Young Olivia ran up to me and clung desperately, practically begging me to save her.
"You damn bitch! I saved your life when you were about to die!"
The man's face, who was posing as a slave trader, twisted into a demonic snarl.
He had some sleazy intentions, sure, but he was putting on a show of false kindness while howling in rage.
"...Ahem."
What was I supposed to say? In a situation where we didn't know each other, blurting out "I'll buy this child" would just sound ridiculous.
'If I play this right, maybe I won't even have to spend any money?'
I had enough cash to buy one kid. Truth be told, I'd saved up quite a bit.
The hero support funds and rewards from my hero days—I hadn't spent most of it.
That didn't mean I could blow it freely. I didn't want to, anyway. If I could save it, I wanted to pinch every penny.
It was instinct.
'No idiot buys something for ten thousand when they can get it for a thousand.'
If I didn't know the market price, fine. But if I did and still paid more? No one would.
Unless it was some extreme case like buying cup ramen at the summit of a five-thousand-meter peak.
"...What the hell did you do to this child?"
"What?"
I decided to grill him first. With young Olivia—Olivia Unit 2—clinging to my thigh, the negotiations were already in my favor.
"Aren't you her father?"
"Not her father, but..."
An adult man traveling with a little girl? Everyone would assume father and daughter.
But they weren't?
'The most suspicious combo in Korea.'
Auntie and boy, auntie and teen boy, uncle and boy, uncle and teen boy, auntie and girl, auntie and teen girl, uncle and girl, uncle and teen girl...
Out of endless combinations, the most brazen-looking one was uncle and little girl.
Unmarried men couldn't even adopt girls. That's how society saw it.
'If the kid's behaving, maybe. But trying to escape like this? He's got no leg to stand on.'
That's why the man couldn't come up with excuses and just hemmed and hawed. It meant he'd done something shady—or was doing it.
And not just any shady thing. He'd snatched Olivia Unit 2 to sell her off.
To someone who could pay top dollar.
'Child abduction, human trafficking.'
Crimes even modern society wouldn't tolerate. If the death penalty was on the table, anyone with a conscience wouldn't appeal.
"Not her father? Sounds even more dangerous to me."
I pulled Olivia Unit 2 behind me. It was a move that screamed "I'm protecting this child."
"Eek..."
From behind, Olivia Unit 1 let out a startled, excited whimper.
I growled at the man. My plan was to scare him off.
That way, no money spent.
'Jackpot.'
Was it a win? I wanted to think so.
It was the only way to keep my sanity intact.
"Get lost. Now. Unless you want to die."
As I unleashed my killing intent, the man gritted his teeth. He stood his ground like he couldn't back down.
"The kid just... made a mistake. She wasn't really trying to run. I'm not her father, but I'm as good as one."
"As good as one? What the hell does that mean?"
"I saved her life. She was the only survivor in a village ravaged by plague."
"..."
He was repeating the exact same story Olivia Unit 1 had told me. Looked like it was true after all.
'Did Unit 1 really regress?'
But regression meant going back to your original body, right? Olivia Unit 1's soul should've woken up in Olivia Unit 2's body.
That's what regression is.
'So why do they exist separately?'
It didn't quite fit regression. More like succession or reincarnation.
'Multiverse...'
That might fit better.
"Without me, she would've died. When I found her, she was skin and bones, starved for days."
"So? What do you want, a medal? You saved her, so you get to do whatever?"
What nonsense.
"Then I guess I can do whatever to you too."
"...What're you talking about?"
"You wouldn't know, but I saved the world. I was the hero."
He looked skeptical. Fair enough.
Everyone knew heroes existed, but no one knew what they looked like. No way to tell.
The holy sword was the only identifier. Seeing it marked you as the hero.
'But I turned mine in.'
The man eyed me up and down.
"You, a hero? Don't make me laugh. A hero's not someone a weakling like you can impersonate."
"...You shouldn't judge by appearances."
On looks alone, sure. Dyke was a far cry from hero material. No one would buy it at first glance.
But that didn't make me any less of one.
No holy sword, but the power remained. Even if they denied my "former hero" title, Level 99 strength was mine to wield.
Naturally, I picked up my fork.
The man's eyes bulged. He must've thought I was gearing up for a fight and went on guard.
"That kid's mine. I found her."
"Treating people like objects. What, you a slave trader now?"
"...Not a slave trader."
He wasn't a real merchant. Just a lucky bastard who picked up a pretty kid and got greedy.
"Not even a licensed kingdom slave trader. Just some guy who found an orphan?"
"Yeah."
"Then what..."
Olivia Unit 2 had no choice. Follow him or starve.
So she'd listened to him at first.
Listening didn't mean she lacked brains. She'd found a better nest and flapped her wings.
"...Fuck!"
The man knew it too. Knowing didn't mean he could walk away.
He couldn't afford to.
"Do you know how much I've spent on that brat? Saving her from death's door—do you have any idea the costs?"
The man bellowed. His bitten forearm must've stung bad; he winced every time he raised it.
I scratched my head with the fork and shot back curtly.
"Who cares."
"It's my money! My money!"
"Why's she your money?"
