Chapter 21 - Suspicions about the Hero’s Boyfriend

This chapter is updated by Novels.pl

“So Angelica came to wake me up this morning. That Angelica! She’s become a lot nicer, don’t you think?”

“Sire, can you please stop that obnoxious prattling and focus on work?” my secretary Toralina complained.

“I’m not prattling, I’ve only been talking for about five minutes.”

“Your household exploits interest me about as much the experience points you get from defeating a slime. If you want idle gossip, then would you like to hear about my search for a suitable marriage candidate?”

If I were to say it out loud, I’d be accused of sexual harassment, but Toralina was still single. Since she is the demon lord’s secretary, she should be a very good catch, but she’s let a lot of chances slip through her fingers because, in my opinion, she insists on aiming too high. Although I’d never say that, since, again, sexual harassment.

“You say that, but if I were to suggest going to a mixer or something, you’ll just think how much of a hassle it would be, right?”

“If I were feeling frank, you would be correct.”

See, I knew it. By the way, while we were having this exchange, neither Toralina’s working hands nor my own stopped for even a second. We were used to chatting while getting work done.

“In the end, it’s much comfortable, being alone. Or more like I’ve already developed the skills necessary to enjoy my life single.”

It’s true that as the years went by, the marriage hurdle just grew higher and higher. The idea of living alone became harder to banish, engraving itself as almost a fact of life.

“But, I did consider getting a pet. I was thinking of looking for a little Cerberus on my next day off.”

“I’ll just say this: getting a pet is like your final resort before losing your chance to get married. Among the celibacy flags, it ranks towards the top.”

“All right, all right, I’ll do my best to find myself a good man.”

I don’t know how serious she was, but so she declared. In her case, it’s not that she couldn’t find a good man, but rather that she just needed to lower her unreasonable standards.

“Ah, that’s right, speaking of men…”

Toralina stopped her hands. For her to actually purposely stop working, she must have had something extraordinary to say.

“Your daughter-in-law, the hero, she doesn’t have a boyfriend, does she?”

The pen in my hand came to a stop.

“I never actually considered that. I haven’t heard that she has one, at least…”

“That’s the kind of thing a girl might keep from her father……”

Certainly, for a teenage girl, it would be perfectly normal if she had a boyfriend.

“Well…… I wouldn’t mind even if she did have a boyfriend. It would unreasonable for me to make a fuss over something so minor……”

“Of course not. But I think it’s fine to be a little worried all the same.”

“Hey. Quit teasing! That bad habit of yours, leading people on and setting up weird expectations. You’ve built up your suspense, so out with it!”

“The hero is an adventurer, right?”

“What kind of obvious question is that? Like asking ‘a bee is an insect, right?’”

“What I mean is that the boy she might be dating would probably also be an adventurer, right? Especially if there’s a boy in her party, those kinds of cases are pretty common, according to the magazine I read.”

“So your source is some magazine… Well, whatever. Continue.”

“This is a bit discriminatory, but there are a lot of adventurers who’re more like thugs or rogues and have no compunction about deceiving others.”

I dropped the pen I was holding. That never crossed my mind… What a fatal blind spot… That’s right. I was Angelica’s father. As a father, it was my duty to help my child grow up quickly and in good health. In other words, I needed to make sure there weren’t any weird pests latching onto my daughter.

“Plus, while she may be this generation’s hero, she’s also an overly-serious dimwit, both careless and zealous. I was just thinking, isn’t she the perfect type to fall for a scam? You should be on your guard, sire.”

“Understood. I will be vigilant. Any pests who try to come near her will be exterminated.”

Angelica was still only sixteen. It was fine if she had a boyfriend, but I would not allow their relationship to progress too quickly. And if Angelica got hurt, then Laetia would feel profound sorrow as well. I absolutely could not turn a blind eye to that!

I made my resolve. While I couldn’t massacre any humans, I could at least painfully dispose of the foolish ones.

“Sire, all of a sudden, you look very much like a demon lord. Did something happen?”

“I am a demon lord, so that much is a given.”

After getting home, I decided to talk to Laetia while Angelica was in the bath. The topic? Obviously, whether or not Angelica had a boyfriend.

“Huh~? I hadn’t heard anything, but she is at that age, so I suppose it wouldn’t be strange if she did have one~.”

“Does anyone in particular come to mind?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure. But there’s a boy in her party who’s a ‘thief’ or something, so maybe it could be him~.”

A thief? Now that sounded suspicious; they frequently engaged in shady acts with unnatural composure! He could easily have tricked Angelica somehow…

Also, I knew she was the right one to ask; Laetia was able to instantly evaluate Angelica’s relationships and identify the most likely candidate. It was no surprise that she was also able to remain calm through the end of her analysis. If she couldn’t do that, she would never have been able to agree to marry a demon lord like me.

However, that sereneness itself constituted a risk at the moment. Unbeknownst to Laetia, Angelica could be getting tainted black, out of sight. That was where I came into play. I would protect my daughter’s peace!

Finally, Angelica came out.

“The bath is free~. Mama or the demon lord, either one of you can go now. However, I won’t allow you both to go in at the same time. Daughter veto.”

“Say, Angelica, I have a question for you, do you mind?”

“What? It’s fine if you just ask. For a demon lord, you sure are discreet around the hero.”

Now that I had her permission, I won’t hold anything back. That said, I still needed to drum up some courage.

“Do you… have anyone you Like, or… are you… dating anyone, perhaps……?”

“Wh-Wha……? Why are you… asking that?! I don’t see how you would possibly need to know!”

Angelica’s face reddened and she became really flustered. Did that mean that she did have a boyfriend? No, it’s only natural to react that way when surprised at my question. I couldn’t come to a conclusion quite yet.

“The reason is simple. As your parent, I want to make sure my daughter isn’t involved with any bad men.”

Angelica’s bath towel came flying at my face! My field of vision was now being obscured by said towel.

“Stupid! Stop acting like a father at weird times! Even if I did have someone, it would be none of your business!”

And Angelica stormed off to her room.

“Oh my. Looks like she got mad at her father~.”

“As a parent, enduring her anger is also part of the job.”

I clenched my right fist tightly. Based on her reaction, I needed to do some more investigating.

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