Chapter 94 – Deja Vu - Strawberry Lilies

「It was 20 years ago…」

And so the doll’s reminiscence began.

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20 years ago

In a certain place, there was an ordinary girl. However, the girl had the ability to control the undead. As the girl grew older, her abilities became more powerful.

At first, the King wanted to use her power to invade other countries. As a result, the girl rose to become the country’s top general and helped many people.

「Wait, wait a minute?」

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「Mou! What is it? I’m just getting started!」
「S- Sorry? B- But, I think I heard that somewhere before…」
「Haa? Let’s just keep going, okay?」
「Ah, un」

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As an adult, the girl’s power had grown to such an extent that it was almost too much to handle, and the army of the undead had almost caught up with the numbers of the country’s army. Sensing that this was not good, the King tried to get rid of the girl.

When the girl saw the signs, she ran away with her then newly married husband and her own undead army… With a child in her belly…

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Then a few years passed.

The family of 3 lives in the forest, in hiding, poor but somehow happy.

However, those days soon fell apart.

A large number of knights appeared in the forest where the couple and child were. Fortunately, the girl had put up a ward that blinds anyone who enters the forest, so she was able to hide, but there were just too many of them. There were knights everywhere in the forest, and it became impossible to live.

The girl finally made up her mind and wanted to kill the knights. But by that time, the undead that had been waiting for her had dwindled in number, and she gave up in tears because she was in a desperate situation.

Then, the girl died.

The girl who loved her country the most was found and killed by the knights of that country.

The girl’s husband was enraged by this. The husband was a man born into a well known family of magicians. He tried to use his natural ability to put a curse on the country.

The means of applying the curse is a doll.

The idea was to possess a doll with a spirit, use the doll as a medium to control the spirit, and then possess the king. When he thought that had failed, he somehow possessed the Prime Minister.

The husband, who was satisfied with the man’s position as the country’s Prime Minister, used transference magic to transport the doll, which was no longer possessed by the spirit, somewhere so that the spirit would not find it, and planned to hang himself. And so a child was left behind.

The reason why he wanted to possess the king through the doll was because it would make it easier for the spirit to stay in this world. The doll that served as a substitute was indeed a home and a body for the spirit.

「That spirit is me!」
「Eh, really?」
「Unh! So, the person I’ve possessed is Alice over there」
「Um… I’m sorry for the inconvenience…」
「No, it’s… It’s fine, though… ?」
「?」
「I was wondering why you were so quiet a while back…」
「That’s because Alice and I were fighting each other over the body!」
「That’s right… Because we were fighting over the body, it wouldn’t respond to my questions and would have looked like someone who didn’t have a will of their own…」
「… I see…」
「And that’s why!」
「That’s why?」
「… I’m going to follow you!」
「「Eeh!?」」

The doll pointed a finger at me and declared… I guess I’ve been involved in this since I was in Selkadia…

「I have chosen you as my master!」
「… Eeh… ?」

How did this happen… No, well, okay? Unlike yesterday, it looks cute… ? But the name…

「Well, even if you refuse, I’ll follow you on my own」
「…」

Alice-chan looks at me with pity in her eyes. Those eyes hurt, so stop……

「… Speaking of which, what are you going to do, Alice-chan?」
「… Indeed… I have a servant at home who is always worried about me, so I’m going home」
「I see. Do you want me to walk you home?」
「Can you do so?」
「Of course!」
「… Thank you for helping me」
「… I didn’t do anything」

It’s true. I really didn’t do anything to deserve any thanks…

───Gacha

「Ayaaaaaa!! ───Eh… ? Who is… that woman… ?」
「Ah, Suzu. I’m going to take this girl home now, so wait for me, okay?」
「Eh? Ah, un… ?」

I left the house with Alice-chan, leaving Suzu behind, and arrived at Alice-chan’s house half an hour later.

「See you soon!」
「Yes. Take care, Ayane-san!」

We bowed our heads to each other and said our goodbyes. I’ll have to explain to Suzu when I get back…

I went home with these thoughts in mind.