Chapter – 09
Chapter 3 – The Runaway Toy Incident
Crofot opened the door to the old, massive antique shop whose material no one could quite identify.
A middle-aged man appeared, dressed in a ridiculous red bowler hat, a matching jacket and suit pants, and a blue polka-dot tie.
“Oh my, hello there. I heard rumors about this place and came to visit…”
Crofot raised one eyebrow at the man’s bizarre and eye-catching attire.
Still, since it had been a while since he’d had a customer, he stepped aside immediately.
“Come in.”
“Y-yes. Thank you.”
The man wiped the sweat streaming down his face with a handkerchief and stepped inside. The brightly glowing shop door shut behind him, and the outside once again sank into darkness.
* * *
“My friend’s friend’s husband’s brother told me that if I came here, any problem could be solved. Is that true?”
“It is. Think of it as a problem-solving office.”
“That’s a relief. But why are you located in the human world? It took me forever to get here—”
“Enough.”
Despite having a customer, Crofot’s arrogant attitude did not change.
Rather, he seemed irritated by the man’s rambling and tapped the ash from his pipe before putting it back in his mouth.
“Skip the useless chatter. Why have you come to me?”
The man wiped his sweat again and bowed.
“My name is Letus. I run a toy shop in the Fuer shopping district.”
He removed his hat completely and set it beside him to cool down.
A shiny bald head was revealed.
He folded his handkerchief once and wiped his head before continuing.
“As you know, next month is the ‘Hymn of Children.’ To meet the expectations of Magia’s many children, I’ve recently been producing a new toy, but…”
“There’s a problem with it?”
“Yes.”
Letus sighed.
“By mistake, I drew a magic circle…”
“What’s Magia?”
“Good heavens!”
Startled by the sudden voice, Letus jumped.
Turning his head, he saw a little girl with wide green eyes staring at him.
Crofot also opened his mouth in surprise.
“Mariposa, why are you out here?”
With her messy reddish-brown hair tied back and dressed in warm indoor clothes, Mari’s eyes shone with curiosity.
“The shop shook, so I woke up. Is he a customer?”
“Yes. Go back.”
Mari knew about the Hymn of Children from storybooks.
It’s similar to Children’s Day in the human world.
But “Magia” was a term she had never heard before.
Even knowing she shouldn’t, she asked Crofot:
“Wizard— what is Magia?”
“I told you to go back—”
“What is this child?” Letus asked, frowning suspiciously.
Sensing the situation escalating, Crofot hurriedly stood.
“Wait here. We’ll continue this later.”
He quickly swung his pipe, lifting Mari into the air, and strode away to a place far from the parlor.
“W-Wizard!”
“Quiet. Don’t call me that!”
“Huh?”
Crofot set her down carefully but swiftly.
Mari staggered slightly, dizzy.
“That man is a wizard. Wizards don’t call each other ‘Wizard.’”
“Th-then what should I call you? Mr. Rin?”
Crofot’s face twisted.
“Just call me by my name. Like your sister does. Don’t say anything strange.”
“…Okay.”
Mari liked calling him “Wizard,” so she felt oddly deflated.
“And don’t leave your room carelessly. You don’t know who I’m meeting.”
“Could he be dangerous?”
“Not today. But someday, perhaps.”
If a certain watcher ever visited the shop, Mari and Shasha could be in danger.
Though Crofot intended never to let that happen.
He let out a deep sigh.
“And Magia refers to the magic world. Primus Magia. That’s its proper name.”
“Primus Magia…”
Mari repeated it, spellbound.
“Then what about the human world? Does it have a name too?”
“Yes. It’s called Mundus.”
“Mundus!”
As the word settled in her mind, a puzzle piece clicked into place.
“Then the Mundus Immigration Bureau you mentioned before—that’s the Human World Immigration Bureau!”
Crofot stared at her in shock.
“You… You remembered that?”
“Yes. I was curious.”
Her green eyes gleamed intelligently.
Such remarkable curiosity. Like an unpolished gem.
Crofot stared at her blankly before shaking himself.
“That’s enough. Go back to sleep. It’s late.”
“…Yes. I’m sorry.”
Mari nodded obediently.
She wanted to know who that oddly dressed man was and what he wanted—but that was beyond her place.
Just as she turned to leave—
“Mister, have you seen my big sis?”
“Hm? And who are you?”
“Unnieee— where did you gooo!”
Shasha’s voice.
Crofot and Mari exchanged a look.
Without another word, they rushed back to the parlor.
* * *
“Hahaha!”
Fortunately, as a toy shop owner, Letus liked children.
“She’s very cute. What was it again? You said she only recently found out you’re a wizard?”
“Yup!”
Shasha beamed, holding a wooden doll Letus had given her.
The enchanted doll constantly moved its arms and legs, keeping her fascinated.
Mari, now sitting beside Crofot, watched anxiously.
“You do good work. Taking in children without guardians… I mistakenly thought you were— ah— unpleasant. Not kind.”
With no way to avoid the topic thanks to Shasha’s intrusion, Crofot vaguely explained that he was teaching them how to handle mana before sending them to the magic world.
Letus believed him without question.
Could I pass as a wizard too? Mari wondered quietly.
“So,” Crofot prompted impatiently, eager to finish and scold the girls later, “what happened to the toy?”
Letus scratched his head.
“The new product is a baby doll that can ‘eat’ toy food. But due to a mistake in the magic circle, they all disappeared overnight.”
“What? Disappeared?”
“Yes.”
He sighed.
“It seems the teleportation circle meant for a donkey toy was mistakenly attached to the baby dolls. I figured they couldn’t have gone far, so I searched nearby and found them… but they were all broken.”
A magic circle.
From what little Mari knew, it was a diagram used to cast spells.
So they had been making magical dolls.
Can magic accidents cause something like that?
She imagined baby dolls running away, suppressing a grin.
Then Letus reached into his pocket and pulled out a baby doll about the size of Mari’s forearm.
“Look at this. This one’s the least damaged. The rest are worse. I’ll have to remake everything, but I don’t have the budget or time…”
Crofot examined it.
One eye was missing, a leg broken, and it was covered in dust.
“Do you want a solution?”
“Yes. I haven’t been sleeping. My wife’s furious too.”
Crofot turned the doll over, inspecting it carefully.
“I’ll create restoration magic circles and the correct magic circle meant for the dolls. Tell me the quantity.”
“Oh? It’s that simple? Isn’t it difficult magic?”
“For an average wizard, perhaps. Not for me.”
Letus’s eyes widened.
“Th-then the cost…?”
“I charge for my working time. Give me the number. The cost depends on it.”
“Ah, yes. Understood. For the Hymn of Children next month… I’ll need 1,501 new magic circles.”
“Fine. One thousand five hundred— what?”
