Ch.70God’s Puppet (1)

“Hmm….”

The Demon Army Commander-in-Chief looked down at the map on the table while stroking his chin.

“Hmmmm…. So that’s how it is….”

The other demons seated at the table nervously glanced at each other, fidgeting anxiously.

They were the Demon Army based in the northeastern part of the continent.

They were gradually extending their claws across the continent to devour this world.

The map they were looking at was a complete map of the continent, covered with complex military symbols.

On the right shoulder of the continent, which resembled a bird with outstretched wings, were numerous blue units.

These were the Demon Army legions, which had completely subjugated the region and were gradually moving south.

The red markings surrounding the blue cluster represented the armies of humans and various races.

Although intelligent species including humans were stepping up to block the Demon Army’s advance, they were no match.

From the beginning, demons were enemies with a completely different approach than the traditional combat of stabbing and slashing.

As a result, the armies of intelligent species were being one-sidedly crushed without even having time to request aid from other regions.

This was the current situation in the northeastern part of the continent.

At this rate, the entire continent would fall into the hands of the Demon Army before winter arrived.

The Commander-in-Chief had firmly believed this until quite recently.

But that dream had proven to be empty.

A single crazed unit that had appeared out of nowhere was single-handedly blocking the Demon Army’s advance.

Not only blocking it, but even pushing northward on some fronts.

The place the Commander-in-Chief was now tapping with his baton was where just yesterday the defense line had been completely shattered, cutting off connections between units, leaving them isolated, surrounded, and annihilated.

It was an unprecedented level of damage, which was why the staff officers were sweating profusely while watching the Commander-in-Chief’s mouth.

“About this.”

“Yes, Commander-in-Chief…”

The Commander-in-Chief finally spoke while continuing to tap his baton.

“You say it’s not a unit?” “We haven’t properly confirmed yet…”

“What do you mean you haven’t confirmed?! You’re telling me just a few humans running around together are causing this havoc!”

When venomous steam erupted from the Commander-in-Chief’s mouth, the staff officers flinched and bowed their heads deeply.

“How can the attack line collapse because we can’t catch a few measly humans?! Argh! Does this make any sense, you bastards?!”

Unable to contain his anger, the Commander-in-Chief pounded his fist repeatedly on the table, causing it to collapse.

“Who exactly are these people?”

The Commander-in-Chief, somewhat calmer after destroying the table, asked.

“W-well… They appear to be composed of a mage, warrior, and others, but we don’t know exactly. Perhaps they’re mercenaries or a hero party…”

The staff officer bit his lip, unable to continue.

The Commander-in-Chief’s face contorted at the word “hero.”

“Are you referring to that ridiculous rumor that’s been circulating recently?”

The rumor went like this:

A girl with ash-gray hair wielding a single sword was roaming the continent, hunting only the most evil and powerful beings.

Achieving unbelievable heroic feats one after another, people had begun calling this girl a hero.

“A hero, you say…”

The Commander-in-Chief had already heard this rumor and asked a demon of astrology to see the future.

At that time, the astrology demon prophesied that someday in the future, he would face a silver-haired woman.

Could this be that time…

“We will halt the attack to the south.”

The staff officers’ eyes nearly popped out at the Commander-in-Chief’s declaration.

“You cannot stop the war now!”

“I didn’t say we’re stopping. We’re deploying all units to hunt down this so-called hero.”

“Pardon? Hunt, you say?”

“The human armies cannot stop us anyway. But we cannot leave those disrupting our front lines as they are. Send out all reconnaissance teams to find their location! We’ll capture them even if we have to pour in all our forces!”

“Understood!”

* * * * *

Early dawn in a forest.

Three women were sitting, taking a brief rest.

“What are you doing, Hero?”

Apprentice Mage Kareni asked Alreina, who was sitting against a tree writing something.

“A letter.”

Alreina answered with a smile.

“Who are you writing to?”

“The person who wrote this for me.”

Alreina showed the strategy guide she always carried.

“I’ve been curious about that book. You read it whenever you have time.”

“It’s a book that comforts me.”

“Huh? If that’s the case, let me read it too.”

Holy Priestess Amila reached out from her sleeping bag, and Alreina handed over the strategy guide with a warning.

“Don’t tear it by handling it carelessly.”

“I’ll be careful. Huh? What is this?”

Amila grimaced after flipping through a few pages of the strategy guide.

“Why is it so complicated? This doesn’t comfort the mind; it does the opposite!”

Amila handed back the strategy guide and asked.

“What exactly is that? The content is overwhelming. Who wrote it for you?”

“The person I love.”

