「What… what is this supposed to be…」
I muttered to myself, staring at the newly completed Mother Doll.
The thirteenth in the series, the ‘Mother Doll Alternative’, or ‘Mother Doll Alter’, stood out among the others in a very peculiar way.
Specifically… the chest was large.
「Why is that? It’s only the chest that’s different, but somehow it looks nothing like Mother at all.」
I thought I was fulfilling Mother’s usual delusion of being a busty bombshell, but for some reason it had turned into something completely unlike her. Maybe because the real Mother left such a strong impression of being slender?
「Well, whether it looks like her or not… it came out better than I expected.」
I turned the Mother Doll Alter around, checking it from every angle. No issues stood out. In terms of craftsmanship, it was excellent.
My ‘Woodworking’ skill allowed me to reproduce a model faithfully, but straying too far from the model usually made things difficult.
So then, how was I able to create this busty bombshell Mother doll?
The trick had been in the image I held in my mind, Mother, padded to the brim with breast pads.
The result was the successful production of a doll that ‘appeared’ to have an impressive bust.
「But… should I really show this to Mother?」
True, she had often complained that my Mother Dolls were too plain and frail-looking. But would showing her this actually be okay?
On second thought, making a large-breasted doll of a woman who had a complex about her flat chest sounded more like cruel harassment than anything else…
「And I can’t even begin to predict how Father would react to this, huh? Wait, what… is this…」
――Suddenly, a strange image and a word bloomed inside my mind.
It was like a photograph had been pressed directly into my brain.
At the same time, I became aware that something inside me had changed, as if my very existence had been overwritten into something else.
Fear gripped me, but I fought against it, forcing myself to hold steady.
Tracing the image engraved into my mind, I spoke the word aloud,
「『Varnish Coating』」
The Mother Doll Alter gleamed as a coat of varnish spread across its surface.
The atmosphere had turned unnecessarily serious, but the incantation itself, ‘varnish coating’, sounded so silly, and the effect so mundane, that it ruined the tension instantly.
「…No, no no no. What the heck? Seriously, what is this?」
I inspected the varnished Mother Doll Alter again from every angle. Not a spot missed, not a streak or blotch anywhere.
That wasn’t the issue, though.
This was clearly a skill…! Did I just acquire a ‘Varnish Skill’?
No way, does a niche ability like that really exist?
「W-what should I do? Maybe I should go to Laudette-san? …No, Father and Mother are here right now, I’ll ask them first.」
Carrying the now glossy Mother Doll Alter in hand, I stepped out of my room.
◇
「Father, Mother!」
I burst into the living room, where the two of them were leisurely playing a game of Reversi.
Flustered, I ended up calling her ‘Mother’ for the first time in a while.
A crease formed between her brows as she turned to look at me.
「Call me ‘Mama’.」
「Sorry, Mama, look at this!」
No time to waste, so I quickly corrected myself and held out the glossy Mother Doll Alter.
「My!」
「G-gbbzgh, !」
The first voice was definitely Mother’s. …But the second one, what was that?
「My, my, my, so you’ve finally done it, Alec.」
「Eh? Ah, y-yeah.」
Mother seemed overjoyed with the busty bombshell Mother Doll Alter. …Good. So it ‘was’ safe to show her.
「Gzbububgbh」
Ah… that sound had come from Father.
The inhuman noise I’d heard was actually him.
So that was it. I hadn’t been able to predict Father’s reaction, but the answer was ‘barely holding back laughter’.
Well, yeah. Laughing outright would almost certainly earn him Mother’s wrath.
「You’ve overcome a wall, Alec.」
「Ah… y-yeah. Thanks.」
The three of us were lined up in a row: me, Mother, then Father.
As long as she didn’t turn back, she wouldn’t notice his state.
Right now, Father had both hands clamped over his mouth, tears streaming down his face. …Honestly, was it really ‘that’ funny?
「Wonderful. You’ve captured me perfectly, don’t you think?」
「Grhh, 」
「Yeah, that’s right.」
His muffled groan slipped between our exchange, but Mother, lost in her excitement, didn’t notice.
Perhaps realizing he was at his limit, Father quietly rose from his chair and began edging toward the door….
「What about you, Papa? Ara?」
Just as he slipped out, Mother turned and addressed the space he’d been occupying a second earlier. …That was close.
「He said he was going to the restroom and stepped out.」
「Really? I didn’t notice.」
I threw Father a lifeline.
「Let’s show him when he gets back.」
The lifeline sank.
Well, I guess it was only ever meant to buy a little time anyway…
「This is lovely. May I have it?」
「Sure.」
「Good. I’ll display it in our bedroom.」
Father’s trial looked like it would continue.
「It even looks… a little sensual.」
「Ah, that’s the thing, Mama! It feels like I’ve awakened a new ability!」
「The ability to faithfully recreate Mother, hm?」
That ability already existed. Mother Doll Alter was nothing more than a faithful recreation of Mother… with padded enhancements.
「No, not that. It looks like I’ve gained a Varnish Skill. That’s how I coated it.」
「Varnish Skill… I’ve never heard of that.」
Really? Could it be a rare skill?
「Varnish coating… that isn’t a skill, it’s a Skill Art of ‘Woodworking’, isn’t it?」
「Skill Art?」
「Yes. I think it’s the level 1 Skill Art of ‘Woodworking’.」
「Wait, what even ‘is’ a Skill Art?」
「It’s an art of a skill.」
I don’t get it, Mother… She was useless like this, completely absorbed in Mother Doll Alter. Her eyes weren’t on me at all, only glued to the doll.
I couldn’t hold a real conversation with her. And Father, well, he was out of commission.
――No choice. I’d have to go see Laudette-san.
For the past month, Ralina-chan’s watch had been too strict, and I hadn’t managed a single trip to the church. But this time, it couldn’t be helped. I had to go.
「Mama, I’m heading to the church for a bit.」
「The hips could use more volume too.」
Father was going to laugh himself to death at this rate.
Next chapter: Disappointing Laudette Doll
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