Their commission was suspicious.

However, after being glared at by Yukari Yakumo, she obediently shut her mouth.

Yukari Yakumo threw the Shameimaru Aya she was carrying into her gap, and then told Ran to thoroughly search her body and delete all the photos and recordings. She then sat down next to Kaguya Houraisan.

As the biggest voyeur in Gensokyo, Yakumo Yukari naturally knew who was more likely to spread Chen Luo's affair to everyone.

Breaking news: A human male has been spotted at the Scarlet Devil Mansion banquet, and he appears to be entangled with the youkai sage, Yukari Yakumo!

Yakumo Yukari has already come up with a title for Shameimaru Aya.

"So can you tell me exactly how things turned out that way?" Yukari Yakumo asked, pointing to the group of people gathered around Chen Luo.

"Well, it might sound a bit fantastical, you might not believe it..." Kaguya Houraisan seemed to be organizing her thoughts.

Because she was betrayed by Chen Luo, Kaguya Houraisan initially watched Chen Luo's situation with a gloating attitude.

You wanted to sell me to Fujiwara no Mokou? Now you're screwed, aren't you! You're going to be relegated to the sidelines now!

With this mindset in mind, Kaguya Houraisan ate and drank to replenish her nutrition for tonight's game battle while watching the show.

"You know that Chen Luo is currently completing some kind of puppeteer job change quest, right?" Kaguya Houraisan asked.

“I know. If I remember correctly, Chen Luo was so skilled that he couldn’t complete the low-level mission requirements, so he sealed all his memories related to the puppeteer. The Herrscher of Knowledge is so convenient.” Yakumo Yukari nodded.

"That's where the problem lies. You did indeed have Chen Luo choose the most remote place and tell him to stay put and not talk to anyone. But because he was bored, Chen Luo started carving puppets. However, while Chen Luo sealed away his puppeteer skills, he did not seal away his love for puppets as a professional puppeteer or his habit of being focused."

"So here's the question: when you think of reclusiveness, dolls, and doll enthusiasts, who comes to mind?"

“Alice Megatron,” Yukari Yakumo replied immediately.

Alice Margot Lloyd is a well-known, rather reclusive doll maker. Although she often attends parties, she prefers to be alone most of the time, except when attending banquets.

Therefore, it's quite normal to occasionally choose a corner seat when attending a banquet.

It's understandable that Alice would be curious when she saw someone carving a doll in a rather clumsy way.

Banquets are meant to be places for people to socialize, so it's normal for Alice and Chen Luo to have some interaction.

Even if Chen Luo didn't seal his puppeteer abilities, his puppet-making skills would probably be about the same as Alice's, who had been specializing in puppetry for decades.

Therefore, Chen Luo would naturally not refuse to have Alice guide him while he practices.

Chen Luo is currently a novice apprentice, which is the best time for him to be trained.

"So Alice was drawn to it."

"I can understand that, but why are there so many people gathered around Chen Luo? There are almost ten now, aren't there?"

"Because, according to Alice, Chen Luo shouldn't challenge himself with those exquisite dolls right away, but should start by sculpting ordinary or high-quality dolls. So Alice suggested that Chen Luo help the free models at the banquet make dolls to increase his skill level," Kaguya Houraisan said.

"..."

Yukari Yakumo covered her forehead.

Yukari Yakumo only thought of Chen Luo causing havoc in Gensokyo, but she never expected that Chen Luo would have accomplices.

"Then Yuuka Kazami was pulled over."

"As expected."

"Alice originally wanted Chen Luo to sculpt her, but Chen Luo said Alice was too beautiful and difficult to work with, so Alice helped Chen Luo find other models. That's why Kazami Yuuka was chosen."

Yukari Yakumo knew that Alice and Yuuka Kazami had a very good relationship, so it was a normal choice to have Yuuka Kazami as a free model.

Since it was Alice who made the suggestion, she certainly didn't mind putting in the effort.

"What about the others?"

"See Cirno over there? I don't know who tricked her into wanting to challenge Yuuka Kazami. But Yuuka Kazami was with Chen Luo, so in the end Chen Luo took her down with just a lollipop."

"..."

