The Rogue, Genius, Chaebol's Daughter is a Baby Master Detective! - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Delinquent, the Genius, and the Heiress’s Daughter is a Baby Master Detective!
Chapter 15
A short while later, a package arrived for Haru. What emerged from the box was a yellow bundle of fluff.
A blunt beak just slightly larger than a sparrow’s stuck out adorably. The body was round like a steamed bun, and the fur was soft and fluffy.
Short little legs, wings no bigger than Haru’s fingers, and perched jauntily on its head was an adorable little brown detective’s hat—absolutely perfect.
“Hello. I am Harubot.”
Harubot waddled forward with dignified solemnity and bowed.
“I am a dodo bird.”
For a chick, it spoke with such gravity that it was quite impressive.
“….”
Haru clamped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide as saucers.
“Aww! You’re so cute!”
Haru scooped Harubot into her arms. The robot’s stubby wings fluttered as it spoke.
“Embrace detected. 36.5 degrees. A healthy child.”
“From now on, your name is Dodo. Dodo, can you fly?”
Harubot flapped its tiny wings at maximum power. Only dust scattered.
“Flight Function is not installed.”
“But the Master Detective Dodo can fly!”
“Real dodos cannot fly.”
Haru began conducting Master Detective lessons.
“I’m a Master Detective, and starting today, you’re my assistant! Got it?”
“Registration complete. I am now an assistant.”
“Then solve this mystery! My strawberry milk disappeared yesterday. Who’s the culprit?”
“Analyzing… Analysis complete.”
“Who is it!”
“The culprit is… in this room.”
“Gasp! But there’s nobody here but me!”
“Then the culprit must be you, Ms. Haru.”
“Not me! If I drank it, I would remember!”
“It is possible you committed the crime without remembering. This is statistically common.”
“Haru’s got a good memory. Because she’s a Master Detective!”
“Even Master Detectives can crumble before strawberry milk.”
“Dummy! Are you my assistant or not?”
Haru grabbed Harubot and shook it. The robot wobbled, lost its balance, and flopped backward onto its round back.
Flap-flap.
Because of its round belly, its stubby wings couldn’t touch the ground.
“Please help me up.”
“Haru’s not the culprit.”
“Correction: Ms. Haru is not the culprit.”
Haru rolled Harubot along the floor until it righted itself. The path of a Master Detective is lonely, but now that she had an assistant, it wasn’t so lonely anymore. Instead, it was exhausting.
Sigh.
Haru let out a long, weary breath.
But the real problem began when Kang Tae-joon came home.
After finishing dinner, Harubot waddled toward the satisfied Haru.
“Brush your teeth.”
“….”
“Brush your teeth.”
When Haru didn’t answer, Harubot’s eyes flashed brilliantly. Haru sprawled across the sofa, squirming.
“It’s such a bother.”
“Brush your teeth. Cavity Bacteria are beginning their activities. Unlike dodos, Cavity Bacteria have not gone extinct.”
“Dodo! If you keep this up, I’m going to cry!”
“Brush your teeth.”
Kang Tae-joon, who had been watching the two intelligences bicker, strode purposefully toward the sofa.
He picked up Harubot with a swipe. Its short wings fluttered uselessly in the air.
“Unknown user detected. Shall I proceed with registration?”
“What is this thing.”
“‘What Is This Thing’ has been registered.”
A vein pulsed visibly at Kang Tae-joon’s temple.
Harubot greeted him cheerfully.
“Good evening, Mr. What Is This Thing. The weather today is clear. Shall I inform you of Mr. What Is This Thing’s schedule?”
“Change my name.”
“Name changes are only available to the original registrant. What’s this about?”
Kang Tae-joon called Gong Dae-in.
“This isn’t the kind of help I asked for, is it?”
-It’s a Beta Version. We’ll optimize it gradually through machine learning tailored to Haru.
“Take it away. Now.”
At that, Haru sprang up cradling Harubot in her arms.
“Haru likes Harubot!”
Kang Tae-joon pressed his palm against his forehead. A dull ache throbbed behind his eyes.
***
“What? Gong Dae-in made a robot for Haru?”
Lee Hyun-woo kicked back from his chair. His yellow hair rippled with fury.
“Winning her over with some machine? That cunning little bastard!”
Lee Hyun-woo paced the executive suite in agitated circles.
