Chapter 1-43 : The Girl Learns About Her Bunny’s Secret
“Hugo de Neurindor ーー Status: Deceased ーー Died at age 37.”
「ーー！！！」(Elle)
Elle felt extreme dizziness the moment she read about her father in the book.
She got goosebumps, and her sight gradually turned black. She lost her balance and almost fell from her seat, but Ingrid quickly held her back.
「Elle…」(Ingrid)
「Oi, Elle, you okay? …That bastard… Can’t believe he really…」(Yoyo)
「…I… I’m… I’m not… D, Dad… He… No way…….」(Elle)
Being in shock, Elle couldn’t even speak properly.
Learning that what Moritz said about her father, that he had already died, was true, not only did Elle feel dizzy, but she also felt pain in her chest as if it were burning in fire.
Tears began to come out of her eyes as she held her chest painfully. Her entire body felt so uncomfortable as a result of her mind rejecting reality.
ーThud!
As Elle was suffering, suddenly the sound of something falling to the floor was heard behind her.
She slowly turned her teary eyes in the direction of the sound and found Neige lying on the floor.
「Hey… what’s wrong with your bunny?」(Ingrid)
「Neige? Oi, Neige!?」(Yoyo)
「Ne… Neige…?」(Elle)
Seeing Neige lying lifelessly like that, Elle wiped her tears, approached him, and held him in her arms.
While being overwhelmed by the sadness of losing her father, Elle was also struck with worry for Neige.
「Neige…」(Elle)
「What happened to him? Is he broken?」(Ingrid)
「I… I don’t know… Neige, wake up!」(Elle)
Elle shook Neige’s body, but he didn’t react at all.
She just learned that she had lost her father. Losing Neige would completely break her heart.
「No, no, no…! What should we do? Ingrid, can we revive him if I pour my mana into his magic stone?」(Elle)
「Uhh, I’m sorry, I don’t know. I’m a magic tool engineer, not an artificial spirit craftsman.」(Ingrid)
「I see… Then, there’s only one person who can answer my question.」(Elle)
「Oi, Elle, are we going to the Long Tail Factory?」(Yoyo)
「Yes.」(Elle)
「But, are feeling okay?」(Yoyo)
「Yeah, don’t push yourself too hard. You’re still in shock.」(Ingrid)
「No… I’m… I’m fine… More importantly, we need to fix Neige!」(Elle)
Elle still felt pain in her chest, but she, who always prioritizes others over herself, was more worried about Neige.
While holding Neige in her arms, Elle slowly got up. They then left the library and went to the Long Tail Factory in a hurry.
◇◇◇
The Long Tail Factory sometimes took breaks on random days, but luckily for Elle, the shop was open.
She hurriedly opened the door and approached the familiar man with the scary-looking face and muscular body behind the counter.
「Mister, please help! Neige isー Heー」(Elle)
「Whoa, whoa. Calm down, Little Lady. Take your breath and tell me what happened.」(shopkeeper)
Doing what the man said, Elle closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself.
「Neige… He suddenly collapsed. He’s not moving at all.」(Elle)
「What? This bunny just came to life yesterday, right? That’s weird.」(shopkeeper)
The man put his hand on his chin and bent forward to take a closer look at Neige, who was sleeping in Elle’s arms like a normal, lifeless stuffed animal.
「Can you fix him?」(Elle)
「Well, I need to find the problem first. I can’t just tell by looking. Follow me.」(shopkeeper)
The shopkeeper put a sign saying, “Taking a break”, on the counter and took Elle and the others through the door in the opposite direction from the wardrobe room where Elle chose an outfit for Neige yesterday.
Unlike the other room, which was filled with mini outfits for stuffed animals, this room seemed to be the workshop. It had three workbenches with three workers working at each bench. Each of them seemed to be doing different work; one was hammering magic stones with a hammer, the second one was sewing cloth, and the last one was stuffing stuffed animals with cotton. However, the three workers had one thing in common. They were much shorter than normal people, even shorter than Elle.
「Whoa. So the people who make artificial spirits are dwarves, huh? It’s rare to see them in this city.」(Ingrid)
Ingrid muttered as soon as she saw the workers.
Dwarves are a race of half-fairies who usually live underground. They have short body height, but they have high physical power, and they are also known for their craftsmanship skills. They are rarely seen in the city because they hate humans.
Noticing people coming, they shifted their gazes toward the door.
「Hm? What’s wrong, Boss?」(worker A)
「What’s that girl holding? A broken artificial spirit?」(worker B)
「Bullshit. Our artificial spirits are the best in the country. No way it’s broken.」(worker C)
「Sorry for bothering you guys. Can I borrow a table?」(shopkeeper)
「Sure. You can use mine.」(worker B)
The dwarf who was sewing mini clothes for stuffed animals stopped his task and cleaned up his table to make some space.
「Little Lady, can you put him there?」(shopkeeper)
「Alright.」(Elle)
Elle carefully put Neige on the table.
Right after, the shopkeeper put away Neige’s tiny sword and removed his armor, stripping him naked. He then put his hand on Neige’s stomach and pressed it gently.