"Later, when Daiyousei wanted to find Cirno, the kind-hearted Marisa brought Daiyousei to Chen Luo's side, and then Marisa herself became attracted to Chen Luo. It seems that it's rare to meet a male mage in Gensokyo, and one who still maintains a human form," Kaguya Houraisan continued.

In Gensokyo, not all magicians are the same. Alice is a magician, but she is a youkai whose race is magician, while Marisa is a human whose profession is magician.

Therefore, it's normal for Marisa to be curious about Chen Luo, who possesses a lot of magical power and is in human form.

"Because Marisa spoke to Chen Luo, Chen Luo said he could help Marisa clear the toxins accumulated in her body from eating mushrooms, and even turn those toxins into magic power. Upon hearing this, Marisa got excited."

"Chen Luo has taken on another commission... but it was Marisa who approached him first." Yukari Yakumo really didn't know what to say about this.

"After Marisa and Chen Luo started chatting, they learned that they could get dolls for free, so they dragged Reimu Hakurei over as well. Reimu sat down reassured after hearing that she could get them for free."

"..."

It's definitely Reimu Hakurei's style.

Why not take advantage of a free meal? Just like Reimu Hakurei came to this banquet to get free food, didn't she?

Yukari Yakumo even suspected that Reimu Hakurei planned to sell her dolls to earn some living expenses.

Reimu Hakurei is really capable of doing something like this; she's just getting something for free anyway.

What followed was like a mission, one thing leading to another. Ibuki Suika came to find Hakurei Reimu, Shameimaru Aya sensed there was big news and decided to come and see, Himekaidou, eager to compete with Shameimaru Aya, also came, and Fujiwara no Mokou came to thank Chen Luo, bringing Kamishirasawa Keine with her...

"In short, that's how it is... Letting Chen Luo come to Gensokyo was your biggest mistake. No matter what you do from now on, Chen Luo will do something that catches you completely off guard," Kaguya Houraisan concluded.

"..."

Yukari Yakumo suspected that Kaguya Houraisan's summary contained some personal resentment, but the reasoning behind it was indeed correct.

Well, anyway, Yukari Yakumo wasn't planning to keep it a secret for too long. As long as the bar doesn't become a public knowledge before Golden Fantasy appears, that's fine.

Yun Zi believed that Chen Luo was sensible.

Well, that's assuming no one commissions Chen Luofa.

……

"Hmm, you've made rapid progress. Now you can almost try making exquisite dolls." Alice gave Chen Luo a positive evaluation after seeing that he was able to sculpt a lifelike version of himself.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior. I really didn't know these little tricks for sculpting dolls before," Chen Luo said sincerely.

Having a master level in puppet making is different from being a master puppeteer who has practiced step by step to become a master.

Chen Luoneng was able to break through to the master-level puppeteer only by relying on his proficient puppeteer knowledge and his formidable puppeteer talent.

Chen Luo's talent as a puppeteer is equivalent to Kiana's talent in combat.

Before undergoing systematic training, Chen Luo had been forcibly upgrading himself to a master-level puppeteer by wasting his talent.

"I told you, you don't need to call me senior. Honestly, it's hard to believe you've only been working as a puppeteer for less than two months. It's such a waste of your talent," Alice said with a hint of regret.

"It's not a waste, is it? I feel like I'm a master puppeteer, right?" Chen Luo objected softly.

Chen Luo did not hide his situation too much. Apart from not telling Alice at the beginning, after Alice enthusiastically brought him a model, Chen Luo told her the truth about his situation.

Although Alice was surprised by Chen Luo's experience, she approved of his idea of ​​improving his doll-making skills.

"The term 'master' refers to a professional who has reached the end of the path laid by their predecessors. To become a grandmaster, one needs to innovate and forge one's own path. Although I don't know where you got your evaluation criteria from, you haven't even mastered the basics of puppetry, so it's really a wonder you can call yourself a master puppeteer."

Alice learned from Chen Luo that if she were to be rated, her doll-making skills would have reached the master level.

Alice may lack confidence in becoming a magician, but she certainly has considerable confidence in making dolls.

Alice found it hard to imagine that a puppeteer of her own skill level would not handle the simplest type of puppetry, such as making wooden dolls, so imperfectly.

