Candy Wizard and Travel

"Well...geniuses always have some quirks," she spat after taking a look at the "doll" that the gentleman was holding, "The 'new school' guys won't understand, after all, the machine is There won’t be any personality.”

"Old-school guy!"

They were tit for tat.

Sheila returned to the topic in time before the topic changed to the aesthetics of the doll.

"Okay, okay, so you have no more clues about Dorothy's doll destruction case, right?"

"That woman must have done it!"

"I told you that Master Mal won't do it!"

quarreled again.

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

In the end, even the seemingly bad Sheila couldn't stop fans from having preferences and disputes about various factions. Not only the "old school" and the "new school", but also different styles, production ages, techniques and even materials, these have become several people attacking each other. reasons.

"Mechanical ones are the best! Eternal art should be cold and elegant!"

"Things that smell like motor oil, get out of the doll world! If my little Edgar had to change his motor oil every month to move around, I would go crazy."

"Aside from being easy to maintain, what other advantages does it have? There's nothing praiseworthy about the material and workmanship."

"He...he can sing! He won't just have a music box like the old puppet!"

"Can sing hahahaha..."

In the end, the new sect was the first to retreat, while others had no intention of stopping. In terms of philosophy, those who did not agree were heretics and had no allies. In the end, only those who could convince everyone else were qualified to leave with a smile.

The witch of the association wanted to continue asking at first, but when these fanatics started arguing and asked her for her opinion, she couldn't help but feel a little headache.

Fortunately, the bad temperament worked, and no matter how excited people were, they still maintained restraint.

Irena watched the excitement with interest. Who doesn't like to watch when it has nothing to do with herself?

As a result, she almost choked. She took out the water cup and drank some coffee from the Chamber of Commerce. She patted her chest and felt the food slide down smoothly.

"Huh... come back to life."

"you--"

A voice that unconsciously carried an interrogative tone in its words approached, mixed with the light smell of tobacco.

Irena raised her head.

"It's been a long time since I saw Miss Sheila. She still looks so busy."

"When dealing with those people, I still prefer clients who can be treated roughly, such as monsters, criminals, etc." She moved her wrist and sighed, "Also, did you get here recently?"

"Yes, what are you doing?" Irena moved to the side so that she could sit firmly.

Damn it, not just above...is this a woman?Is this what a woman is?

Sitting next to him, Irena felt like a descendant of a human being.

By the way, are her eyes looking at her chest?Or is it that the angle is not convenient for seeing people’s faces?

"So, do you know anything about the recent epidemic of doll destruction cases in this country?"

"Ah?" Miss Irena shook her head and gave a good answer, "I don't know, I just arrived today."

"That's it," she stood up distressedly, "Recently, there have been frequent incidents of broken dolls in this country. There are no traces of magic at the scene, but because the amount involved is too huge, the officials of this country entrusted the association to help."

"Oh." Irena was indifferent, thinking about what to have for dinner.

Sheila picked up the pipe again, "Dolls are so profitable... Anyway, let me remind you, if you have nothing to do, leave as soon as possible. The person who did this kind of thing may be a paranoid guy."

"Do I look like a nosy?"

"Well, and," she said, smearing the green paste into the pipe and lighting it, the refreshing smell filled the air, "did I say that the amount involved in the case was huge? From what I know about you... you are a greedy guy with many things to do. , be careful not to get into trouble for a little money.”

"I'm that kind of person?"

Funny, Miss Irena thinks she will definitely stay away from trouble, but she still has to thank this lady for her conscientious reminder. She obviously feels like a tired person like Teacher Fran. As expected, a person cannot be judged by his appearance.

"Let's go, we have to go to the doll shop in the city to find out the situation."

Sheila gave her a meaningful look, shook her head, and left with a gust of wind and dazzling sunshine. She was a guy who would make people feel tired in the summer - he was similar to Teacher Fran in this regard.

Irena quickly put that feeling aside and looked for the hotel.

