Sitting in the car, the little girl looked at the man. Feeling her gaze, he asked.
"What's wrong?"
"Father looks worried."
"Yes."
"Because of those people?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"..." The man remained silent, but didn't answer.
As if understanding something, the girl remained silent as well.
"Father, I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Even though you said not to analyze it, there's a program that automatically runs its own analysis. And the information has been saved." The little girl said with a slightly gloomy face.
As if realizing something, the man looked at her with sad eyes. He patted the little girl's head.
"It's okay. I understand."
"May I know what that information is?" The man asked.
The little girl nodded.
["About seven individuals have been detected. They are a special force separate from the army under the direct command of the president."]
["The weapons they possess... ...., ....."]
["Their detected identities... ....., ...."]
["Their current task is to retrieve the research subject 'Absolute Childe' Codename: Twelve."]
"They're looking for me, Father" the little girl said.
Hearing this, the man had a strange expression on his face. Anger, sadness, and emptiness filled his eyes. While focusing on driving, the man asked.
"Do you know anything about yourself?"
"Yes. I know."
"What about the feeling program?"
"I know too."
"Then how are you feeling now?"
"..." The little girl was silent for a moment.
She shook her head.
"I don't know."
"..."
"Can you tell if they're tracking you or not?"
"The chances of them tracking me are slim, Father. Because once I'm activated, I'll be disconnected from all existing information links."
"Even if they use my data, the chances of that are slim. Because I was designed to be a hidden individual."
"Do you know who created you?"
"Yes, I know."
"If they wanted you back, would you come back?"
Although the man said it with a flat expression, there was a hint of sadness in his voice.
"No. Because I'm with Father" The little girl replied.
"Even if we have to run away like this all the time?"
"Yes. I'll be with Father."
"Does Father want me to come back?" The little girl asked with a slightly sad face.
The man was silent for a moment. After collecting his thoughts, he smiled.
"I don't think so. Because you're my daughter."
Even though they'd only been together for two months, there was an inexplicable feeling. The little girl smiled happily, and the man stroked her head.
["Reporting. The suspect and subject have escaped."]
["What? How did they escape?"]
["Sorry, we didn't expect a secret escape route."]
["Immediately track their whereabouts!"]
["Yes."]
"We apologize, sir. The target has escaped." A man in a black uniform with a silver iron plaque on his chest bowed.
"It's said that you are elite soldiers who have never failed a mission. I paid you more than I should have after pleading with the president, and this is the result of your work?!!" Shouted a man with thinning hair.
He was the head of Valley Science Technology.
"We apologize for the inconvenience, sir."
"I don't care. Whatever happens, you must get them."
"Yes." The man in the black uniform left the room.
"How's the data tracking going?" Another man in the black uniform asked the man in the white trench coat.
"This is difficult. We were fortunate to be able to track him at that time due to the last communication from the infiltrator.
"As for the subject, since she was designed to be a stealth individual her data hasn't been fully stored. She hasn't gone through the final test yet." Said the man in the long white coat.
Hearing this, the man in the black uniform thought about something.
"So there's no point in tracking the subject directly."
The man in the black uniform walked over to his commander.
"Sir, it seems we'd better track the infiltrator's whereabouts."
His commander nodded in agreement.
["Trace the man's path. Report every detail."] He ordered his men on the ground.
["Okay. Understood."]
After a long car ride, they arrived at a small town. Although they were still in the country, hiding within the city was better to conceal information.
Since the possibility of their information being leaked was slim, the man sought out an inn.
It was quite busy for a small town. They stayed in a room on the third floor. From the window, the city view was clear. The still-lit lights of the buildings looked like stars in the sky.
"Father, should I find more information?" The little girl asked.
"Won't that make it easier for them to track us?"
"No. Because my network is outside theirs."
The man thought for a moment.
"Not necessary for now. I'll do it on my own first."
"I can't always rely on her." The man thought.
Despite his thoughts, his true intentions were that he didn't want to take advantage of the little girl.
A father is there to protect his daughter, even if she isn't human.
Because it was late and the man was exhausted, they both fell asleep.
The next morning, the man wrote a letter. After he finished writing, he invited the little girl to get out and go outside.
The streets were sparsely populated, and snow piled along the roadside. They headed to a mailbox. The man dropped the letter into the box. On the back of the envelope was a mailbox with the address to which it was to be sent.
The two of them strolled around the neighborhood, buying some necessities.
Two days passed, and the reply letter arrived. Following the letter's instructions, the man quickly packed his things and together with the little girl set off for another town.
After driving for almost a day, they arrived at a place. It was one of the secret bases he sometimes visited. After entering a few steps, someone greeted them.
"Go to this building. I've prepared everything you need."
The man nodded and went with the little girl to the designated location. They arrived before nightfall.
They would be staying in a simple building relatively close to town, where they would be staying for approximately two weeks.
The little girl looked around the house. It was quite different from their previous rural home. There was no wood-burning fireplace. The house used an automatic space heater.