Chapter 55 – What pulls the curtain, what pulls the strings

 

“–I will take over from here onwards.” As he said that, brother Tourus stepped forward.

Like a commander leading an army of 10 million soldiers.

Like a knight who protects the fleeing people.

“Earlier I told you that I could erase memories, right? That was just an application of what I am about to do.

“It lacks flashiness, and doesn’t feel like a heroic power… Or rather, it’s more a villainous power I’d say.” As my older brother said that, he rose his right hand high, then stuck his thumb and middle finger together… And snapped them.

Then, with a terribly cold tone, he started talking.

–’Dolls cannot move and talk on their own.’ Also, ‘Spirits dwelling on them is only a superstition’.”

Uhn… That’s not very convincing.

Sure, the modern part of ‘I’ could easily nod to his statement. Normally dolls wouldn’t speak nor move, and there should be no such thing as spirits.

But here? In a fantasy world of swords and magic? The common sense of a modern person has no place here.

After all, even doll magic was accepted. ‘Dolls with spirits inside them’ isn’t ‘scary’, but ‘awesome’.

That’s the standard of this world.

However, brother Tourus continued, as if cheerfully chanting a spell, “’What is strange is the common sense of this world. What is right is my perception.’ And therefore…

–’This is a myth’.” As he finished saying that, he snapped his fingers once more. Like a performer who finished his speech.

And then… One by one, the dolls fell down. Knights, maids, demons, angels, bears, turtles, snails, fire trucks, tanks, monsters–

They all stopped working.

I felt as if the spirits inside them were driven somewhere far away.

“Alty.” Brother Tourus then looked at me. His expression was pained… Is it because of his magic? “Evacuate Kajero to the fortress. He’ll be affected if he stays here… And it would be way too sad if he ended up never getting up again, wouldn’t it?”

***

As told, I brought Kajero with me and returned to the fort.

The knights of the Wisp family, Fromos included, went out to clean things up… Though not to use their swords, since they were not going to stab unmoving dolls.

Instead, they brought large bags with them to carry the dolls with them. It was like there were a bunch of Santa Claus on what was a battlefield until just now… Took me a while to realize it, but the battle was over, wasn’t it? I was too dumbfounded by Tourus speech, so it only now became clear to me.

I laid Kajero on a nearby chair, then went out again… At some point during this process, the rain had also stopped.

“Move the dolls to the Wisp house! Give them a proper cleaning, and when everything is done, I’ll either get them to work at our home, or give them to the kids in the territory!” Brother Tourus gave this kind of order.

He was quite different from not only the dull brother that I remembered, but also from the talkative brother that I met on the conference room.

This was the next head of the Wisp family. That’s the kind of personality he was showing.

Due to that, I hesitated a bit to talk to him, but… Eventually, he himself realized I was there, so he came to me, “Hey, Alty. Were you surprised?” He asked with a gentle smile, “That’s my unusual talent.

–’Negative magic’. The power to deny magic… No, the power to deny this world itself.”

“… It was amazing. Much more than my doll magic.” I replied.

“No, no. I can only deny and destroy. It’s as inelegant as a table flip.

“Alty’s doll magic is far more wonderful and can achieve dreams. Why did we, brother and sister, have such different powers?” He mused.

I was going to answer that it was a bit unusual, but… I wasn’t able to.

Because we were interrupted by some applauses… The sound came from the large hole that the dolls opened up earlier.

Something… Someone, is inside it.

“Alty, behind me.

–Knights, line up!” As soon as brother Tourus exclaimed that, the knights quickly shouted ‘Yes!’ and made a defensive formation in front of us.

They were clearly ready to fight, but…

–I command you. Go back to the fort. Orderly.” A voice came from within the tunnel.

It wasn’t loud, but we could clearly hear it.

“Yes! Understood!” And then, the knights marched back to the fort while maintaining their formation.

To have knights follow the command of someone who seems to be an enemy as opposed to the command of their master, brother Tourus, was… A hard to believe occurrence.

However, there was something much more confusing about it.

The voice was extremely familiar… I’ve heard it a lot, in fact.

In my previous life, on the original work that talked about this world, ‘Rune Knight Concerto.’

The clouds were leaving the sky after the heavy rain, and the sun was now appearing, together with a gentle breeze.

A woman appeared from the tunnel.

Her hair sparkled as if it was made of melted gold, and her eyes had the blue of the deep sea.

A neat face and a tall body.

The elegance emanated from her whole body was greatly enhanced by a luxurious red dress.

I have seen this standing figure before…

–I have seen it during the game.

But isn’t she even more mature than what she was like in the game?

Although we were of the same gender, she had a sensual appeal that shocked me.

“It’s been a while, and nice to meet you. Lord Tourus and Me.” She said that, then elegantly made a curtsy.

I know her.

She is me.

She’s the one I was supposed to become in due time.

In the game, it couldn’t happen because she committed suicide.

What was in front of me and brother Tourus was… None other than myself.

Altirea Wisp.

But as a grown up.