Once, Shouko, in her urgency to have Rozen participate in the Night Party, even went so far as to cause a reverse summoning to bring Rozen back into this world.
At that time, Rozen had vaguely suspected that Shouko had some goal she wanted to achieve through the Night Party.
This suspicion grew stronger with the emergence of Father Time's prophecy and the concept of the Machine Doll, leading Rozen to firmly believe that Shouko must have some objective that could only be accomplished during the Night Party.
Now, that purpose had finally come to light.
It was precisely because of Father Time's prophecy that Shouko had been so desperate for Rozen to participate in the Night Party with Yaya.
If the prophecy stated that the Machine Doll would be born beside the Wiseman of this generation's Night Party, then that Machine Doll must be Yaya—or so Shouko believed.
If Rozen and Yaya missed this year's Night Party, they might lose some critical factor that would prevent Yaya from becoming the Machine Doll.
With this in mind, Shouko had rushed to bring Rozen back just before the Night Party began, enrolling him in the Walpurgis Royal Academy of Machinart.
"Yaya needs your life to become the Machine Doll."
"Not just Yaya—if Irori and Komurasaki are to become Machine Dolls as well, your life is equally indispensable to them."
"When we first met, you gave me a strange impression. Your constitution was weak, and your vitality was alarmingly thin, making me hesitate about choosing you as the master of the Setsugetsuka sisters. But in contrast, your magical power was immense, so I decided to take a gamble on you."
Shouko openly revealed her initial thoughts to Rozen.
"Later, you didn't disappoint me. Not only did you win battle after battle in the Night Party, even defeating Edward Rutherford, but you also somehow resolved your weak constitution and lack of vitality. So, I assumed that you would inevitably win the Night Party and help Yaya evolve into the Machine Doll. That's why I went ahead and entrusted Irori and Komurasaki to you as well."
This was the reason Shouko had so generously handed over her three greatest masterpieces—the world's highest-class Automaton Dolls—to Rozen.
"Judging by the current progress, whether it's Irori, Yaya, or Komurasaki, they're all steadily absorbing enough vitality from you and evolving bit by bit."
At this point, Shouko sighed.
"However, their evolution isn't progressing as quickly as I'd hoped. It seems unlikely they'll complete their transformation during the Night Party."
For Shouko, this was undoubtedly a disappointment.
Still, there was no denying that Irori, Yaya, and Komurasaki were indeed evolving smoothly.
"Though it's not as fast as I imagined, I'm certain that one day, they will eventually become Machine Dolls."
Shouko's gaze at Rozen became one of satisfaction.
Since the Setsugetsuka sisters required vitality as fuel for their evolution, Shouko must have had some means of gauging the magnitude of a person's life force.
And she could clearly sense just how immense Rozen's vitality had become.
Refined by his Foreign Mana, Rozen's life force was now like that of the legendary World Tree—boundless, inexhaustible, and incomparable to his past self.
His current vitality was no less than that of an immortal Primogenitor. Even without being a vampire or forming an Absolute Contract, he could wield the full power of his Beast Vassals.
With such a vast source of life force sustaining Irori, Yaya, and Komurasaki, there was no doubt that they would eventually achieve their destined evolution into Machine Dolls.
"Your life is the sacrificial offering for the Machine Doll—the chosen victim I selected."
Shouko stared intently at Rozen as she spoke.
"Do you hate me, little boy?"
Her words made it clear that she was prepared for Rozen's resentment.
To treat another's life as a living sacrifice—how could such a person not be hated?
And yet...
"I don't hate you."
Rozen answered without hesitation.
"Why?"
Shouko was taken aback.
In response, Rozen smiled.
"If I had been completely unaware, that would be one thing. But back when you gave Yaya to me, you already told me about the drawbacks, didn't you?"
That was true.
Looking back, when Shouko had decided to choose Rozen as the master of the Setsugetsuka sisters, she had asked him this very question:
"What you'll be using is a banned doll. Since it was created through taboo means, there's no way it doesn't come with a price."
In that mansion, standing before the still-immature Rozen, Shouko had said those words.
"Perhaps my Setsugetsuka sisters also require you to pay some unacceptable cost in exchange for wielding them. Even knowing that, do you still not mind?"
In this way, she had confirmed Rozen's resolve.
And back then, Rozen had answered like this:
"If there's truly some flaw in the puppets I control, then I'll overcome it myself."
It was with this determination that Rozen had accepted ownership of Yaya from Shouko.
Even Irori and Komurasaki had been entrusted to him only after similar confirmations.
Thus, Shouko had already warned Rozen that using the Setsugetsuka sisters carried risks.
And Rozen, fully aware of this, had taken in Yaya and her sisters.
For that reason...
"To have three Automaton Dolls capable of becoming Machine Dolls is something I'm overjoyed about. Taking responsibility and nurturing them into true Machine Dolls is only natural."
Rozen smiled at Shouko.
"Of course, if you're thinking of taking the Setsugetsuka sisters back, that's out of the question."
Those three sisters were his now. He wouldn't return them.
Shouko laughed softly in response.
"I'm a puppet craftsman. A puppet craftsman's dream is to perfect their craft. Once completed, they naturally entrust their creations to a worthy master."
These words revealed Shouko's true feelings.
"I leave my daughters in your hands."
Her voice carried a rare note of hesitation and emotion as she spoke.
"Don't let them down, little boy."
To this, Rozen's answer was simple.
...
Afterwards, Shouko declared that she would sever ties with the Order of the Rose, no longer identifying herself as the Red Rose.
In fact, she was considering leaving Japan altogether, traveling the world to distance herself from the Order's schemes and the brewing conflicts of World War II.
Japan had already begun pressuring her to mass-produce high-performance Automaton Dolls for military use, which was why she had repeatedly sought ways to escape.
If it became known that Shouko had created the Machine Doll, both her homeland and other nations would stop at nothing to exploit her techniques.
Now that Raishin had been persuaded by Rozen to abandon his surveillance, the timing was perfect for Shouko to depart.
Thus, she prepared to set off alone.
Thinking of this, Rozen turned to Irori, Yaya, and Komurasaki.
"Hm?"
The three sisters tilted their heads in unison, puzzled.
Seeing this, Rozen couldn't help but chuckle.
Then—
"Irori, Yaya, Komurasaki."
He called out to them.
"There's something I need to tell you."