Chapter 140: Dad Has Mixed Feelings

“E-Even so, Rohan···! If I hadn’t, hadn’t··· kissed him··· he wouldn’t have broken free from the strong Charm···?”

Ichinose’s bombshell declaration.

Noa, who had been engrossed in filling her stomach regardless of what anyone said, stopped eating in surprise this time.

Shion and Clara dropped their chopsticks onto the table, mouths agape.

““···.””

An icy silence filled the private room.

Aeng-ae Nose, startled by the chilling sensation down her spine, abruptly regained her lost senses.

She came to her senses.

She realized what she had said, burning with jealousy.

‘Ah?’

The girl realized her impulsive action too late.

Embarrassment blanked her mind.

While everyone else was frozen, she too became motionless.

‘W-What should I do···.’

They say love makes you foolish and clouds your judgment.

Ichinose Yui had always been confident that she would be an exception to such tales and anecdotes.

Regret and shame for not being able to control her surging emotions and jealousy pierced her heart.

“Yui. This is the first time even Mom has heard of this.”

Momo, still seated, placed her hand back on her stunned husband’s thigh to calm him.

She glanced at Rohan, who was intensely flustered with his mouth shut, then shifted her gaze to her daughter.

Of course, Momo wasn’t angry.

She was simply surprised by her daughter’s actions.

“Th-That’s···.”

Aeng-ae Nose’s lips trembled.

Momo and Noa, as well as Shion and Clara, who were tightly gripping Rohan’s sleeves, were glaring at her with intense questioning gazes, asking if it was true.

Clara, especially, looked like she was about to burst into tears, making Ichinose deeply regret her loose tongue.

“At that time, there really was no other way··· to come to my senses but···.”

“Yui. Mom isn’t angry. I just want to hear the story.”

Momo took Yui’s trembling hand.

She calmed her and waited for her to continue.

“It started with me being afflicted by Charm. My lack of skill was the problem.”

Rohan, having regained his composure, interjected.

His words opened a path for Ichinose, who explained the situation in a barely audible voice.

“R-Rohan’s injuries were severe, so I couldn’t inflict Physical Attribute damage to break the Charm···.”

“As she said, if it wasn’t for Yui’s actions, I wouldn’t be here. She’s my lifesaver.”

Rohan added an explanation, taking a confident stance to navigate the situation.

Everyone in the private room recalled the two returning from the Dungeon.

Rohan’s clothes were incomparably more blood-soaked than Ichinose’s.

Such a backdrop was enough to provide a degree of self-justification for the girls who wanted to escape reality.

“O-Oh, so Oppa didn’t initiate it, he was on the receiving end···?”

“It was like CPR to save Rohan··· Definitely that kind of act··· We must express our gratitude···.”

Shion and Clara desperately asked, trying to salvage their crumbling mentalities and find a glimmer of hope.

If Rohan’s first Kiss had been stolen, they now had to aim for a Kiss directly from Rohan.

Having been in the position of only licking screens, the current situation couldn’t be more frustrating.

“···.”

Ichinose Jun squeezed his eyes shut at the dizzying conversation.

Momo tried to calm her husband.

“Nose kissed Rohan!?”

Noa, finally regaining her senses, shoved her face towards Ichinose, her tail standing straight up.

Burdened by Noa’s intrusive approach, Ichinose pushed her friend’s face away.

“I-It couldn’t be helped···!”

“Then Nose will Kiss me if I get hit by Charm?”

“No! It wouldn’t work on someone of the same sex!”

Ichinose Yui didn’t have the guts to openly declare her affection for him in front of him.

She could only try to smooth things over by saying it was a necessary measure.

Meanwhile, Ichinose thought.

‘Still, I’m glad···.’

It was fortunate that she hadn’t mentioned the secret that occurred while Rohan was asleep.

If she had revealed that act while out of her mind, she would have bolted from her seat and hidden somewhere.

Regaining her composure, Ichinose opened her eyes and looked at Rohan.

She felt sorry for him, seeing him struggling to manage the situation. She would apologize properly later.

And.

Her eyes met with the girls flanking Rohan.

‘···.’

Both of them, I don’t know what they’re thinking.

But it doesn’t matter.

