Random in Life, Scripted in Death

"Child's Father~! I have some unfortunate news for you. Our daughter's gone missing again..."

Bubble's voice message echoed through the empty Central Machine Room, and cold sweat instantly broke out all over me.

"Don't tell me that kid came running over here!"

Without another word, I connected to Shadow City through a transdimensional link. Although Bubble had sent a one-way text message, I bet that girl was plugged into the communications network every second of every day. It had nothing to do with responsibility, but everything to do with her N-cheat battlefield. Sure enough, the moment Spiritual Connection sent the signal over, Child's Mother's giggling, slightly depressed voice rang out in my head. "If she hadn't gone to your place, why would I be looking for you?"

"When did she go missing?" I urgently ordered the troops stationed throughout Atlantis to keep a close watch on every intersection so they could spot Little Pao Pao at any time—though, given the Little Princess's uncanny ability to appear and disappear without a trace, that would be difficult—while anxiously asking.

Bubble sounded deeply aggrieved. "A few minutes ago. I was teaching her how to type with her hands instead of rolling her face around on the keyboard. Then some bastard hacked one of my Orange Staffs. After I logged into more than two hundred accounts and made him ragequit, the kid was gone. I checked the Time-Space Administration's data afterward, and she went to your side~"

I fell silent for several seconds, nearly shedding tears. "Bubble, are you really the child's biological mother?"

"Dear, are you questioning my loyalty to you?" Bubble's voice carried a faint note of grievance.

"...Get your logic straight before you say that!"

"Oh, right. I forgot I gave birth to the child myself..."

After talking to Bubble for