「By the way, Jisrare-san, why are you here? I mean, I was planning to visit your clinic myself, so this really helped, but still…」
It was true. Today, I had been intending to go to Jisrare-san’s clinic. Yet instead of heading there, before I even realized it, she was the one standing right in front of me….
「Ralina asked me to come and check on you.」
「Ralina-chan did?」
So that’s how it was… As expected, Ralina-chan is a kind girl. She may be a little strange sometimes, but at her core she’s always kind.
「What exactly did Ralina-chan say?」
「Let’s see… 『Please see him as soon as possible』, and then 『If you do anything weird to onii-chan, I won’t forgive you』… that’s what she told me.」
Hmm… Well, Jisrare-san is a first-rate doctor, so nothing like that would ever happen.
I guess that just shows how worried Ralina-chan was about me.
「I see. Ralina-chan really is kind, isn’t she?」
「Eh? Well… I suppose… maybe?」
For some reason, Jisrare-san tilted her head in puzzlement. It felt like our conversation wasn’t quite lining up. Still, thanks to her being called here by Ralina-chan, my illness had been completely cured.
That said, the cause of my illness was the real issue… If it truly was the stress and worry over 『possibly becoming the mortal enemy of all elves』, then until that problem was resolved, I might very well collapse sick again――
「Jisrare-san.」
「Hmm?」
「If stress was the cause of my illness, then unless the source of that stress is removed, I’ll just fall ill again, won’t I? Even if magic cures me completely.」
「Well, that might be true. Is something worrying you?」
What was worrying me was, of course, 『being condemned by all elves for trying to make a fortune by exploiting the World Tree’s name』. But there was no way I could say that aloud.
「No, it’s not exactly worry, but….」
「Is it Ralina?」
「Huh? Ralina-chan? What about her?」
「I wouldn’t go as far as to say that something is wrong with that child, but…」
「I never said that either… I’m not worried about Ralina-chan at all.」
「She’s nothing ‘but’ a source of worry, though…」
It seemed that Jisrare-san was somewhat concerned about Ralina-chan.
But there was no need to worry about her. After all, she had devoted herself so wholeheartedly to nursing me back to health. There was nothing wrong with her. There couldn’t be…
「Anyway, do you have something troubling you? Do you want me to hear it?」
With the way she asked, it made it even harder to talk…
Jisrare-san always said that 『illness of the heart cannot be cured』, and she really wasn’t suited to being a counselor.
「But I’m not really good at listening to worries or giving advice…」
Ah, so she realized that herself…
「What I can do is heal injuries and sickness. If you fall ill again because of stress, then I’ll just cure you each time.」
「Ooh…」
Jisrare-san suddenly said something that sounded rather cool.
I see. I had been worrying that 『at this rate, both Ralina papa and I would end up with holes in our stomachs from stress』, but if that happened, Jisrare-san would just patch them up each time… like asphalt road repair work.
「Of course, if you do have worries, it’s better to solve them.」
「That’s true…」
Still, at the moment, I didn’t see any way to resolve my problems…
「Ah, I almost forgot. The treatment fee—」
「Hmm? No, I already received that from Miriam.」
「Ah, I see.」
「…I’ve said this before, but I always feel guilty taking allowance money from a child like you, Alec.」
Just like with Laudette-san’s appraisals, I usually paid Jisrare-san directly when she treated me. But she always seemed reluctant to take money from a child.
…Well, even Laudette-san had refused at first, until I practically forced her to accept it. She wasn’t the type to happily snatch a toddler’s allowance, after all.
「Still… there are so many more now. I don’t remember this many the last time I was here.」
「Eh? Ah, you mean the dolls.」
Looking at the crowd of Mother dolls, Jisrare-san muttered those words.
Lately I’d shifted toward quality over quantity, making each one with more care, so the production speed had slowed. Even so, since they never decreased in number, they only kept piling up.
At that moment, thirteen Mother dolls, each in a different pose, were cramming my room.
「Sorry, Alec. I told Ralina the same thing today, but my magic can’t cure illnesses of the heart…」
She said it again… Or maybe this was Jisrare-san’s catchphrase or something?
And so Ralina-chan had been told the same thing as well…
「No, um… it’s not like I’ve been obsessively carving Mother dolls because of some kind of mental disorder, you know?」
「But it’s strange to keep making so many of your real mother」
「It’s because Mother keeps encouraging me to make them…」
「Even so—hm? This one isn’t Miriam, is it? Actually, it doesn’t even look like an Elf… Alec, is this the type you like?」
Picking up a doll with a style that was uncharacteristic of an Elf, Jisrare-san asked me a very awkward question… How was I supposed to answer that…?
But that was a Mother doll too.
It was the newest one I made, the next model after Mother Doll Alter—basically the upgraded version. Compared to the real Mother, the chest was bigger and the hips were a little fuller.
…Well, just making a huge number of Mother dolls was bad enough, but now I’d gone and made a version with a bigger chest and backside. It was no wonder people said I had some kind of mental problem.
「Uh… that doll is also Mother」
For now, I told her that much and watched Jisrare-san’s reaction.
Now then, how would she respond to this truth? A small part of me was even a little excited to find out.
「Eh? But…that’s… ah, yes, the face is Miriam…」
Jisrare-san’s voice trailed off as she examined the New Model Mother doll. After staring at it for a while, she quietly placed it back where it had been.
—Then Jisrare-san covered her face with both hands.
Eh…? What kind of reaction was that supposed to be?
「Um? Jisrare-san?」
「…………」
I heard a sound like ‘fwee, fwee’ coming from her breathing. Was she laughing? Or trying to hold it in…?
It felt like I’d just witnessed a rare side of Jisrare-san, and in a way, I was a little glad. …But so, she did laugh after all. Or rather, she tried to suppress it.
Personally, I thought the New Model Mother doll was a peaceful item that could bring smiles to people all over the world, but everyone kept trying to hide their smiles.
「Uh, are you alright…?」
「…………」
Jisrare-san had turned into a clam. Now what, this was a problem too.
「Well, Mother was really happy about it though…」
「…………!」
「Father was in tears from laughing though…」
「…………!!」
With each word I spoke, she twitched violently. It was kind of funny, but laughing at her now would be cruel…
Maybe it was better if I stopped talking to her. I should probably just leave her be for a while…
next chapter: Infinite Doll Hell
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