If It's for My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord: Volume 4

1. Auflage 2018
ISBN: 978-1-7183-1406-1
Verlag: J-Novel Club
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 327 Seiten

Reihe: If It's for My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord

'I've never thought of you as a replacement for my father.'
After Latina tells him about her real feelings on the night of the Ahmar festival, Dale is driven into a deep depression by his beloved daughter's 'rebellious phase.' It takes a talk with his 'big bro' Kenneth for him to see what her words really mean... but how will he respond?
To make matters even more complicated, Latina receives a confession of love from Rudolph, her childhood friend. Love is hard, but this is getting out of hand!
Whatever happens, though, one thing is sure: the relationship between guardian and adoptive daughter is going to change in a big way, and there's no turning back.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Chirolu

Weitere Mitwirkende

Kei

Warner, Matthew

Leseproben

“Why did you have to say it that way?” Chloe was so astonished because Latina had told her how she’d worded the confession that had led her “guardian” to say she had entered her rebellious phase. What she ended up saying had lacked too many key words to get her point across.

“But...” Latina looked down sadly in response. Even so, she didn’t hold her tongue. Through the of her teardrops, Latina told Chloe everything that had happened.

“I always tell him that I love him... So I thought I should try to phrase it differently...”

That was why she’d told Dale that she didn’t think of him as a replacement for her father. To her, he was a precious man she loved. She had been trying to tell him that it wasn’t the sort of affection one had for a father.

“I never thought he’d question if I even cared for him at all...!”

Dale had reacted like his child had rejected his very existence. Latina had thought that her telling him how much she loved him constantly was obvious evidence to the contrary, but Dale had ended up questioning that. His reaction had been just too great of a shock and had left Latina at a loss for words, awash in pure confusion.

“I should have told him he was misunderstanding and that I loved him... But my mind went blank, and I had no idea what to say...”

Depressed, she looked down at the floor the same way she often did when she felt like this.

“So... why have you been sulking ever since?”

“Wah...”

In response to Chloe’s unrelenting questioning, Latina slowly looked back up, her eyes filled with tears.

“Even I don’t understand myself right now...”

“Huh?”

“I decided to confess my feelings... I wanted to have a different sort of relationship with Dale... That should’ve been how I really felt, but...!” She was holding her voice in check, and it certainly wasn’t loud, but it felt like Latina was screaming out the feelings in her heart to her friend. “When Dale didn’t recognize that I’d confessed to him, I felt really relieved...!”

“Latina...?”

“I was relieved... that things could stay the same... I wanted to do what you told me, but... I realized that even more than that, I wanted things with Dale to stay the same way that they had been...”

To Latina, being held in Dale’s arms made her feel more relieved than anything else in the world.

She’d felt that way ever since he’d saved her and hugged her tight when she had given up on everything, even her very life. When she was lonely and when things were painful, the warmth of his arms helped support her. When she felt like her heart would break and when her tears wouldn’t stop flowing, he’d tell her everything was okay in a gentle voice and hold her tight.

And Dale would likely continue to protect her with great care. He’d hug her with those arms and gently stroke her head with the warm palm of his hand. As long as she remained his “cute daughter.”

Even if Dale fell in love, got married, and started a family, he wouldn’t abandon her. She knew better than anyone that he was deeply kind and caring.

But if she wasn’t his “cute daughter” anymore...

Dale had never seen her as a member of the opposite sex to begin with. After all, he still saw her as a young, tiny girl. On top of that, she may not have even been someone Dale saw as a potential target for romantic affection.

Unlike his “work acquaintance” she had once met, she wasn’t mature or composed, nor did she have the sort of physique that fascinated men. She had wanted to become the sort of woman Dale could love, and she’d tried her hardest to do so, but to be honest, she didn’t really know what sort of woman she should become to start with.

At the very least, she’d be better off if she were at least a human, like he was. Just by being the same race as him, the other women around him must have seemed far more wonderful than she was. Latina couldn’t help but tally up all the things she lacked.

Confessing to Dale may do nothing but trouble him. And... if their relationship became more awkward as a result...

