Rumor has it that in a certain nameless alleyway, there's a peculiar little shop that doesn't belong to any familia.
Rumor has it that inside this strange little shop, you can find immense satisfaction.
Rumor has it that the shop's owner, though human, possesses beauty rivaling that of a goddess.
Rumor has it that every doll in this curious little shop holds a unique, special power.
Rumor has it…
Rumor has it…
"Nothing but rumors!! What kind of nonsense are these so-called rumors?!"
In that nameless alley, inside that peculiar little shop filled with all sorts of strange dolls, a girl with goddess-like looks was furiously tearing apart the Orario Daily in her hands.
"That damn Hermes! How dare he mess with me!"
Alice crossed her arms on the table, her beautiful blue eyes narrowing slightly. A dangerous glint flashed within them, making her expression look anything but friendly.
Under the table, her leg bounced incessantly, a clear sign of her agitation.
Then, Alice stood up and walked over to a nearby cabinet. She opened a drawer labeled "Hermes," pulled out a piece of cloth, and returned to her work desk. With swift, practiced movements, she began crafting a small voodoo doll.
Though the doll itself looked rather eerie, Alice's incredible skill somehow gave it a strangely cute appearance.
"Heh heh." Alice smirked coldly as she gazed at the voodoo doll in her hand. "Since you dared to trick me, don't blame me for what happens next. This doesn't count as me breaking our agreement—you're the one who breached it first."
With that, five steel needles appeared in her hand, and she drove them straight into the doll's chest.
The voodoo doll gradually began to fade, eventually vanishing entirely.
"Hmph, just making it disappear is letting you off easy. If I hadn't held back, I'd have made it explode tonight right when you tried to pull one of your stunts." Alice brushed off her hands, watching as the doll dissolved into specks of starlight. She instantly felt much better.
After that, she hummed a little tune and set to work seriously crafting her dolls.
Alice didn't know who she was or where she came from.
The only thing she knew was her name—Alice.
Her mind was filled with countless methods of crafting dolls.
Her mind held extensive knowledge of magic.
And deep within her memories, there was another girl—one who shared her appearance, with short, wavy golden hair, dressed in cute frilly clothes, who loved reading but hated moving, leaving everything to her dolls.
That girl in her memories was also named Alice, but she knew she wasn't that Alice.
Everything in those memories felt foreign to her, even her most skilled craft—doll-making. For Alice, who had awakened in this city, it was still an unfamiliar art.
It was through relentless practice that Alice had honed her doll-making skills to a level so sublime it seemed almost divine.
She had put in a great deal of effort to reach this point.
And why was it considered divine-level craftsmanship?
Well, someone who had purchased one of her dolls had given it as a gift to Hephaestus, the goddess of forging.
After examining the doll, Hephaestus herself declared that the craftsmanship surpassed even that of the gods. The customer who had bought Alice's doll used it to obtain a supremely powerful piece of equipment from Hephaestus in return.
From that day on, a frenzy swept through Orario—Alice's dolls became highly sought after, known for their ability to be traded for high-grade equipment from Hephaestus.
Alice was thrilled that her dolls had gained such popularity.
But...
At the time, she had no idea her dolls were in such demand. Back then, Alice was broke and had to set up a stall on the streets.
After facing some trouble early on due to her stunning looks, she started wearing a large cloak that covered her completely, so no one ever got a clear glimpse of her face.
Once she'd saved up a bit of money, Alice bought herself a small shop in this remote alley.
By the time she learned about the craze surrounding her dolls, three whole months had passed since that customer had gifted one to Hephaestus.
In Orario, three months is a long time—enough for plenty to happen. Gradually, the idea that Alice's dolls could be traded for top-tier equipment became little more than an urban legend.
On top of that, over those three months, the market became flooded with poorly made knock-offs pretending to be Alice's creations.
So, the genuine dolls made by Alice were once again reduced to being seen as just ordinary, pretty handicrafts.
The thought of it made Alice stamp her feet in frustration, furious that she hadn't learned about the hype sooner. If she had, she could have traded her dolls for Hephaestus-made weapons and made a fortune.
Although she still had a few customers now, Alice seriously doubted any of them would recognize her dolls as the real deal and try to trade them for equipment.
Besides, her regulars—powerful adventurers from the Loki Familia, one of Orario's two major Familias, who were Level 5—probably didn't need the money from trading dolls for gear anyway.
But just a couple of days ago, something happened that made Alice think her business was about to take off.
Hermes, the god of the Hermes Familia, paid a visit to her little doll shop and placed an order.
He'd seen exquisitely crafted life-sized dolls at the Loki Familia's place and came to Alice requesting a custom life-sized doll with… special functions.
Of course, Alice flat-out refused such a perverted request.
Making a [Ais Doll] for Lefiya and a [Finn Doll] for Tione was fine—after all, those two just used them as hug pillows.
But Hermes had made his request with a lewd grin, and even though Alice had no memories from before arriving in Orario, she still had a good sense of common decency. She immediately turned him down.
In the end, the only reason she agreed to make it was because Hermes offered her something she couldn't refuse.
[I'll use all the Hermes Familia's channels to advertise your little doll shop for a full week. After that, Miss Alice, your dolls will be priceless treasures, and you'll become the wealthiest person in Orario.]
Hearing that, Alice wavered and eventually crafted a [Freya Doll] for Hermes as part of their deal.
But then…
A week of advertising had come and gone, and her shop remained as quiet as ever.
After all, her shop was tucked away in a remote alley, and Hermes's ads were so vague they didn't even mention the location. How could anyone possibly find their way here?
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T/N: If yall curious on who Alice is, it's Alice Margatroid from Touhou Project. I actually haven't played the games. However, it looked like it had a lot of potential and a whole lot of chapters. Its a crossover fanfic.
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
20+ advanced chaps on my patreon.
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.