C³

Even though Haruaki and his group had no idea what was going on, at least it was clear this was no time to be casually attending cla.s.s. Skipping the lessons in the afternoon, they rushed out of the school, making their way towards the Shiraho address obtained from the health survey earlier. Since the location was in the neighboring town, their first destination was the station.

"Hey, what"s going on? Isn"t that girl Sovereignty?"

"I don"t get it either...! But she"s the one depicted in Shiraho"s photo, that"s absolutely certain!"

"Then Yachi, supposing the person in the photo is "the true Shiraho," then naturally there exists someone else as the "true doll," right?"

This was obvious, and the most likely candidate was—

Haruaki looked at Fear running beside him. Supposing that was true, had this girl not realized it?

(No... It was also possible.)

He recalled back when Konoha was scrutinizing the mask the superintendent handed over to her. Even cursed tools like her and Fear had no certain method of discerning other cursed tools and only relied on intuition. In that case, through accomplished acting skills, it was possible to deceive them—

"Didn"t I mention, there were other minor points of suspicion? Perhaps they may end up being trivial, but I find them bothering."

Having reached the station, Kirika spoke as they went up the stairs. She held down her skirt firmly—in order to prevent others from seeing what was strictly concealed.

"Which points?"

"Suspicious points regarding her movements. A student who did not attend cla.s.s coming to school to search for a doll. Even if we take this for granted, then—Why didn"t she visit the superintendent"s office as soon as she came to school? Why was she loitering outside the dressmaking room during the lunch break?"

"Uwah! There"s this thing blocking my path!"

Haruaki had given Fear the train ticket earlier but then he recalled he had not taught her how to use it. Rescuing Fear who was stuck and struggling in the ticket turnstile, Haruaki nodded to the surprised station staff as they rushed towards the platform, sliding in the train just as it arrived.

"Hoo... Hah... Now that you mention it, Cla.s.s Rep, that is quite true."

Being one station away, the trip to their destination only offered brief respite to catch their breaths. Perhaps because it was in the middle of the day, the train was rather empty. The trio sat side by side on a bench.

"But don"t you find it strange? After all, Shiraho was wearing a uniform on her first day."

"That doll—The doll-like girl was wearing a fluttering outfit, on the other hand."

"You guys did mention that. In that case, it does make the photo the point of inconsistency instead—But then again, let me ask a question. Does anyone know what the doll was wearing when it was first delivered?"

"No..."

Since no one had opened the case after it was delivered to the superintendent"s office, then no one witnessed it. The only person who knew would be Shiraho who saw the doll before it was stuffed into the suitcase.

"But simply wearing casual clothes does not imply she is the doll. Conversely the same."

"Mmm... So, does that mean she dressed the doll in a uniform from the very start? Is that possible?"

The train slowed down. Getting up and grabbing the hanging ring-shaped handhold, Kirika said:

"Hard to say. After some contemplation, my conclusion is—the doll was not wearing clothes when first brought here."

"How would you know?"

"Just a hypothesis. I simply recalled suddenly... During the first term, didn"t we have home economics lessons in the dressmaking room? Back then, there was one time I had to enter the preparation room to do something. I remember seeing a female uniform inside there. I"m not sure if it was supposed to be used for a cla.s.s or left behind as a souvenir by a crafts club alumnus—In any case, uniforms can also be easily obtained in school."

As soon as the train stopped, they rushed out onto the platform.

They had just exited the station when Kirika said "Please wait for me briefly" and ran into a convenience store. Several seconds later, she returned with a map she bought. Confirming the copied address on the map, Haruaki and his group started running again.

"B-But isn"t that a little contrived—It"s just your own speculation, right?"

"Of course it"s just speculation. In addition, finding socks and indoor shoes would also required a certain amount of luck, not to mention a set of underwear... But then again, the lack of underwear isn"t so easily seen, so that"s not a problem."

Haruaki exclaimed in surprise in his thoughts. Beneath that drenched uniform, what had he seen?

He then recalled several things. Her awkward smile when confessing she did not even have enough money for a cup of juice. If Kirika"s hypothesis was correct, then her purse was not simply in a pinch, she was completely penniless instead. Also when exiting the school building after discovering the bronze statue, she was quite sluggish in getting to the front steps. Was she looking for the right size shoes—

"..."

The conversation gradually trailed off as they ran as fast as they could. In order to obtain answers—

Finally they arrived. Opposite to their destination was an old fashioned confectionery store. Dumping the map into the trash can in front of the store, Kirika spoke:

"Now that we are here, it"d be useless to agonize over unanswered questions. Let"s hurry and get answers directly from the one who actually knows, okay?"

"I agree completely, Kirika. If... Yeah, if our current speculation is correct—I want to question her directly."

Fear bowed her head slightly, expressing her reluctance to accept the speculation.

Haruaki felt the same. If possible, he did not wish to believe. But they had no choice but to confirm.

"The problem is whether she"s really here..."

This was a town that was somewhat remote from the city center. Neither residential nor commercial entirely, it felt like people simply built tea houses or laundry stores here and there on whim.

The antique shop building had two stories and seemed to act as both shop and home. The front was divided in half between the shuttered storefront and a normal entryway. The shop"s name on the worn out sign was completely unreadable, so it would probably have been futile if they tried to ask for directions using the shop"s name.

"Okay, let"s go! Press the doorbell! If no one answers, let"s crash through the door!"

"Yeah right, not allowed!"

Haruaki pressed down firmly on Fear"s head. This little child could not be left unsupervised for even an instant—Once again he was reminded of this fact.

"Although we have no idea what"s the situation on the other side, do you really think she"ll come out obediently with a press of the doorbell? Even if she"s inside, your doing so would be equivalent to screaming at her to flee!"

"Indeed, it would be troublesome if approaching straight from the front causes a commotion. This place is quite conspicuous—Let"s go around the back first?"

Mmm—despite whining in protest, Fear did not voice her objections.

Squeezing between walls to make their way to the back, they found a s.p.a.cious clearing large enough for kids to play baseball. This soft gra.s.sland, filled with weeds, must have been cultivated as farmland once. Tall and towering trees surrounded this s.p.a.ce like a fence, so there was no need to worry about seen by neighboring residents.

Kirika looked up towards the back of the Shiraho residence.

