Xyrin Empire-Chapter 645 The Child’s Mother’s Grudge

"So, the only thing left is to find the other dolls," I muttered to myself, looking up at the sky as I left Kakizaki Kei’s house.

"It’s still early, I’ll just stroll over there—according to the map uploaded by the Special Envoy stationed here, it doesn’t seem to take long to walk to Sakurada Jun’s place."

Although no one had explicitly said anything, some sort of understanding known as ’tacit agreement’ seemed to have already been established between Mercury Lamp and me.

She certainly had a lot to catch up on with Kakizaki Kei, and after a long absence, it was natural for them to find it hard to part. However, that wasn’t the main reason she stayed behind. After all, we had all the time in the world. Kakizaki Kei, who had already recovered, and Mercury Lamp, who could travel anywhere using her Little Princess identity at any time, didn’t find it difficult to meet. What heart-to-heart conversations couldn’t be saved for later?

The one who really wished to avoid a reunion now was that stubborn doll. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

That guy can be surprisingly awkward at times.

Just as we knew, before the "story" was shattered by an unprecedented wave of immigration, the Rose Maidens were entrapped in an endless battle akin to reincarnation.

Rose Maidens were artificial lives created by Luo Zhen, yet they were deemed imperfect by their creator, a mere outcome of a doll master and alchemist who happened to glimpse a bit of the truth and would never turn the artificial soul fragments into real life. After countless failed attempts, the one who dug the biggest pit in history abandoned it, leaving behind seven bewildered "daughters." After their "Father" left in disappointment, the lost Rose Maidens began trying every method to find their creator, believing that it was their imperfection that led to their father’s departure. If they could become the most perfect one, the ideal daughter "Alice" he imagined, they would see him again. Driven by this thought, the doll girls set out to find a way to true life. Initially, they may have had a brief moment of leaning on each other for support and helping one another, but heaven knows how it ended up—they came to believe that only by gathering all Rose Maidens’ carriers of artificial souls, the "Rose Mother," could they gain true life. The only way to obtain other sisters’ Rose Mothers was, naturally, through battle.

It was an unfortunate beginning, and with an almost endless cycle of reincarnation, the girls who should have been supportive sisters began a senseless battle of death.

Mercury Lamp was the first daughter created by Luo Zhen but was also the first to be discarded as "garbage." I don’t know how the doll master at the time judged Mercury Lamp as a "failure," but his rash action undoubtedly led to many tragedies... It’s better not to mention these sad past events. When Mercury Lamp was called "trash" by Zhenhong, who once trusted and sheltered her, the wheels of fate crushed the sanity of this originally kind-hearted girl. With dark wings, Mercury Lamp threw herself unreservedly into battle with all her sisters. Perhaps she was the Rose Maiden who held the deepest nostalgia for "Father," which led her to become the most insane participant in the "Alice Game." In battle, Mercury Lamp never showed mercy. Powerful, violent, ruthless—these are the increasingly deep impressions Mercury Lamp left on her sisters through countless battles. It can be said that apart from Mercury Lamp, all other Rose Maidens shared the same attitude towards their black-winged sister—at least in terms of "animosity."

Even Zhenhong, who harbors complex feelings for Mercury Lamp, would probably be just as wary after seeing her once closest sister.

I know each real world has its discrepancies from the information projection I recognized in movies, comics, and novels on Earth, and plot derails are common. The experiences I pieced together from Mercury Lamp’s fragmented words after she finally opened up to me were slightly different in detail from the known plot, but the overall direction was not wrong—the story of doll girls who lacked fatherly love engaging in a millennium-long war.

And now, everything seems to be improving. None of the Rose Maidens fell into tragedy (thanks to a certain Xyrin Warrior who almost defeated all the dark forces in this world—in secret from the Rose Maidens). Mercury Lamp also agreed to abandon the hatred between herself and her sisters. The only problem was that a certain stubborn little doll didn’t want to show herself to her sisters right now. The reason might be somewhat laughable—she was shy.

Although she promised me to reconcile peacefully with her sisters, I think Mercury Lamp was not yet ready to meet her sisters as a big sister, so let her be an ostrich this time.

"Hey, Ah Jun, it feels like it’s been a long time since I’ve been peacefully alone with you like this."

Qianqian’s voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts. Looking toward the source, the girl holding my arm was revealing a warm smile, with her usual naive and foolish laughter, now seemingly mixed with something else.

"Ah Jun is always entangled with various things, and even when we’re together, we don’t have this relaxed atmosphere. Finally, when everything is over and we’re back home, there’s even less time alone with Ah Jun. It’s a bit deflating to say, but I’ve been feeling a little gloomy."

Qianqian pouted, showing a look of grievance.

I was struck by the girl’s sudden speech, my mouth agape in a dazed stare.

