Chapter 143 The Kind-Hearted Doll?

Tsukino and Chiya did not know the doll's real name.

In the Calamity Society, there's a saying similar to "a name is the initial contract." Many Calamity Users possess the ability to bind others using their real names. Therefore, Tsukino and Chiya often don't reveal their real names to others... just like now.

Tsukino and Chiya were not his real names. When he first saw the name, it was just a minor character in a short story. Later, when deciding on a new name, Tsukino and Chiya were too lazy to think much and simply used the name that suddenly popped into his head.

Well, the reason he uses a pseudonym is simply to avoid being manipulated by the Calamity Envoy or something else. It really has nothing to do with a man who already had the habit of using a pseudonym before he came into contact with the Calamity Society. Yeah, that's it.

A real name carries special meaning in a society plagued by calamities, but that doesn't mean it's meaningless elsewhere. In a sense, calamities and supernatural phenomena share certain commonalities... Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the murder detective he met in Yokohama didn't reveal the doll's name directly.

Because that might attract the attention of something bad.

Well… although Tsukino and Chiya always refer to Aurora by her name without any hesitation, it's still a bit different. They bear the mark left by that doll, meaning they've been targeted for a long time. And based on Kazuo Yashiki's past experience, even a malicious doll wouldn't be watching a human's every move 24/7, so there's no need to be overly cautious.

But this doll...

Tsukino and Chiya looked at the doll that suddenly appeared in the elevator and whose first words were "I want to go home," and thought to themselves.

—This unknown doll might have another meaning for Aurora, so it's best to mention it in a subtle way to avoid attracting her unnecessary attention.

Ah, but with Aurora temporarily dead, there's not much need to worry about that now.

After hearing the first words spoken by the disheveled red-haired doll, everyone fell silent for a moment. Now that they had confirmed its ability to speak, everyone wanted to hear if it would say anything else.

The elevator continued its slow ascent. Tsukino and Chiya knew very well that, based on the time they had been in the elevator and its upward speed, they should now be on a floor higher than the existing floors in the old school building.

...Plus, the puppet that appeared out of nowhere—this really is a supernatural event. But so far, have they encountered this kind of situation many times? It can only be said that compared to other supernatural encounters, the elevator environment is more likely to bring a sense of danger and unease.

This is how it should be.

However, Tsukino and Chiya's inner thoughts, like his expression, were actually quite calm at this moment. Perhaps it was because he was certain that Aurora was in a state of "death" that wasn't feigned, or perhaps it was because...

Tsukino and Chiya had a certain degree of trust in the doll in front of them.

Although such trust is not very common.

The elevator, slowly ascending, was silent. At that moment, Tsukino and Chiya recalled their meeting with the murder detective in Yokohama during their vacation.

The detective is a supernatural being, unrelated to calamities or psychic abilities. However, his love for dolls is extraordinary, and his understanding of them far surpasses that of people like Tsukino and Chiya, who usually only know how to compliment dolls as "pretty" without understanding anything else.

Even... the detective has some knowledge of the strangeness of the dolls.

This was information provided by Higashigo Mimi, who was already keen to get involved in the matter. Tsukino and Chiya weren't really sure where her information came from, but how could someone like her not have a few backup plans? So Tsukino and Chiya didn't delve into how she knew about this, since they knew Higashigo Mimi had no reason to deceive them in this situation.

That's enough.

It turned out that Ayatsuji Yukito did indeed know some information. Although it wasn't much—the origin of those dolls remained as shrouded in mystery as ever—it was still useful.

Ayatsuji Yukito's information was brief, but to summarize: the Sakuraba family, a doll that is not Aurora is sealed inside the shrine, and the doll is raised as their daughter. An accident involving the Sakuraba family led the detective to investigate and noticed the information they left behind about a white-haired, blue-eyed doll.

Ayatsuji Yukito's movements were restricted, and his intelligence and keen perception made him realize the danger of not being able to proceed any further...

The world of people with supernatural abilities has its own rules, and so does a society plagued by disasters. As for these kinds of supernatural and bizarre events... aside from the unlucky ones who are accidentally caught up in them, the best way to resolve these issues smoothly is naturally to let people with the right expertise solve them.

