CH 144

[Reboot]

The rectangular opening made in the lower back of New Ayako (working name).

Placed in it is a single page ripped from the grimoire that is the daemon’s main body.

A dizzying number of magic circles and characters are written on the page in a circle, the center of which I am trying to squeeze Ayako’s soul into.

As I am hard at work, Ethel, having plenty of free time, is talking with the daemon about ‘Puppetry’ skill.

“So, those who practice ‘Puppetry’ control their puppets by sending their commands and magical power—that is the fuel, so to speak—into the puppets through magic wires.

“A part of their consciousness they have planted in the puppets then translates the commands into actions for the puppets, acting kind of like a substitute for the brain—did I get that right?” Ethel asks.

“You may put it that way. Additionally, the thing called consciousness itself is closely related to one’s own soul. Hence the act of splitting one’s consciousness is equivalent to splitting one’s soul. It is no exaggeration to say that puppeteers split their souls to plant in their puppets,” the daemon explains.

“Splitting the soul, huh. So, in a state where their consciousness—or should I say, soul—split, puppeteers still have to channel their magical power into their puppets while at the same time specifying their each and every move. And that Joseph guy controls not only one but dozens of puppets… what a monster.”

“Not to mention, he controls them not just for simple chores, but for combat; the speed of his thought transmission must be out of the norm. I suppose that’s what happens when a talented person put in the effort to polish up their craft to the point of madness. Calling him a ‘demon’ is only fitting.” The daemon then yells at me, “On that note, since you don’t even have the slightest bit of talent to show for, I wouldn’t call you a demon no matter how insane you are. Aren’t you glad to hear that?”

That bastard, the nerve of it to insult me just because I am struggling to insert Ayako’s soul.

Should I make it remember that my promise to never get involved with it again is only effective after the contract is fulfilled not while it is being carried out?

“Stop it. Tōru is the type of person who will say that while he promised not to get involved with you once the deal is done, he never promised not to touch you when the deal is going and slash at you in an instant,” says Ethel.

“Tsk, how did you know?”

“See?” Ethel gestures to me while looking at the daemon.

“My apologies, that was a slip of the tongue. I take back my words.” The daemon lowers its head.

If you’re going to apologize anyway, then you shouldn’t have provoked others in the first place. Only those who have no intention of apologizing or regretting their actions are qualified to provoke others.

…Uhh, that sort of sounds like something only scums would say. Even if I think that way, I’d better not say it out loud.

“Still, if that’s the case, what’s Ayako’s soul, then? If puppeteers put their split souls into their puppets, how did her soul come about?” asks Ethel.

“There are two possibilities. First, her soul is a product of fantasy so strong that it eroded the caster’s consciousness, causing the split soul to recognize itself as ‘Asanaga Ayako’,” the daemon explains.

“Uwaa,” Ethel cringes.

“Second, the caster planted a pure split soul whose consciousness has been wiped away—or a blank split soul, if you will—and has been raising her to be as she is now from the ground up, but… cleansing a split soul is a feat achievable by no one but the gods. Hence I believe the possibility is low.”

“Isn’t that far more disgusting than the first possibility…?”

It implies that Joseph has practically raised a puppet to be the imaginary daughter he has in his mind, but seeing Ayako’s hostility toward him, we can’t rule out the possibility.

Additionally, it’s clearly stated in the original game that Ayako is “Joseph’s masterpiece that possesses its own personality”. So, as far as the possibilities are concerned, the latter is actually more likely, instead.

(Considering that Joseph himself has a backup of her memories and personality and the existence of this soul, it’s clear that Ayako is not merely a product of Joseph’s fantasies… Huh?)

After inserting Ayako’s soul into the page, I close the opening.

All that’s left to do now is to wait for her to boot up, so I try thinking about a certain worry-worthy point regarding Ayako as I start doing practice swing for the first time in a while.

(Ayako’s backup… that reminds me, there was no mention of where and how it was saved in the original game.)

When Joseph creates a puppet, he plants his soul in it to act as its brain.

Unless Joseph has a way to create souls, I’m certain that Ayako’s soul is originally his blank split soul.

Suppose that Ayako was born from Joseph’s split soul by coincidence several hundred years ago, it means that’s just how long Ayako’s current personality and hostile thoughts have been nurtured.

Until she came to be the current Ayako, her body must have been broken and rebuilt over and over again. And each time, Joseph would always revive Ayako’s memories and personality from the backup.

In the original game, Joseph could even revive Ayako even though her body was completely destroyed with the backup he had. But it didn’t appear to have been stored in any medium.

[As long as I’m alive, I can revive Ayako from the backup]… If he was telling the truth, could the backup be stored in Joseph himself? In his mind or soul, perhaps?

But if that’s the case, it means he’s saving a completely different person in his mind. Is it even possible to do that?

