Shining Gold (6)
The doll rose smoothly to its feet.
Its movements were surprisingly natural. Most golems, even when shaped like dolls, tended to have awkward, jerky motions, but this one felt almost seamless. It really showed the quality of a dwarf’s craftsmanship.
The doll quietly turned its head, scanning the surroundings. When it spotted Serpina, it gave a polite bow at the waist.
Serpina watched with a satisfied nod.
“Yeah. Looks like it turned out right.”
It recognized its owner without issue and understood that bowing was a respectful greeting. At this level, the other enchantments should have been properly inscribed too.
Still, better safe than sorry. She couldn’t afford any gaps when it came to protecting her gold.
“Tell me what your role is.”
At Serpina’s command, the doll opened its mouth without hesitation.
It moved its lips. And moved them again.
But no sound came out. It simply opened and closed its mouth like a fish out of water.
“Oh, right. It doesn’t have vocal organs.”
Of course a ball-jointed doll wouldn’t come with built-in sound functions. A toy for young children might have had a speaker, but this kind of high-end ball-jointed doll was far too expensive to be considered a mere child’s plaything.
Still, it wasn’t a big problem. Engraving wind and vibration magic inside the mouth would make creating a voice relatively simple.
Just as Serpina pried open the doll’s mouth to begin inscribing the spells, Erma, who had been gulping down beer to recover even a little stamina, stopped her.
“Ah! Are you trying to give it a voice with magic right now?”
“Is there a problem?”
“If it’s not urgent, could you wait just a little? Adding air intake, exhaust, and vibration can be done mechanically instead of with magic. I didn’t have time to install it in this model, but I’ll make sure to add it properly later.”
There was a limit to how many enchantments an object could hold. While it varied based on size, material, and the enchanter’s skill, the limit was real. Solving a problem that could be fixed physically with magic instead would be a waste.
After listening to Erma, Serpina nodded and decided to hold off on the enchantment for now.
Come to think of it, a voice wasn’t strictly necessary for guarding the house. It could wait.
What mattered was power. Serpina pointed at the punching bag in the living room.
“Attack that punching bag over there.”
It was the one Ayoung used for training. The doll’s eyes sparkled as it stared at the target.
Hidden Function: Rainbow Beam
High-output destructive ray fired from the eyes.
Warning: Output requires fine tuning.
- Beep—!!
It wasn’t sparkling. It was flashing. A rainbow-colored beam shot from its eyes and slammed into the punching bag. The recoil sent the doll tumbling backward, and it neatly fell back into the wooden box.
- Crackle…
The punching bag, now sliced cleanly in half, pathetically spilled its sand across the floor. Even that wasn’t enough—the wallpaper on the wall behind it had a gaping hole burned straight through.
If Serpina hadn’t placed protective wards throughout the entire house for security, the beam would have punched clean through the wall.
“The power needs some adjustment.”
At Serpina’s comment, the doll tilted its head. The motion seemed to ask, ‘Shouldn’t intruders be eliminated?’
“Killing them in one hit is too merciful. Though if it’s an emergency, killing is fine.”
“!”
The doll nodded as if it understood perfectly.
“……!?”
Erma, who had been watching the whole thing, screamed silently.
What the hell did I just see? A beam from its eyes? It went without saying that no such function existed in any normal doll.
But.
But…
It was so fucking cool!
Even if her blood had thinned, a dwarf was still a dwarf. When it came to pursuing romance, she refused to disgrace her ancestors. In Erma’s eyes, Serpina was a true dragon who understood romance.
The things she said were a bit terrifying… but in the magic world, it was common sense that anyone who broke into someone else’s house uninvited could be killed without complaint.
No, this wasn’t the time for that.
She had been so stunned by the incredible beam that she’d momentarily forgotten, but as a doll artisan, she still had work to do.
“How do you like the doll’s design? Is this version okay? Since you’ve already turned it into a golem, modifying the body would take time, but I can change the wig or apply new makeup very quickly.”
At Erma’s question, Serpina examined the doll’s appearance.
Sky-blue hair and gray eyes. Thanks to the half-lowered eyelids, even the expressionless golem somehow gave off the impression that it had emotions.
As Serpina stared intently at the doll, she finally realized the source of the strange sense of déjà vu she’d been feeling.
“Did you… make this based on me?”
She hadn’t noticed right away because of the small stature and blank expression. But the hair and eye colors were clearly the reverse of Serpina’s own. The facial structure and proportions were similar too.
