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

Chapter 28: The Fox, the Knight, and the Dragon

Following Day

The next morning, after breakfast, I turned to my left where Eri had just finished her meal. Wanting to spoil her a bit, I’d made her some whipped yogurt with apples and walnuts, which she clearly enjoyed, judging by her delighted expression.

“I had no idea apples could be made into yummier food~” Eri mumbled, eyes glazed with joy and a bit of yogurt clinging to the corner of her lips, making her look absolutely adorable.

“Thank you, Sieg-san! Tamamo-san! You always make the best food~” Eri said brightly, turning to us with a beaming grin. I couldn’t help but smile back as I reached over and gently patted her head, earning a pleased hum.

“You’re very welcome, Eri,” I said warmly, glad she enjoyed it.

“Fufufu~ Anything made by me and Sieg-kun is bound to be delicious, thanks to all the love that goes into it,” Tamamo added with a proud nod before muttering under her breath, “At least you’re not like those other brats trying to steal Sieg-kun’s heart.”

“Indeed,” Artoria chimed in from across the table, her tone regal despite the faint yogurt mustache still on her lips. “Anything made by Sieg’s hands is destined to be delicious~”

“You could win anyone’s heart with your cooking alone~” Kiara said, one hand resting on her cheek and a blissful look softening her features.

Lancelot had already excused himself, still not comfortable spending too much time in the same room as Artoria, but at least he was improving.

Grabbing a napkin, I leaned over to wipe the last bit of yogurt from Eri’s face, earning a cute blink from her. My eyes lingered for a moment on her small horn, the source of her power. It hadn’t grown at all these past two weeks, thankfully. Normally, it would have by now, posing the risk of her Quirk running wild. But thinking ahead, I’d purchased the Toggle perk for her, allowing either of us to control her power, from fully off to maximum output. For now, since Eri still lacked control, I’d set it to one percent until she was ready to handle more.

My gaze shifted from Eri to Tamamo, then to Artoria. The two of them caught the look and subtly nodded, our unspoken signal. Today, we would finally take care of the Shie Hassaikai once and for all.

“Now, Eri,” I said softly, turning back to her, “I want you to be a good girl while me, Tamamo, and Auntie Arty go into the city to buy some things, okay?”

At the mention of leaving, Eri’s happy smile instantly vanished. Her small hand latched tightly onto my shirt.

“Please don’t go! Stay,” she pleaded, her eyes trembling, voice small and afraid.

My smile softened into something gentler as I reached up and stroked her hair, feeling her relax slightly under my touch.

“Hey now,” I said quietly, “there’s nothing to worry about. Or have you forgotten how strong your aunties and I are?”

Eri sniffled, still holding onto me, but nodded hesitantly. “I-I know… I’m just scared you won’t come back.”

Smiling tenderly, I lifted her into my lap. “Well, I promise I’ll come back, and dragons don’t make promises lightly, you know?” I said, booping her nose. “Especially to princesses.”

“That’s right,” Artoria declared suddenly, rising from her seat and striking a proud, knightly pose. “As a knight, I am bound by my word! So you can be certain we will return, Eri.” The moment would’ve been much more impressive if not for her lingering yogurt mustache.

“And with all of us together, we’re pretty much unstoppable~” Tamamo added with a confident grin.

Seeing that Eri was finally smiling again, I leaned closer. “How about this, while we’re out, is there anything you’d like us to bring back?”

Eri blinked, scrunching her face in thought. When an idea came to her, her eyes lit up, but then she grew shy and looked down, fidgeting.

“I-It’s okay. I don’t want anything,” she muttered softly, turning her gaze away.

Smiling in amusement, knowing full well she wanted something, I pretended to think for a moment. “Hmm, well, if you don’t want to tell us, I suppose I have no choice but to use my secret weapon.” I said this dramatically, raising my free hand and wiggling my fingers like a cartoon villain.

Immediately catching on to what was coming, Eri’s eyes went wide, and she squirmed in my lap, covering herself as best she could with her tiny arms. “Nooo~ No tickles!” she squealed.

“Are you going to be a good girl and tell me the truth, then?” I asked, lowering my hand slowly while raising a brow in mock menace.

“Yes! I want some crayons and a coloring book!” she blurted out in a hurry, then ducked her head shyly, as if realizing she might’ve asked for too much.

