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"I'm home…"
Kisaragi Rin, carrying his belongings, opened the apartment door.
A small figure had been waiting there for a long time.
Like rattling off a menu, she began to state the results of her day's investigation.
"Kisaragi Rin."
"Eighteen years old."
"An orphan from an orphanage. In your early childhood, you were so outstanding that many families vied to adopt you, but you refused them all."
"It wasn't until junior high that the halo of a genius gradually faded."
[T/N: the author was forced to make the setting university lol]
"After getting into Soubu High in Chiba Prefecture, you completely became an ordinary person, hidden from public view."
"Yet, you, who are so willing to be ordinary, immediately recognized my true identity, understood the Black Organization so well, and claimed to be the same kind of person as me."
Miyano Shiho slowly stood up, looking up and staring into Kisaragi Rin's black eyes.
"There is only one truth: you are also a survivor of ATPX4869."
Kisaragi Rin moved her aside, took out the slippers from the shoe rack, and as he changed his shoes, he complained about her deduction.
"Isn't the content before that from some unscrupulous media report? I remember it was something like 'The Fall of a Genius'."
"You just made all this up based on what you found online?"
"No need for hiding. I've already guessed your identity. You must be a former experimental subject of the Organization, who faked your death by taking ATPX4869 to escape, and have been lurking in the shadows all these years, investigating every move of the Organization."
Kisaragi Rin did not explicitly refute her, which made Miyano Shiho believe her deduction even more.
Otherwise, how could he explain his extensive knowledge of the Organization, his understanding of ATPX4869's effects, and why he was a genius as a child?
Kisaragi Rin must not be a university student, but some kind of old monster who has grown up again.
This was her wisdom.
In some ways, she had indeed guessed correctly.
"Uncle, facing the behemoth that is the Organization, we need to have a frank discussion."
Miyano Shiho pulled Kisaragi Rin, speaking seriously.
Unfortunately, she was currently in the form of a child, and speaking seriously made her sound like she was pretending to be an adult, which was a little cute.
Kisaragi Rin couldn't help but rub her brown short hair into a mess. Based on his estimation, her height was 105cm, so the clothes he bought should be the correct size.
"You're overthinking it. I only recently provoked the Black Organization. I took out a few of their people, and that's all."
Miyano Shiho bristled quickly when Kisaragi Rin patted her head, her lake-blue eyes full of vigilance.
"You should know I'm not a child, right? Are you some kind of perverted uncle?"
Miyano Shiho said venomously.
"Please call me big brother. If you're going to be a child, act like one."
Kisaragi Rin flicked her head, making her squat on the ground and cover her head defensively.
Kisaragi Rin handed her the things he bought and said, "I bought you some children's clothes. Go change yourself. We'll have guests soon."
Haibara Ai took the clothes, paused in silence, then slowly said, "Indeed, if I'm going to be a child, I should act like one. The Organization's eyes are everywhere. I need to be more vigilant, like a real child, to prevent the Organization from discovering the truth of my escape."
"Kisaragi Rin, I need a new identity."
She raised her head, looking at Kisaragi Rin with resolute eyes, revealing a determination to bid farewell to the name Miyano Shiho.
"Then, how about Haibara Ai?"
Kisaragi Rin asked tentatively.
"Sounds pretty good."
Miyano Shiho, now renamed Haibara Ai.
She had originally thought she would need to ponder for a while, but she didn't expect the first name Kisaragi Rin suggested to align so perfectly with her aesthetic.
Kisaragi Rin thought: Of course, it is. After all, that's the name you were going to give yourself anyway.
Haibara Ai went to the bedroom to change clothes.
Kisaragi Rin, meanwhile, was preparing ingredients for sukiyaki. He had invited Mafuyu Kirisu and Shiina Mahiru over for dinner.
Additionally, he needed to help Haibara Ai get a new identity.
"Paradise, please provide me with an item that can solve identity issues, priced under 94 paradise coins."
[Item Found: Legal Identity]
Item - Legal Identity: Can provide the user with a legal identity within a single world.
Bonus: None
Usage Condition: Will not create a sense of incongruity within that world.
50 paradise coins/card (Note: Same as those in Paradise mission worlds. While the identity is legal, there are no traces, so it is recommended to arrange for an orphan identity.)
It was very cheap, but there was a reason for its cheapness.
This item only provided an identity. It worked fine for casual use, but if someone were to investigate the activity trail from childhood to the present based on this identity, it would naturally be full of loopholes.
For example, when Paradise arranged for him to be a student at Fujimi Academy, because he had no real experience of attending school there, none of the students at that school recognized him. Except for Shizuka Marikawa, no one believed the identity Paradise had arranged.
But for the current Haibara Ai, it was enough.
The Black Organization didn't know that ATPX4869 also had the effect of shrinking people.
Could it be that they planned to investigate everyone's life trajectory?
Kisaragi Rin bought this item, and a white card appeared in his hand.
After some thought, Kisaragi Rin gradually added settings to it.
Haibara Ai, 9 years old. Her only relative in Japan, her grandmother, passed away from illness. Her distant relatives were unwilling to take her in, so the elderly woman entrusted her to Kisaragi Rin's temporary care before she died…
Forgive him, he really couldn't come up with a better identity setting.
After all, Kisaragi Rin himself grew up in an orphanage, so he couldn't set Haibara Ai as a relative.
If he set her as an orphan, Kisaragi Rin didn't meet the legal adoption standards.
He could only set it as temporary care. As for how long "temporary" would be, that would depend on when Kisaragi Rin took down the Black Organization and Haibara Ai returned to adulthood.
At that time, Haibara Ai could naturally be taken back by her "distant relatives".
While Kisaragi Rin was arranging the settings.
Haibara Ai had already changed her clothes: an apricot-colored dress set with a small bear pattern and a doll, and she was wearing white mid-calf socks.
She stared at Kisaragi Rin with the eyes of someone looking at a pervert.
"This was recommended by the owner of the children's clothing store. She claimed it's the most popular style this year."
Being stared at by her, Kisaragi Rin felt no guilt. He took a look and indeed, it wasn't bad; it didn't betray the money he spent.
"This is your new identity."
Kisaragi Rin handed her the white card and said.
Haibara Ai took it. She had seen such things in the Organization, but she found it a bit strange why Kisaragi Rin also had one.
She glanced at her assigned settings, then skillfully crumbled the card to use it.
Several identity documents appeared in her hand; from now on, her identity would be Haibara Ai.
Haibara Ai still wanted to ask Kisaragi Rin why he had such a thing, but at that moment, the guests arrived, so she could only temporarily suppress her confusion.
"Excuse me."
Shiina Mahiru knocked on the door, only to find a child opening it.
"Eh, who are you? Where's Kisaragi Rin?"
Looking at the very cute child, Shiina Mahiru squatted down and asked her.
"My name is Haibara Ai. I'm temporarily staying here. Kisaragi Rin is washing vegetables."
Haibara Ai said coldly.
Although she had to pretend to be a child, she was completely unable to feign a childish, sweet voice. She simply used her identity to portray a precocious, aloof personality.
"Temporarily staying?"
Shiina Mahiru looked curiously at her hair and eyes; she didn't seem to have any blood relation to Kisaragi Rin.
But Haibara Ai's expression was a bit cold, so Shiina Mahiru didn't ask further.
Entering the house with her confusion, Shiina Mahiru quickly became happy, eagerly putting on an apron and cooking with Kisaragi Rin in the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Haibara Ai hid in the room, continuing to use Kisaragi Rin's computer.
She had always been in a semi-imprisoned state within the Black Organization, unable to access many things, and was very out of touch with reality.
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