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nJohn was in the middle of decorating Alpha’s celebratory cake when he noticed Beta pull out her phone in the corner of his eye. He paused and lowered the icing tube he held in his hand before saying, “What’s up, Betty? Did something happen?”

n“Hm?” Beta glanced back at him and shook her head. “It is nothing, Father. Simply an idle project that I am working on for fun.” Slipping her phone into her pocket, Beta turned back to the cutting board in front of her and returned to chopping up ingredients for an omelet.

n“Gotcha.” John nodded and shifted his attention back to what he was making as well.

nA three-tiered cake, frosted with whipped white chocolate ganache. Sprinkles of dark chocolate dotted the sides, and red velvet icing ringed each layer. In short, a cake that reflected the colors representing Alpha.

nJohn picked up the icing tube that he left on the table and then carefully leaned over the top of the cake. Squeezing out the black icing, he quickly wrote ‘Congrats on your debut Alphy!’ on the top. Before the writing was ruined by a blob of icing, John whipped the tube away, stopping the stream with his finger to ensure there weren’t any accidents.

nBeta scooped a row of minced green onions into a bowl with her knife and then glanced over at John. Specifically, she glanced over at the cake and the spread of pastries and baking ingredients on the counter beside him. Smiling, she said, “You are overdoing it as usual, I see.”

nJohn placed a little carved sugar figurine of Alfi on the top of the cake along with a tiny fondant flag and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

nBeta shook her head and then pulled out a metal bowl. Cracking a few eggs into it, she whisked in the minced green onions and then turned on the stove to warm up a skillet.

nSeeing that, John brushed his hands along his apron and then took a look around.

nAfter Alphy’s request, the group went downstairs into the modern kitchen area that John had made last time to prep the meal to placate Kai and Sakura.

nJohn carefully slid the finished cake off to the side and walked over to the oven to check on the tray of chocolate chip cookies he had placed in earlier. There were still a few minutes left to wait, so he turned around to check on Alphy and the others.

nSince it was Alphy’s request to celebrate for her debut stream, John had gone all out to accommodate his adorable eldest daughter. To that end, because there weren’t really any places to relax down in the kitchen area, John had repurposed the corner of the room with giant beanbags, a flat-screen TV from his gaming setup, and a small table to place things on.

nAt the moment, Alpha was plopped onto a pink bean bag, dressed snug in her panda pajamas while playing on her Mintendo Switch.

nRin was lying upside down on an orange bean bag next to Alpha, playing with her own Mintendo Switch. And like her self-proclaimed nee-chan, Rin was wearing a pajama set. Unlike Alphy’s though, hers was an orange cat.

nAnd finally there was Asako. Similarly to the other girls, she was seated on a giant bean bag, hers a soft blue, and playing a Mintendo Switch. And also like the other girls, Asako had changed into a pajama set, a fluffy one with a blue dragon hood.

n…John wasn’t entirely sure where Asako managed to get the extra Mintendo Switch and pajama set, but he wasn’t about to question it when they all seemed to be snuggled in and relaxing.

nFrom the chill music drifting over, it seemed like the three were playing Animul Crossing together. A nice and calming game to unwind.

n“It seems that they are getting along well, Father.”

nJohn glanced back and noticed that Beta was staring at him. He nodded and then made his way over to the refrigerator, pulling out a gallon of whole milk and a pot. “They’re getting along surprisingly well.” Placing the latter on a nearby stove, he uncapped the gallon and poured some milk into the pot before turning on the heat. After that, he glanced at Alpha and the others and said, “If I didn’t know better, I’d believe that they were actually sisters.”

nRin was the centrepin of it all, but Alphy and Asako were getting along now because of her. Like two older siblings playing with their youngest sister.

nIt was great. After all, they were all going to be working together in the future. Having the bond build up now would only be good.

nThough…

nJohn looked at Beta and said, “Any reason why you’re not joining them, Betty?”

nBeta poured her bowl of whipped eggs into the skillet and then grabbed a few slices of cheese, tossing them in. “Why would I do that when I have the opportunity to spend quality time cooking with Father?”

