My hand slipped.
Coins spill out from the belly of the severed plush doll’s lower body.
“…!”
I hurriedly tried to block it, meaninglessly pressing the two pieces of the plush doll together.
“Braun?”
But, of course, there was no reaction.
the plush doll’s upper body merely slid down from the lower body.
“……”
No….
That’s not it. Maybe it’s because I’m still looking at it…!
“Braun.”
I turned my head away and, with my eyes closed, held the doll close to my ear.
Then….
—■■, ■■■■■….
“…!!”
I heard a vibration from the doll.
It was definitely a signal.
However, it was very faint, crackling like a radio frequency caught by chance.
‘He’s still in there.’
He was still there. If so….
‘Blood Bath!’
Click. I immediately locked the door to the train restroom. Then, from the tattoo on my wrist, I pulled out a small bathtub with a checkered pattern and blonde hair.
AKA the Fountain of Youth Bathtub.
Thump. The bathtub stood on the floor, and I carefully placed the nearly severed doll inside, and then…….
I picked up the cutter blade dropped by the passenger who had fainted after failing their attack.
I sliced my forearm just like that.
Blood poured from the ruptured vein.
‘In an urgent situation like this, there’s no time for alternatives…!’
If I cut a fainted human’s arm, they might wake up, and I might not be able to stop the bleeding.
‘I can’t stand a situation becoming even more uncontrollable.’
My blood poured into the Blood Bath. The thick scent of wood and fragrant aroma wafted up.
Soaked in the bath salts, the doll began to grow, swelling up….
It was rejuvenating.
The plush doll’s fur became cleaner and more lustrous, and a mysterious light shone from its pebble-like eyes.
And then, its size began to increase rapidly.
It was as if it had crossed some sort of threshold. The doll, soaked in the bath salts, grew past its keychain size until it was large enough to fill both my hands.
Just like the original ‘Good Friend’ doll.
Snap.
The bowtie-shaped hair tie couldn't withstand the pressure and popped off, sticking to one side of the tub.
The change was that certain.
But, but….
The doll was still silent.
“……”
I held my breath, turned my head, and listened to the doll again.
The vibration I heard earlier was gone.
The plush doll, severed at the waist, was simply floating atop the fragrant bath salts of the Blood Bath….
“……”
I stared at the doll again.
The ‘Good Friend’ plush doll, now large enough to fill the small Blood Bath, glistened as if it were a handmade doll fresh from a master craftsman’s workshop.
However, it remained severed.
‘Ah.’
The Fountain of Youth Bathtub literally restores youth… it doesn't heal wounds…….
“……”
In truth, I knew.
No, I knew, but it was more like I tried it anyway….
The Good Friend plush doll was broken.
I took a deep breath.
‘…It’s okay.’
I just have to get another one.
Right, I can just get it from the original source instead of a Goods Box.
Cheerful Theme Park still exists. The Good Friend plush doll was an item that could be obtained at the souvenir shop there.
‘I had to go there anyway, so this is actually more efficient.’
Let’s get a Good Friend doll there. And if I summon him again just as I did before….
…….
“……Ha.”
Stop kidding myself.
I already knew.
The method for summoning a ‘Good Friend’ doesn't call a specific being; it calls ‘someone from the Otherworld.’
‘Where’s the guarantee that the same being will come out just because I perform the summoning again?’
No, rather, it would be strange if the exact same being were summoned.
Even though I had read the <Dark Exploration Record> for the fun of seeing someone different appear in every summoning record.
‘Haha,’
Ha….
“……”
At this point, I had no choice but to admit it.
Regardless of Mental Pollution, I had grown quite fond of this strange plush doll….
‘But how could I not?’
Because he truly was a ‘Good Friend.’
A friend who encouraged me when times were tough, got angry with me when I was mad, shared deep conversations, and talked with me while watching variety shows late at night.
A friend who prioritized me without calculation.
Because that’s the kind of friend you only meet back in your school days….
“……”
Right.
Let’s do what else can be done.
“Maybe I should try sewing it.”
If that didn't work, I could look for a restoration Item, or enter a ghost story where things are repaired… there was plenty of information to dig through and things to try.
If only for the sake of my own mental state.
“Let’s do it.”
I calmed down a bit.
My mind, which had been excessively panicked by an event that happened without warning or inkling, regained its composure and began to calculate.
‘First, clean up.’
I reached into the Blood Bath and pulled out Braun’s dangling upper and lower bodies.
And just as I was about to organize the stuffing and store the doll.
‘Huh?’
A fluttering piece of cloth on the back of the plush doll caught my eye.
A small square of silk sewn into the line connecting the head and torso.
‘…A tag?’
It seemed that whatever had begun to sprout like a trace in the Blood Bath last time had fully returned with this bath.
‘Is it the product label… for the Good Friend?’
You know how those are. Country of origin, washing instructions, care tips, or the buyer’s or creator’s signature.
My gaze drifted toward it reflexively.
It was certainly the size and frame of a label, with unknown letters written in tiny, strange lines of text.
However, there was something overwhelmingly more noticeable.
Overlaid on all that information, as if censored, were giant letters scribbled in black marker.
Removal of Label Required
[Ah.]
[So you were here.]
Grab.
A giant hand snatched the tag.
It was a hand wearing a sleek dress glove.
The thumb flicked over, covering the letters on the label so they were barely visible, and yanked the tag.
[Found you.]
That hand.
It was surging up from within the severed ‘Good Friend’ doll I was holding.
