After being reborn, I was turned into a slave girl by a princess.

"Wow, Luo is amazing! Were those Luo's new magic spells?!"

Su Ling jumped up excitedly, her eyes filled with envy for Lonnie.

"Well, it's just a luminous pearl... Let's not talk about that for now. We need to get closer to the city so we can find out if everyone is here."

……

……

And so, the Time Shuttle slowly approached the city.

Upon closer inspection of the city, Lonnies also discovered some thought-provoking details.

Just like...

Didn't I see a lot of housewives shopping at the supermarket before?

But once they got closer, Lonnie realized that what they had bought were all food models; the vegetables and meat were all fake.

Although most of the dolls appeared fine from a distance, Lonnie noticed upon closer inspection that many of their facial features had flaws.

Some people have eyes on their chin.

Some masks are simply printed directly on the face, with no separation between the mask and the skin.

Others are so badly worn that their faces are almost like No-Face.

It's clear that the quality of these dolls varies greatly, as if they've been working for a long time.

……

However, as for Lonnies, she was more concerned about where Elusia and the other companions were... If that cunning girl had been to this city, she would definitely have left a mark and a notification, telling her clues.

and so……

"Lonnie-chan, look over there. Isn't there a special mark?"

"Really! There's a fox painted on that wall... It must have been Elusia who painted it; she was here!"

Lornes was overjoyed, but then she discovered a problem.

Given the size of the Time Traveler, it's definitely impossible for it to land on the street... So the girls' options are either to land outside the city or to hover in the air and descend to the ground via rope.

However, regardless of the method, there will be some risks involved.

and so……

"Lianlan, Suling, Baiye, senior... wait for me on the boat. I want to go down and see what's going on."

"Junior Lonnie, things might be dangerous down there."

“I know it’s dangerous, but… Elusia might have left behind clues that only I know. Besides, if everyone stays on the ship, even if something unexpected happens, we can pull me aboard through a rescue operation.”

Lonnie thought this way, but Lianlan didn't back down like before: "No, Lonnie. It's too dangerous for you to go down by yourself. It would be troublesome if something happened. I'll go with you."

"!"

"As for the other companions, you are all under a curse, so you should rest on the ship."

And that's how things turned out.

Following the rope, Lonnie slowly glided from the deck toward the city—an experience that was impossible not to be thrilling and exciting.

In fact, Lonnie was somewhat afraid of heights, and the rope descent was quite fast, giving the silver-haired little fox the illusion of climbing a mountain. It seemed that if she let go, she might be smashed to pieces.

However, the anticipation for Elusia somewhat eased this fear.

The thought that his wife might be down there, and that Elusia might be trembling and crying (though it was unlikely), filled Lonnies with courage, and she gritted her teeth and parachuted onto the street.

"Lonnies, are you alright?"

"Hmm, it's okay..."

Walking alongside Lianlan on the hard ground, Lonnies cautiously observed her surroundings.

A misty, humid atmosphere filled the air, but it was still much drier than the vast sea. It seemed that the city possessed its own force field, shielding it from the seawater.

And what about the shops on both sides of the street?

Everything in the set is real, even the doors and windows of each building are real, and you can actually walk inside.

The shop marked with the "fox" pattern by Elusia was to Lonnie's left, and what was displayed inside made the girl frown.

"Dolls... a general store?? Why is this place full of doll limbs...?"

"Heroine Lonnies, I can go in and investigate first. You can wait for me outside."

"No, it's alright. Let's go in together."

Lonnies took a deep breath and cautiously entered the shop.

Chapter 72 Puppet City

The dimly lit shop contained no light, only countless glass coffins arranged neatly and orderly.

The exquisite glass reflected the afterimages of the ground, and in each coffin lay an exceptionally delicate doll, sleeping soundly as if it were a human.

……

……

"Wow, there are so many dolls..."

Lonnie had certainly heard of the uncanny valley effect and knew that many people felt fear when they saw humanoid dolls.

But a maid? I'm actually quite comfortable with that feeling...

After all, I've seen so many anime girls that I've gotten used to them. And compared to the dolls outside, each doll here is dressed in very gorgeous clothes and has exquisite designs, making them collector's items.

Those delicate features and petite body easily evoke people's unfounded imaginations, and because they are dolls, people feel that they can do anything to them.

However, because she was worried about Elusia's safety, Lonnies didn't have much attachment to the doll.

She carefully observed the entire shop, even searching the stairs, but she couldn't find a trace of the cunning girl, or even a single clue.

"Strange... Could it be that I saw it wrong, and that the signal wasn't left by Elusia?"

"No, Heroine Lonnie, have you noticed that this place is actually quite special?"

"A special place..."

"Yes, the whole shop looks very big, but it doesn't even have a restroom."

"!"

"Moreover, there's an extra room here that wasn't originally needed."

"A room that wasn't originally needed..."

Lonnie looked around, and after a moment, she trembled as if she had finally discovered something.

It's a fitting room!

Since this is a doll store, why would it need a fitting room?

So, this means...

This shop isn't actually for people to buy dolls for use, but rather for people to buy body substitutes for dolls?!

But if that's the case...

"Lianlan, was the original purpose of this shop not to imitate humans? Was it simply to serve these dolls?"

"Yes, that's what I think."

"!!!"

Lonnie gasped, and while Lianlan's reasoning was logical and well-founded, there was one aspect that was hard to grasp.

If they are for the purpose of serving dolls, then why do those dolls outside look so crudely made?

They all wear the same clothes, and even if their body parts are damaged, they won't come to this store to get them replaced...

No, rather, who is controlling those puppets? Are they robots, humans, or monsters?

Just as Lonnies was feeling confused, the shop door suddenly opened with a ding-dong.

Lonnies tried to call out, but Lianlan quickly grabbed her and led the silver-haired girl to a secluded spot under a sofa.

“Huh, Lianlan…”

"Don't make a sound yet, let's see who this is."

……

Because the space under the sofa was limited, the girls could only see the lower half of the visitors' bodies.

Without a doubt, she is a very glamorous and beautiful girl.

She wore Lolita-style shoes, and her pristine white stockings were embroidered with a novel pattern. Her skirt had five pleats, and was divided into three layers.

Lonnies was also bullied by Elusia and forced to wear a Lolita dress.

But the visitor in front of me was dressed even more adorably than I was back then.

"This is……"

"It doesn't seem to be human, but rather a doll."

"what?"

"Lonnies, did you see her footsteps? That means she weighs about 15 kilograms. It's impossible for a human to be so light."

"!"

Lonnie was taken aback, not expecting Lianlan to have such keen observation skills.

The girl didn't linger in the doll shop. She simply went to the counter, took something, and then seemed to be tidying up before leaving shortly afterward.

She didn't say a word throughout the entire process.

"Yes, we've gone far enough... Lonnies, we can come out now."