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.
Don’t be like that toward your mother, Nathan.
He squinted at the panel,
then went back to scrubbing the suds across his stomach.
His hand moved to his shoulder,
then down to his chest.
His motion now resembled someone washing a motorcycle while muttering under his breath.
"Calls herself my mother... yet she only shows up when I’m naked..."
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 time I’m not naked ."
The panel stayed quiet for a few seconds.
Nathan, may I ask you something?
Nathan raised an eyebrow.
The world outside... do you miss it?
Your home... your job... your relationships with other humans...
"Why ask? Don’t you already know everything?"
Water dripped from his forehead to his chin.
This cycle... I didn’t devour the memories of your soul.
I want to hear it from you—directly.
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.
Home... it was just average.
I didn’t have many friends.
"Well, they were still... important to me."
That object you called ’smartphone’...
Yes, you may have been important too—
especially to the name that kept making it ring...
Unanswered. Unreturned.
The water suddenly felt colder.
Nathan lowered his gaze,
soap dripping from his fingers,
falling onto the slick rock below.
A caramel bunny with bouncy hips and breasts can cloud your judgment quite a bit.
Nathan glared at the panel.
"Don’t say stuff like that... with a SYSTEM face!"
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 me 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.
but his awareness felt calmer 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,
Nathan walked back toward the planting area of Prunus Vitalis and Crystal Banafruit.
The air there was quieter.
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,
His body wasn’t fully dry, so he hesitated to sit.
Time 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 something in Nathan’s chest shifted.
Not sharp. Not sudden.
Like a breath held too long finally exhaled.
The leaves still swayed the same way, the water still fell with the same rhythm—
but Nathan stood there, knowing the world hadn’t moved,
yet something inside him had.
Maybe it was the silence.
Maybe it was her voice.
It was the realization that even in a place this strange,
there were still things waiting for him on the other side.
The cooldown for [Flesh Recalibration] hadn’t ended.
And sitting was uncomfortable
because his chocolate starfish was still too big and sensitive.
The grass was getting increasingly itchy.
He stood up again, scratching his lower back.
The air trembled slightly.
A system panel opened,
then formed a silhouette.
The Tower Manager—Lilith— suddenly appeared in front of Nathan.
Still oversized, he didn’t even notice her at first.
"This is yours, right?"
She pointed at Nathan.
His body returned to human size.
"...Hah?! The cooldown’s not done yet!"
Nathan stared at her, disbelieving.
"...What the hell..."
Lilith lifted the phone,
then tossed it toward him.
Reflexively, Nathan caught it.
She walked to his side.
His left hand gripped the phone tightly.
The screen was still lit.
And a contact name: ’Mom’.
His fingers trembled slightly.
What was he supposed to say?
He stared at the screen,
"...Maybe I should lie.
Maybe I shouldn’t even cal—"
His decision was instantly useless.
Lilith, standing beside him,
pressed the green button.
From the tiny speaker, a voice emerged—