"Hmmm~"
Shouko puffed her cheeks adorably, letting out a dissatisfied, delicate hum.
"Let's get back on track." Alice stared at her with an expressionless face, her tone cold. "What did you call me here for?"
Her main goal this time was to see if she could recruit Souseiseki and Suiseiseki.
Though, those two were practically already in the bag.
Secondly, she wondered if she could get a little something out of Shouko.
Alice glanced at Komurasaki and Irori. She was very keen to learn the craft of the current generation's strongest doll maker. After all, there was a child back home, waiting for a body.
But none of this was reason enough for Shouko to waste Alice's time.
And that craft wasn't an immediate necessity.
Seeing Alice's demeanor, Shouko dropped the playful antics.
She slowly twisted her waist, straightening up. A simple movement, yet it exuded boundless allure.
Her red lips parted.
"I..."
Tap, tap, tap.
Before she could speak, a clamor of hurried, heavy footsteps came from outside the door.
The sound grew closer, clearly headed for the room they were in.
Shouko let out a resigned sigh and placed her pipe back in her mouth. "Komurasaki."
The little girl with vibrant red twin-tails bounced out cheerfully, spreading her arms wide.
Mana gently diffused, slowly enveloping everyone present.
This was the same mana fluctuation Alice had sensed from afar during her first encounter with Kirakishou.
Alice confirmed it briefly, then offered no resistance to the enveloping mana.
After covering everyone in the room, the mana didn't proceed to the next step.
Thud.
The footsteps halted outside the door.
The next second, the door was slid open with a whoosh.
A burly man entered Alice's field of view.
He was clad in a Japanese military uniform, his sharp eyes sweeping over the room as if on patrol.
It seemed, to his eyes, the room was completely empty.
The furrows on his brow deepened, pressed tightly together. His gaze swept the room once more before he slammed the door shut with force, his footsteps retreating into the distance.
"Still haven't found Karyuusai...?"
"No..."
The voices grew fainter until they vanished.
Silence reclaimed the surroundings.
'The Magic Circuit of this doll must be for concealment,' Alice mused, analyzing the fragile shell of mana wrapped around them.
But it absolutely couldn't block a proper magecraft investigation.
As for the other doll... during the earlier standoff, the temperature had dropped slightly. A Magic Circuit that influences temperature, perhaps?
Weak as they might be, their Magic Circuits were quite interesting.
"Your situation seems less than ideal." Alice lifted her teacup, taking a small sip. Not black tea, but it would do.
"I'm just too popular. So many people want to find me." Shouko shrugged helplessly.
"Back to the point."
She tapped her pipe, her eyes growing somewhat distant.
"My main purpose was to meet you." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "To confirm if someone had truly accomplished the miracle of creating a human."
Shouko herself was a doll.
The title 'Karyuusai' was one she had inherited from her father, the eccentric Kyoushirou.
Legend said that Karyuusai had once created a true 'human'—that was her.
But alas, the ability to create humans was a divine miracle. Anyone other than a god could only produce imitations. And imitations were just that—imitations.
Shouko was not a perfect human.
When Alice and the others had fought Kirakishou, Souseiseki and Suiseiseki had sensed the commotion. Shouko had followed them.
Using Komurasaki's abilities, they had watched the entire battle from a distance.
That was the first time Shouko had seen Alice.
The Magic Crest and Magic Circuits within Alice's body had, for a moment, made Shouko think Alice was a Banned Doll.
She knew the mana cost of the Rozen Maiden's battles; it far exceeded the consumption of ordinary dolls.
And when mana was insufficient, they absorbed life force, draining a person's stamina and spirit.
To supply that level of mana solely through a Banned Doll's own mana recovery was impossible. Only a true human could do it.
Yet Alice was simultaneously supplying mana for two Rozen Maidens. Moreover, most of the mana for the bodiless Rozen Maiden's combat also came from Alice.
Witnessing this, Shouko was astonished. Had someone actually done it?
Created a true human.
But now she knew. Alice was not a doll, but a human with Magic Circuits implanted within her body.
Previous technology had focused on creating more powerful dolls or using machinery to replace internal organs.
The idea of engraving Magic Circuits onto an existing, living body had never occurred to anyone.
Shouko's eyelids lowered halfway, her fingers unconsciously stroking her pipe.
'Perhaps...'
As if struck by a thought, her body gave a sudden jolt.
No! She wouldn't kill again. She wouldn't create another killing machine.
Shouko immediately shattered the thought, lifting the teacup before her and taking a slow drink.
After calming herself slightly, she offered Alice a smile full of apology.
"Sorry, I was reminded of some things."
"Let's return to the topic." Shouko lifted her pipe, smoke slowly curling upwards.
"The Rozen Maidens... they are dolls who gained sentience without an Eve's Heart."
Only that thing could accomplish such a feat...
But they were imperfect, still within the category of dolls.
She steadied her mind, taking a soft breath.
"And then there's that mysterious N-Field."
"I heard before that you can make a body for that child. Can you tell me how it's done?"
You might not believe it.
"With Love." Alice's soft reply came.
The power of love is limitless!
Hearing those words, Shouko didn't exclaim about how unscientific it was like Charlotte had before. She just quietly bowed her head.
'Did that damned drunkard, Kyoushirou, create me that way too?'
With love?... Hah.
She didn't question the method. Because, before this, there was a man who had also created a doll that gained sentience without an Eve's Heart—Shouko herself.
No one knew how Kyoushirou had done it. They only knew that after creating her, his condition deteriorated day by day.
As if he had created a failure.
Shouko lowered her gaze, sitting silently in place.
A few seconds later, she returned to her seductive, enchanting demeanor.
She leaned forward onto the table again, her bewitching eyes fixed intently on Alice.
"Can you let me see that child? The one who is only Magic Circuits."
'So she's interested in this after all.'
The existence over here that could act without a body was truly miraculous.
She could even drag you into a little black room.
Unaware of Shouko's inner thoughts, Alice's gaze gradually shifted towards a nearby mirror.
Sensing Alice's attention, two thorny vines extended from within the mirror.
The pure white thorns intertwined in the air, sketching out a large 'X'.
"She is unwilling."
"Very well." Shouko let out a soft sigh, leaning sideways onto the table as if waiting to pass a baton. She simply lay there, not initiating further conversation.
'Is her part of the conversation over? Then it's my turn.'
Alice glanced at the reclining Shouko, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly.
"Karyuusai Shouko."
"Hmm?"
"Let's have an academic exchange."
"Oh?"
Shouko narrowed her eyes slightly. "I don't make dolls anymore."
"And," she lifted her pretty face, wrapping her arms around her chest, making her 'assets' particularly prominent, "my craft is not something I generally share."
The implication being that under non-general circumstances, she could share.
Well then, as a doll maker of this era, you certainly wouldn't refuse.
Alice gently produced a necklace.
It was a mystic code similar to the ones used by Charlotte and Sigmund.
There was plenty of mercury at home, enough for Alice to experiment freely. There was even a half-finished Volumen Hydrargyrum lying on the table.
Her slender finger lightly touched the silvery-white pearl at its center, injecting mana.
Mercury instantly coated Alice's entire forearm, the silvery armguard gleaming with a dazzling light.
Sunlight from the window reflected off the armguard onto Shouko's face, illuminating her stunned expression.
"Interested?"
Alice's voice sounded in her ear, like a witch luring her towards corruption.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.