Does a Doll Deserve to Live a Happy Life? (Patreon)

Chapter 25: A Fox’s Perfect Day

Watching as what could only be a villain run away by jumping from roof to roof, we all finally pulled ourselves together with Artoria being the first to respond.

“Should we apprehend them? They are clearly suspicious if they are running like that?” Artoria asked, looking ready to give chase at a moment’s notice.

Stepping forward before she could move, I placed my hand on her shoulder, grabbing her attention and causing her to look at me curiously with a raised brow.

“We can’t afford to get involved and reveal our powers to the populace of this world. Not only would people ask questions about our abilities that we can’t answer, but it’s also illegal,” I said calmly, causing Artoria to slightly narrow her eyes at my wording.

“Illegal?” Tamamo beat Artoria to the punch as she leaned over my shoulder and rested her chin there.

“That’s right.” I gave Artoria a reassuring smile. “Besides, you don’t have to worry about that person, they’re already on his trail.” I pointed my chin upward again.

Taking my cue, the others all turned and witnessed a man dressed in bright colors, his skin seemingly made out of wood, swinging after the villain as wood extended from his arm that he used as a swing to move swiftly, all the while yelling:

“Stop, Villain!”

“See?” I muttered with a smile. “There’s nothing to worry about, this world has its own protectors.”

“They are out in public though,” Kiara commented, seeing people around us stop what they were doing and point at the chase happening like it was normal while recording on their phones.

“…And the public seems used to this, which suggests it happens on a regular basis,” Artoria further deduced, now visibly calmer.

“Huhuhu, interesting So interesting~” Tamamo cheered from my back, suddenly giving me a small peck on the cheek. “Just what world did you bring us to, Sieg-kun?”

“This is a world straight out of comic books and manga, a world with Superheroes and Supervillains, of good vs. evil!” I declared a little passionately with a serious look on my face, enjoying that everyone was leaning forward in interest to hear the rest.

“Around two or three centuries ago, a baby was born in China that could glow. Since then, more mutations started appearing around the world to the point that 80% of the population has some kind of mutation or quirk right now. These mutations would eventually be renamed as quirks since they manifested differently for every person. The impossible became possible, and the world was changed forever!”

My small audience was all but on the edge of their seats now as I narrated what I had heard once.

“However, like any story, this world is not perfect. With all the rapid changes in society and millions of people having some kind of superpower, society almost collapsed since the norm no longer applied. Eventually, normal people rose up and a semblance of normality returned for the world, but all was not perfect.” I shook my head.

“This is the time where the term ‘Hero’ was themed and it became an official job supported by the government. Of course, Heroes cannot exist without Villains or vice versa, and it gave birth to the society you see around you.” I spread my arms, signaling the city.

“A world where Heroes and Villains are stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of fighting each other, with more villains and heroes being born every day. A world that categorizes things in black and white with no grey in between.” My cheer faded, replaced by a sour expression, openly showing how much I didn’t like this world.

“In other words, it’s a powder keg, one incident away from blowing and descending this city and country into total anarchy.” My voice was flat now, my face impassive.

Silence reigned for a few moments as everyone digested what I had said, none more affected than Artoria herself. She frowned as she held her chin in thought.

“Is it truly that bad, Sieg-kun?” Kiara asked, looking a bit worried but not overly so.

“It’s not too surprising,” Tamamo said with a small shrug, not looking concerned at all. “From what Sieg-kun described, most of humanity has an ability that makes them special, and with their natures there was bound to be trouble afoot. I’m positive the governments of the world don’t really know what to do with them and have even bloodied their hands to keep things as they are.”

“You don’t know that for sure, Caster,” Artoria said with a shake of her head, leveling Tamamo with a small frown, only getting another shrug from the fox as she snuggled deeper into my back.

“While I don’t know everything about this world since I was blind and all in my past life, but from the media I heard, Tamamo is right.” I frowned slightly, looking away from Artoria’s gaze as she turned to me with wide eyes.

Artoria was a king in the past, facing many hardships, but even with that pedigree, she was still surprisingly naïve about some things.

“You have to understand, Artoria,” I muttered softly, still looking away from her. “This world still vividly remembers the times before this, during all the chaos and anarchy. They are willing to go to great lengths to keep the status quo.”

Artoria slumped her shoulders and muttered quietly, “No true ruling part is perfect, huh?”

Wanting to break the mood that had fallen over everyone, I coughed into my hand to get their attention. “How about we find something to eat? I want to see how far this world has come in terms of their food.”

