Nathan let out a long sigh as the water continued pouring down over his head.
The blue panel still hovered in the air, its glowing letters soft— as if it didn’t care that he had just finished washing his sacred jewels with organic forest soap.
"What now...?" Nathan grumbled, his voice half-annoyed, half-defensive.
---
[Tower Manager]
Don’t be like that toward your mother, Nathan.
---
Nathan flinched.
"Huh?!"
He squinted at the panel,
then went back to scrubbing the suds across his stomach.
"This woman..."
His hand moved to his shoulder,
then down to his chest.
His motion now resembled soone washing a motorcycle while muttering under his breath.
"Calls herself my mother... yet she only shows up when I’m naked..."
---
[Tower Manager]
I simply appear when you’re most honest.
---
"I’m honest when I’m eating too, y’know..."
Nathan muttered, rotating slightly under the waterfall.
"Or sleeping. Or literally any ti I’m not naked like this."
The panel stayed quiet for a few seconds.
Then—
---
[Tower Manager]
Nathan, may I ask you sothing?
---
Nathan raised an eyebrow.
"What now?"
---
[Tower Manager]
The world outside... do you miss it?
Your ho... your job... your relationships with other humans...
---
Nathan scoffed.
"Why ask? Don’t you already know everything?"
Water dripped from his forehead to his chin.
---
[Tower Manager]
No, My Son.
This cycle... I didn’t devour the mories of your soul.
I want to hear it from you—directly.
---
Nathan went quiet.
The waterfall kept pouring down,
hiding the sharpness of his breath.
One hand still held the slick bark of the Sapoa branch,
now glossy with softened sap.
"...I don’t miss any of it," he said finally.
"Work was just piles of stress. My boss yelled a lot.
Ho... it was just average.
I didn’t have many friends.
Family..."
He paused.
"Well, they were still... important to ."
---
[Tower Manager]
That object you called ’smartphone’...
it rang often.
Yes, you may have been important too—
especially to the na that kept making it ring...
’Mom.’
---
Nathan froze.
"...What?"
---
[Tower Manager]
Calls. Every day.
Unanswered. Unreturned.
Yet still calling.
---
The water suddenly felt colder.
Nathan lowered his gaze,
soap dripping from his fingers,
falling onto the slick rock below.
"I..."
His throat was dry.
"...I was too busy."
---
[Tower Manager]
Yes.
A caral bunny with bouncy hips and breasts can cloud your judgnt quite a bit.
---
Nathan glared at the panel.
"Don’t say stuff like that... with a SYSTEM face!"
---
[Tower Manager]
Hmm... would you prefer your substitute mother to show you her face again...?
---
Nathan groaned—half embarrassed, half exasperated.
"Tsk... Why didn’t you just give the damn phone instead?!"
The panel trembled slightly...
As if it were laughing.
Nathan finally finished his bath.
Thin foam slid slowly down his thigh
before being carried away by the gentle stream of the waterfall.
His skin was cold—
but his awareness felt calr than usual.
His Almighty PP... had finally gone neutral.
Unfortunately, the skill [Flesh Recalibration] hadn’t fully activated yet.
His body was still oversized—
an absurd leftover from the spiritual splash aftermath,
not quite subsided.
Breathing slowly,
Nathan walked back toward the planting area of Prunus Vitalis and Crystal Banafruit.
The air there was quieter.
His steps were slow.
And he was still naked.
The monster girls looked relaxed.
Livia sat on a tree root, gently drying her hair.
Velmora lay down, her tail curled against her chest.
Domina and Morvessa whispered softly—
their voices far gentler than usual.
They all looked... at peace.
Nathan stood at the edge of the small clearing,
saying nothing.
His body wasn’t fully dry, so he hesitated to sit.
Ti moved faster on this floor.
And as the sky began to shift—
from bright tones to dim orange,
like a phone screen with its brightness turned down—
The girls began to rise one by one.
"I’m sleepy," Livia muttered, hopping slightly.
Domina raised a hand.
"Going to sleep, Nathan~ See ya."
Velmora only gave him a nod.
Morvessa glanced once...
then walked away silently.
Validia waved and stepped into the forest.
No one told Nathan to sleep.
No one invited him to join.
They simply... said goodbye.
The air didn’t change—because inside the Tower, it never really did.
But sothing in Nathan’s chest shifted.
Not sharp. Not sudden.
Just... there.
Like a breath held too long finally exhaled.
The leaves still swayed the sa way, the water still fell with the sa rhythm—
but Nathan stood there, knowing the world hadn’t moved,
yet sothing inside him had.
Maybe it was the silence.
Maybe it was her voice.
Or maybe...
It was the realization that even in a place this strange,
there were still things waiting for him on the other side.
Nathan stayed still.
The cooldown for [Flesh Recalibration] hadn’t ended.
He was bored.
And sitting was uncomfortable
because his chocolate starfish was still too big and sensitive.
The grass was getting increasingly itchy.
"Ugh..."
He stood up again, scratching his lower back.
And then—
The air trembled slightly.
A system panel opened,
then ford a silhouette.
The Tower Manager—Lilith— suddenly appeared in front of Nathan.
Still oversized, he didn’t even notice her at first.
Until she shouted,
"MY SON—"
In her hand...
A smartphone.
His smartphone.
"This is yours, right?"
She pointed at Nathan.
Suddenly—POOF!
Nathan shrank.
His body returned to human size.
"...Hah?! The cooldown’s not done yet!"
Lilith smiled.
"It’s not the skill.
It’s my affection."
Nathan stared at her, disbelieving.
"...What the hell..."
Lilith lifted the phone,
then tossed it toward him.
Reflexively, Nathan caught it.
"Call your mother,"
Lilith said gently.
"Now."
She walked to his side.
Nathan stood frozen.
His left hand gripped the phone tightly.
The screen was still lit.
Signal—full.
And a contact na: ’Mom’.
His fingers trembled slightly.
"I..."
What was he supposed to say?
He stared at the screen,
then muttered—
"...Maybe I should lie.
Maybe I shouldn’t even cal—"
His decision was instantly useless.
Lilith, standing beside him,
pressed the green button.
Beep.
One second.
Two...
Three.
The line connected.
From the tiny speaker, a voice erged—
"Nathan?"
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