Harpy's First Date
The soft, slightly forceful yet gentle weight of something landing on my forehead repeatedly was disturbing my precious morning sleep.
"What the... Nero...?"
Still half-asleep, I opened my eyes to find Nero's paw pads and fluffy cat beans repeatedly dropping onto my forehead.
Thud! Thud!
'Hey, Master, wake up and answer the phone already.'
"...Phone? What phone?"
The window was still dark outside. It was clearly still dawn, so who on earth would be calling at this hour...
'I told you not to put it on silent. Answer it quick.'
Just as Nero said, the phone I had left by my pillow was brightly lit. The name displayed on the screen was...
'Naughty Clown? Who the hell saves someone under that name?'
"Team Leader?!"
'Team Leader?'
The moment I answered, an unpleasant voice that instantly woke me up came through.
"Ah~ You finally picked up, Ung-ssi. Sorry for calling so early, but could you come over as soon as possible? They won't believe a word I say... No, Harpy? I'm calling her right now, so please calm down. Yes, yes, right here— No, really, I am—"
Since I had answered while still half-asleep, I couldn't immediately grasp the situation, but it sounded like a bit of commotion was happening on the other end.
It was barely past 4 a.m., but I didn't have the courage to outright refuse the Team Leader's summons. "Right now... Yes, I'll head over as quickly as I can."
"Thank you. Did you hear that just now? Now... wait, that's my terminal—"
Click—
"...?"
A sigh escaped me as I stared at the phone screen showing a time when I would normally never get out of bed, but I still dragged my stiff body up for the early shift.
"Well... no one makes easy money, I guess."
*
"Ah! Ung-ssi, even though the wait was short, I really missed you."
By the time the sky was just beginning to brighten, I had arrived at the front of the art museum. I could only look on in confusion as the Team Leader came out to greet me at the entrance, arms spread wide in an extravagant welcome.
"So, what happened?"
"Harpy has been crying 'pi-pi' since dawn asking for Ung-ssi. Even when I told her you'd be coming in today, she wouldn't listen to me."
"Pi-pi... Wait, Harpy?"
The unfamiliar onomatopoeia made me tilt my head, and it took me a beat longer to react to Harpy's name. I was extremely flustered, but quickly tried to recall yesterday's events.
Yesterday... I had been feeling a bit wronged, so after painting her nails while she slept to calm myself down, I left the isolation room. Since her outfit was far too distracting, I even made sure to tuck the blanket over her properly.
I didn't think I had done anything particularly wrong...
"We don't have time to stand around here. Come on, quickly now."
"U-uh..."
Practically dragged along, I rode the elevator down to the 21st underground floor. The hallway was quite noisy. Red emergency lights were flashing along with an alarm that made the hair on my neck stand up, and I could see security personnel from the management team running over with rifles, standing by in the corridor.
"What on earth is all this commotion..."
And right beside the door they were all guarding, the nameplate clearly read [RL.2 - HARPY]. It was Harpy's room.
"What's going on here? This room belongs to Harpy...!"
...Screeech! Screech...!
I had no real basis for believing their guns wouldn't point at me, but I still stepped forward and voiced a protest—only for my words to cut off at the chilling sound of claws scraping against metal coming from just beyond the firmly shut door.
"...Why is that sound coming from behind the door?"
"Ah, she was so happy when she heard you were coming that she... must have forgotten to close the iron gate and stepped out."
What?
What did that mean?
Then...
"So you're saying Harpy is right on the other side of this door right now? Is that even allowed?"
"Of course it's not. Normally she wouldn't even come near the iron gate, so this is the first time she's shown this kind of behavior. I'm in quite a difficult position myself."
Difficult position? If anything happened to Harpy, I'd make things very difficult for everyone involved.
"Fortunately, the protocol to shoot on sight if a subject leaves the containment zone only applies from Risk Level 4 and above, so Harpy will be safe even if something happens."
"Then what about the guns those people are holding?!"
"They're simply following protocol, so please relax. Besides, they're tranquilizer rounds. Of course, half of them are loaded with live ammunition just in case of other unforeseen situations..."
"Seriously, Harpy!"
Scratch, scratch...! Thud!
At the mention of live rounds, I urgently called out toward the door. The sharp scraping sound from the other side stopped abruptly, as if it had been a lie.
Thankfully, it seemed she could hear my voice.
"Harpy, it's me. I'm right here."
"..."
'Counselor's voice...?'
"I'm going to open the door now, so you mustn't move recklessly. It's dangerous. Understand?"
"..."
'It's the Counselor's voice...!'
"...I'll take that as a yes. Opening the door now."
No one else could open the door in this situation, but since I had already confirmed her inner voice's reaction, I didn't hesitate. I pressed my employee ID against the scanner. With a chime confirming access, the firmly shut door slowly began to open.
At the same time, countless gun barrels nervously aimed this way, but I spread my arms wide, thinking they wouldn't shoot recklessly with me right in front, trying to shield the inside with my body as much as possible.
And then—
"Ugh...?"
Before I could properly check inside because all my attention was on the back, I felt that familiar soft embrace from yesterday filling my arms, and a few feathers fluttered into my vision.
Poof...!
"Sniff... Counselor... I, I... thought you left because I did something wrong... Waaah... Sniff..."
The moment the door opened, Harpy, who had somehow ended up in my arms as I stood there with them spread, began to sob pitifully. I wondered how many women in this world could still look beautiful even with a face ruined by tears, but at least there was one right here.
