2 Chapter 2

Some mothers say the process to decide the perfect fitting name for their child is more painful than childbirth itself. Some fathers decide on a whim: after something they like or plainly adding junior at the end.

Edmund decided to not comment or think about the process of agreement for the name, knowing very well it was nothing but hours upon hours of headaches, compromising, and name generators.

He was leaning in on the latter for help, feeling the indecisiveness settle into his bones. One could not count with all their fingers and toes combined on how many hours he wasted in middle school and his finals choosing between the options a) or c) during the multiple choice exams to the questions he did not know the answer to. In the end, his choice would always be incorrect, so everything did not matter in the first place.

When the system prompted him for his daughter's name, he had half of a mental breakdown. He wanted for the first time in his life, between all the possible options of cute names, to not f*ck not choosing something.

"Anna, Anne, Andie? What about Abigail?

"No no no, what am I? A cheesy romance from the 90s?"

"Abby, Anita, Anisa, Annabeth ... Elizabeth? Liz? Ahh, I don't know! Ivy ... Daisy ..."

[The system has a database for every existing name in the world, sorted alphabetically from A to Z. If host would like, the system can compute and derive the best-suiting name for your daughter.]

It was something worth considering and probably the best alternative, but he decided against it. He shook his head. He knew very well would happen when computers and alien-nanotechnology generate baby names. Robo Musk, named his newborn son X-AE A-Xii, which was a mouthful to pronounce for a human. He did not want to feel like a mad scientist every time he called for his daughter.

"A-bby-riel. Abriel. Let's go with that. It has a nice ring to it, Abriel."

[...]

[Chosen name: Abriel]

[System Integrating... Synthesizing... 7%... 27%... 90%... Process Complete.]

[Congratulations, host! The system is bound.]

"W-wait! I have so many questions about—"

When he opened his eyes, he found himself back in reality. The voice in his head disappeared, as well as the weird white light. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary: his daughter, well, Abriel now, still laid in the cradle with two hands on her stomach. Her big and curious pupils darted on and across the room from the pile of clothes to the shredded pages from textbooks.

Noon was nearing; the morning rays of light now shone brighter and warmer around the room. He quickly scrambled to open the windows, seeing the flies, smelling the weird odour the mess in his room emitted. The growing humidity and temperature did not help. He himself could stand the smell; he did not know how he spent the last nine months indoors here.

If he could not, how could Abriel?

Again, the familiar 'ding' rang in his mind followed by the same monotonous voice.

[Issuing Main Mission - 5 parts]

[An clean, quiet and minimal environment is ideal for a baby's development, as well as a great start for self-improvement. A change in environment is a change of pace in life. Supplies will be provided and taken away at the end of task, located underneath the kitchen sink. Duration of task: 1 week]

[Air out the room] (0/1)

[Wipe down and dust windows, furniture and other surface] (0/1)

[Clean and disinfect if needed] (0/1)

[Empty out all trash except valuables] (0/1)

[Maintain new neat and tidiness for a week] (0/7 days)

[Rewards: Beginner Perfect Father Starter-pack x2, 10xp]

Edmund did not need the system's prompt to know that this type of environment was bad for Abriel's development.

He was already collecting the instant noodles cups, sorting through his dirty laundry, and washing the green grimy poison in the sink while the system spoke. Before the incident, those were the only chores he did, so imagine his surprise when he pulled open the cupboard under the kitchen sink to find a neat set of shiny cleaning supplies.

The bottles were polished and with nothing but labels that read either some sort of cleaning agent or some sort of cleaning polish. Alongside was a small handheld vacuum, mops, cloths, and lots of garbage bags.

"The system has got to be most intricate, revolutionary hoax of a prank yet, or I'm going absolutely crazy, orrrrr this is legit and real," Edmund muttered, smelling the refreshing spring-green fragrance from one of the bottles.

Though he jostled with the debate in his mind, he did not hesitate to start cleaning. In the end, he came to the conclusion that it would not matter if the system was real or not, as long as it could provide rewards.

Time passed quickly, contrary to his expectations. Chores for him was always arduous, especially as he lived alone. The reliability of the supplies handed by the systems shocked him: if he were to introduce the cloths that caught all of the dust or the cleaners that removed the grease and grime completely to housewives or some professional cleaning companies, he guaranteed it would conquer the market. He could not doubt the system's existence no more.

Once he got the ball rolling, he could not stop. The only exception was when he noticed how quiet Abriel. She was the quietest baby had ever heard of. He was a hour in, almost halfway done cleaning, but her blue eyes still stared at him with rapt attention. When he got close to her cradle on the table, she called out a "Goo!" and put out her hands, as if she demanding a handshake or something.

The sight was too much for him: every time he was near her, he was forced to drop everything on hand, grab some paper towels, dry himself, all before letting her fingers wrap around his own. He giggled unconsciously along with her during their short but sweet playtime together. He also noted that whenever he raised his arms to wipe off sweat, she would mimic the same action. It made for what was a terrible but a terribly cute salute at the same time.

Edmund contently spent the next two hours cleaning and playing with Abriel.

The one-roomed apartment was squeaky clean when he stood and rubbed the back of his back. He was finished. The difference from earlier was like heaven and earth, day to night. Everything was shiny pristine white and now organized neatly. Entire shelves were cleared. The odour disappeared completely, giving the air a new and refreshing breath of life.

He collapsed into his seat. He did not want his bottom pants to remove the polish on the wooden chair, but he was too tired to care anymore.

"It's so much better now, isn't it, Abriel?" Edmund asked, playing hooky with their fingers again.

"Goo!"

"Yeah, you're so smart. You can understand me already," he muttered with a hint of sarcasm, but the smile that hung on his lips could not be ignored.

It widened when Abriel burped loud and clear in response.

"Hungry, eh?" Edmund asked.

Abriel's fine, delicate, and supple baby skin on her stomach was strangely inviting. Her complexed glowed brighter and healthier after the cleaning which made a sense of pride and relief wash over him.

He continued staring at her skin, slowly letting the desire to rub her belly take over. He poked at it once, then twice. Then it became a long press, and before he knew it, he was twisting and rolling his finger around and gently caressing it with his. He made sure it was gentle.

"You're so warm, Abriel."

The feeling was too addicting. All of her baby fat seemed to suck his finger in deeper and deeper in squishy sponge-like heaven. He had to pull back and take deep breaths to steady himself.

"I'm going to lose it," Edmund whispered into her blue eyes.

It took everything to resist: gnashing his teeth together, clenching his toes, but it did not matter. He could not resist that innocent blank baby face that was way too cute. He grunted, a strange light filling his eyes, leaning over her. Two hands attacked her stomach this time. His ticklish touch turned her giggles in shy squirms.

"Ba! Ba!" Abriel cried out, shutting her eyes.

Edmund pulled his hands back instantly as tears bubbled in Abriel's eyes.

Before he even knew it, a loud wailing rang in his ears as she bawled. His mind froze in place. Like a robot, he stood stiff, trying to compute what the hell he should do to coax his baby daughter.