Just like people are willing to entrust certain matters to professional detectives.

This may be one of the reasons why Ayatsuji Yukito was willing to kindly reveal information.

Ayatsuji Yukito only provided some information; more details were discovered by Tsukino and Chiya after they separated from him. Ohma Kokichi, who also had his own information channels in this world, and Watanabe Tsuna Bandai, who was highly skilled in computer science, also contributed to this investigation.

The investigation revealed something similar to... the Kujo family, who seemed to be sealing away a certain doll. The Sakuraba family, who inherited the shrine, also possessed a doll resembling a Western girl. Unlike the dolls that Yashiki Kazuo had encountered before, and Aurora, who was causing them a lot of trouble, that doll didn't seem to have any malicious intent.

No… rather than saying there was no malice, it would be more accurate to say that the doll initially had no concept of good or evil as understood in the human world. The doll was originally sealed within the shrine by a regularly performed ritual, but due to an accident, the doll, whose seal had weakened over time, was able to break free and unexpectedly came into contact with the daughter of the Sakuraba family.

Dolls are devoid of good and evil, so they can easily act unconsciously in ways that seem extreme to humans. Fortunately, the Sakuraba family's daughter, Sakuraba Kazuko, is lucky. In her secret interactions with the doll, she doesn't encounter any opportunities that could cause it to become extreme or even harm others or herself. Instead, she gradually teaches it some human concepts of right and wrong.

...The above is what Tsukino and Chiya saw in the diary of Sakuraba Tsukasa, the head priest of the Sakuraba family. Of course, the original words were not like that, but in any case, Tsukino and Chiya could sense from the lines that Sakuraba Tsukasa was still afraid because his daughter had touched the doll without permission.

The location of the diary was provided by Ayatsuji Yukito that day. At the time, Tsukino and Chiya didn't understand the significance of him giving out a certain address, but after arriving there, they found the diary. Clearly, Ayatsuji Yukito had some connection with the Sakuraba family, though it might not have been very deep, he had still conducted some investigation into what had happened to them.

But... is the strange kindness of the dolls really believable? And can such beings as them even possess kindness?

The strangeness of the Death Mark incident that once occurred was disguised as gentleness and kindness, but it turned out that it was all a lie; its malice towards people was immeasurable. So, could everything about this unknown doll also be just a disguise?

However, there are indeed some strange entities that are benevolent towards humans. According to Miya Higashigore, she knew one such rose-shaped strange entity…

Um……

"We'll meet here, but time is limited."

Tsukino and Chiya's thoughts were interrupted. The doll, who looked like it could break at any moment in a physical sense, finally managed to squeeze out another sentence after saying "I want to go home."

The doll is just a doll; its voice has no intonation, but because of its stumbling and slurring, one can almost feel its pain.

"I will take you there, to take my last bit, me."

What it said sounded a bit incoherent and incomprehensible, but it seemed to have done its best, making it hard to criticize it.

It's clear that it's currently in a state of wanting to say as much as possible, and could disappear at any moment. Perhaps for this reason, both Wangma and Xiaoji are remaining silent, lest they miss any information the puppet might be offering.

"It devoured me, leaving only the last bit."

"We can't let it... continue."

Finally, if possible, I hope you can help...

Its last words were silent.

The next second, the doll's figure vanished without warning. Before the others could react, the entire elevator shook violently, and the lights above went out instantly. Just as the three regained their footing, the sudden tremor disappeared, replaced by... the elevator, which had been ascending, finally coming to a stop.

The elevator doors slowly opened.

Outside the elevator was a pitch-black expanse shrouded in thick fog, making it impossible to see anything clearly.

but……

"Ah, found it! This is indeed the essential item."

Suddenly a beam of light appeared.

Tsukino and Chiya looked over and saw Ohma Kokichi, who was holding a backpack, rummage through it and turn on a flashlight: "Alright~! Let's go! After so many boring days, we've finally encountered something interesting today."

"It doesn't seem... boring at all."

As Wang Ma Xiaoji spoke, he tossed the backpack over. Yueye and Qianye caught the bag precisely. The zipper wasn't fully closed yet. As he reached out, he noticed a red bow hair clip on top of a pile of items inside.

...It's still there.