Was this the kind of reflection the ordinarily cheerful Qianqian would have? Ninety-nine percent of the time, isn’t her mind preoccupied with playing happily by herself!? What is this springtime of young girl situation she’s talking about?

"Ah Jun’s expression is so weird."

Perhaps because I was staring into space so obviously, Qianqian burst out laughing then and there, and then she jumped up and bumped her forehead against mine; this was a form of communication we often used in our childhood. Before third grade, I used this tactic to bully her; after third grade, she used it to bully me. From a botanical perspective, Qianqian’s forehead was getting harder and harder.

Okay, I need to revise my earlier sentiment a bit—no matter the circumstance, the ’silly happy-go-lucky’ attribute of Qianqian never changes.

"I’m just a little bit happy," Qianqian said, swinging my arm back and forth with a rare serious look on her face, "It’s so rare to just stroll around shopping without a care in the world."

Qianqian’s words left me somewhat silent; how should I put it? It was slightly awkward.

Do I not care for her enough usually?

I always thought of Qianqian as the type who wouldn’t take things to heart, who seemed eternally cheerful and always having a great time on her own. This impression wasn’t wrong, but undeniably, after forming this impression, I somewhat neglected the fact that Qianqian was actually a sensitive girl.

She had her own little thoughts and could be upset, although the latter was rare.

"Hey, sorry for not having the time to hang out with you." Thinking of how I was wrapped up in my own troubles recently and had hardly any chance to have fun with Qianqian, not to mention I had to deal with a bunch of little Loli rascals at home afterward, I felt a serious apology was in order.

I wonder if this is the awkwardness of a couple with children.

"Yeah, yeah," Qianqian nodded vigorously, her face breaking into a huge smile, as she dragged my arm and pulled me forward, "Let’s go shopping!"

Eh? What happened to our conversation? Where did the pink romantic atmosphere we were just fostering go?

Could this girl not use a paragraph break before shifting gears?!

I was dragged away by Qianqian with a head full of question marks and an unvoiced litany of complaints.

While I was still grumbling about how the mood I had carefully built up was abruptly killed by Qianqian’s sharp turn, another morose individual started to grumble, "Hey, am I being ignored here?"

Qianqian, who was pulling me forward, immediately turned her head upon hearing this and giggled at the pouting, sulking Bubbles, "Because Bubbles is here, it makes me and Ah Jun look even more like a married couple!"

Bubbles was instantly taken aback and then looked around, stunned.

A young couple walking hand in hand down the street wasn’t anything special, but add a little girl who looked about ten years old, and you’ve got a complete transformation of the story—it might seem too young for Qianqian, but in an age where everything is skewing younger, who says high schoolers can’t be parents?

What a harmonious family of three!

Instantly, the mother’s brain throbbed with visible veins.

Just my luck, right at that moment, a couple of foreign tourists came walking towards us. Seeing me and Qianqian, and Bubbles who I was holding by the hand, they became interested and came over with their camera to ask, "Excuse me, sir, can we take a photo of you? Your little daughter is so cute, what an enviable family~~"

At that moment, the violent side of Bubbles could no longer be contained. She raised her claws, ready to charge at the international friend before us, wildly flailing her arms and legs in the air when I grabbed her, and she yelled furiously, "Bastards! I am his wife! Our daughter can even help with the soy sauce!"

Suddenly, the area fell quiet, and then the two international friends and a circle of bystanders silently watched me until their gazes merged into one of admiration.

"This training, it’s just perfect..."

"Not fair, playin’ like this!!" I let out a long sigh towards the sky, picked up the kid’s mom, and, dragging the overly delighted Qianqian, disappeared into the dust at the crossroads.

"Bang— Bang— Bang— Damn it! All idiots! Damn it! Really wanna hit someone!"

In a deserted alley, with each resounding boom, Bubbles’ voice, filled with resentment, kept mumbling incessantly.

The still-angry main machine turned a street lamp into a target to vent her rage. The seemingly delicate little feet made deep dents in the metal pole with each kick. Behind the little girl, a certain hyperactive young lady was going crazy with joy, and then there was me, about to lose my mind with frustration.

I just knew it, having an unreliable Qianqian and a tactless homebody, without someone like Big Sister to control the situation, it was bound to lead to trouble.

"Hey! Kid’s dad! You think that was infuriating?!"

After another Instant Kick that knocked the street lamp askew, the main engine, who looked as sweet and cute as a Little Princess but was all fiery violence inside, turned around and shouted, "They actually treated me like a child!"

"Alright, alright, they were infuriating, but you’ve done enough, haven’t you?"

"Hmph," Bubbles still looked indignant, but finally spared poor Mr. Street Lamp, "Exactly. I even bore you a daughter, and they dare..."

Tears streaming down my face, I looked up to the sky: "Can we talk about something else?"

