The Witch and the Doll Swear

The blizzard was blowing endlessly on the grassland.

Visibility does not exceed ten meters, and the velvet-like snowflakes can hurt your face in the wind. When you open the curtains and look out, there is only a long snake-like wind in the sky that wraps the snow, galloping and roaring.

The light rail trains leading to other cities were completely out of service, and the airship could not take off. The city seemed to be an island, floating alone in the rough white ocean.

When the snow is particularly heavy, it seems that even the city is already a part of this sea of ​​snow, lost in the endless whiteness.

But even in such a snowstorm, the city's functions have not completely shut down.

There are still merchants who are not afraid of the wind and snow, spend a lot of money to hire reliable adventurers and mercenaries, and carry goods from other cities to risk their lives. It is promised that the goods kept here with these people's generous rewards will soon be sold. was exchanged for richer gold coins.

The young and strong guys did not miss this opportunity. They became the porters and deliverymen of various chambers of commerce. They delivered flour, butter, wheat and sugar to every household when no one wanted to go out. They worked twice as hard as usual work for three times the wages.

The snow dove - the bird that still flies fearlessly in the snowstorm, people not only use this name to praise their bravery, but also in private, use this name to curse their recklessness.

——Snow pigeons dare to fly in a blizzard, not because they have wings that surpass the anger of the goddess, but simply because this kind of pigeons are extra brainless.

High-end Hotel in Bike City, [Antelope's Spiral Horn].

This is how Alice explained Tina's slightly contemptuous tone when she heard the townspeople talking about the strong boys who were shuttling through the snowstorm in the bar.

But it is also this kind of mindless characteristic, as long as they bring protective alchemy props, they will become the only reliable messengers in this extremely bad weather.

——But, why use this tone to describe those people? It would be very inconvenient for everyone without them.

——If you ask different people, the reasons may be different, but it is nothing more than jealousy of their high salaries, and knowing that these salaries are all paid out of their own pockets in the end, Miss Tingna thinks Was the delivery fee for that delivery guy outrageous?

In the city under the snowstorm, it is more dangerous than in the past.

Even though she knew about it, Ting Na still said so in a painful tone.

"Although these people should be rewarded more for taking the risk...but that's twenty silver coins...Miss Liliana, what did you buy..."

The girl silently looked at the interspatial storage ring on her hand, and watched the deliveryman disappear into the wind and snow after taking the small cloth bag containing twenty coins from her hand.

According to the price that Miss Liliana negotiated with an auction house in the city, the delivery fee for each item she purchased was twenty silver coins.

This young man who is wrapped like a bear comes every day.

This means that he earned one gold coin in four days, and today, he has already earned two more 20 silver coins.

Two gold coins.

In Salt Sand City, Miss Liliana gave herself the highest job evaluation every month, and she could only get a salary of one gold coin.

The lady witch who spends every day in her room studying ancient books brought from the Association of Magicians, doing magic research, and only coming out during break time to ravage herself with magic cards, what exactly did she buy...

——Actually, it’s not very expensive.

In Tina's arms, Alice blinked her big fiery red eyes and looked towards a certain direction in the wind and snow.

Is it an illusion?

It seems that I can feel the gaze from there...

——If it is really a very expensive item, the auction house will definitely send a special person to transport it. Compared with its value, this item is a bit shameful in this city, so it hires other unrelated people to transport it.

"is that so……"

What the hell is that?

Tingna thought for a while, and put the space storage ring on her finger. Tingna hugged the flaming-haired and burning-eyed little doll and walked towards the stairs.

[Antelope Spiral Horn] is a six-story building, which is commensurate with the name, and its shape is like the sharp horns of an antelope covered with threads.

The entire uppermost floor was directly covered by Liliana. During this period of time, the only time Miss Witch went downstairs might be on the night of the check-in day.

The reason is [Maybe]... Because of the uneasy mood and mixed thoughts, I fell asleep early that day.

Until noon the next day, the room was as dark as before dawn.

When she opened her eyes, Liliana was sitting beside the pillow.

...a blizzard is blowing.

The witch Xiaozai, who was reading a book, noticed her waking up and said so calmly.