……

"jingle--"

In the end, I couldn't hold back my curiosity. I asked people on the road about the location of the so-called "Old Man Puppet Shop" and came to this small building that looked very lifelike.

The appearance looks a bit old, like most storefronts on the street, with signs hanging on the first floor and people living upstairs.

Is this Dorothy's old doll shop?

Pushing the door open, there was a clear-sounding wind chime hanging on the inside. Irena raised her head and glanced——

The pendant objects that are swaying back and forth are eyeball-shaped crystals.

so weird.

Then looking inside the store, Irena instantly put this brief surprise behind her, and was swept away by an even bigger surprise.

Dolls Dolls Dolls…

Everything you see are dolls, in the old-fashioned cabinets on both sides, on the counter, and in the corners of the ceiling.

At this moment, Irena seemed to be stared at by a hundred pairs of eyes, and countless whispers, either curious, expectant or resistant, as if everyone in the crowd suddenly turned their eyes to look at her alone, There was an inexplicable force pulling on her, making her unable to move.

"welcome."

——Until such a sound sounded.

Those eyes all converged, and the hallucinatory sounds subsided.

A woman with brown-gray hair and a tired temperament came out. She wore a gray-white apron over a light cyan shirt. She seemed to have not slept well, and had light dark circles under her eyes, but it felt harmonious.

"Do you want a doll, or do you want regular care and maintenance? Yeah, I'm interested."

"Am I being obvious?"

The female store manager was also holding a doll in her arms. It was a blond doll wearing a white beret. Her gender was ambiguous. She smiled and answered Irena, "The customer has a little bit of the scent of the doll, but not much. I guess I have been in contact with you often and have become interested?"

"Aha...what does the doll smell like?" Irena responded reluctantly, waking up from the shock of seeing so many dolls.

I got interested... I did it an hour ago, but the reason is a bit shameful, it was materialistic.

She was indeed interested in her senior brother's dolls when she was a child, but those things seemed quite troublesome. Her senior brother said it was best not to touch them as they were not for children. If she wanted, he could make one for her.

At that time, she reservedly refused, which is a pity now that she thinks about it.

Take a look, it doesn't hurt to take a look.

This shop is much narrower than the previous one, and the light is strong at noon. The light shining directly from nowhere is refracted between the pupils of the dolls, and if you are not careful, you will be dazzled by the brilliant colors.

An indescribable sense of trance, as if you were in a kaleidoscope world in the mirror.

There is dust floating in the air, the cabinets are a bit old, and the paint is peeling off. Only the dolls are as clean as new, and the feeling of intimacy comes over them.

Mainly those dolls, the one with white hair, the one with red eyes, the one with bangs on the right eye, the one wrapped in a candy-patterned robe...

Some fragmentary things were about to be pieced together, but before such a magnificent shock, the thinking stopped and could not be continued, and finally slipped away in the moment of loss.

"Uh-huh, the smell of the doll is the smell of the doll. I can't go wrong." The doll in the female store manager's hand opened and closed its mouth in response to her words. "Just take a look, miss, everything is the same." It’s free.”

"free……"

Irena backed down.

"Is it possible that the dolls are given away for free, but the clothing customization, regular maintenance and upkeep have to come here, and they also have to accept return visits from time to time, and donate a little 'love' to popularize the dolls during festivals for free?"

"Isn't that a lie? This is what is done outside now?"

"No, get used to it."

A little trick to get rich every day, Irena throws this idea away.

"Really giving it away for free?"

"Yes," she picked up the doll, put it on her cheek, and showed a mysterious smile, "but you have to be kind to the person who treats the doll, otherwise they will slip away, and they might even do a little trick before leaving. A small revenge.”

Sneak away...retaliate...as if talking about real people.

Irena recalled the doll story she accidentally read while researching the market in the bookstore. She trembled and backed down, "Ah ha ha ha... I'm past the age of being scared. I'm sorry!"

She turned away.

