The Birth of Delia
Delia is so cute and pretty! Adel squatted in front of the popup window, both hands cupping her cheeks, muttering with the happiest expression imaginable. "Hehe… Delia is just too adorable."
"…"
"You like her? I like her too!"
She's completely gone.
What I had created was barely worthy of being called a beta version. A test file would be a more accurate description. Yet the lively spirit was nowhere to be seen—only a shut-in remained in its place.
Even when I walked right up beside her, Adel merely glanced at me for a second.
"Chase, you're here?"
With that single remark, her gaze snapped back to the popup window.
…Adel wasn't chatting nonstop?
"Adel. Who is Delia?"
"This one." At her matter-of-fact tone, I turned toward the popup window.
"…"
Inside was the spirit I had finished creating yesterday. It was still an incomplete work—only a handful of reactions connected, and even the detailed design was still being refined.
"Don't tell me you gave it a name yourself?"
"Yeah! The longer I watched, the more I felt like she needed a name!"
Adel's bright reply today sent a chill down my spine. She had been strangely listless for a while now… I couldn't tell whether her condition had improved or simply taken a different turn for the worse.
Better than being depressed? Or worse?
Something still too rudimentary to truly call a spirit… Delia stayed curled up small and motionless. Even with her eyes closed, she occasionally tilted her head ever so slightly. Sometimes, when she lifted it, our eyes would meet at just the right moment. Each time that happened, Adel let out a squeal and practically melted on the spot.
It was unintentional, but literally just coincidence.
Yet that was all there was. No matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem entertaining enough to hold someone's attention for over half a day. Still, Adel showed no sign of boredom, her face completely relaxed as she gazed at Delia.
Hoo. I really shouldn't let her get this attached.
As development progressed, that data would change beyond recognition from its original form—might even be deleted entirely. And yet she had already fallen for it enough to give it a name in such a short time.
I rubbed my forehead and asked, "Why did you name her Delia?"
"Hehe… Huh?"
"The name. Why that one?"
"Hmm… If you reverse my name, it's Del.ia, right? I just added one letter to make it sound nicer! How is it? Doesn't it suit her perfectly?"
"Uh… Yeah. I suppose it does."
Good grief. Test data? No—to Adel, it was no different from a real spirit. The moment you give a character a name, it ceases to be mere data. At least, not to the person who named it. It becomes something special.
The same went for the motions I had created. They were nothing more than subtle movements, yet Adel was already layering meaning onto them and spinning all sorts of fantasies.
"Did you see that just now? Delia looks sulky…!"
"That's just a meaningless mo—"
"She must be embarrassed because I stared too long. Ahem. Alright, Chase, shall we talk for a bit?"
"…"
"Ah! She moved a little closer! Does that mean she trusts me?"
"Adel, I haven't even put in the trust or intimacy systems yet…"
"Hmph. Chase doesn't understand our bond."
Adel looked at me like I was hopeless. Bond? I didn't understand? Me? I couldn't even close my mouth at how deeply she had immersed herself.
"That's not just some random expression she's making."
"…Then what is it?"
"It's Delia's heart showing through."
"Adel, Adel… We can't make that kind of function. I don't even have the ability to."
"I believe it'll be added soon."
This is the reaction I was aiming for, but… the effect is way too strong. I had sensed something off about Adel's reaction while watching me work yesterday, but I never expected her to get this absorbed.
I quietly folded my arms and observed her. In the end, this was valuable data too.
"Delia, you saw me just now, right? You did, didn't you?"
"So cute so cute so cute—! How can every single one of her actions be this precious?!"
"…Adel."
"Yeah?"
"As Assistant #2, you should give your test review, right?"
"Ehh. Do I really have to say it now? Delia will be waiting…"
If that was her stance, I had no choice. I sighed and plopped down beside her.
She really is cute, though. I had always thought I possessed zero aesthetic sense, but perhaps skill really does improve with practice. I hadn't noticed while working on it, but looking again, the impression was genuinely endearing.
"Did you feel this charm from the very beginning? When I made this data… Delia, I wasn't particularly interested."
"Hmm…"
Adel seemed to ponder for a moment before shaking her head. "At first, the others looked prettier. But Chase, when I gathered all the ones you made together, Delia kept standing out to me."
"Hmm…"
"That's when I remembered what you said—that being pretty and being endearing are different things."
Adel suddenly whipped her head toward the popup window in alarm. "No! Delia is cute and pretty!"
Did she think voice recognition was active? Of course, I had added no such function.
"Anyway. So I figured, if I'm going to test anyway, I might as well use the one that keeps catching my eye. That's why I brought Delia over."