Turning to look at the floor-to-ceiling windows of the room, thick snow has piled up on the glass-isolated balcony, the world has been dyed pure white, and even the blue sky has disappeared.

And on the desk in the room, there was a snow-white carrier pigeon locked in a cage.

...This city has no direct traffic routes to Yansha City and surrounding towns, and the snowstorm is very violent, and the connection with the outside world has only relied on those businessmen who are not afraid of hardships for profit.

——Even if Miss Tina wanted to go home, she had to wait until after the blizzard stopped.

Alice was lying on the thick quilt, touching her head

so.

... At least, write a letter home.

Liliana said so with a blank expression on her face.

...It just so happened that I bought a carrier pigeon that could fly to Salt Sand City in the auction house, and after installing some alchemy props on it, it could fly even in a snowstorm, faster than the fastest airship.

But even so, it will take about ten days to receive a reply.

Is it because I fell asleep, or because of the candle on the desk?

Tina still doesn't know why, Miss Liliana's face seems to be slightly flushed.

"……I see."

Indeed, this is the only practical way to make myself feel at ease, so I wrote a letter asking my father and mother about safety, and handed it to the little messenger who is fearless in the snowstorm, and let it fly to the coast without wind and snow .

"Miss Liliana, today's goods have arrived."

Then, now.

Liliana, who opened the door of the room, was painted with red lines all over her body, which seemed to be necessary for some kind of magical ceremony. After receiving the ring from the girl, she nodded and closed the door again.

Tina also came to her room and began to sort out the information sent by the Adventurer's Association today.

After a lapse of two months, the work of sorting out the information was a bit handy, and every day the Adventurer Association specially arranged for adventurers to send a lot of information. It seemed that the arrival of an honorary adventurer made them feel like a treasure. High-risk commissions are mixed with intelligence like snowflakes flying outside the window.

Miss Witch ignored them all.

She didn't seem to have any intention of taking over any entrustment at all, she just blindly asked Tingna to pay attention to the information about the blood race and the Church of the Holy Church.

When the girl's working hours are over, Liliana's rest time is usually also here, and the three of them will gather in the living room. Liliana will read the information that Tina has compiled, play magic cards with Tina, have dinner, and then go on to Work.

After dinner, go to the large bath that has been specially opened up for a room to bathe, chat, and fall asleep together late at night——

In a sense, it is not much different from life on the prairie, except that work replaces traveling, and the soft round bed replaces sleeping bags.

Tina now felt that such a life seemed not bad.

Sometimes, she even forgot the letters she wrote to her parents, as if all her panic and anxiety were gone.

But in fact, Ting Na also understands that this illusion is precisely because she is worried about her parents who are far away every day.

The snow pigeons of the Adventurer's Association flying from the window every morning, and the words of the hotel waiters telling themselves to go downstairs to pick up the goods purchased by Liliana, will bring the girl back to reality from such an illusion, which makes her Can appear very irritable from time to time.

However, no matter how anxious you are, the blizzard will not stop.

"...I really still feel that Miss Liliana spends too much money."

So, she had to find something to distract herself.

Originally, daily work and magic cards were enough, but as the efficiency of sorting information became higher and higher, she gradually became irritable.

"Before Lily became a witch, she was the daughter of a great nobleman. No matter where she is, nobles always spend money like this."

In front of the girl, Alice, who had helped her share half of the work of sorting out the information, pointed her fingers, as if she was a little embarrassed.

Now Alice is wearing a long black silk dress with only a hollow skirt around it. After spreading out the pair of ponytails that were too lively to match this outfit, Miss Doll put on the black dress commonly used by women at funerals. veil.

The fiery red hair and pupils that seem to be burning are symbols of the highest affinity for the fire element and are loved by the fire elf Salamanda, Her Royal Highness the Fire Princess.

Undertaker of Flame—It is said that this is a professional cremation profession in the Eternal Flame Church in the northern part of the mainland. All members are women with the ability to use fire elemental or elf, and a large part of them are born in poverty.

Perhaps it was for this reason that the current Alice could understand Tina's resentment towards Liliana's behavior of not caring about money.

"Although Miss Liliana is very rich, it's true, but this is too extravagant and wasteful. There is no need to hire a deliveryman to deliver it. Isn't it okay to use snow pigeons?"