"Let"s clarify our aims. I"m going to state this plainly. It is very likely that the girl you"ve been treating as Shiraho is actually the true «Sovereignty Perfection Doll»."

"I admit... Indeed that"s quite likely."

"As much as I don"t want to believe it, the circ.u.mstances leave me no choice but to consider the possibility. Seriously—that Cow t.i.ts said something about seeing a boy, isn"t that completely off!?"

"But the fact that "it was a student" is consistent. Regardless, even though we don"t understand the whole situation, this does mean that the two of them cooperated to deceive you guys. Don"t be surprised if you"re attacked on sight, so be careful... Okay, just for the sake of caution, let"s enter from the window? Things cannot progress until we start investigating from the home."

Kirika pointed to the window on the second floor"s verandah where lowered curtains prevented them from seeing inside. The silver hair bobbed up and down—

"I have no objections."

"Hmm, I guess there"s no other way... But how are we getting up there?"

Kirika answered by extending a black belt from her right sleeve—the «Tragic Black River».

"Got it. Thanks. Oh but she"s quite heavy, will it be alright? It could break, you know—"

"Y-You! What are you saying!? I-I"m fine, I can jump over this height easily! Rather, I"m sure even if Kirika helped me up there she won"t feel burdened or troubled at all, but I just want to save her effort, that"s all!"

"Woah, don"t be so loud! If you jump and end up wrecking the verandah then we"d really have a problem! We must enter discreetly—"

Or else it would be meaningless—But just as Haruaki was about to finish his sentence...

His words became completely redundant.

They heard the acute sound of something breaking and shattering coming from the interior of the house. Furthermore, it sounded like the source was the room they were looking at. Signs of alarm instantly appeared on everyone"s face—

"There"s no time to waste on talking—Haruaki, I"m going to jump!"

"Wait... Don"t use the princess carry!"

"—«Tragic Black River»!"

Fear picked up Haruaki and leaped, causing the verandah to creak as if about to shatter. Entangling the railing on the verandah with the black belt from her arm, Kirika rose through the air like a bilboquet,[1] performing a somersault in midair and landing on the verandah.

The gla.s.s window was not locked. Rushing into the room at once, they were met with the sight of—

"...Eh?"

It was beyond their understanding.

Completely counter to predictions.

No amount of prediction could have expected this.

On various levels, it was completely mind boggling.

The room was dimly lit. A shattered vase lay on the floorboards in the depths of the room, near two figures.

"Cough... Ack...!"

Sovereignty—or rather, the true Shiraho, her face so exquisite it almost seemed artificial, was suspended with her feet in the air, pressed against the wall. Someone"s hand was choking her by the neck. Only now did Haruaki witness for the first time a human expression of suffering on Shiraho"s face. The front of her usual outfit was slightly open, revealing a shoulder as white as porcelain.

And the one committing attempted murder against her—

A handsome youth with a feminine face. A strange youth. An inexplicable youth.

He was wearing a short skirt, dressed in a female uniform. His shirt was unb.u.t.toned, exposing a loose and almost falling bra.s.siere as well as a flat chest—

The youth"s left hand was strangling Shiraho"s throat. The two of them were pressed so closely together, they almost seemed locked in embrace. As for his right hand, it was positioned as if caressing her chin. With a flash, Haruaki witnessed a cold sharp blade emerge from his palm as if cutting open his right hand—

"Not yet, still no good... Still... It"s okay... Rather... Please, stop... Stop...!"

The youth bowed his head and kept repeating these words as if about to vomit blood from agonizing sorrow.

Haruaki was the only one who stood in shock. Without seeking to understand the situation, the other two sprang into action.

"Mechanism No.8 crushing type, circular form: «Breaking Wheel of Francia», Curse Calling!"

"«Tragic Black River»!"

The thrown breaking wheel. The extending strangling belt.

Only then did the youth became aware of the intruders, suddenly leaping away from Shiraho. The belt struck his former position while the breaking wheel crashed into the wall behind, cracking it. Shiraho coughed violently and collapsed to the floor.

Fear and Kirika pulled back their weapons. The youth wrapped his arms around himself. Head bowed, the eyes visible beneath his dangling hair displayed a hollow gaze.

"Ah... Ooh... A-Ah... T-Thank you... to you all..."

These words were also incomprehensible.

Fear gripped her retrieved breaking wheel in a stance and glared sternly as she asked:

"—Who are you?"

"Eh... You don"t recognize me looking like this...? Well then—"

Whispering, the youth suddenly placed his hands on his chest and moved them around as if groping something.

With a series of brief breaths, in the next instant, his chest began to expand.

"Wha...!"

"Ma.s.saging them makes them bigger... Just like I said..."

Then he stuffed his chest into the mispositioned bra. Grabbing his head with both hands, he tugged at his hair—without tearing it off. Instead, the hair simply extended smoothly.

Standing there was no longer a youth but something with female form.

Up until now, the one Haruaki and the rest had called Sakuramairi Shiraho—

«Sovereignty Perfection Doll».

Her expression was unlike any she had displayed in the past. There was neither the airheaded shyness nor the forced smile. Currently, her face only expressed bottomless gloom and emptiness.

"Shiraho—or rather, you"re really Sovereignty... Right? You"re actually...! What is going on!?"

"Correct... I am the «Sovereignty Perfection Doll». Perfection is perfect, hence perfection. I am the doll created for the purpose of fulfilling the owner"s desires—Since it is impossible to know beforehand the owner"s gender, as a doll of perfection it is only natural that I possess functions for accommodating both. Since my original form resembles a human greatly, therefore when I take human form I still retain the taboo ability of gender alteration."

That was how she was created—She explained.

Both a male and a female doll at the same time.

Created only for the purpose of fulfilling human desires—

Androgynous.

"That"s not what I"m asking you about! What were you doing? Last time when you encouraged me you were lying to me—Were you deceiving me!? Why!?"

Fake Shiraho—Sovereignty trembled slightly. Covering her lowered face with her left palm, she spoke in a slightly hoa.r.s.e voice:

"Lying... Yes, I deceived you. That is the truth. How rare... To make a friend... But, but...!"

Haruaki did not understand completely, but he could not let himself stand there in shock indefinitely.

