-AAAAAAH!!!
Whose voice was that!? I nearly breathed out my soul!
I quickly transform back into my human appearance. But I'm naked since I
pulled my clothes into my body so that they wouldn't be dirtied or destroyed.
If that voice belonged to Luna, there's no way to explain this situation to her.
When I turn around, I find that the half-elf is still unconscious on the
ground and there's nobody else besides her left in this store.
Wait, don't tell me...
"Yes, it's me, the creepy doll." The voice remarks and my eyes snap
towards the unmoving doll sitting on the sofa chair. So, you're aware of the
fact that you're a creepy doll.
That's not the point here! Why can you talk? Are you actually a human
who just looks like a doll?
"Can you give me some blood?" Even though she's not moving, it's obvious
that the voice is coming from her direction.
Nopenopenopenopenope!
That's going to end up in a curse!
"But preferably not yours, I don't think I'd like what will happen to me, if I
ingested your blood... if you have any in the first place, that is."
"Hey, that's rude." But I can understand where she's coming from. Wait, if
she's a human, why didn't she go mad at seeing me? Don't tell me she's really
a ghost possessing a doll? "... what are you?"
"That's rude, too. I'm a proper human, you know? Well, not anymore, but I
used to be." The doll responds in an indignant tone. Didn't she basically just
admit that she's a ghost? "I'm just... out of juice. Give me some blood from
one of those inside you. I need someone who's still alive."
"How do you know they're still alive? I ate them, you know?" They both
are alive, though. I found that fear and insanity is food for me, so I'll milk
them until they die on their own inside me.
"Because you're a Crawling Chaos, and your kind finds pleasure in making
them suffer for as long as possible." She replies in a matter of fact tone, with no hint of judgment. That's one way to put what I'm doing to them, I guess.
So, she knows what I am, and she's not afraid. Who or what exactly is she?
"Give me some of their blood, and I'll be able to move again."
"And what makes you think I want you to be able to move?"
"Because you can just as well call me Exposition Doll, with all the
knowledge I can give you. Also, you're not the first of your kind I've met.
Though, I guess you are the first one in this world." I could practically see her
shrug, even though she didn't move at all.
In this world? Don't tell me this doll is also a reincarnated human from
another world. Maybe even from my world?
"Umm... could we maybe make this less complicated? I mean, let's just
skip this whole introduction part and get to info-dumping." Her voice sounds
annoyed, like that of an adult getting pestered by a child.
"Huh, what do you mean by that?" I know what 'info-dumping' means, but
why would she say it like that?
"Ahhh, it's so difficult now... it was much easier when I was talking to a
third person narrator..."
You what? Did she just break the fourth wall? I look around but don't see
anything like text bubbles or borders. This isn't a comic featuring a redhooded mercenary, is it?
"Whatever, just give me some blood, and I'll give you some good info in
exchange. There's nothing to lose for you."
Well, color me interested. She clearly knows something about this world
that I don't. And giving her some blood from one of the guys inside me
shouldn't cause me any problems. They're doomed to die anyway.
Thus, I make the forearm of the thug peek out from my stomach, turn one
of my tentacles into a blade and make a cut on his wrist. He struggles, but at
this angle, he can't even move anything but his fingers. Letting his blood flow
into the cleanest container I can find in this room, I put it to the doll's mouth
and let it trickle into her parted lips.
For a moment, there's only silence.
"Did it work?" I tilt my head to look at the stitched doll's face. Suddenly, I
feel the thug inside me cease all his movements, even though he was lively
moments ago. His heart has stopped, not from blood loss, being suffocated or
from shock. He simply died.
"Hey, what did you do?" I'm not really angry, just surprised. There's no other explanation for his sudden death than that she did something because he
kept struggling until the very last moment. Also, the brainiac is still alive, and
the two of them should have had the same conditions within my body.
The horror doll suddenly snaps her head around and stares at me with big
blue eyes.
"I just took his life force." Explaining in a matter of fact tone and with a
wholly unconcerned expression, she looks me in the eyes emotionlessly. At
least she's properly using her lips to speak, instead of what she did before.
