Ch.174Chapter 174

Growing older doesn’t automatically make someone mature.

Even adults can be considered childish if they lack what society deems as common knowledge or proper education.

Conversely, there are instances where someone appears mature without possessing any special knowledge.

Without using difficult technical terms or having specialized information, there’s something about certain conclusions or attitudes that display a depth and composure that feels inherently mature.

Maturity.

I know the concept itself is subjective and varies from person to person, but if I had to establish criteria, I could say that Ouro embodies all aspects of it.

Having lived for so long, her thoughts were profound. However, due to her lack of common sense and knowledge, those deep thoughts couldn’t progress beyond a certain level.

While her thinking was mature in its depth, the apparent lack of knowledge and common sense made it feel like I was dealing with a child.

“Did it happen?”

Even now, I felt like I was dealing with a child.

Since holding hands and sleeping together yesterday, Ouro had been giving me questioning looks, wondering if a baby had been conceived.

With clenched fists, she repeatedly asked me questions with an intensity that suggested she was about to demand where babies come from.

“Well…”

“Where do babies come from? When? How long does it take? Can they be born quickly? How are they born?”

Faced with this barrage of questions, I couldn’t respond and just hung my head low.

While I knew as common sense that holding hands and sleeping together wouldn’t result in pregnancy, Ouro firmly believed it to be true.

I wondered how she would react if I told her now that it was a lie.

As I was sweating profusely and assessing the situation, the Professor noticed something strange and showed interest.

“Ouro, what’s going on?”

It seemed she was curious because Ouro kept sticking to my side and repeatedly asking the strange question, “Did it happen?”

I felt awkward, thinking the situation had unnecessarily escalated. When the approaching Professor caught my glance, she gave me a questioning look.

Just as I was thinking I should explain something, Ouro, who had heard the Professor’s question, jumped in first.

“Ourr said that if we hold hands and sleep together, a baby will be born. Can’t Ourr create a body just like mine, and get a body like I did?”

“…You see, the current Ourr can’t do what Ouro can. When Ouro’s body was created, Ourr was there, but if Ourr were to create her own body that way, she couldn’t be the one being born. Creating one’s own body is completely illogical.”

Fortunately, the Professor didn’t reveal that I had lied, but explained why it wouldn’t work using different reasoning.

Ouro tilted her head after hearing this.

Her expression asked why it wouldn’t work, but since the Professor said it wouldn’t, she accepted it for now. Though not completely.

“Professor, so it only works when we’re together?”

“I suppose so.”

The Professor stroked Ouro’s head as she clung to her sleeve and mumbled.

I found researchers fascinating, regardless of their field.

Digging deeper into a discipline, as if it were a well, regardless of its depth, was clearly not an easy task for anyone.

“Ourr, what should we do?”

After listening to the Professor and remaining silent for a while, Ouro wore an expression as if the world was about to collapse.

“…What do you mean?”

“We held hands and slept together. What if a baby is conceived? If you can’t go in there, who will be born…? Two Ourrs…?”

The Professor’s point was that even if a baby were created, I wouldn’t be able to have a new body.

Since that wasn’t a reason why a baby wouldn’t be conceived, Ouro, who realized this, was restless and confused about what to do.

It was closer to being flustered by a first-time experience than worry or anxiety.

“…No, it won’t happen. Not just from once.”

“But you never know. Professor!”

Ouro grabbed me and called out to the Professor.

She sought help from the Professor, who was an adult and likely the most knowledgeable person here.

This made things more awkward for me. I had casually lied, and Ouro believed it wholeheartedly, acting as if she was in a real crisis.

As time passed and her belief deepened, I began to worry about the moment when the lie would be exposed.

The deeper the belief, the more profound the sense of betrayal when it’s shattered.

As I was sweating profusely and watching cautiously, the Professor, perhaps thinking she couldn’t cover for me anymore, gave a bitter smile.

“Ouro, holding hands and sleeping together doesn’t actually result in a baby.”

“…!”

The lie didn’t last long.

Contrary to my desire to bury the lie, the point I had tried to gloss over was directly addressed.

Whether it was a lie or the truth didn’t matter, but the trust between Ouro and me had been broken because I had deceived her.

“Ourr, you…”

“Ah.”

I swallowed hard at the sight of those red eyes glaring at me as if they would devour me.

As I hesitated and stepped back, Ouro stepped forward and brought her face close to mine.

