“Then I’ll give you more time to think.”
Mr. Scrooge remained unwavering.
“I’m sure that after thinking it over long enough, you’ll arrive at the right conclusion.”
At least there was one small mercy.
He wasn’t forcing the issue without my consent.
Of course, being tied up here indefinitely wasn’t exactly an improvement.
“What if I refuse until the very end?”
“I don’t believe that will happen.”
“I’m certain that, after giving it enough thought, you’ll realize what the best choice is. Once you’ve reached your decision, both you and I will be smiling.”
Will we…?
No matter how I looked at it, I doubted I’d be smiling after having my legs chopped off.
It sounded like he was aiming for a win-win situation…
But none of it was convincing.
Frowning, I asked the question that had been bothering me the most.
“Isn’t this pointless?”
“…What did you just say?”
“Even if you attach my legs to Miss Carol, they’ll just rot eventually. Doesn’t that make the whole thing meaningless?”
For the first time, he hesitated.
“Right? The reason Miss Carol ended up like this… isn’t it because all the body parts you’ve obtained eventually rotted away?”
He had transplanted other people’s limbs onto his daughter.
But no matter how many fresh arms or legs he found, flesh, blood, and bone would inevitably decay.
Judging by the deep sigh that escaped him, he already knew that.
“…You’re right.”
“They never last long. Before long they rot, decay, and become completely unusable.”
Hmm.
Am I actually getting through to him?
Just as I sensed a glimmer of hope—
“Even so… if my Carol can stand on two legs, even for a little while, she’ll be happy.”
“I’m sure she will.”
“…”
“So why not find her legs that won’t rot?”
“Unless you’re a priest, there’s no way to stop flesh from decaying. And there are no priests here.”
“No, not like that.”
“I mean prosthetic legs.”
“Just give Miss Carol prosthetic legs.”
I smiled as naturally as I could while dangling the bait.
“I can get them for you.”
“Really sturdy ones.”
“Y-You truly can?”
He trailed off, sinking into thought.
“…Do you have any reason for me to believe you?”
“I promise.”
“I’ll find Miss Carol proper legs.”
“So… could you untie me first?”
Normally, a promise was one of the least reliable things imaginable.
But I knew Mr. Scrooge wouldn’t be able to refuse.
After all…
I was offering his beloved daughter a pair of permanent legs.
People desperate enough would cling to hope, even if they suspected it was a scam.
Already halfway convinced, he asked,
“If I untie you… you’ll bring back those legs?”
“Yes.”
“And first… I’d really like to use the bathroom.”
“I’ve been holding it for hours.”
“Oh…”
“…My apologies.”
“I’ll take you there first.”
“But since you haven’t agreed to our deal yet… please don’t try to run.”
After warning me repeatedly, he escorted me to a small door tucked away in a corner.
There wasn’t even a tiny window inside.
Not that it mattered.
Escaping wasn’t my objective anyway.
Opening the Cash Shop catalog again, I selected the item I’d already picked out.
[Maple Prosthetic Legs — 500 Diamonds]
A prosthetic leg crafted from maple wood reinforced with steel.
Designed to help its wearer walk again, featuring comfortable support and durable joints.
“Purchase!”
The instant I confirmed it, a pair of maple prosthetic legs materialized out of thin air.
Carrying them outside, I held them out toward Mr. Scrooge, who was still standing guard.
“T-This is…?”
“Prosthetic legs.”
“They’re far sturdier than real legs that just end up rotting.”
He didn’t ask where I’d gotten them.
Or how I’d found them.
Those questions clearly weren’t important to him.
For a long time, Mr. Scrooge simply stared at the prosthetics in silence.
He cautiously moved the joints with his fingertips, watching how smoothly they rotated.
Then he rubbed the surface with his palm, as though testing the material for himself.
It looked like he might spend the rest of the day inspecting them.
Unable to bear it any longer, I urged him on.
“What are you waiting for?”
“Shouldn’t you take them to Miss Carol?”
“Ah… y-yes.”
Mr. Scrooge shot to his feet and hurried upstairs.
Following after him, I finally realized I’d been locked inside a small room attached to the first floor.
‘Security here is surprisingly terrible.’
It had been so dark outside that I’d assumed I was trapped in some underground cellar.
Either way…
After giving him a bit of a head start, I quietly climbed to the second floor.
Carol was still lying there, her appearance as horrifying as before.
“Just wait a little longer.”
“I’ll fit your new legs right away.”
Unable to watch him attach the prosthetics to her, I turned my head away.
Time passed.
“…Well?”
“Do you like them?”
After another long silence, Carol finally answered in her frail voice.
“…I… like… them…”
“Why don’t you try walking?”
“…Not today.”
“…Maybe next time.”
“Hm? Next time?”
“Why?”
“Don’t you like them?”
“No…”
“It’s not that…”
Listening to her, I suddenly realized…
She didn’t sound happy at all.
More importantly…
Even after giving Carol new legs, the quest completion notification never appeared.
‘Did I miss something?’
I reread the quest description.
Then my eyes landed on the sentence that always appeared at the end of quest objectives.
[As the future mistress of House Belmond, discover what Carol truly wants!]
…Ah.
‘What Carol Truly Wants.’
Maybe…
That was what I’d overlooked all along.
While my attention remained fixed on those words, the father and daughter continued talking.
“…I…”
“…just want…”
“…to lie here…”
Unlike Mr. Scrooge, who looked overjoyed as if he’d been given new legs himself…
Carol sounded exhausted.
Utterly drained.
Mr. Scrooge eventually turned toward me.
If his face had possessed eyes, a nose, and a mouth, he probably would’ve been wearing a disappointed expression.
After leaving the room with him so Carol could rest, we returned to the first floor.
Only then did I ask,
“Mr. Scrooge…”
“…Yes?”
“How long has Miss Carol been like this?”
Thump.
He lowered himself onto a chair near the counter before answering.
“…To explain that…”
“…I’d have to go back a very long time.”
“How long?”
“A very… very long time.”
At that moment, a system window appeared before me.
[‘Scrooge’s’ Memory Fragment is now playing.]
Like an in-game cutscene, a grainy, gray-tinted scene began to unfold before my eyes.
No…
To be more precise…
It was a puppet show.
“One day, dark clouds suddenly began gathering over Belmond Duke’s Castle.”
Mr. Scrooge’s voice blended into the performance like a narrator.
Soon, a cloth castle appeared on the hastily assembled stage.
Just as he had described, black clouds rolled over the castle’s towers.
“That was around the same time strange things started happening in the forest.”
“Anyone who left Monter Village disappeared without a trace.”
“And even within the village… terrible things began to happen.”
Just as he said, the little puppets descended into chaos.
Some killed one another.
Others simply lost their minds.
Then…
A puppet of a middle-aged man with a neatly groomed beard stepped onto the center of the stage.
…It was probably supposed to be Mr. Scrooge.
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