[9]

[Congratulations on claiming your first subject! You've been rewarded a Randomizer Token.]

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the sudden popup, but in an attempt to save face, I swiped the notification away for later. Fortunately, Laurie seemed very tired after such an emotional moment, as she had finally been freed from her imprisonment as the daughter of an extremely manipulative Sean Collins. If I wasn't me, I'd likely think that it was a shame, considering the fact that him and I shared a few similarities.

In other words, she had escaped the clutches of a monster, only to walk right into the jaws of another one without even truly realizing it.

While I normally wouldn't care about such a thing, knowing that I shared certain interests with my newly-enthralled girl's father kind of rubbed me the wrong way. It definitely wouldn't stop me from continuing my actions, but it did make me grimace in distaste for a minute. Just from a glance, I knew I wouldn't have liked the guy if we were to have actually interacted.

Peering down at the blonde still wrapped around me, her head resting against my chest as her eyes occasionally drifted open and closed in an energetically-drained manner, I silently attempted something that I had been wondering about ever since I received the system. It worked.

In the blink of an eye, Laurie had disappeared, having been sent into my inventory without any sign of a struggle or delay. For the most part, I knew it was going to work, and that was due to the fact that I literally owned her in every way imaginable at this point, which was something that I still couldn't help but feel the inkling of a grin crawl up my face from, as it had been completely unexpected. Not to mention, I wasn't even the one that had ended up initiating the process, as it was essentially all caused by the girl's feeling of being indebted to me after saving her from a terrible life, likely to the point that she would have been willing to become mine.

…And my powers seemed to have taken advantage of that. Can't say I'm complaining, though.

With quick steps, I left the dark alleyway and began heading towards my next stop.

----------

By the time I finally made it back to my apartment, my legs felt quite sore. It had taken me about three hours to get as much as I could before the sun gradually began setting over the horizon, and once I stepped into the bathroom, which I figured deserved to be the first place I fixed up for Laurie's sake, I quickly got to work. The biggest problem I essentially had at the moment when it came to the apartment was the fact that I didn't have any water, which meant I couldn't take a shower.

Pulling out a few items from my inventory, I merged them together and worriedly checked the results. This was sort of going to be a Hail Mary on my end, considering I still hadn't really been able to figure out what I needed for a proper water source that could easily circumvent and operate effectively, which had eventually led to me attempting to take advantage of just how broken my ability to merge things actually was.

[Appraisal function activated. Treasure detected. Aqua Cycle - F rank. A generator capable of autonomously producing a continuous supply of purified water through a self-sustaining process.]

With that, I merged my newfound creation with the apartment itself, subtly guiding the fusion with certain desires, and in the aftermath, I couldn't help but grin broadly at the outcome. I sat there for a minute, simply admiring my work, before I tentatively reached for the knobs above the spotless tub and turned them both as I briefly tested the temperature of each side. The entire thing worked perfectly.

After that, I went around to every sink and came to the same conclusion, feeling the edges of my lips reach their limits of how far they could stretch until it started hurting.

Before I took Laurie out of my inventory, the last thing I decided to fix up a bit more was the room I slept in. Not for those reasons, mind you, but because I barely even had any furniture yet. For the living room, all I pretty much had was just a tv and an uncomfortable chair, so after lingering in the bedroom for a while, I had ended up converting the bed, which was previously a twin-sized, into a queen that would easily fit the both of us on it during her stay.

I wasn't really planning to do anything with her, at least not for a while, but certain things could take an unexpected turn just like how she had essentially given herself to me. With the look in her eyes that I saw a few hours ago, I didn't know what to expect in all honesty.

Once I finally decided to take Laurie out, I mirrored the stance I had previously been using with her before she disappeared, and when the blonde suddenly reappeared, I could immediately tell that she noticed. However, rather than freaking out or anything, her head slowly rose in a mixture of curiosity and wariness. I wouldn't have been surprised if, by the look on her face as she glanced around at her new surroundings with a surprised expression plastered across her face, she had briefly thought it was all just a dream.

As Laurie took in her new surroundings, I observed her silently, noting the mix of emotions playing across her features. It was clear she was trying to make sense of the situation, and I couldn't blame her for feeling overwhelmed. After all, she had just been rescued from a life of manipulation and abuse by her own father, only to find herself in the care of a complete stranger.

"Hey," I spoke up gently, breaking the silence. "Welcome to your new home."

Laurie turned her attention to me, her eyes boring into mine. "Th-thank you," she murmured softly, still clearly processing everything that had happened.

I offered her a small smile. "No need to thank me. You deserve to be safe and free."

Her lips quirked into a tentative smile in return, and I could see a glimmer of hope flickering in her eyes. Despite the uncertainty of our situation, I felt a sense of determination settling within me. I was going to do everything in my power to ensure that Laurie would never be taken away from me.

She belonged to me, after all.

With that in mind, I guided her further into the apartment, giving her a tour of her new living space. I showed her the freshly cleaned bathroom with its now functioning amenities, the cozy bedroom with its spacious queen-sized bed, all that stuff you know.

After giving Laurie a tour of the apartment, I gently encouraged her to take a shower, knowing it would help her feel refreshed and relaxed after the events at the mall. "Hey, why don't you go ahead and take a shower? It'll help you feel better," I suggested, offering her a reassuring smile.

Laurie nodded slowly, still seeming a bit unsure. "Okay," she murmured softly.

I had made sure to grab a few bottles of shampoo, condition, and body wash for when I finally fixed the water problem, so there definitely wasn't any sort of shortage when it came to that.

Nodding in understanding, I eventually couldn't help but realize a crucial detail—I didn't have any clothes meant for the opposite gender in my apartment. Quickly, I rummaged through my meager collection of clothing and pulled out a pair of boxers, sweatpants, and an oversized t-shirt. "Here, these should do for now," I said, handing them to Laurie.

As she disappeared into the bathroom to shower, I headed to the living room. Pausing in front of the uncomfortable chair, I reached into my inventory and retrieved a pillow, merging it with the chair to make it more comfortable. It seemed I would have to find a way to steal a couch without getting caught sooner than I was initially expecting.

With that done, I moved to the kitchen to prepare some snacks for Laurie. I laid out a selection of fruits, crackers, and cheese, hoping it would help calm her nerves. It kind of felt like I was doing a bit too much, but not only was this for her, it was helping me busy myself as I contemplated my next move.

As I worked, my mind raced with thoughts of Laurie's father. I knew he was out there somewhere, tirelessly searching for his runaway daughter. I needed to come up with a plan to enslave him to my will, as well as begin looking for ways to upgrade myself since things were becoming increasingly precarious, but for the moment, I would settle on returning to the living room before flicking through a bunch of channels.

I'd answer some of my new roommate's questions later, for now I just wanted to relax after such a long day to be honest.