Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: 069. Isolde - (3)
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Otilie von Ihen Dorp's daily routine was simple.
She opened her eyes, dusted off her dolls, went to class and half-listened at best, skipped lunch, and assembled her dolls.
"Today was a fun day too, 『Leo』."
Before bed, she spoke to her doll.
The location was the newly built dormitory in the basement of the Ashen Tower.
No, it was better described as a workshop than a dormitory.
Either way, to Otilie, this workshop was the third most comfortable one in the world—a sanctuary.
For the record, first place went to the Ihen Dorp family castle, and second to the chapel.
Kirrik.
Otilie used tweezers to slide a tiny part into 『Leo』's drive mechanism. It was a component that had broken from overusing the doll in the previous battle against Holy See Knight Commander Gregorius.
This wasn't mere repair. It was the process of shaping the doll into an even more perfect human form. Otilie smirked faintly, immersed in her work, when...
Knock, knock.
Someone rapped on the door.
Otilie scowled.
There was only one person who would visit her at this late hour.
"I told you not to come..."
It had to be that meddlesome Isolde. She'd already brushed off her cheerful invitations to lunch dozens of times.
Otilie flung the door open with an irritated expression...
"This is my first time seeing this place, Miss Otilie..."
"...Mmph."
Standing before her was her muse.
During the break, she'd tried visiting his sickbed several times but turned back each time upon seeing the Saintess Candidate glaring fiercely from inside the room.
Even after Leo had moved to the chapel, the red-haired guard dog that lurked there had bared her teeth, chasing her away every time.
As such, it had been a full two weeks since Otilie last saw Leo.
"T-Teacher!"
Otilie's face lit up.
Her muse had come to see her personally.
The joy was short-lived as she suddenly realized her current state.
"Ah, aaah...! W-Wait a moment!"
Slam!
Otilie hurriedly shut the door.
She'd assumed it was Isolde and hadn't bothered with proper clothes. She was wearing only a loose, oil-stained slip—more like underwear than pajamas.
Her heart pounded wildly, and her face burned.
Otilie hastily threw on a robe from the floor and roughly combed back her disheveled hair.
Then she opened the door again.
"I-It's been a while, Teacher."
As if nothing had happened.
*
Otilie's workshop smelled of engine oil.
And for good reason—the dolls lined up along one wall were all modeled after Otilie herself.
Even right next to her bed, amid the mess of scattered parts...
"So this is my doll."
"Y-Yes... um..."
There was one doll in particular.
A doll Otilie had crafted in my likeness.
Black skin, golden hair. Immaculately dressed in priestly robes.
Unless you looked very closely, it was so exquisitely made that anyone would mistake it for a real human.
No wonder there were misunderstandings, damn it.
Even I, the real thing, found it disconcerting. To outsiders, it was unmistakably me.
No surprise that Everett or the white-masked figure had gotten the wrong idea.
"Wh-What do you think, hehe."
And in the midst of it all, this shut-in dollmaker was even asking for feedback.
Telling her honestly that it gave me the creeps would crush the budding dream in her heart.
The first step in any communication is 'empathy.'
For an otaku like Otilie, obsessed with her interests, praise was the key.
"It's magnificent. It's like looking in a mirror. This level of quality... as expected of Miss Otilie's craftsmanship."
"Hehe... R-Really? B-But it's still not perfect! The joint range of motion, the skin texture—they're not quite there yet. And above all, inside the clothes..."
Otilie unleashed a torrent of details I had no desire to know.
How the drive mechanism worked, how each tiny part needed oiling, and so on.
I listened quietly. After all, I was the one asking for a favor.
"S-So... what brings you here, Teacher?"
That was Otilie's question after her lengthy doll lecture spanning over ten minutes.
I let out a small sigh and got to the point.
"I have a request."
"A request?"
I proceeded to tell her about Isolde.
That she seemed perfect on the outside but was actually hollow inside.
That if left alone, she might get used by someone or collapse on her own.
"So... you want me to live with her and draw out her true feelings?"
"Exactly."
"How exactly?"
"Just be yourself, Miss Otilie, like you always are."
Isolde had a compulsive need to accommodate others.
To strip away that mask, she needed a trigger to shake her up.
In that sense, Otilie was perfect.
