roccoschili Chapter 113 The Fool's Puzzle, Part 3
Chapter 113 The Fool's Puzzle, Part 3
She slept for an exceptionally long time, and when Elena woke up, it felt as if she were still in a dream.
"My hand is broken." A doll with a broken hand walked up to Elena.
"This is terrible, I'll do my best to fix it for you." Elena didn't know why she could understand what the object was saying, and she was comforting the doll in front of her with words that made her sick.
She skillfully repaired the doll's severed limbs, her careful movements resembling those of someone serving their master.
But in fact, that's exactly what she thought. Her consciousness was hazy, and she couldn't quite remember how she got here, but a certain thought remained exceptionally clear:
Take good care of the items here; they are your king, your everything.
With a smile, Elena greeted one customer after another who came to her for repairs of broken items.
Her subconscious told her that this wasn't her, that she couldn't possibly be like this. But even so, she couldn't escape the control of her conscious mind over her body, and what was even more concerning was that she genuinely felt happy to be able to help these objects.
It's as if the meaning of my birth is to live for these things.
As for escaping... I never even considered it.
When it was time to eat, Elena and a group of others who, like her, had been required to work, gathered together to eat a mixture of weeds brought from these items—and while tasting it, they couldn't help but praise how delicious it was.
She often felt as if she were being controlled by something indescribable—control magic existed in this world, but Elena never expected it to happen to her.
But whenever this awareness arises, that emotion is quickly erased. Then I continue to devote everything I have to serving those objects.
The situation did not improve until late at night.
The control of magic seemed to diminish at night, and it wasn't until late at night that Elena gradually remembered who she was and why she was there.
How terrifying... Elena felt a chill run down her spine at what she had done during the day.
I never imagined I would become like that.
Although she can now remember everything, Elena is certain that when the sun rises, she will revert to that appearance.
Escape—we must escape now—
This was the solution Elena immediately thought of. If she didn't escape, she would truly have to stay here for the rest of her life, which would be no different from being dead.
But she was surrounded by objects—the very objects that had transformed her into that form to serve them. If she tried to escape, her escape plan would surely fail once they sensed something was amiss.
Moreover, once they imbue you with that strange and inexplicable control magic, even a witch wouldn't be able to escape.
Influenced by that light, one's consciousness will quickly disintegrate—and then one will obediently roll back like a toy to serve the murderer who turned one into that repulsive creature.
If the escape had been discovered, things might have gotten much worse, and I might not have been as clear-headed as I am now.
One must make every effort to save oneself while still conscious.
She had absolutely no confidence that she could escape this inescapable trap, so she could only rely on outside help. And the first person she thought of was Qin—but he was far away, in the kingdom next to the dense forest, where communication was impossible.
Therefore, someone must pass on the news that they are trapped.
But...who...who can...anyone can be controlled like me.
Not everyone has that inexplicable curse like Qin. Right, people can be controlled... but what about objects... yes, objects... I've got an idea...
Elena carefully wrote something using magic. She dared not use the pen here, so writing was extra difficult. It took her an hour to write just a few lines.
Then she took out her wand and cast two spells on her broom.
He then immediately escaped on a broomstick.
Please, Miss Broom.
Help me...
The moment Elena broke the glass and escaped, everything in the city swarmed around her, including the shards of glass she had just broken. Even with Elena's exceptional driving skills, finding a way out amidst this encirclement would be incredibly difficult.
But she still managed to do it.
They passed through one encirclement after another.
"It's right in front of us." Elena could already see the edge of the city gate. If only... if only she could fly over...
But just as she was about to reach the city wall, Elena saw that bright light again, even more intense than the first time she had seen it. Her consciousness was uncontrollably erased—and then her body involuntarily detached from the broom and fell to the ground.
Her efforts were in vain. As she fell to the ground, a swarm of objects surrounded her, and in the blink of an eye, Elena vanished without a trace.
The broom, which was not controlled by Elena, continued to fly, eventually leaving the city walls and reaching the outside of the Land of Items.
After the broom actually hit the ground.
A pink-haired girl appeared in place of the vanished broom, clutching tightly in her hand the letter Elena had left her.
Elena had previously cast two spells: one to allow her to continue flying for a distance without her control, and the other to transform her into human form.
If they can truly escape, then all these spells will be useless, and everything will be fine.
But... Elena knew that hope was slim. So... thankfully, her plan didn't completely fail; Miss Broom escaped.
"Lady Elena... wait for me..." Miss Broom quickly left this evil-looking kingdom of objects.
……
"Teacher, have some tea." A blonde girl with a light blue dress poured tea and handed it to her teacher.
Angela took the tea, placed it on one side of the table, and continued writing and drawing something. The blonde girl waited obediently behind her.
“Anna, don’t you have anything to do?” Angela asked.
“Teacher… I’ve finished handling all the administrative tasks you assigned,” Anna said. “Is there anything else Anna needs to do?”
“Alright then—push me out to see the world,” Angela said.
Anna placed her hand on the handle of Angela's mechanical wheelchair. In fact, the wheelchair could be driven by magic, but perhaps it was Angela's quirk; she liked to be pushed around by others.
Moreover, she is not completely disabled to the point of being unable to stand up; she has just suffered from incurable tuberculosis since childhood, which indeed prevents her from moving around often.
Angela was pushed by Anna onto the snow-covered street, where she silently observed the kingdom. Neither master nor apprentice spoke. Passersby who saw the two would hurry away, not daring to linger for even a second.
Of course, it's because both of them are Snow Guards. Even if someone is face-blind and can't recognize faces, in Beatrice, only Snow Guards dare to wear the clothes of Snow Guards; anyone else would only do that if they were tired of living.
Anna, a Snow Guard of the Ji rank [Shadow], is Angela's right-hand woman and her only apprentice.
Usually, the things that the chief administrator doesn't want to deal with are handled by Anna.
"Next year, the snow should be even heavier," Angela said, looking at the heavy snowfall.
“Beatel has always been like this.” Anna couldn’t grasp what her teacher was implying, but as her right-hand woman, ever since she was taken in and raised by Angela as a child, she had always faithfully carried out her teacher’s every wish.
Therefore, there's no need to understand; Angela will tell you what to do when needed.
The so-called shadow also refers to Angela's shadow.
“Yes—it’s always been like this…” Angela chuckled. “It’s been like this since the city was founded, and I don’t know when it will end.”
"teacher……"
"Ah~ I'm sleepy, push me back... I'm tired of the same scenery, but hopefully the scenery ahead will be different."