An Instant Dad

Upon hearing Little Red Riding Hood speak, both Nakiri and Jilan turned to look at her. This seemed to intensify Little Red Riding Hood's desire to perform, as she repeatedly opened her mouth, uttering only simple syllables like "mama" and "papa."

Erina Nakiri pointed at herself, somewhat incredulously, and said, "Me, Mom?"

Little Red Riding Hood's emerald green eyes brightened, and she nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"Mother!"

"Him, Dad?" Erina pointed her pale finger at Jilan Jiyu.

Little Red Riding Hood beamed and nodded vigorously, "Daddy!"

As she spoke, Little Red Riding Hood stretched out her hands toward Jilan, seemingly wanting Jilan to catch her. Just as the blanket on her body was about to fall off, Erina Nakiri blocked her view of Jilan, pulled her into her arms, and looked at Jilan with the same look she had for scum.

"He's not your father. What right does someone like him have to be called a father?"

Jilan coughed awkwardly, trying to forget Little Red Riding Hood's body, and began to analyze seriously. "Little Red Riding Hood seems to have no memories of the past, and her mind is like that of a newborn baby. She can only utter simple words like 'daddy' and 'mommy.' It's probably because she saw the two of us as soon as she opened her eyes, and instinctively recognized us as her parents..."

"Parents?"

Nakiri glanced at his own and Jilan's hair color and was instantly speechless. Indeed, he and Jilan, with their blond hair, were the only two people Little Red Riding Hood noticed at first glance. The three blond people standing together gave even Nakiri the illusion of a family of three, let alone Little Red Riding Hood.

But... Mother, I don't even have a boyfriend yet, and I've already become a mother. This is really hard to accept...

Nakiri looked down at Little Red Riding Hood, wanting to correct her current thinking before she fully formed the concept of "Mother Nakiri" in her mind.

But when Nakiri saw Little Red Riding Hood squinting her eyes and smiling happily like a cat being stroked, her heart softened, and the words she wanted to say remained on her lips. She was the one who had awakened Little Red Riding Hood, and even being Little Red Riding Hood's mother wasn't something Erina Nakiri was unwilling to do.

But... why is it that even though Little Red Riding Hood is in my arms, her eyes keep staring longingly at that guy Jilan?

Nakiri suddenly thought of a theory by Freud in psychoanalysis, the Electra complex, also known as the father complex. Girls subconsciously exhibit a dependence on their fathers, enjoy being with them, and adopt a hostile attitude towards their mothers, who are also women but occupy the father's affection.

Erina Nakiri's heart skipped a beat at this thought. She glanced at the obedient, still-moving Little Red Riding Hood in her arms and reassured herself, "How could that be? She's probably just showing curiosity about men who are different from her. She would never do something like matricide..."

Jilan also noticed that Little Red Riding Hood was watching her intently, her eyes filled with affection, as if Jilan were seeing a Persian cat wanting to be close to its owner.

Little Red Riding Hood's affection for Nakiri is easily explained; Nakiri revitalized Little Red Riding Hood's body, and she was the one who activated Little Red Riding Hood herself. It's only natural that she considers Nakiri her mother, just as Togepi also considers Misty her mother...

Although Jilan had some clues about her feelings of closeness, she wasn't actually sure.

At the Voyager exhibition, Alain said that Little Red Riding Hood had no independent thinking ability, could not speak or walk, and did not have a movement template. But now it seems that Little Red Riding Hood is actually just like a real human being, able to think, speak, and walk, and is no different from humans at all.

Alain was lying completely. The terms he used to describe Little Red Riding Hood, such as "Unit 1," "experimental subject," and "inferior product," were completely inapplicable. Little Red Riding Hood possessed a mind far purer than that of humans; she was actually closer to the legendary angel than any human could imagine.

Perhaps, Alain already regretted it when he created Little Red Riding Hood. Like the real Frankenstein, he stepped into the forbidden realm of creating humans under his own obsession. If he couldn't control this creature, then he had to destroy it. This might be the reason for Alain's obsession with Little Red Riding Hood.

When Jilan used the Hamon to examine Little Red Riding Hood 'Little Red Riding Hood body, he was surprised to find traces of Ambergris in her body. At the same time, he discovered that Little Red Riding Hood's vagus nerve seemed to have been deliberately severed, and all the nerves connected to her bodily functions had been harmed.

Jilan was thinking of making things difficult for Alain, so he deliberately used the power of Hamon to reconnect and repair the nerves, but later found that it still didn't work for Little Red Riding Hood. He was also too busy with other troubles to think about it and forgot about it.

In retrospect, he may have already repaired Little Red Riding Hood's nervous system, which was deliberately severed by Alain. However, because Little Red Riding Hood's body lacked any energy to sustain her survival, she remained in a dormant state, much like Nezuko, whose body lost its power due to her resistance to bloodsucking. It wasn't until Nakiri recharged her that her bodily functions were restarted.

Jilan mentally reviewed the events and concluded that his line of reasoning was correct. When he looked up, he saw that Nakiri had begun guiding Little Red Riding Hood to say simple words, one by one.

"I." "Hmm!"

"Most." Mouth!

"I like it." "Porridge!"

"Mommy!" "Mama!"

"Say it all out loud: I love my mom the most," Nakiri said very seriously.

Little Red Riding Hood tilted her head in confusion, then shouted, "I love my dad the most!"

Thump!

Erina Nakiri slammed her hand on the metal lab bench, but the recoil made her wince in pain. Nakiri looked at Jilan with a reproachful expression. "That's not how I taught her! Why is she still using the wrong object?"

"How would I know?" Jilan shrugged, feigning innocence.

Just then, Little Red Riding Hood reached out and took Nakiri's slightly swollen hand, gently rubbing the reddened area, rubbing her face against it, and then smiled at Nakiri, "Mommy... likes it..."

Nakiri seemed to have been struck in the heart; his face flushed crimson, and he quickly withdrew his hand, muttering softly, "Even if you say that, I won't be happy!"

Little Red Riding Hood seemed confused, wondering why her mother had suddenly pulled her hand away, so she reached out again to try and take Erina Nakiri's hand—

But before that, Nakiri placed his hands on Little Red Riding Hood's shoulders, took a deep breath as if making a decision, and said earnestly, "The nickname 'Little Red Riding Hood' represents your past. I don't care what your past was like. I only know that from today onwards, I am your mother. Therefore, I am going to give you a new name—"

"Fran Green, that's your name."

Fran is short for Frankenstein, and Green represents Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty from the Green's Fairy Tales.

"Fran Green...?"

Fran pointed to herself, smiled, and said her name, repeating it happily several times, seemingly very satisfied with it.

"Jilan, Fran is also your daughter. Do you have any complaints about this name?" Nakiri turned to Jilan and asked, though she made it seem as if she wouldn't change it even if Jilan objected.

"... Of course not, it's very fitting." Jilan shrugged with a wry smile. Since his mother and daughter had already accepted the name, what could he, the adoptive father, possibly complain about?

I never expected to become a father... I just hope my daughter won't let me down this time.