My Idle System

Ten days had already passed.

In his office, Christian was resting his arm on the desk while supporting his head on his palm, and was dazing off as he looked at the front. Aside from all the screens filling the walls, there was also a large picture of him with Eva and his sister, with one sitting on his lap and the other hugging him from behind.

With how everyone was laughing in it, the picture seemed to evoke something deep inside him. And unable to bear the weight of his emotions, he suddenly dropped his head onto the desk, his forehead knocking against the hard surface.

Naturally, nothing happened to his head... but the desk?

It nearly broke from the impact.

Uncaring about the damaged furniture though, Christian turned his head to the side, his mind wandering as he seemed to wonder about something important.

Until when should he wait for her return?

... And why did he not take even a single picture of her before she left?

He, who had first busied himself with making Beta, then transitioned to working on Iris, and along the way was also studying a little about the puppet path, seemed to have grown far too bored with his solitary routine.

This kind of monotone life, with no real companion to share his thoughts with, was proving to be increasingly hard for Christian to endure.

"What are you doing?"

Against this sudden question that broke the silence, Christian unconsciously replied, "Nothing...?"

He suddenly paused a beat later, his eyes widening as he turned his head to the other side. There stood Anastasia, with her arms behind her back and tip-toeing playfully, a beaming smile lighting up her face.

He blinked his eyes repeatedly, seemingly not believing that she had finally returned after all this time.

And Anastasia, who saw his stunned reaction and clearly liked it, teasingly asked with a knowing smile, "Did you miss me?"

Christian didn't reply with words. Instead, he reached out and pulled her by her shoulders to his chest, wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace.

Her petite and warm body seemed to instantly warm up his dried heart, and that desperate need made him hug her even tighter, as if afraid she might disappear again.

At his obvious desperation, Anastasia didn't find it in herself to say anything teasing. In the end, she even wrapped her own arms around him, returning the embrace.

She wouldn't admit it out loud... but she was genuinely touched by his reaction.

At least until ten minutes later, when he still had not let her go even slightly.

"Are you not letting go anytime soon?" she asked, her voice carrying a hint of threat.

And Christian, while supporting his chin comfortably on her head, said in a content voice, "I don't want to though?"

Narrowing her eyes dangerously, Anastasia asked again with a noticeably colder tone, "You really want to be punished?"

Christian finally loosened his arms slightly, still keeping Anastasia trapped in his embrace but allowing her to pull back herself just enough to look at him properly. He smiled warmly and said, "This is enough, right?"

At his green eyes that were too close to hers, and at his nose that was even touching hers in their proximity, Anastasia wondered if it was finally time to draw a clear line, so he doesn't continue overstepping their boundaries like this.

But she didn't voice her thoughts, instead she moved in an unexpected way, wriggling from between his arms and settling herself on his lap.

Her sudden move... her sudden initiative surprised Christian quite a lot. But in the end, he just kept wrapping his arms around her waist, as his smile widened with genuine happiness.

Like that, time passed peacefully, with the silent Anastasia resting her head on his chest, her face serious as she thought about something important, and Christian simply appreciating this precious moment after the mundane twenty-five days he had spent completely alone.

"Why did you take such a long time until you came back?" Christian suddenly asked, unable to hide the complaint in his voice.

"A long time? It hasn't even been a month since I left. Did you think I was just popping over to the next town and back for groceries?" Anastasia replied in her sweet voice, though there was amusement in her tone. "I had important things to take care of in several different worlds, and that naturally takes time."

Her tone, which seemed to have a mix of mischievousness and pride behind it, made Christian wonder what exactly that outing had been for. But he still shoved that curiosity to the side and said instead, "Even then, how could you bear to leave your supposedly going-to-be disciple alone like this for so long?"

Then, in a deliberately grave tone, he added with concern, "What if that someone from the Light Order had attacked me while you were gone? And you came back only to find my corpse?"

"He can't," Anastasia replied in a firm and short response.

And Christian, while raising his eyebrow curiously, asked, "Why not?"

Did she leave some kind of protection on him?

He couldn't help but wonder about the possibilities.

"He just can't," Anastasia shook her head dismissively.

She didn't clarify the situation any further... as if there was some kind of important secret she was keeping.

When actually, the situation was quite simple — she meant her words literally.

"Anyway, what were you doing in my absence?" Anastasia asked, changing the subject.

And Christian didn't press the previous matter further, before he started giving her a detailed report of his actions, starting from the new android Beta.

He was still in the middle of speaking when Anastasia's eyes suddenly narrowed suspiciously, and she interrupted, "I see that this time, you made her younger and shorter than the last one."

Why are you making it seem as if I've done something I shouldn't have, like I was crossing some kind of moral line?

Christian's lips twitched slightly as he wondered about her accusation.

Anastasia's words clearly exaggerated the situation.

But while Beta was indeed shorter than Alpha, she was still around 160 centimeters in height - perfectly normal.

She was younger looking, alright, but she still appeared to be someone in her late teens, unlike Alpha who had possessed the charm of a mature woman, looking around her mid-twenties.

Christian didn't bother with saying all these clarifying details though, feeling they would only come across as excuses. And Anastasia asked again, "So, you spent all your time just making this one android?"

"Well, I also resumed working on my other android project, but that one takes considerably more time," he explained.

Christian continued giving her a detailed report about his various hardships and even about his recent study on the puppet path. He made it seem like he was having too hard of a time working alone. But naturally, that was not entirely true.

Anastasia, who seemed to have seen through his exaggeration though, didn't bother with calling him out on it. Instead, she said warmly, "If it's something about puppets, you can always ask me for guidance..."

Tapping his chest gently with her small finger, she smiled brightly and added, "After all, I'm back now."