Chapter 37: Fortune Telling Doll

Looking at the peculiar yet neatly maintained doll, the personnel in charge couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

This... was definitely not an ordinary doll.

He exchanged a glance with the inspection team before giving them a small nod, signaling for them to begin their examination.

"This one... bring it over here. Let’s have the team take a closer look."

The personnel in charge exchanged glances with the inspection team before giving them a nod.

Just as one of the inspectors reached for the doll, Harley suddenly spoke up.

"Ah, um... please be careful with it."

The inspector paused and glanced at him.

"Careful? Is there something we should know?"

"I-it’s just... I’d rather you didn’t handle it too roughly."

The inspector gave a brief nod before carefully picking up the doll and placing it on the examination table.

They had dealt with enough unusual objects to know that carelessness could lead to unnecessary trouble. Even if an item appeared harmless, it was better to examine it properly before making any assumptions.

The team began running a series of tests, checking the doll’s materials, examining its construction, and using their equipment to look for any unusual readings.

After a while, one of the inspectors leaned toward the personnel in charge and murmured something into his ear.

The man glanced at the doll once more before turning his attention back to Harley.

"Where did you get this thing?"

Harley took a moment to think before answering, maintaining a calm expression.

"I bought the suitcase about a week ago. The doll was already inside when I opened it, so I figured the previous owner had left it behind or something."

"But ever since I brought it home, some weird things have been happening."

The personnel raised an eyebrow, while another inspector began recording Harley’s statement.

"Weird things? Such as?"

"Well, I... I’m not sure if you’ll believe me, but the doll can actually talk."

"If you press its hands for a few seconds, it’ll start speaking. Sometimes, it’ll tell me that I’m going to have good luck that day. Other times, it’ll warn me that something bad is about to happen."

The personnel in charge exchanged a glance with the inspector beside him.

"And have any of its predictions actually come true?"

"Y-yes! That’s the thing! At first, I thought there was something wrong with me, or that I was just imagining things. But then, one morning, it told me I shouldn’t take the usual route to my part time job because something bad would happen there."

Harley nervously continued, making his voice sound increasingly uneasy.

"I ignored it at first, but I ended up taking another route anyway because I was running late. Later that day, I heard there had been a pretty serious accident on the road I normally took. If I hadn’t changed my route, I might’ve been caught up in it..."

He glanced at the doll sitting on the examination table.

"After that, I started getting worried. I tried asking it questions, but its answers were always vague, and I couldn’t figure out when it would decide to speak. Eventually, I got creeped out and started looking online for information about dolls with unusual abilities."

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"That’s when I found A.E.G.I.S.’s website. It mentioned that applicants could submit unusual objects during recruitment, and that the company might purchase them if they met the requirements. I thought... well, I needed a better job anyway, and I really didn’t want to keep that thing at home."

"So, um... I figured I might as well sell it to you. At least then, someone who actually knows how to deal with these things can take care of it."

Harley gave them an awkward smile.

The personnel in charge and the inspection team exchanged glances before nodding to each other.

"Congratulations, Mr. Mitchell. You’ve passed the first stage of recruitment. Please proceed to the next area, where our staff will guide you through the remaining procedures."

He then took out a document and placed it on the counter.

"As for this doll, the company is willing to purchase it from you at a fair price. This is the contract. Take your time to read through the terms, and if you’re satisfied with the offer, sign at the bottom to authorize the transfer of ownership."

The personnel paused before clearing his throat.

"Ahem. Between you and me, though, I’d strongly recommend accepting the offer."

He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice.

"You’re not officially part of the company yet, but something tells me you’ll make it through the recruitment process. So, take my advice and let us handle this thing for you. Your safety is more important than whatever money you might get by keeping it."

"Ah, and we’d like to purchase the suitcase as well. Considering the circumstances, it’d be better to keep everything together."

Harley nodded without the slightest hesitation.

"Yes, of course! I have absolutely no intention of keeping those creepy things!"

After the contract was signed, the inspection team carefully placed the doll back inside the suitcase before sealing it for further examination.

Harley then collected his documents and headed toward the next recruitment area, leaving the inspection team to handle his former belongings.

Ah, right. For the record...

Yes, I’m the doll.

After obtaining the power of the entity known as [Autarch of Light], I acquired the strange supernatural ability to turn my entire body into a doll.

That’s right... that seemed to be the only power it had given me.

Although I had to admit, it was rather unsatisfactory and underwhelming.

However, in the first place, that supernatural entity had already lost most of its powers to a greater being, and it was on the verge of death.

Naturally, the power I inherited was only a very... extremely... weak variation of its original abilities.

Originally, its powers revolved around creating dolls and toys, exchanging human souls with those of dolls, and allowing people to experience pleasant dreams.

It could even infuse its creations with the power of the sun, using that very same power to torture the souls trapped inside them.

But the only ability I had inherited was something related to dolls...

Still, I wasn’t particularly disappointed.

It was a relatively weak Supernatural Space, so the reward I received was only appropriate for the difficulty involved. Besides, this was precisely the kind of supernatural ability I needed right now.

Another reason I wasn’t too bothered by the outcome was that the more powerful a supernatural ability was, the greater the risk of suffering corruptive backlash from possessing or inheriting it.

Power was tempting, sure, but I had no intention of finding out what it would cost me, especially when the price could be far worse than anything I was prepared to lose.

Although I wanted to return to my old world as soon as possible, I wasn’t willing to risk my life recklessly just to achieve that goal.

I valued home, but I valued my life more.