What fell from the sky was a little girl, or perhaps an infant, a pacifier dangling from her lips, appearing to be barely a year old. Her rosy cheeks were like carved jade, utterly adorable.

Lin Luo had witnessed quite a few things fall from the heavens in his time—Icarus, stellar bursts, and the like—but a year-old girl descending from the sky was something he had never imagined. Thus, seeing it now left him momentarily stunned.

Lin Luo gazed at the small girl opposite them, and she looked back, her dark eyes blinking rapidly, her face alight with curiosity.

And so, the three of them stood in a silent standoff, locking eyes.

As he stared, Lin Luo inexplicably felt a nascent sense of familiarity toward the little girl. A quick moment of reflection brought a realization: when he first met Mei Dream in Gensokyo, he had felt this exact way, hadn't he?

Could this girl also be his daughter?

Lin Luo abruptly considered this possibility, though it immediately felt wrong. This girl looked to be about one year old, if not exactly that age. Yet, only a month had passed when he left the Bright World for Gensokyo; it was impossible for anyone to give birth to a one-year-old daughter in a mere month.

Even going back to the Accel World timeline, it hadn't been nearly a year.

This meant that if this girl truly was his offspring with one of his Hosts, it must have happened after his death, while he was lingering in the post-death realm or during the Type-Moon era a thousand years ago. But if that were the case, after returning from that ancient Type-Moon period back to the Bright World, he had met nearly all his Hosts. If any of them had a child, they certainly wouldn't have kept it secret from him.

If it wasn't that, then what explained this powerful, connected feeling in his blood?

“Hey, another one of your daughters?” Kaguya glanced at the little girl for a moment, then nudged Lin Luo with her elbow, her voice tinged with a distinct, sour note.

Lin Luo was too preoccupied wrestling with the mystery of the girl's existence to notice the jealousy in Kaguya’s tone. He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Kaguya paused, but being as sharp as she was, she quickly deciphered the special implication behind those four words. Her demeanor darkened instantly, and she spoke with veiled sarcasm. “Oh dear, can’t you tell from her features who she resembles? The one she looks most like must be her mother.”

“She’s such a little thing, how can you tell who she looks like?” Lin Luo dismissed the idea easily.

“So, you mean there are many women who could possibly be her mother, which is why you can’t judge?”

“That’s not exactly—wait. Dark! She’s turning dark!” Lin Luo stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing Kaguya’s tone had shifted. He instinctively looked over and was startled: swirling black mist, thick with killing intent, billowed behind Kaguya, resembling the furnace used by a witch brewing potions.

“What’s dark?” Kaguya asked, sitting upright with her hands resting on her knees. She smiled warmly, the dense black fog having vanished without a trace.

“…” Lin Luo was speechless. Black-bellied women were truly terrifying. The descent into darkness was swift, and the recovery just as quick.

Lin Luo sighed, weary. “Although I don’t know what you were implying just now, whether this girl is my daughter is still an unknown. I think it’s best we ask her first… hmm?”

As Lin Luo spoke, he suddenly noticed that the little girl opposite them, perhaps sensing Kaguya’s recent burst of darkness and growing frightened, rolled over, crawled to the corner of the bed, pulled her knees up, and then tugged at the air beside her. Instantly, clouds enveloped her, revealing only the area above her eyes, allowing her to continue observing them with those bright, dark eyes.

The girl’s timid posture was truly heartbreakingly endearing.

“See, you scared her,” Lin Luo immediately turned to admonish Kaguya.

Kaguya rolled her eyes at him. “I think it’s because you look too scary that you frightened her.”

“That makes no scientific sense!”

“Right,” Kaguya said, pointing to the cloud covering the girl. “Did you notice, she seems very adept at using these clouds.”

“Mmm… indeed. In that case, she must be from the Sky City,” Lin Luo nodded. While Kaguya had shaped this particular cloud into a bed, there were no blankets originally. The little girl had simply grabbed the cloud mass beside her and used it as a cover, indicating she was clearly accustomed to it.