"Stop that!" I flinch and exclaim at her jump scare.
"And next time, just a few drops of blood is enough." She slides down from
the chair and begins to do some stretching as if she just woke up from a long
sleep. I hear creaking in her joints, making it sound like she's made of metal
and wood.
"So, it's like a voodoo curse?" I inquire about the method by which she
killed the man inside me remotely.
"I wish... Maybe you'll understand if I tell you that it's a certain curse
technique which duplicates your wounds onto someone whom you become
connected with by ingesting their blood." Clicking her tongue, the doll girl
looks away in annoyance. "Yes, that's how lame my setting is."
"I don't really understand what you mean." And what's that about a setting?
She's been speaking like someone from my time period for a while now.
"It's better that you don't know. It had the most clichéd ending and was just
a waste of time. Well, I guess at least it wasn't as bad as that other one, where
every other page was just completely black or white." Her words don't make
much sense to me. "But in this world, my powers changed a little to be more
convenient to the plot."
Please don't break my fourth wall any more than that...
"My name is Ootsuki Senka. Appearance-wise I'm the cheap knockoff of
the Kuchisake-Onna, and ability-wise the even cheaper knockoff of a certain
immortal." She finally introduces herself with a bow that's accompanied by
the actual sound effect of a bow, because her spine cracks at the perfect
moment. That's unexpectedly cute!
Wait, that's a Japanese name! And the Kuchisake-Onna is a Japanese urban
legend about a vengeful ghost-
"Aaah, you're a ghost after all!?" I take a step back, and my eyes are fixated
on the little doll before me.
"That's what you have a problem with?" Sighing, Senka steps forward with
somewhat mechanical movements, as if she's actually just a puppet. "You're a
Cosmic Horror, how can you be afraid of ghosts?"
"I'm bad with horror stuff..." Anything wrong with that? "And Cosmic
Horror? What's that?"
"You seem to be quite ignorant of pop culture trends, for having come from
Japan of the... present? It's hard to keep track of all these timelines." Shaking
her head, the doll girl shrugs.
"Wait, how do you know that?" I'm shocked. Don't tell me she knows me
from my previous life?
"That's what I do. I drink blood, and I know things." A smile plays on her
lips and extends to the stitches on her cheeks. It might have been intended as
a smirk, but instead, it just looks sinister.
"That's not an answer!" I'm beginning to get indignant.
"So, what's your name?" She ignores my rebuke and leads the conversation
elsewhere.
"I'm Kuroe Makoto, though everyone here knows me as Chloe Marcott."
There's no point in getting worked up over things here. "My actual demon
name is Chaos, though."
"Chaos... how original." She snorts while looking at me with pity.
Oi, leave my name alone! I'm fully aware that it's an edgy name like no
other.
"In either case, what will you do about this situation? I'm sure you don't
want that girl to know about your identity. I mean, this is the human territory
after all." Pointing at the collapsed Luna, Senka makes a fair point.
"If I make her disappear, it's going to cause a commotion... any ideas?"
Somehow I feel like I can talk to this doll-like girl openly. She's not afraid of
my appearance and doesn't care about the fact that I'm a demon that just
killed three people.
Well, I killed one, she killed one, and one more is still alive inside me.
Oh, we're partners in crime, then.
"Hmm." She tilts her head and thinks for a moment, before continuing.
"Well, for now, put on some clothes. And then..."
Luna opens her eyes and seems confused for a moment. Then she sits up
abruptly and looks around with an anxious expression. I'm kneeling on the ground next to her, fully clothed once more, and acting concerned.
"Huh? Where are the three men?" She's panicked, but when she doesn't see
them in the store, a wondering look appears on her face.
"I don't understand it either, but that doll over there went off and scared
them away. They ran out of the store." When I think about it, this explanation
may be pushing the limits of believability. I look at the doll in question.
"The doll?" Luna stands up and walks towards it. "What do you mean, it
'went off'?"
I think this is going to be fun.