"Even in the auction house, there will be no snow pigeons that can go to special places. The training will take a long time, and it can be completed quickly with magic, but the cost will be too high..."

"...In that case, I can pick it up. Although this suite is very comfortable, it seems that you can stay here for the rest of your life, but..."

The girl who fell silent because of Miss Doll's words stood up and stretched herself.

The crisp sound of joint stretching continued to sound, but some stiff bodies still did not relax.

"If you don't exercise at all, you always feel like your body is getting rusty, and it's too stupid to run the stairs..."

"It's not a good idea to exercise in a snowstorm. Due to the obscured view, the law and order situation in the city has also deteriorated. Even if the Templar Church sends multiple templars on every street, theft and robbery still occur frequently. ——This is also one of the reasons why everyone is wary and contemptuous of those boys who are outside, after all, besides the Templars, they are the ones who are outside now."

"No, no, it's definitely okay, right?"

"But……"

"Miss Alice is here to protect me."

The little doll showing a confused expression because of the girl's determined tone was lifted from the table.

"Without Miss Alice, I wouldn't have dared to go out in such heavy snow...... Can't it be?"

Holding Alice's slender waistline outlined by the slim dress, Tingna, who was lying on the bed, smiled.

It was like the smile of a lost person who finally sees the light in the maze and runs across it desperately.

Alice thought, this metaphor fits so well that it almost seems to be telling the truth.

"It's not impossible... But please tell Alice, Ms. Tina, how do you really think? Lily will definitely not agree to such a silly reason as moving your body."

"Ah... that..."

The blond girl's eyes wandered and her tone was vague.

Aware of the girl's intention to confuse her, Alice separated the girl's hands holding her waist with a "hey" and made a dexterous turn when she fell from a low height.

"If you don't explain it well, Alice's answer is to refuse. If you feel shy to say it, you can write it on Alice's body with your finger... Well, let's do it, because Miss Tina's frankness is like A rainbow in the sky always appears after a heavy rain.”

"I didn't... umm!"

In this sudden situation, Tingna's struggle was easily stopped by the little puppet sitting on her face.

Even the half-spoken justification was suppressed by the layer of black silk wrapped around the buttocks, and turned into a guttural voice of unknown meaning.

Because of the softness, Tina felt her cheeks warming up.

"Hey, Miss Tina, why are you doing this?"

Alice is very light, and sitting on her face is like a little cat lying on her face. However, the body of the little doll is much softer and warmer than a cat, exuding a slight charcoal smell.

It is obviously very light, but there is no way to break free.

It was just like the shackles made of the softest thing in the world in northern mythology, soft and warm, but even the giant wolf that devoured the world could hardly break free.

"You have to tell Alice, okay? Otherwise, Alice won't, get up, come on, eh?"

"No!"

Alice announced slowly, and clamped the girl's cheek with her legs, which made the skin between the two of them tighter with only a layer of fabric.

He also used his small hands to hold down Tina's rather pitiful breasts among her peers, as if saying that your heartbeat can't lie.

—she is serious.

The girl who understood this had no choice but to reach out her hand to Alice's straight back, stroke by stroke.

Write down your true feelings.

Just a short sentence.

But if you say it, even if Liliana can't hear it in another room, maybe you will be so shy that you want to die, even if you write it with your fingers, the chest held by Alice is still pounding .

And Alice.

"...Is that so..."

After saying such a sentence, the legs of the little doll relaxed slightly.

However, she still didn't leave the girl's face.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

—Miss Alice, this time I really mean it.

Tina grabbed Alice by the waist, trying to move her away from her face, but Miss Doll raised her legs and easily dispelled her resistance.

"Alice knows that this is Miss Tina's sincere words, so this is a reward. Miss Tina likes it too, doesn't she? Don't suppress yourself too much. Miss Tina likes Lily, and it's normal to want to be more intimate. , Alice and Lily don't care too much about this kind of thing, so it's perfectly fine for Miss Tina to follow her heart if she wants to."

With a pitiful and innocent face, the little doll made a somewhat embarrassing declaration.

"..."

Girls respond with silence.