Furthermore, while deformed clouds were common in the skies of the Bright World, only people from Sky City and the Dragon Clan knew how to truly manipulate them. Since the little girl carried no draconic aura, where she lived was obvious.

Living in Sky City, coupled with that intimate connection he felt in his blood… based on these two points alone, the girl’s true identity seemed almost self-evident. Yet, Lin Luo still couldn’t grasp whose child she was.

Lin Luo tried running through a mental inventory of the women he had slept with, listing them out—phew—it was complicated. The ones he’d encountered most recently, like Misaka Mikoto, Tokisaki Kurumi, or even some others, were all people he had only slept with after returning to the Bright World post-resurrection, which wasn't enough time to bear a child. As for Artoria, she had given birth to a son.

Excluding them, the timelines that fit were only Misaka Mikoto, Rin Tohsaka, and LeFay. However, LeFay was the first Host he met after returning to the Bright World, and they had even visited the world of the Weapon Race together; there was no mention of a child then, so it couldn't be her.

It was the same with Misaka Mikoto. If she had a child, she wouldn't have hidden it when they returned to the world of A Certain Magical Index. Even if she wanted to hide it, her personality wouldn't allow it.

This left Rin Tohsaka as the most likely candidate.

After returning from the Type-Moon era of a thousand years ago, Rin Tohsaka was the Host he hadn't seen. Even if she had conceived, there would have been no opportunity to tell him. Since he last saw her, she had matured considerably, whether it was just her hairstyle or her aura; it seemed plausible that this change was due to the added responsibility of motherhood.

However, if she truly had a child, why was there no news of it in Sky City? Such a thing couldn't possibly be kept secret, right? And during the recent battle with the Dragon God, she hadn't mentioned anything about a child... So, concluding that this girl was hers felt too presumptive.

After all this contemplation, Lin Luo still couldn't find an answer. This frustration mounted momentarily, until he slapped his forehead—How foolish! The subject of the inquiry was right in front of him; why was he guessing wildly? He should just ask her directly who her mother was!

With that realization, Lin Luo immediately composed himself, forcing an exceedingly gentle expression onto his face. He spoke softly to the little girl. “Little sister, what is your name?”

If Lin Luo hadn’t asked, it might have been fine. But the moment he did, the little girl, who had only been sitting with her knees drawn up, curled in even tighter. She pulled the cloud tighter around herself, leaving only her two dark eyes peeking out, nervously assessing him.

“…” The smile on Lin Luo’s face instantly froze.

“Hahahaha!” Beside him, Kaguya burst into unrestrained laughter, abandoning all pretense of ladylike composure. “See? I told you. You look too frightening, that’s what scared her.”

“Nonsense! She’s just a little one, perhaps a bit shy around strangers,” Lin Luo awkwardly manufactured an excuse. The notion that he would frighten a child was absolutely impossible, he maintained.

Then again, this little girl was far too timid. She dared to fall from the sky... Wait, why did she fall from the sky?

Lin Luo was preoccupied with this question. How could such a tiny child end up higher than they were? And after falling, she didn't cry or fuss; her silence was unnervingly complete. Also... if he hadn’t happened to pass by and catch her, would she have died from the impact?!

The thought sent a chill down his spine, but for now, those questions would have to wait. Clarifying her origins was the most crucial task.

“What’s your plan?” Kaguya asked, noticing the girl remained completely hidden, acting as if she’d rather die than come out. There was a noticeable hint of schadenfreude in her voice.

“Don’t worry, I have a secret weapon.”

Kaguya asked curiously, “What secret weapon?”

“Hmph, naturally, it is the ultimate weapon tailored for all lolis under the age of twelve, and occasionally effective even against young women over twelve, capable of sending them into irredeemable despair!” Lin Luo declared with absolute certainty, then reached into his storage space and pulled an object into his hand.

“Its name is… Lollipop!”

