Risk Level 6: Undine
"You have to stay still, okay? Undine?"
"Kyuu!"
The Undine tucked neatly inside the bag gave an adorable reply and nodded her head vigorously, whether she truly understood my words or not. Thanks to her having grown just a little bigger than before, communication felt like it was steadily improving. Whether she would actually stay quiet was another matter entirely, but if anything unexpected happened, I could only hope Founder would handle it somehow.
"Now, the next problem..."
With one hand resting on the bag so Undine could quietly suck on my finger, I turned my gaze toward the next issue. Even just the living room was a mess of long hair scattered everywhere along our path, and I couldn't help wondering if it was even possible to take her outside like this. Maybe she could use that "erasing" ability she sometimes threatened people with?
I was still thinking about it when she spoke.
"No. Erasing is easy, but putting everything back the way it was is incredibly hard."
She rejected the idea before I even said it aloud. Still, the fact that destroying things was simple while restoring them was difficult made it the kind of power you should never give to a child.
"Do you really think your big sister is that unreliable?"
"No, not at all."
Right. Maybe her younger sister, Observer, specialized in restoring things. It wouldn't be strange if the troublemaking older sister kept causing messes that the younger one had to clean up while grumbling.
"Huh? No, my little sister can't do that either."
"She can't, huh."
...So the older sister was simply more capable in every way.
"Ta-da~! Actually, I can just shrink it!"
"Oh."
She struck a playful pose with one foot lifted behind her and shortened her once-endless hair to waist length. I couldn't help letting out a small sound of admiration. At this length, going outside wouldn't be a problem. I wondered why she didn't keep it short all the time, but at least we were ready to leave now.
"..."
For some reason, my eyes met Nero's. She had been standing naturally near the front door. When I stared at her, she looked back with a slightly annoyed expression that seemed to ask what I was looking at.
"Nero?"
"What?"
"Are you going out too?"
"Yeah."
"Where...?"
The moment I tried to tell her this wasn't a casual outing, her inner voice cut me off first.
I want to properly greet Master’s father and mother... and stay by his side when things are hard...
"If I just stay home alone... I'll get bored."
"..."
With her alluring appearance, haughty eyes, beauty mark, and that dangerously sweet voice, she could have said something like "You're really going to leave me alone? Then this big sister might cry from loneliness" while pretending to sob. But the words that actually came out were no different from her usual dishonest self, which oddly put me at ease.
"Then... let's change your clothes first. That outfit is a bit..."
"A bit... what?"
Her deep cleavage, the thighs exposed by the side slits, the slender waist that made me want to wrap my arms around it—everything was far too seductive. Plus, she didn't seem to be wearing proper underwear, so it definitely wasn't something she could wear outside. If she was coming with us, she needed something much more ordinary.
"What is it?"
"...It's too pretty. I can't let anyone else see you like that."
"..."
"I want to be the only one who sees you."
After her persistent urging, the long explanation I meant to give collapsed into a blunt, selfish confession.
"Ah, just now, I..."
Expecting a scolding, I squeezed my eyes shut, but Nero simply turned and walked quietly toward her room. Just before closing the door, she peeked out again. Her face was flushed bright red. She was frowning, but not because she was upset. She was desperately trying to hide the embarrassment rising to her cheeks. Though she should have been hiding the redness itself.
"Don't you dare peek into my room."
"Okay."
I answered without thinking, never imagining things would turn out like this. Now Nero was coming too. A group outing, and I had to manage all three of them when I could barely handle one. It felt overwhelming, but there was no turning back now. I stood there in a half-resigned daze until the door opened and Nero stepped out.
"Oh..."
Her outfit had completely changed. She was still dressed entirely in black that reminded me of her original fur, but the neat H-line skirt and the black blouse with sheer sleeves and shoulders suited her perfectly. The only thing that bothered me was taking someone in all black to a hospital, but with her beauty, maybe it wouldn't matter.
She looked like a beautiful grim reaper. If she smiled gently and beckoned me to follow, I would go without hesitation.
"How do I look...?"
I had been staring blankly at her, and apparently hadn't noticed how close she'd gotten.
"Ah... Yeah, it suits you really well too."
I thought I'd answered right away, but maybe staring so openly had been the problem. Nero's expression turned subtle.
"Th-then... should I change into something else?"
I want to save the special look I can only show Master for as long as possible... He even said he only wanted to see me...
