'Son, as you're looking more like me every day, listen carefully to what I have to say.'
'What strange thing are you going to say this time?'
It might be a bit abrupt, but my father was the kind of person who, the more you looked at him, seemed like a noir webtoon protagonist who had jumped into reality.
'I'm being serious, so listen well.'
With a height approaching 190 cm, muscles forged in real combat, and a mysterious aura that made him look like a model when he wore only a shopkeeper's apron, he was a handsome man.
'...What is it?'
But when he took off his clothes, the scars that appeared made me think—though it might sound unfilial—'Is my father actually part of some organized crime group?' when I was in middle school.
'Men with looks like mine need to have the guts to stand strong in any situation, or weaknesses pile up one by one, and later you can't even run away.'
Well... he sometimes said strange things, but he was kind-hearted, generous, and from the sidelines, there was a lot to learn from him.
'...So that's how you married Mom?'
'...'
Why am I suddenly reminiscing about the past?
"So, I heard something happened yesterday, but I had to skip out... I mean, an urgent matter came up, so I had to leave."
"..."
Because while I was on my way to file a complaint, I was not only kidnapped but also surrounded by kidnappers with sinister expressions.
"Come on! Do a cute act like yesterday, nya!"
"Come on, follow along: 'Big sister'"
"Aren't you pushing too hard, nya?"
What's with this boldness?
"Big sister or whatever, I came here knowing you all secretly made me drink alcohol yesterday, so just tell me who the ringleader is."
My words must have been unexpected, as the three people who were freely stroking my head or grinning awkwardly froze for a moment, and
"..."
I looked straight at them.
"...I expected it, but I didn't think all three of you would be involved."
"Wow... Mr. Kai, your expression is a bit fiercer than I thought."
Hmm... Judging from Syru's reaction, it seems that expression came out again.
"W-well, you see, Chloe was the first to..."
"I-it's said that when you drink, your true self comes out, Chloe said, nya..."
"Y-you two, if you spill it that easily, what'll happen, nya?!!"
They're all much stronger than me, but perhaps because they know they did wrong, they all confessed honestly.
"Um... We messed up, so could you drop that expression?"
"I'm sorry, nya..."
"Ugh... I'm sorry for touching you without permission, nya..."
Or maybe it's just because of my expression... Wait, what did you just say?
"...Without permission?"
"...Huh?!!"
Chloe, who had unintentionally confessed, hurriedly covered her mouth, but
"Eek! In this situation, it's a tactical retreat, nya!!"
Judging the situation unfavorable, Chloe ran away at a speed hard to follow with the eyes, but
"You foolish daughters, it's time to work now, what are you doing not coming quickly!!!"
"Hyahak!!?"
She was lifted up, caught in the hand of Mia, who had appeared out of nowhere.
"So that's how a person gets lifted up..."
"No... It's that Mia mom isn't ordinary, so don't get the wrong idea."
While I was admiring and Runoar was shocked, Mia handed the unconscious Chloe to Anya, dispersed the gathered people in an instant, and approached me.
"...How much of yesterday do you remember?"
"Uh... Not everything, just bits like being stroked or called 'big sister'..."
"Tsk... Exactly from after my daughters finished interrogating you."
Regardless of anything else, the word 'interrogation' was one I couldn't help but react sensitively to, given how much I hide.
"..."
"Kid, with that expression... There was nothing for you to worry about, so relax. It was just asking about things I was personally curious about."
"Ah... Just questions... But what did you ask?"
"Things like how old you are now or if you've ever been in a relationship, just a bunch of useless stuff."
Fortunately, it wasn't about the things I was worried about, so that's good, but
"I'm so embarrassed I could die..."
The moment I realized I had boldly told people about my love life, the overwhelming shame was unavoidable.
"Well... Honestly, compared to the demeanor you show at work, you were cute and nice to see."
"Kyaaah!!!"
As I stifled a scream as much as possible, Mia smiled slightly, and
"Sigh... So, what's this about that black-haired beast... I mean, Ms. Chloe, touching my body?"
The moment she heard my last question, her expression hardened instantly.
"...I didn't know about that either."
"..."
"..."