"Sovereignty... May I call you that? We won"t harm you, so please just tell us the full story. About swapping ident.i.ties, absorbing life force, as well as what you were doing to her just now..."

"No..."

She forced herself as if vomiting her words.

"...No. My... curse... does not actually drain life force... W-What I am compelled to do is..."

She turned her head in fright to gaze at the girl sitting collapsed on the floor.

"Sovereignty—"

"...A-Ahhhhhh...!"

As they gazed at each other, Shiraho called out that name while Sovereignty bent over to hold down her own hand. From her hand, the blade that only emerged halfway earlier began to fully extend with a series of creaking sounds—

"...Ah! It"s already... No good... Stop it!"

Sovereignty suddenly turned and ran away from the door in Shiraho"s direction, towards the window where Haruaki and the rest had entered.

Faced with the sudden attack, Fear reflexively threw the wheel, but Sovereignty bent herself low and ducked under it. With a hollow expression as if suppressing pain and on the verge of tears, she approached Haruaki who was standing behind Fear.

"Wait, please stop, can"t we just talk—"

"Get out of the way... You"re in danger if you don"t move aside...!"

Haruaki did not even have the to go "Eh?" and ponder.

Sovereignty"s bladed right hand was fast approaching like martial arts palm strike. This is bad, I"m definitely gonna be stabbed and it looks painful! Eh? Something is pulling me... "Yachi!" Falling over, he found someone standing in his place, only to have her chest violently violated by that blade—

"Guaah!"

Sovereignty"s eyes wavered for an instant, but then she immediately withdrew her blade from Kirika"s chest and rushed out the window.

"K-Kirika! Hang on there!"

"Cla.s.s Rep!"

Too occupied to chase after Sovereignty, Haruaki frantically rushed over to Kirika"s side. The bleeding was very severe due to the blade piercing the center of her chest, most likely injuring her heart—Desperately suppressing the tumultuous thoughts that seemed to almost explode from his skull, Haruaki decided to stop the bleeding first and tore open her uniform.

Only to find her wound regenerating as if time was rewinding—

Counter to the laws of nature, her flesh began to close up. The warm liquid gushing from the long incision was slowly recalled back into the body, granting greater visibility to the throbbing pink hole. Until the wound recovered completely, the exceptional healing ability persisted nonstop—

"Ack... Don"t... worry. You forgot? I cannot die, because of this."

"Oh yeah... Now that you mention it, that"s right. Because it was too sudden, I went into a panic. But..."

"But it still hurts, right? Kirika, don"t speak and rest first."

Kirike wore beneath her clothes a bondage style outfit—«Gimestorante"s Love». Cursed with instant death to the wearer upon disrobement, this was a Wathe that healed all external injuries as long as it was worn.

Haruaki had witnessed its effects before. Nevertheless, upon seeing a girl he knew lying on the floor as she bled, he was unable to stop worrying until she recovered. On an emotional level, he could not dispel his unease...

As Haruaki stared unerringly for the wound to heal, Kirika spoke hesitantly:

"Y-Yachi—My wound will finish healing in an instant. Perhaps to you this might not be anything unusual, but... Umm... Personally to me... It felt like someone had stripped off my clothes to peek at my underwear..."

"Eh? Uwah, I"m really sorry!"

With her uniform torn open, vast areas of her skin was exposed, although her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were barely covered by the erotic bondage suit. Haruaki frantically turned his gaze away.

"I"m glad that Kirika will be fine... So, you"re the real Shiraho? I have many questions for you."

Fear spoke up. Still sitting on the ground, Shiraho looked up at her. After biting her lip for a moment, she quietly said with a seemingly inorganic voice:

"I too, have a question."

"What is it?"

"Will you kill Sovereignty?"

Shiraho"s gaze turned to Fear"s wheel of torture. Truly ominous, truly frightening, a simple glance was enough to ascertain—That was a tool created for murder, and in actual fact, it had indeed slain numerous victims. A painful mechanism meant to inflict pain.

Fear and Haruaki exchanged glances silently. The answer was obvious and needed no words to explain.

But before these two could say anything in response, as if these few short seconds were unbearable, Shiraho bowed her head and with a weak and trembling voice, pleaded from the depths of her heart—

"I beg you, please don"t kill Sovereignty!"

"Hmph, that"s a really weird thing for you to say. Even disregarding our opinion for a second, you do remember you were almost killed, right? Wouldn"t most people feel fear or hate instead?"

"I don"t. Because there are extenuating circ.u.mstances."

"What circ.u.mstances?"

"...Sovereignty"s curse. Just as she said, it does not steal life force from others. That is simply a forced application of her "normal ability." The true curse of the Sovereignty Perfection Doll is—"

Shiraho clenched the carpet in her fist.

"«To cause the owner to love her unto death»."

Standing before Shiraho as she sat on the ground, Haruaki extended his hand.

"We won"t kill her. I promise you, as a fellow human. Therefore—please tell us the details."

"...I have deceived you all. Except for one thing."

Smack! She swatted away the hand in front of her.

"I hate humans, human. Even if you say it so easily, I do not believe you."

Glared at by her starry eyes, Haruaki shrank back slightly.

"Then let me say it—I won"t kill her. As her fellow cursed tool, I promise you. So please tell us the details."

This time it was Fear who extended her hand. With mild surprise, Shiraho stared at her.

"...You really mean it?"

"Yes, I really mean it, human."

Fear grabbed Shiraho"s hand forcefully and pulled her to to her feet. Smooth as doll"s, hers was a warm human hand.

Shiraho"s eyes seemed to be saying—Don"t you dare deceive me.

(Ah I see—She really doesn"t want that doll to die.)

Fear suddenly thought to herself.

Why doesn"t she want someone who almost killed her to die?

Incomprehensible.

Consequently, Fear wondered if the answer lay in one of those terms she was likewise unable to comprehend.

Indeed, the circ.u.mstances brought up by Shiraho included something Fear had yet to understand—

—The word known as love.

People were always praising me: "This child is truly as beautiful as a doll!" That was also how my mother doted upon me. On the other hand, my father was apparently uninterested in dolls. Perhaps due to these circ.u.mstances, all I can say is, by the time I realized, I had already turned out like this.

Living to this day, I always felt as if I was not human.

