Chapter 40 – The Beginning of the End

 

Translator’s Note: There are some chapters left to be translated before c40. I’ll get those done in due time. I’m just translating c40 and c41 now for the people that read the other chapters up to c39 in other websites before the chapters went down in their respective websites.

And as a reminder, when characters are speaking, the author puts their speech between quotation marks. When they’re using Telepathy, the author puts their speech between parenthesis.

 

Today was the day when the dolls from the Wisp territory would make their regular contact with us. While I waited for them, I stayed in my room sewing since early in the morning.

Slowly and carefully, I sewed with my own hands. Even if my confrontation with the sage made me unable to borrow the power of the spirits, I was still making dolls. It took quite some time, but I was almost finishing them.

A scarecrow, a tinman and a scared lion. The characters of Wizard of Oz that I was going to use in a puppet show for the small children that were currently residing at the Royal Castle of Malgaroid.

(Can’t you just cancel it? You did lose your Doll Magic after all.) Weiss asked me.

Well, it wouldn’t have taken this long if Weiss hadn’t blown up the head of the scarecrow doll… I don’t mind him being bad at detailed work, but I wish he had told me this in advance instead of trying to help at something he had no clue on how to do.

But let’s not mind that, (I don’t think it’s acceptable to break a promise made with small children. I’ll just move the dolls by hand.) I told him.

(But won’t that make you unable to put three or four dolls on the stage at the same time? I don’t know this Oz play, but I assume it doesn’t consist of only one-on-one dialogue…) Weiss commented.

(That’s fine. The Wandering Earl and Feria both volunteered to help me.

(King Lereol also said that he wanted to help out, because his younger siblings, that he loves very much, will be on the audience too.

(So, don’t worry too much about it, okay? Even if it’s a pity can no longer use doll magic, my limbs are still in perfect condition, so I’ll manage somehow.) I replied.

Besides, magic didn’t even exist in my previous life and humans were still able to thrive. Magic may be extremely convenient, but it’s not essential.

… Weiss gave no reply. I looked towards him and saw that his sword body was turned towards the window. He doesn’t have an expression for me to read, so it’s a bit hard to know what he is doing, but… Right now, I think that he is pondering on what I just said.

Eventually, after a small while of silence, he replied, (You’re really a great person. It hasn’t even been that long since you lost the Doll Magic, but you’re already moving forward.

(I thought you’d be overwhelmed and lost by it, but that’s not the case at all.

(You’re definitely an amazing woman. How come you aren’t married already?)

(I don’t think Kajero will make it easy for any possible suitors…

(As for the Doll Magic, it’s not like I don’t care about losing it. I’m actually quite worried about what the children I left on the Empire are doing.) I told him.

(Isn’t it going to be alright? For a doll, its creator is basically the same as a parent is for humans.

(Just try thinking of Feria for a bit. Even though she went through such a hard time because of her parents, she was still trying to make up with them.

(It’s the same for your dolls, I’m sure none of them wishes to do anything that hurt you… And if any tries to, just use one of the many Philosopher Stones that we got from that other doll user to send the rebellious doll flying!

(Really, Alty. It’s going to be fine, so… Why not worry about the future instead? It’s gonna be hard to conquer the world without the help of spirits.) Weiss finished his reply with some unbelievable words…

(I’m sorry, what was that just now?) I couldn’t help asking.

(It’s a joke, it’s a joke.

(But really, what are your future plans? Even if I’m a newcomer, I’d be glad if I could hear what are my lady’s intentions.

(And if you do want the world, you can rest assured that we’ll give it to you. Malgaroid itself can probably be taken over in a month, and the rest of the world shouldn’t take longer than 5 years if you’re willing to kill whoever gets in your way, or 20 years if you try to save as many as possible.

(You may also live as an ordinary duke’s daughter, or maybe you may also become a hero who is beloved by all in the world… Especially with Kajero’s help, you may even mess up with the memories of everyone involved in order to paint whatever image of you that you want.

