The gray-haired necromancer smiled and made the plush toy wave its paw at its own reflection.

Then she turned it around and hugged it with a gleeful expression and even nuzzled her face against its head.

”Maybe I will just keep you and make another one for her little highness?”

Aspakeony hummed happily while constantly patting the toy’s head.

|…just… what is going on here…?|

Zoemi stuck in the plush bear’s body thought to himself trying to figure out the situation he got himself in.

He was literally just fighting with a member of the Ghosts of Bellcephora and used the time attribute spell, intending to stop time for everyone except her, to assure the maximum amount of suffering before finishing her off – but clearly, something went horribly, horribly wrong.

The same girl who was holding him in her arms, seemingly unaware about a conscious being locked in the toy’s body, had told him before to never even try to copy the time attribute spells as they were far too dangerous.

The evidence for that was that Ehmi would get younger and younger as the compensation for using it in the first place and…

|Hold on… Aspy did act a bit different when talking about Ehmi… Could it be that she knew more than she let me in on…?|

The boy considered while observing the joyful girl.

|…besides clothes she looks exactly the same as I remember her… Did she just escape and I was somehow pulled into the toy that she made? Or is it the future…? Or…|

”I would very much prefer you did not hold back on the accessory that could help my daughter. Lady Aspaekony.”

As Zoemi was doing his best to come up with a sensible conclusion, a middle-aged gold-haired man got into the room and respectfully called out to the dark-skinned girl.

|Huh…? He looks familiar, doesn’t he? Hold on…! Is that a crown?!|

Zoemi gasped to himself and if his eyes weren’t lifeless obsidian-like beads, they would widen from shock when he noticed the very recognizable headwear on the newly arrived man’s head.

…the crown of the ruler of the Bellcephora Kingdom…

Zoemi had seen Horeo’s father wearing the crown many times while he was in the royal castle, so he had a reasonable amount of confidence telling him it was the real thing.

But the man wearing it wasn’t Horeo’s father.

|Future or past…?|

Zoemi thought to himself while Apsakeony tightened her embrace n him while turning to her guest.

”Oho! Little Kasorius~! There is a whole hour until the time that we agreed to meet up, you rascal~!”

The necromancer pouted playfully and raised her hand, wagging her finger at the man that looked as if he could be her father – or even grandfather.

…although in her case the looks were EXTREMELY deceiving…

|Kasorius? As in Kasorius Reterne Bellcephora?!|

Although Aspakeony’s reaction was very lighthearted, Zoemi felt chills going down his spine – or he would if he had either an actual complete body instead of the fabric and stuffing or even just the spine alone.

If that was really the same person that Zoemi had in mind, that would mean it was the King of the Bellcpehora kingdom who, together with almost his entire family, got assassinated by the Ghosts of Bellcpehora.

”I hope that my timing doesn’t inconvenience you, my lady. This was the only time I could reasonably show up at all – honestly, Corosariuss and his friends were a little bit too successful… We are basically bombarded with constant offers for alliances and although it is an amazing opportunity, it is also a problem…”

The timeline was confirmed by the gold-haired man himself as he nodded apologetically at the gray-haired girl and gave his excuse.

”…but it seems I ended up arriving just in time – it did sound like you were about to hoard the protective charm for yourself, even though your collection of plush toys is… Very remarkable already.”

King Kasorius added, raising his head and smirking a little bit as his eyes focused on a queen-sized bed that was simply overflowing with all kinds of plushies, that honestly, Zoemi wasn’t paying attention to before.

The gold-haired man also reached out his hand expectantly, very clearly suggesting that the necromancer would hand over the toy – which was Zoemi – to him.

”Little Kasorius – I thought was already aware of the stuff I make – this handsome boy will protect the first person besides me who touches him. He will not be carried to your daughter, she has to come to him…”

And yet Aspakoeny did not part with the plush bear and even stepped away from the much taller man, showing him her back and scoffing lightly.

”…then doesn’t that mean that it already bonded with you…?”

King Kasorius sighed and asked, raising his brow with a rather displeased expression.

”Don’t be silly, boy. I put him together so I am basically another plushie for him. Isn’t that right?”

Aspakeony snickered and shook her head at the king’s words before raising Zoemi up to her face and nuzzling her nose against his beady nose.

|I… what…? How are you supposed to be a plushie to me!? What the hell is going on! I don’t get it! I was reincarnated into this world – I was not created here! W-was I…?”

The boy trapped in the body of the toy tried to make the ends of the convoluted situation but the internal struggle he was going through definitely did not show any outward signs as his plush body didn’t even budge.

”You put him together…? Why you are making it sound like you didn’t make it…”

”Him.”

King Kasorius furrowed his brows and asked – but before he finished Aspakeony corrected him without even batting an eye.

”Alright, him. Aren’t you HIS creator?”

|That’s a valid question, not really extremely important, but still valid.|

The man rolled his eyes and finished asking, holding back a sigh, and Zoemi agreed with him even though there was no way for anyone to hear him.