Chapter 46: Fully Automatic Wish Machine

Chapter 46: Fully Automatic Wish Machine

Midseashire, Limon City.

Jasmine wrapped a scarf around her face and walked out of her apartment building.

She had heard that Limon’s annual carnival had begun, and she wanted to go to the municipal square to take a look.

At this time last year, because of the war, the carnival had not been held, greatly disappointing Jasmine. Afterward, she had suffered the greatest trauma of her life and had hidden at home ever since, not daring and not wishing to go out.

Perhaps because she had shut herself away for too long, and because she had remained confined to the narrow environment of her home all that time, Jasmine had recently found herself constantly wanting to go outside and walk around everywhere, just like before.

As her gaze shifted, she saw her current self in the large glass window of a shop beside the street:

Entirely dressed in black, without the slightest other color. Her long skirt reached her ankles. The veil of her hat covered most of her face, and from beneath her eyes to her neck, she was wrapped in layer after layer of scarf. Both hands wore knitted wool gloves.

This was completely different from the cheerful, lively self in Jasmine’s memories.

During the previous war, an artillery shell had destroyed the home Jasmine had once shared with her parents and caused a fire that burned her face, leaving injuries all over her body.

If not for sufficient luck, Jasmine would long since have died from those severe wounds. Yet even so, she felt that her life seemed to have ended at that moment.

Now, her nose had been burned away, leaving only two black holes. There were many traces of fire on her face, neck, and hands. If she walked through the night, she could very well play the role of a demon.

One thing Jasmine remembered very clearly was the first night after moving into this apartment building. Before sleeping, she had cleaned herself in the communal washroom. Just as she walked out the door, she saw a young man approaching, and that young man also saw her.

Under the crimson moonlight, the young man revealed an expression of extreme horror, as though he might jump up, turn around, and sprint away at any moment.

In the end, he controlled himself. He merely took a few steps to the side and no longer dared look at Jasmine’s face.

That pierced Jasmine’s fragile heart. Starting that day, she no longer went out. Even when she needed to clean herself, she waited until the dead of night.

In this regard, she was extremely grateful to her parents, because they said nothing. They worked hard to maintain their life, relying on their original savings and later employment to barely support the household, so Jasmine did not need to go out and earn a salary.

After walking for some distance, Jasmine saw the main venue of the carnival—Limon Municipal Square.

The dense crowd, the release of all kinds of emotions, and the heated atmosphere made Jasmine instinctively stop.

She did not dare approach, afraid that someone would notice her strange attire, afraid that the scarf might accidentally fall away.

After hesitating for several seconds, she came to a complete stop and found a clean spot by the street to sit down, focusing on gazing toward the municipal square.

She did not know how much time had passed before she noticed that there was someone beside her.

It was a young man in a black robe and tall top hat, like a magician from a circus.

The municipal square is over there… Jasmine originally wanted to remind him, but after her lips moved a few times, she still did not open her mouth.

She neither dared nor wished to speak with anyone.

Yet the young man took the initiative to walk over. Removing his top hat, he bowed slightly.

“Miss, do you know what this machine is for?”

Machine? Jasmine subconsciously raised her head and, somewhat confused, followed the young man’s gaze to the side.

Under a gas streetlamp, a machine as narrow as a wardrobe had appeared there at some unknown time.

Its surface was brass-colored and embedded with several panes of opaque glass. Gears, bearings, rivets, metal pipes, and other components were directly exposed, giving it a very rough appearance.

Jasmine withdrew her gaze and shook her head to indicate that she did not know what that machine did.

At the same time, this also expressed her intent to refuse communication.

“It is called the Fully Automatic Wish Machine,” the young man introduced with a smile. “It is my invention and can automatically realize the operator’s wishes. Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Merlin Hermes, a wandering magician.”

Fully Automatic Wish Machine… Jasmine discovered that she understood every word, yet could not combine them into a meaningful whole.

“You may try it. As the first user, it is free,” Klein, in the guise of Merlin Hermes, said with a smile.

Jasmine shook her head, refusing further conversation.

Klein was not discouraged in the slightest. He looked at her and said,

“For example, you could make a wish to return to your original appearance.”

The sentence was like an arrow shooting into Jasmine’s heart. Shocked, she stood, hurriedly stepped back, and tried to leave.

She suspected the other party had already seen what she currently looked like.

“How will you know the wish cannot come true if you do not try? You do not need to pay anything.” Klein looked at her back and spoke at an unhurried pace.

Jasmine’s steps gradually slowed, then finally stopped.

If she could return to her original appearance, even if she had to pay a large sum of money, she would still be willing to pursue it.

But she knew that the wish deep in her heart was one money could never fulfill.

