Leaving the stable behind, Elsez strolled along the village lakeshore, where a group of children was playing.
As soon as she had put some distance between herself and Henry, Reti emerged and perched on her shoulder, grumbling.
“That guy was unbelievably arrogant.”
“Yeah, I agree.”
“Why didn’t you just punch him like usual?”
“…Is that how you see me? Someone who goes around punching anyone I don’t like?”
“You’ve done it to plenty of others.”
“They were villains. If I hit him by mistake, we might get kicked out of the village.”
“But he’s the rude one.”
“People always side with their own. He’s the village hero, and we’re outsiders. If we mess up, it’s our reputation that’ll suffer.”
“Tch. Humans are so complicated.”
Just then—
“A talking doll…!”
“It’s a monster!”
A sudden shout made Elsez turn around in surprise. The children playing by the lake had spotted Reti and were now yelling in alarm.
This was exactly why, when she had first returned to this world, Elsez had tried to keep Reti hidden—so she wouldn’t have to deal with stares or the hassle of explaining him.
But since she had chosen to let Reti be seen, this was something she had to accept.
She grabbed Reti by the scruff as he tried to retreat into her pocket and held him up.
“No, he’s not a monster. He’s a good one.”
“Really?”
“That’s not true! Henry said all monsters are bad.”
“Yeah! Monsters are evil. One of them even hurt my dad!”
Some of the children seemed convinced by Elsez’s words, but others remained wary.
Elsez placed Reti on her palm and held him up for them to see.
“There are a lot of bad ones, but sometimes there are good ones too. Look at him—he doesn’t look scary like a monster, does he? He’s not even attacking anyone. Right?”
Reti’s black haze flickered around him, showing his irritation, but he didn’t retreat.
The children watched him warily, curiosity shining in their eyes.
A delicate balance of tension and interest hung between them.
Then, a boy holding a stick prodded Reti with it.
Reti flinched and snapped his head toward the boy.
The children whispered excitedly.
“Whoa! It really moves!”
“And it talked before—I heard it!”
“Hey, rabbit! Say something! Speak!”
The boy poked Reti again. And again.
The black haze around Reti grew darker.
Sensing that his patience was wearing thin, Elsez grabbed the boy’s stick.
“That hurts. You don’t poke your friends with sticks, do you?”
Looking embarrassed, the boy lowered his stick.
Just then, a little girl—probably four or five years old—who had been quietly nibbling on a large cookie approached Reti.
“Here, bunny.”
She broke her cookie in half and held out a piece to him. The dark haze around Reti noticeably lightened.
He stared at the cookie, then glanced at Elsez.
She chuckled and nodded.
After a moment’s hesitation, Reti took the cookie.
Elsez whispered, “Say thank you.”
“Th-thank you, human.”
The girl beamed at him.
Seeing that, the other children hesitated no longer.
“He’s cute!”
“Here, try this too, bunny!”
“You really are a nice monster, huh?”
They swarmed around Reti, eagerly touching his ears and hands.
Flustered, he stammered, “Hmph! You… you’re nice humans too.”
Elsez, who had taken a step back to watch, chuckled.
Reti wasn’t running back to her or shying away—he didn’t seem to hate their attention.
‘If Reti had the form of a child instead of a doll, he’d probably just seem like the new kid in the village.’
Then, she remembered something Reti had once said.
“No one. Humans always hated me. They always hurt me and tormented me.”
“Even before you did anything bad?”
“Humans were like that from the start. That’s why I hate them. If they had given me cookies and candy like you do, maybe I would’ve liked them.”
She had believed him back then, but seeing him surrounded by children now made it even more real.
‘If humans didn’t attack Reti first… maybe no one would have to die. Maybe we could all just live peacefully.’
At the same time, she recalled the question Reti had asked her yesterday—one she hadn’t been able to answer.
“If you and I separate, what happens to us?”
“What do you mean?”
“Will you kill me again?”
She had never seriously thought about it. That’s why she couldn’t answer.
Elsez watched as Reti accepted more treats from the children, then glanced down at her own empty hand.
‘Could I… really kill Reti?’