nJohn paused in the middle of grabbing a bowl of crushed chocolate and then narrowed his eyes. “Are you up to something? I feel like you’re trying to scam me here.”

nIt wasn’t anything concrete. And Beta didn’t have any reason to trick him. But his instincts honed from countless years getting wrapped up into trouble with women were telling him that something was off with his dear Betty.

nShe laughed and flicked the skillet, closing the omelet. “You are worrying too much, Father.” She slid the omelet onto a plate and then poured in another batch of her eggs. “I truly just prefer spending time with you over the others. After all, within a few days your free time will become extremely scarce.”

nJohn sighed and dumped the chocolate into the pot of milk. Pulling out a wooden spoon, he started stirring the mix and said, “You just had to remind me, didn’t you?”

nNow that Alfi Titor had been revealed, the next step to finish the first stage of Project MirAIs was to get started on Asako’s debut at the end of next week.

nThat, of course, meant that he would have to gather all the promotional material, edit another PV, setup the timer, make the model for Asako and get her input on what she wanted to do…

nNot to mention all of the promotion work he’d have to start up with the various media outlets. And the first of those were coming up on Monday already, an interview request by Gotaku.

nThankfully there hadn’t been anybody bothering him about the yakuza. It seemed like Maji and the others were handling that well. And it also seemed like Alphy and Betty hadn’t noticed, so that was another plus.

nBut a giant minus to it all was that John still needed to go check out the places for his reservations too. Titor had reserved them all, but it was still important for him to visit in person to confirm that the places were as advertised.

nIt’d be terrible if the trip he was planning to make it up to his beloved wife was spoiled when they arrived and the place looked nothing like the screenshots and pictures online.

n“Father? The chocolate is burning.”

n“Oh crap!” John quickly took the pot off the stove and reversed time for the fresh hot chocolate a few minutes to the perfect temperature. After whisking it a few times with the spoon to make sure that it was like how he wanted it to be, John let out a sigh of relief and poured it out into three tall mugs. “Thanks, Betty.”

n“As always, you are welcome, Father.” Beta smiled and then slid another cooked omelet onto a plate before placing the skillet down. Instead of more eggs, she pulled out a pile of diced potatoes and poured those onto the skillet along with some minced bacon.

nJohn walked over to the oven and checked on the chocolate chip cookies. Thankfully, he remembered just in time before they started burning up. Again, he did a bit of cheating and spun back time on the cookies to the perfect moment before pulling out the tray and setting them off to the side. After that, he sighed and said, “Just what would I do without you, Betty?”

nBeta tended to the skillet and said, “You would manage.”

nJohn blinked and then said, “Er… What happened to the whole ‘tell that to Mistress’ and ‘I appreciate the sentiment’ Betty?”

nShe rolled her eyes and said, “You wish to become a responsible adult to reassure Mistress, do you not? Then it is about time that I respond appropriately instead of babying you.”

nJohn blinked again and then let out a long sigh. “So my dear Betty is finally thinking about becoming independent, huh?”

nBeta looked amused. “I would not go that far, Father. But you seem troubled at the thought.” She glanced back and said, “Pray tell. Just how terrified would you be if I brought back a man?”

nJohn froze. “B-Betty? You’re joking, right? Right? Y-You haven’t been… That’s…”

nThoughts flashed through his mind. Recent events played back and his mind jumped to the worst conclusion. And then his eyes flicked towards Beta’s abdomen.

nSeeing that, she rolled her eyes and said, “Relax, Father. I am joking.”

n“Are you? Because that’s not a funny joke.”

nBeta flicked her wrist, tossing up the potatoes in the skillet to stir them a few times. “I am. And just who do you think I am, Father? If I were to get involved with a lover, I would at the least inform you ahead of time. Who do you think I am? You?”

nJohn grabbed a spatula and began carefully arranging the cookies in a heart on a silver platter. “No. But you *are* my biological daughter. Even more so than Alphy because I used half of my lifeblood to make your initial core and body.”

