I think Luna hates me even more now. And she thinks I'm crazy. This afternoon was quite fruitful. Aside from a companion I inexplicably feel I can trust, I gained some insights into the human world, though mostly about its shady side. Now, how do I explain the situation to the party without appearing suspicious for knowing too much?

"I think these thugs wanted to kidnap me for what I am." Nice deduction, Luna. "So as a dark elf, Lady Nightwane was already their target." And the next step is? "She must be still here since they had not left yet when we came." Pin pon! You're (most likely) correct.

"Maybe she is in the storage room?" I motion to go and take a peek, but Luna stops me for some reason.

"Let me go first. There might still be someone else in there." Yeah, since it worked so well last time. If what I did didn't make whoever may have been hiding in the back come out, it means there isn't anyone there.

"I don't want to meet the lady..." Senka whispers to me. Someone who isn't afraid of my true appearance doesn't want to meet a person. I have to wonder just how bad she must be. "She... is a lonely woman... and there aren't many life-sized dolls available in this world, even if it's one as small as me."

Speak no further, I can somehow picture what you mean, even though I don't want to.

"Ah, Lady Nightwane!" Luna seems to have found her. Senka makes an expression of annoyance mixed with disgust. Hey, that looks familiar. Something involving a certain holy sword on a journey to California. "I found her!"

Senka's expression returns to a blank one when Luna turns around to announce it to me.

The lady in question is lying on the ground, tied up, gagged and out cold. So, that's a dark elf. She has long pointy ears, just like the elf queen's head Maou-mama ate. But her skin is a mauve purple, and her hair is dark blue. Camouflage for the night? She kind of looks like a sullen mature woman, with the hair falling over her eyes.

Luckily, she's unconscious, so she most likely didn't hear any of what happened earlier. I did something risky there by exposing myself. But then again, it's only those inside the store, and I could have erased them from existence if needed be. Furthermore, nobody would believe that cute ol' me could be a monster. Cosmic Horror, was it? I'm reminded of a certain silver-haired girl with an incredibly long ahoge, wielding a crowbar against aliens.

"Are you alright?" Luna shakes the woman. If she had an injury to the spine, you would most likely have paralyzed her with that. What's with people shaking the unconscious without bothering to look for external injuries first? Then again, I doubt there's first aid in this world. "Ah, she's breathing."

What part of kidnapping involves dead bodies, Luna-chan?

"Uh... Hmmph?" She wakes up, notices the gag, and begins to struggle. Then she spots us, and her eyes fill with hope. Luna takes off her gag and begins to untie her. "Ah, thank you so much, Runa!"

Her voice is somewhat alluring, and her tone is soft. But knowing what she does with Senka, I can only see her as a mature looking woman who actually doesn't have any real experience. How pitiful. Also, this is very obviously an M.

"Are you hurt?" Too late to ask that, you already shook her and all. "Did they do something to you?" Somehow I see disappointment flash over her face before she responds by shaking her head. Seriously? I look at Senka, but she doesn't move.

"Ah, who are you? And what are you doing with my... with the cursed doll?" Were you about to slip up and say sex toy?

"She saved our lives. I want to buy her." I see a questioning look on Lady Nightwane's face. Luna looks at me, unbelieving.

"You really want that creepy thing? And it's even cursed!" Have you seen my actual face? That's beyond creepy; one can practically see the curses in it.

Ahhh, why do I do these things to myself?

"How much do you want for it?" Clearing my mind of negative thoughts, I return to the topic at hand.

"You have money?" Bursting out with this question, she undermines my attempt to appear like a strong buyer.

Luna-chan, would I be asking about the price, if I didn't have anything on me? Well, her doubt is understandable, since I didn't earn any money ever since I met her, and I was penniless from the start. But it must be my lucky day because I found a pretty fat purse in the brainiac's belongings inside my body. I can say he dropped it when he ran away, just like in an RPG.

"Is this much enough?" I pull out the bag of money. I don't know how much is in it, but I'll just let the sound of coins talk. Hey, your eyes are sparkling, Lady Nightwane? She jumps up and snatches the bag away, going through its contents with an increasingly excited expression. No poker face at all, huh? Also, it's evidence her business is going badly. Well, considering the smell in this place...

"I can refurbish my store with this much..." Well, I think this isn't just line, hook and sinker anymore. The whole fishing rod went with it on this one. Now, let me hear your obvious answer. "But... it's a cursed doll. I cannot, in good conscience, sell it to you. Great misfortune will befall you if you keep it close to you."

"She means to say she modified a part of my body and great misfortune will befall her if you find out." Senka whispers, only audible to me. I don't want to know which part... don't tell me, please.

"I'll add this." Luckily, the thug with the club also had a purse, albeit much lighter than the brainiac's. It should still add a great weight to the scales inside her mind. Luna has been looking at me dubiously, but now she's giving me a gaze filled with bewilderment. You think I'm crazy for wanting to buy this doll already; now your opinion is being reinforced by how much money I'm willing to spend on it, right?

"Where did you get all this money from?" I was waiting for this, but...

"I'll tell you later." I don't need to tell the dark elf that her assailants left some money in her shop because of her sex doll. Else she'll claim ownership over it since we technically didn't contribute. It was all me, but I can't tell them that.

"I..." She's seriously considering it. Now, for the finisher.

"Then I shall add a little more, but that is my final offer." I take out one more bag of money. It's the purse of the guy who died upon seeing my real appearance. The amount is about the same as the one with the club's, but at this point, it should make the scale for selling Senka hit the floor.