"Alright, alright~ If you've all seen enough, everyone go back and rest."
The gun barrels had been tense, ready to fire at any moment because of Harpy suddenly rushing at me, but since she had only embraced me and not attacked, they slowly lowered at the Team Leader's gesture.
"Harpy?"
That aside... right now, I was holding Harpy, wasn't I? No, in this case, Harpy had thrown herself into my arms. On top of that, the extremely soft, squishy sensation filling my embrace was making my mind go hazy, but her tearful voice snapped me back to reality.
"...Counselor, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I suddenly got hot, so... you know..."
"If it was yesterday, you just fell asleep right away. You must have been really tired."
"Ah...?"
From her reaction, it seemed she remembered everything she had done before the heat made her lose consciousness. What happened after was naturally forgotten since she had fallen asleep, and the misunderstanding made sense too.
She must have been embarrassed, but thankfully Harpy, who had been tightly hugging me, seemed to have calmed down a little and now had the composure to look around at other things.
"Ah... my nails... my nails..."
As expected, most of the nail art I had painstakingly done yesterday had been chipped or scratched while she clawed at the thick, sturdy safe door with her talons.
I had been looking forward to showing it to her today, thinking it turned out pretty well... A bit of a shame.
"Sniff..."
Of course, the iron door itself looked far more pitiful compared to the minor damage her nails had sustained, but I decided to stop looking at that.
"Shall we go back inside now? Everyone got startled and gathered here because of this."
"...Yes... I'm sorry..."
Harpy shrank back after seeing the armed staff over my shoulder, then tightly grabbed my hand with one of hers. After lowering her head to double-check that she was holding it properly, she finally released the rest of her embrace. Even as we walked, she stayed glued to my shoulder, refusing to let any distance form between us.
It seemed her heart hadn't settled yet from the panic of waking up and not finding me beside her, thinking she had made some big mistake yesterday. She would probably calm down after some time...
"...Hmm."
By the time I thought that, three hours had already passed.
Three hours.
Honestly, it had been a happy time, but Harpy still wouldn't let go of my hand.
"...So, Harpy won't let go of my hand, is that it?"
"As you can see."
"Yeah, it is. I was just going to report that it wasn't a big deal, haha."
She was holding my hand so tightly that she wouldn't even let me go to the bathroom. Even when I said I wasn't going anywhere, she couldn't easily believe it, and if I tried to subtly pull my hand away, she would grab it with both hands and look at me with pleading eyes...
How could I tell her to let go when faced with that earnest gaze?
Since there wasn't much else to do while stuck like this, I removed or repaired the damaged gel nails until they were as clean as when I had left this room yesterday. Harpy, now able to leisurely look at the finished result, let out a small laugh in her heart, and when I glanced at her lips, I could see a faint smile forming there.
That smile finally let me relax a little too.
But at this rate, I wouldn't even be able to go home, so I had called the Team Leader. At this rate, she'd probably try to get into bed with me too.
...That might actually be fine.
"Still, it worked out nicely in the end. There was a small commotion requiring a new door, but now that everyone has personally seen Harpy approach and embrace Ung-ssi first, we can expect a positive response regarding the outing request."
"She can go outside now?"
"Harpy doesn't enjoy cannibalism or murder, has no intention of deceiving or harming the counselor she'll be closely accompanying, possesses enough intelligence to follow instructions diligently, and isn't particularly difficult to subdue in case of unexpected situations. She was a highly anticipated candidate in many ways."
"..."
I felt an inexplicable sense of rejection at the way she listed off observation results so matter-of-factly, but... I was also looking forward to the outing. And Harpy showed just as much interest as she had when I told her stories about the outside world.
"Holding hands like that, people on the street might just think you're a young couple, but there are places you can't go together—like bathrooms or dressing rooms in clothing stores. I understand Harpy's anxious feelings, but you'll need to practice being apart too."
"Uuu..."
"After keeping her so far away all this time, it's quite refreshing to see her not wanting to let go now."
Hearing the Team Leader's words, Harpy looked at my hand she was holding with a troubled expression, then slowly—very slowly—began to release it, as if she would grab it again the moment I showed any sign of running away.
Even though she hadn't been holding it that tightly, after being gripped for so long, a tingling sensation started rising as blood began flowing again.
"And Ung-ssi, if you keep accepting everything so readily, it might turn into obsession. If you don't want our shy Harpy to become a bothersome woman, you should rein her in appropriately too."
"...Yes."
'Counselor... Will he start thinking I'm bothersome...? I don't want that. But I don't want to let go either...'
"S-still, I haven't thought it was unpleasant or annoying yet. It's just that I've needed to use the bathroom for a while now..."
"...Counselor."
"Yes, Harpy?"
"You... won't leave me... right...?"
Thump.
Faced with that unfair sight of her clasping both hands in front of her chest, looking up at me with large, teary eyes, I had to suppress the urge to smile even while feeling her desperation.
"...I have no reason to leave you, Harpy. Don't worry."
"...Then... I'll trust you and hold on. If I can't see you... I'll get anxious and want to hold your hand, but..."
Please feel free to ask for it as much as you want from now on too. I have two hands, after all, so grab whichever one you like.
"It seems like things are wrapped up. Since we're already here, shall we proceed with the procedures right away?"
"You mean Harpy's outing?"
"What else would it be? If so, it'll be an exciting first date for both Ung-ssi and Harpy."
The Team Leader's whispered follow-up by my ear easily made my face flush.
"...Haha."