nBeta placed the skillet back down and lowered the heat. “I am well aware of that fact, Father.” She grabbed a bowl of shredded cheddar and carefully sprinkled it over the skillet before saying, “But I am also not nearly as dense nor idiotic around other people as you are around women.”

n“Harsh.”

n“I simply state the facts, Father.”

nJohn went to check on the mugs of hot chocolate. Seeing that they were at the perfect temperature to drink and enjoy the warmth without risk of burning tongues, he used some of the left over white chocolate ganache to top off the mugs before placing them alongside the platter of cookies.

nThat done, he picked it up and turned around, preparing to deliver a round of snacks to the girls relaxing in the corner.

nAnd then he caught sight of the towering pile of pastries that he had made.

nFrosted donuts, eclairs, creampuffs, pies, brioche, French toast, piles of pancakes…

n“Er…” He glanced back at Beta and said, “I think I see what you mean about me overdoing it. Do you think it’ll be fine?”

nBeta set the skillet off to the side and then turned around, brushing off her hands on her apron. Glancing at the pile of sweets, she nodded and said, “Worry not, Father. In the event that there are leftovers, I will be more than adequate to dispose of them.”

n“…So in other words, you’re going to sneak off with the leftovers and pig out in your room.”

nBeta flushed and said, “T-That is not true. I would never be so uncouth as to do such a thing as ‘pig out’ in my room.”

nJohn raised an eyebrow. “But you *are* planning to eat whatever’s left.”

nBeta cleared her throat and said, “I simply have a… fondness for sweets.”

n“Heh. ‘Fondness’ is putting it lightly. I seem to recall that a certain someone once polished off my entire sugar candy pantry by herself when she was younger.”

nBeta flushed and said, “T-That was one time, Father. And I was in dire need of energy at the time. The high energy yield of such sugary sweets were simply the most effective means of replenishing my reserves.”

n“Sure. Whatever you say, Betty.” John smiled and said, “Just be glad that you’re my daughter and not completely human. Otherwise, with how much you enjoy sugar and with how much you eat, you’d be at least twice your current size.”

nBeta huffed and said, “Rude! I will have you know that I am active enough that even were I an ordinary human, I would still be fit. And besides, all of the energy is stored in my chest.”

n“Right.” John lowered his gaze and said, “Chest.”

nBeta nodded. “Yes. My chest.”

nJohn sighed and said, “It’s a good thing that I’m your father. Pretty sure that the heavens would strike you down for such an unfair physique otherwise.”

n“Eh?”

n“Nothing.” John shook his head and then started walking over to the girls. “Keep an eye on the rest of the dishes for me. I’m going to deliver our resident idols their rations.”

nBeta nodded. “Worry not, Father. I would never allow such delicacies to become ruined.”

n“…Because you’re going to finish them all off later, right?”

n“…”

nJohn chuckled and then headed over to Alphy and the others.

nRin was the first to notice him. Quickly spinning around back in her bean bag to right herself, she smiled and waved. “Is everything finished, Mister John?”

n“Not quite yet. But I brought some snacks for you girls in the meantime.” He smiled and set the platter of cookies and the hot chocolate mugs on the table. After that, he started passing out the mugs of hot chocolate. “First off, my lovely Alphy. Your favorite drink.”

nAlpha set her game console off to the side and took the mug from John with a bright smile on her face. “Thanks, Papa.”

n“Next, the always bubbly and bright Miss Rin.”

nRin giggled and said, “Thanks, Mister John!”

n“And finally… the cool and reliable Aneue, Miss Asako.” John handed her the last mug and said, “Here you are.”

nAsako took it and frowned. “I forget. Does Japan have laws against cruel and unusual punishments? Because you’re seriously torturing me here.”

nJohn blinked and then he remembered what Asako admitted last time. He rubbed the back of his neck and said, “Er, sorry about that.”

nAsako sighed and took a sip of her hot chocolate. And then she bit back a moan and sighed again.