Lady Nightwane makes big round eyes at the sight of three bags of money. Going through the contents of the last one, something inside her mind clicks. Her demeanor changes a little, and she's no longer hesitant. "I accept the offer. It would be rude not to if the customer is so adamant about it. But I must warn you. It is a cursed doll, after all. It has caused the deaths of countless previous owners who... changed its dress and attempted to modify its appearance."

Ah, good one. You can't say no to the money, but you still don't want me to find out about the modifications you did to her body. Now I'm actually curious to see, even though I can picture it.

The jar of "worms" comes to mind. I shake my head to get rid of the image and suppress a shudder.

- You have obtained Creepy Loli Doll -

"I cannot believe it... Miss Marcott, you have terrible taste." Hey, that's rude, Luna. I'm not saying anything about your robe, either. About how it makes you look slightly fat, and that's a taboo even for a girl. "Lady Nightwane, do you know anything about these kidnappers?" She's reverting to her adventurer self.

"They didn't say much when they attacked. The small and skinny one said not to hurt my face..." That idiot with the club wanted to hit this dark elf's face, too? For trying to ruin a girl's beauty twice, he should have died a more horrible death.

What do you mean, there couldn't be anything more horrible than getting absorbed by me? Senka was the one who killed him instantly.

Well, he is slowly dissolving inside me now, so at least he gets desecrated after his death.

"But I have heard rumors about slavers targeting our kind in these parts of the kingdom lately. After the ban on slavery last winter, it has become increasingly difficult, but there are some underground groups prospering in this business." Lady Nightwane continues.

"When you were knocked out, the skinny one with the big head did say something about how their client would not buy damaged goods." I'll have to make this up as I go. "I asked him who his client was, and he actually told me. I think because he thought I would not be able to tell anyone after they kidnap me as well." I look at Luna, and she seems to buy it. "Their client is none other than the merchant Rolan is considering to offer his services to, Sveinn Itkonen."

"What?" Luna, too loud. "He said that?" Well, the circumstances were different, and he was under duress, but... yes. "We have to let Rolan know."

Um, hello? What about telling the authorities?

"Should we not tell the guards first?" I don't know whether the concept of police exists in this world, but I saw gate guards, so I assume there is something like an organized crime-fighting institution here.

"You are right..." Why do you look like you didn't want to admit that? If you didn't, just come up with an argument against it. "But we have to let the others know before they run into trouble."

Spoke too soon. That's a pretty good argument.

"We will be meeting at nightfall, and we do not know where they are right now."

"The town is small, and I can imagine where they are." That doesn't make sense. We're only two people, and if you consider Luna's strangely protective personality, she won't leave my side even if she dislikes me. We can only search one place at a time. It's very likely that we pass Rolan and the others on parallel streets - for enhanced irony.

"What if they are not there anymore?" Let's see you find an excuse for that.

"Then we will continue searching." Not even trying anymore, huh? Ok, this isn't going anywhere.

"How about we split up? I return to the Dancing Dragon and wait for them there. Maybe someone will return earlier, and I can tell them what we found out here." That seems like a sensible proposal.

"No, I cannot leave you alone." Why? "I'll come with you. We check back at the Dancing Dragon, and if nobody is there yet, I will leave a message with the tavern keeper, and we head out to search." Alright, that is a pretty good idea. And I kind of don't want to leave her alone, either. I've taken it this far to protect her, so I'll see it through until the end. Unless, of course, there's reason for me not to anymore. "Leave that doll behind; we need to hurry."

"What? No, I want to take her with me. She's really light." So light, I have to wonder whether she's stuffed or just hollow.

"Ugh... fine." Aha, you wanted to make me leave the doll behind and then hope that I forget about it. I hug Senka firmly.

"Please don't be a raging lesbian..." I hear her whisper. Tough luck, little one.

"Let us go." Luna prepares to leave but then turns to Lady Nightwane. "Please be careful and close the shop for the time being. They might return to get you after they figure out that the doll was only an automaton."

"Automaton?" Lady Nightwane tilts her head in surprise.

Oh crap. I thought your alibi was perfect, but you never moved in front of her?

"Don't tell me... it's a cursed doll, after all!" Well, Luna is not going to let this slide.

"I told you, did I not? It is a cursed doll that sometimes moves on its own." Nice save, dark elf. No wait, that's not really helping.

"Leave it behind!"

"No, never! I bought her with my hard-earned money!" I did have to put some work in, it's true!

"Rolan will hear about this!" Are you a kid or what? Oh wait, you actually kind of are.

Lady Nightwane looks at us questioningly, but I think she's happy with the payment she got. I don't know how much it was, but maybe I gave away a lot of money? Not that I have any need for it... or don't I? Wait, I wanted more of those puff pastries. Well, I got something else sweet instead.

"This is getting out of hand... go on already." Senka whispers. Yeah, I know what you mean. We're spending too much time here; we need to get going before something happens.

"We have to go. Time is of the essence. Let me deal with the doll; I have experience in these things." That's a bald-faced lie.

This back and forth continues a little more, but eventually, Luna gives in, seeing as how stubborn I seem to be. I just want a little companion who appears to see the world the way I do, to a certain extent. And she's not afraid of my true appearance, so that's a bonus.

We finally depart to return to the Dancing Dragon. I carry with me two corpses, a still-living brainiac and one loli zombie doll who is both dead and alive.

I feel like it's going to be much more fun from now on.