“What a child needs is warmth, genuine affection! That’s what matters! Singing together, dancing together, playing games—that’s what a real father does!”
“You’re absolutely right, sir.”
His secretary offered the empty agreement without conviction. Lee Hyun-woo bounced his legs anxiously, then stopped cold.
“Find out if Harubot is available for purchase.”
“Pardon? Didn’t you just call it a machine, sir?”
“Know your enemy to win! And can my voice be recorded into Harubot?”
“Your voice? Recorded into it, sir?”
“Think about it—my voice singing her a lullaby. That’d be nice.”
“…Do you really think Miss Haru would like that? Imagine hearing your voice coming out of that parrot robot.”
“…She’d hate it?”
“Yes.”
The secretary answered without hesitation. Lee Hyun-woo’s voice turned cold.
“What would you know? You’ve never even been married.”
“Neither have you, sir.”
“You’ve never even dated!”
“And whose fault is that? Isn’t it because I’ve been cleaning up your messes all this time?”
While Lee Hyun-woo sputtered, his secretary pressed on.
“Besides, what you did wasn’t even dating.”
“What?”
“It’s what they call flirtation without development—something that almost happened but never actually became anything.”
The secretary quickly shut the door and fled. A bang echoed from behind it, followed by an anguished cry.
“That’s not what it was! You don’t know anything!”
***
Gong Dae-in stared at the monitor screen. A week’s worth of Haru’s data—collected through her Smart Watch—was laid out in graphs. Sleep hours, meal intake, heart rate….
Everything was normal, but…. Gong Dae-in removed his glasses and pressed hard at the bridge of his nose.
Whenever the subject of gloves came up, her heart rate spiked dramatically.
A five-year-old who felt no compulsion to remove her gloves obsessively. At first he’d dismissed it as a simple game of playing detective, but….
Then a red error message flashed across the monitor. Gong Dae-in’s fingers flew across the keyboard like lightning, alerted by a critical security breach.
An unauthorized intruder had broken into the company server. Their tracks were already being erased. The technique—rerouting through three different nodes, destroying logs, slipping away cleanly—was disturbingly familiar.
This was….
Gong Dae-in’s hands, which had been moving frantically, froze in mid-air.
A person surfaced in his mind—someone who had invaded his life five years ago and vanished, never to be caught.
Instead of tracing the intruder, Gong Dae-in watched quietly. They hadn’t stolen anything. But the folder they’d opened….
[Haru Growth Data]
They hadn’t come to steal. They’d come to look.
He couldn’t let this pass.
Gong Dae-in hurriedly put on his glasses and began typing rapidly.
‘Jang-mi. Where are you?’
***
Mornings in Saesak Class were always chaotic.
“Siu! Look at this!”
Siu felt ripples disturbing a once-calm lake inside him.
The name of that feeling was…
“Siu! You’re really good at stacking blocks!”
“Siu! Want to play with us?”
“Siu!”
It was infuriating.
“Stop calling me that.”
Seeing Haru’s grin spread wide across her face, his insides twisted.
“You’ve only made this more of a hassle.”
The children who couldn’t approach Siu easily grew bolder when they saw Haru. They began clustering around him relentlessly.
“How dare you repay kindness with betrayal.”
Haru puffed out her cheeks indignantly.
“Siu doesn’t understand anything. Haru is protecting Siu. Don’t you know what a bodyguard is?”
There was no reasoning with her.
“Fine. I won’t mention repaying any debt again. Just do something about these kids.”
Haru tilted her head with a hum. Surrounded by the other children, Siu made a pleasant sight. Haru clapped her hands together with delight.
“Siu’s so popular. I’m jealous.”
“Hey.”
Siu reached out to grab Haru, but another girl snatched his hand away in a flash.
“Siu, let’s play house together!”
Siu was dragged along while glaring at Haru. She responded with a scoffing laugh—utterly unafraid. How could she be, when the other children trailed behind him and had covered even his hair completely?
Being popular was a good thing. Besides, Haru was his guardian angel, protecting him from villains!
Haru followed after him with a satisfied smile.
“Haru wants to play house too! You be the puppy.”
“…The puppy?”
“The puppy’s the most important witness!”
So Haru chased after Siu all day long.
Pitter-patter.
The next day too.
Pitter-patter.
And the day after—
Pitter-patter.
Sick of the endless footsteps, Siu stopped dead in his tracks on the way to school. The footsteps halted too. When he turned around, he was startled.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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