She’d lose the one place she could be at ease... The one place she could return to.

To Latina, that thought was absolutely terrifying.

It was true that Dale not realizing she had confessed was so embarrassing that it left her feeling depressed and not wanting to see his face. But at the same time, she also couldn’t deny that she felt truly relieved.

“And so... I wanted a little more time. To distance myself from Dale a bit until I could say I was sorry, and that everything could go back to the way it was, and until I could smile again...”

Latina honestly felt that now that her feelings and her desire to change their relationship hadn’t gotten across, she wanted to bury them deep in her heart and let things stay the same.

The feelings Sylvia had pointed out were the result of all sorts of contradicting emotions tangling together. Latina was no longer able to do anything about the unrest and disturbance in her own heart.

“I just want... a little more time...”

She at least wanted enough time to get her heart in order and figure out just what she wanted to do.

†

Five days had passed since Latina started going to the Backstreet Bakery. It could also be said that it had been five days of Dale barely being able to talk to Latina.

During that time, Dale had considered going to look in on the Backstreet Bakery several times, but he hadn’t actually done so. If he got caught, he felt like Latina might end up hating him for real. That thought frightened him more than the idea of facing any massive monster.

Latina’s very presence helped soothe Dale. Seeing her smile, hearing her voice, and spending time close enough to feel her warmth... Such happy moments gave him the energy he needed to get through the day. Having suddenly lost all that, he’d grown haggard. He hadn’t withered away physically, but he’d lost all of his vigor and looked like an invalid as he sat in a corner of the Dancing Ocelot and gathered dust.

“Latina... I’ve got a Latina deficiency...”

As his good friend would put it, this was Dale at his worst.

This was a truly deplorable fact, in a way, but when Dale was like this, his combat skills and judgment weren’t dulled in the least on the field of battle. It was precisely because he was able to cut himself off from his emotions and remain composed that he had come to be called first-rate at such a young age.

However, that was a story from the battlefield, so now, the young man burning out for all to see looked like nothing but a hopeless good-for-nothing.

“Rita... How long does it take for a girl’s rebellious phase to pass...?”

“You wouldn’t exactly call something that only lasts a few days a ‘rebellious phase.’”

“Dying... I’m dying... Ugh... Just how much penance must fathers the world over endure...?”

“You’ll be fine. She told you she doesn’t think of you as her father, right?”

“Waaaaaaaaah!”

Not realizing the meaning behind Rita’s biting words, Dale let out that pathetic shout and then collapsed on the table. His reaction only made the irritation behind Rita’s smile grow as she continued dealing with paperwork. Surely there was a limit to how dense someone could be. Rita was well aware of just how much Latina had been hurt by this man’s thickheadedness. Seeing Latina bravely try to share her feelings, Rita, as a fellow woman, couldn’t help but feel irritated at Dale.

“Kenneth...”

“What is it?”

“Is that alright?”

Looking over towards Dale, at whom Sylvester was pointing, Kenneth let out a big sigh. “Apparently, he intends to take a wait-and-see approach until Latina calms down.”

“The little lady, huh...” Sylvester wore a serious expression and folded his arms. “She’s a smart kid, so... I get the feeling she may end up admitting defeat...”

“Yeah...”

Dale wasn’t the only one who had watched Latina grow and come to feel affection for her. Sylvester was near the top of that list.

“I’m worried that the little lady’ll decide to act like nothing happened and go back to just trying to be a ‘good girl.’”

Kenneth had also watched over Latina, so he truly understood what Sylvester was saying. He’d also realized that ever since she was little, Latina had always been just too good of a kid. She was a clever child.

Not only was Latina naturally reasonable and a good listener, she also seemed to have always kept her situation in mind, even back when she was very young. Because of that, the adults around her worried that her actions were because she thought she to be a good girl.

That’s just the kind of girl Latina was.

Now that even such a clear display of affection hadn’t gotten through to Dale, Kenneth and Sylvester couldn’t help but feel that Latina would jam all of that back down inside and act like everything was back to normal. She was skilled and clever, so as painful as it was, she’d surely be able to pull it off.

“The little lady really is a good kid... so I at least want her...