“What? Hero, don’t tell me you’re married?”

Mage Kareni exclaimed in surprise, fumbling for a ring on Alreina’s finger.

“I’m not married.”

“Then a fiancé? Wow. A fiancé waiting back home. That’s so romantic…”

“Not a fiancé either…”

“Then a lover?”

“Not a lover either…”

“Ah, I get it. Not a husband, not a fiancé, not a lover—it’s just a one-sided love on your part?”

One-sided love.

After thinking for a moment, Alreina nodded.

“That would be most accurate.”

“The person you have a one-sided love for wrote this book for you? That doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t understand it either. I still don’t know why that person wrote this for me.”

“What are you saying? They gave it to you suddenly without any reason?”

“So far, yes.”

Kareni and Amila looked at each other questioningly.

“Then where is this person now?”

“Have you heard of Starting Village?”

Both Kareni and Amila shook their heads at Alreina’s question.

“I’ve never heard of such a strange name. Where is it?”

When Alreina gave them a rough location, Kareni muttered to herself, counting on her fingers.

“Eek?! That’s incredibly far away! Did you come all the way from there to here, Hero?! Can you use dimensional gates?!”

“No, nothing like that, Kareni. I just followed this strategy guide that the mister wrote.”

“Then does the strategy guide contain methods to open dimensional gates?!”

“Rather than that, it has locations of hidden natural rifts. I was able to travel quickly here and there using those.”

“Such things exist?! No, more importantly, how does this mister know about such things?! What does he do?! Is he perhaps a reclusive archmage?!”

Alreina shrugged at Kareni’s speculation.

“I don’t know either. On the surface, he’s a potion shop owner.”

“A potion shop owner? That’s a bit strange.”

Amila tilted her head and interjected.

“A potion shop owner doesn’t need skills other than making potions. How old is he?”

“I don’t know. He looks like he’s not yet in his thirties, but he has clear skin and is handsome, so he might look younger than his age.”

“That makes it even stranger. At that age, being a potion shop owner normally means you know nothing but making potions… From what I know, getting that license is really difficult.”

“Maybe he’s a god.”

At Alreina’s mumble, Holy Priestess Amila snorted.

“Are you saying that in front of a priestess? A god? That’s nonsense.”

“But nothing else explains it. What would you call someone who knows the entire future and can see the whole continent, if not a god?”

The two people currently talking with Alreina were also mentioned in the strategy guide.

It stated that these two must be recruited as companions when fighting the Demon Army that was just beginning to rampage in the northeast.

Kareni, though an apprentice mage, was exceptionally skilled with one magic that was very effective against demons, and Holy Priestess Amila had an extraordinary talent for blocking demons’ mental attacks.

Thanks to these two, Alreina had succeeded in pushing back the Demon Army as much as they had advanced over the past few weeks.

Encouraged by this, the kingdoms and intelligent species of the northeast had united and begun a major counterattack.

“Anyway, so what? Will you go to that mister when all your journeys are over?”

“I should. It’s only right to go and thank him.”

“And then confess and ask him to accept you now, Hero, kyaaak!”

Kareni made a fuss.

Confession…

“Everyone get up. We’ve rested too long.”

Alreina put the unfinished letter in her bosom and stood up, dusting herself off.

“Where do we go now?”

“Just a moment.”

Opening the strategy guide, there was a clear chart detailing what Alreina and her party needed to do today.

We need to arrive at the foot of this mountain by morning and annihilate a detachment.

Since the Demon Army will make a large-scale maneuver to capture us around afternoon, we should cross this river and head north around lunchtime.

After striking the Demon Army’s rear command post, all missions in the northeast will be complete.

“We’ll be having dinner at the Demon Army’s field headquarters tonight.”

“Yay! I’m excited! Steak! Steak!”

Kareni shouted excitedly at Alreina’s declaration.

“You fool. Would the Demon Army eat steak? They’re probably boiling soup made from dismembered corpses.”

Holy Priestess Amila made a terrible joke while snickering.

“Let’s go!”

Alreina took the lead, holding open the strategy guide.

When the adventure ends, I’ll return to Starting Village.

He’s the one who helped me start my adventure and will help me finish it.

And…

For some reason, when I try to recall memories from before I set out on this adventure, nothing comes to mind.

Where my real hometown is, whether my parents are alive, why I set out on this adventure.

The only life I remember is the brief moment from leaving Starting Village until now.

For me, the mister’s strategy guide has been a life manual, and I can’t imagine life without it.

In the end, my current life was all created by the mister, and he must take responsibility for it.

That’s all. There is no other way.

So, mister. Please guide me on the right path today as well.