If you named the idlest person in the Magic Faculty living true to their nature, it'd be this black-haired twintail beauty.
"...I'm not really close to her, though."
Otilie's expression darkened noticeably upon hearing my story.
She seemed aware of her outsider status.
"Everyone in the Magic Faculty wants to get close to you, Miss Otilie. The reason you feel otherwise is simply because you don't open your heart to anyone."
"It's not like I haven't opened my heart to anyone."
Otilie grumbled petulantly. Her gaze was fixed on my face.
"Anyway, I'm counting on you. You're the only one I can rely on right now."
"...R-Rely... only on me..."
Otilie's ears flushed slightly. She blinked a few times and nodded.
"I'll... I'll do it."
"Thank you."
"But I have one request in return."
"A request...?"
"Y-Yes... um..."
Otilie fidgeted, glancing at me cautiously. I nodded for her to continue, and she hesitantly spoke.
"Could I... touch your body... a little?"
"...Pardon?"
What on earth was this girl saying?
My eyes widened.
Otilie bashfully rested a small fist against her chin.
"Well... the thing is... to improve 『Leo』's realism... I want to touch the original model's body... like the movement of the muscles... the skeleton... skin texture... body hair or lack thereof."
"..."
"Oh, don't worry! I don't mean opening you up inside out or anything! Just... the inner thighs under the priestly robes, the armpits, that sort of thing."
Should I run?
I seriously considered it.
No, I can't.
This was an investment in the future.
So...
"...Not right now."
"Right now?"
"After you fulfill my request, Miss Otilie, then you can measure my body however you like."
Otilie's eyes gleamed like a predator's.
"...For real? Back muscles too? Inner thighs? Navel?"
"...Yes. Anywhere you want."
I'd just handed a bomb to my future self.
*
The Erebos Magic Faculty's second semester had one infamous tradition.
"Starting today, the cooperative magic research project begins."
Everett Ruttinger announced it in the auditorium packed with all second-year Magic Faculty cadets.
Sighs erupted from everyone's mouths.
Joint magic research.
It was a group project meant to teach individualistic, uncooperative mages the importance of collaboration.
In reality, it was a disaster. Reliable statistics even showed that over half of the Magic Faculty's annual disputes stemmed from this project.
"Isolde! Team up with me? I'll handle all the research..."
"No, Lady Isolde! You have to pair with me! I'll get you unlimited coffee refills!"
"Hey, I said it first!"
The auditorium turned into pandemonium in an instant.
Most cadets were soliciting Isolde. Teaming with her guaranteed top scores. From their perspective, she was an irresistible catch.
"Ahaha... Everyone, please calm down."
Isolde smiled awkwardly but couldn't escape the surging crowd.
My head throbbed.
To them, Isolde was just a tool. Nothing more than high-performance cheat paper.
No helping it.
She'd resolved herself the moment she entered Erebos.
Isolde had to be fair, kind, and useful to everyone.
That was her only way to survive.
"Everyone, please calm down first... slowly..."
She had to produce a result everyone could accept.
She must.
As Isolde desperately racked her brain, someone grabbed her wrist.
A small, cold hand.
Like a baby's.
"Make way."
A cool voice cut through the clamor.
Isolde looked up to see a girl with black eyes staring up at her impassively.
A doll-like beautiful girl.
Otilie von Ihen Dorp.
"Miss Otilie?"
Otilie, who had been a faint presence in lectures, now stood boldly before Isolde.
"Team up with me."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. Just the two of us, no one else."
Isolde stared blankly at Otilie.
She was quite surprised. This was the person who'd curtly rejected her lunch invitations before, now inviting her to team up.
She couldn't fathom why this cadet Otilie had taken notice of her. She simply stuck in her mind.
So, it was truly curious.
And welcome.
Pairing with Otilie, who had no connections to any other Magic Faculty cadet, would leave no one dissatisfied.
It gave her the pretext of looking after an isolated student—a choice everyone could accept. Her reputation would rise too.
I'm... such a terrible person.
Disgusted with her own calculating judgment in that brief moment, Isolde forced a smile.
"Sure, I'd love to. You're always welcome, Miss Otilie."
"Hmm..."
But Otilie narrowed her eyes, as if displeased with Isolde's expression.
"Now I see why Teacher made that request."
"Teacher?"
"It's a thing."