I showed my face at the academy dormitory to confirm why the vampire girl had taken the Jealousy skill, and to forbid her from using it.
My social skills were still lacking, but with the vampire girl I could hold a decent conversation.
It shouldn't end up like the all-day debate we had during the Argner incident.
Thinking that, I sat across from the vampire girl in the dormitory's meeting room.
"Why should I have to tell you that?"
When I asked why she'd acquired the Jealousy skill, she shot back with obvious irritation.
Huh?
Well, it wasn't like I desperately needed to know, but did she have to refuse that hard?
"Is that all you came for?"
As I stood there confused, the vampire girl turned to retreat to her room.
Hmm?
Why was she in such a bad mood?
It wasn't like it was that day or anything.
From what my split body had observed, nothing should have happened today to put her in this foul a temper.
Anyway, this alone would make my visit pointless.
I was curious about why she'd taken the skill, but it wasn't something I absolutely had to know. I'd compromise and just issue the ban on using the skill.
"Hah? Why should I have to follow that kind of order?"
O-Oh.
She really was in a terrible mood today.
But this was one thing I absolutely could not back down on.
"I said no."
"You're so annoying. What skills I use is my freedom, isn't it?"
Wh-What?!
Seriously, what happened to her?
I never expected her to push back this hard!
Okay then. Time for the final resort.
"I said no."
I raised my voice slightly and opened my eyes wide.
The instant I did, the vampire girl flinched and her body trembled.
I'd learned this during the Argner incident.
Negotiating through delicate, roundabout talk with me was impossible.
So instead, I should just threaten her from the start and force her to comply without question.
"I-I understand."
Yep. The effect was perfect.
"Is that all? Then I'm heading back."
But today's vampire girl was on another level entirely.
Before I could even stop her, she marched right out.
And then she immediately went back to her room, grabbed my split body, and flung it into the closet.
W-What the—?!
Seriously, what is she doing?!
Isn't this way over the top?!
When I came to, I was back at the manor.
I had no memory of the journey.
The vampire girl's attitude had shocked me more than I would have ever expected.
What was I going to do?
The vampire girl had entered her rebellious phase.
Was there anyone I could talk to about this?
Because I sure as hell didn't know how to handle a rebellious phase!
The Demon King — scratched off.
There was no way that blockhead had the finesse to handle a rebellious daughter.
Sure, he had plenty of children and grandchildren, but he'd basically abandoned all parenting, so he was useless.
Kuro.
Nope, he seemed like the type of dad who'd be completely under his wife's thumb. No good.
Balt.
He was already overworked and looked like he was dying of stress every day. Adding any more burden on him might actually kill him — no joke.
Chinpira.
Like I'd let the vampire girl see someone like that!
Argner.
He seemed relatively normal, but he still had that scheming vibe about him. No good.
The other army commanders.
I didn't have that close a relationship with any of them.
Huh?
Now that I thought about it, didn't I have way too few people I could rely on?
Or rather, the Demon King was literally the only person on my side.
N-Not that I was lonely or anything!
Seriously though, it wasn't like it mattered on a daily basis whether I had friends or not.
This was a problem.
There was nobody I could consult with.
The face of D came to mind, but she was the absolute last person I should rely on.
I could already see her finding the whole thing amusing and making things even worse.
D?
Hmm?
Wait!
She was right there!
The great omniscient being who knew everything!
I immediately teleported.
Back to the nostalgic
Help me, great Teacher Google!
Hmm hmm.
Rebellious phases occurred twice — during toddlerhood and adolescence — called the first and second rebellious phases respectively.
The toddler phase was long past, so the vampire girl's must be the second rebellious phase, right?
Hmm.
If we were talking about physical development, she could still barely qualify as a toddler, but inside she was already a full-grown adult.
But then again, if that were the argument, the second rebellious phase should have been over too by now.
The second rebellious phase was when the desire for independence took the lead, causing the child to rebel against parental orders like "do this" or "do that."
Hm.
That matched the current situation perfectly!
I see.
The vampire girl had entered a new environment at the academy, had been gradually becoming independent from me, and then this happened.
Of course she'd rebel against a sudden order like "don't use the skill."
But this was for the vampire girl's own good.
A parent's heart, a child's unknowing.
I wanted to support her independence, but I had to harden my resolve here.
So what was the actual remedy?
What's this?
Reprimanding and suppressing unilaterally would backfire?
O-Oh no.
I might have already done that.
No, I could still fix this — probably!
Let's see.
The key was to keep a broad heart and watch over her?
Letting the child's words wash over you and leaving them alone to some extent was also a valid approach?
I see.
It meant trusting the child and leaving things in their own hands.
And from there, they'd develop their sense of independence in the right direction and grow into a proper adult.
You only scolded them when they went seriously off-track, and gently guided them back to the right path.
This ran deep.
Alright.
Thank you, great Teacher.
For now, I'd respect the vampire girl's independence and refrain from excessive interference.
Yeah.
It was the vampire girl's second time living life, after all. She'd surely grow on her own.
I'd believe in that.
All I had to do was quietly watch over her.
I'd only step in to correct course if she started heading in a strange direction.
Okay!
Now that was decided, I'd keep an eye on the vampire girl to make sure she didn't pick up any weird skills.
If she tried to take one, I'd just issue a "take this one instead" order each time.
Yep, yep.
A rebellious phase was nothing to be afraid of!