I think Luna hates me even more now. And she thinks I'm crazy. This afternoon was quite fruitful. Aside from a companion I inexplicably feel I can trust, I gained some insights into the human world, though mostly about its shady side. Now, how do I explain the situation to the party without appearing suspicious for knowing too much?

"I think these thugs wanted to kidnap me for what I am." Nice deduction, Luna. "So as a dark elf, Lady Nightwane was already their target." And the next step is? "She must be still here since they had not left yet when we came." Pin pon! You're (most likely) correct.

"Maybe she is in the storage room?" I motion to go and take a peek, but Luna stops me for some reason.

"Let me go first. There might still be someone else in there." Yeah, since it worked so well last time. If what I did didn't make whoever may have been hiding in the back come out, it means there isn't anyone there.

"I don't want to meet the lady..." Senka whispers to me. Someone who isn't afraid of my true appearance doesn't want to meet a person. I have to wonder just how bad she must be. "She... is a lonely woman... and there aren't many life-sized dolls available in this world, even if it's one as small as me."

Speak no further, I can somehow picture what you mean, even though I don't want to.

"Ah, Lady Nightwane!" Luna seems to have found her. Senka makes an expression of annoyance mixed with disgust. Hey, that looks familiar. Something involving a certain holy sword on a journey to California. "I found her!"

Senka's expression returns to a blank one when Luna turns around to announce it to me.

The lady in question is lying on the ground, tied up, gagged and out cold. So, that's a dark elf. She has long pointy ears, just like the elf queen's head Maou-mama ate. But her skin is a mauve purple, and her hair is dark blue. Camouflage for the night? She kind of looks like a sullen mature woman, with the hair falling over her eyes.

Luckily, she's unconscious, so she most likely didn't hear any of what happened earlier. I did something risky there by exposing myself. But then again, it's only those inside the store, and I could have erased them from existence if needed be. Furthermore, nobody would believe that cute ol' me could be a monster. Cosmic Horror, was it? I'm reminded of a certain silver-haired girl with an incredibly long ahoge, wielding a crowbar against aliens.

"Are you alright?" Luna shakes the woman. If she had an injury to the spine, you would most likely have paralyzed her with that. What's with people shaking the unconscious without bothering to look for external injuries first? Then again, I doubt there's first aid in this world. "Ah, she's breathing."

What part of kidnapping involves dead bodies, Luna-chan?

"Uh... Hmmph?" She wakes up, notices the gag, and begins to struggle. Then she spots us, and her eyes fill with hope. Luna takes off her gag and begins to untie her. "Ah, thank you so much, Runa!"

Her voice is somewhat alluring, and her tone is soft. But knowing what she does with Senka, I can only see her as a mature looking woman who actually doesn't have any real experience. How pitiful. Also, this is very obviously an M.

"Are you hurt?" Too late to ask that, you already shook her and all. "Did they do something to you?" Somehow I see disappointment flash over her face before she responds by shaking her head. Seriously? I look at Senka, but she doesn't move.

"Ah, who are you? And what are you doing with my... with the cursed doll?" Were you about to slip up and say sex toy?

"She saved our lives. I want to buy her." I see a questioning look on Lady Nightwane's face. Luna looks at me, unbelieving.

"You really want that creepy thing? And it's even cursed!" Have you seen my actual face? That's beyond creepy; one can practically see the curses in it.

Ahhh, why do I do these things to myself?

"How much do you want for it?" Clearing my mind of negative thoughts, I return to the topic at hand.

"You have money?" Bursting out with this question, she undermines my attempt to appear like a strong buyer.

Luna-chan, would I be asking about the price, if I didn't have anything on me? Well, her doubt is understandable, since I didn't earn any money ever since I met her, and I was penniless from the start. But it must be my lucky day because I found a pretty fat purse in the brainiac's belongings inside my body. I can say he dropped it when he ran away, just like in an RPG.

"Is this much enough?" I pull out the bag of money. I don't know how much is in it, but I'll just let the sound of coins talk. Hey, your eyes are sparkling, Lady Nightwane? She jumps up and snatches the bag away, going through its contents with an increasingly excited expression. No poker face at all, huh? Also, it's evidence her business is going badly. Well, considering the smell in this place...

"I can refurbish my store with this much..." Well, I think this isn't just line, hook and sinker anymore. The whole fishing rod went with it on this one. Now, let me hear your obvious answer. "But... it's a cursed doll. I cannot, in good conscience, sell it to you. Great misfortune will befall you if you keep it close to you."

"She means to say she modified a part of my body and great misfortune will befall her if you find out." Senka whispers, only audible to me. I don't want to know which part... don't tell me, please.

"I'll add this." Luckily, the thug with the club also had a purse, albeit much lighter than the brainiac's. It should still add a great weight to the scales inside her mind. Luna has been looking at me dubiously, but now she's giving me a gaze filled with bewilderment. You think I'm crazy for wanting to buy this doll already; now your opinion is being reinforced by how much money I'm willing to spend on it, right?

"Where did you get all this money from?" I was waiting for this, but...

"I'll tell you later." I don't need to tell the dark elf that her assailants left some money in her shop because of her sex doll. Else she'll claim ownership over it since we technically didn't contribute. It was all me, but I can't tell them that.

"I..." She's seriously considering it. Now, for the finisher.

"Then I shall add a little more, but that is my final offer." I take out one more bag of money. It's the purse of the guy who died upon seeing my real appearance. The amount is about the same as the one with the club's, but at this point, it should make the scale for selling Senka hit the floor.

Lady Nightwane makes big round eyes at the sight of three bags of money. Going through the contents of the last one, something inside her mind clicks. Her demeanor changes a little, and she's no longer hesitant. "I accept the offer. It would be rude not to if the customer is so adamant about it. But I must warn you. It is a cursed doll, after all. It has caused the deaths of countless previous owners who... changed its dress and attempted to modify its appearance."

Ah, good one. You can't say no to the money, but you still don't want me to find out about the modifications you did to her body. Now I'm actually curious to see, even though I can picture it.

The jar of "worms" comes to mind. I shake my head to get rid of the image and suppress a shudder.

- You have obtained Creepy Loli Doll -