When I was a child, my mother once took me to theatrical troupe, to have me learn acting skills.

It was truly simple. After all, dolls were made to imitate people.

I could not muster any enthusiasm. On my end I simply invested minimal effort but somehow the audience were always roused to a commotion. Prodigy. Golden Egg. Future Great Actress. A whole slew of trite t.i.tles.

In contrast to the fanaticism around me, my heart gradually froze.

What exactly had they seen? What did these people see that roused them into a commotion? Me as an actress? Or the fictional character I interpreted and conveyed? At the very least, I felt that it was not directed towards myself. If one had to ask why, it was because no one ever noticed what I was thinking about.

To be moved simply by superficially expressed sorrow? How trite.

To be enraptured simply by superficially expressed smiles? How naive.

I was again taken to the theatrical troupe several times after that, but it was utterly inane, so I stopped acting. Even when forcefully shoved onto the stage, I simply stood there motionless. Faced with the surrounding pleas, snarls and tears, all I could think was: How noisy. If you want something that perfectly imitates a human, why not simply prepare a doll?

My mother fell into depression. Apparently she had hoped for her dress-up doll, me, to win the hearts of the entire j.a.panese audience. As always, my father remained indifferent. Rumors of what happened at the theatrical troupe also spread to school and for some reason, I became hated, ostracized and rejected.

Please leave me alone.

Why approach us on purpose then complain? Why act so high and mighty? Stop looking down on others! Don"t think others will suffer your arrogance just because you"re pretty! The way you consider yourself different is very aggravating! Etc etc.

I am a doll, you people are humans. Having differences is only natural.

The unchanging environment made me feel helpless and disappointed. I soon became completely jaded.

Henceforth, I hated humans.

Then my mother pa.s.sed away due to illness. Uninterested in dolls, my father did not interact with me. Even though he managed to get me enrolled into high school, I suppose it was only an act of propriety as a show to society? It simply felt meddlesome to me. My father was uninterested in me, and I was uninterested in humans.

Whenever the human who shared the same roof went out, I took walks inside the shop. I enjoyed the taste of antiques. The taste of objects abandoned by humans gave me a sense of homecoming.

On one occasion, the one who struck up conversation with me was—

A doll. Human-sized, almost mistakable for human from a distance, a truly beautiful doll. Its material was incredibly soft and warm, its joints could move, and the seams could not be discerned without careful examination. It spoke. Then without much change in appearance, it took on human form.

Very incredibly, I did not feel fear. So this was actually possible—I simply accepted the fact.

A doll who was like a human and a human who was like a doll. I felt that we were quite well matched.

"If you continue staying here, you will be sold off. If you wish to become my conversation partner, you could come to my room."

The doll—in a youth"s form at the time—smiled sorrowfully:

"I am very glad to know you wish to become my owner. However... It"s better if you don"t. Because I am cursed."

"Given the current situation, it comes as no shock to me. What will happen?"

"You will fall in love with me."

"My, aren"t you confident?"

"No... This is predestined. It will happen. That is the kind of curse I bear."

Sovereignty Perfection Doll began to tell his story.

It all began with the creator"s beliefs. The creator believed that the true nature of playing with dolls was rooted in sovereignty. Why did people want dolls? The fundamental answer was—so long as one had a doll in hand, anyone could fulfill their dreams as a sovereign king/prince/queen/princess in a fairy tale. Simply stated, it stemmed from a wish to transform oneself into a perfect human akin to royalty—playing out the fantasy of "an ideal self different from oneself." According to Sovereignty, all playing with dolls originated from that.

The exploits of princes or princesses appearing in stories—namely, romance.

Hence a desire for dolls. One person cannot play out a fairy tale romance alone, hence a desire for dolls. A princess for a prince, and a prince for a princess. The doll"s role is to play the part of the romantic partner, the corresponding sovereign queen/princess/king/prince. With that, only the possession of all required elements of a fairy tale romance could stand as proof of a perfect doll. The ability to accommodate all desires of humans existing in fairy tales was exactly the requirement for a doll of perfection.

Consequently, he acquired an appearance that allowed for immersive ecstasy, eyes that generated a sense of being, soft gentle lips for kissing, supple skin for a comforting tight embrace throughout the night, as well as various essential mechanisms.

Not only that—An ending must be prepared for the prince and princess" tragic romance. Having been crowned with the t.i.tle of perfection, one was obliged to act out the ending of a transient and beautiful romance.

In the end, the creator went mad—That was what Sovereignty said.

Otherwise, a doll that realized love and death simultaneously could not have been created.

"I am equipped with the mechanism called the Killing Organ. This body is designed to conceal countless blades. When the love between the owner and me reaches a critical point, the mechanism is activated autonomously. «Embrace Only Once»—the first and last deadly embrace. That is how the romance terminates."

His emotionless gaze pierced his hand.

"Simply stated, when the owner and I are deeply infatuated with each other, naturally love comes with embrace. After embracing numerous times—Eventually one day, blades will emerge from this body to kill the owner I am embracing. Because this system is very special, no one can control it except for the creator. Even after having obtained human traits from my curse, I cannot use willpower to prevent the blades from manifesting. As soon as the opportunity arises, the blades activates, only retracting when the mission is complete."

What kind of mechanism is that? —Shiraho could not understand.

"Who knows. In any case, this is the system formed by the "curse," so I have no idea. When I was just a doll, I suppose there was a device somewhere in my body for measuring love. Who knows if it counted the number of embraces for data—even this I do not know. Similarly, you humans are unable to keep a counter of your own heart beats, right?"

New questions. So you"re currently different from before? And what is a curse?

He cast his gaze into the distance as soon as he heard the questions, then began to recount his experiences when he was still a tool.

At the time, he was just a beautiful doll, without the special ability to make the owner surrender to love with complete abandon. Nevertheless, attracted by that beauty, the owners continued to fulfill their dreams, everything went according to the creator"s plan, terminating physically with death by the mechanism of «Embrace Only Once». In the instant of death, they would lament and cry out—Why must I die by the hand of such a doll?

"Those people didn"t know continued usage would lead to death?"

There was no instruction manual and the Killing Organ only manifested for that single instant. Hence, a rumor soon began to spread, that of a "strange doll whose successive owners were found tragically slain." But the more people sought the doll in spite of the rumors, the more beautiful the doll inexplicably became. Hence, the number of tragedies only increased.

