"So, Master, I take it you're planning to use the Earworm curse core to animate a Toy summon?" Emi asked, tilting her head slightly. Her tone carried the faintest trace of curiosity, though her eyes hinted she already knew the answer.
Ace nodded, a glint of determination flashing in his gaze. "Its hypnosis ability will be convenient for dealing with difficult mortals—especially for ensuring the loyalty of those my family will hire to manage the estate and other ventures they plan to start. If we'd had soone with this ability sooner, we could've manipulated Layla more easily."
He paused, tapping his fingers thoughtfully against the cursed toybox. "Having a strong hypnotist among our Toy summons would make it easier to navigate the mortal world without drawing the attention of curse users. That's the most important thing."
As Ace finished his point, a sudden prompt interrupted their discussion. The cursed toybox emitted a faint hum as text materialized before their eyes:
[ —Status Screen—
- The Curse Tool was analyzed and determined to be the 'Cursed Wooden Cane.'
> Curse Tool: Cursed Wooden Cane
> Class: Curse Tool
> Effect: Helps the user move through wood without resistance.
Wood Room: Allows the user to create a stationary and untraceable 21x21x21 space in any wood. The cursed wooden cane acts as the key to the Wood Room. The wood's system and surrounding will act as the wood rooms ventilation system.
Notes:
i) Toymancer gains the subclass Wood Walker and access to related abilities when using this curse tool.ii) Attempting to summon the Wood Room in a different wood will result in items previously stored in it being discarded at the previous rooted location.]
Emi blinked, the faint glow of the screen reflecting in her wide eyes. "So, that's what it does... Not bad."
Ace smirked faintly. "Rose, your guess was right. Looks like we'll need to head back to the winery."
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. The mory of the curse slave he had killed flashed in his mind—the one who'd boasted about their recent haul from hunting near the winery. Ace hadn't planned on returning, but now it seed unavoidable.
"Master, I don't take pleasure in being right," Da Wasp said, her voice carrying its usual tone but coming off with an edge of sarcasm. Yet, the faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips betrayed her mood. She was visibly more cheerful than before. Without missing a beat, she added, "But look on the bright side—the cursed cane's Wood Room more than makes up for the Phantom Paint curse core we missed, don't you think?"
Ace exhaled sharply, his expression darkening. "The Phantom Paint Curseling's curse core would've let us enter a full fantasy world of our choosing," he said, his voice heavy with regret. "But I guess a 21x21x21 space will have to do for now." The sting of losing that core was still raw, and every ntion of it felt like salt on an open wound. He had so many ambitious plans for the Toy summons he would've created using it.
"That's it! We can finally start working on Senpai's new body tonight without worrying about being discovered!" Emi blurted out, her excitent lighting up her face. Only she knew how much restraint it had taken on her part to hold back from fully attending to her Master's gratification as a tantric sex doll—out of respect for her Senpai. If her Senpai gained an adult-sized body, they could serve their Master together, making every day a shared effort.
Ace glanced at her, the briefest flicker of relief crossing his features before he forced himself to nod casually. "Yeah, let's do that," he replied, keeping his tone neutral.
What Emi didn't realize was just how much self-control it took for him to resist seeking her out to relieve his stress—or, failing that, tending to it himself. Being around Emi, with her unrealistic beauty and constant presence, felt like walking through hell. But Ace had his reasons.
He shot a quick look toward Da Wasp and quickly resolved not to act on his urges—not yet, at least. As much as it pained him, he'd wait until Da Wasp also had an adult-sized body. She was his first Toy summon, after all. That alone made her special, soone who would always an more to him than any other toy summons that would follow.
But that was a truth he'd never voice aloud. Da Wasp didn't need to know how much she ant to him, not when she'd already shown how spiteful she could get. The mory of her anness toward Emi, after they'd shared an hour of adult-ti fun without her, was still fresh in his mind and enough to serve as a reminder.
"You two seem happier than I am about getting an adult-sized body," Da Wasp remarked, a sly smile playing on her lips as she cast a teasing, suspicious glance at Emi and Ace. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think one of you was getting a new body instead of ."
Her words hung in the air for a mont, the tension between Emi and Ace grew thicker. Da Wasp had sensed it long ago. Hoping to give them a chance to act on their feelings, she had intentionally stayed away for an extended period while she was gathering herds. Yet, to her disappointnt, they had squandered the opportunity. Instead of resolving things, they had let the tension between them fester, eventually leading to an awkward silence that forced her to return.
Still, she appreciated the thoughtfulness and consideration they had shown for her feelings—especially her master. Ace didn't owe her such care, yet he went out of his way to include her. That effort, unspoken but clear, ward her more than she'd let on.
"Senpai, we're just happy for you!" Emi blurted out, her voice a little too bright, her cheeks faintly flushed. She tried to sound casual, but her embarrassnt was evident. They all knew why she was so eager to create a new body for Da Wasp.
Ace cleared his throat, his expression unreadable. "Emi, how far along is the transformation of the Doctor Druid doll into a curse item?" he asked, steering the conversation onto safer ground.
The sudden shift in the topic didn't go unnoticed, but neither Da Wasp nor Emi called him out on it. Ace, for his part, focused on keeping his composure. If they lingered on the previous subject any longer, he wasn't sure he could hold himself back.
"It's done master, we can proceed with checking compatibility between the cursed doll and changeling curse core."
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