Seraphim is a Bystander

End of Training Observation

 
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After Dad managed to rein in his enthusiasm, the training continued for a few more rounds and finally wrapped up after a full two hours. Aoi had been glued to the action the entire time, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he watched Dad and the others train.

"Aoi-kun, you were really into the training, huh?"
"…Yeah."
Mom responded to Ayaka-chan’s comment with a somewhat subdued expression. But that only lasted a moment—she quickly brightened up again and turned to speak to Aoi.

"Aoi, wasn’t Papa super cool?"
"Yeah! He was awesome!"
Seeing how Aoi was still brimming with excitement even after the training had ended brought a smile to both Mom and Ayaka-chan’s faces.

As we talked, Dad came down the elevator, now refreshed after washing off the sweat and having packed away his gear.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"It’s fine—we were chatting with Aoi."

Even without his equipment, Dad still wore his uniform, and Aoi looked up at him with a gaze full of admiration like I’d never seen before. Dad quickly noticed and, looking a bit embarrassed, gently placed a hand on Aoi’s head.
"You okay, Aoi? Were you scared?"
"Nope! Papa was amazing!"

Aoi shook his head with enthusiasm in response to Dad’s slightly worried expression.
"…I see."
Dad gave a short reply, but the slight upward curve of his lips gave away how pleased he was to receive his son’s admiration. Noticing this, Mom couldn’t help but chuckle.

"…Hehe."
"Ahem… Well then, let’s move on to the next thing…"
"You just got praised by your adorable son. There’s no need to be so shy about it, is there?"
"…Mmh."

As Mom teased him, the two of them gradually drifted into their own little world, leaving both Aoi and Ayaka-chan behind. Aoi just stared blankly, while Ayaka-chan had an expression like she’d just swallowed a spoonful of sugar.
"Senpaii—come on, flirting is fine and all, but it’s time for the examination~!"
Ayaka-chan’s call snapped our parents back to reality, both of them showing slightly sheepish expressions.

"Right. Let’s head to the examination."
"Y-Yes… Ayaka-chan, which floor do we need to go to first?"
"The first exam’s on the second floor~."

Avoiding Ayaka-chan’s accusing eyes, both of them stepped into the elevator.
『………』
A bit of an awkward silence hung in the elevator, but soon we arrived at the second floor. The sign displayed Virtual Lifeform Research Lab.

So, are we doing a check-up on Sou?
We’ve been living with him for quite a while, but we’ve never had anything like a formal examination before. Then again, Sou rarely leaves Aoi’s side, so maybe they’ve just been waiting until Aoi was old enough.
The elevator doors opened, and as we were walking toward what seemed to be the exam room, Dad spoke up.

"Sou, we’ll be running a few tests on you. There’s nothing to worry about, so if you could cooperate, that would help us a lot."
"…Guu."
Sou glanced briefly at Aoi, then turned back to Dad and let out a small noise of acknowledgment.

Seeing that, Mom turned to Aoi.
"Aoi? Once Sou’s examination is done, you’ll be getting one too, okay?"
"Examination?"

"That’s right. Nothing scary, so don’t worry, alright?"
"Okay!"
So Aoi’s getting examined too, huh…?

This could be bad. If they detect my presence, it might get complicated…
With that bit of unease creeping in, we finally arrived at the room where Sou’s exam was set to take place.
Tips: Mom’s actually pretty strong too.