As silence flowed in the back of the shop, a shovel was suddenly in Mia's hand, which had been motionless, and
"...I'll forgive you, so don't go too overboard."
"...I'll try."
Having succeeded? in filing a complaint at the shop, I was able to return home.
'M-Mia mom?! I don't know what, but save me, nya!!!!'
...Yeah, I didn't hear anything.
.
.
.
When I encountered this world through manga, it wasn't something I paid much attention to, but if there's something I have to pay attention to now, it's the size of Orario.
"It's damn wide..."
It was a city of considerable size where you could travel to various districts, if not all, using transportation like carriages.
"Subjectively, it seems a bit smaller than Seoul, but... since the manga and maps here don't give exact sizes, I can't tell..."
After walking for quite a while, I finally returned to the shop, and
"Oh... thankfully you came back in one piece..."
Naza greeted me with a voice mixed half with worry and half with teasing.
"Is that something to say to your junior now?"
"...So, did you find out what you wanted?"
"Just that they asked me various things while I was drunk..."
"Oh no, we got caught..."
"...I didn't say anything strange, right?"
When I asked in a more serious voice than usual, Naza sank into thought for a moment, then answered my question.
"...Not really? The strangest thing might be that you don't know your exact age? You have memories of accidents from when you were young, but no memories of how you decided to come to Orario or what you did before coming here, so me and the god were really surprised yesterday?"
"Ah... I didn't hide it on purpose."
Fortunately, it seemed I hadn't mentioned things like my past life or reincarnation.
'Or did they put some mechanism in place so I can't talk about this part?'
If it's something like that, at least I can be relieved, but since there's no way to know, it's a frustrating situation.
"...Ah, by the way, it's not strange, but... *cough* There's one thing that if you knew, you'd lock yourself in your room..."
"...What is it?"
Her forced attempt to hold back laughter was unsettling, but since it was too late to back out now, I decided to listen, and
"That your ideal type is an older woman, tall or short, with a height difference... and also..."
At that moment, without thinking anything, I ran out of the shop.
.
.
.
Seeing Kai run out of the shop with a red face without even hearing the end, a laugh automatically escapes.
"Ahaha, ahahaha! Ahahaha!! Ah... this is fun...."
"I told you, Naza, you shouldn't tease him too much!"
Although startled by Miach's sudden attack on the crown of my head, the smile that formed on my lips didn't disappear.
"And you, Lord Miach, are barely holding back from teasing him too..."
"Ahem... That may be true, but shouldn't someone take his side?"
"Really... I'm worried that Kai is taking after that part of you, Lord Miach..."
.
.
.
"Where on earth is this place..."
To forget the rushing embarrassment and shame, I screamed internally repeatedly and ran at full speed until my mind went blank.
"Buildings packed closely together with varying heights, bridges and back alleys tangled like a maze... Could it be Daedalus Street?"
And only after catching my breath and looking around did I realize I had come to the forbidden place.
"The forbidden realm of Orario where anyone not living here almost certainly gets lost and wanders."
There are many reasons why this place is called forbidden, but the most famous is the maze-like tangle of buildings.
"Even people living here can get lost if they're not careful, so that says it all."
But if there's something to be thankful for, it's that I'm an adventurer.
"Heave ho!"
Based on physical abilities far surpassing ordinary people, using walls as stepping stones, after a few attempts, I could relatively easily climb to the rooftop of a building.
"...I really ran for quite a long time."
Climbing to the rooftop of the tallest building nearby and roughly gauging my current location based on a map I saw before, I concluded that if I ran at full speed, it would take at least an hour to get back to the shop.
"I must have run straight in the opposite direction of the shop..."
Since it was a day off, I was supposed to leisurely enjoy my rest and then go to Dian Cecht Familia to cook, but...
"Ms. Amid was at the shop yesterday too..."
The fact that Ms. Amid also saw and heard that disgraceful act made it hard to move my feet.
"Sigh... A promise is a promise, so I have to go..."
Since I had nothing else to do anyway, and if I went back to the shop, it was clear I'd be caught by Naza and teased endlessly, I headed straight for the northwest main street where Dian Cecht Familia is located.
"Ms. Amid isn't the type to do strange things, so it should be fine..."