Chapter 65: A Heartfelt Bracelet (4) – Shaldina and the Minos Dolls

Shardina was different from the other Minos Dolls.

She had blue horns and blond hair, but her skin was white.

She possessed a Relic—a cutlass.

She could speak. And according to Munieka-san, her model age was from the chaotic, dark era.

And right now, she was trying to push me down.

“Master, you’re cruel-desu!”

“Eh—what did I do?”

“Master. Do you… like Anna Kreuz-desu?”

“Uh, what do you mean?”

Anna Kreuz?

Ah—maybe that’s the name of the Minos Doll I gave the bracelet to earlier.

“The bracelet-desu!”

“That was a token of gratitude. I have one for everyone.”

As I said that, the Minos Doll maids all let out a loud commotion.

Shaldina clapped her hands twice—pan pan—and the room instantly quieted.

“Truly… you have one for all of us-desu?”

“I do.”

The maids erupted again.

Some Minos Dolls passed through the gate or went downstairs in the lift.

Wondering what was happening, Haiyaan explained:

“They probably went to get the others.”

“You were here-desu, Haiyaan?”

“I’ve been here from the start! And—Wof. What’s with this uproar? Anna Kreuz kissed you? I’m soooo jealous!! You’re going to get stabbed someday, you hear me!?”

Why say that with enough force to cry blood?

Shaldina asked:

“Master, will you be stabbed-desu?”

“No, I won’t.”

Why would I be stabbed?
Please don’t nod like that, Minos Doll maids—like you understand.
It’s making me feel like I really might get stabbed.

Anna Kreuz stepped forward and pointed at the bracelet.

“Yes. I’ll hand them out now.”

But she stopped my hand as I reached into my pouch.
A gesture telling me to wait.

Soon, two came up from below, and two more arrived through the gate.

Eight Minos Doll maids—everyone gathered.
It looked bright and spectacular.

Anna Kreuz gave instructions to the assembled maids.

Immediately after, all of them except Shaldina stood in a horizontal line and extended their arms simultaneously.

The perfectly synchronized movement looked like a scene from a musical.

I went down the line from the closest, putting a bracelet on each one—and receiving a kiss on the cheek or forehead in return.

Their lips were so soft it was hard to believe they were artificial.

And though it became a sort of assembly-line flow, each of their kisses had personality.

A shy Minos Doll who closed her eyes and kissed me softly.
A bold Minos Doll who held my face and kissed both cheeks.
A passionate one who held my cheek and kissed the opposite side deeply.
An assertive one who kissed me twice for some reason.
One who tried to leave a kiss mark—dangerous.
One who stared at my lips before kissing my cheek—also dangerous.

After kissing me, each Minos Doll gazed at her bracelet with great warmth and emotion.

They were happy. I was glad.

“Master!”

Last was Shaldina.

The bracelets were tailored to match their body features.

So Minos Dolls had blue rings with black stones—but Shaldina alone was white.

I slipped the gold ring with a white gem onto Shaldina’s arm.

“…How is it?”

“Master…”

Her silver eyes trembled as she looked at me. What was that expression?

Shaldina closed her eyes gently.

Uh… wait, is she… waiting?
She’s totally in a “ready for a kiss” stance.

As I hesitated, Anna Kreuz encouraged me to kiss Shaldina.

So that’s what this is.
As expected of Shaldina—unique to the end.

Smiling faintly, I kissed Shaldina on the cheek.

She, with a burst of emotion, kissed my cheek as well.

Then she pulled back shyly, looking thrilled and embarrassed.

With that, I finished giving all of them their bracelets.
They bowed to me, and I bowed back.

Then they dispersed and returned to work.

Shaldina admired her bracelet-armed wrist for a moment, then resumed her duties.

“Hey, Wof.”

“You were here, Haiyaan?”

“I was. Anyway— you treat them so normally.”

“…What do you mean?”

“No matter how much will they have, Minos Dolls aren’t human. Have you forgotten that?”

“I haven’t. But they are who they are. Whether they’re human or not doesn’t matter to me.”

Also, in my previous life, I had something called ‘golem girl moe.’
A deep, incurable preference.

I wondered what Haiyaan thought.

“Haiyaan, does it matter to you?”

“To a degree, yes.”

“Even though you’re a rabbit.”

“That’s unrelated. Well, I won’t complain about your stance. But I’ll say this— you will get stabbed someday!”

Again with that bloodshed intensity!

“In fact—you should get stabbed!”

“That’s just your wish, isn’t it?! And you say you ‘care,’ yet you treat Minos Dolls properly like girls!”

“Silence! You dare defile my Maid Paradise!?”

“How is this my fault?!”

“Then I shall stab you myself! Prepare yourself, womanizing scoundrel!”

I quickly grabbed Haiyaan by the ears and lifted him.

“Alright. Dinner for tonight—secured.”

“I’m sorry.”

Good grief.

After that, I went to the training room and practiced spear techniques.

This is worth training seriously.
I’ll make sure to do it once every day.

Once I finished training, I was hungry.

“…Let’s go eat. Haiyaan.”

“What is it?”

“You hungry?”

“I am.”

“Wanna go grab food?”

“It’s going to be at Cidre Inn anyway, isn’t it?”

“Well… yes.”

“You’re treating, obviously.”

“Then I’ll just go alone.”

“Wait, that was a joke!”

As he said that, he hopped onto my shoulder.
Seriously, this guy… what can you do.

“By the way, where’s Dagaa?”

“He’s with Mineha-san and the others today.”

“Her mother was here.”

“Yes, she was.”

I stepped through the transfer gate.

Now then… what do I do? What should I do here…

“Wof. It seems you really were destined to be stabbed.”

“…………”

Should I use this smug rabbit as nunchucks?

Throw him like a projectile?

Or drag him into my Knife Magic spell?

For some reason, I was surrounded by a group of men in an alley.

I tried to take a shortcut, but they blocked the way ahead and behind, cornering me in a back alley.

Not that this was unusual.
This kind of thing had been happening a lot lately.

Even after the festival ended, its aftereffects lingered throughout Hydrangea like echoes.

It would be a while before things truly went quiet.

Crime was the same.

Most victims were women and girls, but sometimes men and boys were targeted too.

But these men seemed to be after me specifically.

The moment we crossed paths, one of them said.

“Hey. You’re Wof, right?”

“Get ready, bastard.”

The man in front pulled out a knife.

At that signal, the rest drew swords, axes, spears, knives—whatever weapons they had.

“So you really will get stabbed. In fact, go get stabbed!”

“…………”

So I threw Haiyaan at them.