Chapter 70

My true worth as a parent was being put to the test!

I knew I was being tested, but—

I had no idea what the right answer was.

In the first place, was there even a “right” answer to something like this? In human relationships, something that looks good in one context can look like a disaster in another. It’s like scolding someone; they might thank you for it later, or they might hold a grudge forever.

That said, staying silent would be a massive cop-out. It would be pathetic not just as a parent, but as a functioning member of society. I had to avoid that at all costs.

“Demon King, don’t just stand there in silence. Say something…”

I had been lost in thought for a while, and she was starting to get impatient.

Tears were pooling in Angelica’s eyes. She was desperate for an answer.

But there was no answer that would satisfy everyone anyway. Not when humans were involved. And I wasn’t even sure if it was a good thing for Angelica to just blindly believe whatever I said. What would that mean for her own independence?

Personally, I thought she should just kick the men out and make it an all-female party.

I couldn’t feel at ease with men lurking nearby anyway. If she formed a five-woman party, there would be no risk of “accidents.” Plus, they could hold their pajama parties with the entire group.

…Wait, that was just my own wishful thinking. I couldn’t go imposing my desires on my daughter. That’s the number one thing a parent should never do.

“Angelica, first of all, what do you want to do? I haven’t heard your own thoughts on the matter yet.”

I had answered a question with a question, but at least I’d bought some time. Honestly, I couldn’t think of any classic, “kingly” advice.

Besides, they often say that girls don’t necessarily want advice; they just want validation. She probably wasn’t looking for some practical, step-by-step walkthrough.

“I asked you because I don’t really know myself…”

Eh! We’re starting from there?!

Her thoughts were even more disorganized than I’d realized.

I started to feel like calming her down was the first priority.

“Angelica, right now you’re in a sort of panic. No good ideas will come to you in this state. So, I have a proposal…”

Maybe saying something a bit silly to change the mood would help.

“…Get into bed and get a good night’s sleep!”

She should clear her head first, then think about what to do.

“Eh? You mean… in this bed?”

Crap! Angelica was sitting right on my bed!

Furthermore, this was my room! There was a risk she’d misinterpret it as something lewd! I would never say something like that to my daughter.

“No, no! I mean go to your own room, sleep, and clear your head! That’s what I meant!”

“Ah, right. Yeah, you’re right. Yeah, of course…”

The air had turned strange. I suppose you could say the gloomy atmosphere had lifted, but this was a far cry from what I’d intended…

“What I’m trying to say is that now isn’t the time for you to reach a conclusion! Put yourself in a cooling-off period! Right now, you’re in a state like you’ve been hit by a Confusion spell. You’re liable to attack your own allies while thinking you’re striking the enemy.”

Good, I managed to wrap it up well. That should get through to her.

However, Angelica’s face only twisted into a pout.

“I’m perfectly aware that I’m panicking… That’s exactly why I asked for proper advice from the Demon King…”

As if going on strike, she flopped onto the bed and turned on her side.

She was lying parallel to the bed’s length, so our eyes remained locked.

This kid… there’s a limit to how much of a tall order you can give…

“I thought that since you have so much life experience—plus political experience—the Demon King would give me a great answer, but you can only say pretty ordinary things, can’t you?”

I felt a surge of irritation. If she were my son instead of my daughter, I might have actually slugged her.

How was I supposed to give a proper opinion when your expectations are a complete mystery?! This is like a guild quest with no clear victory conditions. Only an omniscient god would know how to handle this!

Go ask those kinds of annoying questions—the kind a high-maintenance girlfriend asks her boyfriend—to an actual boyfriend. Don’t ask your parent.

Wait… actually, given her mental age, having a boyfriend still feels dangerous, so maybe she shouldn’t do that either.

Usually, girls give off a more precocious impression than boys, but in Angelica’s case, that wasn’t the case at all.

Still, it rankled me to have her just decide to be disappointed on her own, so I wanted to resolve at least that much.

“Angelica, you’re a Hero, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am. I’m the peerless Hero of the world.”

For someone “peerless,” you’re in a pretty embarrassing situation right now, kid.

“Is it not a pathetic sight for that Hero to panic and be unable to reach a single conclusion? At the very least, you’re failing as a leader.”

Angelica’s eyes widened.

It seemed she realized I was right.

Finally, she understood her own unsightly behavior.

“It can’t be helped… nothing like this has ever happened before… Of course I’m going to ask for help.”

“You weren’t trying to ask for help; you were trying to make me spit out the ‘perfect’ answer. In other words, you were trying to dump the entire responsibility onto the Demon King.”

Again, her eyes widened.

It’s trivial, but her eyes really do change size quite a bit. Depending on her makeup, she could probably give off a completely different vibe.

“At the very least, shouldn’t you cool your head until you’re capable of a constructive conversation?”

Angelica stood up from the bed.

“Fine. I’ll back off for today. I’ll just go to sleep and think tomorrow…”

“Yes, that’s fine. Do that, do that.”

At the door, Angelica stopped once.

What now? An apology for her blunder?

Or maybe a word of thanks for listening to her?

“The Demon King doesn’t really have that much of an ‘old-man smell’ on his bed, does he? Is it because you’re a Demon King and not a human?”

“Say ‘thank you’ to your parent once in a while!”

Good grief, I was thinking so seriously, and she was over here thinking about something completely irrelevant!

“Huh? I thought I was complimenting you just now…”

“Your way of complimenting people is weird!”