The early morning sun rose from the eastern horizons, it's glimmering rays of light spreading across the lands, chasing away the shadows.
Another day. A brand new beginning. And a time for those in the land of dreams to awaken from their slumber.
"Hmmm..." Ming Yue stirred in her sleep as she felt something poking her cheek which was oddly disturbing. "Five more minutes... no... make it ten..."
Poke!
Poke!
Ming Yue waved her hands and slapped away the thing poking her cheeks.
Pakkk!
"Wahhhhh!!!"
A deafening and heartbreaking cry resounded throughout the small seaside dwelling, startling Ming Yue awake as she alertly scanned her surroundings, only to bump into a pair of limpid and teary dark eyes that were filled with grievance.
Ming Yue "..." Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing? And what have I done to receive such a look so early in the morning?
Ming Yue was beyond astounded. Did she do something so utterly beastly in her sleep that she sent a good man crying with such anguish?
"System, what's going on?"
The system was silent.
Ming Yue frowned. "System, are you there?"
[ Beloved Host, Xiaoqi is here. ]
The system replied weakly, it's voice dodging. Apparently guilty of something.
Ming Yue was even more puzzled. "What happened while I was asleep?"
[ Ummm... err... My Dearest Host~ you see... the man we brought back last night... something went wrong with him. ]
"I can see that." Ming Yue leaned on the rocking chair and glanced at the cowering man on the bed, hiding underneath the blankets with only his eyes exposed, looking utterly aggrieved. "What's wrong with him? "
[ This... why don't you see for yourself. ]
[ System Appraisal Report:
Name: Aster Cole Sigfred
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Identity: Original Crown Prince of the Caelum Empire
Physical Condition: Healthy
Mental Condition: Suffering from Selective Amnesia and Memory Confusion which resulted into a serious case of Age Regression.
Current Mental Age: 3 years old. ]
Ming Yue "..."
Glancing at the beautiful yet undoubtedly adult man looking at her with eyes full of longing, seemingly wanting to get close to her yet also somewhat afraid, she was silent for a long time.
In order to send him away the next morning, she spent a lot of money on the System Mall, buying high grade healing potions and nutritional supplements, thoroughly fixing up his dilapidated body, yet as a result, she was informed the next day that although the person's body became healthy, his mind was in utter disrepair?
Moreover, judging from the way he was looking at her, he might have mistaken her as someone he was close to. Perhaps, his Nanny? Or even worse, his mother.
Ming Yue held her forehead.
"System, I remember that there is also a potion for curing mental-related illnesses sold in the mall."
[ ...Yes. But currently, it is unavailable for purchase.Moreover,even if it is, you can't afford to buy it now. ]
Ming Yue frowned. "Why not? I remember that there was quite a lot of it in the System Mall last night? And it was quite cheap. Just around a hundred gold coins for a vial or two."
[ Cough! That was indeed the case. But due to recent circumstances, for example, the hidden mission that was triggered and accomplished last night, Xiaoqi met the conditions to apply for an upgrade... ]
"And..?"
[ After going through an upgrade for about an hour or so, Xiaoqi successfully upgraded to the next level and gained some new features. Also, the Mission Board has been updated as well. Please take a look, Beloved Host~ ]
For some reason, Ming Yue had a bad feeling about this.
Sure enough, the next second, a transparent blue panel appeared in front of her.
[ Mission Board ]
[Daily Tasks:
• Feeding the Baby breakfast. (10 Experience Points)
• Bathing the Baby. (10 Experience Points)
• Dressing up the Baby. (10 Experience Points)
• Taking the Baby for a stroll. (10 Experience Points)
.....
.....
...
• Coaxing the Baby to sleep. (10 Experience Points)
Ming Yue "..." (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
She only slept for a while but as soon as she woke up, her Sovereign of the Seven Seas Game System unknowingly evolved into a Baby-raising System!
Baby...
As in capital letter "B".
Ming Yue held her chest, feeling like her heart was about to give up on her.
From a bona fide goddess of the sea to a full-time mother...
Ming Yue forced a smile as she gritted her teeth. "System, I knew you weren't human from the start, but how come you turned out to be such a dog?"
[My Dearest Host~ Xiaoqi is neither human nor a dog. Xiaoqi is a system. ]
Ming Yue felt utterly suffocated.
Just when she thought she would faint from the lack of air, she felt a small tug on her sleeve.
She didn't know when, but the giant baby cowering on the bed had already moved away from his original position and was now squatting beside her rocking chair, looking especially obedient.
"Mom, I'm hungry."
Ming Yue "..." Hey! Hey! Don't randomly recognize relatives. I don't have such a big son as you!
Ming Yue screamed her defiance in her heart but still honestly moved to order a warm glass of milk and some easy-to-digest food suitable for three-year-olds from the System Restaurant.
[ Wow! Is this what is on the rage on the internet these days, "Your mouth says no, but your body is honest."? ]
Ming Yue's forehead veins bulged. "You shut up!"
Meanwhile, a certain big baby cast a fleeting glance at the floating entity beside Ming Yue, his gaze filled with coldness and malevolence.
This thing has been hogging his mother's attention all to itself since earlier. Should he get rid of it?
No.
Although he couldn't hear what they're saying, mother seems to be quite familiar with it. If he got rid of it, mother will be sad.
Thus, the Baby can only retract his outstretched claws and try to pretend it didn't exist.
For now...
The system shuddered. Just now, it seemed to have sensed an ominous gaze locking on to itself, as if something dark and terrifying was plotting against it.
Looking around, System 007 detected no one else other than the two people in the room besides it.
It's host, Ming Yue?
The system shook it's head. Although the host likes to bicker with it, she didn't really want to get rid of it. And even if she did, she didn't have the ability to do so.
As for the other one...
Nah! It would be crazy to even suspect a mentally-handicapped person.
The malice it felt just now might have been just an illusion.
The system was so confident in it's judgement that if the Famous Detective, Sherlock Holmes, was standing in front of it right now, he would grabbed it by the collar and lectured it on the spot, saying, "You see, but you do not observe! When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."