Chapter 494 Resurrection Magic ①
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
So, while I was busy dealing with that whole recall fiasco, a repair request-or rather, a plea for a miracle-landed on my desk much sooner than I’d anticipated. It came from the last person I would have expected, through a route I never saw coming.
In hindsight, I probably should have expected it. It wasn’t impossible to deduce from the information I had on hand. But between my own assumptions, a few prejudices, and a general lack of imagination, I’d gone and pictured someone else entirely.
That day, I was back at my post, playing shopkeeper to blow off some steam. Even when things got busy, I made sure to carve out time for it. I wasn’t about to let that Ancient Elf Carley¹ scare me away from my own counter. Besides, standing in the shop once a week puts me in a great mood. My brain feels sharper, and I’m overflowing with energy-both day and night. (It might just be a placebo effect, but I’ll take it.)
I was humming to myself, enjoying the “customer interaction” and playing with the kids during the lulls while mulling over my business strategy. That was when the shop bell gave a sharp tinkle.
”…Welcome.”
”……”
”Something I can help you with, customer? If you’re just here to window-shop–“
I started my usual shady merchant routine, puffing on a fake cigarette and leaning into the act. But the words died in my throat the moment I saw the guest.
”What is wrong with you?” she asked. “Why are you talking in that ridiculous voice?”
”Barbara? What are you doing all the way out here?”
”That’s ‘Big Sis’ to you,” she replied. “Call me your senior disciple.”
The guest was Barbara, my fellow student who had studied magic medicine under Granny Miranda. These days, she works as a doctor in the Hanamachi². There was no point in playing the mysterious shopkeeper with an old acquaintance, so I ditched the cigarette and turned to face her properly.
”Let’s see… the last time we saw each other face-to-face was during that ‘Help Stick’ mess, right? When I went looking for Viscount Nixfen… I mean, when I was looking for Ray. Oh, and thanks for the gift you sent when the kids were born.”
”Yeah, well, I was floored when I heard five of them popped out at once,” Barbara said. “Don’t worry about the gift.”
That was right around the time Momo was born, so it’s been about a year since we last spoke. Barbara rarely leaves the Hanamachi unless she has a damn good reason. Still, she keeps in touch with our mentor, Granny Miranda, so she’s been keeping tabs on me. I remember sending her a thank-you letter not too long ago.
”Did you come to see the kids today?” I asked.
”No, not exactly…”
She looked a bit awkward. She reached into her coat and pulled out a wrapped paper bag.
”What’s this?”
”A favor for a client,” Barbara replied. “They asked me to hand this to you personally.”
”Hand it to me? That sounds sketchy as hell. Is this thing going to blow up the second I open it?”
”Do you really think I’d bring a bomb into your shop? The source is trustworthy. I can’t tell you who it is for… reasons… but you’ll understand once you see what’s inside.”
Barbara was one of the people who kept me sane during my training days. I trust her. But even so, I was on edge-especially after the Carley incident. As I hesitated to even touch the bag, she let out a long sigh and snatched it back off the counter. She actually looked a bit impressed by my paranoia.
”You’ve certainly gotten cautious,” she noted.
”Sorry. I’ve got a lot more to protect these days.”
”No, I get it. It is a weird request. I actually turned them down at first, too. Here, this is what they wanted you to see.”
With a look of pure exhaustion, Barbara pulled out a handkerchief and used it to gingerly lift something out of the bag. She held it with the very tips of her fingers, as if she were handling hazardous waste.
”Is this…?”
”Exactly what it looks like,” she said. “One of yours.”
It was a piece of equipment that had clearly seen years of hard labor. It was scorched and discolored all over. While it wasn’t cracked, the ribbed sections and the tip were worn completely smooth. There was no mistaking it, though. This was the Ddo-Buddy, the classic bestseller that had been the backbone of my shop for years.
”A Ddo-Buddy, huh… man, it’s seen better days.”
”Yeah. And not just any model. Apparently, it’s a Tremble-Ddo-Buddy.”
”Wait, this is a Tremble!?”
I was stunned. I tentatively took the object-now essentially a Special Grade Cursed Object³-from her. It felt… crusty. I was glad it wasn’t slimy, at least, but I didn’t even know these things could end up like this. Even the test model we left vibrating for two years straight in the lab didn’t look this haggard.
”Just how hard do you have to use this thing to… wait, what?”
”The switch is dead,” Barbara explained. “That’s the job. They want to know if you can… ‘bring Alex back to life.’”
I nearly choked. As I was fumbling with the switch, Barbara dropped that line. No way. If this “Alex” had actually died of old age, that meant…!
”Seriously, what did they do to this thing?! I’d believe you if you said it had been sitting in a landfill for a decade!”
”Look, I can’t give you the details, but the owner claims they ‘took loving care of him every single day.’”
”……”
That meant Alex had been subjected to conditions way more brutal than our nameless durability-test models. My mind went totally blank. I actually felt a bit faint. But then, I started to grin.
