TRPM 366

chapter 366

Grandma Alice welcomed us, wiping oil from her hands with a clean cloth.

She had been the one who repaired Woo Jimin.

“(The internal structure of this young lady felt a bit off. It seems it was originally made as a male form and then changed to a female form, so the balance is slightly skewed.)”

Even though Grandma Alice hadn’t heard the full story about Woo Jimin, she spoke as if she had seen it with her own eyes.

“(Still, she didn’t force the balance to match. Judging by the craftsmanship, she’s no ordinary maker — someone with that skill wouldn’t be unaware that the balance was off.)”

If that part had needed fixing, she would have told me that when I first commissioned her, right?

“(Yes. It’s not a simple doll — it’s a doll made mixing magic and sorcery; even if the exterior is female, the main functions needed to remain male.)”
“(That’s outside my area of expertise, so I couldn’t touch that.)”

Grandma Alice turned her head to look at Woo Jimin, who was wearing an outer garment.

“(And some parts were so intricate that even I felt tense.)”

Her expression seemed to show a mix of emotions as she said that. She was glad to meet someone else who was so knowledgeable about dolls besides herself. There was also a bitter realization that, while she had thought herself the best at dollcraft, the world was bigger than she’d assumed.

“(…My student who made living dolls, and now there are dollmakers greater than me — maybe it’s time I seriously think about retirement.)”
“(Master?)”

Rachel looked a little surprised at Grandma Alice’s words. This must have been the first time their teacher had mentioned retirement.

……

I know that before my regression, Grandma Alice had retired much earlier than she is retiring now. The reason is obvious. Before the regression she would have died — but now there’s one person who is alive.

‘Rachel.’

After I went back in time, Rachel was able to escape her fate of having a limited lifespan because Arthur contacted me seeking a way to save her. But the Rachel from before my regression would have died early. Losing a disciple would have plunged Grandma Alice into despair and retirement.

‘Grandma Alice has lived a long life and had many disciples, and she must have experienced the death of disciples many times — that doesn’t mean their deaths weren’t painful.’

And even if it wasn’t just Rachel, Grandma Alice would probably have been planning to retire before long. She was talking about retirement even now.

‘Unlike Chairman Shin Hanji, who hardly ages, Grandma Alice is aging quickly.’

Of course, “quickly” here is still slower than an ordinary unawakened civilian. To me Grandma Alice looked like someone in her seventies or eighties, but as far as I knew she had lived for over 150 years. At that age, it was reasonable to think about retirement.

“(I’m not what I used to be. My hands are slower. It used to take me an hour to make a doll like that; now I have to spend at least three hours.)”

Grandma Alice pointed to a human-shaped doll on one side of the workshop. It wasn’t just a human-shaped exterior — even the internal organs seemed to have been reproduced. I thought producing such a doll in three hours sounded impressive, but the maker herself thought differently.

“(…By the way, Master? What is that doll?)”
“(I’ve had a huge number of orders these past few days. Something about using them as substitutes for talismans. It’s not pleasant to think someone would use painstakingly made items as disposable charms, but I have to take the orders since it’s business.)”

Talisman. A kind of charm used to ward off misfortune and bring luck. And to use human-shaped dolls as substitutes for talismans…

‘Ah, I see.’

It seems word had spread somewhat that I had used Woo Jimin to avoid the doppelgänger and voodoo-doll spells. So orders for dolls that resemble oneself had increased, probably because people thought they could use them in the same way I did.

“You seem to have an idea.”

“Yes. Try connecting it to why the power source in Woo Jimin developed a crack.”

“…Ah, I see now.”

Upon hearing me, Arthur roughly figured out why the number of orders had increased.

“(Ah, by the way, Artist? I want to ask you something.)”
“(What is it?)”
“(When you made this young lady’s body, what materials on earth did you use? I’m unfamiliar with such materials.)”
“(A branch of the World Tree and everlasting steel.)”

There was no reason to hide it, so I answered honestly.

“(…Heh….)”
“…It was strangely sturdy.”

Grandma Alice opened her mouth as if asking whether such materials were used in the doll. It seemed Woo Jimin also knew her body’s durability was abnormal.

‘Now that Woo Jimin knows I’m strong, too.’

The reason Woo Jimin hadn’t known I was strong in the first place was that Chairman Shin Hanji had blocked the information she could access. But after the last incident, Chairman Shin Hanji lifted that restriction, and when Woo Jimin was naturally allowed to use the internet, she found articles about me and realized the truth.

