“Rekayan.”
Rekayan didn’t even glance at him, as if he hadn’t heard Ishar’s voice.
Puzzled, Ishar looked closer. When he realized Rekayan was asleep with his eyes wide open, he looked into the tank that had captured his subordinate’s gaze with an expression that said you idiot.
‘Tch… So he got that interested in Veloan’s development and ended up diving straight into chimeric studies.’
Inside was the embryo of a chimera, presumably created by Rekayan, curled up with its eyes closed. The triple-layered magic surrounding it—focused on growth, vitality, and acceleration—was aiding its development within the tank.
Scattered around Rekayan’s feet were pages filled with detailed research records. They documented growth speed and power amplification based on the amount of magical energy supplied—but all of them ultimately ended in the same word: failure.
‘If I leave this one unattended, he’ll go full Duke Superzen one day and start ranting about human experimentation.’
Not that he’d target innocent people—but still, Ishar knew he’d never go that far. Rekayan had seen the same things Ishar had. If he ever did human experimentation, it would be on his own body.
And that was the problem.
Smack!
“…Ah?”
Only after being smacked square on the back did Rekayan blink awake. His sky-blue eyes gradually focused on Ishar.
“Your Majesty!”
The moment he recognized Ishar, his eyes sparkled with overwhelming brightness.
“Your Majesty! You came at just the right time! I think there’s something redundant in the chimera’s accelerated-growth formula, but if I link it with another spell it could be—”
“I’ll advise you on your experiment later. Listen to my business first.”
“Really? Yes! Please go ahead!”
“I need to make a double. Get the materials.”
“Understood!”
Though he might normally be curious about Ishar wanting to make a double instead of a familiar, Rekayan didn’t ask. He simply acted, swiftly summoning magic.
The space around them shifted multiple times in rapid succession, and the requested materials piled up at his feet.
“All ready.”
“Are these all the mana stones you have?”
“That’s all for this lab. As you can see, I burned through quite a lot during the chimera studies. Oh! Should I raid the Mage Tower? I’m supposed to receive some from the Tower Lord anyway.”
“That won’t be necessary. This will do.”
Ishar glanced around, then picked up a small dagger from the desk.
It wasn’t a weapon, just a paper knife—harmless. Still, since it was from a research lab, it made his skin crawl, so he scorched the blade with magic just to be safe.
Once that was done, he grabbed the tied end of his hair and cut off a handspan’s length.
Then, with the same hand, he sliced a long line across his palm. Blood soaked the silver-blue strands as it flowed out. Ishar placed the blood-drenched hair atop the materials Rekayan had prepared, and began casting a spell.
The hair that should’ve fallen to the floor, along with all the other materials, transformed into a single orb of light in an instant. Fixing his gaze on that glowing sphere, Ishar continued the incantation, shaping it gradually.
A familiar could be made with just Ishar’s mana—but a double was different. It could fully replicate the original’s abilities, but required special materials and even a part of the caster’s own body.
Had it been anyone else, more than a few strands of hair and a trickle of blood would’ve been needed. Likely a full arm and enough blood to induce anemia.
“As expected of our Majesty…”
Rekayan murmured in a trembling voice, trying to contain his excitement. Ishar ignored it and looked down at the completed double.
There stood a little Ishar.
Specifically, Ishar as a four-year-old child.
“It’s done. A shame it’s younger than I expected, but this should be sufficient.”
When the childlike voice spoke—its gender indeterminable—Rekayan let out a strange groan.
Disgusted, Ishar smacked him across the back again.
Rekayan rolled joyfully across the lab floor, flopping like a freshly caught fish and silently enduring his pain. Ishar ignored him with ease and closed his eyes.
Suddenly, the two sets of vision merged. Ishar could now see through the double’s eyes.
Through the double, he looked up at his original body, then down at his own tiny hands. Too small to hold even a single blade. He furrowed his brows and tried walking.
The world seemed lower. The child’s stride was unfamiliar—he stumbled a few times and stepped on Rekayan repeatedly, but overall, the result was satisfactory.
After squashing Rekayan at least ten more times while stomping around, Ishar finally grew used to walking and nodded in satisfaction.
