-116- Living Humans

"This..."

Seeing a puppet hidden under a tree, Rozen blinked his eyes as if he understood something. He then turned his head and looked at Komurasaki beside him.

"Hehe..."

Komurasaki scratched her head in embarrassment, playfully sticking out her tongue with a mischievous look.

Upon closer inspection, the puppet hidden under the tree was none other than the bird puppet Rozen had seen moving around in the garden before. However, now one of its wings was cracked, and it couldn't fly anymore.

"Chirp chirp...!"

The bird puppet emitted a chirping sound, conveying a slight hint of pain, making it seem as lively as a real creature.

Watching the bird, Rozen sighed helplessly.

"Did you do something to it?"

This wasn't a question but a questioning statement.

"I didn't do anything!" Komurasaki quickly shook her head, then stammered, "I-I just saw it flying high and jumped to chase after it. Who knew it would run away as soon as it saw me, so I had to keep chasing, and then..."

"Then, while trying to catch it, you accidentally applied too much force and damaged it, right?" Rozen took over her words, saying, "As I suspected."

"I... I had no choice! My body hasn't stabilized yet!" Komurasaki said in an annoyed tone. "Shouko also said that during this process, there might be situations where the growing body becomes uncontrollable. I didn't intend to make it like this!"

"So?" Rozen sighed, "Did you bring me here to fix it?"

Komurasaki didn't refute; she just giggles.

So, that's the reason behind Komurasaki's incessant praise of Rozen?

"If Shouko finds out I did something like this, she'll definitely get angry."

Komurasaki seemed afraid of something and shrunk her neck.

It seemed that making Karyusai Shouko angry wasn't something to be taken lightly.

However, Rozen had a clear understanding of the situation.

"Even if she gets angry, it won't be because you broke a small bird puppet, but rather because you recklessly acted without considering the unstable state of your body, right?"

Rozen's voice was certain.

While the various animal puppets in the mansion were crafted to be quite realistic, they were ultimately just that—realistic puppets. While they might be valuable to outsiders, they were like rubbish compared to the "Setsugetsuka" series of puppets.

Shattering this small bird puppet wasn't likely to make Karyusai Shouko upset. However, Komurasaki's disregard for her own unstable condition might.

"If anything happens to you, that will be quite a mess."

Rozen playfully teased Komurasaki.

It appeared that Komurasaki knew herself well.

"So, can you not tell Shouko about this?"

Komurasaki leaned forward, looking somewhat appealing.

In other words, Komurasaki intended to keep the incident hidden.

If she wanted to hide it, there couldn't be any evidence left behind.

The broken bird puppet was damning evidence.

Thus, that's why Komurasaki had asked Rozen to come.

"Do I look like someone who can fix puppets?"

Rozen rolled his eyes.

"But big brother, you're really amazing, right?"

Komurasaki countered with a question.

"Even if I'm impressive, it's only in the realm of magic. It doesn't mean I can repair puppets, does it?"

Rozen directly countered her.

"But, Shouko said that the Akabane clan is a clan highly skilled in puppetry, and there's expertise in puppet repair within the family. Since you're an important member of the clan, even if you can't craft puppets, can't you manage a little repair?"

Komurasaki said with some hope.

Rozen didn't argue with that.

Although he didn't possess puppet crafting skills, Rozen had always been a diligent learner.

During his time at Chaldea, he had managed to teach himself various subjects when his magical energy ran out, mastering the internet, exploring countless games, and even learning eight languages, his academic prowess rivaling that of the scholars.

Hence, after arriving in this world, Rozen had spent his leisure time studying the books in the Akabane clan's library.

"Among them, of course, are also books on puppet crafting techniques."

In other words, asking Rozen to create a puppet might be beyond his abilities, but if it was just a matter of minor repairs, he might be able to figure something out.

At present, Rozen could only shrug.

"I'll give it a try."

After saying that, Rozen crouched down and began examining the bird puppet in front of him.

Komurasaki quickly leaned in.

A few minutes later...

"It's done."

Rozen stood up straight.

"Chirp!"

The bird that had previously been injured in the wing fluttered as if it had been released from a cage, and after a few flaps, it happily flew into the sky.

"So... it's fixed this quickly?"

Komurasaki was both surprised and delighted.

To this, Rozen could only say.

"I just infused it with magic, and it healed itself."

Regardless of those mechanical-like puppets, these living puppets often possessed automatic repair functions. As long as magical energy was provided to the puppet, it could repair itself.

However, the cost of creating such living puppets was not insignificant.

Rozen hadn't imagined that even the animals in the mansion were of this kind of construction.

"No wonder they look so lifelike. So, all of them are living puppets?"

How much money must this have burned through?

Rozen didn't even want to think about it.

Komurasaki, however, didn't dwell on it as much as Rozen did. Seeing the healthy bird fly into the sky, she immediately wore a happy smile.

"That's great, in this way..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted.

"This way, what?"

A stern voice came from behind, causing Komurasaki to freeze.

As for Rozen, he had already noticed someone's approach before Komurasaki did, but he hadn't had the time to warn her, so he could only cover his face.

Komurasaki slowly turned around, looking at her back.

In the next second, Komurasaki saw her.

"O....Onee-sama!?"

Behind the two of them, Irori had appeared at some point, her face serious.

"I knew your recent behavior was suspicious. So, this is what it's about?"

Irori's eyes were filled with reproach as she looked at Komurasaki.

"Onee-sama!" Komurasaki immediately stepped back, tears welling up in her eyes. "I... I know I did something wrong!"

Unfortunately, this didn't make Irori relent.

"I've told you so many times. Your body hasn't stabilized yet, but you keep being so naughty and disobedient!"

Irori approached Komurasaki aggressively, launching into a lecture.

Komurasaki could only cast a pleading gaze at Rozen, but he ignored it.

Rozen simply watched the interaction between the two sisters and once again marveled.

"So, this is what living dolls look like?"

Whether it was mischievous Komurasaki or serious Irori, both were filled with human-like traits.

Thus, it was only at this moment that Rozen finally changed his perspective on automatons.

"They aren't just weapons controlled by Puppeteers, but living being ----------------'humans.'"

Recalling the words that the mysterious entity that had once granted him a miracle had spoken, a faint smile appeared on Rozen's face.

Completely unnoticed, a figure was hidden in the shadows nearby, observing this scene and biting it's lip.