Chapter 119

My hand slipped.

A coin spilled out of the belly of the severed plush doll’s lower half.

“...!”

I hurriedly plugged the opening and pressed the two pieces of the doll together, pointlessly.

“Braun?”

But of course, there was no response.

The stuffed doll’s upper half merely slid off its lower half.

“...”

No...

No, wait. Maybe it was because I kept watching him...!

“Braun.”

I turned my head away, closed my eyes, and held the doll close to my ear.

Then...

-■■, ■■■■■...

“...!!”

I heard a vibration from the doll.

It was definitely a signal.

But it was very faint, crackling like a radio frequency I had happened to brush past.

‘He’s still in there.’

He was still there. Then...

‘The Blood Bathtub!’

With a click, I immediately locked the train restroom door. Then I pulled a small checkered bathtub with gold feet out of the tattoo on my wrist.

Also known as the Bathtub of Youth.

I set it on the floor with a thud, carefully placed the nearly bisected doll inside, and then...

I picked up the utility-knife blade dropped by the passenger who lay unconscious after his failed attack.

And drew it across my forearm.

Blood streamed from the ruptured vessels.

‘There’s no time to think about alternatives in an emergency like this...!’

If I cut the unconscious man’s arm, he might wake up, or I might not be able to stop the bleeding.

‘I can’t handle things getting any further out of control.’

My blood poured into the Blood Bathtub. A rich, fragrant aroma of wood rose from it.

Soaking up the bath solution, the doll began to swell and grow...

It was becoming young again.

Its fur grew cleaner and glossier, and a mysterious light shone in its pebble-like eyes.

Then it began growing rapidly.

It was as if it had crossed some threshold. Drenched in bath solution, the doll grew beyond its keychain size until it filled both hands.

Just like the original Good Friend doll.

POP-POP.

Unable to withstand the pressure, the bow-tie-shaped hair tie sprang off and stuck to one side of the tub.

That was how unmistakable the change was.

But, but...

The doll was still silent.

“...”

Holding my breath, I turned my head away and listened to the doll again.

Even the vibration I had heard earlier was gone.

Severed at the waist, the plush doll merely floated on the Blood Bathtub’s fragrant bath solution...

“...”

I stared at the doll again.

Now large enough to fill the little Blood Bathtub, the Good Friend plush gleamed like a brand-new doll fresh from an artisan’s workshop.

But it was still cut in two.

‘Oh.’

The Bathtub of Youth literally restored youth... It did not heal wounds...

“...”

I had known that, really.

No, it was more that I had known, but tried anyway...

The Good Friend plush doll was broken.

I took a deep breath.

‘... It’s okay.’

I could get another one.

Right. Couldn’t I get one from its original source instead of a merchandise box?

Gaiety Theme Park was still there. The Good Friend plush was something you could get at its souvenir shop.

‘I had to go there anyway. This is actually more efficient.’

I would get a Good Friend doll there. And summon him again exactly as I had before...

...

“... Ha.”

Who was I kidding?

I already knew, didn’t I?

The Good Friend summoning method did not call a specific being by name. It called “someone from the Other World.”

‘What guarantee is there that summoning again would bring the same being?’

No, having the same being appear again would be the strange outcome.

I had read the summoning logs in <Records of Dark Exploration> for the fun of seeing someone different appear every time.

‘Haha.’

Ha...

“...”

At this point, I had to admit it.

Regardless of any mental contamination, I had grown quite attached to this bizarre plush doll...

‘But how could I not?’

He really had been a “good friend,” after all.

A friend who encouraged me when things were hard, got angry alongside me when I was angry, shared heart-to-heart conversations, and chatted with me while we watched variety shows late at night.

A friend who put me first without any ulterior calculations.

The kind of friend you only made back when you were a kid in school...

“...”

Right.

Let’s try everything I can.

“Maybe I could sew him up.”

If that didn’t work, I could look for a restoration item, or enter a ghost story that repaired things... There was plenty of information I could dig up, plenty of things I could try.

If only for my own sanity.

“Let’s try.”

I felt a little calmer.

My mind, thrown into a panic by something that had happened without warning or any way to anticipate it, regained its composure and began making calculations.

‘First, clean this up.’

I reached into the Blood Bathtub and lifted out Braun’s dangling upper and lower halves.

I was just about to tidy up the stuffing as best I could and put the doll away when...

‘Huh?’

A fluttering scrap of fabric on the back of the doll caught my eye.

A small rectangle of silk sewn into the seam joining its head and body.

‘... A tag?’

Apparently, the faint trace that had sprouted during its previous soak in the Blood Bathtub had been fully restored by this bath.

‘The Good Friend’s... product label?’

You know the sort. Something listing the country of origin, washing and care instructions, or perhaps the buyer’s or maker’s signature.

My eyes drifted to it.

It certainly had the dimensions and layout of a label, with tiny, unfamiliar characters arranged in strange lines of text.

But something else stood out overwhelmingly.

Huge letters scrawled over all that information in black marker, as if censoring it.

LABEL MUST BE REMOVED

[“Ah.”]

[“There it is.”]

SNAP.

An enormous hand snatched the tag.

It wore a smart dress glove.

Its thumb swept over the label, hiding nearly all the writing as it tugged on the tag.

[“Found it.”]

That hand...

Was shooting up from inside the bisected Good Friend doll I was holding.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK.

