I'm Your Dad

"Naiyuan seemed to like Mare a lot. Was it because he was an NPC created by Bukubukuchagama?"

Herohero slowly approached Naiyuan and asked.

"Lord Herohero!"

Seeing the pitch-black Slime in Human Form approach him, Mare said tremulously.

Compared to the gentle Naiyuan, Herohero's steady voice made him extremely nervous, and he could not help turning to look at his sister, who was watching the show from the side.

Aura noticed his gaze, but could only give him a helpless look. As a Floor Guardian, she did not dare comment on a Supreme Being.

"All right, Herohero, you're scaring Mare."

"As for why... I probably helped Bukubukuchagama when she created Mare. By that logic, Mare could be considered the child of Bukubukuchagama and me!"

Naiyuan withdrew his hand from Mare's hair and spoke in a nostalgic tone.

"That actually happened? But if you put it that way, Bukubukuchagama would beat you up if she knew."

Herohero was somewhat surprised, then teased Naiyuan. He knew Bukubukuchagama's personality well. As the guild's only two Slime Players, they had a pretty good relationship. With her personality, she would probably have rushed up to challenge Naiyuan to a duel by now.

"Hey, I'm not making anything up."

Naiyuan spread his hands indifferently.

"Then... is Naiyuan my father?"

Mare was stirred as he listened from the side. His creator, Bukubukuchagama, was no longer here, and Naiyuan's words made the turmoil in his heart unbearable. He could not help asking.

"Mm, strictly speaking, yes. After all, Bukubukuchagama and I created you together back then."

"And Aura, although I did not help much with your creation, as Mare's older sister, the same applies to you."

Naiyuan smiled and ruffled Mare's hair, then spoke gently to Aura, who stood nearby.

"Then... can I too, Naiyuan?"

Aura had originally been watching her younger brother and Naiyuan with some envy. Now, she felt as though she were floating, and even her words came out a little awkwardly.

"As long as you want to, I have no objections."

Naiyuan smiled, then opened his arms and slowly pulled them both into his embrace, gently stroking their hair.

"Lord Naiyuan, may I call you Father?"

"Mare wants to as well!"

"You can."

"Then... Father?"

"Mm."

"Father?"

"Mm."

"That's wonderful, Sister. We have a Father now."

"Don't cry, Mare. You'll dirty Father's clothes."

"Waaah... but I can't help it, Sister."

"All right, all right. It's fine. If you want to cry, then cry."

Herohero and Momonga, who stood nearby, were both speechless.

Good grief, was this a family reunion? They were putting on such a show right in front of them?

"Momonga, honestly, Naiyuan is impressive. With just a few words, he successfully won over the NPC created by Bukubukuchagama."

Herohero looked at Momonga, who was enjoying the scene beside him, and spoke with admiration.

"Well, all I can say is that it's just like Naiyuan. He actually managed to do this. I certainly couldn't do what he did."

Momonga was completely outdone by his friend's performance. They had originally only come to check the NPCs' loyalty, yet Naiyuan had somehow ended up with two children. The world truly was full of wonders.

But when Albedo's figure surfaced in his mind, he got another headache. She was very loyal, but he simply could not stand her gaze. It made him feel as though she could see right through him.

"All right, all right, stop crying. Momonga and Herohero are still here."

Naiyuan patted their backs and whispered into their ears. After all, his two friends were still watching. It would not be good if they thought he was neglecting them.

"Ah, our apologies, Lord Momonga and Lord Herohero. Making you wait for us is truly an unforgivable sin."

Upon hearing that, Aura immediately got up and bowed to them. She did not even dare imagine what would happen if they resented Father because of her.

"Ugh, apologies, Lord Momonga and Lord Herohero."

Mare reluctantly left Naiyuan's embrace and hurriedly bowed to Momonga and Herohero in apology.

Momonga looked at Naiyuan and Herohero as if asking what he should do next.

This guy can obviously handle it, but he still has to ask us. Even after becoming Undead, he's still the same deep down.

Seeing Momonga like this, Naiyuan activated Communication Magic and secretly complained to Herohero.

"Don't say that. Momonga must be panicking after suddenly becoming a ruler. It's normal for him to want to rely on his companions. If he were left alone, he would probably be nervous to death again."

Herohero replied with a smile.

"How am I supposed to slack off happily if he keeps acting like this?"

"Huh, Naiyuan, you're awful. You actually want to dump all the work on Momonga so you can slack off."

"You've got some nerve saying that about me. Aren't you the same? When you pushed Momonga up there back then, weren't you secretly laughing? You clearly want to slack off just like me, yet you still dare accuse me so righteously!"

"Tsk tsk, you found out. Looks like I didn't hide it deeply enough!"

"Get lost."

Though everything appeared calm on the surface, Naiyuan, having already exchanged some friendly words with Herohero, finally looked at Momonga standing nearby and spoke to him through Communication Magic.

"Respond to them with the bearing of a ruler. That way, you can establish a dignified image."

Momonga froze when he heard the message. Good grief, wasn't that basically the same as saying nothing?

"A dignified image? I'm just a salaryman. How would I know anything about that?"

Momonga said frantically to Naiyuan.

"Momonga, think about how your old boss used to make empty promises to you. Just speak like that."

Naiyuan thought for a moment before replying.

"That's a good idea. Momonga, you can give it a try. I think the two little ones are about to be scared to tears by you."

Herohero, who had been secretly eavesdropping on their private conversation, could not help saying.

"Why even you, Herohero..."

Momonga looked at Herohero, who was standing aside and secretly laughing, then at Naiyuan, who was comforting Mare and Aura nearby. Seeing the curve of Naiyuan's lips, his brows furrowed. Wait, he did not seem to have brows. Fine then, his bone marrow furrowed.

There was no choice. He could only do it. Momonga sighed inwardly, then got into character, putting on a dignified expression as he calmly looked at Mare and Aura.

A majestic voice slowly emerged from the skeleton's mouth.

"Mm, very good. You both seem quite spirited."

"Pfft."

Naiyuan nearly failed to hold back his laughter at the sight of Momonga. Good grief, that line almost broke him. Herohero had already turned around with his back to everyone, and the shaking of his shoulders showed that he was secretly laughing.

"Of course, Lord Momonga. This is the essential state expected of us as Floor Guardians, right, Mare?"

Aura earnestly reported on their condition, though her eyes often darted toward the figure standing beside her.

"Yes!" Mare agreed forcefully. Naiyuan, standing beside him, was gently stroking his hair, as though saying, You did very well. This is your reward.

This should be enough, right?

Momonga looked at the two of them and sighed inwardly. Then he froze. Wait, he was a skeleton now. It seemed he could no longer breathe.

Momonga became somewhat depressed. He could not breathe now, his emotions would be subject to Forced Calm, he probably could not eat anymore, and sleeping was likely out of the question too. After all, he had never heard of an Undead needing sleep. Most importantly...

Momonga silently looked down, then closed his eyes in despair... well, he did not even have eyes anymore, so there was no need to close them.

I'm tired. Just destroy everything.