"Hmm... I guess I was being a bit childish."
Setsu-san sighed in exasperation.
It seems I was weaker than they had thought. They were on guard and trying to gauge each other's intentions, but they probably decided that there was no need to do that.
"I found my daughters under a bridge."
"What?! So she's your daughter-in-law after all?!"
I told him that what I said was complete nonsense.
I was surprised when he said the exact opposite before the words had even left my mouth.
"That's a lie. Why did you immediately believe it?"
"...Setsu-san, you're really good at lying."
"You're the one who's easily deceived. Be careful of scams in the future. Make sure you ask for advice before making any expensive purchases."
"Y-yes..."
For some reason, he was worried.
Well, it's true that I'm not good at suspecting people, so I guess what Setsuki said is true. I have to be careful of scams.
"But just because I tell you to, you can't be the kind of person who just follows my orders."
"No, no. So what do you want me to do?"
He was amazed that I even listened to him.
I'm not good at it... I guess Setsu-san is a bit difficult.
"You shouldn't believe the words of people you don't trust in the first place, you know?"
"I trust her. She's Hime and Hijiri's mother after all."
"Oh, I see. So that's why I don't sense any hostility from you..."
Well, I think he's a difficult person, but I don't think he's a bad person.
She was the mother of such charming sisters, so I had a certain amount of trust in her from the start.
Of course, I wasn't letting my guard down...or so I thought, but it seems that I appear defenseless to Setsu-san.
"If I wanted to, I could easily crush someone like you."
That was Setsu-san's assessment of me. He's really scary.
"I'd be happy if you didn't crush it... I don't like pain."
"It's a metaphor. It's not a physical thing, so don't worry."
"So you mean spiritually?"
"...Ufufu"
The most frightening response was that he would just laugh.
I wonder what kind of position Setsu-san holds. There's a certain pressure, a certain aura... that's it. I felt like I was facing someone very important.
In short, it's probably just this person's whim that we're having this conversation right now.
Maybe she's still interested in me. At the moment, even if I resisted, I'd only be crushed, so I'd give up and just be myself.
Resistance was pointless, so I relaxed my grip.
"Um, can we go back to the topic?"
"Of course. You're wondering about my daughter's blood relationship, right? Okay, I'll answer that question."
When I asked him honestly, he surprisingly answered without leaving me any ambiguity.
I hadn't intended to ask them directly, but it was something I was curious about, so I'd be happy to know the answer.
"They are both my daughters, truly. They are not adopted, nor are they half-brothers... and of course, they have the same father. There is no doubt that Hime and Hijiri are sisters of the same blood."
"...Then why do the two of you look so different?"
"--Have you ever heard of atavism?"
I had never heard that word before.
However, the meaning is somewhat clear when you look at the characters. Returning to one's ancestors means:
"My great-great-grandparents were from the Nordic region."
"Great-great-grandparents…?"
"To put it simply, they are my great-grandmother's parents... it must be the influence of their blood. There's no doubt that it's rare. By the way, Hijiri looks just like me. Although it might be hard to tell because I dye my hair."
The atavism was what you'd expect.
I see. So that's why Hime's appearance was so different from Kiyoshi's.
"So, Yohei's prediction was completely wrong."
"...sorry"
"It's fine. I don't dislike a girl who can apologize sincerely. In business, though, she's pretty incompetent, you know?"
Is it being praised or criticized?
It's a bit doubtful whether it's even appreciated, but that's not surprising.
It seems my prediction was way off the mark.