Chapter 110: Completing the World (Twelve)
Its pitch-black eyes emitted a startling light. Perhaps because it wasn't human, the brown bear's childish words sounded somewhat strange.
Its voice was like a child's, full of confusion and innocence, yet carried a heavy possessiveness. "Mine... this is... mine."
Dense clusters of black dots rose up in his line of sight. Ever since this little brown bear gained its own consciousness, the other dolls' eyes had also begun to sparkle. They stood up one after another.
These dolls were also very familiar to Qi An; there were many he had seen before.
The adorable dolls owned by the nobles.
"Yours?" Qi An furrowed his brow, directing his gaze at the little brown bear clutching his hand. Though the sensation from his fingers was merely warmth, Qi An could sense that it was exerting considerable effort.
His fingertip was being tightly held by a doll.
"I... it's... mine. You... look very much like... my thing." What it said was still childlike, stumbling and full of innocence. "Am I... cute?"
Qi An frowned. After the brown bear spoke, the other dolls ceased their movements. They all gazed at Qi An with their faintly glowing eyes, seemingly waiting for his answer to this question.
"Am I... cute?" The brown bear repeated the question once more, but this time its voice changed. Though still childish, the tone became eerily诡异, as if many people were speaking in unison.
"Are we dolls... cute?"
How should he respond?
Cute or not cute.
Qi An didn't answer. The brown bear's hand remained tightly wrapped around one of his fingers. Qi An glanced sideways at the pile of dolls clutching at his pant legs. It seemed that having received no response for a prolonged time, these dolls had grown impatient. They began climbing onto him again.
"Cute." The youth surrounded by countless dolls fluttered his lashes slightly.
The moment this soft words left his lips, the dolls' movements froze in place once more. They began gazing at Qi An with that fervent intensity.
"You said... I'm... cute..." There seemed to be joy in the brown bear's voice. Its sewn-shut mouth corner suddenly curved upward. Its originally adorable expression suddenly turned peculiar, radiating a profound sense of disharmony and rigidity. "Since I'm... cute, then... give... yourself... to me... okay..."
It twisted its neck, its large head relative to its body tilting to one side. It seemed to be trying to act coy, but the impression it gave was that its head might topple off from being too heavy.
"What?"
"You give... yourself to us, and we'll give... a gift, a very very good... gift." The brown bear seemed unsatisfied with only holding one finger. It spread its arms wide, enveloping Qi An's entire arm within its embrace. Its voice became even more childish.
"Since you said... I'm... cute, then... give yourself... to us... okay..." After finishing these words, the brown bear appeared to grow bashful. Qi An saw it lower its large head.
"You said, I'm... cute..."
The brown bear's gesture seemed to trigger some kind of switch. All the other dolls' eyes burst forth with a startling possessiveness. Like a spring stream, the dolls continuously crawled onto Qi An's body. In almost an instant, his body was covered with dolls.
"We'll... give you... a doll, a very pretty... very pretty doll." The toy bear's voice continued. Something shifted in Qi An's expression. "What kind of doll?"
"The one who... made us..."
"Princess, you should wake up now." Just then, Julie's voice suddenly rang out. The darkness before his eyes began to gradually brighten.
"Find her... if you don't... play that game with her... she'll get upset..." The toy bear's grip on Qi An's hand tightened. Its speech quickened. "You must... find her... otherwise, we... will also get angry."
Speaking of anger, Qi An saw the corners of the mouths of all those dolls besides the toy bear curl upward. Without exception, they all revealed brilliant smiles.
"What?" Qi An furrowed his brow slightly.
"Use... the crystal shoe... to find her." The toy bear giggled. For some reason, its laughter was somewhat jarring. "If... we get angry... then compensation... is needed."
"We need... your... compensation..."
"Princess, are you alright?" When Qi An opened his eyes, he saw Julie gazing at him with concern.
"...It's nothing." Qi An glanced at the girl. It was Julie again who had awakened him from the dolls' illusion.
Those dolls had mentioned a doll and the crystal shoe.
This easily brought to mind the girl who had suddenly appeared at that banquet.
Use the crystal shoe to find her, accompany her in playing a game, and she was the creator of those dolls.
"Julie." Qi An asked softly, "Are these dolls that have taken the noble circles by storm all made by the Duke of Xini's mansion?"
This Duke of Xini's mansion was the very residence where Jenny resided.
"Yes, it's quite strange." Julie's smile deepened noticeably. "The Duke of Xini and the late Duchess both despised these dolls. But just when the late Duchess passed away five years ago, the mansion suddenly produced a batch of dolls."
Five years ago.
The timeframe when the other transmigrators descended upon this world, according to Lu Wuyi.
Miss Jenny was known throughout their kingdom as a pitiable figure. If she truly were a transmigrator, she would never place herself in such an awkward predicament. Her doing so must have her own reasons.
Recalling the Cinderella-like progression of events, Qi An glanced at the beautiful crystal shoe on his desk.
This crystal shoe, in the story, would fall into the prince's possession, and ultimately the prince would use it to find that Cinderella.
Therefore, in this game, he needed to play the role of... the prince.
"Princess, the King has sent word that the Second Princess will also be coming to Prince Tommy's celebratory banquet." A carrier pigeon flew in through the window. Julie walked over and retrieved a folded paper from the bird's foot. After scanning through it, the girl spoke softly to Qi An.
"The Second Princess?" Qi An raised his eyes.
"Yes, apparently it was a last-minute decision by the Second Princess." Julie tucked the paper away into a dedicated small box, though her gaze grew heavy for a moment. When she lifted her head again after finishing, her expression had returned to its gentle appearance.
She seemed to mention casually, "And I hear that the famous troubadour will be coming as well."
"The famous troubadour?" Qi An repeated softly. He had indeed heard of this troubadour, who had also gained fame five years ago and was very likely a transmigrator.
However, he couldn't quite understand why Julie had特意 mentioned this troubadour.
Troubadours compile the heroic deeds of the world into songs and ballads, spreading them across the continent. Judging from his profession, he would have reason to attend this celebratory banquet for Tommy.
"Yes, many people will be coming." Julie seemed to sigh.
Because Tommy had some business he needed to attend to at this banquet, Qi An once again arrived at roughly the same time as Julie.
Julie stood waiting outside the gate as usual while Qi An walked in slowly. This banquet was grander than the one held for Porter previously, and the nobles' garments were even more splendid. Qi An swept a glance across the room and was preparing to find a secluded corner to sit in, as he always did.
But just as he reached the halfway point, a girl in a purple gown seemed to lose her footing, tumbling directly toward Qi An.
His fingers hesitated, and Qi An steadied the girl who was about to fall. Just as Qi An was about to let go, the girl suddenly lifted her hand.
She pulled off the veil that Qi An had been wearing on his face...