"No, no. It's fine. Just... if possible..."
"If possible...?"
"I wish the skirt was a little longer."
The short skirt that ended well above her knees fully exposed her pale thighs, and once again my shameless thoughts had slipped out without permission. Only then did Nero seem to understand what I had meant by wanting to be the only one to see her.
"Pervert..."
Even though her hands couldn't possibly cover her chest or thighs, she shyly tried to hide them anyway, shrinking back. The sight of her embarrassment made me think, quite suddenly, that I was glad to have been born.
"...Let's go already. We're going to be late."
"Ah, right."
Somehow, in the blink of an eye, she had lengthened the skirt exactly as I'd asked and was now clinging tightly to my arm. A soft sigh escaped me as the warm, full sensation of her breasts pressed against me through the fabric. But now I had to think about transportation to the hospital. The subway would be too crowded, so a taxi was the only option. If I sat in the front, maybe the two of them wouldn't stick to me so obviously. Not having a car really was inconvenient at times like this.
...I shouldn't have thought that.
"What are you doing? Get in."
After carefully checking our surroundings and stepping out into the lobby, a familiar red foreign car was waiting with its engine running right in front of the entrance. It was Yerin's car, of course. The passenger window rolled down and she gestured for us to hurry up and get in. Her usually sharp eyes looked softer, and her bright yellow hair was a little messy—clear signs she'd rushed out.
"Weren't you supposed to be at work?"
"...The management team leader asked me to. That's all you need to know."
It's not really a request... Ugh... No, it's fine.
Seeing how she refused to even recall the memory, I couldn't help asking what had happened when I'd called the team leader that morning.
"When I called the team leader this morning, I thought I heard your voice, Yerin."
She flinched. Her small hands gripping the steering wheel began to tremble visibly.
Tremble, tremble...
Only after giving her some time to calm down did she finally answer in a small voice.
"Sorry... Please don't ask."
She had locked even her thoughts away so tightly that I couldn't see anything. Just what kind of unspeakable thing had happened to shake even this perverted girl—who usually only got wet from ordinary things—to this extent?
"If you're all in, I'm leaving..."
She looked exhausted, and I worried whether she should even be driving, but she started the car anyway. Even with her face looking more haggard than before, she focused on the road and headed straight for our destination without me having to say anything.
I glanced into the back seat. Founder had both hands and her face pressed flat against the window, excitedly watching the scenery blur past. Nero sat with her legs elegantly crossed, and when she noticed me looking, she met my gaze. I thought the skirt had gotten longer, but now that she was sitting with her legs crossed, the hem had ridden up her thighs, revealing that pale skin again. It was magnificent.
"..."
Nero smoothly uncrossed her legs and pressed her knees together properly. ...She'd caught me staring. Of course she had—I'd turned all the way around to look.
"I thought you said she was your superior from another team. You sure talk casually with her. Calling her Yerin, Yerin..."
"Ah, with Yerin, it's..."
Nero had probably remembered the shampoo incident and was trying to pick a fight. I was about to explain when she cut in again.
"With Yerin... what? If you have something to say, go ahead."
The way she demanded an explanation made me suddenly wonder—what exactly was my relationship with Yerin? Master and servant? Or just partners? I couldn't exactly say the honest truth: that despite her modest figure, she was so annoyingly lewd that she kept clinging to me, yet as a female she was quite useful, so I occasionally indulged her as her master. There was no way I could say that.
"I know! She's just like that jealous cat. She's Master's pet female too."
Screeech...! Thud!
The car lurched from the unfiltered, shameless "pet female" comment before finally steadying again. Even so, I glanced at Yerin, worried that "pet female" had gone too far, but...
"Haa... haa..."
...She was enjoying it. Her face flushed, her eyes sparkling as she barely managed to keep looking forward. I even worried she might have wet the seat from being so thoroughly evaluated by a complete outsider.
"...What are you getting excited about now?"
My words only made things worse.
"...Eut."
Did she just say "eut"? The way she couldn't control herself no matter the time or place was literally on the level of a female in heat. It was so ridiculous I could only stare, and she seemed to enjoy even that. I was at a loss for words. But it didn't end there.
"...Don't laugh."
"?"
"I'm the only one who gets to be Master's pet female!"
...I'd forgotten about the back seat.
"..."
A headache was starting to form. Were we even going to make it to the hospital in one piece?