His chubby baby cheeks flushed pink as he strutted about with pride. The sight was utterly pathetic, like a kitten dragging a toy half its size around in its mouth.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty.”
“What.”
“I don’t mind being stepped on, but could you please do it in your original body? The double’s weight is so feathery, I can’t properly feel—Gurk!”
“Magic function seems normal too.”
The double, applying air magic, socked Rekayan in the stomach, then hopped off his chest.
‘Good. I’ll send this double to the coordinates.’
If the double moved, Veloan wouldn’t notice.
Satisfied, Ishar turned his body toward his original form to adjust to the dual vision—but the moment he did, his eyes flew open with a sharp gasp.
His concentration faltered, and the sensory link wavered. The connection with the double snapped instantly and his consciousness returned to his body.
“Argh!”
Rekayan, who had caught the collapsing double with his entire body, let out a cry of pain, but Ishar couldn’t spare him any attention.
“Veloan—how long have you been there?”
He spun around and shouted, only to see Veloan smiling.
“Since you started creating the double.”
Casually wrapping his arms around Ishar, Veloan shifted his gaze to the limp double now resting in Rekayan’s arms like a doll.
As his red eyes narrowed with a playful glint and his lips curled into a soft smile, Ishar felt a chill run down his spine.
“Seems like you’re planning to go far away and keep it a secret from me.”
“That’s…”
“Let’s move. Too many interruptions here.”
“There are only two of us in this lab right now.”
Rekayan protested, but both Ishar and Veloan ignored him completely.
“To the bedroom.”
“Why the bedroom? No. Go to the office.”
“Understood. Ah, before that.”
With a flick of magic, the double floated gently into the air from Rekayan’s arms.
Rekayan, robbed of his joy, reached out sadly, but under Ishar’s cold glare, he obediently lowered his hand.
“So light.”
With one hand around Ishar’s waist and the other supporting the double’s bottom, Veloan murmured with amused delight.
“I’ll carry my own double. Let go.”
When the interrupted spell resumed and the sensory link with the double reconnected, the discomfort hit Ishar all at once.
Veloan’s body felt hard and his awkward holding posture made things unbearable from the child-form perspective.
As he reached out to take the double back, sensing mana circulate, the scene around him suddenly changed.
He was in Ishar’s personal office. Not the one where aides and civil servants came and went—but the emperor’s private office in the heart of the palace.
‘He’s not Empress yet. He shouldn’t even be able to enter here. And there were layers of protective barriers to block teleportation. Of course he broke through them… but this isn’t something to be proud of!’
Ishar had chosen the office specifically to avoid being alone with Veloan. As long as other people were around, he wouldn’t have to explain the selfish desire that had made him try to keep secrets.
“Finally, just the two of us.”
“….”
Why did those words feel so ominous? Ishar avoided Veloan’s gaze and took the double from his arms.
Fortunately, Veloan handed it over without resistance. After a brief glance, Ishar acknowledged that the double had been discovered and couldn’t be used as planned. He activated a spell.
Shhhhhk.
The double’s form faded like scattered light, vanishing without a trace.
He let out an involuntary sigh.
‘If I’d known Veloan had found me, I’d have stopped earlier. Wasted the materials for nothing.’
His own hair and blood were fine, but the other components would be a pain to replace. Still…
“Ishar.”
“….”
He was afraid of what would come next. Just seeing the double had surely told Veloan he was trying to keep secrets. No matter what excuse he came up with now, Veloan would see through it.
“I don’t usually like to take back what I’ve said.”
Ishar already knew that. Veloan’s stubbornness had been obvious since the days when he’d caused trouble all over the place.
‘He’s saying this because he knows I found something at the coordinates and tried to cover it up. If I show him the invitation, he might suspect me. …Even though he’d be right.’
He felt uneasy. He even considered shutting Veloan up by force.
After all, they were standing just close enough—perfect distance for a kiss. If he pounced, Veloan wouldn’t say another word. But Ishar gave up on the idea.
“But I think I need to take back something I said to you last time.”
“What are you referring to? You’ve said quite a few things to me—I can’t guess.”
“I think I’d be okay with us having a child together. No… I’d like that.”
“…A child?”
Pinky says: What’s worse than a beepist?
Little Pink Starfish 
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