I don't want to break up...
I don't want to break up...
It didn't take long to realize the girl had woken up while they were talking.
They were just watching her sleep, but the reaction was different from someone genuinely asleep.
Even an ordinary person might notice if they looked closely, but since both were S and A-class hunters, their senses were incomparably sharper than the average person.
It wasn't hard to notice something was off.
However...
'Cute...'
'Does she think she won't get caught if she pretends to sleep...'
Were they trying to avoid them because they felt uncomfortable?
No matter how good their senses were, there was no way to know what someone was thinking, so they just assumed that was the case.
And...
[It seems the other party has also realized that you are pretending to sleep.]
'Why...'
The girl, too, had realized that she had been caught pretending to sleep through the CCTV and the system.
"Oh, she's awake."
As this awkward situation continued—where no one was fooled, but everyone was pretending—the girl, realizing this wouldn't do, decided to just open her eyes naturally.
"Are you feeling okay?"
"...... Yes..."
And that led to the next part of the conversation.
Ah, what do I do, seriously.
Even if I'm an idiot, I understood enough about how the current situation was unfolding.
So...
'I went to do a clinical trial to make money, but it turned out to be an illegal experiment, and I just happened to get caught in it and turned into this body?'
No, what kind of experiment turns a healthy adult male into a young girl?
Scenes of getting caught doing illegal experiments in movies are common enough to be a cliché, but I've never seen a place doing an experiment like this in my life.
No... I feel like an illegal experiment that turns a healthy adult male into a young girl shouldn't exist in the first place.
[We do not conduct experiments for that purpose, however...]
'Do you know something?'
[I am merely the Administrator's secretary. Of course, I am aware that I am a created being, but... I understand that this was created according to legal procedures.]
"Legal procedures...?"
[If those procedures are not followed, it is judged as an abnormal access method and is immediately deleted on the spot. The fact that the Administrator and I are not deleted is proof of that.]
'Hieek...!!'
"No, doesn't that mean I almost died?"
"What the hell did you do to my body...!?"
"Unnie... stop talking. You can tell her slowly later. Can't you see the child is scared right now?"
"Ah... sorry. Were you scared?"
"Ah, no... no... I'm sorry..."
Oh man, what have I done.
Still, aren't these people the ones who saved me?
As a result, I'd already been experimented on enough that my original self disappeared and I turned into this young girl, though.
If I think about it differently, these people saved me from being researched until I ceased to exist as a person...
"Um... that... thank you...?"
I should probably thank them, right...?
[Information search complete.]
'What are you talking about all of a sudden?'
[Currently, the Administrator's body is that of a young child. Also, the aesthetic elements of the appearance are maintained in an optimal state. Since ancient times, creatures with these elements have been able to stimulate protective instincts, making it easier to survive.]
Suddenly started spouting weird TMI...
'So what are you trying to say?'
[There is only one surefire way for the Administrator to survive right now.]
'What?'
[Stimulate the protective instincts of the two entities in front of you by acting cute. There are several ways. You can look pitiful or look cute.]
The fuck?
"Anyway... what should we do with this child."
"We've done everything we can for her... so first, we'll hear what happened there, and then she'll probably be sent to an orphanage. It would be good if we could find her parents, but there's almost no chance of that."
"Excuse me?"
"W, wait a minute."
"I'm going to an orphanage again at this age...!?"
"Orphanage Remastered???"
At that moment, everything that happened while living in an orphanage since I was young flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.
First of all, one thing is certain: I don't have very good memories.
Of course, I'm always grateful to the orphanage director who raised me, and there are people from the orphanage I know still there...
I have friends I'm very close with, but even so, living in an orphanage full of all kinds of absurdities and annoying restrictions again was the same as joining the military again for me.
I've never been because I'm an orphan, but anyway!
'That, at least, is a no...!!'
But is there any way for a young girl like me to survive without going to an orphanage?
When I think about it, there really isn't.
'Secretary-mon, help me...'
[Please state your requirements.]
'I don't want to go to the orphanage...'
[...... I have analyzed the most likely method to meet the Administrator's requirements. It is to make one of the two people your guardian.]
"What??"
[They are S and A-class hunters, respectively, and fundamentally have kind hearts. The best way to be taken in by them is to act cute or stimulate their protective instincts.]
'So how!'
[Requesting control of the Administrator's body.]
I don't know what it is, but just do it...!
"Where are you going to send me?"
"That's... let's let this child decide..."
I really, really don't want to go to an orphanage~!
[Requirement confirmed. Transferring control.]
At that moment, my body started moving on its own.
"Umm..."
"Hm?"
"What's wrong?"
The two of them looked back at me with questioning expressions.
And,
"Th, then am I breaking up with you unnies...?"
"Uh..."
"What..."
The two of them looked genuinely flustered.
It was an expression that suggested they never thought they'd hear something like this.
"I... I can do well... I'll do whatever you unnies tell me to do...!"
"Ah, no... that..."
"Hmm... I didn't expect this..."
The two of them looked at each other with genuinely flustered expressions.
"Still, wouldn't it be better to go to an orphanage...?"
"But she hates being abandoned by us..."
Before I knew it, my body was tearing up.
'Wow, crazy.'
What is this acting skill.
"Come to think of it, yeah... We don't even know what happened at that lab, so if we just dump her at an orphanage and leave, how heartbroken would she be..."
"...... You're right, but... still, raising someone is a choice that needs to be made carefully."
"Unnie, seriously... since when did you become so stubborn? Forget it. If you don't want to, I'll raise her, so keep that in mind."
"No, Ju-yeon..."
In the end, the two of them argued back and forth for a while about what to do, then sighed as if they had decided, and looked back at me.
"Are you really okay with coming with us unnies? Wouldn't it be much better to go to a place with friends and have fun together?"
My body shook its head vigorously.
She looked like a child of that age to anyone.
Is this for real.
"Can't be helped."
"Alright then...!"
""I'll take her.""
Eung.
The two, who said the same thing at the same time, looked at each other.
Silence flowed for a moment.
"Wow, unnie, you're really funny? Until just a moment ago, you were saying you wouldn't take her no matter what!"
"No, I... I just thought sending her to an orphanage would be better for this child...!"
"What kind of nonsense is that? If you think about the future, it's much better to bring her to our side!"
"...... We don't know what abilities this child has, so we can't decide her future so hastily. It wouldn't be too late to ask after the child is old enough to decide her own future, at least."
Why are you fighting all of a sudden?
[I have perfectly executed the requested mission. Please praise me immediately.]
Watching the secretary ask for praise with a 'V' sign, I felt a headache coming on.
'G, good job...'
[Thank you.]
Looking at it like this, it feels more like a real person than an AI secretary...
Since all sorts of strange things have happened overnight, I feel like I'm losing my mind...
'W, well, is it a good thing...?'
Whether it's a dream or whatever, two people who look incredibly impressive are trying to take me to their guild, so it doesn't feel that bad.
Even if it's a dream, it's much better than an orphanage ending, yeah yeah.