(Now this is getting interesting.)
This is why humanity-why customers-are so damn entertaining. I can’t believe there’s actually a customer out there with a fuse this blown! This is why being an adult magic circuit craftsman is a job you have to take seriously.
”What is that look on your face?” Barbara asked.
”Oh, sorry. It’s just too perfect. So, let me get this straight. The request is to… ‘resurrect’ Alex?”
”Yeah. They said money is no object. They just want him back the way he was… ‘his skin glossy and his manly vibrations restored’… or something like that.”
”I see… Honestly, when it’s this far gone, it’d be way faster to just buy a new one. I’m basically going to have to rebuild it from scratch anyway.”
”They still want this one fixed,” Barbara said, letting out another massive sigh. “I told them it was a stupid idea, too. But apparently, ‘the years they spent together have given him a soul’ or some crap like that.”
She clearly couldn’t wrap her head around it. Well, she wouldn’t. Honestly, even among my power-users, there aren’t many who would go this far.
”So… who is it?”
”They want the whole thing kept top-secret,” she replied. “They specifically told me they didn’t want you knowing it was them, which is why they came to me.”
I see. Given Barbara’s connections, maybe it was someone from the Hanamachi? Or maybe a regular’s regular? Whatever. If someone loves my products this much, it doesn’t matter who they are.
”So, what’s the verdict?” Barbara asked. “My part’s done. They said if you turn it down, ‘it’s heartbreaking, but it can’t be helped.’”
”Heh… don’t you dare underestimate me. Of course I’m taking the job! I swear on my name, I will resurrect this ‘Alex’… no, this ‘Veteran Warrior Alex’!”
I bellowed it from the bottom of my lungs. Barbara just gave me a flat look. “Right, whatever. He’s all yours,” she said, before heading out.
And so, the shop’s next great project-“Operation: Resurrect Alex”-was officially underway.
—
Summary:
While managing shop recalls, the protagonist receives a visit from Barbara, a fellow student and doctor from the Red-Light District. She presents a heavily damaged ‘Tremble-Ddo-Buddy’ named Alex on behalf of a mysterious, high-profile client. The protagonist, humored and impressed by the customer’s attachment to the object, vows to perform a full ‘resurrection’ of the device.
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Trivia:
- The protagonist has 5 children born around a year ago.
- The ‘Help Stick’ incident was a previous plot point involving Viscount Nixfen/Ray.
- Durability tests for these products usually involve 2 years of constant vibration; this specific item exceeded that wear and tear.
- Barbara is referred to as ‘Big Sis’ / ‘Senior Disciple’ indicating a hierarchical bond from their training days under Miranda
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Character Insight:
The protagonist shows a transition from a paranoid, family-oriented man back to his obsessive ‘mad craftsman’ roots when faced with a technical challenge that respects his work. Barbara serves as the pragmatic ‘straight man’ to his eccentricities.
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Behind the Scenes:
The ‘Special Grade Cursed Object’ is a direct pop-culture reference to Jujutsu Kaisen, used here to highlight the grotesque state of the overused adult toy.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Carley – Ancient Elf ‘Mother’ (Haha-sama) of Wielope Empire—young beautiful elven looks w/ ancient aura, long autumn-leaf green hair, flat-chested soft body, carefree villain matriarch to assassins/royalty like Emperor ‘Dee-bou’ & Gustav. Forest Blessing granter, founder/supporter, blunt/pragmatic, Kento progeny-obsessed, chill under magic/tentacle restraints.
• Barbara – A doctor currently working in the Hanamachi (Red-Light District). She was a fellow student under the same mentor as the protagonist, whom she considers her junior. She appears as a reliable, though weary, professional who often acts as a bridge between the protagonist and clients who wish to remain anonymous.
• Miranda – Granny Miranda, an elderly witch‑like mentor, masters magic medicine and midwifery; she uses subtle magic to monitor unborn babies. She taught this art to both the protagonist and Barbara, serving as the shared link between them.
• Nixfen – A viscount aristocrat who has started manufacturing and selling adult goods similar to Kento’s products in the Royal Capital’s pleasure district. He is described as a ‘pretty boy’ or ‘gentle-looking man’ (yasao) but is a territory-holding noble likely trained in combat.
• Ray – A Viscount with flaxen-gold hair in a men’s wolf cut. Possesses a sweet mask and a prince-like aura. It is revealed at the end that Ray is actually a woman. She has started manufacturing and selling adult goods similar to Kento’s products in the Royal Capital’s pleasure district.
• Momo – Pink‑haired infant daughter of Kento and Lily, bearing her father’s ear and eyebrow shape. At about one year old she can stand and babble simple words, energetic and affectionate. Known as the shopkeeper’s eldest daughter, recently begun speaking, and is one of the protagonist’s children celebrated with a birth‑gift a year ago.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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