The doll’s lower half split apart. Beyond the arm that had emerged completely, a shoulder squeezed out, and then the other arm forced its way out and braced against the sink.

Soon, the rest of the enormous body spilled into view, filling the tiny restroom.

An enormous body clad in a smart brown three-piece suit. Long legs, black lace-up shoes beneath them, and...

An old-fashioned television in place of a head.

A smile.

[

mark1

]

Having squeezed out of the doll’s utterly ruined lower half, the enormous old-fashioned TV head tilted toward me.

[“Mr. Soleum!”]

My head shook.

The Host had hold of my shoulders.

[“Oh dear, you must have been very worried about me. Haha! There’s no need to worry anymore. Now... your dependable Host, Braun, has arrived!”]

The Host from the ghost story waved the tag between his fingers. The plush doll’s tattered upper half swung limply beneath it.

[“Ah, restoring this tag was a truly excellent choice! It let me find my way to this address. Phew.”]

[“Now, I certainly won’t turn down admiration, praise, or applause... Haha, but in all modesty, this was only possible because I had just finished rehearsing for a live broadcast.”]

[“At any rate, here we are together again already!”]

“...”

[“Mr. Soleum?”]

What was this?

[“... You don’t look particularly happy. Hmm... Ah, is it because this stuffed doll is broken? Yes, an audience is always influenced by what it sees... That’s it!”]

SNAP.

The Host snapped his fingers.

[“How about this?”]

The emoticon vanished from his TV head.

In its place, something came trudging into view on the screen.

... A Good Friend rabbit doll wearing a bow tie.

[“There, your friend’s stuffing-filled body! Well? Isn’t it just as cute inside my screen? Oh, it’s waving.”]

“The Good Friend...”

[“Yes. Right here, you see? Your good friend! I, Braun!”]

No.

“The Good Friend...”

“Is a doll.”

...

[“Mr. Soleum.”]

CLICK.

A pinpoint spotlight pierced the cramped studio space that had been a restroom.

Now the spotlight shone on the legendary Host and me.

I couldn’t turn my head.

[“So that’s why you’ve been so reserved. You’ve been under a grave misapprehension... It’s all right. I hate to say it myself, but the one standing before you is a very kind and capable show host.”]

[“As always, I have quite a talent for explanations. Now...”]

The gloved hand took a proper hold of the broken doll, rather than its tag.

The Good Friend rabbit doll being broadcast on the television screen he had for a head vanished, and the smiling emoticon filled its place again.

And then...

WHOOOSH.

... The Good Friend plush doll in the Host’s hand...

Was burned to ashes.

[“This is nothing.”]

With each brisk clap of the Host’s hands, less than a handful of ash fell from his gloves and scattered across the floor.

I watched blankly.

But.

‘Wasn’t it supposed to put just part of him inside the doll, making him like a friend—’

[“Now... let’s think back. How did you call your friend?”]

...

A strange object that invited someone from the Other World, allowing part of their mind to inhabit the doll and become your friend.

In other words,

Using a plush doll, a necktie, and a coin, I had...

[“Invited me.”]

The Host pointed at himself.

[“Does a broken telephone cancel a dinner date? Does smashing a mailbox make the bills disappear? Does tearing up a love letter break up the lovers? We already know the answer.”]

[“No!”]

[“Then... here’s the question.”]

[“Does breaking the doll revoke your invitation?”]

The Host spread his arms.

[“Of course not!”]

Oh.

[“The ritual you performed is eternal. Oh, yes...”]

“...”

My rigid mind slowly pieced together a sentence.

‘So...’

The Good Friend ritual did not summon just part of a nonhuman being, trap it in a doll, and turn it into a friend.

It was simply that the plush doll acted as a filter, allowing only a limited part of that being to manifest.

Like pretend play for small children.

[“Do you wish to keep calling this ritual friendship? Then I have become your friend forever, Mr. Soleum! Ah, what beautiful words. Eternal friendship!”]

The emoticon on the TV head briefly grew misty-eyed with emotion before returning to a smile.

[“And our MVP contestant proves himself a master of timing once again! This happens to be an excellent time, Mr. Soleum...”]

The hand holding my shoulder patted my back encouragingly.

Then he said,

[“Preparations for the new talk show are complete.”]

“...!”

[“New people, a new set, new music, a new season... Everything is ready for filming. My humble talk show, dedicated solely to the audience’s enjoyment.”]

[“It is my pleasure to introduce your new workplace...”]

No.

I instinctively stepped back.

Open the door, get out first, get out of this spotlight and clear my head, think...

[“Oh dear.”]

The smiling emoticon vanished from the TV head.

No.

The screen went black.

[“You said you were a fan of my show, that even merely applying to participate made you so happy, and now you would flee the opportunity to become part of the talk show? After receiving my advice and assistance, my wholehearted support and devotion, this is the choice you make.”]

[“Mr. Soleum, isn’t friendship supposed to be a mutually supportive relationship? Such an emotional, unilateral rejection! I, I... am hurt.”]

I felt like throwing up.

“S-sorry...”

[“Oh! But there’s no need to apologize, Mr. Soleum. Thoughtless apologies are not a virtue a show creator needs.”]

[“And I am a host who can always look into and understand the other person’s innermost thoughts and feelings...”]

[“So.”]

The next moment.

[“I, Braun, will do my utmost to persuade you.”]

Beaming.

A smiling emoticon filled the entire screen.

Filled it.

Completely.