Do you follow your heart...

If it was that easy, I wouldn't be so troubled...

Afterwards, during breaks.

After Alice mentioned this to Liliana, she also got permission.

Miss Witch didn't seem to be interested in this, and she didn't even ask why. This made Ting Na feel relieved, but at the same time a little disappointed.

That night, Miss Witch notified the auction house of the matter with a magic carrier pigeon.

Soon, the auction house also used the same magic to convey the time and place for Ting Na to collect the goods.

For things that can save costs, businessmen are always very efficient in handling them.

"Speaking of...can't you use this [Magic Pigeon] to deliver goods..."

Seeing the bird made of light dissipate in front of Miss Witch, Tina suddenly thought.

"...When this magic was invented by someone, this idea has always existed, but until now there has been no practical improvement. At present, this magic can only transmit messages."

"is that so……"

It is still the same as before, maybe, it is only my own curiosity.

Then, the next day.

Standing by the large French windows in the room, Tina's legs were trembling a little.

The blizzard was still blowing endlessly, but the girl's trembling wasn't just because of the blizzard.

"Then, then, Miss Liliana, let's go..."

"Be back in about an hour."

Liliana nodded.

"So, 3—"

"Wait a minute, Miss Alice, are you really going to—"

"1!"

The girl who was tricked to the balcony when she just woke up and was still in a daze, waiting for the surprise that Alice said, realized what the so-called surprise was, and it was too late for her to regret it.

Skip 2, count directly to 1, and the moment the words just fell, Alice in the arms of the girl embraced Tina and jumped down from the six-story building.

"——%##@￥￥ # %￥!!!"

The girl's screams disappeared in the blizzard.

Standing by the window, the witch watched all this happened silently. After getting a report from the spiritual link that she landed safely with some mischievous hints, she thought for a moment, kept the French windows open, and walked into the room.

………………………………………………………………………………………

——Miss Alice, now, I'm beginning to seriously doubt your statement that you have thousands of personalities while having a thousand attitudes... To be honest, Miss Alice's personality has not changed at all, right?

The girl walked in the city swept by the snowstorm, wearing goggles and protecting her face with a scarf, her face was so pale that there was no blood.

--Eh? That, that, Miss Tina, why do you say that...

——I saw it the moment I jumped down! The smile on Miss Alice's face was exactly the same as when she was thinking about something before! Woohoo...if only I had been more alert then...

This is the aftermath of a high-altitude direct drop.

He was deceived by the innocent smiling face of the little doll and the sweet words under the smiling face, and by the time he realized it, Alice had already dragged him off the balcony with some strength that came from nowhere.

The feeling of weightlessness, the feeling of falling, the strong wind blowing around you.

The silhouettes of nearby buildings were faintly seen in the white storm.

The world in front of the girl's eyes is occupied by these, as if a dead leaf is dragged into the abyss where the white snowstorm and fuzzy shadows fall infinitely, and even seems to have auditory hallucinations, in this snowstorm where only the most stupid snow pigeons dare to fly I heard the crowing of an eagle coming from nowhere.

The girl also once held the witch and flew under the sky where the fire and rain poured down. It was that experience that allowed her to retain the last trace of calmness in the panic. Instead of struggling wildly, she followed Alice's knowledge and completed it while falling. turned around.

——Alice is just a puppet. A puppet has nothing to define itself other than appearance. As long as the appearance changes, everything will change with it except the memory.

——Anyway, please don’t give me such a surprise in the future! I am not kidding!

Anyway, the visibility was extremely low, so Tingna rubbed Miss Doll's soft face vigorously without any hesitation.

When she climbed out of the straw pile, it was hard for her to imagine falling from such a high place and she was unharmed.

Alice didn't explain at all, but just urged the girl to leave when no one was around. Thinking about it now, it was as if fear had finally caught up with her, and she couldn't help but break out in cold sweat.

——But, but, Ms. Tina’s expression looks much happier now, which means that Alice’s plan was a big success~~~

——What is that, that is.

——Because Miss Tingna has been accumulating emotions in her heart for a while, and she is not very energetic.

The little face was ravaged by the girl angrily, but for some reason, Alice's voice sounded directly in the girl's mind seemed very relaxed.

