Today, we visited the doll workshop. Lowell was away gathering information, but everyone else accompanied me. As soon as I opened the door, Jot-san, who had been waiting for us, spoke up.
“Ah, Tort-kun, I’ve been expecting you. Shall we get straight to the contract? Come this way, please.”
As Jot-san mentioned, the purpose of today’s visit was to sign a formal contract for the life-sized bodies for the Petit Golems. He had even gone so far as to call in a representative from the Merchant Guild for the occasion.
Not wanting to keep them waiting, I followed Jot-san to the reception area in the back. Halfa and the others decided to browse the dolls in the workshop, and the Petit Golems—minus Allen—went with them. Consequently, my only companions for the meeting were Shiroru and Allen.
A man was waiting for us in the space we were shown. He was a bit too young to be called an "old man," I suppose. I assumed he was with the Merchant Guild, but he didn't fit the image I had in mind. Most guild staff I’d met were high-energy and boisterous, but this man seemed soft-spoken and gentle. And his face… was it just me?
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Kepner. As you’ve likely noticed, Jot is my father. I apologize for any trouble he’s caused you. I understand he’s been pressuring you to disclose some confidential techniques.”
I knew it! I thought he looked a lot like Jot-san, and it turned out they really were father and son.
“Ah, nice to meet you. I’m Tort. It’s not really something as grand as a ‘confidential technique.’ It’s just a bit unique, so I’m not sure if anyone other than me can actually handle it, but…”
In truth, regarding the production of the life-sized bodies, Jot-san had proposed a very specific arrangement. He’d asked that the payment not be in coin, but in knowledge: specifically, the method of creating sentient golems using doll bodies as a base.
I had already told him that I didn't fully understand why beings like Allen had come to be, and I didn't think I could actually teach the process. However, he had insisted that he wanted to know if there was even the slightest possibility, and I hadn't been able to turn him down.
“Why is Father going to such lengths…?”
When I explained the situation, Kepner-san looked at Jot-san with a bewildered expression. It seemed he hadn't been told the full story.
Under his son’s gaze, Jot-san mumbled sheepishly.
“It’s for Ril’s sake…”
“For Ril?”
Ril was Jot-san’s granddaughter—and presumably Kepner-san’s daughter. She had been born with a condition in her legs that made it difficult for her to walk or go out on her own. Perhaps because of that, she spent her days confined to the house, and lately, she had been quite despondent.
It appeared Jot-san intended to create a golem to support her. He likely believed that an autonomous golem like Allen could look after her even after he was gone, serving as both a helper and a source of emotional support.
“So that was it… Tort-kun, if this is for my daughter’s sake, then I must ask as well. Please, lend us your strength!”
“Please, raise your head! I’ll do whatever I can!”
After hearing the story, Kepner-san bowed his head deeply. I hurriedly moved to stop him.
Teaching the golem-making process was simply the price I was paying to get the bodies made for Allen and the others. Since it was just a fair exchange, it made me feel restless to have someone bow to me like that—especially since I didn't even know if my method could actually be taught.
It took some effort to calm down Kepner-san, who kept repeating his pleas, but we eventually managed to finalize the contract. With the formalities out of the way, I could finally explain the process.
“To create a golem, you first need to learn the Create Golem magic, but…”
“There’s no problem there. I’ve already mastered it.”
“Eh!? Really?”
“Yes. I used my connections to buy up several scrolls.”
Create Golem was a rare skill scroll that wasn't even stocked by the Mage Guild. It wasn't the kind of thing you could just find by looking for it. Just what kind of connections did he have to pull that off?
I instinctively looked toward Kepner-san, who gave a wry smile and shook his head.
“It wasn't my doing. In fact, I only became a guild official because of my father’s connections.”
To my surprise, it turned out Jot-san had only become a dollmaker about two years ago. Before that, he had served as the Vice Guild Master of the Merchant Guild. He’d used the massive network he’d built during those years to track down the scrolls.
“Have you tried making one yet?”
“I gave it a try, but as I feared, I can only manifest them from earth. And as for an ego… it doesn't seem to have one.”
“I see…”
Jot-san wasn't particularly skilled in magic and was essentially an amateur in that field. Because of that, I thought it was too early to judge what he was capable of. However, the golems I made had possessed egos from the very start. After all, Petit No. 1—Allen—had been my first attempt.
I asked him to make a golem right there as a test, but just as I thought, it showed no signs of sentience.
“Allen, what do you think?”
I had Allen check it just in case, but he simply shook his head silently. It really didn't have an ego.
“How do you do it, Tort-kun?”
“Well—”
In my case, sentient golems happened unconsciously, so I actually had to focus if I wanted to make a non-sentient one. When I explained this, both Jot-san and Kepner-san looked visibly dejected.
“Does that mean… it’s impossible for me to create a golem like Allen?”
“We don't know that yet. The flexibility of magic depends on your skill level and your visualization. If you raise your level in Non-Elemental Magic, you might get different results.”
At the very least, I felt it was too soon to give up. Besides, I actually had an idea of my own—though it was a bit of a departure from simply teaching Jot-san the spell.
“I wonder if it’s possible to turn my magic into a magic tool?”
If we could realize that, wouldn't the problem be solved?