Senka suddenly snaps her head around with an audible creaking sound. Her
eyes are wide open and staring right at Luna when she starts to laugh
mechanically.
"Kyaaah!!!" Luna lets out a girly scream and hits the doll over the head
with her staff, throwing her off the chair. Wow, it seems she's even worse
with horror than I am. Stepping back from the fallen Senka, the half-elf stares
at her like it's a monster.
"Hey, she saved us, you know?" I walk past Luna and pick the doll girl up
into my arms. Wow, she's incredibly light, as if her body is hollow. "I want to
keep her."
I'll bring her along on my journey, as she requested. She'll keep acting like
an automaton for the time being, until we're in a place where her appearance,
coupled with her talking and moving about naturally, will no longer be
considered the work of demons. In other words, anywhere on the continent of
Ceogath.
She told me that her body requires spiritual energy to function, so she
prefers to remain unmoving unless absolutely necessary. Said spiritual energy
apparently can only be obtained through eating the souls of living beings.
And those living beings should preferably be humans.
Apparently, there are no detectable bodily functions in her; breathing and
heartbeat are entirely absent, so nobody will be able to tell that she's not a
doll but actually alive. Well, I wonder whether she can be considered alive or
not either way, but I guess it's like being a zombie.
Oh, and she did say she was immortal.
I hug her tightly and find that she feels soft and smells pretty nice. In this
room of mold and decay, she's somehow the only good-smelling thing. She's
beginning to grow on me, and I'm starting to understand the charm of her design; it's the niche appeal called 'creepy-cute'.
"Why do you want to keep this disgusting thing?" Luna shows said disgust
on her face in a most unladylike expression. That's really rude, you know.
"I like the design." I really do, call me crazy however you like.
"You must be crazy!" She practically spits this in my face. Ouch, I didn't
mean for you to actually do it. Because of this she definitely dislikes me even
more now, and she thinks I'm crazy.
In either case, I gained some insights into the human world, mostly into its
shady side. And I obtained some excellent information for the quest that this
party wants to take on. Now, how do I relay what I learned to the others
without appearing suspicious for knowing too much?
"I think these thugs wanted to kidnap me for what I am." Luna changes the
subject and talks about the three guys inside me. That's some nice deduction
there. "So, as a dark elf, Lady Nightwane was already their target." And the
next step is? "She must still be here since they had not left yet."
Ding Dong! You're - most likely - correct.
"Maybe she's in the storage room?" I motion to go and take a peek, but
Luna grabs my arm and stops me.
"Let me go first. There might still be someone else in there." She looks
determined, but I can feel her trembling through the hand on my arm.
You'll go first, huh? Since it worked so well last time, right? If what
happened here earlier didn't cause whoever may have been hiding in the back
to come out, it means there isn't anyone else. Or there's a back door, which
would be really bad; my identity would be at risk.
"I don't want to meet her..." Senka whispers to me when Luna walks ahead
and peeks through the half-opened door leading into the back of the store.
Someone who isn't afraid of my true appearance doesn't want to meet a
person. I have to wonder just how bad this Lady Nightwane must be.
"She's... a lonely woman... and there aren't many life-sized dolls available
in this world, even if it's only one as small as me." Speak no further, I can
somehow picture what you mean, even though I don't want to.
"Ah, Lady Nightwane!" Luna seems to have found her.
Senka's face twists into a visage of annoyance and disgust. Hmm, that
expression looks familiar... I think it was something involving a certain holy
sword on a journey to California.
"I found her!" Senka's expression returns to a blank one when the half-elf turns around to call out to me. She walks into the back of the store, and I
follow her.
The storage area is similar to the store, with shelves full of strange and
creepy occult things. Only, it's even messier here. The lady in question is
lying on the ground, tied up, gagged and unconscious.
So, that's a dark elf, huh? She has long pointy ears, just like those I saw on
the elf queen's head, which Maou-mama ate, but her skin is of a mauve
purple, and her long fluffy hair is the color of the starlit night sky. My first
thought is that maybe this is an evolutionary trait to better blend in at night.