Two round eyes filled my close-up view.

“You’re a liar.”

“…Eh?”

“I said, Ourr is a liar. How could you lie to me just because I don’t know much?”

“I’m sorry… It was just, embarrassing to talk about.”

Even though I hadn’t given any specific explanation and had just recalled the incident, I felt my face getting hot.

I lowered my head and pressed my lips tightly. Ouro, sensing something strange, tilted her head. Not satisfied with that, she also bent her waist to the side, trying to examine my face.

Despite lowering my head, I ended up making eye contact with Ouro and quickly averted my gaze.

“Why are you embarrassed?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why are you embarrassed? Whyyy?”

Ouro grabbed my sleeve and shook it, asking me to say something.

I tried to shake her off, but I couldn’t get rid of Ouro’s swaying arm.

“Professor, please get Ouro off me.”

“No! Since Ourr lied to me, I need to know the truth! What’s there to be embarrassed about?”

“As you live, there are things that are embarrassing. Ouro, you’re too young to understand.”

“What? Do you know how many years I’ve lived?”

“How many years have you lived?”

“Huh?”

Ouro made a dumbfounded sound.

She seemed to want to emphasize that she had lived long enough not to feel embarrassed about such things. But she didn’t seem to have anticipated this question from me.

“How many years, did I live…”

“I don’t know how old Ouro is…”

Ouro subtly sent a look to the Professor asking for help, and the Professor raised both hands in surrender, indicating her difficulty.

With a human lifespan, one wouldn’t be able to confirm how old Ouro is, so if she suddenly came to the Professor and asked, “How old am I?”, there’s no way the Professor could answer.

“Anyway! I’ve lived longer than humans, so I have nothing to be embarrassed about!”

“…Sometimes, it’s better not to know certain things.”

“Tell me. The Professor knows, and Ourr knows, so why am I the only one who doesn’t knooow!”

I was disgusted by her now tantrum-like obsession.

I should have just explained it plainly and moved on. By trying to evade and hide, I seemed to have made her more curious. It felt like I was facing a child whose eyes would roll at the mention of the word “secret.”

If you hide something, they want to know more; if you casually throw it out there, they don’t even show interest. If I had known she had such a personality, I wouldn’t have acted this way.

“Professor, Professor… please help…”

“You two go to the room and come to a good compromise. The Professor is busy today and has to go write a paper.”

“Eh?”

With those final words, the Professor left the house.

I knew she was going to the Academy, but I didn’t expect her to leave so suddenly, leaving Ouro and me behind.

It wouldn’t make sense to take Ouro along in this state, but still…

“Tell me. Tell me, tell me, tell me.”

“No, you’re not a child…”

“If you tell me, everything will be resolved. I’m curious because you keep hiding it. Why are you so embarrassed? Is there anything to be embarrassed about between you and me? We were one, weren’t we?”

“…Even so. Alright, I’ll tell you.”

Declaring defeat to Ouro’s obsession, I sighed deeply.

“Babies are originally born when a man and a woman love each other.”

“They love each other?”

“Yes, love.”

“Love… what’s that?”

Wait, do I have to explain from here?

I was planning to give a vague explanation and move on, but suddenly she demanded a profound explanation.

If she asks such difficult questions, where should I start and where should I end?

It was giving me a headache, but I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to explain somehow.

“So, when people like each other, babies can be born. That’s how it originally works.”

“Then, did Ourr also love a man?”

“No, no… that’s not it.”

“The Professor is a woman, right? A female?”

“The term ‘female’ is used for animals, anyway.”

I grabbed my head and groaned.

“Woman.”

“Yes.”

“If women love each other, no baby comes out?”

“Originally, no…? I don’t think so?”

“Why are you uncertain?”

“I think that’s the case…”

Honestly, I don’t know well either.

It’s probably correct, but considering we live in a world with magic, and the Professor and I created Ouro’s body, it’s not something I can easily assert.

As I hesitated and averted my gaze, Ouro tilted her head.

“So you just need to love?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, do you love me?”

“It doesn’t work like that.”

In the midst of this, she said she loved me, trying to make a baby.

It was also in a questioning form, so it wouldn’t work. I didn’t expect her to casually use a word she didn’t understand herself, so I glared at her and shook my head.

After pushing Ouro away, I shrugged my shoulders.

“Are we done now?”

“Tell me more.”

But Ouro didn’t seem to have any intention of letting me go.