Chapter 324: Reorganization (9)

Chapter
324: Reorganization (9)

Sreung!

The
knights, having urgently drawn their weapons, glared at the helmeted
warrior standing as if to protect the princess.

‘Is
that guy crazy?!’

No
one spoke, but they were mostly thinking the same thing.

Calling
her a bitch.

Calling
the Puppeteer a bitch?

It
wouldn’t be strange if the enraged Puppeteer rushed in and
severed his neck with that chilling Mana.

The
knights anticipated the worst-case scenario and began to gather their
Mana to respond.

However.

“Pfft.”

What
the knights heard was a voice trying to suppress laughter.

The
knights blankly raised their heads.

The
woman in the high sky, the Puppeteer, was covering her mouth,
stifling giggles.

“Hehe,
pfft…! Ahahaha!”

The
suppressed laughter soon turned into an explosion of laughter.

Moisture
welled up in the eyes of the doll, which were as intricately detailed
as a real human.

The
Puppeteer, unable to contain her excitement, wiped the moisture
from her eyes with her fingers and muttered.

“Shameless
and haughty, is it a family trait…?”

In
that moment when awkward glances were exchanged among the people, the
Puppeteer’s body slowly began to descend to the ground.

Sreureuk.

The
soles of her feet, doll-like but with the texture of a soft human
woman, gently pressed against the dirt floor.

The
knights stared at the Puppeteer and Balkan with astonished eyes.

Despite
hearing an insult that a normal man couldn’t even imagine, calling
her a bitch…

The
demon before them didn’t retaliate at all, but obeyed the man’s words
and descended to the ground.

Before
the shock that the demon had obediently listened to a human could
even subside, the Puppeteer, who had landed on the ground, looked
around at those who were wary of her and smiled.

“Didn’t
you want to do it with me?”

A
seductive voice flowed from her crescent-shaped lips.

“The
negotiation, I mean.”

***

“Something’s
fishy.”

Before
sitting down at the negotiation table with the Puppeteer, Celsia
frowned and rested her chin on her hand.

Celsia,
Idelbert, and I, along with Denshi, were gathered together discussing
the situation.

Outside
the tent, the knights were guarding the Puppeteer.

“After
making such a mess, she came to us before we even went to her.”

The
Puppeteer had ‘liberated’ those afflicted with the Puppet Curse
in the lawless zone, turning them into Tteuttai idiots and rioters.

The
royal family was questioning the Puppeteer for violating the
non-aggression pact and trying to hold talks.

As
a result, a place to talk with the Puppeteer was created, but
there was a strangely unsettling aspect to it.

“Isn’t
she just scared and running over here?!”

Denshi
raised his hand enthusiastically and stated his guess.

“If
she was really scared, she would have stayed in her base. Besides,
she’s not the type to be scared by this many troops in the first
place.”

Idelbert
shook his head with a look that said, ‘Don’t talk nonsense.’

“It’s
more likely that she has a reason to come to the camp.”

“I
think so too.”

I
nodded in response to Idelbert’s muttering.

This
was strange.

‘The
Puppeteer came out of her own base.’

Depending
on the outcome of the talks, a battle could break out.

Everyone
thought so.

And
if a battle broke out, it would naturally be advantageous to fight
within one’s own territory.

A
familiar environment, where traps and equipment could be used more
freely.

‘But
the Puppeteer came out of her own base.’

This
wasn’t just about confidence in her power.

“A
reason why the Puppeteer would come first, and so urgently…”

Celsia
said, looking at me and Denshi.

The
reason why the Puppeteer, who would be safer and have a higher
chance of winning by staying hidden, came out.

The
only change that had occurred in the camp in the past few hours was.

“It’s
probably because of us.”

It
was that I and Denshi had come to the camp.

And
the Puppeteer had a desire for Denshi.

She
smiled brightly while testing me as the hero’s brother.

Whether
she had watched through Denshi’s Puppet Curse or learned through the
Tteuttai rioters.

Immediately
after realizing that we had come to the camp, the Puppeteer must
have come here as well.

“……”

Crunch…

Celsia
bit her lower lip at my answer.

If
the Puppeteer’s goal was really the two of us.

What
would be the wisest choice for the royal family, which aimed to
return those who had turned into idiots and rioters to their original
state and strengthen the non-aggression pact with the Puppeteer?

It
would be to hand over me and Denshi to the Puppeteer.

Because
that was the way to obtain the greatest result with the least amount
of damage.

“Celsia.”

When
I called her by her name even in a place where others were present,
her green eyes, like a meadow, looked at me.