“…” Kaguya was utterly speechless. Watching Lin Luo’s smug expression, she genuinely couldn't fathom what use a mere lollipop could possibly have.

Sensing Kaguya’s evident disdain, Lin Luo sneered, “Hmph hmph, don’t underestimate the power of a lollipop. There is absolutely no loli in this world it cannot subdue…”

At this point, Lin Luo glanced at the girl opposite him. Alright, given her age, she wasn't even a loli, barely a toddler—at best, a large infant. But the younger they were, the greater the lethal effect of the lollipop.

“Then show me,” Kaguya said, amused, eager to watch him try after his grand boast.

“It shall be done.”

Lin Luo took a deep breath, as if charging power for a finishing move, and extended the lollipop toward the little girl. “Look here, little sister, Uncle… big brother has a lollipop for you, it’s very delicious, come on, be a good girl, come out now.”

“So shameless,” Kaguya muttered, thoroughly contemptuous of Lin Luo claiming to be her 'brother.'

Lin Luo acted as if he hadn't heard, continuing to coax the girl. He had to admit, the lollipop’s appeal was considerable. Moreover, since he prepared lollipops specifically to deal with numerous foodies, these were all highly appealing in color, scent, and taste. After his efforts, the little girl finally seemed tempted. She slowly pulled back the cloud covering her and crawled out.

“Wow, she really came out!” Kaguya exclaimed quietly at the sight.

Lin Luo turned toward Kaguya and smiled triumphantly.

But!

It proved Lin Luo had celebrated too soon. When he looked back, he nearly froze entirely, because... while the lollipop had lured the girl out, her interest lay only in the candy. She snatched the lollipop from Lin Luo’s hand with surprising speed, immediately turned around, expertly crawled back to her original spot, curled up, pulled the clouds back over herself, and hid again.

Lin Luo was dumbfounded.

Kaguya was dumbfounded.

After a moment, Kaguya was the first to recover. She clamped a hand over her stomach, stifling a laugh until tears almost sprang to her eyes, sputtering, “That was… truly impressive. I admit... I admit the lollipop worked, but conversely… you seem to have been utterly useless, hahahaha.”

“…” Lin Luo felt utterly humiliated. As a renowned Friend of Lolis, a man whom countless little girls supposedly begged to marry, he had just been brushed off by a toddler. This was beyond unreasonable!

“That was just a fluke, watch this,” Lin Luo desperately tried to salvage his pride, pulling out another lollipop and offering it to the girl. He launched into a fresh barrage of coaxing words.

A girl barely a year old obviously couldn't see through Lin Luo’s trickery, and she was swayed again by the lollipop. She slowly crawled out. This time, Lin Luo didn't divide his attention. He maintained a facade of warmth and patiently waited for his prey to fall into the trap.

A while later, just as the little girl extended her chubby little hand toward the lollipop, Lin Luo seized his chance and scooped her up, laughing, “Little—”

“WAAAAAH!!!!”

Before Lin Luo could finish saying ‘little sister,’ the girl he held up erupted into a sky-splitting wail. It was unimaginable that such piercing cries could come from the previously silent child. Tears streamed down her face as she cried with profound despair.

Lin Luo was scared witless and instinctively let go. The little girl instantly stopped crying, like a rabbit escaping a wolf's jaws, and scrambled back to her spot—thump-thump—oh, and while she was at it, she snatched the lollipop from Lin Luo’s hand as well.

“…” Lin Luo stared at his empty hand, then at the little girl who had hidden herself so thoroughly she resembled a groundhog. He was completely speechless.

He had initially assumed she was simply shy due to her young age, which was why she wouldn't talk to them or approach strangers. But Lin Luo no longer believed that assessment. Setting aside her soprano-level crying and her rabbit-like agility, the sheer cunning required to pilfer the lollipop while he was startled proved this girl was no innocent lamb.

Such deviousness at such an early age—what would she become when she grew up?!

A monster!

This child was definitely a demon! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (.com) to cast recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.) .RT

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