Chapter 309: Return to Ground (5)

Chapter 309: Return to
Ground (5)

When
did it start?

I
slowly chewed over the doubt echoing from within.

The
anger toward the one who is now arbitrarily handling my woman is not
needed right now.

‘For
revenge, I must first understand the situation.’

Let
me cool my head and analyze the enemy before my eyes.

Desperately
reminding myself of this, I clenched and suppressed the fist that was
about to rise.

‘Just
when did the Puppeteer take possession of Denshi’s body?’

Recently,
very recently.

Until
we went to Lilith’s tentacle maze, Denshi hadn’t worn such neat
clothes, nor had she shown any changes in her usual behavior.

She
would always wake up early in the morning and fetch wash water in a
bucket to wake me up.

While
doing so, she would sneakily give me back hugs and play pranks.

She
would also warmly help with morning preparations and inn operations
to become friends with Diana, who had allowed us to live together.

With
Ellie, she still maintained a subtle rival relationship so there was
some distance, but when Diana wasn’t around, they would cook together
and those feelings seemed to be somewhat neutralized, becoming more
of a love-hate relationship.

So
Ellie must have also noticed that Denshi’s behavior was different
from usual.

‘Roughly
around the time I was being tortured by the dream demons?’

Originally,
I hadn’t told Diana, Ellie, and Denshi that I was going to Lilith.

However,
Diana, who sensed something strange about me, immediately left the
inn to chase after me…

With
high probability, the Puppeteer took advantage of that gap to steal
Denshi’s body.

“…I
didn’t expect you to notice as soon as you saw me.”

And
judging from the reaction shown just now, no one else had noticed
during this time either.

“Our
Denshi doesn’t go around wearing such neat clothes.”

The
Puppeteer, who glanced down at Denshi’s body, finally let out a
hollow laugh.

“I
thought I dressed as conventionally as possible, but it backfired…
I’ve felt this since before, but this doll really has a terrible
taste.”

The
Puppeteer added, “This is a bit troublesome,” and clicked
her tongue.

Denshi’s
taste was indeed a bit bad.

She
was half an exhibitionist, a masochist, and due to the blessing’s
influence, she had even developed netorare tendencies, getting
excited when seeing me embrace other women.

“That’s
not for you to judge.”

But
determining what’s good or bad is my domain as Denshi’s owner.

It
wasn’t something that should come from the mouth of an entity that
had illegally invaded her body.

“Why
did you take control of Denshi’s body again to approach me? Even
calling me ‘Master’ so familiarly?”

“Don’t
look at me with such scary eyes. When we met before, you spoke
politely throughout… Should I have forcibly carved the puppet’s
curse back then?”

The
Puppeteer expressed regret with a face that seemed disappointed that
I was being hostile.

Before
the Puppeteer stole Denshi’s first experience in the bedroom of the
Idelbert mansion, I had encountered the Puppeteer who stole a girl’s
body with the [Puppet’s Curse] in the lawless zone.

Whether
you could call it coincidental, that day was also after having a bout
with dream demons.

But
if there was a difference from then, it was that I had become much
stronger than back then.

Having
slain an Elder Lich, killed a worshipper of envy, and brought a
worshipper of lust to their knees.

The
entity before my eyes no longer felt like something overwhelmingly
powerful as it did back in those days.

“You
couldn’t do it then, so why would you be able to now?”

At
my calm yet provocative retort, the Puppeteer’s expression darkened.

If
back then I was at a level where I had to dance to the Puppeteer’s
gestures.

Now
I had grown to the point where I could break arms and legs and
inflict about 8 weeks of medical treatment.

Of
course, after that I’d have to risk my life too…

But
I was confident that the entity before me wouldn’t go that far.

—I
will make you my puppet. You have quite some research value. You’re
interesting too.

The
Puppeteer had been surprisingly favorable toward me.

This
can be used.

“Then
and now, consistently arrogant and bold. I suppose I should say it’s
fitting for a man who threatened me with suicide…”

-Thud.

The
Puppeteer sat down on a table chair, crossing her legs.

As
expected, I didn’t feel any particular hostility from the Puppeteer
who rested her arms on the table and propped her chin.

However,
the very situation of her occupying Denshi’s body felt quite
threatening to me.

“You
don’t need to be so wary. I don’t particularly intend to fight… And
you asked why I occupied this child’s body, but I’d like you to
correct that. I exercised a contractor’s legitimate right.”

“Legitimate
right? Nonsense. Using someone else’s body as if it were your own
can’t be a legitimate right.”

“No.
It’s correct. That was the content of the contract.”

Whooom—

The
Puppeteer said this while reaching into the air.

‘…Personal
subspace?’

Denshi
didn’t have a personal subspace, let alone a subspace bag.

Could
it be that she used her own power through Denshi’s body?

The
Puppeteer pulled out an orb from the subspace.

Originally
black, but now about 70% dyed white.

It
was the orb that recorded Denshi’s ‘free activity’ time, given by
Intert, the Puppeteer’s subordinate and Denshi’s teacher.

“When
this orb turns completely white, I told her to return to the Dark
Street. There’s not much time left now. At most about 3 months?”

“…Back
then, I definitely heard the period was about 1 year.”

“That
was just an approximate time. This orb is also a tool that records
this doll’s growth. It’s a joyful thing. If you’ve sown seeds and
fruit is about to bear, shouldn’t you go to harvest?”

“Denshi
isn’t some crop you grew.”