“…Hey, daemon. I’d died before, so I know. Souls are tied to their memories and personalities, right? Back then, even though I’d lost my body, I could perfectly remember who I was, and also the things that happened before and after I died.”

“What, so you are a returnee from the ‘Netherworld’? Yes, it’s said that ‘the soul records everything that cannot be seen’, and there is even a theory saying that the soul is connected to everything such as spirit, consciousness, memory, and personality. Whether or not that’s true, you should know from your experience.”

“When a puppeteer no longer has use of their puppets or the puppets completely broke, what do they do with the souls planted in them?”

“Normally, they collect the split souls and assimilate them back to themselves through magic wires. Loss of souls can lead to chronic illness, so unless they have no other choice, they will collect them back.”

“Then, what happens if they collect and assimilate a split soul that has formed a different personality and has its own memories?”

“That is nigh impossible, but it’s sort of like putting two people into one body. If one of them doesn’t accept death and yield control of the body, their personalities and memories will collide and fuse, which later will likely cause the surviving soul to collapse as a result. Whether they will end up becoming a muddle-headed madman or cripple, that’s up to fate.”

“If, by chance, the puppeteer can keep control of their mind, is it possible for them to preserve the other’s memories intact?”

The daemon folds its arms at my question and falls silent.

To fulfill the deal, the daemon dutifully perused his vast knowledge, and after considering for a while, “It is theoretically possible,” it replies, “If the puppeteer purposefully creates a space within their soul to store the alternate personality and the soul which holds its memories without them getting in contact with his own, but…”

“It must be nearly impossible, I imagine?”

“To use an analogy, it’s like keeping a cat and dog in your stomach. No, considering that they are originally the same soul, it will be more accurate to say that it’s like a woman reinserting her baby into her womb and keeping it alive there. Moreover, if they want to peruse the alternate personality’s memory, they will have to maintain the holes and paths that let it in and out… it is possible, but doing so will cause them to fall to their doom in the not-too-distant future.”

After saying that, the daemon adds, “If something of the sort ever happens to you, just keep the alternate personality implanted in your puppet, that way you can also access the information it has obtained through magic wires anytime. That way is much less troublesome.”

However, I knew for a fact that Joseph doesn’t fuse Ayako’s memory and personality with his, and that he’s preserving her memory and personality as a backup.

As such, it is highly likely that Joseph has overcome the problems and the adverse effects that the stupid daemon mentioned and achieved the impossible.

Still that Joseph, he’s seriously taken in the individual named ‘Asanaga Ayako’ into himself and preserving her perfectly without being adversely affected himself, huh?

Does this mean that when he resurrects Ayako, he put the backup into a split soul and plants it into a new puppet?

Then after Ayako has been resurrected, he will create another copy of his daughter in his soul and go on with life as though nothing happened?

(Uwah, he’s really one insane guy. How scary. I knew it, I’m dozens of times better as a human being compared to him.)

At the end of the day, this is just speculation on my part. Since the daemon said it is almost impossible, you can just dismiss it as an amateur’s rambling.

But this speculation suggests that even if Ayako that is here is freed from Joseph’s curse, the Ayako inside Joseph will still be bound to him.

In other words, the suffering of ‘Asanaga Ayako’ will never end as long as Joseph is alive… such a cruel thing may or may not be true.

I expect no less of one of the executives of the main antagonist organization in the original game. The more I think about it, the more frightening and disgusting I find him to be.

“…? …??”

“Mm? You awake?”

“???”

I’m a little torn between whether I should tell this speculation of mine to the finally awake Ayako—which will likely further fuel her hostility—or I should show her my kindness by keeping silent.

Ayako, meanwhile, twists her body as though to check her condition, perhaps having noticed something different about her body.

She then looks around, and when finds Joseph’s little bird lying on the floor, she rushes toward it and gives it some powerful stomps.

“Ngh! Ngh!! Ngh!! Ngh~~~!!”

Her face is full of anger.

Ayako’s foot keeps stomping down again and again as though she wants to give vent to the hatred she’s been suppressing until now.

When the bird finally lost its original form and became a paste-like lump of meat, Ayako finally stops her foot and straightens her disheveled hair. She then turns toward the dazed Ethel and me, who’s watched the whole thing play out while doing practice swings.

“…………!”

She bows her head as if she’s deeply, and I mean deeply grateful to us.

Seeing that, I signal Ethel to keep silent with my eyes and then speak to Ayako, “I know you’re not exactly in a good mood, but I’m afraid I have some bad news for you. Would you hear me out for a second?”

To make doubly sure that she will join our side, I better worsen her relationship with her father. And to that end, I’ll explain to her my speculation as if they are facts and increase her hostility towards Joseph.

When I put kindness plus compassion on one side of the balance in my mind and practical benefits on the other, the result, the balance leans toward the latter.

As such, I triumphantly begin to speak to persuade Ayako.