kscans

Chapter 57 - The Smiling Girl and the Island of Despair

On that island, the sound of laughter never ceases. But the one laughing is only a single person.

Everyone else holds back their tears, holds their breath, and simply tries to endure "it." So that the "laughter" does not turn towards them.

Never Island. A magical island shrouded in mist, not on any map.

It was once an island of trade and prayer, but now it is ruled by a single girl. Her name is Mel Aria, a reincarnator.

Skin like white porcelain. A face too perfect. The way she tilts her head and smiles makes her look just like a "perfect doll." But in the depths of her eyes, there was neither warmth nor mercy.

"Fufu... this one is 'broken' again, isn't it... Hey, someone, give me a new face, please?"

At Aria's feet was the "end result" of a villager who had been modified like a doll. Glass spheres were stuffed into their eyes, their mouth was sewn shut, and they stood there with their fingers cut off.

"If their movements become dull, it's proof they have a heart. So, I break them. A heart is just a nuisance, isn't it?"

In the village square, children were being made to practice "smiling." If they didn't smile, their mouths would be slit. If they resisted, their limbs would be removed, and they would be turned into dolls.

No one defies her. No one can defy her. She has enveloped the island in a poison called "love."

Aria gently strokes the tattered doll in her arms and tilts her head.

"Hey, will 'you' smile for me? Don't cry. The only ones who should cry are the dolls who will do it in my place."

"You know, I want to make this island a paradise. A world of only smiles that will never, ever break."

Those words, spoken with a smile, were heavier than a curse.

And quieter than madness.

■ Flashback: Aria's Past

It was a memory unknown to anyone.

...A closed hospital room. The smell of iron. A white ceiling. The only sound was the dripping of an IV.

"Aria-chan, it's time for your medicine."

The girl in hospital clothes blinked faintly on the bed. Her hair had fallen out, her skin was so pale it was translucent. She didn't even have the strength to smile. Days when even speaking was not allowed.

"Your illness cannot be cured. You probably have about six months left."

Everyone would say only that, while beating around the bush. Her parents were crying. Her friends gradually stopped coming.

But Aria did not cry.

Because she had one, single "friend."

A small cloth doll. Its name was "Mel-chan."

It wouldn't answer when she spoke to it. It had no warmth when she hugged it. But it wouldn't betray her. It wouldn't leave. It wouldn't break.

"...Mel-chan. You're a good girl. Even if I'm gone, you'll keep smiling forever..."

The girl whispered so, and held the doll to her chest.

Just like that, on a day at the end of spring, she drew her last breath as if falling asleep.

When she came to, it was another world.

The body she woke up in as Mel Aria was just like her "old doll." Nothing hurt. No one left her. Tears, fevers, she didn't need them anymore.

"Hey, God. Please. This time, I don't want to be betrayed."

"This time, I'll make a world that won't break. With my very own... dolls."