CHAPTER 57: 57. A DOLL CAN’T HAVE A LIFE!

Greg didn’t get much sleep that night. He saw Felix’s desperate face and heard the crack in his voice when he talked about being alone every time he closed his eyes.

The new construction made the usual creaks and settling sounds, but the workshop was otherwise quiet. Greg’s mind wouldn’t stop talking.

"Fucking hell... why did I even care about this stupid-ass idea?"

"Maybe I changed little by little because of the break I had with the Crimson Falcons." Greg sighed while groping his face.

He had made up his mind by the time the sun came up and shone through his window. At the very least, he had to try.

Greg found Felix already awake, sitting at the small table in his room with the doll carefully propped up in the chair across from him. The young man had dark circles under his eyes, which made it look like he hadn’t slept much either.

"Oh fucking god... it looks weirder the longer I see it." Greg said in his mind.

"Sensei," Felix said, getting up when Greg came in. "Have you made up your mind?"

"Can you help?"

"Okay, fine. I’ll try," Greg said, holding up a hand to stop Felix from getting too excited. "But first, I need you to understand something."

"I didn’t intend to create Mira at that time."

"I don’t have a magic formula or method that I can use again. I have no idea what’s going to happen, and there’s a good chance that nothing will happen."

"Do you understand what I just said before the disappointment came attacking you from every direction?"

Felix nodded quickly and said, "I understand. But the fact that you’re willing to try means everything to me."

"Okay then," Greg said, pointing to the doll. "Can I borrow her for the day?"

"I’ll take her to the forge and see what I can do."

Felix picked up the doll with surprising care, as if she were already alive and fragile. "Please look after her. I know she isn’t real yet, but she means a lot to me."

"I will," Greg said, picking up the surprisingly heavy figure.

And again he thinks that the work was truly wonderful. He could see the individual painted eyelashes, the slight blush on the cheeks, and the delicate shaping of the fingers when he got close.

Someone really knew what they were doing when they made this. But skill and soul were not the same thing.

Greg took the doll to his part of the forge, ignoring the looks of curiosity from Bork and Seraphine. He carefully placed her on his main workbench so that she was sitting up straight, and then he just stared at her for a long time.

"Okay," he said to himself. "How the fuck do I do this?"

When he made the ladle that became Mira, he wasn’t thinking about making life. He had been thinking about Lylia and how she had given up her sword to open a restaurant.

He wanted to support her decision so much. He had put real love and care into that simple kitchen tool, and for some reason, that was enough.

But this? This was a different feeling. He was trying to make something that had happened on its own before. It was like trying to fall asleep by telling yourself to do so, and the more you thought about it, the harder it got.

He had to try, though.

...

Greg tried everything he could think of for the next few hours. He carefully carved runes, believed to promote life and awareness, to add magic to the doll’s internal structure.

He tried to send his mana through her, picturing warmth and awareness flowing into the body he had made. He even tried to talk to her about Felix’s situation and see if there was any sign of consciousness that might respond.

Nothing worked. The doll stayed the same, a beautifully made object that was completely lifeless. Greg tried everything he could think of to get her to move, but she stayed still. Greg’s hands were shaking, and his head was pounding by late morning.

"Fuck," he said under his breath as he sat back down on his stool. "This isn’t going to work."

"Do you need help?" Seraphine asked as she looked up from her research station.

"What’s wrong?"

Greg said, "That’s putting it mildly."

"I can’t figure out how to do what happened with Mira again. It’s like trying to remember how to breathe. I know it happened, but I can’t explain how it happened."

"Maybe because it wasn’t a process," Seraphine said. "Magic that comes from pure emotion doesn’t always make sense."

"You can’t make someone feel something real, and without that, the spark won’t start."

Greg knew she was right, but that didn’t make it any easier to deal with. He looked at the doll on his workbench. It was still beautiful, perfect, and completely empty.

Greg said softly, "I need to tell Felix that I can’t do this."

When Greg found Felix and told him what had happened, the young man’s face showed how upset he was, which was worse than Greg had thought. Felix tried to hide it by smiling bravely and saying he understood, but his eyes told a different story.

"It’s okay, Sensei," Felix said, his voice too high. "Thanks for trying."

"I guess you can’t make some miracles happen, can you?"

"Felix," Greg said, but he didn’t know what else to say. What kind of comfort could he give?

That’s when Elwen showed up, having heard the conversation. "Felix," she said softly. "How about we go fishing?"

"The lake isn’t too far away, and I’ve heard that the afternoon catch is supposed to be great this time of year."

"Getting away from the workshop for a while might help."

Felix looked like he wanted to say no, but Elwen’s kind face made him agree. "Yes... Yes! That sounds wonderful!"

Greg saw them get ready to leave and suddenly had an idea about fishing on this calm day. The simple pleasure of sitting by the water with a line in hand and waiting for something to bite.

That was precisely the kind of calm thing he wanted to do with his new life. And maybe, that peace was what Felix needed right now.

"Hold on," Greg said. "I’m going with you."

"And I have an idea."

Greg came out of the forge twenty minutes later with three fishing rods. They weren’t fancy, but they were just simple poles with good line and basic hooks. And they had that telltale glow that meant his system had noticed.

The system pops out in front of his face.

[Item Made: Fishing Rods of Peaceful Contemplation]

[Quality Level: A]

[Special Properties: Guaranteed to catch something intriguing, promotes calm reflection, and gives you a little bit of luck]

[Warning: May catch some monsters lurking in the depths]

Greg said with some relief, "Not SSS-rank. Thank God for small favors."

"And no comment from the gods themselves. Good."