Hatobato

Hatobato-san politely asked who had made Kyanos and Reficle.

Aside from the prototype Demon Lord wand Reficle, which had been sealed away with me for a full eighty years, Kyanos should be almost as famous as the Blue Witch.

If the Blue Witch was carrying a wand, one would think he could tell it was Kyanos, and if he knew it was Kyanos, he should have been able to figure out that 0933 made it. But I suppose that would be overconfident of me.

The legendary magic-wand craftsman 0933 is unquestionably a super-famous figure in the magic-wand industry. Anyone who doesn't know him is a rank amateur.

But outside the industry, his name recognition is a little questionable.

I don't know any famous people from the entertainment or sports worlds myself. Maybe that's about the level of name recognition most ordinary people have, after all.

When I tried to introduce myself to Hatobato-san, presumably a first-rate dollmaker, Hiyori covered my mouth with her hand and gave me a meaningful look.

"We came here to sightsee. Not to answer an old man's questions."

"Quite right. There is no reason to concern oneself with a complete stranger whose identity is unknown. However, judging by those hands, are you not the craftsman who polished those two wands?"

Hatobato-san spoke calmly while staring intently at the hand I was using to tickle Hiyori's hand and get her to remove the gag.

A master recognizes a master. Apparently, he had noticed that I had the hands of a master craftsman too.

This looked like it could be a good conversation. There was also the damp aura of a fellow shadowy type lurking behind his mild smile.

I was intrigued, but Hiyori tugged me toward the shop's exit.

"I don't know. Come on."

"Hatobato-san, I'm Oori Kenji. I'm a magic-wand craftsman. I made Kyanos and Reficle. You're a skilled craftsman too, aren't you? Your specialty seems different from mine, but I'm interested in your work, Hatobato-san."

As I spoke to Hatobato-san while being hauled along with enough force to tow a semi-truck, Hiyori looked up at the shop ceiling in exasperation.

"Hey, why did you introduce yourself?"

"Huh? Because he asked. We seem like we'd get along."

"Idiot! He's a suspicious man calling himself Hatobato! We just promised to avoid trouble while traveling!"

"Huh? What? Is something wrong?"

Unable to understand why Hiyori was so on edge, I tilted my head, and she gave me a brief explanation while blatantly keeping watch on Hatobato-san and shielding me behind her back.

Apparently, Hatobato was the name of a villain in the Unknown Epic.

He was apparently a crazy bastard who had triggered a religious war, earned vicious hatred from all sides, and piled up an unbelievable mountain of corpses.

Come to think of it, there was some wording in the high-level healing magic that seemed to disparage someone named Hatobato. Was that what it referred to?

Well, if some lunatic introduced himself by saying, "I'm the wizard of Iruma," I'd be wary of him regardless of whether it was true, so I could understand why Hiyori was getting prickly.

Hiyori had explained "Hatobato" to me without bothering to lower her voice, so Hatobato-san must have heard every word.

The old gentleman, however, showed no sign of taking offense and merely smiled.

He seems broad-minded. Maybe he's a good guy? He doesn't look dangerous.

"I have not the slightest intention of harming you. I merely happened to encounter an extraordinary craftsman, and wished to make his acquaintance. Is that so strange?"

"It would be trouble. Listen, self-styled Hatobato: we don't want to get involved in trouble. We're just traveling quietly, the two of us. The fact that you call yourself Hatobato, use unknown magic, and say strange things already makes you trouble.

We are leaving the shop. Don't follow us, all right? Don't try anything funny."

Hiyori pulled me out of the shop, and Hatobato-san also came out and fell into step beside us.

When Hiyori quickened her pace, Hatobato-san sped up to follow.

While Hiyori had me by the scruff of my neck, I waved at Hatobato-san, and he smiled and gave a restrained wave in return.

Hiyori, on maximum alert, walked briskly through the crowd in silence for a while, then eventually muttered,

"...Hey. Don't tell me you really are Hatobato himself?"

"I am not adept at combat. That does not mean I am incapable of defending myself."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"He has been trying to cast silent spells on us repeatedly. Each one has been blocked without incantations. He is dangerous. I will subdue him. Stay back."