Chen Luo's doll-making skills... how should I put it?

He can do some important things perfectly, but he falls short when it comes to details, which drags Chen Luo down a level.

It's not that Chen Luo is careless about details, but rather that he seems to lack some basic knowledge about dolls.

In terms of details, Chen Luo can only be said to be decent, but not perfect.

This changed Chen Luo's status from "more than perfect but not quite legendary" to "more than exquisite, just reaching perfection."

Now, all Chen Luo needs is a second chance.

But does this person not have a master?

How did he become a puppet master?

"Speaking of which, the banquet is already halfway through. Senior, are you interested in a puppet that is gradually developing a soul?" Chen Luo asked.

"Hmm?" Alice frowned, sensing that things were not so simple.

[Ding! You have a new request!]

Chapter 1091 The Original Intention of the Rose Doll and Alice Game

"Is it really a doll with a soul? How did you do that?" Alice covered her mouth with her delicate hand, looking at the doll floating in front of her in disbelief.

[Ding! Mission complete]

"I made it," Chen Luo said proudly.

It can be said that Mercury Lamp is Chen Luo's most perfect work to date.

It is also the only doll with a soul that Chen Luo made by hand.

The Book of Azure Mystery, Sirin, and the Holy Sword Durandal—while they do indeed possess their own souls, the origins of each of them are quite different.

This is probably the difference between worlds. In a broken world, it's not difficult to infuse a doll with a soul, but Alice sees it as an evil path, while Alice can't do the righteous path...

The two are not quite the same. Klein's Book of the Azure and Profound is described as an armed puppet, but it is more likely to be an artificial life form.

The mercury lamp, on the other hand, was a puppet that Chen Luo actually created step by step, allowing it to witness the entire process of a soul's birth.

“This is simply…perfect.” Alice stared at the mercury lamp without blinking.

Alice's fervent gaze made the newly summoned Mercury Lamp want to avoid her.

"Father, who is this crazy woman?" Mercury Lamp shrank into Chen Luo's arms, looking at Alice with some fear.

Alice, like Chen Luo, is a doll enthusiast.

This might be why Chen Luo and Alice can find each other pleasing to the eye.

Ultimately, the difference in attitudes between the two stems from whether or not the creator was involved.

If the Mercury Lamp wasn't Chen Luo's creation, then their first encounter would probably have been similar to the current situation.

Unless Chen Luo pulls something big, it will be very difficult to get Suigintou to accept him.

This is assuming the Mercury Lamp already has no owner; otherwise, the doll will never betray the Creator—that's an ironclad rule.

"Don't be so rude, this is your Aunt Alice." Chen Luo gently flicked Mercury Lamp's little head.

Mercury Lamp instinctively shrank her head, and after feeling no pain at all, she gently rubbed Chen Luo's fingers against hers.

"What are you doing? How could you bully the chandelier like that?" Alice looked at Chen Luo reproachfully as he tapped the mercury lamp.

"Who are you? How dare you yell at my father like that?" Suigintou shouted angrily at Alice.

"..."

"..."

Is this what it means to be fearless because you're favored?

Although... Yukari Yakumo, who had been observing the situation from the sidelines, really wanted to laugh.

These two doll enthusiasts are really interesting.

“Alright, let’s talk about just how perfect the Mercury Lamp really is,” Chen Luo said to Alice after a moment’s hesitation.

“Okay.” Alice extended her hand to Chen Luo.

"Let's make up." Chen Luo gently squeezed his hand.

Alice Megatron

Discount: 7.0% off.

In a sense, Alice is neither human nor old, but rather a middle-aged woman. In addition, she is a puppeteer with a strong love for dolls. With these multiple buffs, Chen Luo and Alice are about to become good friends.

To win over a homebody girl, having the same hobbies and excellent practical skills is the best approach.

Just like how Marisa won Alice's favor by using her enthusiastic and cheerful lifestyle to enter Alice's field of vision.

However, Alice and Marisa's deeper friendship didn't develop until after Touhou Suimu's return. Right now... they can only be considered neighbors.

Chen Luo wasn't sure whether their relationship was good or not.