With Kōichi pulling her along, Chris could feel the burning warmth of his palm against hers. Her mind, already muddled by the whole unexpected-dad fiasco, instantly went blank.
She kept her head lowered and let Kōichi lead her through the crumbling ruins of the cemetery. Her short silver hair whipped wildly in the wind, hiding the tips of her ears, which were so red they looked ready to bleed.
"I-it has nothing to do with whether they're big or small! I was just... just worried the child might fall!"
Chris defended herself in a tiny voice, yet her feet unconsciously kept pace with Kōichi's.
Just as they were about to rush through the cemetery gates, two guards appeared at the far end of the road.
Kōichi's eyes sharpened. Without slowing down, he swiftly traced a simple rune through the air with his free hand.
"Wind Screen!"
A gentle but concentrated gust swept up fallen leaves and dust from the ground, instantly obscuring the guards' vision.
While the two men rubbed at their eyes, the four of them and the little girl tore across the street like a whirlwind, disappearing into the depths of Axel's alleys before the town had even fully awakened.
The little girl in Kōichi's arms seemed utterly captivated by his impressive spell. She looked up at him with stars of admiration sparkling in her eyes, then snuggled against his chest.
"Daddy, so cool! Flying!"
"...Give me a break. I'm really not your dad."
Kōichi let out a weary complaint as he sprinted onward, while Chris's grip on his hand seemed to tighten just a little more.
With several heavy thuds, four figures vaulted over the mansion's neatly trimmed wall and collapsed in a heap across the spacious, expensive wool carpet in the living room.
Morning sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating their disheveled forms. Aside from their ragged breathing after the frantic run, the room was filled with an eerie silence, the kind brought on by several worldviews collapsing at once.
The silver-haired little girl, however, was still bursting with energy.
She climbed out of Kōichi's arms and rolled twice across the thick carpet like a curious kitten. Then she scrambled right back onto his back, wrapped her chubby little arms tightly around his neck, and let out a delighted cheer.
"Daddy! Soft! Daddy! Hehe!"
That one word, "Daddy," was the final straw for Kazuma Satou, who lay sprawled nearby and let out the miserable whine of a defeated dog.
"Did you hear that? Did all of you hear that?! She said it again! That word filled with affection, trust, and the absolute determination that you're never getting rid of me for the rest of your life!"
Kazuma pounded the carpet in despair.
"Kōichi! Explain yourself! Why is it that we're both Reincarnators, but I have to sleep in a stable and get swallowed by frogs, while you not only make hundreds of millions of Eris, but even get an 'adorable little girl hatched from an egg' showing up at your door to call you Daddy?! This isn't fair! This is definitely cheating! I'm going to complain about you to the Goddess Eris!"
"K-Kazuma, calm down..."
Chris sat up and straightened her messy silver hair while sneaking uncertain glances at Kōichi.
"I mean... I find it unbelievable too, but Kōichi-san really doesn't seem like the kind of strange person who would... do something with an egg, right? Probably."
By the end, even her own voice had grown uncertain, and she subconsciously scooted a little farther away from Kōichi.
"Oh, come on! What are you all making such a fuss about?"
Aqua lay spread-eagled on the floor, still clutching the obsidian ring tightly in one hand.
"If she came out of an egg, then she's Kōichi's pet! Just like the ornamental fish I keep, except this pet can talk and has wings! Kōichi, now that you're a dad, doesn't that mean you should handle all the housework and pay for all the alcohol from now on? You're the head of the household now, after all!"
Kōichi could feel the veins in his forehead throbbing hard enough to burst.
With some difficulty, he peeled the clingy little girl off his back and pulled her into his arms. Looking into her large, innocent eyes, he took a deep breath.
"First, let me say this again. I am a perfectly normal human, I am currently single, and I absolutely do not have any genes that let me hatch children from eggs! Second, Aqua, if you dare pawn that ring to buy alcohol, I'm confiscating all your snacks for the entire month! And finally... what are we supposed to do with this kid?!"
The little girl seemed to sense Kōichi's irritation. She shrank back, her eyes immediately turning red as her lips began to tremble, looking ready to unleash a sonic attack at any moment.
"Waaah... Daddy... mean... don't want Daddy anymore..."
"Waaah! Hurry up and calm her down! If she brings the guards here, we're finished!" Kazuma and Chris screamed in terror at the same time.
Kōichi immediately began making every ridiculous face he could think of in an attempt to soothe his uninvited daughter.
Meanwhile, Aqua took the opportunity to pull an Axis Order flyer from her clothes and began trying to recruit the sacred creature, who did not exactly look blessed with extraordinary intelligence.
"Hey, little girl. Come on, sign this paper and you'll become Aqua-sama's number one underling! You'll get meat to eat from now on!"
A burst of hurried, uneven footsteps came from the staircase leading down from the second floor.
Apparently, the commotion in the living room, loud enough to raise the roof, had finally awakened the two actual heroines who had still been catching up on sleep.
"K-Kōichi? What happened? I thought I heard the guards blowing their whistles, and... someone strangely shouting 'Daddy'?"
Darkness hurried downstairs while tying the belt of her nightgown. Her long blonde hair was slightly disheveled, only adding to her mature feminine charm.
Megumin followed right behind her, rubbing her sleepy eyes while still clutching her staff.
But the moment they saw what was happening in the living room, both of them froze.
Kōichi, drenched in sweat, was holding an adorable little girl with snow-white silver hair and a pair of wings, while Chris stood beside him with a conflicted expression, handing him a handkerchief.
"D-Daddy! Hold me tight!"
The little girl seemed to grow shy when she noticed the unfamiliar faces. She immediately turned around and buried her face in Kōichi's chest, while the tiny wings behind her nervously fluttered twice.
The air seemed to freeze.
"...Daddy?"
Darkness's face went from pale to crimson in an instant, then settled into a strangely feverish flush.
An intensely excited and dangerously gleeful light appeared in her deep blue eyes. Her hands unconsciously pressed against her rapidly heaving chest.
"Kōichi... y-you actually... hid this from me, your lover, while having a child this big with someone else?! And she's even from another race, one with such a sacred aura... Are you planning to make me, your lawful wife, raise the illegitimate daughter you had with another woman, forcing me to spend every day consumed by humiliation and jealousy?! Ah... th-this overwhelming sense of betrayal... this shame of being completely toyed with by my lover... It's... it's wonderful! Please, make it even worse!"