“Petit No. 1, how are you feeling?”
When I asked, Petit No. 1 gave me a smile and a thumbs-up. It seemed he liked his new look quite a bit.
I was impressed to see he could even move his fingers. Perhaps because of the high quality of the doll, he was capable of remarkably fine motor control. With his facial expressions now so rich, it was much easier to tell what he was thinking.
“Oh, this is marvelous!”
His previous skepticism vanished instantly, replaced by a voice trembling with excitement. Jot-san snatched Petit No. 1 from my hands with startling speed and began observing him at point-blank range. Well, I suppose seeing his own creation gain a will and move like a human must have struck a chord in him as a dollmaker. He didn't seem to mean any harm, so I decided to leave him to his investigation for the moment.
Besides, I had my hands full. No. 2 and the others were closing in on me, practically begging for their own body swaps. They raised their hands near their faces and shuffled forward with slow, deliberate steps—looking exactly like zombies. I had no idea where they’d learned that particular performance.
Pestered by the remaining trio, I proceeded to animate the rest of the dolls using Create Golem. With the successful sensation of No. 1’s transformation still fresh in my mind, the process went even more smoothly this time. Soon, all of them were grinning from ear to ear, clearly thrilled with their high-quality bodies. Seeing them so happy made me wonder if I’d been making them suffer through unnecessary inconveniences until now. If so, I felt a little guilty.
“Whoa! Everyone looks so cool now!” Halfa cheered.
『Right! Though Tort’s weird little guys weren't so bad either!』 Shiroru added.
They both seemed delighted by the reborn Petit Golems. I appreciated Shiroru’s attempt at a silver lining, even if it wasn't much of one.
“I know, Tort! Since we’re at it, why don't we give them all new names?”
“Hmm, I don’t know. Petit No. 1 and the others usually refuse whenever I bring it up...”
The Petit Golems seemed to have a strange attachment to the names I’d first given them. Every time I had suggested a change in the past, they had stubbornly turned me down.
Today, however, their reaction was different.
Upon hearing our conversation, No. 2 and the others huddled together and began to confer. Even No. 1—who had managed to slip away from Jot-san—joined in, and the four of them engaged in a very serious debate. Eventually, they seemed to reach a conclusion, and No. 1 stepped forward as their representative. He made a circle over his head with both hands—the universal sign for "OK." Come to think of it, perhaps because their physical structure had changed, he’d stopped making those electronic beeping sounds.
“Wait, you’re actually okay with changing them? Hmm, let me think...”
I wondered what had caused this change of heart after they’d been so adamant about keeping their old names. It was likely the influence of their renewed forms. Maybe they felt that their new appearances deserved names to match. It probably felt a bit uncool to be called "Petit No. 1" when you looked like a dashing swordsman.
Now then, what would be a good fit? The expectant gazes of the Petit Golems put me under a fair amount of pressure. It was even worse now that their faces were so expressive. If I gave them names that lacked style, they’d be crushed. And if they hated the new names, they might never let me change them again. This was a dilemma; I couldn't just choose something on a whim.
“Actually, Jot-san, do these dolls have names?”
When I asked, Jot-san explained that he’d given each doll a temporary name during production. I shared them with the Petit Golems to see what they thought, and they seemed to find them quite fitting. Thus, we decided to adopt those as their official names. In order from No. 1 to No. 4, they were now Allen, Milly, Shara, and Pino.
“Nice to meet you all officially!”
The Petit Golems responded to my greeting with their own individual poses. In the past, they would have all snapped into a simultaneous salute, but they felt much more human now.
“But with these bodies, are you going to hate switching back to your Work Bodies? How do you feel about that?”
When I voiced my concern, Petit No. 1—or rather, Allen—shook his head. He clenched a fist and mimed a determined speech. His expressions were better, but since he still couldn't talk, I couldn't quite catch the specifics. I took it to mean that they would still work hard.
When I had Shiroru confirm, she told me his meaning was more or less exactly that. That was a relief.
In an ideal world, the Work Bodies would just be life-sized versions of these dolls, but I doubted I could ask Jot-san for that. Even if he agreed, wood carvings would have durability issues for heavy labor.
...Or so I thought.
“Did I hear you mention ‘Work Bodies’?” Jot-san chimed in. “Do you intend to create even larger golems? And you’d prefer them to be humanoid like these? If so, would you let me craft them for you?”
“Eh? Oh, well... they’re for manual labor, so they need to be extremely sturdy...”
“I see. So wood isn't durable enough? In that case, we should use metal. If you have the materials, I can make it work.”
“Ah, I actually have plenty of iron.”
“Excellent! That’s a huge help. I can reach out to a blacksmith workshop I know to handle the initial shaping. After that... yes, I believe I can manage it.”
Wait, how did I end up commissioning him for this?
Well, I wasn't complaining. If he could actually pull it off, it would be an incredible help.