The puppet master looked at her back, his purple eyes flowing, as if he was asking or talking to himself.

"acquaintance?"

The light flows between the dolls' eyeballs, and of course there is no response.

……

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

After walking out of the doll shop, she felt like she was back in the human world again. Irena breathed out happily, feeling that even the summer heat had become more friendly.

She realized belatedly that what she had just seen should be a sign of magic power disorder, indicating that there were multiple foreign magic reactions around her. For a magician with keen perception, it would be as irritating as being attacked by a tight curse.

Those dolls don't have any strange magic attached to them, right?

Her body trembled, and Irena remembered what Sheila said about the broken dolls in this country. If there was such a sophisticated magic operation, it shouldn't be difficult, right?

But people who recall those dolls with a sense of affection and say "the scent of the dolls" and "treat the dolls well" shouldn't do anything to destroy the dolls, right?

Such thoughts only passed through my mind for a while, and then were thrown out of my mind. What did it have to do with her? She didn't take any money. The traveler's principle was to just ignore other people's business and leave the entrustment to other matters.

……

I met so many abnormal people in the morning. The new hotel owner I found was a man who didn't talk much and had a cold attitude. He would hold a doll and talk softly from time to time. This was much better than the previous ones.

"Here's the key. Hot water is only available before twelve o'clock. No meals will be provided."

"Uh-huh."

After paying the money and getting the key, Irena pushed open the hotel room. The room facing the sun was a little hot, and the wooden windows were closed and a little dark. The hygiene was quite tidy, and she roughly cleaned it with magic. Irena lay there doing nothing. On the bed, she took out a diary given to her by Xidi.

This one is used to record trivial thoughts and moods. The other one is used to record local customs and can be shown to others. Forget this one, if others read "I am in a good mood today, senior brother's mouth tastes sweet." "If that's the case...it would make people feel uneasy, as if there were nails under their thighs.

Now another diary is filled with interesting things, the country's style, the brightly colored houses on the street, which makes people feel tired after looking at them for a long time in the summer, the disputes and innovations in the concept of dolls, people's opinions and preferences …

As expected, the dolls in this country will become more and more outstanding.

"Okay, here we go."

Irena moved her wrist and took out another diary. This one was much more casual. After all, it was only intended to be written for herself and her senior brother.

"It's the third day since I left my senior brother. The commission I mentioned before was completed and I made a small profit. I really hope there will be more jobs like this...

It’s so hot in summer. Isn’t it time to buy some thinner clothes?I also felt hot when I hugged me in my pajamas. When I got up in the morning, I had to clean up and choose pajamas for my senior brother... Uh huh huh..."

Such a hot season always makes people mentally tired. As she wrote, Irena couldn't help but yawn. When she finally regained consciousness, she turned over the book to avoid drooling and ruining her diary.

……

"Brother, are we really going to do this? That girl doesn't look threatening."

"So just scare her, um, just take away her hair. Ah, it's so laborious. Controlling the doll is really troublesome... Done, you can take it away outside the window. You can buy good-quality hair. You can still make a fortune by giving it to those old antique puppet makers.”

"Yes... By the way, why would the boss do such a thing?"

"Don't ask so many questions. What you're asking is that there is no machine that can produce old-fashioned dolls quickly and get money quickly. Those big guys talk the same thing and are unambiguous about collecting money... Okay, go quickly! Just keep an eye on the people in the association. It’s hard work, we’d better drive out this kind of foreign witch as soon as possible, I hope those old antiques will leave as soon as possible.”

"Yes, go to other countries, Dorothy won't welcome them anymore..."

……

At dusk, Irena woke up from her deep sleep. Summer naps were always long enough to make people sleepy, but she felt unexpectedly refreshed after waking up.

"Umm—"

After stretching, the girl sat up, feeling numb in her hands and feet.

The windows were wide open, and the wind was blowing. Although it was hot air, the flowing air felt good, and the hair on the temples brushed against my ears felt a little itchy.