Alley Mischief

Rain pattered down from the sky, water pooling and draining into the alley’s manhole.

As the manhole cover creaked open a slit, a pair of button-like eyes peeked out, cautiously observing the surroundings.

“Finally, I can get out.”

After confirming no one was around, the cover was pushed fully aside, and a cloth doll leapt out.

It was the Babbling Doll.

“Why are there so many people in a dark alley? Now I can only come out this late.”

Some thugs smoking and drinking were bad enough, but a man and a woman coming to fight in an alley?

What a wild city life.

Finally waiting until late at night to come out, another young man wandered into the alley, muttering about “my magical girl merchandise got thrown away by my family” and “I just like magical girls, what’s wrong with that?”

Within moments, he was knocked unconscious by someone invisible and carried away.

Oh my, a trafficker with special powers.

Unsure if this person could capture a conscious cloth doll like herself, the Babbling Doll quickly retreated back into the sewer.

Bad luck continued: the young man’s kidnapping triggered a whole chain reaction.

The next day, a swarm of police came searching for the kidnapped person.

The day after, a woman in a teacher’s outfit wandered through the alley, effortlessly sending four or five harassing thugs flying with her bare hands.

The real problem arrived when the teacher brought a girl along.

Though the clothes were different, even if the girl turned to ash, the doll would never mistake her.

It was Saint Florina!

The one who killed her mother!

At that moment, rage surged through her.

She had the impulse to leap out of the sewer and challenge Florina to a fight to the death.

But she quickly calmed herself.

If she charged straight out, Florina would win. She’d die in seconds; her small frame wouldn’t even withstand the holy flames.

This matter required careful planning.

Since arriving in this world, she had learned an old saying: “A gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after ten years.”

The doll didn’t know what a gentleman was.

Her knowledge was as sparse as the cotton in her head.

But if a gentleman seeks revenge, then so would she.

So she, too, would be a gentleman.

Gentleman = Revenge = Doll. Equation solved instantly.

Florina would never suspect that she was also in this world.

Using her powers of deception, she could secretly gather the local evil forces, defeat her opponent, and make Florina feel pain!

Then, with the saint trembling humbly before her, the doll would feel ecstatic beyond measure.

“On rainy days, there shouldn’t be thugs in the alley. Huh? Whose doll got left here?”

While still basking in pride, a hand scooped her up.

It was a girl with a backpack perched on her head.

Her face was timid, clearly afraid to enter such a dangerous alley, but she had no choice in order to avoid the rain.

Not good. She had been too absorbed in her fantasies to notice anyone coming.

She had to play dead!

The doll tilted her head, letting Hoshino Sakio flip and handle her, utterly unresponsive, like a lifeless puppet.

“Looks like it’s been here a while; the doll stinks,” Sakio pinched her nose.

The stench was overwhelming!

“Since I’m this smelly, just throw me anywhere to fend for myself.”

The doll schemed silently in her mind.

Once Sakio walked away, she would quickly relocate.

Who knew if anyone else would show up later?

She certainly didn’t want to spend her life in the sewer.

“What an unlucky little creature,” Hoshino Sakio sighed, just like the doll.

Unlike the doll’s assumption, Sakio didn’t enter the alley merely to avoid the rain; she was concerned about endangering passersby.

Earlier, the rain had suddenly poured down.

Unprepared, she had been drenched on the street.

Not only was she soaked, but thunder also began to roll across the sky.

Thunder was never a good sign.

Years of experience with her special abilities had taught Sakio this.

Based on past experience, lightning would strike near her.

She might be fine, but it could hit nearby pedestrians.

With this possibility, she dared not linger in crowded streets and quickly slipped into this temporarily empty alley.

Watching the flashing sky, she thought with some self-doubt:

“Florina calls me a lucky star, but a lucky star should bring happiness to others.

Can this ability, where my luck harms others, really be called ‘luck’?”

“Why hasn’t she thrown me away yet? Has she gone rain-dazed?”

While the doll cursed Sakio silently, Sakio had a realization.

She could not give happiness to others unreasonably, but she could help through effort.

She decided to start with this doll.

Having realized this, Sakio held the doll carefully, meeting her gaze, and said seriously:

“Little one, come home with me!”

What nonsense! Her home had already been destroyed by the saint.

Yet, the doll couldn’t deny the warmth in her heart at Sakio’s words.

If this girl didn’t mind her, perhaps she could recruit her as a subordinate.

“Rumble!”

Thunder roared.

The doll’s attention left Sakio.

A pale flash of lightning tore across the night, outlining a nearly transparent figure.

The doll remembered this figure.

It was the invisible kidnapper from last time!

Within the outline, a metallic baseball bat gleamed, rushing toward Hoshino Sakio with a cutting wind!

……

Kirishima Kishiro lounged on the sofa, leisurely watching TV.

The door opened.

“I’m back.”

“Welcome back! Eh? Florina, you’re soaked!”

Immediately rising to greet her, Kishiro’s expression turned to surprise.

She looked at Florina’s wet hair plastered to her shoulder and the dripping hem of her clothes, even noticing the water beads at the tips.

“I got caught in the rain halfway here,” Florina said.

Truly, misfortune never comes alone.

She was already worried about the Babbling Doll; now this rain made her mood even more gloomy.

Florina brushed sticky strands from her forehead.

Touching the cold dampness, she frowned slightly, unaccustomed to the clingy wet sensation.

“This is bad; don’t catch a cold,” Kishiro said, gently taking a towel to dry Florina’s hair.

“It won’t be that bad.”

She was not a pampered lady, nor was the saint so delicate.

Divine arts were granted by the goddess, with limited uses and long recovery periods.

Even a saint needed the ability to fight in armor.

Among the hero squad, her physique ranked third—even surpassing the pointed-eared elf.

As for last place, undoubtedly Abigail.

Short legs and a mage who disliked exercise.

Whenever her stamina ran out, she would demand Florina carry her.

Then, Muku I would carry Abigail ahead, muttering incomprehensible words like “don’t run away,” unheard by Florina.

Kishiro said, “Then I’ll dry you properly!”

“I can do it myself.”

Florina tried to take the towel, but Kishiro dodged.

She stood helplessly, letting Kishiro wipe the water droplets from her hair with the dry towel.