On the opposite side of light, there is always darkness.
For instance, this gloomy place at the corner of a bustling street radiating brilliant light.
In this little shop, which perhaps no one has visited, even the faintest signs of life are non-existent, and there is no proper sign hanging.
Only goods are displayed in boxes.
It’s hard to tell if the door is even open, let alone if any business is being conducted, and naturally, there are no children, nor even a glance from any customers.
After all, on a special day like the Spirit Festival, anyone who would pay attention to such a shabby shop must surely be a peculiar individual that common criminals wouldn’t understand or someone with a clear goal.
While thinking such thoughts, I raised my hand.
– Ding.
As expected, the door was open.
The notice board in front of the door read ‘Open’ instead of ‘Closed’, so perhaps it was natural.
Having heard the bell signaling a customer’s arrival, someone emerged from within the store, which was in a state resembling a warehouse.
“Ha ha, today’s first customer has a familiar face.”
A rich, resonant woman’s voice.
Her appearance was indeed familiar.
But to think I would recognize her so quickly, perhaps she had also spotted my face behind the mask.
“…”
“Right, I thought a day like this would eventually come.”
She spoke with a gentle smile gracing her lips.
“So, how did you find this place?”
“I saw the item you left for me.”
He pulled a small key from his pocket nonchalantly.
The key used to be the winding key of a small music box gifted to him by a child long ago.
Sadly, the music box had disappeared over time, but the key remained, allowing him to reminisce about that memory.
Just seeing that key would bring to mind the melody that flowed from that music box, recalling ‘The Toy Store on Prunkel Street.’
As long as one had that hint from ‘Prunkel Street,’ finding another shop there would be a piece of cake.
“Merlin.”
Upon hearing the young male voice, she sighed softly.
Her sorrowful gaze scanned his face as she murmured quietly.
“Child, did ‘he’ send you? Is that why you’ve come looking for my life?”
‘He.’
The king of those who live beyond virtue, the old man.
Was he intending to take his life through the third child?
“If that’s the case, it would truly be a sad thing.”
A puppeteer pierced by their greatest creation; it must have been quite a tragic story.
However, the ‘puppet’ before her silently removed its mask and opened its mouth without answering.
“I’m not related to ‘him’.”
This one had already embedded themselves in someone other than ‘him’.
The reason for finding Merlin was not simply to ‘take her life’ or any such trivial matter.
“I serve another.”
“Another? Who?”
She asked in a bewildered tone at the unexpected answer.
There had been no news of any power other than ‘him’ entering Aires.
By her understanding, Aires was merely the lair of that colossal dragon known as ‘him’.
Organizations capable of poking their heads into such a place were indeed few.
Noticing the glint of curiosity in her eyes, he opened his mouth softly as if to explain.
“It is a being that’s difficult to explain.”
He quietly recalled the visage of the one he served.
Young in appearance but not a child.
Weak in appearance yet strong.
Seemingly pure yet cunning.
Appearing foolish yet wiser than anyone.
He was a contradiction in himself, someone who could not be simply explained in a few words.
However, one thing was certain.
“He is the one who saved me.”
Yes.
From the Circle, from poison, and simultaneously from ‘him’, she had saved him.
This was the foremost reason she could only follow him blindly.
The fact alone rendered her an evil or righteous figure, or whatever thoughts or plans she held irrelevant.
“And that person wants your ‘puppet.’”
A smile bloomed upon her lips.
“What an interesting story.”
Saying so, she waved her hand in the air.
Then, invisible threads of magic passed by him, flipping the sign that read ‘Open’ to ‘Closed’.
Witnessing that scene, he let out a chuckle.
“Since when were the threads ready?”
“Ha ha, I cannot tell you that.”
For a true puppeteer, concealing the threads that handle the puppets is a mark of genuine talent.
————
– Pat pat!
There was a child, running anxiously through the toy streets alone without parents trailing behind.
After running for a while, the child seemed to press their face against the display window where the dolls were showcased, searching for something.
Had they lost their way after getting swept away by the crowd on the Spirit Festival, letting go of their parents’ hands?
It wouldn’t make sense for such a well-dressed child, especially not in sneakers, to be running around like that unless it was of serious importance.
Seeing that, anyone would find it impossible not to intervene.
“Hey there… Are you lost? Where are your mom and dad?”
Sensing someone approaching, the girl quickly shook her head in response.
“Not at all, just mind your own business.”
“Uh? R-Right?”
However, surprisingly, despite running from all the way over there, the child’s breaths were not even slightly ragged.
Had they not run for long?
Moreover, the look they gave him was exceedingly calm.
From that appearance, one could infer that the child might not have actually lost their parents.
Just as he was pondering whether this was a ‘simple misunderstanding’, the girl spoke again.
