Chapter 59

The next morning.

We were slowly getting ready to head to the Eclipse headquarters.

“Uuuh…”

“Still sleepy?”

I hugged the girl who was dozing off next to me.

With her eyes still closed, she wagged her tail in sync with my steps.

“It’s time to wake up now.”

“Uuung…”

She shook her head and buried herself deeper into my arms.

“Looks like you’re having a good time, Maker.”

“Ah, Senior Researcher.”

While I was trying to wake her up, Betrayer1 was watching us with a satisfied smile.

“Go ahead and indulge her a little. Back at the lab, she couldn’t have expected something like this.”

His smile wasn’t as creepy as before. Maybe because his focus was more on the girl than on me.

‘Anyway, I should wake her up soon.’

Today, we’re meeting Astra. Astra isn’t the type to be too strict, so it should be fine.

‘But wouldn’t it be better to look sharp?’

I can indulge her anytime later. I gently shook her, waiting for her to wake up naturally.

“Time to wake up.”

“Uuung…!”

She shook her head, acting like she didn’t want to wake up. I chuckled at her cuteness and kept shaking her shoulders.

“Aren’t you going to wake up?”

“Ung…”

“Baby? Miss?”

“……”

No choice.

“Riru.”

*Perk.*

At my words, her ears perked up. I gently smoothed her messy hair and spoke in a soft voice.

“It’s time to wake up, Riru.”

“Th-that’s my name…?”

She looked up at me with sparkling eyes, clearly excited.

“I wouldn’t call someone else’s name, would I?”

“…!!”

Her eyes widened, and her lips twitched.

*Buzz buzz buzz!!*

Riru’s tail started wagging like it had a motor attached.

‘Is having a name really that exciting?’

Riru.

It’s the name I came up with yesterday after taking her back to sleep.

I based it on the project I heard about from Betrayer1, so it felt a bit rushed, but…

*Perk, perk.*

“Riru… Rir… Riru!! Heehee!!”

*Buzz buzz buzz buzz!!!*

“……”

Seeing her so happy makes me feel a little guilty.

“Are you fully awake now?”

“Yeees!!”

“Riru… It’s a cool name, right?”

“Ung!!”

Betrayer1, who had been quietly observing from a distance, chuckled and praised her.

“Riru… no, Riru! My name is Riru!!”

“You’re already saying your name so well, impressive.”

“Heehee!”

Riru kept correcting her pronunciation while giggling. I kept praising her until she was satisfied.

‘…But how long do I have to keep this up?’

After a while of praising Riru…

*Creak…*

“Oppa?”

Gayeon, awakened by our commotion, rubbed her eyes and approached us.

*Glance.*

Gayeon quickly assessed the situation.

“Riru, Riru… Hehehe!”

The little girl kept repeating her name, unable to control her ears and tail.

“Impressive. Very cool.”

I, now a tired praise bot, looked at her.

“Pfft, pffft!”

And Betrayer1, who found something hilarious, turned his head and smirked.

“..?”

Gayeon, confused by the situation, activated her ability.

‘Oppa.’

A telepathy-type ability she recently learned. It wasn’t very strong, so the range was limited, and direct words weren’t audible.

If anything, it’s like an upgraded version of communicating through eye contact.

‘What’s going on?’

But it was enough to understand her.

‘Nothing much. Just, this girl got a name and is really happy about it. So I’m just responding to her.’

‘A name? She didn’t have one?’

‘That’s right.’

Gayeon looked around, finally understanding the situation. I had a sudden idea and spoke to Riru.

“Look over there, Riru. Gayeon unnie is here.”

“Ung? Yes.”

“How about you greet her properly this time? You didn’t get to yesterday, right?”

“Ah…!!”

Finally understanding my intention, Riru wagged her tail even more vigorously, while Gayeon looked annoyed.

‘If you help this time, we’ll go to the amusement park.’

‘Deal.’

Gayeon gave me an okay sign.

‘With the mission done, we can take a break now.’

It was time to go meet Astra.

***

“…Welcome.”

“Finally, you’re not surprised.”

