LMHS 22

Chapter 22

If I were adopted by Uncle, I would finally be able to say “Dad” confidently—something I had been too cautious to say until now.
On the other hand, if I were adopted by Duke Papiope, I would never be able to call Uncle “Dad” for the rest of my life.
I didn’t know what to do.
I simply couldn’t make a clear choice.
No matter which choice I made, I felt like I would have regrets and lingering attachments.
In the end, it was highly likely that I would have to refuse Uncle’s adoption proposal, but I still needed time to think if there were any other options.
However, before I could even ask for time to think, just once—because this opportunity might never come again……

[Load Perspective 2 over the present moment.]

I quietly rested my forehead on Uncle’s shoulder and asked softly,
“If I get adopted by you, is it okay if I call you Dad?”
“Yes. Legally, we would officially be father and daughter.”
“Then… if it’s alright with you, may I… try calling you Dad?”
For a brief moment, there was silence.
Uncle spoke the words of permission with feeling, almost as if savoring them.
“……As much as you want.”
Hearing the permission fall from his lips, I felt as though I owned the entire world in that instant. My eyes swelled with overwhelming joy.
“Dad.”
“Yes, my daughter. My daughter Tania.”
Uncle tightened the embrace around me, as if to never let go.
To be called his daughter by him felt like a dream.
Dad. Dad. Dad.
You have no idea how much I wanted to confidently call him Dad all this time.
“Huaaah!”
I cried bitterly, as though the world itself were crumbling.
Uncle’s voice, perhaps choked by emotion, continued in a tone mixed with steel.
“Our daughter…… you must have been so lonely. You’ve been struggling so hard. I didn’t even realize it. I’m sorry. Alright? I’ll do anything, so please don’t cry.”
Though he likely meant to comfort me, his words only became a trigger, and tears poured from my eyes so heavily I could barely breathe.
Why did you leave me?
I only learned of Uncle’s death long after it happened.
Why did you leave your inheritance to me?
Even back then, you must have considered me your daughter, right?
If not, how else could you suddenly attempt to adopt me now, as if turning over a new leaf?
I… I had wanted so badly to call you Dad.
To finally pour out all the pent-up tears that had hardened in my heart.

I wiped my ruined face with my sleeves and looked at him.
My swollen eyes made it hard to see clearly.
“……Dad.”
“Yes, our daughter.”
“I’m truly happy that I could be your daughter, even if just for a little while. I’ll treasure this memory for my whole life.”
“Wh…what are you saying……?”

The father-daughter experience had ended.
Before I became trapped here for life, I had to run.

[Load Perspective 2.]

I felt dazed and blurry, as if waking from a sweet dream.
I slowly parted my lips, which had been silent for a long time.
“I’m truly happy that you want to adopt me as your daughter. But… I think I need a little time to think.”
“Ah…….”
Uncle’s eyes widened, as if somewhat shocked.
Unable to withstand the previous sense of dissonance, I hung my head low like a guilty person.
“I’m sorry I can’t give you an answer right away. I also really want to become your daughter… but I’m not sure if this is the right choice.”
“There’s no need to apologize. I was too hasty in saying it. I respect your opinion.”
Feeling inexplicably frustrated, I clenched both fists tightly.
One week.
Just one week to think if there’s any other way before going to the talent academy.

✦ ✦ ✦

One week later.
Despite my resolution, I still couldn’t decide whether to become Uncle’s daughter or be adopted by Duke Papiope.
Even the saved perspectives felt too precious to overwrite with another.
I sighed softly and opened the window for all save slots.

As I said before, I have a total of four saved perspectives.

1 and 2 were used alternately for saving and backup.
3 is for informational future perspectives.
4 is for life reset.

But if I leave Perspective 2 for later, living only with Perspective 1 would be a little difficult.
“Maybe I should use the moment Uncle offered to make me his daughter as my life reset……?”
But I quickly shook my head.
Besides, I had already allied with Ageratum, met “that old man” at the underground auction, and even taken the Papiope talent academy exam.
Resetting life now would mean erasing too many people I had met.

And crucially……
“I have to keep the perspective from before meeting Uncle.”
Just in case.
It’s unlikely, but if by some chance…
If I were to receive an irreparable wound from Uncle, I would need somewhere to escape.
Uncle was practically everything in my life.
So if I were to completely sever ties with him, I’d need to return to a time before we even met.

Just then. As the saying goes, speak of the tiger and it appears. I heard Uncle’s voice from outside the room.
“Tania, lunch is ready. Come out.”
“Yes, coming!”
Before a scolding could fall, I quickly closed the system window and headed to the table.

Today’s main dish was a vegetable stir-fry with bacon.
And it had eggplant……!
Because of my past experience with hunger, I didn’t refuse most foods.
But eggplant was truly……
Soft, mushy texture, and a disgusting smell. No matter how hard I tried, I could only gag.
I quietly pushed the eggplant aside while watching Uncle’s reaction.
As if sensing it like a ghost, Uncle looked at me intently.
“I… I have a condition where I can’t control my anger when I see eggplant.”
“Haha!”
I blinked rapidly at his laughter.
Huh. He doesn’t laugh easily, yet he’s laughing because of my picky eating.
“You’re openly picky, yet you don’t say anything?”
“Hmm… maybe it made me happy because it felt childlike.”
“Eh?”
“Every time I see you acting mature… it reminds me that you had to grow up in an environment that forced you to mature early.”

With a bitter expression, Uncle moved the eggplants I had picked onto his own plate.
“A child should be a child. You can act spoiled in front of me. It’s okay to throw a fit.”
Then, he picked bacon from his portion and put it on my plate with a gentle smile.
“That’s your role.”

……Sharing his little amount of meat—this was true love.

Acting mature.
I hadn’t realized that acting mature could hurt Uncle.
Honestly, I had considered acting fully like a seven-year-old once or twice.
In preparation for returning to age seven in the future, I had visited orphanages a few times under the pretext of donations.
But……
A real child’s behavior was completely different. It wasn’t something I could mimic just because I wanted to.

I watched a child who had just turned 24 months converse with a teacher.
The child was mumbling with something in their mouth, trying to say something to the teacher.
“Saemni, umogo otto.”
“Huh? Can you say that again?”
“Umogo otto.”

……What are they even saying?

Even the teacher couldn’t understand, guessing randomly.
Then the child spat out what was in their mouth onto their palm, and, as if urging clarity, said it again with more force.
“Ikko! Meogotto!”
“Ah, that means you ate it!”
Once the teacher understood, the child, looking satisfied, put the spit-back item into their mouth again.

It was then that I decided.
I would give up pretending to be a child.