Almost immediately, Artoria straightened again, her melancholic mood gone, eyes bright and ahoge twitching like mad. She looked at me with a smile. The others weren’t far behind, also curious, even the ever-silent Lancelot at the back leaned forward.

“An excellent suggestion, Sieg~” Artoria nodded, her kingly aura rolling off her as she placed her hands on her hips, looking regal.

“I want to see the places they have for fun around here!” Tamamo exclaimed cheerfully, her tail swishing in excitement. “That way I can get some ideas for where we could go for my date with Sieg-kun~”

“I wonder if they have any good literature here,” Kiara muttered with a small, excited smile.

“Let’s go, everyone. We have much to explore.” I declared, taking the lead as I pulled out my HUD, showing a map of the city with points of interest glowing.

=====

Hours Later

In the end we visited lots of places that caught our interest: restaurants, fast food joints, bookstores, even a mall.

Since I only had my memories as Sieg to compare to and the little time we had spent in Fuyuki, the technology in this world didn’t seem that much more advanced. Sure, widescreen TVs and the many panels scattered through the city surprised me, but the jump in tech wasn’t huge.

It was strange that a society where anything seemed possible hadn’t advanced much farther. If I thought about it, though, and remembered that this world had basically been stuck in something like a second Dark Age because of quirks, it made more sense.

At some point Lancelot decided to head back home after deducing there weren’t many, if any, threats that could challenge us after watching some videos of the strongest heroes’ feats.

I found myself agreeing with such a statement.

The quirks of top heroes in Japan—aside from All Might, and it was a little dumb that their quirks and descriptions were posted online for anyone to look up—were formidable, but they still fell short of a competent Servant. Artoria, Lancelot, Tamamo and even I were way above that level. And that was not even counting the ridiculousness of Noble Phantasms or me being a Campione.

It would take the absolute strongest in this world to truly push us, and that was still an open question.

With that in mind, we relaxed and acted like wide-eyed tourists. Artoria even settled down after seeing how quickly heroes responded to crime and seemed to enjoy the day. My warning about the nation being a breath away from chaos still bothered her, but she didn’t let it show much.

We did run into one problem unrelated to heroes or villains, our appearances. Japan still required kids to attend school until adulthood (eighteen), and Artoria, Tamamo, and I looked young enough to be students.

A couple of officers and random civilians stopped us to ask why we weren’t at school and some accused us of skipping. Artoria had it the worst, she still had the body of a fifteen-year-old because of when she made her contract with Alaya. While my perks were helping her mature, it’ll take time before she looks older.

Sometimes Tamamo and I could bluff our way out by saying we were already eighteen. Poor Artoria was mortified when we first had to lie and pretend we were transfer students after an old lady called her a delinquent and called the police. We laughed once the officer left, which made the blonde knight even more embarrassed.

Before we knew it the day ended and we headed home, where Tamamo and I cooked a meal from ingredients we’d bought on our outing.

“Today was great! So many amazing places. I can’t believe my homeland has come this far~” Tamamo cheered as she happily ate by my side.

“The literature’s suffered, though,” Kiara said from my other side with a small frown. “For the last two hundred years or so, stories mostly revolve around heroes and villains, only the odd one here and there break that mold.”

“Yeah, this world really stagnated after quirks appeared,” I said, already convinced.

“At least the food’s still superb,” Artoria said, cheeks puffed like a cute chipmunk.

“Sieg-kun~ I want to visit some ancient shrines next!” Tamamo exclaimed. “From the brochures I grabbed, a lot of shrines are still standing to this day.”

“Are you curious to see if they worshipped you in this world?” I asked.

Normally that question would make Tamamo wince, reminding her of her true self and the one she had split from, but by now our relationship had grown past that. She knows I’d never abandon her or look at her any different even if she regained all nine tails.

“While I’m curious, that’s not why,” she said, shaking her head. “Some shrines offer matchmaking and marriage blessings! We just have to go to some~” Her eyes shone with little stars in them.

Widening my eyes slightly at her reason, I felt a flush grow on my cheeks as I scratched my cheek and slightly looked away. “I-I guess we can go.”

Tamamo cheered and wrapped her arms around my head, pulling my face down to her cleavage and rubbing her cheek in my hair. “You’re the best, Sieg-kun~”

“Ahem, could you two save that for when you’re alone?” Kiara coughed, looking down at where my head was resting then looking down at her own chest in envy.

