I Became the Leader of the Monster Circus Troupe

Chapter 252: Lekachep Circus School Exam – 6

A bright smile appeared on Reyna’s face.

As I checked the status window, our eyes met, and before I could stop her, she dashed towards me.

“Dad! You’re really my dad, right?”

She climbed onto my lap and hugged me tightly.

Her sudden outburst caused the wheelchair to wobble at a precarious angle as she, taller than most adult women, bounced around.

“Re-Reyna, please, you shouldn’t just…”

“Thanks for taking off the mask! It was so suffocating!”

She sat on my lap, wrapping her arms around my head and hugging me tightly against her chest.

Then she started bouncing up and down, wriggling her hips.

I tried to resist, but in my current state, unable to move my limbs, it was impossible to break free from her embrace.

“It’s Dad! Dad!”

She wasn’t listening to me at all, continuing to talk like a child and refusing to let go.

“Am I the only one happy? Dad, aren’t you glad to see me?”

At that moment, I realized what she wanted from me.

“Reyna… my daughter? P-Please, could you let go?”

“Oh, s-sorry! Did I hurt you?”

Only when I pretended to be her dad did she understand my words and quickly got off me.

Her movement was so smooth and precise, typical of her usual self.

Now that I thought about it, the reason the wheelchair only wobbled but didn’t tip over was probably due to her excellent sense of balance.

“Is it because I smell? I did wash regularly these past few days.”

Watching her sniff her clothes with a worried expression, I organized my thoughts.

It seemed her personality hadn’t really regressed to that of a four-year-old.

She had performed acrobatic movements skillfully, hadn’t asked where we were or what time it was, and she knew who I was.

This meant her memory was intact.

She was simply acting like a child using childish words and behaviours.

This was different from the way she had been pretending until now.

Name: Shadow—Four-Year-Old Reyna

Target: Reyna’s mind

Effect: The target acts like a four-year-old.

Condition: Remove the mask of “Persona—The Weeping Women.”

A characteristic that counterbalances the persona: Shadow.

I had a guess as to why she was cursed with this.

She believed that everything after she turned four was “fake Reyna,” something she heard from the dead Reyna.

So, she wanted to remain in the state of a four-year-old to become the “real Reyna” like the dead one.

It was a sad thought when you considered it.

She dismissed her “real life” from age four to seventeen as fake, while considering her “constructed memories” up to age four as real.

Her face, full of a child’s pure smile, looked at me.

Anyone else would be surprised to see this.

To think that she, who always maintained a stern demeanour, could show such an expression.

The coldness usually visible in her expression seemed similar to Maya’s but was actually different.

While Maya’s coldness stemmed from a genuine lack of emotion, Reyna’s seemed to come from suppressed emotions.

Seeing her freely expressing her feelings was honestly pleasant.

However, I couldn’t just let her stay like this.

I gathered my thoughts and spoke.

“Reyna, how about putting the mask back on?”

If my guess was right, the moment she put on the mask, the shadow would return to her mind.

But Reyna pursed her lips and shook her head vigorously.

“No! It’s suffocating!”

“But I have something important to discuss with the masked Reyna…”

“Dad, aren’t you happy to see me? It’s been a while since the freshman welcome party…”

She turned her head away from me, puffing her cheeks in a mock display of anger.

She was acting just like a real child.

I was at a loss.

If she was a real child, I could have coaxed her with sweet words, but her memory and reasoning were hardly different from usual.

How should I deal with her?

At that moment, a familiar concept flashed through my mind.

Avatar.

If the persona reflects a role on stage, it was similar to the avatar representing the player in a game.

In other words, from the perspective of ‘Shadow-4-year-old Reyna’, the life Reyna experienced from age 4 to 17 was merely what her in-game avatar went through.

Her removing the mask meant she logged out of the game.

I wasn’t a psychiatrist or a scholar well-versed in occultism, but at least from the Shadow’s perspective, it seemed that her life looked like that.

I sighed softly.

Thinking like that, I could understand her mindset.

However, one unfortunate point was that the truth was the exact opposite.

I had to somehow get her to put the mask back on.

But in my current physical state, it was impossible to force her.

Instead, I checked the quest that had just popped up.

*Member Quest – I want to wash

: Reyna feels uncomfortable because she hasn’t washed properly for several days.

Achievement Condition

: Reyna’s body must be clean.

Reward for success

: Reyna will fall asleep.

Penalty for failure

: None.

The system detected the member’s demand and informed me of the reward I could get by fulfilling it.

“Reyna, how about taking a bath first? My little girl’s face is too dirty.”

Reyna, who had been sulking and looking away, glanced at me and muttered in a sullen voice.

“If Daddy bathes with me too…”

I shook my head.

The quest condition was only to make her clean.

“Reyna, you can wash by yourself, can’t you?”

“No! Wash me!”

I could hear the sound of water gushing out in the bathroom.

