He opened the first page of the booklet.
What caught his eye first was a very exquisite standing illustration of a doll. Below the illustration, there were also densely packed small characters showing the information of that doll.
[The First Doll · Moonstring White]
A cleaning-type doll with extremely strong spellcasting abilities. She is good at using spells to launch large-scale attacks on targets. Personality: Mature and talkative. Emotional Development Degree: ★★★, Combat Rating: ★★★★, Energy Consumption: High
Appearance: Female, a medium-sized simulated spellcasting doll with an adult body type. She has long black straight hair, blue pupils, and her right eye is damaged so it is often covered by a flower bud. Her characteristics are a white robe and a blue sash, and she is 175cm tall.
[The Second Doll · Requiem]
A combat-type doll with extremely strong close-combat abilities. With her ultimate assault and berserk abilities, she can become a sharp blade on the battlefield. Personality: Crazy and sick. Emotional Development Degree: ★★, Combat Rating: ★★★☆, Energy Consumption: Extremely High
Appearance: Female, a light-weight simulated doll with a lolita body type. She has red hair and red pupils, and often uses a three-meter-long heavy scythe. She is almost uncontrollable during combat. Her characteristics are the scythe, red hair, and she is 151cm tall.
[The Third Doll · Glazed Lantern]
A maid-type doll. Female. She has excellent housekeeping assistance abilities and is a perfect butler-type doll. Her outstanding management and financial abilities allow her to quickly adapt to any environment. Personality: Lively and cute. Emotional Development Degree: ★★★★★, Combat Rating: ★, Energy Consumption: Small
Appearance: Female, a medium-sized simulated doll with a maiden body type. She has blonde hair and blue eyes. She often takes charge of the Doll Manor when the lady is away and is the head maid of the Doll Manor. She wears a maid uniform and can perfectly simulate the expression of real human emotions. Her characteristics are: smile, dignity, and she is 160cm tall.
...
Ryan was stunned as he flipped through the introductions in the handbook.
Each page had a standing illustration of a doll and related introductions. And without exception, each doll was exquisitely crafted, looking like a real person yet not quite.
There was an indescribable eerie beauty to them.
"Are all these..." Ryan was astonished.
The Doll Lady smiled faintly as she propped up her cheek and said, "All of them are very good dolls. Each one was carefully selected by me and brought back from all over the world. They are also my daughters."
"You should have seen it, right? Each of them has their own area of expertise. And after my meticulous carving, at least in terms of appearance, compared to an old puppet like me, they can be more easily accepted by the normal world."
The Doll Lady introduced, leaning forward with a charming smile on her face.
"How about it? Are you interested in any of them?"
"If you are, Auntie can rent them to you at any time. They can be bodyguards or maids. Of course, if you're not afraid of death, being a plaything isn't out of the question either."
Ryan: "(꒪Д꒪)!"
This... Can they really be rented?
Ryan frowned and said, "I don't think it's a good idea. Since you've already said these are your daughters, renting them out like commodities somehow feels a bit..."
The Doll Lady immediately smiled and said, "Alright, then I'll put it in a more formal way."
"You can think of this as a form of employment."
"Employment?" Ryan was hesitant.
The Doll Lady hugged her chest, closed her eyes, and curled the corner of her mouth, saying, "Yes. My daughters all perform extremely well in their respective fields. Many creatures in the dark world are willing to pay me a large sum of money to employ my daughters to handle some tricky matters for them."
"For example, assassination, war, bodyguarding, management and other operations."
"And my daughters are also very happy to experience the different customs and lives of the world in this way. At the same time, this is also the source of funds to keep the whole manor running smoothly."
After listening to the Doll Lady's explanation, Ryan nodded thoughtfully.
In other words.
In a certain sense.
This is like a security company.
The Doll Lady smiled faintly as she looked at him and said, "How about it? Is there anyone suitable? If you like any of them, just tell Auntie. And since it's to repay you, the first rental is free."
She kept coaxing.
Ryan thought about it after hearing this.
To be honest, he was indeed a bit interested.
It wasn't because they were pretty enough or looked good enough to the eyes. It was simply considering his actual situation.
What she said just now was indeed correct.
After the teacher left, if something like the last invasion of the flesh puppets happened again, it would undoubtedly be a big trouble.
Because he couldn't always rely on the Blood-Clothed Evil Spirit.
And Sister Blood-Clothed often went out to hunt for food. If she encountered some big guys again, relying only on himself and his left hand would be really difficult to handle.
Maybe...
Should he choose one?
Ryan was tempted.
Under the smiling gaze of the Doll Lady, Ryan began to carefully look through the introductions of each doll.
But soon, Ryan was in a dilemma.
Because...
They were all so good-looking!
It was like you were sitting in a club, watching one cute little lolita after another come in, all of them were so excellent, and you didn't know which one to choose to accompany you!
"Can I have them all?" Ryan was curious.
The Doll Lady's smile immediately became brilliant.
"Sure~~~"
[Ding! The Doll Lady's Favorability towards You +10]
[Ding! The Doll Lady's Favorability towards You +12]
[Ding! The Doll Lady's Favorability towards You +15]
[Ding! The Doll Lady is Overjoyed!]
Ryan immediately shivered.
Something's not right!
Why was she even happier when he said he wanted them all?
Did she have some evil intentions in mind?
In an instant.
Ryan remembered the curse inside her.
Could it be that her real purpose wasn't to thank him, but to make him have some strange things happen with her doll daughters and then help her daughters break the curse?!
Ryan: "!!!"
Using my body?!
No way! It's not possible!
Although I'm a bit of a pervert sometimes, I could never be as thorough as the teacher!
Instantly understanding the Doll Lady's intention, Ryan's heart trembled violently, but his face remained calm.
"Can... I not have them?"
Ryan tentatively asked.
Hum—
The Doll Lady's smile disappeared instantly.
[Ding! The Doll Lady's Favorability towards You -10]
"Yes! I didn't say no! I'll take a closer look!"
Ryan was sweating.
Only then did the Doll Lady become overjoyed again with a brilliant smile.
Ryan thought for a while and then asked, "I understand the combat star rating, but Auntie, what does the emotional development degree mean?"
The Doll Lady blinked and explained, "This is the degree of difficulty I judged in stimulating their emotions based on my years of getting along with them. The higher the star rating, the easier it is and the closer they are to real people."
Without hesitation.
Ryan quickly rejected all the dolls with high emotional star ratings.
Preferably no stars at all!
He didn't want to be too involved!
"And what about the energy consumption degree?" Ryan continued to ask.
The Doll Lady chuckled and said, "Just like you flesh and blood creatures, when you're hungry you need to eat. They also need to consume energy, otherwise they'll move slowly or even stop working."
"However, my daughters are very advanced. Whether it's flesh, spell energy, or energy blocks, they can convert them into their own energy."
Ryan thought about it after hearing this and murmured, "So... I still have to take care of them..."
The Doll Lady: "????"