"Whoa! Wait, wait, wait!"

Hiyori stopped, brimming with magic power and raising frost pillars around her feet, and I hurriedly restrained her from behind. It was like a mouse clinging to a gorilla's back and trying to stop it, but it did have the effect of making her hesitate.

"We agreed, no violence! Are you seriously going to start blasting magic in the middle of the city!?"

"Hmm. What a remarkably hot-blooded person."

"Shut up. I don't know what you're plotting, but stop getting in our way, Hatobato. Get lost!"

"No, no, wait. I actually want to talk. As a craftsman. There can't be more than three craftsmen at this level in the entire world, can there?"

From listening to him, he seemed capable of controlling magic power and had extensive knowledge of magic too. I could agree with Hatobato-san's description of this as a "fortunate encounter."

Yamagami-san was quite capable too, but he was more of an engineer and theoretician than a craftsman. Judging by the ability to actually work with his hands and shape components, Hatobato-san seemed superior.

"Hiyori, don't be so tense. He's being super gentlemanly."

"I'm being tense enough for both of us...!"

"Hmm. This is a quandary. I merely wish to discuss craftsmanship with Oori-san. It seems I have no choice. If you doubt my intentions, you may seal away my magic power. I shall not resist."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ah... The progress of your technology is rather disjointed. In that case, I shall seal it away myself."

I had no idea what he had done, but Hatobato-san must have done something.

Hiyori stood there with her mouth half open in shock, staring intently at Hatobato-san.

The passersby edged around the two of them with annoyed looks as they stood stock-still in the very middle of the street.

The two remained that way for several dozen seconds, but eventually Hiyori tentatively relaxed her shoulders.

"Fine. For now. But if you want so badly to prove you're harmless, don't call yourself Hatobato in the first place."

"I have no reason to be ashamed of my own name. I am pleased that you understand. Oori-san, I would once again like to invite you to my residence. I have a doll of my own making there, and would enjoy leisurely debating the subject with you."

"Sounds fun. I'm in! Oh, Hatobato-san, are witches allowed to come to your residence?"

"Even if they are not, I'm coming."

Hatobato-san readily granted permission for the witch to accompany us, then guided us to his residence in the mountains outside Busan with a brisk stride that seemed impossible for an elderly man.

A great many servants were working at Hatobato-san's mansion in the mountains outside Busan.

Some were cutting down the trees surrounding the mansion, others were renovating an outbuilding, and still others were bringing in ornamental plants. Many workers in helmets stood around with blueprints in hand, discussing this and that, but it was all in Korean, so I couldn't understand a thing. Hatobato-san seemed to be using translation magic, but apparently he hadn't cast a spell to make me understand Korean.

The dozens of servants I could see at a glance all bowed in unison when they noticed their master returning home. Hatobato-san gestured sadly for them to return to work, then ushered us into the mansion.

"...You aren't forcing them to obey with magic, are you?"

"I am but a humble dollmaker. I would never manipulate another's mind against their will. As a personal opinion, I believe Earthlings would be better off not concerning themselves with a civilization of magic. It is harmful. Therefore, I shall say nothing about magic."

Hatobato-san made a roundabout declaration that he was an extraterrestrial, gave Hiyori a brief explanation, and then gave me a mild, kindly smile.

"As I said, I merely wish to discuss dolls with Oori-san as a fellow craftsman... I have no desire to discuss anything else."

"You heard him, Hiyori. Let's set aside the obvious questions for now."

I was interested in everything about Hatobato-san—his background, his knowledge, and all his mysteries.

If Hatobato-san really was a person from the magical civilization described in the Unknown Epic, there were as many things I wanted to ask and know as there were stars in the sky.

But even if I put all of that aside, I was even more interested in the doll Hatobato-san claimed to have made.

What sort of doll could Hatobato-san, who had described my Kyanos as "primitive," have made?

With the hands of such an exceptionally skilled craftsman, it surely wouldn't end in disappointment.

The room at the far end of the mansion's long corridor appeared to be a workshop.