Shaking my head fondly, I smiled. “Very well then, we’ll make sure to bring you a full set, with every color imaginable, and plenty of coloring books too.” I promised, my tone gentle. Artoria and Tamamo both nodded in agreement beside me.

With Eri’s worries soothed and her mood bright again, I carefully passed her into Kiara’s waiting arms. She gave me a subtle nod and a quiet “good luck” before taking Eri’s hand and leading her toward the garden.

“See you later, Eri. Be good for Auntie Kiara, okay?” I called after them, waving.

“We’ll be back before you know it,” Artoria added firmly, taking her self-imposed “quest” very seriously.

Suddenly, Tamamo leapt onto my back, wrapping her arms around me and planting a kiss on my cheek that startled a small sound from me. “Fufufu~ You get more irresistible with every passing day, Sieg-kun~ Not only are you the best cook, but you also have the most wonderful paternal instincts.” Her tail swished happily as she peppered my face with playful kisses.

My face heated instantly, especially when Artoria, red-faced herself, whirled around and snapped, “Would you two please stop acting like a couple in front of me!” before stomping toward the portal room.

Tamamo, ever the mischief-maker, stuck out her tongue at her retreating back. “Meh! You’re just jealous, you dumb knight~”

I sighed, wisely choosing not to get between them. Straightening, I followed Artoria to the portal room—my expression shifting from amused to grim.

It was time to get rid of some pieces of shit.

=====

Shie Hassaikai Hideout

A normal building that wouldn’t look out of place to the average bystander had its front entrance suddenly blasted open in a fiery explosion before three blurs, too fast for civilians, rushed inside.

“Remember,” I called to the two beside me as our first obstacle made himself known: a huge man in a bird mask with steel gauntlets. My HUD identified him as Rikiya Katsukame, one of Chisaki’s underlings and one apparently with a gigantification quirk.

“What are you doing here!?” the man bellowed.

Not paying him any attention, I appeared beneath his guard instantly and delivered a brutal haymaker, knocking him unconscious. I bent down, stamped him, and said, “We don’t have much time. Knock them unconscious and stamp them before moving on. Our main target is Chisaki, don’t get distracted by his underlings.”

“Got it, Sieg-kun~ I’ll give them the Tamamo special treatment~” Tamamo said with a dangerous smile as another three goons made themselves known.

This time it was Toya Setsuno and Yu Hojo, but in two blurs Tamamo and Artoria appeared beside them and they were down, one much gentler than the other. Artoria had chopped Toya at the base of the neck; Tamamo, not so merciful, kicked Yu Hojo viciously in the groin, sending him into a whimper before his eyes rolled back.

“I’d rather confront them head-on than do this, but you don’t always get what you want,” Artoria said, deciding not to comment on Tamamo’s rough treatment. She caught the stamp I threw at her, stamped her downed opponent, and passed the stamp to Tamamo, who joyfully did the same.

I let the last goon, Soramitsu Tabe, who had tried to sneak up on me, slid down my fist to the floor after a quick knockout, then stamped him as well.

“Let’s mov—”

The whole building shifted, walls seeming to come alive and try to separate us; we had to move fast to avoid getting cut off.

“Seems they have someone who can change the building to their pleasure. Sieg’s right, we should move,” Artoria said with a small frown. Tamamo and I nodded.

“Follow my lead, I know where the person doing this is,” I said, checking Target Tracker, then pulled out my sword and cut through the obstacles thrown at us.

“Sieg, should we separate? You said a group was heading this way, wouldn’t it be faster to split up and avoid running into the heroes of this world?” Artoria asked as we ran, smashing any walls that tried to close us off.

I glanced at the tracker; the dots that had been gathering nearby were now moving fast toward us. “You’re right. I’ll head for Chisaki and the one beside him. You two handle the remaining four. But first—” I slashed the ceiling open; the one responsible for turning the building into a maze revealed himself, surprised, and was quickly taken care of by a combined fist, tail, and kick from the three of us, respectively.

“That takes care of that,” I said, stamping him quickly. “Okay, this is where we split. Good luck you two. We’ll rendezvous at the agreed spot in thirty minutes. Try not to hurt them too badly,” I added, directing the last part mainly at Tamamo, who only smiled innocently with a twitch of her ears.

“Of course.” Artoria nodded with a serious look on her face.