A short while later, in Astra’s office.

Astra, somehow aware of our presence, greeted us without turning around.

“How did you know?”

“I just had a feeling you’d come around this time. I had the whole room covered with psychokinesis.”

That way, I could sense any disturbances.

Astra casually sipped her tea, as if it were nothing.

‘…Is it really that easy?’

I was surprised by her words.

She was essentially controlling the entire room with psychokinesis.

And she wasn’t even startled by our unexpected arrival.

‘I forgot, but she’s a high-ranking member after all.’

“By the way… why are you lugging all that around?”

While I was marveling at Astra’s skills, she turned her chair and looked at me with a tired expression.

“I didn’t come here to do this, you know.”

I looked at the two girls in my arms.

Originally, I planned to carry Riru, who’s much younger than Gayeon, but…

‘Carry me too.’

Gayeon’s request caused a problem.

If I put Riru down to carry Gayeon, Riru would whine and refuse to leave my arms.

If I carried Riru and left Gayeon, Gayeon’s cheeks would puff up in anger.

‘Wow, a minor harem!’

‘If you don’t want a hole in your head, stay quiet.’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

In the end, what could I do?

I ended up carrying both of them in my arms.

Gayeon was taller than Riru, so I was a bit worried, but thankfully, both were light enough that it wasn’t too strenuous.

‘Balance is good too.’

So, with both girls in my arms and Betrayer1 holding onto Gayeon’s sleeve, we moved.

“Minor collector.”

“Even you, Astra?”

I stared at Astra with a dumbfounded expression.

‘This is so unfair.’

While working on the latter part of the original story, I ended up picking useful kids who were still mentally stable, so their ages ended up being younger.

It’s not like I have a sexual preference for that, it just happened to turn out this way.

There’s no other reason.

And this time, I even brought a proper adult male.

Though he’s gay.

“Take a seat. We need to discuss the mission and check on the talents Maker brought.”

*Groan.*

*Creak.*

Perhaps reading my expression, Astra chuckled and used her psychokinesis to pull out chairs for us.

***

“…So, it’s best to transfer the Senior Researcher to the Research Department under the Doctor.”

“Thank you for this generous opportunity. I’ll work diligently for the organization.”

“Don’t mention it. A Senior Researcher from Z Bio is someone we should be asking to join us.”

Of course, we’ll keep an eye on you and verify your loyalty for a few months to a year.

Astra swallowed her last words and smiled.

“That’s settled for the researcher… What’s our little one’s name?”

“Riru! It’s Riru!! Pretty unnie!”

Riru smiled brightly, proudly announcing her name.

‘So cute…’

Astra suppressed an internal scream and maintained a calm demeanor toward Riru.

“Our Riru will remain under Maker’s care.”

“Under…?”

“In simple terms, you can stay with me from now on.”

As Maker stroked Riru’s black-and-white hair, her ears perked up happily.

“Oppa is the best! Thank you, pretty unnie!”

Riru suddenly stood up and bowed, deeply moved by Maker’s explanation.

‘Finally, a proper child…’

She didn’t call me a chicken coop on our first meeting.

She didn’t say I’d throw a hysterical fit if I got a little pushy.

A true angel!!

Compared to the little devil next to her giving me a blank stare, she’s so well-behaved!

“Then, since the conversation is over, I’ll take my leave.”

“…Take care.”

“Yes. I’ll help guide the researcher on the way out.”

It’s a shame Riru has to leave, but what can you do?

With a final remark about taking a few days off, Maker left.

“……”

Astra lowered her waving hand.

Her expression turned serious, different from before.

“‘Creature Series’… huh.”

Astra recalled the bandages wrapped around Riru’s body, her perked ears, and wagging tail.

Among ability users, it’s not unheard of for physical transformations to occur.

Rarely, some innate ability users are born with physical changes that align with their abilities.

‘But, with a beastification ability and Z Bio…’

Z Bio is involved in various projects.

But among them, the only main project that would use beastification ability users is the one she knows about.

“Damn Z Bio, are they still not giving up on that research?”

With a cold expression, Astra began contacting someone.

---