"That's a commendable attitude."
"Hehe. Right?"
Adel shrugged proudly, yet her head immediately turned back to the popup window.
"But the longer I watched… my thoughts started to change."
"Oh? How so?"
"Even though this is clearly something Chase made, and the actions are meaningless… After waiting a bit, she lifted her head. After waiting a little longer, she blinked. When I poked her, she got startled and backed away."
"…"
"So I thought—if I watch just a little more, maybe Delia will show me something different—"
"And that 'just a little more' turned into twelve hours?"
"Hehe…"
Adel avoided my gaze with an awkward smile.
Delia… huh. Her functions were lacking and her reactions simple, yet Adel had waited in front of the screen, anticipated, and even come to feel affection—enough to give her a name.
"Still, aren't you tired? Didn't you think about resting?"
"It's just… if I leave, Delia would be all alone! I thought she'd feel less lonely if I kept watching…!"
Adel fidgeted and glanced at me nervously. "Do I… look really weird?"
"No."
I slowly shook my head. It wasn't weird at all. She was simply immersing herself in the game at an extremely fast pace. I was flustered by how quickly it happened, but… it aligned perfectly with the direction I wanted to take development. My goal had been to give players reasons to assign meaning and interpretation—so this wasn't strange in the slightest.
When Adel finished speaking, a wave of pride washed over me. I wasn't heading in the wrong direction after all.
Of course, Adel might be a special case. She had slept for a long time and, after waking, had only existed inside my mental space. Still, that alone didn't explain staring blankly at a screen for twelve hours without rest.
I opened the status window panel and added one reaction.
— Touch
· Head
· Shoulder
· Cheek
(…)
— Swipe
(…)
"Adel."
"Yeah?"
"Try calling her Delia once."
"Del, lia?"
"Again."
"Delia?!"
And at that moment, Delia inside the popup window flinched ever so slightly and lifted her head. It was such a tiny movement that it could easily have been dismissed as imagination…
"Chase! Did you see?!"
Adel shouted in shock, springing up from her seat.
"You saw it, right, Chase?! Delia understood her own name!"
"Hmm. The test is effective."
"Really! You're such a skeptic, Chase!"
"Then I'll remove this part again—"
The instant I placed my hand on the status window panel, Adel grabbed my wrist.
"Wait!"
"Why."
"Can't you leave it like this?"
"It was only a temporary test reaction anyway, so—"
"Still… can't you not delete it…?"
"Adel?"
"It was the first time."
"…"
"Delia understood what I said for the very first time."
At Adel's earnest expression, I lifted my hand from the panel and gently patted her head. What I had done yesterday was nothing compared to the work ahead. Yet if Adel was already reacting this strongly…
Deleting Delia would probably cause a huge problem.
"Um, Chase. I know this is an unreasonable request, but… even after the test ends, could you let me keep seeing Delia?"
"What?"
"Even just in a corner would be fine! No, even if she's only in the popup window! I'd be happy just being able to see her."
"Even though this isn't the official game and is still just test data?"
"I know. But even so… if she disappeared, I think I'd feel… really sad."
Once again, I found myself at a loss for words at her earnestness. …Hadn't we just been laughing together a moment ago? Yet Adel remained with her head bowed, still holding my wrist.
"…Haa."
At my sigh, her shoulders flinched. I wrapped my arms around her small frame.
Thinking back, I've felt the same way before. The games I loved in my previous life—and the memory of those precious memories being ruined by developers. The circumstances were different, but I could understand how she felt.
If that's the case, I can't bring myself to do something like that.
"Alright. But you'll have to keep updating her steadily."
"Really really?"
I could feel Adel lifting her head at my words.
"And! From now on, you can't spend this long without a break like today."
"Yeah! I'll promise with Delia!"
"…Shouldn't the promise be with me?"
"I'll make one with Chase too!"
In the end, I separated Delia's test data and preserved it in one corner of Adel's dedicated popup window—stored in a form similar to a temporary archive that could be recalled later.
The moment Adel saw it, she threw her arms around me and squeezed tightly. "Thank you! Thank you thank you!"
"It's nothing. I made plenty of spirits anyway."
"Still."
Adel smiled while looking at Delia. "Thank you."
"Ahem."
After all, it was just one spirit. I could manage a little extra work.
…But.
Damn. I even hugged her, but do I have to stay like this? What should I do? Pushing her away now would seem too cold, wouldn't it?
Squirm. Fidget—
"Oh! Chase, a message came from Yaruru!"
What rescued me from my dilemma was none other than Yaruru herself. Following behind Adel, who dashed to the popup window to check the message, I went over as well.
"…"