Staring blankly at her palm, she clenched it into a fist.
Just then, she overheard a child mumbling.
“Henry said all monsters are bad…”
She turned to see a young boy standing apart from the others, looking uncertain.
He seemed to be around seven or eight.
From what she had heard earlier, his father had been injured by a beast.
“Hey there. What’s your name?”
“…Noel.”
“Nice to meet you, Noel. I’m Elsez, and that’s Reti.”
Though still wary, Noel gave her a small nod.
Elsez gently continued,
“You know, Henry’s not wrong. There are a lot more bad monsters than good ones. I’ve fought plenty of them myself, and I’ve gotten hurt a lot, so I understand. That’s why I won’t force you to like Reti.”
Noel slowly looked up at her, something in her words catching his attention.
Not missing the moment, Elsez pressed on.
“But just like there are bad people sometimes, there are also rare cases where monsters can be good.”
“…”
“So I’d like you to see for yourself and decide. Is this monster bad… or good?”
“…Decide for myself?”
Elsez playfully tapped his forehead and nodded.
“Yep. You’ve got a much better eye than me, after all.”
Because his were the eyes of a child, untainted by prejudice.
Noel’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
With a small nod, he turned his attention to Reti, watching him intently.
Elsez, enjoying the peaceful scene, suddenly remembered something Noel had said earlier.
“Noel, you mentioned your dad was attacked by a monster, right?”
“Yeah. But Henry saved him. Whenever bad monsters show up, Henry takes care of them.”
“Henry is awesome!”
Another child, hearing Henry’s name, eagerly chimed in.
But Elsez was more interested in someone else.
“Noel, do you think I could meet your dad?”
She turned to him with the sharp gaze of a hunter who had just found her target.
Noel eagerly led Elsez to his home.
“This is our house!”
Before following him inside, Elsez took Reti off her shoulder and slipped him into her inner pocket.
Noel was still young—he could be reasoned with, and his fear of monsters might be eased with time. But someone who had been directly attacked by one? Their hatred would be on an entirely different level.
“Excuse me.”
As Elsez stepped inside, a middle-aged man who strongly resembled Noel turned to her with a bewildered expression, surprised by the unexpected guest.
Noel quickly introduced her.
“Dad, this is the lady who came to town yesterday. She has something to ask you.”
“Hello, I’m sorry for dropping by so suddenly.”
Elsez greeted him with a polite smile and a small bow.
But Noel’s father still seemed uneasy about the uninvited visitor.
So Elsez pulled out her trump card.
“I work under His Eminence, the Cardinal of the Artes Empire. I wanted to ask a few questions about a recent monster-related incident.”
The moment he heard the word Cardinal, Noel’s father stiffened, his previous discomfort immediately replaced by tension.
Seeing his reaction, Elsez smirked inwardly.
‘Even in my old world, just mentioning the police was enough to make people act polite.’
There was no way to prove her claim, but with Astaire walking around in priest robes, word had likely already spread through the village. He had no choice but to believe her.
“I’ll bring some tea.”
“No need. I won’t take up too much of your time.”
At her reassurance, Noel’s father hesitated, then sat back down.
As he moved, the empty sleeve of his left arm swayed aimlessly.
“I heard you were recently injured in an unfortunate accident… I’m sorry.”
“At least my son wasn’t hurt. That’s all that matters. I was lucky that Henry arrived in time.”
He patted Noel’s head as he spoke, then turned to Elsez with a silent question—What do you want to ask?
“It’s about that incident. Before the monster appeared, did you notice anything strange? Did you see anyone suspicious? Any magic circles?”
“Hmm… nothing comes to mind…”
He frowned in thought—then suddenly let out a small exclamation, as if recalling something.
“Actually, while I was running from the beast, I did see a strange magic circle. I didn’t get a good look because I was too busy escaping, but…”
“…Did Henry see it too?”
“I’m not sure, but I told him about it, so he probably knows.”
The moment he answered, Elsez’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Henry’s words from earlier echoed in her mind.
“Hmm… I don’t think I saw anything like that. Why do you ask?”
…Why the hell did that bastard pretend he didn’t know?
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