“Sorry! I’m a bit busy right now!”
“Uh? Uh…”
He could only stare blankly at the back of the child who had said that and then darted away.
And thus, it had already been the fifth time he received such concerned glances and attention.
Luke was starting to feel mentally exhausted.
“I never thought finding a limited edition would be this hard…”
Luke was struck anew by the popularity of Meruru.
Every place he went was sold out, or so he was told they hadn’t received stock.
Or else, even the money given to him by Dayton was insufficient for the purchasing cost.
Negotiations didn’t go well either.
He tried flattering the sellers, asking them to sell at full price, but the crazed sellers instead suspected that someone had sent him to try and haggle, thus refusing him.
In truth, it wasn’t incorrect from Luke’s perspective, attempting to leverage his ‘child’s skin’…
“Indeed, it seems every place that doesn’t get business has its reasons.”
Moreover, the quality didn’t appear very good which made him think they might be counterfeits, so he didn’t feel overly attached to them.
Some might call it a fox and sour grapes strategy, but it was genuinely so.
Perhaps anything he bought wouldn’t last more than a few days with Diana playing with it.
“Haah. Meruru seems to be even more impressive than I imagined.”
Luke recalled the young man who had repeatedly told him not to say such things and had flicked him on the forehead.
Honestly, he barely felt the pain, but the sentiment had been clearly conveyed.
“Is there really nothing left for me?”
Having arrived at a secluded alley shop, Luke sighed and trudged along.
At that moment, his phone rang.
Checking, it was Dayton.
The reason Dayton was calling was obvious.
He was probably telling him to give up the search.
– Luke, if you can’t find it after all this searching, why don’t you just come? I think you’ve tried hard enough. Let’s just buy any doll that’s not the one you’re looking for. I think Diana is old enough to understand by now.
“But…”
Luke couldn’t shake off the nagging discomfort.
Even if it wasn’t a limited edition, Diana would surely be happy with any gift she received…
“Haah. It can’t be helped then. Let’s do that.”
He could only hope she would like Meruru herself more than the special nature of the limited edition.
Just as he was turning his body to do so…
Luke made a discovery.
A limited edition Meruru doll that had just been taken out of the box and displayed on the shelf.
Luke immediately stopped and shouted.
“Wait, Dayton. I think I found it!”
– What? Is it true?
Luke pressed his face against the glass and closely examined the contents of the box.
It was undoubtedly a limited edition doll.
“Yeah! There’s no doubt about it!”
Unlike the other counterfeit products, the quality wasn’t poor at all.
Moreover, the item seemed to look even better than the original product that had been sold in limited quantity of 200 pieces.
The only issue was that the shop had no sign and the door was closed.
Luke was baffled.
‘Could it be that there’s no one in this shop?’
Today was the Spirit Festival; a normal toy store should be operating regardless of circumstances to earn according to market economics.
Moreover, that limited edition doll was a recent release.
The fact that such an item was in the shop certainly indicated it had been operating until very recently, right?
As Luke entertained such questions, he thought he heard a faint murmur coming from inside.
“Dayton, I’ll hang up for a sec.”
– Uh? Okay.
To confirm whether there was indeed a sound coming, Luke hung up on Dayton, pressed his ear to the glass, and focused.
Then he could definitely hear some sort of murmuring from inside.
‘So, are they trying to kill him…?’
The conversation heard from within caused Luke to freeze.
“… kill?”
Having accidentally overheard that, Luke pondered how the word ‘kill’ could come up in a doll shop.
However, he couldn’t think of any particularly plausible reason at all.
Perhaps this conversation was a conspiracy to commit murder.
‘If that’s true, then it’s not about the limited edition doll anymore.’
Luke decided to eavesdrop a little more on the serious conversation.
Hoping that it wouldn’t turn out to be something serious.
‘So…… this is happening…’
‘It can’t be helped…’
But the latter part of the conversation was too quiet for him to overhear even with focus.
Just as Luke was straining his hearing and frowning…
– Ring ring…
“Wha!”
He was startled by the sudden ringing of his phone from his pocket.
‘What is it now, Dayton? Why are you calling again?’
Checking, Luke saw that the caller wasn’t Dayton but Third.
Third originally didn’t have a mobile phone but had recently gotten one with the help of Yerna, so they already exchanged contacts.
Luke quickly hung up.
However, before long, the phone rang again.
Was there something urgent?
‘Really, this timing is troublesome! Of all times!’
Just as Luke was about to turn his phone to silent mode, the shop door suddenly swung open, and a familiar-faced man stepped out.
It seemed he had been too distracted by the phone to notice the footsteps from inside.
“Uh? Third? Why are you coming out of there?”
“Uh, Master? What are you doing in front of the shop?”
