Pinocchio opened his eyes in a dark space.
If his memories weren't tampered with, it would have been right after falling victim to the strange abilities of Alice, another fairy-tale devil.
"This is..."
It was dark.
He couldn't see even an inch ahead, but at least he knew that the surrounding area was empty.
He needed to analyze what had happened.
In Pinocchio's head, the gears creaked as he thought.
But they didn't move properly, as if rusty.
Instead, a part of his heart ached.
Was his heart hindering his thoughts?
Surely he was a being that didn't even have a heart.
It was clear that Alice had done something.
"..."
Pinocchio walked away.
His body creaked loudly as if it were damaged in several places.
After wandering aimlessly in the dark for quite some time, a faint scent of cherry blossoms brushed past his olfactory sensors.
"Cherry blossoms..."
Pinocchio followed the scent as if he was possessed.
After walking for some time, he finally arrived at the source of the scent.
There, a cherry blossom tree in full bloom was welcoming Pinocchio.
"Alice. What are you trying to show me?"
He approached the cherry blossom tree.
That's when it happened.
He stepped on something.
...It was a human hand.
Usually, when you see a human hand, you shudder, saying it is scary.
However, Pinocchio knew this rough hand better than anyone else, so he was more surprised than afraid.
"...My hand."
It was the hand he had when he was human, before becoming a devil called Pinocchio.
Even though it was crude, it was still a human hand.
A soft and weak hand.
Pinocchio's gaze followed the hand to the tree's roots.
The hand was sticking out from under the tree's roots, so it was obvious what was under this cherry blossom tree.
Pinocchio bent down to check.
There was his own corpse.
The corpse's expression was full of sorrow and anger.
"...Why do I look like that?"
Pinocchio reached out toward the corpse.
Somehow, he felt that if he did, he might find the answer he was looking for.
As the hand made of wood and iron and the hand made of flesh overlapped, a story unfolded in Pinocchio's mind.
It played like a movie, and Pinocchio sat back quietly, watching.
...
POV Switch - Pinocchio
I was a factory worker.
I quit school at a young age and started working part-time to earn money for medicine for a relative I could call my father.
The repetitive work was dull and boring.
Anyone unsuited to such work would have quit quickly.
But I was okay.
I had long since learned how to empty my mind and perform without making mistakes.
The people at the factory called me a machine.
Machine.
I liked that nickname.
Because machines are helpful.
Working hours passed and break time came.
I sat on my chair blankly to catch my breath.
Then another factory worker came up to me.
I had never seen him before.
"What do you want?"
"Oh, your tone's a bit stiff. Did I offend you?"
"No. Just asking."
He suddenly giggled.
I just stared blankly at him.
He looked me over slowly and then muttered that I didn't seem the type to be Alice.
I tilted my head at the incomprehensible words.
"Oh, sorry. Just that you talk so differently from how you look."
"I picked up my relative's manner of speaking. I was raised by him since I was young. If you need me to use honorifics... I can do that."
"Hahaha! No, it's fine. Anyway, I noticed you looked blank even while working. Isn't it boring to sit idly even during your break?"
"...Not really."
When you work, your thoughts and emotions become lighter.
That's why I didn't feel bored at all.
"Is that so? But at least try this. It might be fun."
"..."
I downloaded a game on my phone as he said.
I couldn't remember why I followed his advice.
I downloaded the game naturally, as if I was possessed by something.
The game was about a blacksmith crafting and selling various weapons.
It was awkward because I usually lived a life far from games, but I got into it smoothly.
I wasn't addicted.
It was just a little fun, but it was similar in that it was about making things.
Plus, I liked the fact that I could enjoy myself without spending any money.
The money I received from the factory wasn't that much.
One day, while I was working and playing games at the same time.
When I came home, I saw someone I could call my father... Collapsed.
I panicked.
Did I panic?
...I'm not sure.
In the video, my face was obscured, like I was wearing a mask.
I dropped all the eggs I had bought at the market.
Without even collecting the broken eggs, I took him to the hospital.
I looked at him unconscious in the hospital.
He was my relative.
My only relative.
Since my parents left me when I was a baby, I never knew their faces, and I didn't particularly miss them.
But this person is different.
He took me in and raised me despite his illness.
Well, maybe because we were both quiet, we barely talked, but the bond called family continued.
I asked the doctor about his condition.
...Incurable.
The doctor said he had an incurable disease.
He'd been holding on with medication, but he was close to his limit...
I knew he was sick, but I didn't know it was incurable.
I just thought he was putting off the surgery because he didn't have enough money.
So I was under the illusion that if I earned money from the factory, it would somehow work out.
No, I wasn't under the illusion.
He was the one who said he'd get better if he took his medicine.
I was deceived.
"...Why did you lie?"
"..."
He didn't answer.
I waited for his answer and then went out the door.
I made the boy a wooden sword.
The boy was happy and showed it off to Cassie.
I just stared blankly at it again.
I'm blank, but I definitely seem to be alive in the video.
"Hello. I've been using the watering can you made me last time."
This was Fram.
She had a hobby of growing plants.