Many people. Many dozens of people.

An unending stream. Whenever the doll entered embrace, it heard painful cries.

You decided this on your own! You dared to deceive me—Such were the victim"s dying glares.

"As a result, I was cursed. Cursed—then inflicting the curse of "causing owners to fall in love unerringly, then murdering them with the Killing Organ without fail" back upon humans. Although the result achieved remained the same... Indeed, perhaps only through the curse did I truly acquire perfection. Because I obtained the power to make humans truly fall in love."

"..."

"Before I was cursed, there existed cases where owners might give me away or simply treat me as decoration to be admired from afar. But after the curse, owners were doomed to a single fate. All would approach me with loving intentions. But no matter what kind of love they bore, at the moment of death they would regain their senses to curse me—Before I knew it, I discovered I had gained the ability to take on human form like this."

Saying that, he smiled sorrowfully again.

"Let"s end the story of my past at this point... So that"s the way it is. This is for your own good. I"m sorry I talked to you in a moment of carelessness, but if you pretend not to have noticed, you can still avoid a fate of death."

"I"ve been wondering for just now. Why did you speak out to me?"

Faced with this question, he paused for a moment. Then he replied: "Because you looked very lonely."

Good grief.

"...You"re not scared that I would be so frightened as to douse you with oil and incinerate you?"

"True, now that you mention it. It was quite risky indeed—Well, I guess I simply wanted to talk to you."

What a carefree doll. At this moment, I realized it had been a long while since I last relaxed my expression like this.

Nevertheless, I felt embarra.s.sed and turned away.

"My room is this way, follow me."

"Eh? Didn"t you hear what I told you? If you stay together with me, you will—"

It was fine.

Even that sort of thing was fine.

"It will be fine."

"...Why?"

He was the same sort of being, just like me.

With me being a doll, he was the first friend I made, one who was a doll.

So it was going to be fine.

With a matter-of-fact expression, I asked him in turn:

"Can there be romance between dolls?"

However, I ended up falling in love with him.

In other words—

That made me human.

The rays of the setting sun streamed into the living room of the Yachi residence. The room was crowded as never before, with those present being Haruaki, Fear, Kirika, Konoha in pajamas—as well as Shiraho.

Distancing herself from the rest who sat themselves around the table, she was sitting in a corner of the room, knees drawn to her chest, conspicuously establishing a barrier of isolation. All this time while she was recounting how she met Sovereignty, she maintained this posture as she stared at the tatami, moving her lips as if murmuring to herself.

Haruaki bowed down halfway in front of Shiraho to offer her a cup of tea.

"Uh... Here"s some tea."

"Not needed."

"Aren"t you thirsty?"

"Like I said, not needed...!"

She waved her hand impatiently. "Woah!" Haruaki dodged and retreated, then placed the teacup on the tatami by her feet.

"Then I"ll leave it here. Just drink it when you want to."

"I"m not going to drink it."

"That"s the miraculous thing about tea, you"ll find yourself wanting to drink it involuntarily. When you naturally find yourself with nothing to do, or unsure of what to do, you"ll find yourself reaching out without conscious intent. Now that is the charm of tea."

As if saying "what utter nonsense," Shiraho turned her face away.

"What a wasteful girl. Doesn"t she know the tasty combo of tea and rice crackers?"

"There"s no need to force anyone to drink anything."

"Rice crackers aside, tea is truly tasty. Please drink it before it cools off~"

Finding her advice ignored, Konoha slumped her shoulders in dejection.

"Sniff sniff... And to think I carefully selected these tea leaves..."

"This reminds me. Speaking of Konoha and tea—"

"What is it?"

"Seeing Shiraho sitting there with her knees drawn to her chest, it felt somewhat familiar—I remember back when Konoha first arrived, she also did the same thing. No actually, it was even worse... When I was still a little kid, I saw Pops pushing a teacup towards Konoha and ended up with tea splashed all over himself. That sight of him jumping from the scalding tea was truly terrifying..."

"Uwah—! Wah—! How do you still remember that? Please erase it from your memory!"

"Cow t.i.ts has been exposed as a wolf in sheep"s clothing? With that kind of past, you are disqualified from enjoying tea and therefore the right to eat rice crackers as well. I"ll finish up your share for you."

"This lack of tension, I"m not even sure if it"s a good or bad thing... Is this always the atmosphere in this home?"

Her wound completely healed, leaving only a worrying (mostly due to Haruaki) hole in her uniform, Kirika shrugged slightly. Then she swept her gaze towards Shiraho.

"We now understand Sovereignty"s curse and how you two met. Then could you tell us what happened next?"

The noisy conversations ceased and everyone sat up properly, gazing at Shiraho unerringly.

"...There are certain things I"m sure Sovereignty would be more informed."

Turning her face to the side, Shiraho resumed her murmuring explanations.

The Sovereign Perfection Doll arrived at the back of a desolate shrine. Sitting down, the doll trembled constantly, shrinking into a ball.

"Ooh... Ah... Hoo...!"

Creak. The sound of the awakening Killing Organ, responsible for taking dozens of lives, could be heard.

The blade in the right hand had emerged completely while the left hand was about to erupt with another shiny blade. There was also an ominous sound of friction coming from around the thigh.

No! No! I must endure. Face rubbing against the floor, clutching the body, tears and saliva flowing, the doll suppressed itself amidst the creaking noises.

But this is so painful. So very painful. Painful enough to go mad.

How did it come to this—Sovereignty thought.

The answer was already clear.

This had happened the same way every time. Like a duty that had been performed for dozens of times already, it was also demanded by the curse. It was simply time for the doll to kill the owner that had fallen in love with it. The doll was always unwilling in the past, and this time, it was likewise unwilling. However, Sovereignty suffered unprecedented pain and felt unprecedented reluctance this time—

Ah yes... Indeed.

Because Sovereignty had also fallen in love with her.

—A dusk-colored curtain, she said.

"Curtain. You see, as the setting sun shines upon it... Hence it is dusk-colored. Hoho, here is the curtain and this place is backstage. After the puppet show, the puppets gather here in secret to chat, a place where no one knows."

