MLMAS 11

Chapter – 11

“Normally, a Foramen spell is attached to an ordinary piece of furniture so it won’t attract human attention.”

Compared to a month ago, Crofott’s explanation was remarkably gentle.

“That’s why I carved the magic circle into the wardrobe. It’s nothing special.”

Marie tilted her head.

According to the book, while it was true that a Foramen was disguised within ordinary furniture to avoid human notice, it was supposed to exist in public areas of the human world and be under the strict supervision of the Mundus Immigration Bureau.

Then… is Crofott’s Foramen illegal?

Suspicion naturally flickered in the child’s eyes.

Noticing the distrust in Marie’s gaze through his sly green eyes, Crofott cleared his throat and shielded the wardrobe with his back.

“Mariposa, I told you not to ask questions about magic.”

His grumbling made Marie quickly lower her eyes and apologize.

“I’m sorry.”

Though his illegal Foramen piqued her curiosity, it wasn’t enough to make her benefactor uncomfortable.

She smacked her lips lightly and turned toward the dolls.

“Crofott, you said you’d use restoration magic on the dolls, right? How long will it take?”

“I don’t know. I’ll have to start working to find out.”

As he considered the timeframe, he frowned at her.

“Mariposa, I told you not to ask—”

“You don’t even draw magic circles before casting spells, Crofott. So I thought you’d finish really quickly.”

“That’s different. And how do you even know that?”

It had already been a month since she bought from the antique shop.

By carefully watching Crofott, Marie had become quite skilled at picking up magical knowledge.

He sighed and flopped down onto a dust-covered sofa.

A cloud of dust rose up, making Marie cough as she waved her hands. Crofott swung his pipe once, clearing all the dust around them.

“Wow.”

Forgetting her coughing, Marie gasped in admiration.

“I read that cleaning magic like this is difficult. In books, wizards always draw magic circles on parchment before using spells. But you cast them instantly. That’s amazing, right?”

“…That’s right.”

Unlike other magicians, Crofott didn’t need to draw magic circles separately before casting spells.

A magic circle referred to the geometric spell formula and the ring that encased it.

Typically, one would draw the formula on parchment and seal it with a ring infused with mana to complete the circle.

But Crofott could draw the formula in midair and cast the spell immediately.

Watching Marie’s expression, he casually changed the subject.

“To restore a doll, first all its parts must be placed correctly. Only then can the magic be applied. So I…”

He trailed off, glancing around. Cute yet eerie dolls gleamed back at him.

He sighed deeply.

“I have to assemble them first.”

“Oh… I see.”

Marie followed his gaze.

“But Crofott… isn’t this too many…?”

Dolls filled every visible space.

“Can’t you assemble them with magic?”

“Magic can’t do everything.”

He had spent all night trying to design a spell that would automatically assemble the dolls, only to conclude it would be faster to do it by hand.

A grand mage inserting doll eyes.

Crofott let out a dry laugh and turned away, staring blankly out the window.

Marie looked at him sympathetically.

“Crofott, if it has to be done by hand, I can help.”

“No. What could you possibly do?”

“I really can. My mom used to work at a doll factory.”

“Your mother?”

A magician working in a human toy factory.

Crofott’s expression turned hollow.

“If she couldn’t meet her daily quota, we made dolls together at home. It was a long time ago, but I can assemble baby dolls.”

Excited at the thought of helping him, Marie explained eagerly.

“How long ago was that?”

“Hmm… when we were living in the shack. So, two years ago!”

Two years ago. She would have been seven.

Though she probably only snapped limbs together without delicate work, Crofott felt unpleasant.

“That’s enough. I don’t need your help.”

“Huh? Crofott, I really can do it well. Mom praised me.”

“I said no.”

“But really—”

As if a child could handle this.

Growing irritated, Crofott flicked his fingers.

“No. Go to sleep.”

The door flew open, and Marie was sent through it.

“W-wait, Crofott?!”

Bang!

Before she could say more, the door slammed shut.

Startled, Marie stared at the door.

She had expected him to refuse, but everything happened so suddenly that she couldn’t process it.

“Excuse me, Crofott!”

After calling several times without answer, she trudged back to her room with Shasha.

…If only it had ended there.

Crofott stared at the countless adorable baby dolls scattered around and sighed.

“Damn it…”

There were two things he hated most in the world: wasting his time and words, and repetitive mind-numbing labor.

Now he was doing both.

“Crofott, do you need help?”

“No. I said I don’t.”

As he grumbled and awkwardly assembled dolls, Marie and Shasha peeked into the storage room.

“Crofott… I think that one’s eyes are upside down. They’re reversed.”

“What?”

Marie asked carefully.

“Can I fix it?”

As Crofott hesitated, Shasha rushed in.

“Four-year-old!”

“Sis, here!”

Marie quickly took the doll from Shasha, examined it, and in seconds properly fitted the eyes and crooked limbs.

Crofott stared blankly at the perfectly restored doll.

“I’m sorry for touching it without permission. But Crofott, if you twist the arms in like that, they’ll keep turning crooked.”

“…They’ll keep turning crooked?”

“Yes. Oh, that one’s wrong too.”

Crofott turned to look at the many baby dolls floating in midair.

Damn it.

He buried his face in his large hands.

Shasha hurried over.

“Crofotto, are you crying? Want pats?”

“No…”

With a deep sigh, Crofott lifted his miserable face.

His fragile mental state and accumulated frustration crushed his pride.

In the end, he had no choice but to ask Marie for help.

“…Damn.”

“Crofott, don’t use bad words.”

“…Sorry.”

As expected, Marie was incredibly fast.

She snapped in eyes, attached limbs precisely, and immediately grabbed the next doll.

Clean. Efficient. Not a single mistake.

“Mariposa, take it slow.”

“It’s fine. We just started.”

Meanwhile, Crofott felt both humiliation and despair at the fact that his speed matched Shasha’s, who was playing “Baby Robot No. 11” while assembling limbs.

“Clank, clank. I am Baby Robot No. 11. Where is one of my eyes?”

“Stupid… dolls…”

“Crofotto! Bad word!”

Marie glanced at Crofott, who had one hand covering his face in despair.

If he didn’t keep getting distracted, he’d be faster…

Oblivious to her look, Crofott attached a leg, sighed, grabbed another doll, and stared into space again.

Two days passed since Crofott, Marie, and Shasha began assembling dolls.

Though he didn’t want to admit it, having a skilled helper sped up the preparatory work significantly.

Before moving to the next stage, Crofott thought quietly.

Retus said the original magic circle had already been consumed.

According to Retus, the donkey toy’s magic circle had transferred to the baby doll, and the baby doll’s circle had transferred to the donkey toy. New circles had to be created.

He would need to draw magic circles endlessly—feeding spells for 1,501 baby dolls and restoration spells for the 600 already assembled.

For an ordinary magician, it would take a full month of day-and-night work.

For Crofott, it wasn’t so long.

Maybe five hours a day would do.

With that thought, he created the restoration and feeding formulas.

Soon, one flawless baby doll was completed.

With red curly hair and bright blue eyes that blinked when shaken, it lingered in Crofott’s gaze a little longer than the others.

Instead of placing it in the finished basket, he set it aside.

And it was only natural that the doll soon ended up in Marie and Shasha’s hands.