Chapter 131: The Much-Troubled Little Holly

At this moment, everyone gathered around.

Looking at the thing lying on the ground, everyone was engaged in lively discussion…

“What kind of creature is this?”

“A turtle?”

“Click… This is clearly a puppet, isn’t it? I wonder who’s controlling it.”

After examining it up and down, Ileya finally confirmed what the thing was…

It really was a Ceramic Puppet.

But there wasn’t any core or control device inside. The big face was made from some sort of ceramic material, while the body was wooden… Metal pulleys were set into the joints.

Within it… she sensed no trace of a soul.

It was clearly not being controlled by Necromancy.

“If it’s made of ceramic… isn’t that face a bit too tough?”

Amisa bent down, gently lifting a large fragment of the doll’s face and studying it carefully.

Recalling the sensation from earlier, even the Head Maid felt her palm tingle a bit.

“No… there’s nothing that strange about it.”

Ileya shook her head.

Because in her previous life, high-density ceramics could even be used as armor plates in bulletproof vests.

It wasn’t especially odd for this world to have similar materials.

But a puppet with no sustaining power or means of control, moving around all on its own, even coming over to “spy” on them, and acting so silently without leaving any trace…

It felt just like a cotton-stuffed ragdoll suddenly running wild all over the place—strangely absurd and unsettling.

What was its goal, really?

Why did it want to observe them?

Could it be… someone already knew her objective, and wanted to stop her, or maybe join in?

Or perhaps…

Just as Ileya was thinking this, she suddenly noticed… Arthur, who was standing behind the others.

He was frowning, staring up at the sky above.

He seemed deep in thought.

“What are you thinking about?”

The young lady stepped forward, watching the pensive young-old man before her.

“Mm… I feel like I’ve seen this thing before, but the impression isn’t that deep…”

Arthur looked down at the shattered face of the large-headed doll.

“It seems like I’ve simply… seen it somewhere, that’s all.”

But to Ileya’s ears, those words sounded a little different.

This guy was suffering from amnesia. If it was only something he’d seen, he probably wouldn’t have any real impression of it.

Something that felt unfamiliar yet strangely recognizable was most likely something he’d seen often before, but never really paid attention to.

After hearing Ileya’s explanation, Arthur nodded slowly, indicating he would think it over and try to recall where that impression came from.

Since there were no clues to be found, everyone decided to simply return to the Carriage and rest.

As for the remains of that ceramic doll… to prevent it from suddenly coming back to life and running off,

Ileya just tossed it into the Kingdom of the Dead.

Just as everyone was climbing back onto the Carriage, the young lady noticed—

Holly was fidgeting, glancing around.

“Not planning to go back to sleep?”

“Eh? Ah… I… I’ll sleep a bit later~”

The Holy Sword Bearer opened her mouth, as if to say something, but in the end she turned the topic aside,

Averting her eyes from Ileya’s gaze.

“Mm… it’s still cold out here, come up and sleep soon~”

Saying that, the young lady turned and climbed into the Carriage.

“O-okay…”

Watching as the young lady got on, Holly tiptoed around to the back of the second Carriage, opened a hidden compartment for luggage, and took out her spare change of clothes.

After changing… she finally let out a long sigh of relief.

It felt much safer now… Being all chilly and exposed was really uncomfortable.

Tonight was just… Wait! Ugh!!

Just as she thought about how unlucky she’d been tonight, Holly suddenly seemed to remember something, and slapped herself on the forehead!

She was so useless… Judging by how tough that thing was, her Holy Sword should have been able to slice right through it…

Why had she just stood there shouting, instead of drawing her sword?!

Draw the sword, you idiot!

Coward!

Scolding herself in her mind, she thought at the same time… she couldn’t go on like this!

Stomping her foot in place, Holly made a decision…

Tomorrow, she would ask Reliel and Amisa-senpai… to teach her how to become stronger!

She absolutely, definitely had to get stronger!!

Thinking this, Holly turned sideways and climbed into the Carriage… but in the very next second, as she opened the door, she froze in place!

Because… maybe she’d been too lost in thought just now, but she had gotten into the wrong Carriage.

This Carriage they’d bought in Town was where Arthur slept—while all the girls slept in the young lady’s exceptionally spacious and luxurious Carriage…

But… that wasn’t the real point.

The real point was…

At that very moment, lying on the Carriage bed, with steady breathing, was Arthur—

And perched on top of him…

There was actually… a man crouching there?!

A very thin, very tall man—even crouching with his limbs folded up, he was still two heads taller than Holly!

Hoo… That man slowly turned his head. His chin was sharp, lips non-existent, white teeth and gums bared.

His eyes were huge, bulging from their sockets.

His entire face looked like an upside-down, acute-angled triangle.

But on that terrifying face… were painted patches of colorful greasepaint.

The colors were varied, but every one of them seemed tinged with gray… looking old and worn.

It was like… a clown who hadn’t removed his makeup for days.

Who was this guy? Why… was he crouching on Arthur’s chest?

No—! This was bad… How could Arthur not have woken up already?!

“Nn—?!”

Holly’s brain short-circuited for a moment, clearly shocked by the sight!

No! No no! She couldn’t just stand there useless!

Her expression turned serious in an instant, her right hand moving as if to summon her Holy Sword…

Whoosh—!!

But the next second, that horrifying face lunged right up to Holly’s—coming within just a few millimeters of her nose…

“Uhh—?!”

This sudden face-to-face scare shattered all the composure the Holy Sword Bearer had just gathered,

And she fell straight backwards!

Thump!

She landed flat outside the Carriage.

But just as she fell, she also realized how embarrassing her reaction had been.

Useless! Far too useless!

Annoyed and ashamed, she bit her lip, grabbed a stone from beside her in frustration, and hurled it at the Clown Man in the Carriage!

Whoosh—! Crack!!

The stone struck the Clown Man’s face, and in that instant, he… exploded.

That’s right, he popped like a balloon.

“Huh?” The noise finally woke Arthur, who’d just fallen asleep.

He sat up, looking blankly at the open Carriage door, at Holly sitting outside, face full of confusion… still frozen in the pose of having just thrown a stone.

“Um… Miss Holly?” Arthur asked hesitantly, then looked at the sharp stone lying on his blanket…

“Did I… offend you somehow?”

“Ah? No no no! I… I…”

Step step… At this moment, everyone else, having heard the commotion, came down from the Carriage again.

“What’s the matter now?”

Ileya crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at the Holy Sword Bearer, whose face was a mix of embarrassment and confusion.

She noticed that this Transmigrant was completely different from herself—she really had the “Main Character Fate.”

Ever since coming here, she’d always had to chase after trouble herself.

But Holly was the exact opposite—she just kept stumbling into trouble, seemingly at random.

Truly fitting for her status as a Transmigrant.

“Just now… just now, on top of Arthur, there was… a person…”

As Holly described what she had seen once more, everyone fell silent again.