"C… it's amazing, I'm gonna be a dad," he said, pulling Miki into his arms.
"Be a dad? You've already got Issei." After Miki's words, he let out a few awkward coughs.
"Sorry, it's just the emotions getting to me."
*'Tell me about Alpha, the other one's a slave to some demonic clan.'*
Despite his dark thoughts, which would've shocked Miki and Issei…
Gorou cares about his perverted son.
He hasn't stopped pushing Issei, trying to make him grow faster because of it.
A kind of positive manipulation.
He even told him to buy magical products to numb pain to help with his physical training.
So, it's not like he hates or despises Issei now.
He's just disappointed.
Maybe creating Alpha was an unconscious way to cope.
"Have you thought of a name?" A clear attempt to change the subject, but Miki let it slide.
"…Nah, you got any ideas?"
Gorou didn't have much experience naming a pure, non-artificial human, and it put a subtle pressure on him.
He thought for a moment before his eyes lit up with a mysterious glint.
"If it's a boy, let's call him Toji. If it's a girl… how about Maki?"
Gorou mentally patted himself on the back for his genius.
*'Why waste days looking for a cool name when there's already some ready to go?'*
Luckily, Miki liked the idea.
After some more chatting, Gorou went to eat and got ready to leave the house.
"I won't be free to move around as much anymore… Even I'm not irresponsible enough to leave my pregnant wife alone."
As for leaving her under the protection of some invention? No thanks.
So, he headed toward the abandoned church with a firm step.
He'd have to free Rei to deal with the Asia incident and those fallen angels.
[*Congratulations, you've fulfilled another of Stanford Pines' wishes.*]
[*Synchronization 70%*]
"…Damn. It was *that* simple?!"
In the end, Gorou figured out how to create the dimensional portal.
But fate's laughing at him.
The reason he fulfilled Stanford's wish was simple: his desire to stay with his family.
If he'd just gotten Miki pregnant without taking responsibility or had been negligent, he would've gained nothing.
*'And yet, being stuck in this universe for a year when the multiverse is right there in front of me!'*
Invisible tears streamed down Gorou's face.
…
"R… Rei, that's my name."
A teenager, around 17 or 18, stood naked on a white floor, his scarlet red hair slightly damp and his athletic build on display.
He hadn't fully come to his senses yet, but a purely destructive aura radiated from him, his mental state unstable.
He muttered, "Rei… that's my name," as he stared with golden eyes at the annoying white light coming from the ceiling.
"Yes, you're Rei."
Finally, a man in a white lab coat entered the room.
Instinctively, the teenager walked toward him slowly.
He didn't know why yet, but he felt relaxed, calmer under the man's gaze.
His chaotic, unstable state settled bit by bit.
His temporary ignorance, beyond knowing his name, wasn't his main concern anymore. He wanted to "help" this man.
It was something etched into his subconscious.
Finally, he stood in front of him.
"Come on now, can you tone down that demonic energy? You're gonna alert my annoying neighbors, haha," Gorou said with a tired voice, letting out a casual chuckle at the end.
He was in a good mood.
*'Rei was born without a hitch, and he's already searching for his identity and scanning his surroundings.'*
The information fed to Rei through Rias Gremory hadn't fully awakened yet, but it wouldn't take long.
Like a baby exploring and seeking stimuli through their mouth.
The current Rei was analyzing his environment and instinctively seeking human warmth.
Rei wanted to learn.
From his perspective, he was nothing, and then he became Rei. A pretty disorienting situation.
"Energy what…?" He was confused for a moment before grasping the meaning of the man's words.
He let out a small breath, slowly opening his now calmer eyes.
The destructive scarlet energy he'd been passively emitting faded under his control.
"Hmm, you're really something," Gorou said, circling him, studying his naked body.
He was checking for any anomalies, but his actions seemed to make Rei uncomfortable.
"*Cough* Sorry, just making sure you're healthy… You probably already know, but I'm your creator, Gorou Hyoudou."
Rei paused to think, then nodded in understanding.
He already had information about Gorou and his artificial devil nature, but he still needed to explore things for himself.
That's why he was mentally unstable at birth, seeking random stimuli.
"O… yeah, I think I remember… no, I know," he said, searching for his words.
Gorou didn't push for an immediate response, letting him take his time.
"It's still fuzzy, but I'm starting to get it," Rei said after some introspection.
Gorou nodded, satisfied, then called a robot to bring clothes.
It was a simple outfit, but it suited Rei perfectly.
"Follow me. We can't stay here forever, right?"
Rei didn't reply but followed silently, looking around.
He seemed to recognize everything yet not at the same time.
It was a paradox in his mind.
He knew about the base and its functions but had never set foot in it.
It created this nostalgic yet curious expression.
It didn't take long for the two to reach another room.
This one was filled with tons of gym equipment and training gear, some rivaling the size and weight of Zoro's training gear from *One Piece*.
"…Why are we here?"
Gorou grabbed a notebook after entering the room.
"We need to do your health check now. It'd suck if you had some hidden issue in your body, right?"
Rei didn't argue with Gorou's words.
He just clenched his fists a few times before walking toward the training equipment.
The idea of refusing Gorou's suggestion didn't even cross his mind as he picked up a weapon from the shooting range stand.
*Bang bang bang*
"Good vision…"
Rei went through various tests.
Some checked his reflexes, others his lifting strength, some assessed his IQ, and there was even one testing his reproductive capacity.
Gorou collected all the data he could.
*'Maybe because he's a guy, but his physical strength is higher than Rias or even Koneko, the physical specialist in her peerage.'*
It didn't surprise him, since Riser Phenix also had considerable physical strength as a High-Class devil.
As for speed…
*'He struggles to dodge my bolt at point-blank, but it's not an issue at a distance.'*
He jotted it all down in a file labeled "Rei," to be filled out and studied more later.
"*Huff* …thanks."
After the tests, Rei sat on the floor, slightly out of breath.
After taking a few sips of water offered by Gorou, he turned his attention back to the man in the white coat.
"You done?" he asked, his tone full of anticipation.
Gorou nodded after handing the collected data to a domestic robot.
"Yeah… wanna grab something to eat?"