Three days later, Ren returned home with the Xenos child, naturally drawing Hestia's attention. Bell also came closer. For some reason, Wiene seemed more comfortable around Bell than Ren.
"Ren, this child is from another race. Bringing them home could cause a lot of trouble," Hestia whispered softly.
"Please forgive my stubbornness, Lady Hestia," Ren replied with a light smile.
"Of course, we are family after all," Hestia said firmly.
"Then there's no problem. I'll handle any other issues," Ren gave her a reassuring look.
"You handled the matter with Evilus, didn't you?" Hestia asked. In recent days, news had spread that Evilus had been wiped out. Thinking back to Ren going out at night a while ago, Hestia had her suspicions.
"Yes," Ren nodded.
"Ren, in the future, you can discuss things with me beforehand. I worry about you," Hestia said, stepping into Ren's embrace and speaking softly.
"All right," Ren felt the sincerity in her words and realized he might have been keeping some distance.
At night, above the black mist.
When he opened his eyes, Dungeon Ren found himself in a familiar place.
"Do you come here every few months?"
"Every few months? You're overthinking. I haven't been here in decades. I only appear when I almost forget," Overlord Ren said with a sigh. Even here, he appeared in his usual form as his character from the game.
"Where is this?" a man in a white lab coat appeared.
"A newcomer, just in time," Pirate Ren said. He no longer cared if he was being carried along; he only wanted to break through the world barrier with his talent, so he would no longer fear Imu.
"First things first, let's fist bump," Naruto Ren said without wasting words. Like Pirate Ren, he felt nervous. After the Akame Ren arc had ended, all that remained was enjoyment. Game Ren was living in a true era of peace—he could slack off without consequences.
Only the two anime Ren versions had a big boss secretly watching them. Until they resolved it, they wouldn't be at peace.
After sharing a fist bump, Detective Ren firmly grasped the newcomer's hand. Though he didn't appear often, his presence was felt in every world, mainly through his technology. Now he faced a bottleneck and was thrilled to see a counterpart from Academy City.
Magic Ren took a long moment to process the information. Looking at Detective Ren, he said, "You might be disappointed. Our research mainly focuses on AIM fields, which are tied to esper abilities."
"Do you want to gain superpowers?"
"Who wants to be Lv0? I don't have Imagine Breaker anyway." Ren sighed.
"Then try again when we get back. I want to see if I can break the barrier." The pirate Ren was eager to try. Coincidentally, the shared session ended just then.
Academy City—a massive experimental ground.
Ren opened his eyes. In front of him were computers and a pile of data. Espers (Ability Users) were created by science. Powerful ones had immense computational skills, but Ren had no connection to that.
He had come to this city hoping to become an Esper himself. But that was beyond his reach. He didn't give up, though, and turned to research.
Originally, he wanted to study the secrets of the Gemstones. Unexpectedly, he even had other selves hanging around in other worlds, which now allowed him to act freely.
"Ren, is the data I asked for organized yet?"
"I just woke up. It'll be ready soon, Shokuhou Misaki." Ren was the only researcher in the Artificial Room who hadn't been brainwashed. It wasn't because he was special, but because his past actions had impressed them.
"Really, hurry up. We just finished, and there's still a lot to do." Shokuhou Misaki, though only in the first year of middle school, already carried the presence of someone in charge.
"Yes, yes." Ren quickly organized the data. It was all previous research on Shokuhou Misaki. Even though they had already been brainwashed, she didn't want other researchers to look at her files, which kept Ren busy.
After finishing, Ren noticed that his mind felt clearer, his thoughts sharper. Organizing data had become much faster.
When work ended at night, Ren went out to find food. Shokuhou Misaki stayed inside, as usual. In the Artificial Room, she needed to slowly consolidate her control over the place. On the surface, she was still participating in the research.
"Honestly, why does a middle schooler need all this?" Ren rubbed his forehead. Despite his complaints, he had still brought all the cosmetics she requested.
After checking the supplies, Ren headed to the hospital where Dolly was admitted.
"Doctor, how is she?" Ren went straight to Heaven Canceller.
"She was brought in too late."
"Is she beyond saving?" Ren's heart tightened.
"She's alive." Reito sighed. He wasn't interested in the researchers, but when saving Dolly, she had talked to him like a friend about her daily life—including two girls and a researcher.
"That's great. Truly the best doctor in Academy City." Ren gave a thumbs-up.
"But understand this—her organs are deteriorating rapidly. Even though I've saved her now, she won't last three years." Heaven Canceller's expression was serious.
"I'm coming in."
"Researcher brother, you're here."
"Did you bring some dessert? Want some?" Ren sat down beside the hospital bed.
"Mm, I'd like to try some dessert." Dolly smiled happily.
Ren helped her sit up, leaning her against the pillow, and asked softly, "Can you move your arms?"
"The doctor's skills are amazing. I've fully recovered." Dolly did a little chest stretch to prove herself.
"That's good. It's all yours." Ren patted her little head. As a clone, Dolly's mind was actually like that of a child.
After coming to the hospital, she was curious about everything in the outside world and wanted to try all kinds of food, whether delicious or not. It was as if she wanted to experience everything at once.
"Rest well. I'll come see you tomorrow." Ren stood up after Dolly had eaten most of her dessert and helped her lie back down.
"Thank you, Brother Researcher." Dolly's gratitude was genuine. She didn't want to die. Even if her life might not be long, she wanted to live.
"It's nothing. They're all crazy. The doctor said you can be discharged in a couple of days." Ren sighed. He had been the one to take Dolly when she was on the brink of collapse.
At the meeting, when those people treated her like an experimental lab rat, he had been shocked. She had her own thoughts, yet due to production flaws, she could be discarded at any moment.
Of course, Ren understood that without this mindset, it would be impossible to conduct clone experiments safely in this academy city.
In the end, Ren found a way to take her in. Fortunately, he knew who in this academy could save her and sent her here for treatment.
Thankfully, Heaven Canceller hadn't disappointed him. Even though Dolly was in tatters and close to death, she had been saved.
Back in the artificial lab, they were immediately met with Shokuhou Misaki's scolding voice.
"You're too slow. Where did you go?"
"I have my own personal time too." Ren didn't tell her about Dolly. After all, Misaki hadn't been present when he handled Dolly, and he wasn't the type to seek credit.
Whether Misaki had previously hypnotized him to reveal the truth, he didn't know. Back then, he simply couldn't resist.
Taking her things, Shokuhou Misaki looked at Ren's back and murmured, "Really… what should I do about such a surprised look?"
**********
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