“I concur,” Artoria said, blushing and looking away from our tender embrace.

“No can do~ This fox is beyond happy right now and you two will not ruin this for me~” Tamamo burrowed my head deeper into her chest.

I stayed quiet, enjoying Tamamo’s warm embrace, not only because it was comfortable, but because her excited heartbeat always calmed me. ‘Sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve you, Tamamo. You’re just too precious,’ I thought.

=====

Following Day

Waking up early the next morning, I asked Tamamo to let me handle breakfast and let her get ready for our date later, something she was happy about after planting a quick kiss on my cheek.

“Kiara, Artoria, anything special you want me to cook today?” I asked as I greeted them and headed for the kitchen. “Tamamo and I won’t be back until after sunset, so don’t hold back. I’ll take care of both breakfast and lunch.”

“I’m fine with anything,” Kiara said, shrugging as she and Artoria set the table.

“Agreed. Anything you make is delicious and I’m not picky.” Artoria nodded, hastily wiping a bit of drool from the corner of her lips when she noticed me looking causing her to blush and quickly look away pretending like nothing happened.

“All right, I’ll keep it as a surprise then.”

Minutes later Tamamo appeared, and I almost stopped moving. She wasn’t in her usual garments, today she was casual and adorable in a pink-and-white striped sweatshirt over a pink top that sat just below her breasts, a black mini skirt, black leggings, and black shoes. She looked beautiful; I froze for a moment and just stared.

Noticing me looking at her, Tamamo grinned impishly, struck a pose and winked. “How do I look, Sieg-kun~?”

Coming out of my daze, I smiled and closed my eyes. “You look beautiful, Tamamo. Those clothes really fit you, though anything you wear looks good on you,” I muttered, the last part slipping out with all the sincerity I felt.

“Hihihi Thank you” She squealed lightly as she held her red cheeks, looking like a young schoolgirl in love. “A compliment from Sieg-kun first thing in the morning is just what this fox needed to know this will be a wonderful day.”

“R-right.” I coughed into my hand as I was caught in a daze again, grabbed the dishes, and called, “Food’s ready, everyone.”

“Aww, is Sieg-kun embarrassed?” Tamamo teased while helping serve and then sat beside me.

With nothing more to say we all had a hearty breakfast before me and Tamamo left for the city leaving the others with their own devices.

Our date began with a leisurely walk in the park to work off the meal, then we headed to a movie theater, neither of us had watched a film on the big screen before, and we were curious. We bought plenty of snacks and drinks, got comfy, and picked a scary movie at Tamamo’s insistence.

She cuddled up to me the whole time, claiming she was scared, which was almost certainly an excuse, not that I minded of course. We did get a few jealous looks from other couples, which we ignored.

The movies mostly obsessed over heroes and villains, though, and that nagged at me. Was heroes all this world ever thought about? Japan in particular seemed saturated with the theme. I was getting a little tired of it.

We left the theater arm-in-arm. Tamamo, noticing my frown, lost her smile and looked at me with worry. “What’s wrong, Sieg-kun? D-Did you not have fun?”

I sighed and shook my head. “No, no, it’s not that I promise.” I said, shaking my hand back and forth with a reassuring smile.

“I-I see.” Tamamo pouted, ears flattening for a second, then narrowed her eyes with faux menace. “Why the frown then? Did someone say something mean to you? Just tell me who it was and I’ll teach them a lesson!”

“No, no. It’s not that.” I reached out, rubbed her ear, and she froze for a heartbeat before purring and leaning into my hand. “It’s just that so much of their entertainment centers on heroes. Even the mall yesterday was overflowing with hero merch to the point of being ridiculous. It’s… a shame really that such a society is so fanatical with them.”

“Yeah, it’s creepy how obsessed they are,” she agreed with a blissed look as I stroked her ear. “That’s way too much, even for this fox.”

“Let’s forget about that, how about we go to an amusement park? We’re near Tokyo and I read that most of the popular ones are centered around there?” I suggested, switching topics to something brighter.

“That sounds amazing!” Tamamo’s eyes lit up gifting me with a huge smile. “I always dreamed of riding a roller coaster with my beloved, and it’s about to come true! Let’s go!”

“That’s the spirit.” I laughed and let Tamamo pull me toward the train station.

‘I hope no villains or heroes ruin this day for Tamamo,’ I thought, watching her radiant smile. I’d never seen her so carefree, and I wanted to keep it that way.