(Heartfelt thanks to 'Most Loves Fanfiction Books' for the donation!)
Gensokyo, Alice's mansion...
In a room filled with Western style and a girlish atmosphere, Alice was staring intently at a glowing sphere before her. Her gaze was more serious than ever, with even a hint of amazement in it.
This glowing sphere was something Wu Yan had mysteriously left with Alice before parting ways after seeing her home, at the end of the day he had taken her out to have fun not long ago.
At the time, Alice had asked about it in confusion, wanting to know what the glowing sphere was, but Wu Yan had not answered her question. Instead, he had told her this.
"Put this inside one of your dolls, and you'll find a surprise..."
After leaving those words behind, Wu Yan had refused to reveal anything else and departed without looking back.
The next day, Alice had installed the glowing sphere inside one of her dolls. Then, she had made a shocking discovery.
That doll had gained life!
Yes!
It had gained life!
It had clearly been an exceedingly simple doll. In terms of craftsmanship, it could not possibly compare to the Shanghai Doll and Hourai Doll at Alice's side, nor had Alice spent an unknown amount of effort giving it intelligence comparable to that of a human, as she had with Shanghai and Penglai.
Yet this simple doll had not only easily gained intelligence on par with Shanghai and Penglai, but had also done things Shanghai and Penglai could not.
For example, it could move freely by itself without Alice controlling it.
For example, without Alice's adjustments or instruction, it could speak on its own—something neither Shanghai nor Penglai could do.
For another example, without Alice's guidance, it could distinguish for itself what it