‘According to Chairman Shin Hanji, she recalled his boast that he’d watch over me, and she kicked off the blankets at night thinking of that.’

…In the end he did keep his word by saving my life in the previous incident, but she still seemed embarrassed. Anyway.

Woo Jimin moved her body to check for any problems and thanked Grandma Alice.

“(Thank you. I feel much better.)”
“(I only repaired the power source.)”

Grandma Alice tried to decline the thanks, saying she hadn’t done much, but when Woo Jimin thanked her repeatedly she accepted it.

“(Sigh… It’s strange even for me to be thanked by a living doll. By the way, how long do you plan to stay in my workshop? I have other things to do, so hurry and go.)”

Once our business was finished, I led Woo Jimin out of Grandma Alice’s workshop.

“(Haa… Master is retiring….)”

After leaving Grandma Alice’s workshop, Woo Jimin and I ate at a nearby hotel with Rachel and Arthur. During the meal, Rachel wore a troubled expression because of what Grandma Alice had said.

“……”
“……”

Woo Jimin and I, who didn’t know much about Grandma Alice, fell silent and ate quietly. But Arthur, who knew her well like Rachel did, spoke up.

“(Actually, Alice-sama told me something privately.)”
“(…Huh?)”

Rachel’s eyes widened at Arthur’s words. Arthur continued.

“(She said she would take Rachel as her final disciple, pass on all her techniques, and then retire. After retirement she wants to live in a quiet place with Koson — she asked me to find a house with a nice view.)”

Hearing that, Rachel thought for a moment and asked,

“(…Why did she tell Arthur and not me?)”
“(Perhaps she felt shy about telling you directly, Rachel.)”

Rachel fell silent at that. It seemed Rachel knew Grandma Alice better than anyone else at the table. That Rachel had nothing to say meant that Grandma Alice was truly that kind of person.

“(…Come to think of it, the reason she forced me to become her disciple was because she wanted me to learn all her techniques. She recommended sending you, Arthur, to study abroad in Korea because she thought Chairman Shin Hanji — Korea’s archmage — might be able to cure my illness.)”

So that’s why Arthur studied at the Awakened Academy in Seoul. Although Chairman Shin Hanji apparently couldn’t cure Rachel’s illness, sending Arthur to Korea ultimately led to him meeting me and succeeding in extending Rachel’s life — so it was the right choice in the end.

“(Still, it’s frustrating that she would just retire once she’s done with her work….)”
“(Does it matter? Even if Alice-sama retires, it’s not like we’ll never see her; we can visit sometimes.)”

Arthur said that, trying to discourage treating Grandma Alice’s retirement as something purely negative.

Brrrr… Brrrr… Brrrr…

All our smartphones vibrated. Being experienced Awakened, we reflexively checked our phones, and upon seeing the contents we stood up. The message requested cooperation because an Awakened had committed a crime nearby and was fleeing.

“(Could they at least avoid interrupting meals….)”

Arthur muttered impatiently as he set money on the table. Woo Jimin, curious, asked,

“(Does this kind of thing happen often?)”
“(Ah, in Korea, thanks to the Artist, crimes caused by Awakened are almost nonexistent… but the UK is different.)”
“(Artist…?)”

At the mention of “Artist,” Woo Jimin glanced slightly in my direction.

“(No, I’m not saying the UK is a crime-ridden city. The UK has relatively little crime.)”

Arthur said that by way of excuse, then started running forward. Woo Jimin and I, unfamiliar with British geography, simply followed him; Rachel…

“(I’ll catch up soon!)”

She lagged behind since she was much slower than us. It wasn’t a big deal, so I followed Arthur and ran.

“(Artist and Miss Woo Jimin, you two can just rest.)”
“(What? Are you discriminating because we’re foreigners?)”
“(…I can’t say that’s entirely wrong. There’s political infighting even among British Awakened. If two foreigners get involved, the situation could become complicated.)”

Arthur said that as if he knew the issue. He knew it’s not wise for us to get involved just because we overheard it.

“(I’m not interested in public affairs, and besides, who would pick a fight with me?)”
“(Don’t overestimate yourself. Even someone like me, an Aura Master, has people who play politics against me.)”

…Hearing Arthur, I couldn’t help but nod. The world is wide and full of fools. There’s certainly a chance a fool might pick a fight. Even so…

‘It seems neither I nor Woo Jimin beside me have any intention of backing down.’

By then Woo Jimin had already drawn her personal weapon — a gun — and was loading bullets.