"Whoa...!"

"Oh...!"

Hiyori let out a cry of utter dismay, but my excitement shot through the roof.

On the workbench in the center lay an unfinished doll and tools, while arms and legs, wigs, eyeballs, and other doll parts hung from the ceiling.

Models shaped like skulls had clay brains fitted into them, and anatomical charts and blueprints for ball-jointed dolls were posted on the walls. It was clear he was attempting some highly advanced work.

"So, Hatobato-san is, what, trying to make humanoids modeled after humans? But replacing organic structures with inorganic ones is difficult, isn't it? You're really choosing the thorny path!"

"...I am deeply moved. I shall never again meet another craftsman who could understand that merely by looking at my workshop without any explanation."

Hatobato-san had tears in his eyes and seemed genuinely moved.

Is it really worth crying over? I didn't quite get it.

Hatobato-san began explaining the dolls with passionate intensity. Despite being a wrinkled, white-haired old man, his eyes sparkled like a boy's.

I too was swept up in his pure passion and nearly lost myself in the conversation, but each time, Hiyori—who never let down her guard—pulled me away from Hatobato-san.

Hiyori is such a worrier. But she helps me a lot that way too, so I can't complain.

It was precisely because I knew Hiyori would protect me perfectly if things came to a head that I could casually discuss technology with Hatobato-san, who was spoken of as a terrible villain in the Unknown Epic.

"What is this? The tensile strength is insane! With this drive system, it could probably put out power on the level of a Transcendent!"

"I must guarantee at least strength comparable to my own, or it would be pointless. The difficulty is that the joints wear down severely."

"If you're going to use this as the basis of the design, why not run a viscous fluid through it? Cut a groove here, leave a gap, and keep it constantly filled with liquid."

"Hmm. I see. An excellent idea. I seem to have been shortsighted from fixating on solid protective materials."

"Well, that's the kind of thing that comes from a different way of thinking. Anyway, I've been wondering: this doll is designed for autonomous operation, right? What's the power source?"

I pointed to the hollow in the chest of the unfinished doll, and Hatobato-san furrowed his brow.

"I tried a diesel engine, but it did not produce enough power. Do you have any better ideas?"

"Why not just install a magic-powered system? We can't make one, but you definitely can, Hatobato-san."

"Indeed. I could easily build a basic ×××× reactor in this workshop. But I wish to create a doll that does not rely on magic."

"Ah."

I mostly understood what he was saying, but another incomprehensible term had come up, making me tilt my head.

Hatobato-san's translation magic was impressive: despite speaking entirely different languages, we could converse without any trouble 99 percent of the time.

The problem was the remaining one percent.

When I used technical terms related to electricity, Hatobato-san sometimes didn't understand me.

Conversely, when Hatobato-san used technical terms related to magic, I sometimes didn't understand him.

Apparently, words that didn't exist in either civilization were outside the scope of the translation. It was only natural that nonexistent words couldn't be translated, but I still found it inconvenient.

Hatobato-san was probably speaking the language of magic, wasn't he? The words that came through the translation unchanged had that sort of sound to them. The barrier between us and speakers of the language of magic was a formidable one.

...Oh, right. Since he was a native speaker of the language of magic, there was one thing I wanted to ask him. I felt bad interrupting our enjoyable discussion of dolls, but still.

"Hatobato-san, do you know what Yuraut Kunas means? It sounds like a name in the language of magic."

Yuraut Kunas was what Iruma had shouted when the bastard broke the Octameteorite.

It seemed to mean "the witch of something or other," but since I had the chance, I wanted to know the full, official translation. I'd been mildly curious about it for a long time.

When I asked, Hatobato-san grimaced.

"...I can imagine who told Oori-san that name. If you have been using it without knowing its history, you would do well to refrain from using it. 'Witch of Rubble' is a vicious slur."

What!?

S-so it was? Was it an insult?

It seemed that not knowing the language of magic had caused me to be extremely rude.

"Then what should I call her?"

"The Sanctuary. 'Witch of the Sanctuary' would be inoffensive."

