Otaku Witch

It was precisely because she understood this that Audrey felt utterly powerless; since she couldn't control the thoughts of others, all she could do was hide away, out of sight, out of mind.

But if she hid, what would happen to her dream of chasing art?

That was the root cause of Little Audrey's painful confusion at the time.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

But that day, amid the ruins where the ferocious magic power had overturned the roof, looking at the Spider Lady Puppet that seemed so vivid in front of her, Audrey's gloomy heart was suddenly enlightened by sunlight, just as the room was, dispersing the darkness.

Perhaps in others' eyes, this rather terrifying-looking Spider Lady Puppet was also quite scary, easily triggering the uncanny valley effect. Many people were actually quite frightened by these overly realistic dolls.

But as a witch, Audrey was naturally not frightened by this, and perhaps due to the nature of the puppet itself, her talent did not affect it, after all, this heartless Puppet had no desires towards her.

So, if I can't go on stage myself, why not just hide behind the scenes and let my Puppet perform?

Although as her strength's medium, she could still feel others' desires for her Puppet, watching a movie starring her Puppet was far more tolerable than watching one starring herself. And most normal people would probably not have strange desires towards a Puppet anyway.

This also solved the problem of finding companions to work with, for neither dance nor singing often involve solos; there always needed to be backing dancers or music, and given Audrey's condition, the most she could collaborate with were her two mothers.

But with both mothers' fame, once on stage, it was difficult to distinguish who was the lead and who the supporting character. Although the mothers felt Audrey's future achievements would surely surpass their own, Audrey knew that for now, she could only serve as a backdrop to highlight her mothers.

After all, being a dancer or a singer never only required a pretty face; even though Audrey was beautiful, she was far behind her mothers in the professional field.

However, if it were all Puppets, then this problem could be solved. As long as she could manipulate enough Puppets, Audrey alone could become an entire performance troupe.

It was with this notion that she embarked on the path to creating a puppet theater.

Unfortunately, this path proved far more difficult than she had initially imagined. Enjoy new adventures at empire

Rigid puppets had their limitations; certain dance moves that witches could perform were simply impossible for them to replicate, and the artistry displayed by living beings and that by inanimate objects were completely different concepts. Besides, puppet theater was a niche market, mostly appealing to children and the like.

In short, over the years, Audrey faced far more difficulties and setbacks than she had ever imagined. If she hadn't developed social anxiety, according to her mothers' original plans, the 16-year-old would likely have been standing on the grand stage of Venus Theatre, at the artistic center of the Witch World, basking in the attention and admiration of the world.

Yet, the reality was that her long and laboriously developed puppet theater couldn't even reach a low-level formal stage, and she had to resort to being a minor internet broadcaster on the Magic Network, with only a handful of followers.

And realizing how tough her chosen path was, Audrey did not plan to give up, which is why she came to the Witch Academy to continue studying Puppetry Skills with her aunt, wishing to create a perfect Puppet capable of carrying her artistic dreams.

But reality had just harshly slapped her again.

Her previously proud talents and knowledge were now utterly trampled by a mysterious classmate, and even her trusted aunt suddenly had new favorites. It felt as if she was abandoned by the entire world.

A person's breakdown often occurs in just a moment, and now, Little Fox's mindset was already on the verge of collapsing, making her question if she was living like a Clown.

Yes, perhaps she shouldn't have organized any performance troupe. A circus was her true calling, and she could undoubtedly play the Clown perfectly.

Audrey used to suffer from social anxiety, but now she was nearly shutting down.

So tired, truly tired, considering I'm not a genius, my Talent is not great, my mindset is poor, why keep struggling? Might as well lie down and wait for death.

She thought to herself.

But just as the overwhelming despair was about to envelop her like it did ten years ago, a small Puppet stood before her again.

And whether it was a hallucination from her mental exhaustion, Audrey felt that this Puppet was exceptionally exquisite, almost as if it was the perfect Puppet she had been desperately seeking, one capable of carrying her artistic dreams.

This little Puppet now stood before her, so vivid, so lifelike, seemingly lifeless, yet radiating with the vitality of life.

"Hey, have you come back to your senses, Miss Audrey?"

This small, blonde-haired, blue-eyed witch Puppet waved at her and then cupped its hands around her mouth, shouting like a megaphone.

This time, its voice was not the monotonous metallic synthetic sound, but a clear, delightful voice of a little girl.

"Hmm...."

Since she was facing a doll, Audrey wasn't too scared, she unconsciously nodded her head and even made a little sound.

The little doll, upon receiving a response, immediately became overjoyed and animated.

Audrey rubbed her eyes, certain she wasn't seeing things; she could actually see expressions on this doll's face, and they looked so natural.

Goodness, can dolls really be this intricate?

Little Fox was astonished.

"Miss Audrey, do you know where in the academy one can undergo the school test? My master wants to go,"

The tiny doll walked up, grabbed Audrey's trouser leg, and gently shook it, acting coquettishly.

At that moment, Little Fox felt as if she wasn't looking at a cold doll, but rather a lively, adorable little sister.

However, when she finally couldn't resist extending her hand to catch the tiny puppet, the hard, cold touch brought her back to reality.

At the same time, another hand quickly stretched out and snatched the little doll back.

"Hey, look but don't touch,"

Dorothy retrieved the little puppet, modeled after her younger sister Alice, and said it nonchalantly; meanwhile, in her hands, the puppet Alice secretly hid behind her back and stuck her tongue out at Audrey.

Having said that, Dorothy didn't wait to see her little underclassman's reaction; she just went on walking forward.

Well, based on her many years of experience with social anxiety, if she wanted to communicate with another socially anxious person, she had to start with their interests.

She had noticed earlier that this little underclassman seemed very interested in dolls, so that was a good entry point.

Seeing how the other had been unable to resist reaching for the doll, Dorothy knew that the bait she had set was effective.

Right, today's objective was thus achieved; being too enthusiastic with someone social anxious could make them uncomfortable, so it was time to retreat strategically.

Indeed, Dorothy had barely taken a few steps before she sharply sensed a little tail following her.

So, she stopped again, turning to look at her little underclassman with a nervous expression.

"Miss Audrey, do you have any other matters with my master?"

On her shoulder, the tiny Alice puppet also stopped teasing the cat, turned around, and looked at Audrey to ask.

"....."

Little Fox again struggled to open her mouth, but still couldn't speak, turning anxiously in circles. Finally, after reaching her limit, she managed to shake out her own chibi-version puppet from her tail.

"I, I know where the school test takes place,"

This fox puppet, much cruder than Dorothy's Alice puppet, said this in a cold, metallic synthesized voice.

Having said that, Audrey looked expectantly with those captivating fox eyes at this underclassman she hadn't wanted to acknowledge just minutes before, waiting for her response.

At this, Dorothy's lips slightly curled up.

Hehe, the fish has taken the bait.

Tsk, doing this feels a bit guilty, like luring a young girl.

.....Trashy Witch feeling guilty.....