Like it caught the gist of her words, the pulsating sound stopped. Noah made a sound like air seeping from a tire as she held the nucleus in her hand. Then she turned around from the glass platform.

“Muell.”

When she called the name of her precious child, a thick vibration was sent from the roof of the Protection Bureau’s annex. His body movement was vividly conveyed through his senses as he sluggishly sunbathed on the roof. The next moment the closed door of the research lab slammed wide open.

“Noah!”

With a shiny lanyard displaying his new ID card, he jumped into the room. Noah gave a serious glare as he approached her.

“Now is the time, Muell.”

Muell, who was trying to hug her with a big smile, stopped, giggling. Then, copying her, he changed the expression and stance on his face: Fiercely narrowed eyes, clenched fists.

“Should I bring it out, Noah?”

With no need for an explanation through words, the two were a good team. Noah took a deep breath and nodded.

“…yep. Bring it out.”

As soon as she gave the signal, a part of the air distorted and trembled. A multi-colored cloud spun, creating a whirlpool shape. It was a round yellow doorknob, shaped just like a plastic toy.

Although what appeared was like that, Noah recognized the shape of the doorknob at once. A tiny dimensional pocket just for Muell, which he had used multiple times in the past, for throwing in things he didn’t need, taking things out that he needed, etc. A doorknob that led to subspace. Noah didn’t hesitate anymore and grabbed it.

Park Noah had returned as Park Noah, and Adrian had returned as Adrian, so now was the time for Eleonora to return to her original body.

***

The sun was starting to sink below the horizon when Noah popped out of Muell’s subspace. Considering that the days have been getting longer as the summer slowly crept in, this meant that she had spent quite a long time there.

Noah grumbled, drying her wet hair and body by standing out in the dry wind.

“Muell, you got that seawater from when you returned from the Angelic, right? Why did you fill it up so much? It totally surprised me.”

“Heh-heh. I brought it back because the sea was so pretty and fresh. ”

“…then what is up with that pile of stone pebbles? I was almost crushed to death by them.”

“Those are pebbles that Uncle Kyle prepared to trick dealers when he left the mine!”

His subspace was literally five minutes before the mess had happened. This was because everything that Noah and Muell had bought during their trips together and everything Noah and Kyle had asked for were mixed up, cramming the space.

The blanket that she had covered Muell with in Sorrent and a baby bottle for him; Laurent’s West Sea, connecting Botswana and Tezeba; one ton of pebbles from Novischosha; hundreds of sleeping fairies crouched between the pebbles; thirty pieces of clothing Noah had bought right before she teleported to Harrell.

Muell’s short three months of life were all in the subspace. And most of those things were related to Noah.

Her affection for the lovely little dragon rose inside her.

“My lovely Muell, when are you going to stop being so cute, huh?”

Feeling bashful, his cheeks blushed. Lifting the dragon, Noah hugged him and kissed his cheek. All right. I have to take care of my baby, she thought.

“Still, come take care of this seawater. I almost drowned… Achoo!”

She sneezed despite there not being a single drop of water on her body anymore. Nosebleed, runny nose, and everything in between. After setting Muell down, she felt around inside the box for a tissue or handkerchief.

“I shouldn’t get sick. I’ll get chewed out again…”

“I guess you know that you will be scolded.”

Pop~ She almost ruptured an eardrum while blowing her nose with a slightly used handkerchief. Looking behind her, she discovered Kyle dressed in a detective suit, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed.

“J-Jesus Christ! When did you get here?”

“From when you came out of the subspace upside down covered in water.”

Of all places… of all times…

For nearly four days, Kyle had come to pick her up after finishing his work at the main building of Aijet. His normal time of arrival was 10 p.m.; midnight if he was running late.

He straightened up his leaning body. Then, squinting his eyes ever so narrowly, he meticulously scanned her face and body.

“What’s in subspace that makes you come out looking like a rat stuck in the rain?”

“There are hot springs there. Very warm, oh, the steam is so good for your—”

“Let’s stop talking nonsense.”

“I’m telling the truth.”

Noah casually ignored him as she immediately lifted Muell and hugged him. Muell, who had grown to be five years old, had become much heavier than before, so it took too much effort for her to lift him. But her confidence was boosted when she had him in her arms like this.

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