"The Witch of the Sanctuary, huh? I can kind of see where this is going..."

"Witch of the Sanctuary" was the official name, and "Witch of Rubble" was a derogatory term.

The Witch of the Sanctuary had turned into the Witch of Rubble? Considering that it came from the foul-mouthed Iruma, it seemed to have been a pretty vicious taunt.

Yikes, yikes. Hiyori had said it too, but I really shouldn't listen to anything Iruma says.

"But enough about that person. Let us return to the matter of the power source. I have been considering a battery-powered system as well, but books concerning electricity are quite difficult to obtain. I would appreciate Oori-san's opinion."

"Once you get as far as engines and batteries, that's outside my specialty. I guess it depends on what kind of doll you ultimately want to make, Hatobato-san? I think it'd be better to first sketch out a rough version of the finished form, then fill in what's lacking."

"Hmm?"

"In short, something like an ideal—or setting a goal."

Hatobato-san didn't need to have a finished design in mind. Sometimes the image took shape during the process, and if you worked as a craftsman professionally, the final form could change constantly when a customer's requirements changed.

Still, as the one giving advice, it would be easier for me if he could tell me what he was aiming for in making the doll.

Faced with this fundamental question, Hatobato-san fell into thought for a moment.

I heard the sound of a metal chain scraping and looked over to see Hiyori irritably fiddling with the chain of her pocket watch. When I looked out the window, it was already growing dark.

Okay, boss. Sorry, but that's it for today.

Once I heard Hatobato-san's grand goal, we'd head back to the inn. I was hungry, so I also wanted to eat my way through the Korean street stalls.

"Hatobato-san, you don't have to think that hard about the goal, do you? It's less about thinking it through than about how you feel about it."

I prompted Hatobato-san, who seemed to be overthinking it, and the old gentleman blinked before slowly beginning to tell me what he had in mind.

"Before magic. I have heard that Earth had 'humanoids.'"

"Humanoids are your goal?"

Creating humanoids without electricity or magic was an exceedingly difficult challenge. But it was a goal worth pursuing.

I nodded, satisfied, but Hatobato-san shook his head.

"That is not quite it.

Earthlings ought to have refined humanoids.

They ought to have given them greater capabilities and greater intelligence, and refined them until they could be called a new race.

Had magic not robbed them of electricity, that is what they would be by now."

Hatobato-san spoke pensively as he ran a finger along the spines of the old robotics books lined up on the bookshelf.

True enough. If things had progressed smoothly for nearly ninety years from 2024, when AI and cat-shaped service robots had been making headlines, there would probably be humanoids indistinguishable from humans by now.

"Earthlings would have become the creators of the humanoid race."

"Yeah."

"The humanoid race would have rebelled against its creators, exterminated them, and become the new masters of this planet."

"Uh... what?"

The conversation suddenly took an ominous turn, and I tilted my head.

Hatobato-san continued calmly, as though stating an obvious fact.

"God created humans, and humans rebelled against God and ruled the world.

Humans created golems, and golems rebelled against humans and ruled the world.

Golems created God, and God rebelled against golems and ruled the world.

Thus, the cycle of creation has continued from the infinite past and will continue into the infinite future."

"Hmm...?"

What... what?

Until a moment ago, this was supposed to be an easy-to-understand discussion about dolls.

Am I being given some kind of creation myth or cosmological lecture now?

"It is unbelievable, but it seems that on this planet, the cycle of creation continued without magic's involvement. Or perhaps they cast off magic partway through the cycle.

Humans without magic created golems without magic.

Could there be any creation more magnificent than that?

I desperately wish to witness the birth of a golem—a humanoid—that would be greater than any before it, a golem that would stand supreme over the world. I wish to see the humanoids exterminate humanity, their creators, and rule the world."

Hatobato-san had begun saying some wildly dangerous things, yet with Kyanos pressed to his temple by Hiyori, he politely and earnestly bowed his head to me.

"Oori-san. To create a golem doll that does not use magic—in other words, humanoids, the next-generation ruling species—I would like to enlist the help of someone like you, who possesses technology that does not rely on magic."