How to Be a Dark Hero’s Daughter

“Can I raise one of these?”

“Fifi would be jealous.”

“That’s true.”

“You cherish your teddy bear. Didn’t I tell you to take it wherever you go?”

Might as well wear flowers too.

“Jade, I’ve grown up. At my age, if I do that, people will think I’m immature.”

“You’re still very young.”

“That’s because you see yourself as too old.”

“How can you say you’ve grown up when your head is this size and your hands are this small? You’re still really a child.”

That’s how I seem in Jade’s eyes. He’s definitely my brother.

“By the way, is your Chimera research interesting?”

“Yes.”

Jade loved Chimera research. Perhaps he became interested after the chimera he cherished as a child died?

“What will you do with them after the research is over?”

“I’ll release them into the forest.”

Looks like the forest behind our house, where the wild beasts roam, is going to become even more dynamic.

“Fifi won’t attack them, right?”

“Our house’s beasts don’t do that. They get fed when it’s time, why would they eat these tiny chimeras?”

“You’re right.”

I nodded.

The indoor racetrack couldn’t accommodate large animals, so all of these are based on small animals.

At the racetrack that day, I thought they looked strange, but on closer inspection, they are cute. And also quite brutal.

“Why do humans make things like Chimeras?”

“I don’t know. There must be various reasons.”

“What about you, Jade?”

Jade looked at me for a moment before making an unexpected remark.

“If animals have souls, I wondered if they could be created.”

“…What?”

Is that some kind of villainous reason, like planning the end of the world?

“Chimera research is about synthesizing two or more animals to create a magical creature. The results are unique. Some show improved intelligence, while others show different characteristics.”

“Did you… perhaps want to bring back the soul of the pet you loved as a child?”

“You’re really perceptive.”

Jade chuckled.

I remembered something Jade said when I first came to the mansion.

Its name was Popo. A Chimera cat.

“I thought… what if I could capture Popo’s soul into a new chimera… I imagined and researched, and almost made a big mistake that nearly ruined the family.”

“…How big of a mistake?”

When I first met Jade, he was only fourteen. Did someone his age do research?

“Just a lab accident.”

“Is that all?”

“…I almost summoned a demon that should never be summoned while trying to bring back Popo’s soul.”

Wow, he almost caused the end of the world by mistake.

“Is that even possible?”

“It’s not possible, that’s why the house is still fine, and I’m still alive without being killed by my father.”

“That makes sense. So your father banned chimera research?”

“He only recently lifted the ban.”

Suddenly, I looked at Jade.

“Do you still miss Popo?”

“I have you now.”

“Am I some kind of pet?”

“No. I can’t even raise a pet because it’s too hard to handle just you.”

Am I some kind of beagle?

Did I cause too many accidents while solving cases over the past few years? I smiled awkwardly.

“But why are you here? Didn’t you come to talk?”

I randomly hugged one of the chimeras, a fluffy-furred cat. The cat nuzzled against my stomach.

It’s warm.

“What’s going on with you?”

I flinched.

“Did someone say something to you?”

Jade’s voice became soft.