White steam was billowing from the open door.

Earlier, Reyna had said she would run off to wash her face immediately upon removing the mask, so she had filled the tub with hot water, but forgot to turn it off due to the situation right after removing the mask.

I realized I had no choice.

It would be worse if I stalled and someone else walked in and saw this scene.

“…Alright. Then shall we go in together?”

“Yes! I’ll help you in, Daddy!”

Since my room was the largest in the villa, the bathtub was quite big too.

If we pressed our bodies close together, two people could fit in.

I stepped into the tub with my clothes on.

Anyway, what I was wearing was created by my ability, so it didn’t matter if it got wet.

“Daddy, you still need to take your clothes off!”

Reyna, who had carefully lifted me into the tub, yelled in an angry voice when she saw I was still fully dressed.

The ventilation duct in the bathroom connected the rooms above and below.

If I didn’t mute her voice, it would be heard upstairs.

Who was directly above me again?

As I tried to recall someone, Reyna spoke to me with a disgruntled expression.

“If you don’t take off your clothes, I won’t get in.”

I sighed softly and quickly muted my voice as well.

“Alright. Sorry. I’ll take them off.”

I used the dressing room’s ability to remove my clothes.

She soon flung off her skirt and underwear and got into the tub.

It was surprising how she, who used to be so embarrassed to show her underwear, now had no problem being naked.

“Hehe, it’s been over 10 years since I took a bath with Daddy! This is great!”

She leaned her back against my chest.

Then she grabbed my arm and pulled it around her waist, resting her chest on top of it.

Thank goodness to the Smiling Man.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to press her back against my body.

So we enjoyed the bath, sticking naked to each other.

To be precise, I was anxious someone might suddenly enter the room, while she was the only one enjoying it.

Still, thanks to the smiling man, I was able to pretend nothing was wrong and go along with her.

She grabbed my wrist and used my palm as a shower towel.

She used my soapy hand to rub her chest, her waist, and her thighs.

Although her actual age was that of an adult, hearing her innocent voice babbling made me constantly think of her mental age, filling me with guilt.

Eventually, when my hand brushed her private parts, I began to worry about her mental state.

What if she hung herself out of shame after putting the mask back on?

However, I quickly shook off that worry.

Even when she was mentally sound, she had boldly come to me asking to help her change clothes.

She wasn’t a fragile child like Clara and seemed tough enough.

While using my hand to wash her hair and face, she soon hit a limit.

No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t wash her back.

“What should we do?”

“Well. There’s no brush here. Should we just get out?”

“But it feels gross. Can’t Daddy do it?”

She used my hand to wash her hair, face, and body efficiently, but soon hit a limit. No matter how flexible she was, there was no way she could wash her back on her own.

“What should I do?”

“Well, there’s no brush here. Should we just get out?”

“That would feel gross. Dad, can’t you help me?”

The quest was still incomplete.

If I didn’t finish the quest, she would stay awake for a long time.

I didn’t know what other variables might arise.

I tried to move my hand, but it wouldn’t budge.

My body felt languid from the hot water, and I was exhausted from her using my hand so freely.

Was there no way?

As I stared at her back, a bolt of inspiration struck my mind.

I had a tool I used longer than my hands or feet.

Back in the other world, I used it to pick up the remote control, hold a pen and write, and press the buttons on the phone.

Even after adopting visual tracking equipment and reducing its use, it remained a useful tool when I had no limbs.

But using it to wash her body…

“Dad?”

It was quite embarrassing.

But I had no other choice.

“Stand up and lean your back towards me, please.”

“My back? Like this?”

Her butt suddenly pressed against my face.

I shook my head roughly.

“Lower. Make the part you couldn’t wash touch my face.”

“Oh, got it.”

The hollow of her back touched my mouth. Naturally, my chin rested on her buttocks.

Taking a deep breath, I stuck out my tongue and licked her back.

“Ah! Dad!”

She twisted her waist sharply.

“Stay still. It’s hard to wash you.”

I modified my tongue into a rough texture like a loofah and made body wash come out instead of saliva.

Then, I licked the unwashed areas.

Didn’t I receive bathing assistance too?

I’m just doing for someone else what was done for me.

I kept reminding myself of this to calm down, but it didn’t stop the act from feeling completely different from what I experienced.

“Uh… Dad…”

She hung her head low and breathed heavily, her hips and thighs trembling so much that my jaw shook.

Seeing her like that reminded me of the night with Yurakne.

At that moment, I heard a voice from outside the bathroom.

“Director, are you bathing?”

Speak of the devil.

Yurakne was standing outside the bathroom door.

In that instant, I realized who the owner of the room above mine was.

And that the mute function only applied to our voices.

Reyna stopped splashing.

Surprised by Yurakne’s sudden appearance, she froze in place with her butt sticking out.

I, too, was frozen, licking her body.

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Chapter 251: Lekachep Circus School Exam – 5