Ch.206The Doll Does Not Shed Tears (3)

“But more importantly, I have something I’d like to ask you.”

“Hmm. I was wondering why you visited, but I see you do have business.”

“Gaston Gallimar. It’s about the Academy’s headmaster.”

“……Oh?”

Gepetto, who had been flipping through books, looks up.

He pushes up his glasses and turns his gaze toward me.

Rarely does interest flicker in his pupils.

“Has that time already come?”

“Do you know something?”

“I received a request once. A very long time ago.”

“A long time ago… So you had spoken with him before.”

“Yes. About 10 years ago, perhaps. When I was deeply immersed in homunculus research. More precisely, I was wasting time, having hit a wall. He suddenly appeared and offered to help with my research progress.”

“Help…?”

“In exchange, he asked for one favor. That when the time came, someday, I should tell Pinocchio.”

“Tell me what?”

“The Fragment of God.”

I flinched.

Perhaps it was because the name that reached my ears was unexpected.

I quietly ponder the question.

‘Fragment of God… clearly the name of an item.’

Fragment of God.

A name not found in the original work, but only existing in the setting guide.

It was an item that no player had ever actually acquired.

Among users, it was known as a “lore-only” item created by the developers.

Why was such an item being mentioned now?

Gepetto calmly continues.

“At that time, my research wasn’t progressing well. I faced failure after failure. I was blocked by the homunculus’s inherent flaw—their short lifespan. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t erase their innate limitations. Magic stones, sorcery, engineering… I searched everywhere for answers, but couldn’t find even a simple clue.”

“……”

“That’s when someone handed it to me. A stone called the Fragment of God. Though it was just the size of a fist, the energy contained within was unfathomable. I didn’t even dare to analyze it. I had never seen anything like it before.”

“……”

“Based on that fragment, I achieved a completely new concept of alchemy. Ten years later, I finally completed the being called Pinocchio. Although it bothered me that I received help from someone else during my research… my desire to complete you took priority, so I have no regrets.”

This was the first time I’d heard this story.

I could only remain silent.

‘Fragment of God.’

I had always wondered.

Despite being born as a homunculus, I had a lifespan similar to ordinary people.

Normally, homunculi would barely survive beyond three years.

I never understood why, but now there was this backstory.

I naturally fell into contemplation.

‘But how…?’

At the end of one resolved question remained another.

The Fragment of God. That mysterious item bothered me.

Moreover, an energy source efficient enough to erase a homunculus’s defects.

Even as a player with nearly 2000 playthroughs, I had never seen such an item.

How did someone get their hands on such a thing? I questioned its origin.

Lost in thought for a moment, a theory scratched at my mind.

I muttered faintly.

‘Could it be…’

Then, my eyes meet Gepetto’s.

His faded pupils hold a meaningful look.

I asked.

“Who was the person who gave you the Fragment of God, Count?”

“Can’t you guess? You must feel it too.”

“……”

“Gaston Gallimar.”

That inevitable name.

I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

The Prophet had intervened not just with the supporting characters, but even with my turning point.

More precisely, he had played a part in my very origin.

Was this what he meant when he told me to find my own origins?

‘Just how far…’

I sank into thought with my increasingly complicated mind.

***

The conversation had been a series of shocks.

I was surprised too, but nothing compared to what the others who came with me must have felt.

After all, they had just heard the declaration that someone they had been close to for the past year was suddenly not human.

The children were all staring at me with blank eyes.

Regardless, Gepetto unilaterally concluded the conversation.

As if others were of no interest to him.

“……”

Naturally, the minds of my companions were in disarray.

They clearly couldn’t follow our conversation.

Or rather, they followed but couldn’t accept it.

Some even looked pale.

“M-Master…”

Even after hearing the explanation, it wasn’t something easily accepted.

I fell into contemplation amid the awkward atmosphere.

A bitter smile spread across my lips.

‘This is troublesome…’

It was something I had prepared for from the beginning.

I chose to bring everyone along because I wanted to reveal this truth.

If I had wanted to hide it, I could have done so easily.

To that extent, it was something that required resolve on my part.

There was also psychological burden.

‘It was about time… to let them know.’

I couldn’t hide it forever.

There might be eternal lies, but I hoped mine wouldn’t be among them.

At least, I didn’t want to treat the people within my circle that way.

At the same time, I think of a girl who isn’t present.

‘Neria.’

The reason I didn’t bring her along was clear.

Neria already knew about this.

Having been with me since the beginning of my possession, it would be strange if she didn’t know.

At that time, I was too inexperienced to have the composure to hide anything.

Conversely, except for her, no one knew the truth about me.

At most, perhaps Kyle, and the Monarch I fought desperately against.

I had revealed such a vulnerable part of myself to those before me.

“This must be somewhat sudden for you.”

I speak, feigning composure.

If I waver, they will waver too.

“However, there isn’t a single lie in what was just said.”

Pinocchio.

Perhaps the first name I received before being called Judas.

I calmly peel away one layer of my lies.

As a doll crafted by Dr. Gepetto.

“I’m sorry for hiding it.”

I bow my head slightly.

The children were still unsure how to react.

Especially Lezia, who speaks with trembling eyes.

The girl’s voice quivers faintly.

“I… how should I put this… I can’t follow the story…”

I understand.

It was a rather surreal backstory.

The pink-haired girl just looks at me with her hands clasped together.

The other children were the same. All with unresolved gazes.

None showed negative feelings, but they couldn’t hide their bewilderment either.

I quietly sit down.

“……”

Silence descends upon the laboratory.

The children can’t bring themselves to speak.

“……”

Only Irene was staring intently at me.

At my upper garment… or more precisely, at something beneath it.

Perhaps she was recalling a previous memory. Our eyes meet.

I nod to the fox.

‘As expected.’

Whether they would accept it or not was a matter for later.

First, I needed to make them believe the story.

Irene’s gaze likely meant the same thing.

I take off my coat.

“I should show you proof first.”

I loosen my tie and unbutton my shirt one by one.

At a glance, it might have seemed indecent, but no one objected.

Everyone just watched, holding their breath.

The red shirt comes off, revealing the skin hidden beneath the fabric.

At the same time, even the small sounds of breathing disappeared.

My companions stare at me, their breath halted.

More precisely, they see my past.

“……”

My bare upper body.

With not a thread covering it, my body is fully exposed.

Firm contours, the lean muscles that had been hidden by my shirt, and abs.

However, no one could feel pleasure at the sight.

Instead, they cover their mouths in dismay.

“This… is my true form.”

Various colored eyes.

Beyond them reflects a body covered in scars.

From knife wounds to burn marks, puncture wounds, and strange surgical scars.

The surgical scars in particular ran in dozens of lines, filling my upper body.

A body so battered that it was hard to find intact skin.

I smile a complicated smile.

“Only now am I telling you.”

The children’s eyes, beyond shock, shimmer with bitter horror.

The scars seemed to testify to a terrible past.