Magical Journey: The Other Shore Blooms on the Other Shore

From the moment of their creation, magical dolls must carry out commands set by humans.

If life is a stage play, then magical dolls must be prostitutes dancing in shackles. They have no emotions; they are products of machinery.

"Master... is there anything I need to do today?" On the first day Diana was brought home by Kafka, she instinctively wanted to show her usefulness to her new master.

Although half of her face was scratched and she had difficulty moving her legs, she was still valuable as long as her master needed her; that was the value of a magical doll.

“Your body parts are still en route, so you don’t need to work today.” Kafka, a magical clockmaker, sat at his workstation, one eye wearing a professional magnifying glass. Repairing one magical clock after another was his job. “Besides, I told you yesterday to call me Kafka.”

This craft has been passed down from his father for more than a dozen generations.

Their family is renowned throughout the country for their clock repair skills. Clocks made by them have a time error of less than one ten-thousandth compared to standard time, and they are also inexpensive.

Upon hearing that she wouldn't need to work, Diana clearly panicked.

This immediately reminded her of how she was kicked out of the factory by the owner – wasn't it because she didn't need to work?

Because of my low efficiency, I was eliminated.

Now, his new master doesn't even allow him to call him master.

Diana immediately froze on the spot. Her android core was completely filled with fear. Although she did not understand what fear was, she could not think for even a second at this moment.

"What's wrong, Diana?" Kafka noticed Diana seemed to have lost her composure. "Are you feeling unwell?"

"Master, don't you want me anymore?"

“I brought you back yesterday, and I’m throwing you away today? I don’t have time for that,” Kafka laughed. “Sit quietly and wait for the parts to arrive so I can fix you up.”

Diana, who seemed to instinctively believe that her master was right and who would even blame herself for her incompetence when she was eliminated, immediately accepted Kafka's words.

For the next few days, she did no work; instead, Kafka repaired her broken parts.

Generally speaking, the mechanical structure of magical dolls is very complex. Except for the most advanced models which have the ability to self-absorb materials for repair, ordinary dolls like hers must be repaired by going to a professional shop.

But Kafka repaired it himself, and being very skillful, he did it with great expertise.

A few days later, Diana looked completely transformed.

Even the problem of his own mobility impairment that he had since birth was completely cured after the replacement of the new parts.

“Master, what do you need me to do next?” Diana asked.

She simply wanted to fulfill the mission of a magical doll; a good magical doll is one that benefits humanity.

“Help me out, I need an assistant,” Kafka said. “And don’t call me master anymore, I have a name, I’m Kafka.”

The term "assistant" simply means that when Kafka was repairing watches, Diana was responsible for handing him various parts. In fact, even without Diana, Kafka could have done the job very well on his own.

It seems like Kafka deliberately assigned her an easy task so she wouldn't feel sorry for herself.

But Diana was unaware of this; she was content with the sense of accomplishment she felt from being able to help her master.

Although she had no idea what a sense of accomplishment was.

Diana always addressed Kafka as "master," a habit that only began to change slowly over the years. During those years, the two, one human and one puppet, enjoyed each other's company immensely in their small workshop.

Until that day came, this perfect situation gradually changed.

“I don’t need to be equipped with new magical dolls,” Kafka refused the order brought by the kingdom officials.

“This is the order from above, Mr. Kafka, please don’t make things difficult for me,” the official said. “It’s just that you’re asked to accept it, and it’s your right to leave it alone. Neither I nor my superiors can control your will.”

The Garden Witch Council has issued an edict requiring each person to be equipped with a new type of (headless) magical doll, and now, that official is merely following orders.

Under pressure from the officials, Kafka had no choice but to accept the provision of this headless magical puppet.

In response to Kafka's situation, the magical doll provided to Kafka was a clock repair specialist.

The enactment of this law is undoubtedly part of the schemes of the radical faction within the government. Once those who use headless magical dolls have tasted the benefits, the opposition to completely banning humanoid magical dolls will not be so pronounced.

Upon meeting her new family member, Diana felt very uneasy looking at the new member.

She was replaced by such a magical doll.

She ended up on the streets because of that doll at that factory.

Now, is there no escaping it?

“Diana, I won’t use it. It has no soul.” Kafka seemed to sense Diana’s concern. “Alright, let’s get to work.”

Diana, who usually believed everything she heard, hesitated when she heard these words.

She discovered that her previously unwavering trust in her master had unknowingly softened, perhaps due to old emotional trauma.

really?

Am I really not going to be replaced?

“You have advantages that these guys can’t match,” Kafka said. “I’d rather die than be with these cold, inanimate machines.”

"Lord... Mr. Kafka, why did you take me in in the first place? Diana was so useless," Diana asked.

At that moment, she was completely unaware that she had made a groundbreaking achievement that most magical dolls could not accomplish—thinking about things other than giving commands.

Logically speaking, the magical dolls wouldn't care about this at all; they just need to complete their tasks.

Perhaps, like Holberly, the accumulation of various emotions over the years, as well as the influence of the magic of high-precision magical equipment, caused some kind of mutation in her body.

“I can’t stand you lying on the roadside.” Kafka didn’t think much of it. “I think you, like us, have living souls.”

"A living soul?"

“When I was a child, I accidentally fell into the water. Instead of saving me, my friends mocked me. It was a magical doll that saved me. I’ve always known that you’re not just fools who obey orders.”

“I don’t understand. Saving you is clearly the second principle we must follow. I think the magical doll that saved its master thought the same thing.” Diana tilted her head.

“Even so—you are more human than many humans, and you have more souls than they do,” Kafka said.

“I see—Master is always right,” Diana said with a smile.

"Aren't you going to change your tune?"

“Mr. Kafka, Diana is coming to work now.”