That appearance can't be described as anything but that of a sultry mature
woman's. Unlike the elven queen, whose pitiful appearance I got to see when
Maou-mama transformed into her, this one has a very curvaceous body.
Breasts almost as big as the demon queen's, a slim waist and an incredibly
prolific pelvis.
Her dark purple robe, which appears to be made of silk, clings to her body
and accentuates her proportions even more. I can't help but feel a little
attracted to it.
It's my luck that she's unconscious; she didn't hear anything of what
happened in the store moments ago, or I would have had to kill her - as well
as Luna. If only these two disappeared, I could explain it by saying that I got
separated from Luna and became lost, while she and Lady Nightwane were
kidnapped from this store. Nobody would suspect that cute little me was the
one who killed them and that I'm actually a monster.
Or rather a Cosmic Horror, according to Senka.
"She is still alive!" What part of kidnapping involves killing the target,
Luna-chan? She begins to shake the woman. "Wake up, Lady Nightwane."
If she had an injury to the spine, you could have paralyzed her with that.
What's with people shaking someone unconscious without bothering to look
for external injuries first? Then again, I doubt the concept of first aid exists in
this world.
"Uuuh..." But the shaking seems to have woken her up, as she stirs and
tries to move. "Hmmph?"
Her eyes spring wide open and reveal beautiful amethyst irises. She
realizes that she's practically in bondage, and begins to struggle. Then she
sees Luna and looks up at her with hopeful eyes, who immediately takes off
her gag and begins to untie her.
"Ah, th-thank you so much, Runa!" Her voice sounds alluring, and her tone
is soft, although she does seem to have a nervous stutter. Combining that with
the knowledge of what she does to Senka, I can only see her as a sexually
frustrated, socially inept loner, who most likely doesn't have any real sexual
experience.
How pitiful.
Also, I can't help but think that she's a masochist and the submissive type.
It's just the vibes she seems to give off.
"Are you hurt?" Too late to ask that, you already shook her and all. "Did
they do something to you?"
"N-no, I'm fine." She speaks in a somewhat gloomy tone while sweeping
her fluffy hair behind her very long ears with a delicate, gloved hand. It
doesn't sound like her attitude is a result of the circumstances, but rather
appears to be a personality trait of hers. Massaging her wrists, she stands up
on unsteady feet and turns to look at me. "Ah, w-who are you? And wh-what
are you doing with my... w-with the cursed doll?"
Were you about to slip up and say 'sex toy'?
"She saved our lives. I want to buy her." I see astonishment on Lady
Nightwane's face. Luna stares at me dumbfounded.
"You were serious about wanting to keep it? And it's even cursed!" Luna
looks at me with pure disbelief.
Have you seen my actual face? That's beyond creepy, and one can
practically see the curses in it.
Why do I hurt myself so?
"How much do you want for it?" Ignoring Luna's complaints, I look into
Lady Nightwane's mesmerizing eyes with determination.
"You have money?" Surprised, Luna looks at me with a doubtful
expression. Would I be asking about the price, if I didn't have anything on
me?
Well, her doubts are understandable since I was penniless when I met her
and didn't earn any money since. But it must be my lucky day because I
found a pretty fat wallet in the brainiac's belongings. I searched his stuff
earlier, even while he's still alive, to look for things that could be useful to
me. I can just say he dropped his wallet when he ran away, just like trainers
do in a certain game about catching supernatural wild animals when you
defeat them.
"S-she's not for-" The dark elf is about to refuse, but I cut her short.
"Is this much enough?" I pull out the leather bag full of money. I don't
really know how much is in it, but I'll just let the jingle of the coins do the
talking.
Hey, your eyes are sparkling, Lady Nightwane?
She jumps up and snatches the bag away, before going through its contents
with an increasingly excited expression. I see, no poker face at all. I guess her
business is going badly, but considering the location and smell of this place,
I'm not surprised.
"W-with this much, I-I could..." She trails off and seemingly begins some
mental calculations. Well, I think this isn't just hook, line and sinker
anymore. The whole fishing rod went down with it on this one. Now, let me
hear your obvious answer. "B-but... it's a cursed doll. I-I can't, in good
conscience, s-sell it to you. G-great misfortune will befall any who k-keep it
close to them."