No payment required… A free attempt… What if it does come true… Thoughts rose and fell inside Jasmine’s mind. As though tempted by a devil, she slowly turned around.

“Really?” she asked in a hoarse voice.

Klein pointed at the machine.

“I can step ten meters away. All you need to do is turn the lever on that machine.

“You do not need to take off your hat or scarf.”

The last sentence moved Jasmine. She nodded quickly.

“All right.”

Only after Merlin Hermes had withdrawn some distance did Jasmine approach the machine and cautiously reach out to grasp the lever on the “door.”

In truth, she was quite worried that once she turned it, she would encounter a prank, such as being drenched with water. This was something that happened every year during the carnival, and she and her friends had once played such tricks on others. But compared with having her wish fulfilled, she felt that was something she could bear.

Even if it ultimately proved that no such good thing as wish fulfillment existed, this could still count as her experience of taking part in the carnival.

“Remember to make your wish before turning it,” Klein reminded her from not far away.

Jasmine steadied herself and spoke her wish in an almost soundless voice:

“I want to return to how I looked before I was burned by the fire.”

After saying that, she turned the lever with both nervousness and anticipation.

The next second, the “door” of the Fully Automatic Wish Machine opened, and an ordinary log-colored cane extended outward, touching Jasmine’s forehead once.

While Jasmine did not notice it, a gold ring set with a ruby appeared on her hand.

When the log-colored cane retracted into the Fully Automatic Wish Machine, the gold ring set with the ruby disappeared along with it.

Amid the sound of gears turning, Jasmine saw the machine’s “door” slowly close.

It’s over just like that? she thought in confusion.

She did not experience the sensation of having her wish fulfilled, nor did she encounter a prank. Everything seemed so strange.

“Congratulations. Your wish has been fulfilled.” Klein walked back, gently clapping as though he were a witness.

The wish has been fulfilled… How could that be possible… Just as this thought flashed through Jasmine’s mind, she suddenly sensed that something had appeared beneath her scarf.

Something had once again risen from the place where only two black holes had remained!

Jasmine hesitantly and slowly raised her hand, touching her own face. She clearly felt the existence of a nose.

And the experience of breathing likewise proved it.

She abruptly turned around, putting her back to Merlin Hermes, and walked to a shop by the street. In the light of the gas streetlamp, she cast her gaze toward the glass window.

Then she removed, layer by layer, the scarf wrapped around her face.

Reflected in the window was the face of a young girl with not particularly large eyes, a nose that was not especially straight, lips that were not especially full, and a scattering of faint freckles.

Jasmine subconsciously raised a hand and covered her mouth. Light and mist both filled her eyes.

After a few seconds, she raised an arm, wiped her face with her sleeve, turned back toward Merlin Hermes, and asked,

“Are you… a god?”

“I am only a magician who enjoys creating miracles.” Klein smiled and pointed at the machine beside him. “The one you should thank most is it—the Fully Automatic Wish Machine.”

“Fully automatic…” Jasmine repeated subconsciously, her emotions surging.

Klein nodded.

“Yes. A Fully Automatic Wish Machine that does not need anyone’s help and can operate on its own.

“You can understand it as a gas meter. As long as you insert a coin, you can have your wish fulfilled just like obtaining gas.

“The specific steps are simple: insert one penny, make your wish, then turn the lever.

“Remember, it can fulfill only three wishes.”

As he explained, Klein mocked himself inwardly:

If one day I unfortunately die and become a Sealed Artifact, I hope I become something like a Fully Automatic Wish Machine.

After leaving Constant City, the capital of Midseashire, Klein had changed the way he fulfilled other people’s wishes so that he would not become bored:

People always had to learn to find amusement in tedious work.

This is truly magical… Jasmine simply could not find words to describe how she felt.

Because of this, her surging emotions settled down considerably.

“Will it—I mean, will this Fully Automatic Wish Machine—always be here?” Jasmine asked after a moment of hesitation.

Klein smiled.

“No.

“It might stay here for three days. It might not even stay that long. Perhaps when the sun rises, it will disappear.

“But it will not be gone forever. Perhaps one day, you will see it again at a street corner.”

Jasmine’s mind was a confused mess, making it difficult for her to sort out her thoughts. All she could do was bow seriously to the machine.

“Thank you, Mr. Fully Automatic Wish Machine.”

Then she bowed to Klein again.

“Thank you, Mr. Hermes.”

Before her voice had fully faded, Jasmine suddenly remembered what Merlin Hermes had just said. With expectation, surprise, and considerable embarrassment, she asked,

“It can fulfill three wishes?”

“Yes. But after this, it will no longer be free. You will need to insert a coin,” Klein answered, not minding at all.