You are truly a poet—Sovereignty smiled. Shiraho kissed the doll with a light peck on the cheek.

To Sovereignty"s recollection, he had actually taken female form at the time. Occasionally transformed into a girl on whim to converse, Sovereignty"s gender became apparently irrelevant to Shiraho as time went on. Whether male or female, Sovereignty was still Sovereignty, that was what she had said.

Shiraho was very beautiful and even more adorable when smiling. Simply chatting to her about mundane things was a very enjoyable experience. She must be displaying what she had never shown to other "humans," sixteen years worth of gentleness, smiles, and all other emotions, offering them all to this doll—me. Her lifetime"s worth of love naturally held substantial charm—

Hence Sovereignty had repaid her warmth with a light peck from gentle lips. At the same time, the curse could be felt.

Shiraho was acting in this manner by her own will. No doubt about it. But conversely, everything stemmed from the curse residing in this body. A curse that caused infatuation. Without the curse, would she still act the same way towards me—? There was no way to confirm this difficult question.

Sovereignty only felt that perhaps it was time to speak up. There was no choice but to speak.

"It"s almost time."

"I see."

Through repeated communication, their feelings of love had acc.u.mulated and progressed. As their hearts and bodies touched time and again, the result was—«Embrace Only Once». The activation of the Killing Organ. Its time was arriving.

Much earlier than expected. Sovereignty had expected to endure for months or even years, but somehow the pace had quickened several weeks ago. Although it was only a premonition, Sovereignty knew.

"What do you mean by "I see"...?"

"I mean that I don"t mind—even if termination comes with your embrace."

Were these words sincere? Or was it "an answer compelled by the curse"?

In spite of the ending, she was fine with it.

But Sovereignty was not.

Sovereignty did not want this result—

Hence, the doll did not resist at that time.

"Shiraho! Who were you talking to just now!? I knew it, it must be...!"

"...Don"t come in here any time you want!"

They had believed the father to have gone out. The instant he entered the room, Sovereignty had forcefully returned to the form of a doll. But it was futile for the father seemed to have heard the doll"s voice clearly.

"I said you wanted this doll with its shady past, so I gave it to you, but it looks like I was wrong...! Rather, buying this thing was a mistake all along! Give it to me!"

"S-Stop it!"

Grabbing the ma.s.sive doll in his arms, he violently swept away Shiraho"s hand that was holding it tightly. At the same time, the doll heard his painful coughing.

Although it could have taken human form to resist, the doll did not do so.

Because in that instant, the doll thought—Perhaps this might be a better ending.

If this led to destruction—then at least Shiraho would not be murdered.

(I"m s-sorry...)

Striking her head when being pushed away, Shiraho lay sprawled on the floor with a concussion. But her father did not pay attention and simply left with the doll.

Then Sovereignty was stuffed into a suitcase and taken somewhere.

Shiraho almost never left the house. As for the way her father was acting, clearly he would never tell her where the doll went. Stuffed in a cramped s.p.a.ce, Sovereignty thought—So this is goodbye for us—Then several days pa.s.sed.

However, during this period—

Wondering if the doll had been handed over to the superintendent, Shiraho came to school—The story occurred similarly as the one told by Sovereignty masquerading as Shiraho during the school search two days previously.

"Because I had no intention of going to school, I had thrown out my uniform a long time ago. Left with no choice, I slipped secretly into school to seek that child, only to find a commotion there as soon as I arrived—Then I discovered the fainted student."

"That was the first time we ran into you, right? So you instantly knew the doll was the perpetrator?"

Fear asked. Shiraho answered as she continued to stare at the tatami:

"I had once heard Sovereignty mention that there was a method to impede the curse from acting on the owner."

"What method?"

After a breath"s delay—

"By stealing the feelings of love from unrelated people."

"Ah! So... That"s how... I see now...!"

Konoha suddenly looked up with realization. Resting her hand against her chest, she murmured as if she figured something out:

"But... Ah yes, I think that means "acc.u.mulated feelings of love" rather than the "will to love." Hence the feelings towards the loved one still linger—except with a feeling as if a hole had been opened in my heart... If one were to explain this using the concept of love as a person"s source of power, then it is similar in nature to the life force necessary for living. When acc.u.mulated feelings of love are drawn out and taken away, fainting as a side effect doesn"t seem so surprising now—"

"Konoha? Don"t just explain things to yourself over there. If possible, please tell us too."

Haruaki"s request caused Konoha to wave her hands frantically.

"Eh... Uh—! Regarding my feelings of love, please allow me to exercise my right to silence. Right now, the important point is that other people"s feelings of love has a neutralizing effect on the love between Sovereignty and Shiraho—the countdown of the curse, is that right?"

Casting a disinterested glance at Konoha, Shiraho once again turned her gaze back to the tatami.

"—Correct. Different from the original activation condition, after being cursed, Sovereignty gained the ability to measure the "love value" between her and the owner and use that as the condition for activating the Killing Organ. In other words, she is constantly absorbing the feelings of love from the owner and measuring them. Since it is absorbed gradually over time, the owner"s health is unaffected. Once acc.u.mulated beyond a certain threshold, it simply activates the mechanism."

"Eh? But doesn"t that mean that if you absorb feelings of love from others, you are accelerating the curse"s progress instead?"

"The amount measured refers to the "feelings of love from the owner," foolish human. Through absorbing feelings of love from others, it temporarily confuses the curse as to the "ident.i.ty of the owner." That"s what I heard."

"Ah, now I see."

Shiraho snorted in derision and continued to explain what had happened the day before yesterday.

Since Sovereignty was responsible for causing the student to faint, Shiraho deduced that she had already escaped and all they needed to do next was meet up. A person like her from outside the school would only raise alarms if discovered, hence Shiraho decided to leave first.

At this moment, Haruaki and the rest had shown up.

Chased into the dressmaking room, the situation had been worsened by Fear asking "You must be the doll, right?" After all, only someone who knew about the situation, namely those working under the superintendent, could have asked such a question.

If these people were to find out that "Sakuramairi Shiraho herself" had appeared and that she was so strongly bonded to the doll that she came to retrieve it, they would naturally conclude that "the doll will return to Shiraho"s side." In that case, even if Sovereignty returned, they might end up being separated again. Hence—

"I had no choice but to hide the fact that I am Sakuramairi Shiraho. Just as I desperately pondered how to escape—Sovereignty arrived."

