"Yes, all of these were made by the members of our cooking research club~" This was a girl with bun-shaped hair, named Chou Rinne. She narrowed her eyes and smiled as she spoke to them. After speaking, she subtly glanced at Yoshino. This action went unnoticed by everyone except Evangeline and Yoshino, who were closest, but they showed no particular reaction.
"We're glad you like them. To receive such praise, we are very satisfied!" This was a girl standing next to Chou Rinne, who gave off a very simple and honest impression. Just standing there, she exuded kindness and sincerity. Yoshino knew she was Yotsuba Satsuki, a down-to-earth girl who always looked forward in life, and was highly regarded by Evangeline.
"But Teacher Yoshino, your Chinese is really good. Have you ever been to China?" At this moment, a girl with round-rimmed glasses and two braided pigtails appeared before Yoshino and asked curiously. Yoshino knew she was Hakase Satomi, a true mad scientist with an exceptionally high IQ, completely unlike a middle school student.
"Yes, that was a long time ago. I lived there for a very long time." She herself used to be Chinese, but for some reason, she ended up like this. Thinking of this, Yoshino's gaze swept over Hakase Satomi and Chou Rinne not far away, causing all three of them to tense up. But besides that, Yoshino did nothing else, instead savoring the delicious food on the table and watching with an amused expression, along with Evangeline, the few people playing around and Negi, who was about to cry, in the distance.
Following that, most of the class presented their performances, which seemed very lively and interesting, at least to those watching with high spirits.
After the welcome party, Yoshino, led by Evangeline and Chachamaru, arrived at Sakura no Oka 4-Chome 29 within the Academy City. This was Evangeline's private cottage, a very beautiful wooden villa. It seemed that even after being a student here for over a decade, Evangeline's living arrangements were quite good. At least she hadn't been mistreated by those people, but staying in this kind of place for over a decade must still be difficult. Because upon entering the villa, Yoshino was startled by the countless dolls she saw inside.
While marveling at the number of dolls, she also felt pity for Evangeline. To combat her loneliness, she could only create dolls to dispel the solitude in her heart. Only dolls could be trusted, wouldn't betray her, and wouldn't hurt her. But dolls cannot love, nor can they fully dispel loneliness and solitude. So, she could only continuously create dolls to make herself feel less alone.
"Oh? I didn't expect that Little Girl to appear here. Weren't you declared dead by those in the Magical World? Why are you here?" A green-haired doll appeared before them. Yoshino recognized it immediately as Chachare, who had a sharp tongue.
"But this is good too. If you're here, I think Master won't need those substitutes in the room anymore." Chachare looked at Evangeline, whose face was slightly flushed, and suddenly thought of something, letting out a 'hehe~' laugh as it spoke to Yoshino. Hearing this, Evangeline's face had already… she must have known what this damned doll was going to say next.
"Substitutes? What are those? Do they have something to do with Yoshino?" Yoshino asked, a bit puzzled. Why did Chachare look at the dolls nearby when talking about substitutes? Was there some connection between Yoshino and the dolls? Although Nozomi Tojo and the others had said Yoshino was as cute as a doll, Yoshino wasn't a doll.
"Substitutes… Yoshino… Could it be!?" Yoshinon, who was full of clever ideas, suddenly realized something as she carefully connected the key parts of Chachare's words and looked at Chachare.
"That's right. It seems you figured it out quickly. That's exactly it; because Master missed Yoshino so much, she once..." Just as Chachare was about to say something more, Evangeline appeared in front of her and grabbed her head, rendering her unable to speak.
"Kitty?" Yoshino asked cautiously as she watched Evangeline radiating dark energy. Although she didn't know what was happening, she knew that Chachare must have said something that shouldn't have been said, which was why Evangeline was angry now. "Are you okay?"
"What is it? I'm fine! Yoshino, you go take a bath now; I'll go prepare your sleeping area." Evangeline turned around and said gently to Yoshino. Upon hearing her words, Yoshino nodded and quickly left the area. She felt that if she had stayed there, something big would definitely have happened!
Watching Yoshino head to the bathroom, Evangeline breathed a sigh of relief. Then, thinking of the damned doll in her hand, a dark expression appeared on her face.
"See if I don't tear you apart! You damned puppet!"
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