I
conveyed my intention in a calm voice to the woman with a hesitant
expression.

“Please
make the right decision as a princess.”

Obtaining
the greatest benefit with the least sacrifice.

It
was the virtue of a ruler who led an organization.

“But,
but…”

Celsia’s
green eyes, like a meadow, trembled with hesitation.

It
was proof that she was thinking of me more than the battle with the
demon or the sacrifices that would follow.

“Disciple.
Do you have something in mind?”

In
the moment when I smiled slightly at that sight, Idelbert stared at
me intently and asked.

“You’re
not the type to take a loss without any compensation.”

“…I’m
not sure, but at least there won’t be a threat to my safety.”

“How
can you be so sure?”

“I
met the Puppeteer before. At that time, she didn’t engrave the
Puppet Curse on me and let me go.”

When
I threatened to commit suicide, the Puppeteer lowered her tail
and changed her goal to monitoring me.

The
same was true when I encountered the guy who stole Denshi’s body in
the 15th floor, Eden.

He
had many opportunities to target me directly, but he didn’t draw his
sword.

Even
now, he was trying to obediently respond to the talks.

‘The
Puppeteer is obsessed with the hero, Soeun.’

Collecting
her younger sister’s hair and dandruff.

Participating
in every battlefield where her younger sister was and committing
atrocities.

A
crazy c*nt stalker who is so obsessed that she uses a doll body
modeled after her younger sister as her main body.

‘Then,
what about me, the hero’s brother?’

If
I recall the Puppeteer’s face lighting up as soon as she realized
my identity…

“The
Puppeteer would protect me, not harm me. The problem is… other
people, not me.”

I
said, looking at Denshi.

Not
only Denshi, but everyone afflicted with the Puppet Curse.

Their
end was to become either idiots or rioters and move according to the
Puppeteer’s will.

Then,
the best choice to save not only Denshi’s curse but also other people
is…

“You’re
saying we should hand over Master to the Puppeteer and demand
that she release me and the others?”

“…That’s
right.”

“Ha!”

As
soon as I nodded at Denshi’s pale words, Idelbert let out a hollow
laugh and gnashed his teeth.

Perhaps
recalling the time when I was embraced by the succubi in exchange for
helping to save Serif, Idelbert’s expression was fiercely distorted.

“I’m
sorry, but this teacher is against it. I can’t let my disciple go
through such a shitty thing again. Rather than letting a similar
thing happen again, I’ll kill the Puppeteer myself.”

That
voice contained the determination of a teacher who had vowed not to
sacrifice his disciple again.

“…I’m
against it too. I, I was trying to gain strength to protect Master,
but if the result is sacrificing Master… no way. Absolutely not! In
that case, I’d rather become the Puppeteer’s puppet!!”

The
slave, who had risked his life to protect his master, desperately
shook his head at his master’s sacrifice.

“Besides,
there’s no way the Puppeteer would accept such a proposal—”

“Oh
really?”

Flint.

Everyone
turned their heads at the voice that suddenly came from inside the
tent.

“Wait!
Stop!”

“Keuk…!
I can’t move…!”

Along
with a faint Mana, the voices of the knights outside could be heard
through the gaps in the tent.

“People
have different values. How can a person who is willing to sacrifice
himself to save others and vermin who waste their lives without any
meaning have the same value?”

The
Puppeteer, who had instantly subdued the guarding knights with
threads of Mana, said as she sat down at the negotiation table.

“99999
puppets. Excluding the ones who have died so far, I’ll release all
47218 puppets without leaving any aftereffects. Of course, the
non-aggression pact as well. I’ll never commit any acts that exploit
the loopholes in the contract again.”

The
Puppeteer’s eyes, glistening with greed, turned to me.

“So,
give me the most noble and valuable man among you.”

Hearing
the Puppeteer’s words, I took a step forward.

And.

Kwaaak…!

I
felt a hand grabbing my wrist.

I
turned my head with a questioning gaze, and there.

“…I’m
sorry, but.”

The
girl with green eyes, no… the woman.

Celsia,
who had grown from a small and delicate girl whom I wanted to protect
into a warrior of similar height to me… stepped forward as if to
protect me and glared at the Puppeteer.

“I
can’t accept that offer.”

The
armored knight who had saved me in the rough labyrinth had already
equipped thick armor and a greatsword and was glaring at the enemy.

“How
can I trust a demon who has already stabbed me in the back once?”

Celsia’s
eloquence, having regained her confidence after returning to her
original body… was quite rough