Creeeeeak.
The doll’s lower body split open, and as the shoulder emerged past the arm that had fully pulled itself out, the other arm burst out violently and braced against the sink.
Soon, the rest of the massive body poured out, filling the small restroom.
A massive body dressed in a sleek brown three-piece suit, long legs, black lace-up shoes worn beneath them, and…….
An old-fashioned television set where a head should be.
A smile.
[ : ] ]
The giant old TV head, which had squeezed out of the completely destroyed doll’s lower body, leaned toward me.
[Mr. Soleum!]
The head wobbled.
The Host was holding my shoulders.
[My, you must have been very worried about me. Haha! You don’t need to fret anymore. Now… your reliable host, Braun, has arrived!]
The Host of the Ghost Story flicked the tag between his fingers. The tattered upper body of the plush doll swung back and forth.
[Ah, restoring this tag was truly an excellent choice! Thanks to that, I was able to find my way to this address. Phew.]
[Ah, I won’t refuse your admiration, praise, or applause… Haha! But to put it humbly, this was only possible because I had just finished the rehearsal for the live broadcast.]
[At any rate, we’ve met again so soon!]
“……”
[Mr. Soleum?]
What is this?
[…You don’t look particularly happy. Hmm…… Ah, is it because this plush doll is broken? Yes. An audience is always influenced by what they see… I know!]
Snap.
The Host snapped his fingers.
[How about this?]
The emoticon disappeared from the TV head.
Instead, something came walking out from within the screen.
…A Good Friend rabbit doll wearing a bowtie.
[Now, it’s your friend, the Plush Body! See, isn’t he still cute even inside my screen? Oh, he’s waving.]
“The Good Friend is….”
[Yes. Isn’t he right here? Your Good Friend! Me, Braun!]
No.
“The Good Friend is….”
“The doll.”
…….
…….
[Mr. Soleum.]
Click.
A pinpoint light stabbed into the narrow studio space that had been the restroom.
Now, a spotlight was illuminating the legendary Host and me.
I couldn't turn my head.
[You were being rather passive, it seems you were under a great misunderstanding…. It’s alright. Though I shouldn't say it myself, the one standing before you now is a very kind and talented show host.]
[As always, I have a knack for explanations. Now….]
The gloved hand properly picked up the broken doll, not the tag.
The Good Friend rabbit doll that had been broadcasting from the TV screen where the head should be vanished in a flash, and the smiling emoticon filled the space once more.
And…….
Whoosh.
…The Good Friend plush doll that was in the Host’s hand.
It was incinerated.
[This is nothing.]
Dust, dust. Every time the Host brushed his hands, less than a handful of ash fell from his gloves and scattered on the floor.
I watched it blankly.
But.
‘I thought it was just a part of him inhabiting the doll to act like a friend….’
[Now… let’s try to remember. How did you call your friend?]
…….
A strange object that invites someone from the Otherworld, allowing a part of their psyche to inhabit a doll and making them a friend.
So,
I, using the plush doll, the tie, and the coin….
[You invited me.]
The Host pointed to himself.
[Does a dinner appointment get canceled because the phone breaks? Does a bill disappear if you destroy the mailbox? Do lovers break up because a love letter is torn? We already know the answer.]
[Of course not!]
[In that case… here is a question.]
[Does destroying the doll cancel your invitation?]
The Host spread his arms.
[Of course not!]
Ah.
[What you performed was an eternal ritual. Oh, yes….]
“……”
My stiffened brain slowly derived the sentence.
‘So,’
The Good Friend ritual wasn't about summoning only a part of a non-human entity and trapping it in a doll to make it a friend.
It was just that the entity was being revealed only partially and restrictively by the filter the plush doll provided.
Like a roleplay for children.
[Do you wish to continue calling this ritual a ‘friend’? If so, I have become your friend for eternity. Mr. Soleum! Ah, what a wonderful phrase, eternal friendship!]
The emoticon on the TV head briefly displayed an expression brimming with emotion before returning to a smiling face.
[And our MVP participant, a genius of timing once again! It’s a very good time. Mr. Soleum….]
The hand holding my shoulder patted my back encouragingly.
And then he said.
[Preparations for the new talk show are complete.]
“……!”
[New staff, new set, new music, a new season… all filming preparations are finished. It is my humble talk show, solely for the enjoyment of the audience.]
[I am pleased to introduce your new workplace….]
No.
I reflexively backed away.
I had to open the door and get out, get away from this spotlight, and clear my head, my thoughts….
[My.]
The smiling emoticon inside the TV head vanished.
No.
The screen went black.
[Even though you said you were a fan of my show and that just applying as a participant made you so happy, you would run away at the moment of opportunity to become a part of the talk show? For you to make such a choice after receiving my advice, help, full support, and devotion until now.]
[Mr. Soleum, aren't friends supposed to be in a complementary relationship? Such an emotional and unilateral rejection! I, I am… heartbroken.]
I felt like I was going to throw up.
“I-I’m sorry….”
[My! There is no need to be sorry. Mr. Soleum. A thoughtless apology is not a virtue required of a show creator.]
[And I am a host who can always look into and understand the inner thoughts and feelings of the other person….]
[Therefore.]
In the next moment.
[This Braun will persuade you with all his heart.]
Grin.
The screen was filled to the brim with a smiling emoticon.
Completely.
Full.
“Wait……”
But the giant old TV head kept coming closer.
Closer.
More.
Closer.
[Now….]
Look at me.
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