At Serpina’s observation, Erma smiled awkwardly.
“W-well, out of everyone I’ve ever seen, you’re the most beautiful and have the best atmosphere, Lady Serpina… I-If it bothers you, I can change it right away!”
She had been proud of how well she’d recreated Serpina’s appearance. It still fell short of the real thing, of course, but given the short time she’d had, she was confident the result did not disgrace the name of dwarf.
However, she had never received Serpina’s permission. That was an undeniable point of anxiety. No matter how well-made it was, if the original owner disliked it, it had to be remade.
“It’s fine. You did a good job.”
“Th-thank you! If there’s anything you don’t like, please contact me anytime!”
Erma bowed deeply and left. In her heart, she wanted to see exactly what other kinds of magic had been engraved besides the eye beam, but the exhaustion from four days without sleep while crafting the doll was simply too overwhelming.
After sending Erma off, Serpina added several more spells to the doll. She had originally planned only for basic intruder countermeasures, but once she started, she found herself wanting to add all sorts of extra functions.
She did it because she could. That was reason enough.
The completed doll golem quickly became popular among Serpina’s acquaintances as well.
“Oh. So this is the finished product? It’s cute.”
Narel smiled and gently stroked the doll’s head.
“Hmm. So this is what’s going to guard the house? I’m really curious how strong a golem made personally by Senior is!”
Ayoung was clearly eager to test the golem’s strength. Though she had immediately backed down after seeing the eye beam in action.
“Wow! It’s so pretty! What’s its name?”
And Heerin was curious about the doll’s name. Only then did Serpina realize she hadn’t thought of a name at all.
“Since it’s a guardian, can’t we just call it ‘Dian’ or something?”
“That’s weird!”
“……”
Heerin’s criticism was simple yet scathing. Serpina decided to think a little harder.
“Umm……”
“Then since it’s child-sized, how about ‘Kid’? Combine it with guardian and call it ‘Kidian’.”
“That somehow feels even worse!”
“You’re so picky…”
After throwing out various ideas, Serpina and Heerin’s naming session finally ended with ‘Leodi,’ taking one syllable each from Serpina and guardian.
“By the way, what’s a guardian?”
“You’ve been talking about it this whole time without even knowing?”
“I thought it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t know!”
“I can’t decide if I should call that smart or not.”
Serpina explained the English word ‘guardian’ and then met the doll’s eyes.
“From now on, your name is Leodi. Got it?”
Since Heerin, who wasn’t a mage, was present, Leodi showed no visible reaction. But Serpina got the feeling it had understood.
And so time passed, until the day of the trip finally arrived.
“Unnie! Unnie! Over here, over here!”
Heerin, riding in the van driven by her father, rolled down the window and waved excitedly.
“I know, I know. I’ll be right there.”
Serpina picked up the travel bag she had prepared and left the house. It was practically empty, with almost nothing inside.
- Meow.
“Oh, right. You were here too.”
She didn’t forget the carrier containing Heemang. Since Ayoung would be joining them on-site due to her part-time job, that was everything.
Just before stepping out the front door, she glanced back. Leodi was sitting expressionlessly in the middle of the living room as always.
“Guard the house well until I get back.”
Leodi gave a small nod where Heerin couldn’t see. After confirming it, Serpina closed the front door.
“Unnie talks to her dolls too! The kids in my class don’t call that childish anymore!”
At Heerin’s bright comment, the adults could only smile bitterly.
How were they supposed to explain that even if that doll wasn’t Leodi but an ordinary ball-jointed doll, it was an adult hobby that children couldn’t even approach? And even if they could explain it, it wasn’t the kind of knowledge a child needed to learn early.
The back seats of the van were spacious. Serpina adjusted the seats to create plenty of room and took Heemang out of the carrier.
“Heemang!”
Heerin hugged the kitten tightly and rubbed her cheek against him. Heemang simply yawned and let himself be held.
“Heemang, you can’t go to the front seat! Daddy is driving! Okay?”
- Meow.
Heemang let out a small cry as if he understood. Watching him, Serpina turned toward Heerin’s parents.
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll take care of any flying fur.”
“…Haha. Thank you.”
Heerin’s father laughed awkwardly. He didn’t say anything because his daughter liked it, but it seemed he had been secretly bothered.
“We’ll be heading out now.”
The van carrying four people and one cat set off toward the sea.