Ch.99Chapter 99

Today was another day immersed in research. I settled in the spacious living room, leaned against the sofa, and quietly highlighted passages as I read through academic papers.

I glanced at the research results produced by the Academy students. It was time to verify whether the research was progressing as intended and whether the steps I had designed would allow them to climb higher.

Research didn’t always follow a predetermined path. Since we were studying things that didn’t exist before, everything was constantly new, and because no one had walked this path before, there were virtually no documents based on experience.

Methods to divide a Demon God in two? Ways to make two personalities coexist? Everything seemed impossible. With no idea where to begin, the research made no progress.

Producing research results within a year would be remarkable, but a year wasn’t exactly a short time, and it seemed Ourr’s tolerance would have its limits.

Even with anesthesia, I couldn’t prevent my mind from being eaten away. I had to kill, and I had to watch the dying. For each killing, I attempted anesthesia, then extracted Ouroboros and sought advice through magic.

Ourr didn’t know much about magic, but Ouroboros knew well about the magic she could use.

It was giving me a headache. While I was wracking my brain with so many concerns, Ourr kept going back and forth to the closet, changed her clothes, and then slipped into her room.

I wondered what was happening, but Ourr didn’t say anything before disappearing inside. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but gradually I became concerned about her.

Despite her memory loss, it was true that Ourr was struggling more with each experiment. She complained of dizziness and experienced confusion with her memories.

Since her mental state differed between her large and small forms, it seemed the confusion was compounding.

What if she was in pain but trying not to show it? What if she was suffering but hiding it?

Although we were working on social training, socialization didn’t mean unconditional consideration. If Ourr couldn’t distinguish that boundary and was just enduring blindly, I needed to tell her that wasn’t right.

She needed to say when she was in pain or struggling, so I could do something to help her.

So I got up. I wanted to go to her room and check on her condition. If she was just on her phone talking with friends, I planned to leave her alone. I moved forward, intending only to check if she was in distress.

When I entered the room, I was startled to find Ourr wasn’t there. The fact that she wasn’t on the bed where she should have been made my steps quicken involuntarily.

“Ourr?”

She wasn’t hiding under the bed, nor had she gone out to the balcony.

“Where did you go? Ourr!”

Growing anxious, I paced around the room and then turned my gaze. My eyes moved to the small bathroom.

If she hadn’t jumped off the balcony, that was the only place left.

“Are you in the bathroom?”

I reached for the doorknob.

As a Demon God, Ourr had no reason to use the bathroom. She didn’t need to relieve herself or have menstrual periods. So I couldn’t imagine why she would be in there.

What would she be doing in the bathroom? Bathing alone? But that space was too small for bathing, and Ourr wouldn’t likely bathe by herself. If she wanted to cry in private, how should I respond to that?

I couldn’t tell her not to cry. However, I needed to try to prevent her from crying.

“—No, ah, d-don’t open it…!”

I heard a panicked voice. Something about the choked sound in her voice made me feel urgent. So, I ended up opening the door—

“Ah!”

Whether she had been trying to grab the doorknob or not, Ourr collapsed forward. With a thud, she hit her head, ending up in an odd position.

With her body bent in an ‘L’ shape and her head down, it emphasized her backside. I knew she was wearing the white shirt she had changed into earlier, but the slightly shifted clothing didn’t cover her lower body.

“—Aahn, aaahn!”

The sudden crying sound made my thoughts freeze. I couldn’t think of anything.

It was a voice I’d heard somewhere before. Not one of pain, nor sadness. It was closer to a moan of pleasure. A voice I’d heard when touching Ourr’s body.

Ignoring Ourr’s trembling voice, I shifted my gaze. Ourr’s hand was between her thighs. Water gushed out from under her quivering waist.

It looked like she was squirting fluid. It was exactly like when she reached climax.

“Eh? Huh? Uhh…?”

Ourr trembled a few times with her face pressed to the floor, then went limp. The droplets falling between her thighs and dripping from her fingers tapped against my eardrums.

Too shocked to say anything, I just stared at Ourr’s form.

Why she wasn’t wearing anything below, why her hand was positioned that way, why she was moaning. Many questions arose, and the answers were obvious. I was so immersed in research that for a moment I wondered if I’d gone crazy.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and my expression turned blank.

“…Ourr?”

I called out to Ourr, who seemed to be in the afterglow. She hiccupped in response.

“Waaaaaah!”

Ourr suddenly started crying, making the situation even more awkward.

“Sorry, I’m sorry. I thought something was wrong with you. I should have knocked, should have knocked, but I didn’t know… I’m sorry, Ourr. D-don’t cry, stop…”

I was definitely in the wrong. I opened the bathroom door without knocking. I had only worried about Ourr being alone in a place where she might be suffering, but I never dreamed she would be doing something like this by herself, making the current situation extremely awkward.

While Ourr had openly shown curiosity by rubbing herself before, she had never tried to do something secretly without me knowing, so this was unprecedented.

Ourr, who had started sobbing heavily, buried her face in my chest as if she didn’t want to see anything.

Regardless of her state of dress, she seemed embarrassed and ashamed of being caught in this moment. Not knowing how to comfort her, I just held her and patted her back.

Despite repeating my apologies several times, Ourr continued crying.

“…Huu, uuuu…”

Crying also requires energy, and momentum is important. After crying enough, even with energy to spare, one quickly calms down and rational thinking becomes possible again.

Ourr stopped crying and began to catch her breath. She slightly pulled her face away from my chest. She had a bit of a runny nose from crying so much.

I showed a slightly awkward smile and asked.

“Done crying…?”

“Uuu, uuu… I want to die, I want to die. Let’s go to the research lab…”

Ourr suddenly started saying frightening things.

She was asking to go to the White Laboratory and kill her quickly.

I never expected her to ask to be killed. I was shocked that she would have such extreme thoughts. But wondering if it was because she was embarrassed, I decided to calm her down first.

“N-no! Ourr, this is something everyone experiences in life. It’s impossible not to be curious about it at all. It’s, it’s a natural thing, but Professor is sorry. I shouldn’t have just opened the door like that, but I was worried about you.”

Words poured out like a machine gun. I was desperate to say anything to calm Ourr down.

I struggled to think of what to say next, then delivered everything I had thought of in succession. My tongue got tied a few times, but it was fine. As long as I kept talking, Ourr remained quiet and just stared at my face.

Ourr looked at me intently. I smiled bitterly and continued my speech.

I told her this was my fault, and what she did wasn’t shameful but a natural curiosity and a stage everyone goes through.

Ourr fidgeted with her lips. Then she hung her head low. Her face was red. Even so, it seemed the embarrassment wouldn’t just disappear.

She hadn’t had a chance to put on pants, so her current state couldn’t be helped.

“First, should we put on pants? No, let’s wash up first. I’ll clean up here…”

“…Okay.”

Ourr quietly entered the bathroom. She must have taken off her pants inside.

I found a mop and diligently cleaned the floor. When I finished, Ourr was standing beside me, staring.

“What? Go ahead and wash up first.”

“…Professor, aren’t you going to wash with me?”

Crouched on the floor, I looked up at Ourr. She was standing there, lightly holding my shoulder. She seemed to be urging me to join her, which left me dumbfounded.

I thought she would want to be alone right now, so I was trying to give her space, but Ourr was suggesting we bathe together as if that wasn’t necessary.

I wasn’t sure if this was the right thing, but since Ourr suggested it, I agreed.

“Would you like to wash together?”

Seeing Ourr silently nod, I smiled wryly, finished cleaning up, and headed to the bathroom with her.