When I return to the office, I find Lily sitting on the sofa.

thump

tap tap tap

She slides down and runs toward me, like a little doggie greeting its master. Before getting too close, she suddenly stops and crosses her arms.

“Hmph, I just felt like running around for a bit.”

“Heh.”

“What?”

“Pft, nothing.”

It’s funny how she tries to make excuses for every action she makes.

She “just happened” to sit beside me, she “just happened” to follow me to the door and she “just happened” to run toward me when I returned.

With so much evidence gathered, it’s clear that she is programmed to harbor affection toward me, toward her father.

I proceed to the sofa and Lily “just happens” to follow me.

While I was taking a break, I had the chance to think more rationally about the situation. Specifically, about how I should interact with Lily and what knowledge of hers I should test.

The end result of that brainstorming led me to a somewhat dubious answer, which should work... for human kids. If Lily is meant to be an imitation of such, then it should also work with her.

At the very least, it’s worth testing. Once we are both seated, I begin talking to her.

“Say, do you know how to play games?”

“Huh? Of course I do!”

“Oh? For example?”

“Hmm...”

She brings her left hand in front of her face and begins counting down with her fingers.

“Hide and seek, rock-paper-scissors, catch, tag, tic-tac-toe, thumb war... umm, what else...”

She even knows the games by name, quite impressive. The next thing I’d like to verify is whether she is also capable of practically playing these games with another person.

“Do you want to play rock-paper-scissors?”

“Hmph, since you beg so badly then I might as well play with you a little.”

She is doing her usual tsuntsun routine, but her lips quickly curve into a childish smile.

“Okay, I’ll count to three and then we show our hands.”

“C’mon, I’ll easily beat you!”

She nods and smiles mischievously while preparing her tiny hand for combat.

“1, 2, 3!”

Paper vs. Rock - I win.

“Ugh, one more!”

She grits her teeth and gets flustered.

“1, 2,... 3!”

Rock vs. Scissors - I win again.

“Ah! One more!”

Scissors vs. Paper - I win.

“I-I’ll beat you!”

Rock vs. Scissors - Win.

Paper vs. Rock - Win.

Rock vs. Scissors - Win.

“Grrr...”

She glares at me while hissing. Though she is getting irritated from losing, in truth it's all her own fault; she has a bad habit of showing off her planned action, which allows me to easily counter.

Is this quirk a bug or a feature?

It does add a degree of innocence to her personality and allows me to steer the game in the direction I wish. In that light, this “weakness” of hers is very beneficial for me, the "owner".

“Ugh! Again! This time I’ll win!”

She puffs her tomato cheeks. Her eyes emit a furious glint, like that of a tiger on a hunt. I feel like she’ll explode if she gets any more agitated from losing. Therefore, this time...

Paper vs. Scissors.

“I did it! I won!”

She smiles in excitement with eyes glittering from joy.

“Did you see that!? I won!”

“Yeah, I saw.”

She gets so excited over such a trivial matter that I can’t help but smile at her innocence. Even though I completely manipulated the flow of this game, seeing her joyful expression is a sweet reward.

Nevertheless, I’m not entirely sold on the premise of her sucking so horribly in this simple game. It’s fine if she is made straightforward and innocent like that, but only if she can be manually taught to avoid these mistakes in the future.

However, for now I’d rather keep this feature intact. This is a great way to annoy her, and her excitement when her celebrating victory is rather cute.

"Again!"

She demands, already prepared with her little hands clenched.

"Okay. 1, 2, ..... 3!"

How many rounds have we played? I have lost count after the 20th.

The same formula repeats itself over and over. I win a few matches in a row to rile her up and make her pout. Then, I give her the win and see her merry expression.

No matter how many times I do it, her pouting faces are funny and her happy expressions are cute.

"Yes! My win!"

She's childishly excited again once she wins.

"You did well."

I pat her on the head. She shifts her eyes away and falls silent, but softly smiles instead of rejecting my hand. Her blonde hair is very silky and feels realistic enough to be mistaken for a human's. I'm not sure what-

"Wah!"

I immediately remove my hand as soon as I realize my actions. I just... patted her, patted a girl which I hardly met a hour ago.

Did I seriously just forget about the circumstances and treated her like my very own daughter...? It’s like being immersed in a video game, only this video game takes place in reality. Scary.

"..."

Lily looks at me with a tilted head, a layer of worry veils her expression.

"A-ah, I just thought you probably don't like being patted and all..."

"H-hmph! Of course I hate it!"

She turns away with puffed cheeks.

... so she liked it?

She's daddy's little girl, of course she'd enjoy that sort of thing. As far as she's concerned, I wasn't doing anything out of place.

Lily is just a small girl who loves her papa and enjoys spending time with him. Patting or even hugging, these sort of actions wouldn't be rejected by this cute kid.

I didn't have much trouble interacting with Amy when she was small (other than her bites and scratches). Therefore, there shouldn't be a problem doing the same with Lily.

I timidly bring my right hand toward her blonde hair and pat her again. I need to be more assertive here, I'm a father now! ...wait, am I forgetting something again? Meh, never mind.

"Hmph, what are you doing?"

She makes a weird, irritated expression as she daggers me with her big eyes. Didn't she enjoy being patted the first time? What a moody brat, I still don't fully understand her.

I retreat my hand and think of the next activity. If I were asked whether I’m seriously working as a QA or simply playing around... I don’t think I’d be able to give a clear answer.