"She means to say she modified a part of my body and great misfortune
will befall her if you find out." Senka whispers without moving her lips, at a
level that's apparently only audible to me.
I don't want to know which part was modified. Please don't tell me.
"I'll add this." Luckily, the thug with the club also had a purse. While not
as big or as heavy as the brainiac's, it should add some weight to the scales
inside her mind.
Luna has been looking at me dubiously, but now she's giving me a gaze
filled with bewilderment. You think I'm crazy for wanting to buy this doll
already, and now your opinion is being reinforced by how much I'm willing
to spend on it, right?
"Where did you get all this money from?" She asks me with a hint of
suspicious in her voice. I was waiting for this question, but...
"I'll tell you later." I don't need to let the dark elf know that her assailants
left this money in her shop when they ran away because of Senka - as they
did according to my official version of what happened here. She might claim
ownership of the money since it would mean I didn't actually contribute to
getting it. I can't tell them that it was my achievement, after all.
"I..." She's seriously considering it. Now, for the finisher.
"Then I shall add a little more, but that's my final offer." I take out one
more bag of money and offer it reluctantly. It's the purse of the guy who, upon seeing my real appearance, died almost right away. The amount is about
the same as what the other muscle-for-brains had, but at this point, it should
tip the scale in favor of selling Senka.
Lady Nightwane makes big round eyes at the sight of three bags of money.
Going through the contents of the last one, something inside her mind clicks.
Her demeanor changes a little, and she's no longer hesitant.
"I-I accept the offer. It w-would be rude not to, i-if the customer is so
adamant about it." Even though she still sounds hesitant, there's no hint of it
in her attitude; she's brimming with joy at having gotten her hands on a lot of
money. "B-but I must warn you. It's a c-cursed doll, after all. It has caused
the d-deaths of countless previous owners w-who... attempted to t-take off its
dress."
Ah, that's a pretty good one. You can't say no to the money, but you still
don't want me to find out about the modifications you did on her body. Now
I'm curious, even though I can imagine it. The jar of 'worms' comes to mind.
I shake my head from the image and suppress a shudder.
- You have obtained Creepy Loli Doll -
I'm imagining a certain item-obtained tune being played in my head,
originating from a game series about a long-eared hero dressed in green, who
has to rescue a princess in every single one of his incarnations.
"I cannot believe it... Miss Marcott, you have terrible taste." Luna shakes
her head in resignation when the transaction goes through. She's being rude
again.
"To each their own, Miss Luna." Hugging Senka firmly, I pout.
"There is no helping it, is there?" Shaking her head, she turns to the dark
elf and reverts to her serious adventurer self. "Lady Nightwane, do you know
anything about these kidnappers?"
"T-they didn't say much when they attacked. T-the small and skinny one
told the m-muscular ones not to hurt my face..." Regaining a hint of
professionalism, the lady responds while looking up from her newfound
fortune.
That idiot who knocked Luna unconscious wanted to hit this dark elf's
beautiful face, too? He should have died a more horrible death for even
thinking about ruining two beauties, but Senka killed him instantly with her voodoo-like magic. Well, he's slowly dissolving inside me now, so at least
he's getting desecrated after his death.
"B-but I have heard rumors about s-slavers targeting our kind in these parts
of the kingdom. A-after the complete ban on demi-human s-slavery, nine
summers ago criminal organizations have p-prospered in this business." Lady
Nightwane explains in a somber tone but retains her stutter. Unexpectedly,
she appears to be quite capable, when serious. But unfortunately, I already
know about her incredibly pitiful side, so it'll take her a lot to pull herself
back out from these depths.
Slavery, huh? While it's a good thing that it was banned, the fact that it
only happened nine years ago reminds me of just how medieval this world is.
At least the technology level is higher than that, most likely because of
magic.
