My father’s name is Takaki Harima.
He is a veteran Ghoul Investigator with sixteen years of experience under his belt.
He almost never comes to see me. If he shows up more than once a month, that would be considered a frequent visit.
While he sends my living expenses without fail, he always uses work as an excuse to avoid seeing my face whenever possible.
I know it isn’t just because he’s busy that he avoids me, but I’ll let that slide for now...
Right now, thanks to my father—who has rarely and unexpectedly deigned to visit my tiny apartment in person—I am in the most suffocating state of tension I’ve ever experienced in my life.
Let me make one thing clear: my father hates Ghouls with an intensity that can only be described as extreme.
If three hundred cockroaches and one Ghoul suddenly appeared in the house, he would completely ignore the mysterious swarm of insects and throw every ounce of his strength into killing that single Ghoul. That is how profoundly he loathes them.
And in my apartment was that very creature—the number-one biological entity my father despises even more than cockroaches: a Ghoul.
She was well-hidden for now, and as long as she stayed quiet while happily sucking on her blood bottle, it would be fine... *Eto, please, just behave!*
Feeling cold sweat soak my back, I brought my father some tea.
After taking a sip to wet his throat, my father spoke.
“How is school going?”
“Well, more or less...”
Judging by his reaction, it seemed the incident where I brought Eto to school hadn’t leaked out.
*Oh, Father. Never in my life have I been so grateful for your hermit-like lack of communication.*
“By the way, what brings you here all of a sudden without even calling?”
“I was dispatched nearby because a Ghoul was reported in the area, so I stopped by while I was here.”
*So it was because of that incident on TV! That bastard Ghoul—if I ever meet him, I’ll smash his jaw in!*
While I was venting my hatred at a Ghoul I’d never even seen, my father looked around as if something seemed off.
“Come to think of it, have you been cleaning the place more often lately? It’s cleaner than before.”
“W-well, yeah...”
*Of course I do. Hygiene is vital when raising a baby, so I clean and disinfect every single day to keep dust and germs from building up... as if I’d ever say that out loud.*
“Have you decided where you’re going to college?”
“I was thinking of trying for Kamii University, since it’s the closest...”
*That was only a 'thought,' of course.*
I couldn’t even land a part-time job; there was no way I had the luxury of attending university.
“Any plans to get married? Or perhaps a girlfriend you’re seeing right now?”
“I’m still a student. What marriage? And I don’t have a girlfriend.”
*Forget a girlfriend—I’ve ended up with a daughter. If I said that, I’d probably get murdered, right?*
“I’m worried you’ll end up living your whole life as a bachelor if you don’t even have any decent experience with the opposite sex.”
“What a strange thing to worry about.”
*Don’t worry. I may not be married, but I am definitely getting plenty of experience in childcare.*
Just as I was firing back at my father with those thoughts, it happened.
*Rustle...*
“...!!”
I thought my heart had frozen solid.
My father turned his head, having heard the sound as well.
“Hm? What was that?”
“A rat, maybe? This building is pretty old, after all.”
“A rat, huh...”
My father muttered to himself, set down his teacup, and stood up.
Looking up at him from my seat, his sturdy build seemed even more imposing than usual, completely at odds with a man in his mid-forties. He looked like someone who could easily remain an active Ghoul Investigator for another ten years.
As he rose, he gripped an iron briefcase in one hand... Wait!
“Father!? What are you doing!?”
That briefcase—that’s the one he uses when hunting Ghouls!!
“I told you there was a murder case caused by a Ghoul in this area. There have been plenty of cases where a Ghoul, desperate for a place to hide, slips into a civilian home.”
Ah, right!
That’s why he graced my apartment with his presence this early in the morning!
He was worried that a Ghoul hiding nearby might have taken refuge in his own son’s home!
Well, there *is* a Ghoul hiding here, yes! But this Ghoul and that Ghoul are completely different!
But I couldn’t possibly explain that to him. What was I supposed to do?
If he found Eto—and then the baby supplies I’d hidden away—there would be no escaping the interrogation.
Sure enough, the first place my father headed for was the closet where I’d stashed all the childcare supplies.
It was a crisis from the very start. I had to solve this.
*Work, my brain!*
*Grab!*
My hand shot out and seized my father’s wrist just as he reached for the closet door, blocking him.
“P-please stop, Father.”
He merely turned his head, his eyes questioning my behavior.
“If you open that door... I’ll be deeply wounded...”
“Why?”
My serious expression made my father turn serious as well.
I hesitated in my mind tens of thousands of times. Should I really say this? The blowback would be immense.
The answer was obviously yes. I had to, if I wanted to save Eto!
“B-behind this door...”
I drew in a sharp breath and blurted out the shocking words.
“Behind this door is my personal ‘real doll,’ soooooo don’t open it!!!!!!!!”
A real doll.
To put it simply, a sex toy made to resemble a real woman.
“........................”
Could my father’s silent stare possibly be any sharper? A Ghoul licking its lips while eyeing me would have felt warmer.
After staring at me for a long moment, my father eventually let go of the closet handle.
“Don’t overdo it. It’s bad for your health.”
With those words, he turned his back on me.
*Thud!*
I dropped to my knees like a boxer who had just taken a screw uppercut to the chin. The... the damage...! The mental damage is way too much...!!
My father seemed to back off after I’d accepted such a devastating hit to my dignity, but I still couldn’t relax.
He hadn’t stopped searching the apartment.
If he found the place where Eto was hidden, it would be over.
“...”
*Rustle, rustle.*
My father checked every possible entry point, even peering at the ceiling and inspecting the bathroom window to ensure no one had sneaked in from the outside.
I watched him anxiously, terrified of the moment he might stumble upon Eto’s hiding spot.
*If he finds her, what other precious part of my soul will I have to sacrifice to guard her?*
Fortunately, it seemed he found no sign of an intruder, and he finally stopped his search. I felt as if I had been released from the depths of hell.
“Well, looks like there’s nothing. I have to get back to work, so I’ll be going now. Sorry for interrupting you so early in the morning.”
“Yeah. It’s fine, come again.”
*That was a lie. Please never come again.*
*At the very least, not until Eto can stand on her own... no, that’s impossible, isn’t it? I need to devise a strategy for my father’s next surprise visit.*
I was seeing him off at the front door as he put on his shoes.
*Rustle...! Rustle...!*
“...!”
I thought I’d been freed from hell, but I slipped at the very last second.
Suppressing the thudding of my heart, I watched my father frown slightly at the noise.
“Tell the landlord there seem to be rats. No matter how old the building is, you should still maintain basic hygiene.”
“I’ll run over and tell him right away.”
*But I survived! I grabbed the lifeline just before falling back into the abyss!*
My father finished putting on his shoes and stepped out the front door.
Watching his footsteps slowly fade down the hallway, I collapsed on the spot like a puppet with its strings cut.
*Rustle! Rustle!*
“Daa?”
As if she had been waiting for the signal, the shoe cabinet door opened a crack and Eto peeked her head out.
She must have finished her blood bottle. The timing had been razor-thin.
Eto seemed to dislike the narrow, smelly shoe cabinet, as she crawled out and made her way toward me.
I barely managed to lift my exhausted head and smile at her.
“Eto... Daddy fought hard for you...”
“Baa~!”
*Smack! Smack!*
Eto patted my forehead, giving me her usual form of encouragement.
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