Huff!!
In the next second, Insmouth’s massive, black-armored hand reached straight into the bushes and yanked Holly out!
“Eh?! W-wait… I… I haven’t—”
Huff!
As the girl struggled while being pulled from the bushes, a pure white, triangular flower-made item slowly slipped from her ankle, hanging on a branch in the bushes, swaying gently in the night breeze like a surrendering White Flag…
“What happened?”
The others all leapt down from the Carriage in the very next moment!
“I…” At this moment, Holly felt… a chill under her skirt, but she still quickly described what had frightened her in the shortest words possible.
“A huge face.”
Ileya rubbed her chin and tilted her head, looking in Insmouth’s direction.
At this point, all the bushes in that area had been trampled flat, but… there was no sign of any Big-Head Doll.
Did it run away?
“Could it be, the thing that’s been watching us in the Forest… is what little Holly just encountered?”
Amisa frowned, stepping forward to investigate as well.
Unfortunately, aside from a puddle of water, she found nothing useful.
“What do you think?”
The Lady turned her head to look at the former mercenary who’d traveled far and wide.
“Divine Kin, Evil Cult.” Reliel calmly uttered the two words.
In all her years with the Hunter’s Blade, Reliel had only ever come across these two possibilities when it came to such bizarre occurrences.
Step, step, step… And at this moment, Amisa walked slowly up to Ileya.
“Lady, that thing… didn’t leave any traces behind. Or rather… it’s hard to imagine the scene little Holly just described could really have happened.”
Even the maid who was best at concealment said so, making Ileya even begin to wonder…
Could Holly have just been sleep-fogged, hallucinating things?
“Ugh! Lady! I… I really saw it! That thing was right beside me just now! It was right there in the bush next to me!”
Seeing the doubtful look in Ileya’s eyes, Holly quickly pointed at the bush Insmouth had just flattened…
“Sigh~ Whatever, with Insmouth and the others on night watch, we’re perfectly safe~”
She waved her hand impatiently, looking like she was suffering from a bit of morning grumpiness.
She was obviously annoyed at Holly’s fuss…
Standing at the side, Reliel frowned as if wanting to say something, but when Ileya gave her a light glance… she immediately fell silent.
“But Lady, there really was—”
“Enough, off to bed. We have a long journey ahead tomorrow…” Ileya waved her hand and got into her Carriage first.
“Eh…”
Seeing everyone return, Holly could only pout in grievance…
As she approached the Carriage, she suddenly seemed to remember something and froze.
Afterward, she shyly shuffled back to the scattered bushes, carefully crouched down, and began searching for something.
Clack… clack, clack…
Just as she was looking for that all-important item on the ground…
Suddenly, above her head, there was a noise like rusty bearings grinding together!
“Uh…” Holly’s hand, searching for her important item, instantly froze.
Her whole body went rigid…
Instinctively, she slowly raised her head, and the Holy Sword Bearer girl saw it again… that gigantic head!
Those lifeless, painted-on fish eyes… made her scalp go numb in an instant!
The Uncanny Valley Effect reached its peak at that moment…
“Ugh…”
But just then! A black, massive fist shot past the girl’s nearly-screaming face like a cannonball—
Whoosh—!! It smashed right into that huge head’s face!
Bang!!!!!!
The terrifying force created a sonic boom, and that Big-Head Doll horror was sent flying…
“Uh… ah?” Sitting on the grass, Holly’s hair tousled by the wind, she stared blankly at everything in front of her.
“Enough already… Bullying my little maid again, are you?”
Behind her came the Lady’s voice…
Turning her head, Holly saw that Ileya, who was supposed to have already boarded the Carriage, was standing right behind her.
Noticing Holly’s gaze, a faint smile curved at the corner of Ileya’s mouth.
“If I hadn’t acted like I doubted you, how could it have shown itself~”
While speaking, Ileya slowly crouched down.
Under Holly’s still-dazed gaze, she gently pulled down the skirt that had been blown up by the gust from the punch.
“Since you’re mine now, naturally, I trust you.”
The Lady then smiled and ruffled her hair.
“It’s all over now~”
“L-lady…” A rush of emotion instantly welled up in Holly’s eyes.
It was like… a bullied child finally seeing a big sister willing to stand up for her.
She felt wronged, but stubbornly held back her tears.
“There, there~ As long as you’re my maid, no one can bully you~”
Huff… The clouds gradually dispersed, and soft purple moonlight shone on Ileya, making her smile even gentler.
Her slender fingers pinched Holly’s skinny cheek.
And at that moment…
That smile, too, was deeply… etched into the apprentice maid’s heart.
Bang!!
While Ileya comforted Holly, the battle up ahead was also decided in a short time.
Crack…
After taking two punches from Insmouth, the Big-Head Doll’s entire face was now covered in fine cracks, like a shattered porcelain vase!
Creak, creak, creak… The Big-Head Doll apparently had no intention of confronting the hulking brute head-on.
Its whole body trembled twice, then actually floated into the air and fled toward the dark woods behind!
“That face… is it a mask?”
But… right in its escape path, in the shadows of the dense trees—
Amisa, adjusting her Knife-Frame Glasses, walked slowly out.
This time she didn’t choose her sharp Deboning Knife, but instead a Steel Blade over half a meter long, wielded with the flat, blunt side facing the enemy!
Whoosh!!
Not giving it any chance to act, the maid’s blade slammed the back of the blade directly onto the big face!
Crack!!
A clear shattering sound echoed through the silent woods, and that huge face… was actually dented by Amisa’s blow!
“Tsk…”
But… the maid noticed, there was no mask on its face—this was its actual face, and inside… even in the brain, it was all hollow.
Bang! But Amisa didn’t hesitate. At once, she kicked the creature’s much smaller body compared to its head with all her speed!
Thud…
The broken-faced thing seemed to lose all vitality in that moment… and simply collapsed, motionless.
That’s… it?
The maid frowned at the Big-Head Doll lying on the ground, a large chunk of its face shattered.
A big head and tattered cloth forming “clothes” underneath.
But judging by the feel of her kick just now, there was definitely something inside.
Looking closely… it seemed to be a doll?
A doll with a giant porcelain head…
Though the features were much larger than a normal person’s, the nose was still a nose, the eyes were still eyes, nothing particularly odd.
Except… maybe it was the artist’s lack of skill, or maybe it was intentional.
The features—especially the eyes and mouth—looked so [fake].
So close to being real… it gave you an unbearable sense of discomfort at first glance.