Chapter 317: Reorganization (2)

Chapter
317: Reorganization (2)

“No.
Please pretend you didn’t hear that.”

I
swallowed the words I had just spat out.

Balkan
acknowledged Zirnier as the best blacksmith in the labyrinth city.

She
hated making tools for archers and magic users.

And
she really disliked effeminate weapons like rapiers…

She
was the type of blacksmith who was crazy about rough, tough, and wild
weapons.

Asking
her to do small and delicate work like a ring might be too much to
ask.

“Ah,
no! Why?!”

Contrary
to my expectations, Zirnier strongly protested my withdrawal.

“I’ll
make it for you! Your ring!”

“Well.
But I thought you didn’t like this kind of thing, Zirnier—”

“No!
I do like it!”

Zirnier
shouted, staring at me for a moment.

Whether
it was an impulse due to alcohol or some other feeling in her heart.

The
half-dwarf’s cheeks were flushed red.

“…Filigree!
I like filigree! Didn’t you see the axe design I made for you?! How
much effort I put into that!”

“Well.
Certainly…”

Zirnier,
sensing the strange atmosphere, hurriedly added.

I
had no choice but to nod at her words.

Although
there was a slight difference between ring filigree and weapon
patterns, they ultimately met in the broad category of filigree.

It
would be good to entrust the work to Zirnier, who was skilled in
making anything.

If
she strongly demanded it like that, it was a good thing for me, who
was in the position of commissioning the work.

[I
just hope she’s not good at making babies.]

“That’s
rude, Bunny.”

I
scolded Bunny, who had been quiet for a while and then blurted out
another shocking thing, and Zirnier stared blankly at me and Bunny.

“You
can communicate with that thing now? Seems like you’ve gotten a
little closer?”

“Ah,
yes. Somehow.”

“Hoo…”

Zirnier’s
attention, which had been focused on the ring, shifted back to Bunny.

Her
eyes were still full of interest.

“A
weapon made from the byproducts of a demon with a spirit dwelling
within it. That woman stuck in the lawless district is the same.
Demons are really amazing.”

“…That
woman stuck in the lawless district?”

When
I casually repeated the words Zirnier had muttered, she covered her
mouth with a look of realization.

“Pretend
you didn’t hear that. I shouldn’t have said that just now.”

“Could
that woman stuck in the lawless district be the Puppeteer… the
Demon of Greed?”

“…Huh?”

At
my question, Zirnier looked back at me with a bewildered expression.

“Wait.
How do you know that, Balkan?”

That
was what I wanted to ask.

How
did Zirnier know about the Puppeteer…

As
I was thinking that, I realized her identity again.

The
first princess of the kingdom.

A
blacksmith who had reached the depths.

Even
though she had left the royal castle to pursue her dream, it was
natural that she would be aware of the general situation.

‘Then…
could I ask for help?’

A
way to remove the Puppet Curse from Denshi.

I
might be able to get a hint from the mouth of a royal family member
who had a lot of information.

“Well,
actually…”

In
a voice as gloomy and powerless as possible, I told Zirnier about the
conversation I had with the Puppeteer who had possessed Denshi.

The
Puppeteer who tried to make Denshi into a puppet and put her in her
hands.

The
way she was obsessed with something called ‘B wish’ and so on.

Recalling
that time again, the anger towards the plunderer who claimed my slave
as her own slowly boiled up from the depths of my heart.

And
when the story was over, Zirnier’s expression was…

“This
is troublesome…”

It
was literally full of embarrassment.

“Your
slave caught the Puppeteer’s eye?”

“Yes.
She seemed to want her quite a bit. She even tried to bind her with a
contract.”

“……”

Zirnier
rested her chin on her hand in front of the blazing furnace and
pondered before opening her mouth.

“You
know the lawless district has been very noisy lately, right?”

“Yes.”

The
lion beastman priest Jellysi and the vice union leader Yonel Freya
had also mentioned it.

I
heard that the scale of the commotion was quite large, with several
members of the Royal Knights and guards, and even Idelbert.

“Recently,
the Puppeteer has released some of the low- and mid-level outlaws who
were cursed with the Puppet Curse.”

“…That
Puppeteer, with her own hands?”

“Yeah.”

I
could learn two things from Zirnier’s words.

First,
the Puppeteer could undo the Puppet Curse with her own hands.

Second,
she had released all the low- and mid-level outlaws.

‘Strange.’

This
didn’t make sense.

Most
of those cursed with the Puppet Curse didn’t even know they had
been cursed.

Unless
they had a status window like me or checked the blessings one by one,
how would others notice a curse that they themselves didn’t know
about?

‘Then,
that means there’s a noticeable feature that even those who can’t
see the curse can recognize at a glance.’