"When you were knocked out, the one with the big head did say something
about how their client would not buy damaged goods." I need to take this
opportunity and make my words seem natural, even though I'm making up
things as I go here. "I asked him who his client was, and he actually told me.
It's Sveinn Itkonen."
"What, really?" But Luna seems to buy it. "We have to let Rolan know."
Umm, hello? What about reporting to the authorities?
"Shouldn't we call the guards first?" I don't know if the concept of a police
force exists in this world, but there are gate guards. So, I can't be wrong in
assuming that there's something like an organized institution for keeping
peace and order in this city.
"Ah, yes. You are right..." Luna mutters as if she only realized that only
now. "But we have to let the others know before they run into trouble."
"We won't be meeting until nightfall, so we don't know where they are."
Strange feeling, to be the voice of reason here.
"The town is not that big, and I can imagine where they are right now." The
half-elf argues though it doesn't make sense. In fiction, people run around a
city in search of someone, and they almost always instantly find them.
Something that convenient doesn't happen in reality, so I don't want to
waste my time doing it. We're only two people, and considering Luna's
unexpectedly protective personality, she'll refuse to split up. That way we can
only search one place at a time, which makes it doubly likely that we'll just
walk past the other members of the party on parallel streets - for enhanced irony.
"What if they aren't there?" Let's see you find an excuse for that.
"Then we will continue searching." She replies in a stubborn tone. Not
even trying anymore, huh? This isn't going anywhere.
"How about we split up? I'll return to the Dancing Dragon and wait for
them there. Maybe someone will return earlier, and I can tell them what we
found out here." That's definitely a much more sensible proposal than running
around without a clue.
"No, I cannot leave you alone. I'll come with you." Putting her foot down,
Luna declares. "If nobody is waiting at the Dancing Dragon, I will leave a
message with the tavern keeper, and we head out to search for them." Alright,
at least that's better than nothing. "Leave that doll behind; we need to hurry."
"What? No! I'm going to take her with me. She's really light." I embrace
Senka firmly and turn away defiantly.
"Please don't be a lolicon..." I hear the doll whisper. If you're not careful,
I'll become one just for you.
"Ugh... fine." Luna finally resigns and sighs. Hah, I knew it! I'm sure she
wanted to make me leave the doll in this store and hoped that I would forget
about it later. "Alright, let us go."
Luna prepares to leave but then seems to remember something. She turns
back to Lady Nightwane.
"Please be careful and close the shop for the time being. They might return
to get you after they figure out that the doll was only an automaton." She
warns the dark elf.
"A-automaton?" Tilting her head, Lady Nightwane repeats that word as if
she heard it for the first time in her life.
Oh crap. I thought your alibi was perfect, but you never acted like an
automaton in front of your previous owner, Senka?
"So it is a cursed doll after all!" Luna turns to look at the doll girl with fear
and disgust. Well, she's not going to let this one slide.
"I-I told you, didn't I? It's a c-cursed doll that s-sometimes moves on its
own." Lady Nightwane explains when she realizes what we're talking about.
Nice save, dark elf.
No wait, that's not really helping my case!
"Leave it behind!" Pointing at Senka, Luna shouts in an almost hysterical tone.
"No, never! I already bought her!" And I had to fight for that money, too!
"Rolan will hear about this!"
Are you a kid?!
Oh wait, you actually kind of are.
Lady Nightwane looks at us strangely, but I think she's quite happy with
the money she got. I don't know how much it was, but maybe I gave away a
considerable sum? Not that I have any need for it.
Wait, I wanted more of those puff pastries! Well, I guess I got something
else that's sweet instead. Cuddling Senka, I show that I won't let go of her.
"I have experience with cursed dolls." Kind of. Not really.
"That does not make it alright to carry around a cursed doll!" Luna rebuts.
This back and forth continues a little more, but eventually, the half-elf
reluctantly gives in, seeing how obstinate I remain about this matter. We
quickly depart to return to the Dancing Dragon after this, and all along the
way, she keeps stealing glances at the doll in my arms. She must be worrying
about another jump scare.
I feel that with this new companion it's going to be a lot more fun from
now on.