She couldn't possibly be my daughter

And at that very moment.

The curtain leading to the backyard was slowly lifted.

Then a pink little baby emerged from the backyard, yawning as she toddled out in a sleepy daze.

(っ ̯ -｡)

The pair of furry ears on her head drooped, drowsy and dazed.

Pink, soft, fluffy, and adorable.

The female ghost's expression instantly froze. She stood motionless, like a statue.

"..."

An eerie silence spread unchecked through the surroundings.

"Who is she?" the female ghost asked blankly.

Lynn coughed and said seriously, "She's the baby the Pighead Demon gave birth to yesterday. Isn't she adorable?"

Bzz-

The female ghost's eyes went hollow.

Instinctively, she extended a long tentacle from her body and slowly reached toward the little girl. Once it drew close, she swiftly severed its tip.

As the severed tentacle fell to the floor.

It quickly wrapped around the little girl's leg like a tiny snake, then seeped into her with almost no resistance.

A perfect fusion.

There was no sign of rejection.

The female ghost shuddered, her gaze gradually going blank, because this meant that the adorable little girl with animal ears standing before her was the fragment that had fallen out of her body a month ago.

In other words.

She was her daughter.

But what kind of sick joke was this?!

She trembled.

Because under normal circumstances.

Even if that fragment of malice that had fallen from her body took physical form, it should have become an utterly twisted monster!

An Evil Spirit born into chaos and corruption, an unimaginably wicked being!

Slaughter! Malice! Resentment! Evil!

But why did this child seem to have absolutely nothing to do with evil or corruption?!

Watching the female ghost stare vacantly, her mind apparently crashing, Lynn quietly asked:

"System, explain."

[Ding! The Evil Spirit Blood Infant has completed her initial transformation. In accordance with the host's previous settings, she has been given a proper outlook on life and set of values. The Evil Spirit Blood Infant is currently in her juvenile stage.]

Then the Evil Spirit Blood Infant's description appeared before Lynn.

[Evil Spirit Blood Infant (juvenile stage)]

[Level: 10]

[Alignment]: Chaotic good

[Description]: Originally an infant Evil Spirit born of malice and resentment, her development changed course due to someone's interference. She now seems not quite so evil and corrupted...

[Current tameness: 351]

[Current fear: 591]

Lynn: "..."

"Attention!"

The little girl, who had still been wandering around in a sleepy daze, instantly jolted into a (;OдO) expression as if by conditioned reflex.

Tap-

Her little feet snapped together, her body straightened, and her wide eyes stared straight ahead. The tiny tot stood at perfect attention.

"Left face!"

The little baby immediately turned to face Lynn, standing perfectly straight with a ⊙﹏⊙ expression.

Her little tail kept swishing behind her.

Clearly, the psychological trauma and tameness from before her transformation were already etched into her bones.

Lynn: "..."

[So... so obedient...]

[Looks like this is what happens when tameness is maxed out.]

[This isn't looking good!]

The female ghost stared blankly at the scene, feeling her entire worldview collapse.

Lynn walked over, scooped up the little girl, and held her in front of the female ghost, saying earnestly:

"Ma'am, she really is a very healthy little girl. If you're certain she's your child, you can take her home from here whenever you like."

Then Lynn poked the little girl's soft cheek and said:

"Little one, say Mommy."

"Mommy."

The little girl blinked, seemingly sensing the strange connection between herself and the female ghost before her.

She leaned closer.

Slurp-

She stuck out her tongue and licked the ghost's face with a (๑＞︶＜๑) expression, leaving a little wet streak.

Female ghost: "!!!"

[Sanity value -10]

[Sanity value -10]

"Impossible! She couldn't possibly be my daughter..."

She murmured hollowly.

She felt as though both her worldview and her outlook on life had suffered a tremendous blow.

Because she was an amalgamation of evil spirits, a deformed Evil Spirit twisted into existence by countless strands of malice and hatred!

A daughter formed from a fragment of her body should only have been even more twisted and hideous than she was!

Trembling, she came back to her senses and looked into the girl's eyes.

Crack-

She felt something shatter inside her.

Purity...

She actually saw purity in the girl's eyes!

An Evil Spirit's eyes actually held something as terrifying as purity. That was definitely not a quality any normal creature of darkness should possess!

"Maybe it's just a disguise!"

She muttered to herself, "Just like how I often take the form of a beautiful woman to lure in prey. That's right! That has to be it!"

"Beneath that innocent exterior, there must be an evil, twisted soul!"

She murmured excuses to herself.

Slurp-

The little girl rose onto her tiptoes and left another wet streak on the ghost's face, her eyes brimming with sweetness.

Clearly, she too had sensed the close bond between herself and the female ghost before her.

The little girl lifted her head and affectionately rubbed her forehead against the female ghost with a (๑＞︶＜) expression.

"Yada-"

Bzz-

The female ghost went blank. The understanding she had only just managed to rebuild shattered into pieces with a crack.

[Sanity value -10]

[Sanity value -10]

"This shouldn't be happening..."

The female ghost said blankly:

"Under normal circumstances, an evil spirit fragment that falls out of my body should definitely take the form of something twisted. How could... how could..."

She abruptly turned her head, her vicious, furious gaze instantly falling on Lynn.

Countless tentacles swished toward him.

"Was this your doing?!"

[Ding! Danger level: 91%]

Seeing that she was about to attack him.

Lynn widened his eyes and decisively thrust the adorable Ghost Infant in his arms forward.

In an instant, the female ghost's vision was once again filled by the swaying little cutie with her (๑＞︶＜๑) expression.

Slurp-

The Ghost Infant stuck out her tongue and licked the tip of a tentacle in front of her.

"Yada~~"

[Ding! Danger level: 71%]

[Ding! Danger level: 61%]

[Ding! Danger level: 51%]

"Ah-ah-"

The female ghost clutched her head and shrieked, on the verge of a complete breakdown.

"Impossible! She couldn't possibly be my daughter! Absolutely impossible!"

This kind of emotional collapse was simply beyond an ordinary person's understanding.

It was like a soul that considered itself utterly hideous and filthy having a child blessed with beautiful qualities like purity and kindness. That was absolutely unacceptable to a hideous Evil Spirit!

[Ding! The host has triggered a quest: Evil Spirit Mommy]

[Quest description: Get the target to accept that the Blood Infant is her daughter, while eliminating the target's malice toward the host.]

[Quest rewards: Skeleton coins x300, base experience +100, Blood-Robed Evil Spirit favorability +50]

Lynn: "???"

This system really did seize every opportunity to dump all kinds of bizarre quests on him!

Still, if he wanted to get this Evil Spirit to stop bearing him ill will, this child really was his only way in.

Lynn cleared his throat, adjusted his monocle, and said earnestly:

"Ma'am, please calm down for a moment. Since you came here looking for your child, that means you must care about her very much. In that case..."

Lynn lifted the adorable baby in his arms.

"Shouldn't seeing such a cute, healthy daughter make you happy?"

Lynn hesitated.

The female ghost gave an angry sneer, forcibly suppressing her fury as she said, "Heh. Then let me ask you this: if you saw your own child grow up looking like a ghost, would you be happy?"

Lynn paused, then said, "Shouldn't I be?"

"..."

"..."