Tamamo on the other hand surprised me: she pulled down my shirt, stood on her tiptoes, and gave me a quick kiss on the lips before skipping off. “That was for luck~” she winked. “Bye Sieg-kun, let’s go on another date soon, okay?”

Artoria blushed and muttered under her breath about Tamamo never listening as she moved toward her target trying to hide her expression from me.

I blinked, my lips still tingling and tasting of peaches, then shook my head. “Time for a well-deserved ass-kicking,” I muttered, and headed my own way.

It wasn’t long before I caught up to Chisaki and his assistant, Hari Kurono, who was currently disguised in a white cloak and bird mask.

They must have heard me approaching, because they stopped and turned to face me. Chisaki immediately recognized me and scowled, while Kurono tensed as if preparing for a fight.

“We meet again,” I muttered, coming to a stop a few feet from them, my sword held at my side and ready.

“You!” Chisaki almost spat, his fingers twitching as if he couldn’t wait to use his disintegration quirk on me. “Where is Eri?”

“That’s none of your business,” I said calmly, expression blank, then raised my sword to eye level. “The only reason I’m here today is to get rid of Eri’s last reminder of her past.”

No sooner had I declared that than Kurono moved. My sword-hand blurred as I cut down a strand of his hair that had extended toward me.

Chisaki slammed his hand onto the floor; the whole corridor deformed as spikes rose up, trying to skewer me. “Die!!” he shouted.

Unfortunately for them, I had a few things going for me: I was a genuine dragon, I could harden my skin with reinforcement magic if I wanted, and I was a Campione, with some my basic perks were having a freakishly tough and durable body.

When the dust settled, their faces were wide with surprise. None of the spikes had managed to pierce me.

“Tsk, some type of enhancement quirk. Kurono, buy me some time!” Chisaki clicked his tongue in annoyance and backed away as Kurono stepped forward.

“I won’t let you pass,” Kurono declared, trying to look menacing.

“You don’t have a choice in the matter,” I said, and advanced not being faced at all since Tamamo could be more scary in the mornings if she didn’t get her morning kiss recently.

More silver strands of hair launched at me; they met the same fate as the first and were swiftly cut down. Kurono slowly retreated, losing more and more hair. When I was almost upon him he raised his right hand and aimed a black gun at me and fired almost at point blank.

I braced for a real bullet not being too worried, but I wasn’t expecting a plastic red projectile with a tiny needle tip to struck the side of my neck. My body shrugged it off; the bullet bounced harmlessly to the floor.

“D—Damn it, it seems your enhancement quirk is tougher than I thought,” Kurono cursed, his arm dropping to his side as his will to fight ebbed.

“Was that supposed to do something?” I asked, tilting my head. I then remembered we were on a time limit, so I shook my head, rendered Kurono unconscious, stamped him, and moved on.

I broke into a jog toward where Chisaki had gone, wondering if the others had already finished with their opponents. Given how weak this world’s beings seemed, I had little doubt.

=====

With Tamamo

“Mufufufu, that was easy~ I hope Sieg-kun rewards me with something nice later, like maybe finally letting me wash his back~” Tamamo hummed to herself, her tails swaying and ears twitching happily as she stepped out of a random room.

Inside said room, the twitching, charred, and half-frozen forms of Kendo Rappa and Hekiji Tengai could just barely be seen clearly having seen better days.

=====

With Artoria

“Tsk, I can’t believe one of them managed to escape. Caster will no doubt tease me for this,” Artoria muttered with clear irritation, looking down at the unconscious form of Shin Nemoto, sporting a particularly nasty bump from where she had struck him with her sword hilt.

=====

Back With Sieg

“…Yeah, I’m sure they’re fine,” I said with a nod before entering a massive open chamber. There, at its center, waited Chisaki, rage written all over his face, and another one of his men trembling beside him.

“You ruined everything!” Chisaki screamed, his bloodshot eyes wild as he struck his subordinate with a careless slap, disassembling the poor fool in a grotesque spray of flesh before twisting his own body into something monstrous.

“The words of a man who tortured a child mean nothing to me,” I said, voice low and sharp. “I’m just here to give you a taste of what you made Eri endure.”

Raw magical energy burst from me, cracking the ground under my feet as I took a step forward.

Just as we both readied ourselves, the air shifted. Someone literally phased down from the white ceiling above us and landed between us, a tall teen dressed in blindingly bright colors, his blond hair gleaming like sunlight.