We’re back in the inn, but it’s not time for dinner, so we go back to the room.
Hikari and Mia welcome us back, and I get the feeling that Hikari looks fidgety, but we need to talk about what happened today first.
Well, there isn’t much to it. It’s just that we need permission to go somewhere again, and we went to the slaver.
“And what did you two do today?”
I ask, and Hikari comes close and shows me something. Is that… A doll?
Hikari has a very satisfied look on her face.
“Where did you get the doll?”
“Big sister Mia made it for me.”
Looking at it more closely, I see some parts are uneven, but it’s still well made.
“Did you really make it, Mia?”
“Yes, hum… I’m not bad at sewing.”
I ask because I’m surprised, and Mia tells me the reason, looking kind of embarrassed.
She used to mend old clothes in orphanages, and would poke herself with needles from time to time and cast heal on herself. Because of this, she would try different things too, and got better as she went along.
“I-I see. Sounds like you worked hard.”
Even if she could heal herself, poking yourself with a needle still hurts.
Hearing this paints a picture in my mind of Mia focusing all of her attention on her needlework.
Despite being called a saint, she’s still a hardworking girl at heart. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
“But why a doll?”
I ask, and Hikari answers.
“Because it looked like you’d want it.”
She says. Mia has a kind of troubled look on her face, and the other three are looking at me like they’re asking what that’s about.
Hikari on the other hand looks serious.
Eh? I wanted it? A doll?
I start to think about it… And suddenly remember. It was when I was walking around Marte with Hikari. Yes, I did show interest in dolls.
But that was just for a second. Did she remember that?
I take the doll from Hikari, and I’m about to place it on the floor… But that might make her sad, so I place it on the bed.
“The reason why I was interested in dolls, is because I wanted to try a new skill I learned.
I put my hand over the doll, and chant.
“Life Granting!”
………
……
…
Nothing’s happening…
And everyone’s eyes pointing at me hurt.
“Hum, what were you trying to do?”
Asks Chris, speaking for everyone else.
It actually helps, because that silence was feeling kind of heavy.
“I learned a skill called Life Granting, and I figured I could use it on stuff like dolls to make them move… At least that’s what I thought…”
I look at the doll, and it’s not moving a single centimeter.
Is it because my level is too low?
“Master, the doll moves?”
“It’s supposed to.”
“Why did you learn that skill?”
Asks Rurika, and I answer flatly.
“If I could make dolls with mud or something and make them move with this skill, they could do things like stand watch for us when we travel!”
The way I got worked up while responding to her leaves Rurika with a dumbfounded look on her face.
I thought it’d be a game changer, but… Well, it obviously failed.
“Sora, could it be that it’s not working because it doesn’t have a core to serve as a magic energy source?”
Asks Chris, and it hits me.
I did use Life Granting, and I did feel magic energy flying over to the doll, but it dispersed instead of settling on it.
If I can get the magic energy to stay in it, it might work.
Maybe it will work even without a core as the skill levels up, but not now.
Then…
I take out a magic stone from the Item Box, and hang it from the doll’s neck like a necklace. It would be best to put it inside the doll, but let’s test it like this.
“Life Granting!”
I activate the spell again, and this time use Magic Energy Detection to pay attention to the flow of magic energy.
The magic energy envelops the doll, and is eventually sucked into the magic stone.
And not long after, the doll starts moving like it’s getting up.
It bends its upper body… Bends it… And then loses its strength.
“Hum, what?”
Asks Rurika, but I don’t get it either.
But I did see that the doll moved.
“H-hum, could it be that the doll can’t move because it’s stuffed with cotton?”
Asks Mia.
The doll really is trying to move, but whether it was because of the materials, or because my level just isn’t high enough, it can’t.
Eventually, the doll stops moving completely, most likely because it ran out of magic energy.
Also, the magic stone hanging from its neck is now transparent.
It looks like the magic stone I gave to them before, to help them practice controlling their magic energy.
“W-well, at least we managed to confirm that it does work. And I think this skill could be useful.”
“Maybe, but I don’t know if it can be used in a real battle.”
Chris is right, but the skill’s level is too low, so we should keep testing it as it levels up.
“Can we change the material inside the doll?”
What if it had something a little harder instead of cotton?
It feels like it would move if it had stalks supporting its body like bones, but maybe that would actually make it too heavy to move.
If we were outside the city, I could make earth dolls with magic and test it on them, but I don’t think I can do that here.
Mia asks me for some materials and magic stones to put inside the doll, so I take them out of the Item Box and give them to her.
There are a lot of skills I want to try out, but the problem is that they keep using up my MP, and their proficiency is going up pretty slowly.
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Thanks for the treat.
Yeah thx for treat
No need to rush sora slow and steady wins the race. Unless u count the big war that’s supposed to be going down