The
Puppeteer smiled with a sneer mixed in, as if she had been waiting
for just those words.

“A
seed that had lost its master and became half-disabled, withering
away, and I poured fertilizer and nutrients into it, even making it
sprout… and you say I didn’t grow it? I sent her away thinking of
past connections, and you really think this doll belongs to you?”

When
I was separated from Denshi on the 5th floor due to an unexpected
accident.

Denshi,
who heard the Puppeteer’s voice and headed toward her, made a
contract with the Puppeteer under the desire to protect me.

On
the condition of gaining the power to protect the master she would
meet again someday.

The
contract with the Puppeteer became Denshi’s bondage.

[◆2nd
Puppet’s Curse]

Denshi’s
puppet curse, which had risen from the 30th to the 2nd place in just
a few days, meant that the bondage had become stronger.

Still,
I didn’t give in and said:

“Denshi
is my slave. My property alone.”

“Contracts
for buying and selling slaves can be forcibly torn apart anytime.
This side, bound in the form of a curse, has the upper hand.”

“…Why
are you so obsessed with Denshi?”

“Huh?”

It
had been a continuous question.

“At
first, she was clearly like a puppet in the thousands, not even worth
notice.”

“……”

But
now she has become a single-digit puppet.

No
matter how high Denshi’s talent and potential as an explorer, she
wasn’t in an unrivaled position.

“There
must be many puppets much stronger than Denshi, right? Why do you
keep possessing her body? Why?”

But
what exactly does the Puppeteer see in Denshi to give her such high
value?

“Tell
me! Why!!!”

The
emotions I had been suppressing for rational judgment burst out
momentarily, and I instinctively grabbed Denshi’s collar tight.

Just
like when I occasionally scolded Denshi, the moment I yanked the very
familiar feeling collar tight.

Paeaeaeng!

“Kheut…?!”

The
taut rope pulled the Puppeteer’s neck and upper body, instantly
bringing her and me close together.

Soon,
my reflection appeared in the Puppeteer’s… no, Denshi’s violet
eyes.

Since
Diana and Ellie had also gone to Eden’s stalls to dispose of the
remaining ingredients, there was no one at the inn today.

Therefore,
I hadn’t raised my guard as usual and wasn’t wearing my helmet
either.

The
moment the male filled with hostility and anger glared at her as if
to devour her eyes.

“…Heut…!”

Crack!

The
Puppeteer, who suddenly flushed red, hastily pushed me away.

I
judged this as the start of combat.

Just
as I was about to draw Bunny and subdue the Puppeteer.

“Wh-what
rude behavior…! Ueut…!”

The
moment I saw the Puppeteer hastily creating distance and twirling her
short hair with her fingers… I froze in bewilderment.

Counterattack
or retaliation, nothing I had simulated in my head happened.

The
behavior shown by the female before my eyes wasn’t responding to or
retaliating against the enemy’s attack…

“H-how
dare you treat me like this, heut… I’ve lived for hundreds of
years, but I’ve never seen a male as rude and insane as you.”

As
if feeling an emotion like ‘you’re the first person to do this to
me,’ she was trembling.

‘…Did
Denshi’s unconscious react?’

No,
if that were the case, she wouldn’t have shown such a reaction.

It
was something I did to Denshi every day.

Then,
could it be that the reaction just shown was…

What
flashed through my mind at that moment was the image of Denshi acting
cute toward me on the bed in the past.

No.

While
stealing Denshi’s body, wiggling her hips to seduce me…

“Indeed.
To make a lowly lawless-born have the resolve to approach ‘Desire,’
you need this level of coercion…”

My
concentration returned to the Puppeteer’s quietly muttered words.

The
female expression I had just seen disappeared like a hallucination,
and she straightened her posture with a sharp expression.

“Desire?”

When
I asked about the strangely concerning word, the Puppeteer shook her
head.

“Even
if I tell you, you won’t understand with human emotions. Even that
hero said she couldn’t understand and snapped…”

Hero.

There
was only one being in this world who was called that in the past.

The
only god that the religious order worships and spreads teachings
about.

The
being who created the labyrinth that demons call the underground
prison.

The
Earth Mother Goddess.

Why
did that being suddenly come from the Puppeteer’s mouth?

No,
before that.

“What
exactly is your desire that Denshi has to be used—”

“So.”

However,
the Puppeteer cut off my words as if she had no intention of
continuing the conversation.

“From
now on, keep making your way through the labyrinth—”

-Rustle.

Soon
the Puppeteer’s… Denshi’s eyes closed, and she collapsed to the
floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

I
couldn’t even think of helping the fallen Denshi up and just stared
down at her blankly.

Ah.
It’s been a while.

This
sticky unpleasant feeling.

The
frustration from facing phenomena I couldn’t understand unilaterally.

The
unpleasant feeling of being seen as prey or a tool, a target for use
rather than a person…

But
I mustn’t be consumed by such unpleasant sensations.

In
times like this, I must move forward.

“Bunny.”

[…Curious
about that bitch?]

I
gently patted Bunny, who now understood my intentions without me
having to say anything.

—How
did that bastard get there…?

As
soon as Bunny saw Denshi possessed by the Puppeteer, she showed signs
as if she had seen through the entity inside Denshi.

If
I asked Bunny for help, I could understand the Puppeteer a little
better.

The
anxiety that I might lose someone precious without even realizing it
touched the intense competitive spirit within me.

[Hehe.]

Bunny,
sensing that will, also chuckled softly.

[This
might actually let us devour the same demon.]