「Hmm… He’s unconscious not because he’s run out of mana. There’s another reason.」(shopkeeper)
「How do you know that?」(Elle)
「The magic stone infused into an artificial spirit will shatter when it’s out of mana, but this bunny’s is still intact.」(shopkeeper)
「I see. Is that good news?」(Elle)
「Yeah, you can say that. If it’s not because he’s run out of mana, then… One thing I can come up with is that he lost consciousness because of shock.」(shopkeeper)
「Shock? …Ah!」(Elle)
「Hm? You seem to know something.」(shopkeeper)
「Yes. Actuallyー」(Elle)
Elle told the shopkeeper what happened when Neige lost consciousness in the library. She told him she was looking for information about her father, just to find out that he was no longer in this world.
「No way… Yesterday you told me you were looking for your dad… I’m so sorry for your loss, Little Lady…」(shopkeeper)
「It’s… It’s alright…」(Elle)
After expressing his condolences, the shopkeeper folded his arms and thought.
「So, our poor bunny was shocked when he learned that the person who gave him ‘life’ had passed away. I see…」(shopkeeper)
The one who poured mana into Neige’s magic stone was Hugo. The fact that the man was no longer in this world must have shocked him so much.
「Artificial spirits sometimes can have a strong link with the person who gave them ‘life’. Your bunny is not an exception.」(shopkeeper)
「Can you fix him? Please! …I’ve lost my master and my dad… Neige may be just an artificial spirit, but he’s my family now… Please!」(Elle)
「I’ll do as best I can, of course, but first, I need to see the state of his magic stone.」(shopkeeper)
「Wait, are you going to cut him open with scissors or something?」(Elle)
「Well, we need to take the magic stone out.」(shopkeeper)
「Don’t worry, lass. It’s not that we’re going to hurt your friend.」(worker B)
Noticing Elle’s worried face, the dwarf who owned the working bench raised his thumb up and smiled to reassure Elle.
「This guy is a professional in handling needles and threads. You can trust him.」(shopkeeper)
「That’s right!」(worker B)
After replying to the shopkeeper with a firm nod, the dwarf took out a small thread-cutting tool from his pocket and gently held Neige’s neck.
He then used the tool to cut the invisible thread and slowly pulled it. Neige’s back gradually opened as he pulled the invisible thread.
They could now see the cloud-like cotton inside Neige’s body.
「Are you pulling a thread?」(Ingrid)
Ingrid was watching the dwarf doing the task with interest. She bent forward and squinted, trying to see the thread, but she couldn’t.
「Yeah. It’s a thread made of giant white spider silk. It’s so thin that it’s invisible to the human eye, but it’s extremely durable.」(worker B)
「Hee~ Interesting. I can’t see it at all. You can see it?」(Ingrid)
「Of course. Otherwise, I can’t work here. Dwarven eyes are different, you know?」(worker B)
「I see.」(Ingrid)
It seemed to be one of the highest quality threads in the world. However, not every race could see it clearly.
After he completely opened Neige’s back, he took the magic stone out and handed it to the shopkeeper.
「Here you go.」(worker B)
「Thanks. Hmm… It looks as beautiful as always.」(shopkeeper)
The shopkeeper then observed the magic stone closely.
Unlike normal magic stones, the magic stones used for artificial spirits were crystal clear and as small as a silver coin.
「I don’t see anything wrong with it. At least from the outside.」(shopkeeper)
「What does that mean?」(Elle)
「That means I have to do a full inspection. I need to see the mana inside it.」(shopkeeper)
Saying that, the shopkeeper took the magic stone to a small table in a corner of the room. On the table, there was some kind of device that seemed to be a magic tool for inspecting magic stones. There was a magic circle with a complicated magic formula drawn on it.
He placed the magic stone in the center of the magic circle and began to chant something. Soon after, the magic circle glowed, and at the same time, the magic stone began to shine.
「What!? I didn’t expect this at all!」(shopkeeper)
The shopkeeper was surprised.
Normally, a magic stone for artificial spirits would only have one color, but Neige’s magic stone was different. It was glowing in three different colors: red, blue, and yellow.
「It has three colors… Does it mean anything?」(Elle)
「Yeah. It’s a very rare occasion, but this magic stone contains mana from three different people.」(shopkeeper)
「Three different people? So it has mana other than my dad’s?」(Elle)
「Yes. Normally, you only need mana from one person to give ‘life’ to an artificial spirit, sometimes two, but from three people? It’s very rare.」(shopkeeper)
「I see. But, who is the owner of the other mana?」(Elle)
「Hold on a sec. I’ll be back.」(shopkeeper)
Without answering Elle’s question, the shopkeeper went to another room and returned with a thick book in his hand.
「What is that book?」(Elle)
「This is the list of my customers. It contains the data of their mana wavelengths.」(shopkeeper)
Every person in the world has different mana. It could be differentiated by its color and wavelengths.
The shopkeeper thought that the owners of the other mana might be his customers, so he brought that book.
He started with the mana that glowed the brightest, which was the blue one. He reached out his hand toward the magic stone and felt the wavelength of the blue mana. He then opened the book and began searching.
「This color… This wavelength… Let’s see………….. There it is! The blue one belongs to Gilbert de Forster, the head of the Forster Family.」(shopkeeper)
「ー!?」(Elle)
Elle was surprised when she heard that name.
It was the name of the nobleman who rode with her in the stagecoach from the port town to this city yesterday.
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Grandpa confirmed?