A woman who keeps annoyingly suggesting that I make growing plants a hobby.
When I stubbornly refuse, she makes a sullen expression.
A strange woman who wants to make azaleas bloom in this cold place should get out of my workshop right away.
I didn't show even a hint of sympathy.
Fram pretended to leave, then suddenly tossed a flowerpot, some fertilizer, and several seeds at me before running off.
"The black seeds were given to me by some strange person who told me to pass them to you~ If something strange sprouts, don't blame me~!"
In the video, I immediately put the seeds and flowerpot in the black hole (trash can).
I continued to receive requests after that.
Baro, who runs the shop next door.
Belle, who sells fish from afar.
Carl, a playful street magician.
Friedel, who rarely left his house, making him hard to see.
...And then, the village chief, Geppetto, once again.
He looked at me with a satisfied face.
"You look better."
"Do I?"
"Of course. When I first saw you, you had an expression that wouldn't have been strange if you suddenly died. On top of that, when I tried to have a few words of conversation, you kept cutting me off and kicking me out, which honestly hurt."
"...Is that so."
Honestly, I don't remember, but I think I did.
"The villagers were surprised when they saw your expression... But you seem to have changed quite a bit."
"I don't know."
But it's believable.
That might be the reason why they didn't talk to me until the village chief spoke to me first.
"Hmm... I'm bored, how about a quiz?"
He said out of the blue.
Before I could answer, the village chief asked me a question.
"Who is that person over there?"
He pointed at a person walking down the street with his finger.
I knew him.
"Hypno. He's a rival of Varian."
"Then that person?"
"Erin. She breaks things often and comes here quite a lot."
"And that person?"
"Pekka. That kid is a delinquent. To be honest, I don't like him."
The quiz continued until I got sick of it.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
When I asked that, the village chief smiled broadly.
"Do you know what I said to you when I first met you?"
"You asked me to make you a dining table..."
"There was more than that."
"..."
When I shrugged my shoulders as if I couldn't remember, the village chief sighed.
"I suggested that you try talking to the villagers. If they're good people, connecting with them could be a kind of therapy."
"..."
"You ignored me back then, saying you weren't mentally unstable and didn't need it, and yet here you are, familiar with so many people. Looks like it worked after all."
I shook my head.
"We aren't particularly close."
When I tried to deny it, Cassie appeared from somewhere and waved at me.
I couldn't ignore her, so I waved back.
The village chief looked at me happily.
"Hmph."
He then said that it was already getting dark, so he had to go.
Recently, there'd been ominous rumors circulating in the village, which might be the reason.
The village chief turned around and started to head home.
At that moment, I noticed something strange about him.
"Hey, your leg."
The village chief was limping.
"Oh, I fell last time. There was a bloody smell and something suddenly jumped out of the forest. I couldn't see it well, but it must have been a wild animal."
"Wait."
I called him back and quickly made a crutch for him on the spot.
"Don't overwork yourself, you're old."
"How much is it?"
"This is a thank you, so no charge."
"A thank you?"
"I heard everything... Tom told me you've been praising my skills to everyone... Why, Geppetto? Why do you care about me so much?"
The village chief laughed again.
His eyes were warm.
It was as if he was looking at his own child.
...My heart ached again.
"I said you were good because you were good. Hehe. Of course, you looked lonely, so that's part of it. You're young, don't act like an old man who's lost everyone dear to him."
His words felt like they were a reflection of himself.
It seems that there was a hole that could not be filled in the heart of the village chief who lost precious people.
Perhaps he saw the same emptiness in me and wanted to help fill it.
The hole created by losing precious people can only be filled with precious people.
Even if the hole doesn't fill completely, the will to try is what matters.
Admitting it felt a bit embarrassing, but his kindness had helped fill my emptiness too.
"It's just pointless meddling... But let's say it wasn't entirely useless."
"Hehehe..."
After the village chief left, I started cleaning up.
I had to throw away the useless wood that was left over.
Usually, I throw these useless wood and scrap metals into the black hole.
This was a system that was also used when I played the game, and it was a trash can for discarding unnecessary or incorrectly made items.
The black hole only accepts objects.
People can't enter, so it seems quite safe.
"..."
It's been quite some time since I settled in this village, but I still can't see a way to go back.
I thought that if I fulfilled all the villagers' requests, like in the game, an exit would appear.
...Or maybe.
Did I need to receive a request to make weapons, like in the game?
Countless recipes for weapons were rotting in my head.
The village was peaceful.
There was nothing dangerous.
Why did the game need so many weapons?
A fleeting question.
...I shouldn't have overlooked this question.
"Kyaaaa-! Belle, Belle's dead!"
It happened without warning.
The children of the sea, crawling out from the deep, attacked the village with their fishy smell and disgusting tentacles.
Screams echoed through the peaceful village.
Unarmed people were torn apart by the spears of the fishermen, and the town's guards were struggling and somehow protecting others.
From afar, the village chief is seen running towards them with a shabby farm tool as a weapon.
"I'm sorry to ask this of someone who has only been in this village for a short time! Would you stay here and make a weapon for me? Please! The people are in danger!"
'No... why is this happening...'