"Pretty face like that... Take her to the right noble, I could get ten million. That lecher Count Pigmon... Yeah, the count. Hand her over."
"Count Pigmon?"
Hearing a familiar name soured my mood.
"Like hell! Outta my way!"
The man suddenly charged. Not at me—at Olivia Unit 2, screaming as he lunged.
Dyke looked so pathetic, he figured a body slam would do it.
"You wanna end up like Gunta?"
"...Gunta?"
"Got some TS'd friends today."
"Shut up!"
The man had given in to madness now. He couldn't stand some punk messing with his plans anymore.
His heated body swung a fist.
Slap-!
I backhanded his cheek with all my strength.
Crash-!
Eyes wide, he slammed into the floor. My incoming hand plus his charge momentum? Massive impact.
"Easy."
I'd taken down a head-taller guy effortlessly. Just a regular adult male.
One punch—or slap—did it.
"Sigh."
Denis, who'd been watching, approached. She glanced at the sprawled man, shook her head, and cleared the tableware.
Terrified Lisa hurried over to help clean. She wasn't scared of Olivia Unit 2 anymore.
'What a mess. Now they're living together.'
Bad news for Lisa.
"That do it?"
"Thanks."
I'd acquired Olivia Unit 2 for free. Not sure if that's what the seller wanted, but the merchandise jumped to me.
My fault? Nah.
Olivia Unit 1 whispered from behind. Sounded like thanks, but her voice dripped with seduction.
"I'll fill you in on the impotence stuff later. Look forward to it."
"..."
Olivia Unit 1 groped my ass freely. I smacked her lewd hand away.
"Playing hard to get..."
The adult Olivia smirked slyly and headed upstairs.
"See you later, Daddy."
"Daddy, I can make you feel good too."
Charlotte Unit 1 and Nine Unit 1 followed her. Olivia Unit 1 seemed the leader of the three.
'Even in this loose-ass world, treating your stepdad like this...'
Not blood-related, sure. But it clashed with my values completely.
As I pondered, Olivia Unit 2 clinging to my thigh snapped me out of it.
"...Thank you."
She murmured her thanks in a sunken voice. I ruffled her hair roughly and beckoned.
"Hungry?"
At an age when she should eat and sleep well, crazy monkey parents had starved her proper.
Her stomach growled nonstop. My senses picked it up clear.
I asked Denis to handle Olivia Unit 2's dinner. She brought out a hearty spread.
Olivia Unit 2 hesitated, glancing around nervously. Lisa showed her the spoon.
"...I-itadakimasu."
Unlike the rude Unit 1, Unit 2 was polite.
Did she resemble heroine Tina, one of the NTR Tsukuru Game's official beauties?
Even as a grubby kid, class shone through her looks.
'...Even dishwater varies by dish.'
Not all plates are equal. Buried in dirt doesn't mean same value.
Artifacts aren't dishwater; they're discoveries, excavations.
I'd excavated her. Rationalizing it that way, I fed Olivia Unit 2.
Nom nom at first, nibbling daintily. Then shoveling it in frantically. She might choke.
It worried me.
"Slow down. No one's taking it."
"..."
Now I got what Olivia Unit 1 meant. Why I'd saved Unit 2.
'...I pretended otherwise, but I was attached.'
Two years. Like it or not, we'd shared hero party days.
Especially with Tina, starting from her village—deeper feelings there.
I knew they'd get stolen eventually, but I fell for them anyway. Fate or whatever.
Then a Tina-lookalike kid washes up at the inn. Olivia.
How could I let her go?
When hero duties drained me, I leaned on Tina. When this world crushed me with loneliness, I rested on her shoulder.
Under sparkling night skies, we dreamed the same future.
Soon, some other guy took that spot. Slut.
But in my memories, Tina was the prickly childhood friend and lover. Her belly-born child.
Olivia could be seen as Tina's last trace.
Knowing she was dishwater, that's why I couldn't send Olivia Unit 2 to some other bastard.
I turned to Denis.
"Sis, can you wash her up first?"
"Take her with Lisa for a bath."
Bathing Olivia myself felt iffy, so I asked Denis. No one else could care for Unit 2.
Unit 1s couldn't even meet her.
"What about you?"
"Gonna check on Unit 1s. Got questions."
"Unit 1s?"
"Yeah, she's Unit 2."
"Ohh."
Denis got the Unit 1 and 2 thing. She chuckled.
"Got it. I'll handle Olivia Unit 2's bath."
"Thanks."
I left Olivia Unit 2 with Denis and headed straight to the Unit 1s' room.
Thud thud thud-.
I knocked on Olivia Unit 1's door. It creaked open slowly.
Adult Olivia stood inside.
In nothing but underwear, like the bathhouse changing room.
"What the...?"
"Here for erectile dysfunction treatment, right? Come in already."
"Guh!"
Olivia clenched and unclenched her fist. Felt like someone squeezing my balls.
Weak spot. Just like women helpless if you hit theirs, I was helpless if mine got grabbed.
Like a lamb to slaughter, I entered adult Olivia's room.
Creeak, click-.
Thud-!
The door shut automatically.