I
knew of a similar case.

The
unfortunate dark elf mage Nuer, who resisted the Puppet Curse and
eventually became a Ttuttai.

“Could
it be that ‘release’ doesn’t mean release in the sense of
gaining freedom, but…”

“…They’ve
all become idiots.”

Crazy.

I
rubbed my forehead at Zirnier’s agreement.

There
were tens of thousands of people with the Puppet Curse.

Even
if only thousands, or even hundreds, of them were ‘released,’ it
would be really troublesome.

“In
an idiotic state, they move according to their instincts. Most of
them regress to infancy and babble, but some…”

“Will
move according to their instincts from their outlaw days.”

“…If
there are hundreds or thousands of them, not just dozens, it’s hard
to deal with.”

Infantile
Ttuttais and outlaws who had lost their reason and were acting on
instinct were mixed together.

The
lawless district was now a complete mess.

“I
couldn’t figure out why the guy who made an inviolable contract
when the previous king was alive suddenly did something so drastic,
but maybe your slave stimulated something in the Puppeteer…”

I
recalled the conversation I had with the Puppeteer at Zirnier’s
words.

“A
lowly outlaw who is close to B…”

What
did the Puppeteer, who had turned the lawless district into a mess,
see in Denshi?

My
intuition as an explorer who had overcome many crises was telling me.

That
the Puppeteer’s purpose was contained in that question.

That
if I wanted to protect the slave who had sworn allegiance to me, I
had to poke and stir that itchy part.

‘Besides,
the previous king’s era…’

From
what I heard, the Demon of Greed, the Puppeteer, had been unsealed
quite a while ago.

‘What
kind of contract did she make with the previous king? Why did the
royal family know about the Puppeteer’s existence and remain
silent?’

Zirnier,
who was watching me continue to worry, shook her head.

“…Don’t
think too deeply. It’s a little late to say this now, but if you
get involved with such an existence, you’ll be in too much danger.”

“There’s
someone baring their teeth to take away someone precious to me, I can
take any risk.”

I
stared at Zirnier with determined eyes.

I
had to protect my people myself. I couldn’t just stand by and hope
that someone else would solve it for me.

If
I wanted to protect my precious female, the male had no choice but to
go into battle himself.

Perhaps
she felt my determination.

“Haa.
You’re really…”

The
blonde tanned half-dwarf in overalls sighed and rubbed her forehead.

Then,
the corners of Zirnier’s lips curled up bitterly.

“…That
tough part of you, I really like it.”

Zirnier,
with a mischievous smile, patted her shoulder with a hammer and said.

“In
a few days, Idelbert and the Royal Knights… my younger sister will
be having a meeting with the Puppeteer in the lawless district about
the contract.”

I
couldn’t help but be a little surprised by what she said as if it
were nothing.

‘Was
the reason Celsia said she would stay in the explorer district even
after the noble title ceremony because of the meeting with the
Puppeteer?’

The
lawless district was more barbaric, lewd, and rough than the explorer
district, but not everyone who lived there was a conscienceless piece
of trash.

Regardless
of the contents of the contract, they were trying to have a meeting
with the demon to return those who had unfairly become idiots.

“My
sister wanted to see you anyway… have a conversation with her.”

“Thank
you for the good information.”

“What.
I was just muttering to myself, I don’t know who heard it? Oh,
and.”

Kwaaaaaa!

Zirnier,
who had chuckled, activated the furnace and pointed to the tattered
weapon with a hammer.

“I’ll
have my babies all dolled up by then, so come back at the right
time.”

At
her confident appearance, I also chuckled and rummaged through my
gold coin pouch.

Zirnier
always refused, saying she didn’t need my dirty money, but I had to
show my sincerity at times like this.

“Ah,
by the way.”

Zirnier,
who glanced around as if she had forgotten something, approached me
with an embarrassed expression, her confident appearance from just
now nowhere to be found, and whispered.

“How
many… rings should I make…?”

***

The
key to solving the Puppet Curse on Denshi lies with the Puppeteer.

If
I could beg Idelbert or Celsia to let me join the meeting, I could
convey my intentions to the Puppeteer, even if only a little.

But
before that.

Paeaeaeang!

“Keheuk…!”

“Lilith.
Are you sure?”

“Y-yes,
Nehe…! I-I’m sure…!”

Lilith,
with her leash pulled, nodded her head vigorously, and under her feet
was a magic circle so elaborate that it was hard for me to follow.

And
in the center of that magic circle.

“Are
you sure this will undo the curse…?”

Diana
stood there with an expression of half gratitude and half worry.

It
would take Lilith at least two weeks to undo the curse of the Demon
of Lust on Diana.

Before
more time passed, I wanted to make her comfortable.