Because Aeng-ae Nose has absolutely no intention of giving up on Rohan.

Looking at the shocked Shion and Clara, I feel a bit sorry, but I have no intention of denying this fact or pretending it didn’t happen.

Wouldn’t it be a lie if I said I didn’t feel a sense of satisfaction and superiority from publicly announcing that I kissed Rohan?

··

··

Ichinose Jun stepped out of the private room to clear his confused mind and mood.

He knew how burdensome and overwhelming his intense gaze could be for the cadets.

How long had he been standing in the garden, getting some fresh air?

Momo came out of the private room and approached him.

“How are the kids?”

“They’ve calmed down a bit. Yui seems to have regained her composure as well.”

“I see···.”

Momo smiled as she approached and stood next to Ichinose Jun.

She snuggled close to her husband, who had a complex expression, and linked her arm with his.

“Honey. Isn’t it amazing?”

“Hmm?”

Ichinose Jun replied briefly and quietly looked at Momo.

His silence contained the question of what was so amazing.

“Yui took exactly half of each of our personalities.”

“Indeed···.”

Ichinose Jun had hoped that Yui would completely inherit Momo’s personality.

Her gentle personality, reminiscent of a flower, was more suited to navigating the world than his own rigid one.

However, knowing that Momo would get genuinely angry if he said this, Ichinose Jun simply listened to his wife and nodded.

“I was trying to give her a little push, worried she might end up like someone, unable to even hold a hand. But it seems that’s not the case~”

“···.”

Ichinose Jun knew that ‘someone’ referred to him.

If Momo hadn’t made such an aggressive move on him when he was obsessed with his Sword, they wouldn’t have their current happiness.

“It’s commendable that you didn’t draw your Sword in front of your daughter. Our husband has finally become a real adult.”

“Honestly, I wanted to draw it.”

Momo chuckled, looking at her husband’s serious face.

“Honey. Are you feeling a bit wistful that your daughter seems to be drifting away?”

Ichinose Jun nodded without hesitation. It would be a lie to say otherwise.

However, saying he wanted to draw his Sword in front of his daughter was a lie.

“But I don’t intend to do anything reckless based on my own desires or feelings. I don’t want to see Yui sad··· and experiencing love is a necessary part of life.”

Momo couldn’t help but smile as she listened to her husband.

Despite his words, he couldn’t quite manage the new emotions he was feeling.

Only Momo, who had been with him for so long, knew.

That the person here, Ichinose Jun, couldn’t scold Yui for her actions.

“She’s so transparent, just like someone. I almost burst out laughing thinking about the old days.”

“···.”

Yui’s impulsive behavior in the private room was exactly like Ichinose Jun in the past.

A precious sight that only those close to them could understand.

“But don’t worry. Yui has a good eye for men. She’s our daughter, after all.”

Ichinose Jun and Momo recalled the conversation they had with Juyeon at the Cafe.

Even the discerning Juyeon had a good impression of Rohan.

Ichinose Jun and Momo also didn’t have a bad impression of him.

They had heard things since the Uninhabited Island incident, and they were at a stage where they could understand a person to some extent just by looking at their eyes.

After just a few words, Rohan was different from the ignorant fools who had tried to get involved with their daughter before.

“The problem is that he comes from a country where polygamy is the norm, but Yui will have to make the final decision on that.”

“If it’s Yui’s decision, I won’t interfere.”

They had grasped the basic information about Rohan from their daughter and Juyeon.

Even if the women around him weren’t fully aware, they knew that Rohan was from Solaris in the Southern Region.

It was fortunate they hadn’t asked where he was from during the meal.

“Still, the fact that she made the first move. I don’t like that.”

“Honey. You’re not one to talk, are you?”

“···.”

Ichinose Jun, having unintentionally targeted his past self, went into silent mode.

“Well, maybe our daughter likes someone who’s similar to her father.”

“Similar to me···.”

It was a statement that Ichinose Jun found both pleasing and difficult to laugh at.

“I’m worried because there are so many strong rivals around him. Yui needs to do well.”

“Momo. You seem more amused than worried.”

“Hee hee, did I get caught?”

Momo smiled playfully.

Then she led her husband back to the private room.