episode_0040

“Surely, recovery is faster when out of sight.”

When I was experimented on, the wounds didn’t heal quickly, so I sewed them up. As a result, scars formed, and I looked at the torn clothes, recalling what had happened.

“What should I do?”

After pondering for a moment, I rummaged through the room.

“Oh, found it.”

I found a safety pin and mended the clothes. In an instant, the clothes were as good as new.

“Next time…”

Although the clothes were restored, the wet bloodstains were still there. Wanting to remove the bloodstains with a housewife’s know-how, I headed to the bathroom, but then I saw Togen’s clothes.

“Well, might as well wash them together.”

I took off Togen’s robe. The dignified atmosphere vanished, leaving only a frail, emaciated old man.

Togen, though not old enough to be called elderly, looked like an old man due to deep wrinkles on his face.

As I removed the robe, thin clothes were revealed. Worried he might catch a cold, I covered him with a blanket lying on the sofa.

“Let’s quickly wash them before getting up.”

I filled the bathtub with water and began washing the robe and clothes. White foam bubbled up, and in no time, the robe and clothes became clean.

To dry the clothes quickly, I wrung out the water and took them to the terrace.

Whooosh…

Amid the hot air and shouts pouring in, the clothes dried instantly. As the clothes dried rapidly, sweat formed on Lian’s face.

“It’s hotter on higher floors…”

Grateful for the quick drying, I put on the dry clothes and carried the robe back to the living room.

“Togen… are you trying to say something…?”

Togen was muttering in pain, as if having a nightmare. Lian removed the blanket covering him and put on the robe.

“Okay, it’s all over now…”

Blood on the floor caught her eye. Lian rolled her eyes and slyly covered the floor with the blanket that had been covering Togen.

It looked awkward, but the bloodstains were all concealed.

“Ugh, it’s not like I did anything wrong. This should do it.”

Lian mumbled and headed towards the door.

“Well then, I’ll take my leave now.”

Thud.

After Lian left, not much time passed.

“Ha…!”

Toto-gen regained consciousness.

“Gah….why am I…lying down?”

He grabbed his head and sat up.

“I’m sure….huh?”

As he tried to recall, he rolled his eyes at a chilling sensation and looked down at his robe.

Plop, swish -.

“W-what, what is this?!”

Flowers were popping out of the robe, swaying gently and emitting an unexpectedly pleasant fragrance.

A strangely pink aura was also subtly emanating from it.

“The robe I bought for a fortune, why is it like this…?!”

Toto-gen’s robe was the epitome of luxury, adorned with all sorts of magical effects.

Just wearing it could make others uncomfortable, and it even had behavioral correction effects, temperature control, and extra-dimensional storage.

It was one of the most expensive items he owned.

From such a precious robe, a lovely scent reminiscent of a baby’s soft cheek was wafting.

“Who on earth did this…!”

He exclaimed roughly and abruptly stood up.

“Huh…?”

Stepping on the rug, he stumbled backward and fell.

Thud!

“Ugh…!”

He hit his head on the corner of the sofa and passed out with his eyes rolling back.

***

Upon leaving the zombie’s room, a grand corridor stretched out. Not long after walking through the corridor, a spacious area appeared, seemingly a resting place with long sofas and a fountain.

Everyone, including Iris, Otugi, and Ratman, was there.

Otugi, who had been nagging Iris with useless chatter, approached her without paying attention to his words.

“Huh?! How did you already come out?!”

Otugi, startled by my sudden appearance, jumped and exclaimed. I rolled my eyes for a moment, lost in thought.

The zombie rudely cut my stomach and then apparently received some scolding from my organs, which shocked it and made it collapse… Hmm, no matter what, I can’t believe that.

Even if the laws of the comedy world and this world are confusing, I knew it was strange for my organs to speak.

“You guys wouldn’t be disrespectful to Mr. Toto… What?”

Approaching with a heavily distorted face, Odugui made a dumbfounded expression when the mouse person whispered something to him. Then he coughed and moved away from me.

“…I guess I can keep you for a long, long time. Hmph.”

Odugui, suddenly fluttering his hands like flies, approached Toto’s secretary and started talking.

“Please convey to Mr. Toto that there will be good programs prepared for him in the future, so I hope he enjoys thinking about it for a long, long time! And…”

The mouse person also vigorously nodded beside him.

The secretary listened to Odugui’s words with an expressionless face, occasionally informing about Toto’s preferences.

Swish.

While Odugui and the secretary were having a conversation, Iris came up to me and grabbed my hand.

“Thank you for waiting – … Oh!”

Just as I was about to give Iris a lot of praise for waiting so patiently, the hand that was caught was pulled away. When I came to my senses, Iris’s nose was deeply buried in my neck, sniffing.

“Ugh..”

Iris made a lower-than-usual sound as if something didn’t sit well with her.

“Um, Iris?”

“Smells… bad…”

“….!?”

I… smell?

As I stiffened with a shocked expression, I heard more words.

“Blood… smell.”

“Oh.”

My heart, which had been sinking into darkness, turned into a beautiful flower garden at those words.

“I slightly bled earlier, so that’s why… ugh!”

At that moment, a tingling pain was felt in my throat. Iris had bitten my neck! Goodness, our child bit me!

“I-Iris, why…?”

With the heart of a father who has just been slapped by his daughter, I called Iris. When Iris pulled her face away from my neck, she said with a pouty expression, “Promise… lies.”

“What…?” Iris tapped my hand. Only then did I realize what Iris was talking about.

“Oh, the promise that I wouldn’t bring a knife to your neck?”

Iris nodded in response to my question. How could I get angry when she looked so cute with her pouting cheeks?

“So you asked because I didn’t keep the promise?”

Nod.

The slap on the cheek seemed to wash away the father’s hurt feelings. How could I get mad when I was worried about her?

In an instant, the lifelong pain felt like a puppy coming home late and getting angry. Look at that, peeking and checking for reactions.

I gently patted Iris’s head, thinking to myself, “Is this what it’s like raising a daughter?”

“Sorry. I’ll be careful not to smell like blood in the future.”

At my words, Iris’s eyes narrowed again. She seemed to have made a mistake. I waved my hands earnestly as I spoke.

“And, I won’t bring anything like a knife to your neck, right?”

After staring at my face for a moment, Iris nodded. This time, it seemed like the right answer.

“Well then, we’ll be going now!”

Finally, Oduggi greeted his secretary loudly as if the conversation had ended and then approached us.

“We’re going down now, so follow me.”

Without a word, I followed behind Oduggi.

***

“Wow!”

Iris and I were assigned to a room two floors higher than before. It was almost like a house, with a living room and two bedrooms.

“This will be Iris’s room!”

…!

There were two rooms, each with a bed. It seemed obvious that each room was meant for one person.

It’s natural for someone Iris’s age to want their own room.

Will they get angry at me for washing their laundry with mine later on?

I wiped the sweat flowing from my eyes and saw Iris vigorously shaking her head.

“Huh? You don’t like this room? Then, do you want to switch to that room?”

At her words, Iris shook her head again, let go of my hand, and quickly entered the room. And then… she lifted the bed in a flash!

“Oh, Iris, be careful!”

She had the strength to bring down a whole building, but she was just a fragile girl when it came to lifting the bed – I stopped Iris, thinking about how inconsistent it was.

“Why, why are you doing this, Iris…!”

“Ugh…!”

It took me a while to realize that Iris wanted to move the bed because she wanted to sleep with me.

As tears of joy streamed down my face.

Knock, knock.

“Are you in there?”

A neighbor from the same floor came to visit.