In front of Kaito, no matter what Mea did, it was ultimately futile.
If she attacked, she'd get hit.
If she tried to run, she'd be caught.
Eve was right there, less than half a meter away, but she just couldn't take her.
Heavens have mercy, she was still just a child! Why did she have to face someone like Kaito?
With the power to effortlessly destroy tens of thousands of ships, even if she had a hundred of her masters combined... they probably couldn't do that, right?
"Mea, are you interested in giving up resistance and staying by my side from now on?"
"...Th-This is just terrible."
'Eh… such wonderful thing?'
A strange expression crossed Mea's face as she forced herself to remain calm while looking at Kaito.
If Kaito had been suppressing her with any kind of aura, she wouldn't have even had the chance to act playful.
"Kaito, do you know her?"
Tearju walked over at that moment, followed by Ryoko and the others, surrounding Mea.
Yeah, at this point, she really couldn't run even if she wanted to.
"A bit. She, like Eve, is an artificial weapon. If anything, she's like Eve's younger sister."
"Eh?!"
Tearju was shocked.
'Eve had a younger sister?'
'Wait, if she was an artificial weapon like Eve, how come I didn't know?'
'Wasn't I the only one who raised Eve in the lab?'
"The organization you were in before didn't have just one research institute."
"Th-Then what did they need me for!?"
"Perhaps they expected you to research and create even stronger artificial weapons?"
Tearju pouted, her expression dimming slightly.
'Was my talent and knowledge only good for researching artificial weapons?'
Fortunately, her fate had already changed, and she wouldn't end up like that.
As for Mea, Tearju had become curious about her. Or rather, she'd been curious from the very beginning. She never imagined there was someone besides Eve (and herself) with abilities similar to Eve's.
"Tearju Lunatique... Technically speaking, I could call you 'mother' too."
Mea suddenly turned to Tearju and said this. Tearju just rolled her eyes at her.
'Don't call me that.'
'My only daughter was Eve. Eve was cloned from her genes. You are not!'
No matter how you looked at it, Mea indeed wasn't!
At best, someone had stolen Tearju's various research results to create other artificial weapons.
"Alright, Mea. Staying on guard like this isn't going to solve anything. How about you just obediently listen, give up your former identity, and live with us from now on? What do you think?"
"...I can't. I'll die."
"Oh? Is it some kind of restriction implanted in your body?"
Mea looked up at Kaito. She hadn't intended to say anything, but gave a small nod.
"I see. Well, do you trust me? I can remove those restrictions and set you completely free."
This situation was somewhat different from the original work. Since Tearju had run away with Eve, it made sense that Mea would have been fitted with restraints to prevent artificial weapons like her from escaping.
"But my master..."
"Don't worry about her. She's currently being securely detained by me."
Securely…
Well, not exactly. Nemesis was currently trying her best to destroy the Jade Chamber, but it kept repairing itself automatically. Eventually, she just gave up and chose a room that looked unoccupied to sleep in.
She knew she couldn't escape. Rather than continuing to rage helplessly, it was better to rest and wait.
When Kaito appeared before her again, that would be the time to decide her fate.
"...I, can I really become free?"
"Of course you can! If you're willing, we can all become your family. And Eve will be your older sister."
"Oh! So I have a little sister now~"
Eve clearly wasn't as mature as Mea. She was still her simple, adorable self.
Lala, too, was enthusiastically patting her chest, fervently promising that she would be the best older sister Mea could have.
Only Momo remained silent, her head bowed in thought.
'Ah...'
'Husband-sama probably had something more in mind than just this, right?'
Soon, without waiting for Mea's answer, after her hair returned to normal, Kaito reached out and stroked her head. He then began to investigate her body. Within ten minutes, he had removed the restraints within her.
Having previously examined Eve's body, he had experience dealing with this. Besides, this was simply a matter of complete removal, no complicated modifications needed.
As for the restrictions, they were essentially self-destruction, suicide, and consciousness alteration—forcing absolute obedience.
From then on, Mea became Eve's little sister~
Of course, Mea would take some time to adjust, so she still found it hard to communicate with everyone.
But with Lala's influence, Mea gradually became more cheerful, eventually walking hand-in-hand with Eve through the streets outside.
"Kaito... is Mea really going to be okay?"
On the way, Tearju asked worriedly. Even Ryoko wasn't entirely convinced that Mea had so readily accepted her new identity.
"Don't worry. I've adjusted her subconscious. She won't simply think of herself as a weapon anymore."
This, at least, needed to be changed.
Even though the original Mea was also a good person, now that she was going to grow up with Eve and the others, it was best to resolve this issue sooner rather than later.
Believing that she could only live in the darkness as a weapon—that mindset had to go.
"Oh, right. What about her master?"
"I've got her detained. I'll go see her when I have time."
"Oh... Well, since Mea is fine, I'll treat her as a daughter from now on too!"
"Is that so? If that's the case... then you might have another daughter."
"???"
Tearju was stunned.
Ryoko couldn't help but laugh softly from the side.
Though, she was also a bit envious. Tearju had such a good relationship with Kaito and had an adorable daughter like Eve.
Even if it wasn't through natural means, no matter how you looked at it, Eve was undoubtedly her daughter.
Besides, Eve was indeed raised by Tearju herself!
And if she continued to be with Kaito, would she really have to worry about having other daughters in the future?