Emotions and emotions will not appear out of thin air, nor will they disappear out of thin air. The more intense, the more so.

Although [Mechanized Mind] can make people think rationally, it is best to vent out the intense emotions.

At the Magicians Association, Liliana used [Mechanized Mind] on Tina too impatiently. It certainly calmed down Tina who received bad news that she never thought of, but she was worried about her family. Confusion and uneasiness about what to do for herself also accumulated in the bottom of the girl's heart.

Just like the pus accumulated under the scarred wound, if it is not cleared out, it will deteriorate sooner or later.

——Forgive Lily for this, because Lily rarely has emotional fluctuations, so Lily doesn't quite understand this.

Alice spoke briskly about her little plan.

——Then, do something happy, be frightened, or get drunk... These are all good ways to vent your emotions, but the first and third ones are not available for the time being, so...

...so, you just startled me...

—Very effective, right?

"..."

Tina pinned the doll to her left shoulder and slapped her little bottom in protest.

But to say it is effective, it is indeed exceptionally effective...

After her mind went blank, everything she thought about became more organized. Just like what Alice said, Tina felt much refreshed after venting out.

But it would be a pity if she was hit like this again when she was depressed in the future, so Tingna decided to respond with a small punishment.

Although I don't know how useful it will be...

—Ah, Miss Tina, it's time to turn right.

The street lights lined up straight along the street turned to the right not far ahead.

The Church of the Holy Church does not seem to have any rejection or aversion to the magic that brings convenience to life. Because of the snowstorm, even in the daytime, these lamps emitting warm light are all on, and through the flying goose-feather-like snowflakes, the dimly illuminated brighten the street.

Under the street lamp on the corner of the street stood a knight in full armor, like a snow-covered statue.

The Church of the Holy Church has a great influence on the countries within its sphere of influence. Generally, apart from the important military cities of the kingdom, there are many cities with churches besides the capital. The Templar Knights are both magistrates and city guards, and they hold the largest armed force in the city. , and because of this reason, when the kingdom's decision-making is unfavorable to them, they directly seize power and seize power. Many kingdoms have become church states for this reason.

Seeing this knight, the little puppet obediently stopped moving, and continued to popularize the black history of the Holy Church Church in the spiritual communication.

The knight standing on the street corner with his sword standing does not know what the puppet on the girl's shoulder is talking about. Seeing the appearance of the girl tightly wrapped in a windbreaker and apron, the knight was obviously taken aback, and quickly opened the mask.

It was a woman.

"Miss, please wait a moment."

When Tina walked past her, she stopped the girl.

"Eh? Well, what's the matter?"

Being called out suddenly, Tingna couldn't help shrinking her neck, pretending to be a little scared, and turned to look at the knight holding a sword that was almost half her height.

"In such a big snowstorm, it's too dangerous for a woman to walk on the streets alone. Two days ago, my comrades eliminated a blood demon that had been hiding in the city for an unknown number of years. It's not clear whether And its kind is lurking in the city, are you a traveler who just came to Bike City today? Or is it that the place where you are staying has not been notified by the church?"

The female knight, who was shorter than Tina, didn't care about the girl's reaction. If she didn't pay attention in such a snowstorm, she would ignore them who were dressed in silver. It's normal to be frightened by a sudden voice.

"Ah...Although I received it..."

Tingna thought for a while, and it seemed that there was indeed such a notice, which was brought by the waiter of the hotel, to the effect that the Templars captured and exterminated an ancient and dangerous blood demon on a snowstorm night...

Tina tossed that aside after seeing it.

"Then why do you still have to go to the streets alone? Even if the Holy Light blesses the city and makes those monsters invisible, the 'snow pigeons' on the streets are not all kind and simple people. A girl is still very happy alone." dangerous."

"That, that... because there is something to do..."

"Is it something very urgent and important?"

The knight frowned, and after Tina nodded hesitantly, he closed the mask again.

"Then, I'll show you the way."

"Eh? No, how embarrassing it is, and, and."

Tina waved quickly.

She couldn't keep up with the female knight's thinking at all!

"And Miss Knight is here to stand guard."

