelica looked genuinely repulsed.

“You’re the one who asked! Why am I being made out to be the bad guy here!?”

“Sorry, but no matter what you say, you have zero credibility right now. It’s gross, so could you not come too close to me?”

“What… what is that reaction…? Puberty really is complicated to the core, isn’t it…”

“Don’t try to dismiss it so easily with the word ‘puberty’! Put yourself in my shoes! I’m under a considerable amount of stress here!”

Angelica hurled a sofa cushion at me.

“Hey! Don’t throw things! I’m against domestic violence!”

“Shut up, shut up! Having the Demon King as a father is the absolute worst!”

After that, a fierce battle between the Demon King and the Hero continued for a while. However, since they only threw things that wouldn’t break upon hitting the floor, the cleanup wasn’t particularly difficult.

It seems that having a Hero as a Demon King’s stepdaughter is a situation fraught with all sorts of impossibilities.