"Pretending to be pa.s.sing by and discovering the fainted student by chance—According to Cla.s.s Rep"s speculation, the uniform was obtained from the dressmaking preparation room?"

"Apparently so. Just as she happened to find the uniform and took on a female guise, she heard someone"s voice about a fluttery dress, causing her to wonder if I had arrived to find her—That was what Sovereignty told me. Later on, she told me that she rushed out in order to find a way to rescue me."

Dressed in a uniform, she was struck with sudden inspiration—Shiraho said.

"If that child decided to start draining feelings of love from others, it was definitely done for the sake of staying together with me. Perhaps I was jumping to conclusions, but that was what I believed. In that case, I had to do everything I could to help her."

"So you went along with our mistake and switched ident.i.ties. You pretended you were the doll..."

"Simultaneously fulfilling the dual goals of "hiding the fact you are Sakuramairi Shiraho" and "having the opportunity to continue absorbing feelings of love." Now that I think about it, you really did pick a very efficient strategy. And now I understand why the stage had to be set in school—with the fake culprit attracting all the attention, the true culprit lurking in school was free to attack the unwary. Because you never attended school before, simply enrolled in name only, no one had ever seen what you looked like. That was what you took advantage of? But why did you admit yes so readily when asked if you were "only draining life force in this school"?"

In response to Kirika"s question, Shiraho turned her gaze towards Konoha.

"...Because the gla.s.ses-wearing girl spoke too confidently, indeed I did waver at one point on this account. But attempting to perform absorption outside the school had several drawbacks. First of all, there would be too many witnesses. Also, since the intense feelings of love during p.u.b.erty are essential to have an effect, it is far too troublesome to look for students in desolate areas out in the streets. The fact that Sovereignty is only doing this in school would likely be discovered eventually even if I hadn"t confirmed it—Furthermore, admitting to it would reinforce your impression that "I" would invade the school every day to drain life force, and as a result, keep Sovereignty safe."

"You thought quite far ahead, it must not have been easy... Speaking of not easy, you even deliberately acted as if you were unable to move your body naturally, I"m amazed you managed it."

Fear spoke helplessly. Just as she pointed out, it was all Shiraho"s act to make others think she was a doll. On their way back to the Yachi residence from Shiraho"s home, Haruaki was shocked to find her walking so smoothly without any impediment.

"Pretending in front of you people is not different from an acting performance. It"s very simple—even though I am not actually very athletic."

Getting over the school walls did take quite a bit of effort—She added with self-deprecation. She explained that it was by pure luck that Sovereignty happened to see her from a window. Haruaki was surprised to find out that Sovereignty had moved the bronze statue down below while looking out the window from the calligraphy cla.s.sroom.

"Correct, because she once mentioned she could only move dolls within her line of sight. Although that child only spotted me by chance, she was apparently trying to help me escape from school safely by taking part in your operations."

Exhale... Her sigh was filled with an air of exasperation.

"...Fundamentally, she is a good child. Both naive and gentle, she does not have the calculating mind required to deceive you proactively. Hence she never ambushed you from behind and in fear of being caught, she avoided lying as much as possible beyond the minimum required. That child only wished to save me and understand what kind of people you are—what a waste of opportunity. Had her personality been as nasty as mine, I"m sure she would have eliminated you people through forceful methods early on."

Seeing Shiraho"s lips contorted in self-torment, Fear snorted dismissively:

"I already know she is a good fellow. I can at least tell she wasn"t faking."

Sweeping her glance across Fear once, Shiraho continued.

Using a metaphor that only the two could understand between them, Sovereignty successfully reunited with Shiraho at her room. They then discussed how to proceed and decided to maintain their switched ident.i.ties to steal feelings of love—Due to Sovereignty"s gentle personality, instead of eliminating Haruaki"s group, they only continued acting out the deception.

"Proceeding from there, our task was not difficult. If an incident occurred while the imposter, me, had proof of absence, perhaps you would be led to believe someone else was stealing people"s feelings of love. Hence I had a message pa.s.sed along to the human that was safe for me to appear before, in order to use him as my witness."

The unknown boy who pa.s.sed the message to Haruaki"s cla.s.smate was Sovereignty in male form. The uniform required to dress as a boy had been acquired beforeheand—Haruaki recalled the homeroom notices when the teacher reminded people to beware of theft inside the school.

"To prevent anyone from interfering with the sports ground meeting, Sovereignty was responsible for keeping watch. During that time, he spotted you."

The target of Shiraho"s slanted gaze, naturally, was Konoha.

"If you were to arrive on scene, I might be captured so Sovereignty had no choice but to stop you—Afterwards, the child was convinced you saw your attacker. Because of that, she did not go to school today, deciding to stay home to plan our next move... But the result ended in what you witnessed just now. Even by absorbing other people"s feelings of love to impede the curse, she was approaching her limit."

"I see now. But in actual fact, all I saw was a guy"s legs..."

Konoha murmured softly. The whole room seemed to suddenly descend into silence.

After a while, Fear stood up. Walking over to Shiraho who was still sitting with her knees against her chest, Fear asked with a stern expression:

"I have something to ask you."

"...About what?"

Everything that could be explained had been said already—Shiraho looked up at Fear, conveying her thoughts with a wary expression.

"If you had already heard from her what we talked about, then you should understand that we were not trying to destroy her but to help her lift her curse. Why doesn"t she want to lift her curse? Why didn"t you ask her to lift her curse? She doesn"t want to kill you, and neither do you want to be killed by her, right? I can"t think of a single reason why the curse shouldn"t be lifted. Once you transfer ownership to Haruaki, the curse will no longer have any effect, hence the curse that had been tormenting you both will disappear. Rather than stealing other people"s feelings of love and experimenting with uncertain methods to extend your time, wouldn"t it be better to wait for the curse to lift, gradually—"

"You said to lift the curse?"

Shiraho"s gaze turned sharp. Precisely because her facial features were so fine and exquisite, she was able to express emotions more directly than anyone. Then she spoke angrily:

"...Is that so? Apparently, you are even more inferior as a tool than Sovereignty."

"W-What did you say!?"