(You could even play with the mind of your father and brother to make them forget about you, letting you be free from nobility, giving you the opportunity of a quiet villager life.) Weiss said.

(There really are quite a few options available…) I mused… Or rather, it feels like ‘anything is possible’ fits my current situation quite well.

Although… I definitely don’t want to become the ruler of the world or anything like it. Being responsible for the lives of every single person living in this world… Is way too much. I can’t bear this much weight.

I also refuse to push all the work to Kajero or anyone else, that’s no good either.

Being a heroine is also a bit too much, and I don’t want an ordinary life away from the people precious to me…

What is it that I want…?

Let’s think back to when I first remembered my past life. What were my goals then?

I wanted to solve the issues related to the original story of the Otome Game. I think I have mostly finished doing this much, even if a few things still worry me.

The most important issue that still remains, and that I definitely wish to do something about, is the fall of Wisp family. The game wasn’t clear about what exactly caused the fall, but the visions shown by the Sage are an important clue on that regard… There is a conspiracy inside the Empire, and father might end up being assassinated under the guise of suicide. He might also be falsely accused of committing a grave sin.

I absolutely have to do something about this one.

I also didn’t want to go to the Magic Academy. Not only would it be a complete waste of time to learn General Magic, but the inferiority complex that I’d feel there would certainly take quite the toll on me.

I think father would have accepted this with some ease before, since I had Doll Magic, but things are different now.

We’ll need to talk about this eventually, but for some reason, he has yet to come back from his trip to the Empire… I’m still waiting for his contact now.

And lastly, I wanted to become a renowned magic puppeteer… This one is impossible now, isn’t it?

Though I’m still as good as ever with my handicrafts, so maybe I can try working with that?

(I think… I think I want to open my own shop. A shop to sell handmade clothes and stuffed animals.) I told Weiss. This was a dream that I had since I was little in my previous life, so perhaps it would be a good idea to make this dream come true in this new life.

(I see, so you want to become a big merchant who controls the distribution of goods and manipulates the world from the background.) Weiss replied… Did he even hear what I just said?

(Just how do you even think of me, Weiss…?) I ended up asking.

(An amazing master who will without a doubt leave her name in history, of course! Just like princess Rastiyu of the Empire and Marua of Malgaroid. Or rather, it’s almost as if you’re a reincarnation of Rastiyu.

(Even if your ambitions may be small, I’m sure your life will not be mediocre. Your steps will without a doubt leave a mark that nobody could ever forget in this world.) Weiss replied.

Princess Rastiyu’s name was brought up again here… Just like how the Wandering Earl brought her name up, thinking that I was her reincarnation, now Weiss too compared her with me.

I don’t think that my appearance was that similar to hers though? Could there be something about her that resembled me that was not shown in the drama CD?

(Or at least that’s what I honestly feel. I really do believe you’ll do great things moving forward.

(… Ah, the long-awaited doll from the Empire finally came.) Weiss then told me.

The doll that came this time was a ninja that wore a red scarf and a black costume. Out of the 300 dolls left on the Empire for the sake of gathering information, he was the chief.

His name is Figuz, a name that he gave himself, just like Walf did… There must be a real emergency at the Empire, otherwise he would have sent someone instead of coming here himself.

Did my worries come true? Did the dolls on the Wisp territory start rebelling?

He told me that was not it. For a moment I was relieved, but only until he told me that an even more serious incident was occurring at the Empire.

There was a group of rebels planning to assassinate the emperor on the ceremony to celebrate his 80th birthday… However, their plan was leaked a bit before the day, and the leaders were imprisoned one after another.

The person with the highest position amongst the rebels was going to be executed in a horrible way, to serve as an example. He’d have his body tied up and the executioner would slowly chop away parts of his limbs, while forcefully keeping him alive with recovery magic.

This cruel sentence was quickly decided upon, and the execution would be held soon after said decision was made… However, even though lots of guards were positioned near his cell, he was not inside the prison on the day of the execution.

Somehow, the mastermind escaped, and his whereabouts are currently unknown.

And said mastermind… Is Solute Wisp, my father.