"Strictly speaking, with this intersection as the center, the streets to the nearest fifty meters are all under my jurisdiction. As you said, I still have to stand guard, so I can only send you fifty meters away."

The voice from under the mask was muffled, and it was harder to hear in the snowstorm—it should be like this, but the knight's voice was full of energy, and it was not blurred by the whistling snowstorm at all.

"Don't shirk, lady, in the name of the Holy Light, it is our knight's mission to protect the people, let's go, it's urgent, isn't it?"

After finishing speaking, the knight passed the girl's side and walked towards the road on the right.

Not long after, as she said, after a short distance, the knight stopped and told Tina to keep close to the street lights, and run to the nearest intersection in case of any danger , there must be Templars stationed at every intersection...

"He's a nice guy..."

After walking for a while and turning around, the figure of the knight could no longer be seen, Ting Na whispered.

"Even in the Church of the Holy Church there are good people...Miss Tingna, don't think of the Church of the Holy Church as a dangerous and terrifying organization just because of the church's dark history, Miss Tingna, at least their bright side is indeed very bright , for humans."

Alice leaned her body on the girl's head, giving advice in the middle.

"Just because you see the bad side, you can't deny that there is a good side in things. Of course, you can't think that there is no bad side just because you see the good side... This is absolutely impossible."

"Okay, okay—where are we going next?"

"Go straight to the next intersection and turn left~~~"

After walking two more blocks, passing through the garden in the center of the street piled up with thick white snowflakes, and walking along the road for a while, the auction house as the destination was faintly hidden in the chatting between Tina and Alice. Yue's appeared in the field of vision.

Expressing her intention, Tingna, who followed the receptionist lady to an office, showed her identity certificate - a small ring on Alice's hand, and successfully got a space from the somewhat bloated person in charge storage ring.

Just like the ones delivered by the deliveryman since this period of time, after (Alice) careful inspection, there are no problems, and the handover is considered complete.

"Oh, to be honest, although it is not a particularly valuable thing, it is still a bit troublesome to get Miss Einstein's request to measure it under the nose of the Holy Church, especially during this period of time. It's tight, but it would be great if I could help Miss Magician."

"I feel sorry for bothering you so much. Ms. Liliana and I have only just arrived in this city, and we are not very familiar with various channels. If there is a need for alchemy materials, maybe it will trouble you."

"That's too polite, Ms. Feng Xia, as long as it's not the alchemy material of dragon blood level, we can find a way to get it. If there is a real need, we are bound to do so."

Although it is an auction house, it seems that there is something like running its own alchemy shop. In short, after a warm welcome in the manner of social people, Tingna and Alice left the auction house.

"Huhu...it's not difficult at all."

"It was a very simple matter. It's just that Lily has to perform the ceremony and there is such a big snowstorm outside, so that's why she paid so much more."

Back on the snow-swaying streets again, the blizzard seemed less violent in comparison.

Putting the space storage ring with "cargo" on her finger, Tingna, who thought she might encounter some twists and turns, felt that her steps were much lighter.

"What exactly did Miss Liliana buy..."

Actually, that's not what I want to ask.

"When the time comes, Miss Tina will know."

Actually, that's not what I want to hear.

The girl walking back to the hotel quickened her pace with a little expectation.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Postscript of a certain day:

"...Alice, what did you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"...Miss Tingna's expression has changed, and the feeling of being around her is also different. It's just a high-altitude fall. Is the effect so good?"

"Really, Lily, don't think with the rationality that you magicians are proud of at this time. It is the power of emotion to achieve miracles that would never be expected by rationality and logic."

"……is that so?"

"That's right, and when Lily said 'I'm sorry for you' and 'Thank you' to Miss Tina, Miss Tina was also very happy, and now she is smiling even when she falls asleep, just saying that Ellie Silky is fine."

"……I do not deny."

"Well, this is indeed Lily's charm. It's not that she doesn't know anything about emotions, but that she doesn't care... If she had taken the initiative, Miss Tingna would have been 'fallen' long ago."

"...Let's wait until Miss Tingna crosses her own line."

"Okay, okay... Ah, there is one more thing, there may be some trouble."

"...?"

"Miss Tina is being followed."