nJohn cleared his throat and said, “Looks like you girls are having a good time playing together, but is there anything you need?” He shifted his gaze to Alpha. “Alphy?”

nShe smiled back and shook her head. “I’m more than happy as it is, Papa. But thank you.”

nRin took a sip from her hot chocolate and then grinned, a bit of the white chocolate on her nose. “That’s right! We’re doing great, Mister John!”

n“Ah.” Alpha reached over and brushed off Rin’s nose with her sleeve. “You got some of the cream on your nose, Rin.”

n“Oh! Thanks, Nee-chan!” She nodded at Alpha and then turned back to John. “Anyway, did you know? Aneue is really good at managing money!” She placed her mug off to the side and picked up her game console, turning it around. “See? Since she’s joined our island, we’ve finally gotten enough money to buy everything!”

nJohn blinked. He didn’t understand the currency in the game very well since he had never played it or the original back on his Earth, the fact that it had reached six figures was enough for him to get a gist of it. “That’s amazing.” He turned back to Asako and said, “I didn’t expect you to be good at these type of games.”

nAsako shrugged. “It’s simple business. I *do* have a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from overseas. Manipulating the economy in a kid’s game like this is trivial. It’s a nice change of pace though.”

n“…I am suddenly suffering severe regret for having you as an idol instead of management.”

nAsako shrugged. “I’m already looking forward to playing up the idol role, so tough luck. Gotta say though.” She glanced down at her mug and said, “This is surprisingly good. Other than being…” She glanced at Rin and then said, “…You know. Do you moonlight as a master chef or something?”

nAlpha scoffed. “Calling my father a ‘master’ would be understating his abilities. If he declared himself number two, nobody would dare to declare themselves number one.”

nAsako looked at Alpha and then laughed. “You really are a Daddy’s girl, aren’t you, ‘Alphy’?”

nAlpha flushed and then crossed her arms. “A-And why are you saying that like it’s a bad thing? Papa is the best father in the entire world- No, all of existence!”

nSeeing his eldest daughter act so cute again made John want to tease her, so he smiled and said, “Oh really? I distinctly remember my dear daughter calling me a terrible father just over a week ago…”

nAlpha flinched and quickly stood up. “T-That’s… I was… Um, Papa! Don’t… I mean…”

nJohn laughed reached over to ruffle Alpha’s hair. “I’m just messing with you, Alphy. I’m happy you think so highly of me though.”

nAlpha flushed and lowered her gaze. “Papa… You meanie.”

nJohn smiled. And then he froze when he sensed a pair of sharp gazes on his back. He blinked and turned around towards them, confused at who could be so hostile. And then he was more confused when he saw the identity of the gazes.

nRin and Asako were staring at him with narrowed eyes and crossed arms. It was an eerie synchronicity, and one that made the two look like real sister instead of just self-proclaimed sisters.

nLike, there was a real family resemblance in their sharp eyes and cold glares.

n“Hooh?” That was Asako.

n“…Jealous.” That was Rin.

nJohn blinked. When he did, the sharp gazes were gone, as if they never happened. And in fact, if he wasn’t absolutely certain of his memory, he would have thought he was imagining things.

nBut before he could question it, Beta called out. “Father! Everything is ready!”

nJohn decided to let the moment pass and instead glanced back at the girls. “Alright everyone. Let’s go celebrate. Hope you’re all hungry, because there’s a lot of sweets and goodies to eat.”

n“Yes!” Rin jumped out of her bean bag. “I’ve been waiting for this!”

nAsako stood up after her and said, “Relax, Rin. It’s not like the food’s going anywhere.”

nAnd then Alpha stood up. Seeing the pile of pastries stacked up on the countertop in the distance, she turned to John and smiled. “Thanks, Papa.”

nJohn slung an arm around her shoulders and said, “Any time, Alphy. Now… let’s party!”

nA warm and energetic lunch with sweets and plenty of food. Toasts of sparkling cider to celebrate the future. Pointed jabs and teasing going all around.

nLike that, the peaceful and leisurely day wound down, filled with joy and laughter.

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