Fear retorted, outraged. Shiraho glared in return as she forced her voice out of her throat:

"From the standpoint of Sovereignty and me—There is no distinction between curse and love! It is simply the bond that exists between us. If the curse were to be lifted or if I were to be Sovereignty"s owner no longer, perhaps all that would vanish without a trace. I don"t want that! You want me to treat it as just a pa.s.sing dream? To relegate everything to a curse? Supposing these feelings are all due to the curse... Do you think I can simply abandon them with a simple "Oh yeah, that"s right!" Because—"

"Because, indeed, you are human."

Patting the silver-haired head lightly, Haruaki chimed in. Fear stared at him in puzzlement.

"I finally feel like I can relate to you and Sovereignty"s feelings... Fear, it"s like this. Human feelings cannot be explained completely with logic. And amongst various inexplicable emotions, the most representative feeling is love."

"...Really? It"s so difficult to understand."

"No~ In actual fact, I don"t understand either. But I simply feel it—so I can relate to Shiraho"s feelings. You shouldn"t be so hard on her."

Fear looked up, gazing directly into Haruaki"s eyes.

Then she turned her gaze towards Shiraho, bowing her head and said:

"Since that doll "is acting even more human" than me—perhaps I am indeed an inferior cla.s.s of tool. I have so many things I don"t understand. But I do want to understand them. So... If I said anything that was insensitive to your feelings, I apologize. I"m sorry."

Fear bowed. No one could have expected her to apologize humbly. Shiraho displayed slight shock but as if trying to act unfazed, she immediately resumed her poker face and turned her head away. Perhaps feeling embarra.s.sed, she went "Hmph," took the teacup by her feet and raised it to her lips.

"Oh! Are you feeling awkward from an honest apology? You have lost to the magic of tea"s charm!"

"...Ah."

Shiraho stared at the teacup. Having drank from it already, there was not much she could do but simply glare momentarily at Haruaki as he smiled, then she finished it.

"...Not tasty at all."

"That"s because it cooled off already. Would you like some newly brewed tea? Just now, it felt like you were trying to say: "You said it would be tasty and got my hopes up, but it ended up short of expectations, how disappointing.""

"N-No thank you! Know your bounds, human!"

Thud! The empty teacup was placed on the tatami. Her cheeks seemed slightly reddened—Her true personality is more and more exposed! —Haruaki felt happy for some reason.

At this time, Shiraho suddenly looked up towards Fear.

"—Sovereignty, she..."

"Eh?"

"Sovereignty told me that Fear is a very good person and that she was really happy to be friends with her. But being forced to deceive you pained her deeply. Also—since you must be sad that the gla.s.ses-wearing one was harmed, she wished she could apologize to you."

Then Shiraho simply stopped and turned her gaze away, as if saying "Don"t mistake this for any special meaning, that"s simply what was said."

"I see... So that doll said something like that..."

Fear"s grave expression brightened. Definitely, it was what Shiraho meant.**

"No, umm~ In my view, anything that happens to Cow t.i.ts has nothing to do with me. In fact, I think she deserved it! Since she"s already recovered, it"s completely meaningless. I"m guessing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s are most likely filled with emergency nutrients? Hmph, to think she"s secretly h.o.a.rding her stores for herself. She should share those b.r.e.a.s.t.s equally with the entire world!"

"Seriously, there are so many things wrong with what you said I don"t even know where to begin!"

As Fear and Konoha began to quarrel, Shiraho watched the room without any personal involvement. As if trying to steer the conversation back on track, Kirika spoke:

"Okay—Yachi, how do we proceed from here? Since Sovereignty"s curse is already on the verge of its absolute limit, even if she could suppress it for now, it can"t go on indefinitely. Her mind will be consumed with the thought of killing Shiraho. Although Shiraho could stay here for now, it doesn"t resolve the fundamental issue. After all, since Wathes maintain connections to their owners to various extents, it is likely that Sovereignty will instinctively seek out her owner"s location eventually."

Indeed, their current priorities lay in deciding their next move. Just as Kirika pointed out, they did not know how long they could continuing harboring Shiraho at the Yachi residence. If this did not work, should Shiraho be sent to flee far away somewhere? No, in order to safeguard Shiraho"s life, the most simple and certain solution was—

"Please do not kill her."

Shiraho pled.

Indeed, they had already promised her, so that solution was not open either.

In that case, it boiled down to severing the relationship between Shiraho and Sovereignty—Asking her to relinquish her rights of ownership was the only option left. But Shiraho was unwilling because she did not want to abandon their love.

Even if death was the price to pay, she was unwilling to change her stance.

(Then what on earth could be done...?)

An impa.s.se. Every solution seemed to be ruled out.

Just when that seemed to be the situation—

"—I have a plan."

The silver girl spoke as she gazed into the distance.

For some unknown reason, Fear then led Shiraho out of the living room. Kirika and Konoha exchanged gazes in surprise. Then Shiraho immediately returned.

"Uh... What did you two talk about?"

"She only asked me about Sovereignty"s Killing Organ. As well as whether it is possible to contact her."

"Is it possible?"

"I bought a pre-paid cellphone for her only yesterday. But since she fled to avoid killing me, she definitely won"t pick up my calls. It"s possible she might have thrown the phone away already."

Shiraho returned to her old spot, namely, the corner of the room. Fear arrived later than her and began gesturing from the porch.

"Kirika, Cow t.i.ts, I"ve got something to tell you, come over here."

"What kind of plan is it...?"

"Well, fine..."**

"Eh? What about me?"

As for Haruaki, Fear expressionlessly told him:

"You"ll be last."

"What is this...? It feels like I"m being left out. Quite uncomfortable."

"Just sit down for now."

The three girls left the living room, leaving Haruaki alone with Shiraho in awkward silence. Adjusting his seat cushion uncomfortably and sipping tea, Haruaki endured roughly ten minutes before the three finally returned. For some reason, Kirika and Konoha narrowed their eyes seriously.

"No other way... I guess this is the only plan."

"Yes... But—"

Konoha glanced at Haruaki to examine his face while displaying a guilty conscience.

"What is going on, you two? What"s the great plan—"

"Haruaki, you come over."

Fear stood in the porch as she called out. Finally my turn—Haruaki thought as he walked towards a corner of the porch.

The sun was now setting