Qianqian shook me violently as if her life depended on it. "Ah Jun, Ah Jun, are you a pervert or something?"

Could this girl get any more outrageous?

This ruckus nearly lasted half an hour, exhausting me both mentally and physically, but the only consolation was that Qianqian seemed to derive great joy from it. She was now thoroughly delighted.

Driven by the highly spirited Qianqian, who dragged and pulled me along, Bubbles and I embarked on a grueling two-hour long shopping trip. It was a painful experience. Not only because Qianqian’s constantly off-topic brain would drag you into any store within sight, but also because every moment, the little Loli main engine, who kept being mistaken for the youngest daughter of the family of three, was planning to go berserk, forcing me to constantly distract Bubbles to make her forget those regrettable remarks like "such a cute little daughter," "truly a happy family," "that mother looks so young."

The Loli who always claimed to be "the kid’s mom" absolutely couldn’t stand being left out of the main wife’s position...

"Ah Jun, Ah Jun! Let’s eat this! Thin pancakes!"

After rescuing the third innocent roadside lady from Bubbles’ wrath, Qianqian’s voice came from ahead. Today, the utterly liberated girl held up two hot, steaming thin pancakes and hopped over to us in no time. "Here! Got one for Bubbles, too!"

"Why do I still feel like I’m being treated like a kid?"

Bubbles pouted, taking the food from Qianqian and blowing on it twice, "Not okay. Next time I’m paying! Otherwise, everyone around will think this is a mom buying stuff for her daughter..."

"Save it," I curled my lip, "Didn’t we just try a moment ago? People thought a young couple was fostering their child’s independence."

In the end, it’s your ten-year-old appearance that’s the real culprit, poor Loli—luckily Pandora and Visca didn’t come with us, otherwise the millennium-old Lolies would be wreaking havoc across Asia by now, stirred by the scenery.

Qianqian dragged me around for hours of crazy play outside, and as the sky began to darken, it was about time to leave. The time difference between the world of the Rose Maidens and ours wasn’t significant; sunset here meant it was almost time to head back.

Fortunately, despite wandering around, Qianqian hadn’t forgotten her main purpose. We arrived in front of an ordinary-looking house, where Spiritual Sensing told me there were several beings inside with an aura similar to Mercury Lamp’s.

"All right, let’s go check it out—what the Mercury Lamp’s sisters look like, Bubbles, you’re practically drooling."

"It seems like, Mercury Lamp got snatched away by the child’s dad, but we absolutely cannot let go of the remaining ones... slurp... hehe, hehehehe..."

This otaku girl has already started drooling!

Before Qianqian and I could even react, the otaku, completely absorbed in "one-to-one scale models" and "articulated real dolls," had transformed into a streak of white light, dashing to the front door and started pounding it ferociously—wasn’t using a kick already showing quite a bit of restraint?

While Bubbles was bashing the door with a drool-filled, silly smile, a mishmash of clattering sounds came from inside the house. It sounded like someone was descending the stairs, then got startled by the sudden noise and tumbled down. I rushed over to pull down the mom, who had drowned in another dimension, and at the same time, the front door was yanked open.

"Who is it, who is it, who is it! That’s rather rude—eh?"

Three pairs of eyes VS one pair of eyes: There, standing confusedly at the door, was a tiny girl with amazing heterochromic eyes, clad in a green Bagolia-style princess dress with long, luxurious curled hair, straining to look up at the tall strangers before her; her clothes were a bit disheveled, obviously having just taken a tumble—no doubt, this little one must have been the one indirectly sent tumbling down the stairs by Bubbles.

"Cui Xingshi?"

Qianqian sized up the other party, then extended a friendly smile and bent over to talk, as if she were a kind, elder sister, showing she was aware of her adultness.

"Wow, there it is—a life-size one."

Bubbles muttered beside us, craning her neck trying to peek into the room for other dolls.

"Who are you?" the small girl in the green dress suddenly demanded, adopting an imposing attitude despite her less than 80cm stature which seemed to fill with power.

"Well, it’s a long story," I took out the Crystal Card specially used for finding the right feeling, "Time-Space Administration here, we need to confirm something—Mercury Lamp asked us to take you to another..."

Bang!

After a sudden loud noise, the door was heavily shut in front of us; just before closing, the tiny doll girl had a brief expression of panic that caught Qianqian and me off guard.

Then, faint cries came from beyond the door: "Little devil Chu Mei! Quick! Go tell everyone! A Great Demon King called the Time-Space Administration has come! It’s the Great Demon King sent by Mercury Lamp! Disaster has struck!!"

Qianqian and I exchanged glances, then smacked our foreheads: "That idiot doll who can’t even write a grammatically correct letter! Now we’ve got a real game on our hands!" (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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