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Elmer's blood ran cold as he shouted.
"Please stop! Anything but that doll!"
"Hey. This thing, did you make it?"
"Y-Yes…!"
(Wha…!?)
Duma shivered when she saw Elmer nodding his head in affirmation.
(Th-This man, made me!? L-Lies!! I was born in the demon world!! I was created by Lord Demon Lord!!)
"An artist? That's a nice social status, isn't it? I wish I could live like that— too. I want to save up some money and retire."
The leader of the robbers was not as belligerent as the other robbers around him, and he was smiling at Elmer. However, his smile was cold and inorganic, just like Duma's, a puppet doll. The man with the slanted eyes asked the leader.
"What is this talk about retirement? Boss?"
"Ye—. Maybe a church priest would be a good choice? If I pray for peace, the stupid believer will give me money, right?
"Geh!! Boss as a priest!?"
"Hyahaha!! What kind of sh*tty priest would that be?!"
The ruffians laughed. After a short laugh, the bald leader said with a fake smile.
"As such, for the sake of my healthy retired life, will you please cough up the money quickly?"
"I said it earlier, that's everything! I-I'm telling you the truth! "
The leader twists his head to the side with an "Hm—?" as if he didn't completely buy his story. A man with a scar on his cheek, seemingly having lost his patience, drew close to Elmer.
"You are spewing f-ing lies! Don't you have money to make this doll?!"
The man then grabbed Duma by the hair and lifted her.
"P-Please stop!! That doll means everything to me!"
Elmer shouted, rattling the chair to which he was bound. Duma, too, glared at the man who was holding her from her hair.
(H-Human scum! Who are you to grab me by my hair!? I-I-I'll kill you!)
However, Duma's body did not even twitch.
Sounds of grinding teeth, "buchibuchi" and screams shouting "No" could be heard as a few torn strands of hair fell to the floor with a "para para" sound.
"Ah… Dee—ne…!"
The man muttered in a crying voice. At the same time, Elmer's voice echoed in the back of Duma's head.
"Your hair is, you know... It belonged to Deene."
Duma's chest, which should have had no heart, pounded loudly with a "Dokun."
(Deene! I-It's that sick woman! I-In other words———!)
A realization came to Duma's mind.
(This guy, w-when he made me, used the hair of his lover who died of illness…?)
…The scenery changed in succession. The robbers in front of her had vanished before she knew it, and Elmer was gently combing through Duma's hair as he sat on a chair in a peaceful room with the sun shining through the trees.
(T-This hair of mine is, from a human woman, n-named Deene…!)
(That's why, there was a memory of the woman who was sick and coughing up blood before her death?! I-I don't believe it!)
(I-I am! In the D-Demon world! By L-Lord Demon Lord!)
Elmer brought in a full-body mirror and placed it in front of Duma.
"If Deanne and I have ever had a child, we were going to name it the same as you."
The mirror reflected Elmer's smiling face and her own. For Elmer, it was a joyous occasion, but for Duma, it was like something out of a nightmare.
As Duma was about to be crushed by despair, Elmer uttered another devastating statement.
"Your name is Duma."
(F-False, False, False!! H-Human!! This man cannot be my creator! My father!)
"L-Lord Hero!! Duma is in pain!!"
Duma regained consciousness at the sound of Excella's voice.
"Uhguh… giga…!"
At the same time, Duma realized that she was roaring in pain.
(N-Not a hallucination… is it...? Y-You are telling me… it was true…!)
Her body was creaking with a "gishigishi," similar to her crumbling spirit. Just one light blow would be enough to knock off all her joints.
(N-Not good, not good, not good…!)
Never before, even in the fiercest of battles, had Duma suffered so much damage.
Duma glared at Suzuki. He, too, stared at Duma with tears in his eyes, his eyes full of determination.
(I-I never thought, I-I'd be so cornered like this!)
For the first time in her life, Duma was extremely flustered.
(I- I don't care whether he cries or squeals! I-I must kill Suzuki as fast as possible! Or else, otherwise!)
Duma's body was fissured and on the verge of disintegrating.
(Suzuki will, b-b-break m-me!!)
Her invulnerable body, which defied all physical and magical attacks, was on the verge of collapse due to Suzuki's mental attacks, which affected her deep consciousness.
With her last ounce of strength, Duma rushed toward Suzuki.
"D-Doll!! Kill Suzuki, turn him into a dooooollll!!"
"Lord Hero–!!"
(I-In reality, he is merely just crying! He is h-helpless!)
She drew all his magical power from her decaying body and channeled it into physical attack power——— Duma was about to deliver her most vicious blow to Suzuki. No matter what, if I bite him on the neck and instantly tear him off!
"…Munch"
She heard a strange sound and caught a glimpse of Suzuki. Duma's legs got tangled, and she fell to the ground with a thud.
(T-T-That!! H-How can!! I-In the middle of a battle, that can't be happening!!)
In Suzuki's hand, he held a lump of grains. And then, Suzuki was putting it in his mouth.
"Mun! Munch!"
While crying, Suzuki was——— somehow, eating an omusubi. The slave woman Excella shouted.
"No, from where did you get that out of!?"
Suzuki did not answer, but was chewing on the omusubi, munching while sobbing.
"You ate another one once again!? What the hell is going on?"
Excella shouted, clutching her head. Suzuki, who was chewing on the omusubi he had pulled out from somewhere, looked at Duma silently without saying a word.
(O-Omusubi…?)
She had heard that the people of Leaven, a human village northwest of the capital, ate rice and other grains as their staple food, not bread. The lumps of rice generously were called "omusubi" or "onigiri" and apparently were an effective way to preserve food.
However, the question is not so much how or where, but why on earth was Suzuki eating omusubi while crying in the middle of a battle?
It was all beyond Duma's comprehension. Suzuki took one look at Duma, who was still stunned with a cracked body.
"Pritis's 48 Gestures—Forty-Fourth Gesture, 'Crying Humbly Alliance (Crying Omusubi)'! Munch!"